Huang's father and mother greeted everyone one by one, but the person they cared most about was Lan Jin. They'd heard she had a child, but since they hadn't seen the girl around, they couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have a daughter? Why don't we see her?"
Lan Jin said, "We just got to the base and there's still a lot to sort out. I left her at kindergarten for now. Once everything's settled, I'll bring her home."
Hearing that, the couple finally relaxed. "That makes sense. It's not easy to get things done with a kid always at your side. By the way, have you been assigned a place to live yet? Jinghe, what about you? Are you staying with them or moving in with us?"
Huang Jinghe said, "We've been placed in the base dorms. It shouldn't be too far, right? Besides, I'm already grown up, I shouldn't be living with you anymore."
Of course, whether it was far or not was only his assumption. The Capital city base was already massive enough to need cars, and this place was even larger.
Huang's mother said, "If you don't want to live with us, that's fine, but we really don't know how far apart the places are. Where's your assignment?"
They glanced at the slip the staff had given them at the entrance. It read: Building 3, Unit 4, Floor 26, No. 28 Xingfu Road.
The detailed address almost felt like life before the apocalypse.
And Xingfu Road, by name alone, sounded like a good location.
Huang's mother said, "We're on Daxing Road. It's not too far. By car, maybe ten minutes, and if you walk, just over twenty. So it's really not that far."
People living on Daxing Road were mostly officials or higher-ups. Xingfu Road, on the other hand, was where lower-ranked leaders or strong team members stayed.
In fact, the A City base's housing allocation was fairly well-organized.
As soon as he heard the distance, Huang Jinghe asked excitedly, "Wait, there are cars in A City too?"
"Of course," she said. "This base is several times bigger than the Capital city base. Without cars, there's no way to get around. Bicycles would help too, but not everyone has one."
Since they'd be living here, it wasn't possible to just sit at home every day. Lan Jin asked, "Do you have planting zones here too? Are they contracted out? Can we rent a plot to grow vegetables? What about shops, can we rent one to sell goods?"
These had all existed in the Capital city base, so it was only natural for A City to have them too. The difference was that the place wasn't fully populated yet, so nothing had officially started.
Huang's father asked, "So you've run businesses and farmed before?"
Huang Jinghe said, "Yeah, but our luck was bad. We tried farming in both H City and the Capital city, but we never even got to a harvest. We did earn some contribution points running shops, but before we could buy weapons, we left the bases."
The world wasn't kind, and neither was their luck.
Still, for them, this was the easy part.
Huang's father said, "If you're interested, I can set something aside for you. But since you just arrived, you should rest in the dorms for a few days first. Once the base finishes organizing everyone, then you can start. Right now there aren't many people around, so a shop won't get business, but farming, well… you can start planting early."
Huang's mother added, "Don't worry about that. You just rest, leave it to us."
Everyone quickly thanked them. "Thank you, Uncle, Auntie."
By now, it was almost mealtime. The delicious smell from the cafeteria made it impossible to walk away. Huang's father and mother smiled and said, "Sit here a while, we'll bring some food over. You've just arrived, you probably haven't had a good meal in days. Eat first, then we'll talk more."
They wanted to decline, but how could they?
So Huang Jinghe followed his father to get food.
Here, meals were ordered by queuing and paying, but there weren't many people right now. Since they chose stir-fried dishes, the kitchen would cook and deliver them to the table. The service was actually pretty good.
Huang's mother sat across from them and said, "The environment here is meant to resemble life before the apocalypse, though some systems aren't all that convenient. But give it a few days, you'll get used to it."
Then she asked, "The trip must've been rough. Is your daughter adjusting okay?"
Lan Jin smiled. "She's fine. She adapts really well. She eats and sleeps wherever we go."
"That's good. Otherwise these days would've been much harder. But now that you're here, you don't need to worry. We won't be moving around anymore. This is a place where children can grow up safely."
Lan Jin said, "That's the best news. Not just for kids, but for everyone. We all want a steady, peaceful life."
At that, Huang's mother's curiosity shifted. She was still fascinated by their powers. "Back then, I remember you stocked up on plenty of supplies at home. So how did you still end up infected and awaken abilities?"
Just as she finished, Huang Jinghe and his father returned with the food. Hearing the question, Huang Jinghe said quickly, "We only just got back and haven't even settled down yet. Let's not get into that right away."
Lan Jin waved it off. "It's fine. We're just sitting here anyway."
But when it came to insect powder, Ling Jiang had to explain. "That one's on me. At first, we were living in a small residential block. The four of us had only just formed an alliance, but we didn't know each other well. Outwardly we worked together, but in truth, nobody revealed their secrets.
I was living with my grandma. The supplies I found were enough to eat, but we didn't have much sugar stocked. When the insect powder started circulating, the smell was awful, but I still got tempted. I didn't eat it myself, but Lao Gao did. After that, he started acting strange. First came the fever, then madness. During one of his fits, he injured the three of us. We all came down with fevers after, and when our bodies reacted, we awakened powers.
Anyone who eats insect powder ends up with bugs in their body. That time, Lan Jin forced Lao Gao to spit them out by giving him salt. Since it was freezing, the bugs died right after they were vomited out."
Captain Zhang said, "So the three of you didn't even eat it directly. You only awakened because you were injured when he lost control."
Then he turned to Huang's father and mother and explained, "You probably don't know this yet, but the four of them are strong. On the road back, it was thanks to them that we all made it here safely."