Chapter 559: Surface Shelter, Part 1
As the vehicle entered the base, the surroundings immediately became bustling with activity.
There was the sound of laughter, shouting, and also crying.
The path to the Undercity’s entrance led past the base’s pharmaceutical factory and hospital, both of which were already swarmed with protesters.
Truck after truck carrying corpses departed from the hospital’s side entrance, a stark contrast to the clamoring crowd.
The usually chirpy Zoe fell silent. She stared out the window uneasily, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
The vehicle pulled into a parking garage. After everyone got out, Ronan Kendrick led them out through the back exit. There was a security door that required a fingerprint scan to pass through. Beyond that door was the entrance to the Undercity.
Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell, having been high-ranking leaders in the construction of Wyrmrest Base, were relatively unfazed. The children, however, along with Wyatt Vaughn and Joelle Finch, were completely stunned.
"This is amazing. It feels like we’re back before the apocalypse."
"Later, we’ll register your fingerprints and irises so you can come and go as you please. The Undercity has many different zones. For now, just remember the cafeteria, the library, and the fitness area. If you’re looking for something to do, you can go to the hydroponics room, the silkworm nursery, or the aquaculture zone. Every floor is clearly marked, so it’s easy to find your way around."
After Evelyn Ford finished her introduction, she led everyone to the residential area.
Liam Sterling was already waiting for them in the residential area. He had made an ID badge for each person and had also arranged their dorms.
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick still had to go to the granary to collect the grain. After getting everyone settled, they left some special medicine behind and departed with Liam Sterling.
Inside the granary was not only the grain the base had accumulated over the years, but also the reserve grain from Frelia.
The relief grain that the officials had previously distributed to the refugees outside had all come from this granary’s reserves.
No matter how well grain was preserved, it would eventually become old rice. More than ten armed soldiers stood guard here. Liam Sterling presented the official document signed by Rhys Chase to the soldiers on duty. After they verified their fingerprints and irises, they opened the door and let them in.
"Everyone knows that three jin of grain per person per month is very little, but that’s all we can distribute. The grain we have was originally only enough for twenty years, so we have to make it last for a hundred."
Liam Sterling opened the warehouse’s main door, and the aroma of grain washed over them. Giant storage bins were arranged neatly before them, and desiccants were placed all around the warehouse. Next to them was an open bin. Evelyn Ford reached her hand inside and pulled out a handful of old rice.
The rice was infested with weevils and lacked the fragrance of fresh grains, but this was life-saving food, as precious as life itself.
"Liam Sterling, how many tons of grain are there in total here?"
Liam Sterling’s expression was very solemn. "860,000 tons, plus 200,000 tons of legumes and about one ton of vegetable seeds."
The number seemed huge, but in reality, over a million people lived here.
Fewer than three thousand of them were able to eat their fill.
Countless people had starved to death, yet the reserve grain couldn’t be distributed all at once. It was the guarantee for long-term survival.
Liam Sterling stood guard while Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick began to collect the grain. With so many storage bins, they estimated it would take them two days to gather everything.
Besides the grain, all the farming tools inside also had to be collected.
The granary also contained a lot of mechanized equipment, much of which Evelyn Ford had never seen before. Liam Sterling explained that when the apocalypse began, the country had transferred a great deal of important equipment to bases all over the nation. This was to preserve the most advanced technology so they could quickly rebuild their homeland in the future.
"Everyone’s been busy fending off natural disasters these past few years, so this equipment has just been gathering dust in the warehouse. Once the world is at peace again, these things will finally have their day."
Liam Sterling opened the door to another warehouse. Inside were all sorts of books, covering everything from rocket science and manufacturing down to cookbooks and children’s stories.
"To prevent a cultural fracture, a large number of books and reading materials were distributed to every base."
It would take many years to go from barrenness to prosperity, but as long as people were still alive, as long as they had machinery, books, land, and the will to unite as one, there was hope for this land after the disasters ended.
After working for a whole afternoon, they had only collected a third of the grain bins. Liam Sterling grabbed a broom, swept a corner clean, and told Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick to take a break.
Evelyn Ford took out a table and chairs, and the three of them had a makeshift dinner right there. After resting for an hour and a half, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick resumed collecting the grain while Liam Sterling stood guard at the door with his gun.
"Ronan Kendrick, are you tired?"
"Not at all." Seeing Evelyn Ford’s high spirits, Ronan Kendrick couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
"You told me before that we couldn’t take things from the base, but now you’re not just taking them, you’re cleaning the place out."
"Taking things before was looting. Taking them now is ’serving the people.’ How can you compare the two?" Evelyn Ford leaned close to Ronan Kendrick and whispered, "I told you they’d have reserve grain. The country really is farsighted."
The two of them whispered to each other for a while. Liam Sterling watched their lovey-dovey display from a distance and decided against going over and being a third wheel.
After working for thirty consecutive hours, Evelyn Ford’s legs were weak with exhaustion. The two of them had cleaned out the granary, inside and out, without leaving a single grain of rice behind.
On the way back to the Undercity, Evelyn Ford was so sleepy she didn’t even want to eat. She just wanted to get back and sleep as soon as possible.
Liam Sterling still had to go to the administration building to report to Rhys Chase. According to Liam, after Rhys Chase returned, he had gathered the entire base management for a meeting. After the meeting, they unanimously agreed to build an above-ground shelter.
They might squabble during normal times, but at critical moments, everyone still had to unite as one.
"There’s something I need to tell you two. The team that went out searching for a new habitat discovered several bases in Yarrow on their way back. Yarrow is relatively close to us. The plane circled over their bases, and the team took a lot of photos. Most importantly, the people of Yarrow are trying to enter our territory to plunder resources. This is absolutely intolerable. We must stand united and crush these foreign thieves attempting to invade our country."
With that, Liam Sterling left. The first thing Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick did upon returning to the Undercity was go to the cafeteria for dinner. While eating, they ran into Ethan Dawson and Peter Owens. The two had just come from the gym, and though it had only been a day, they were both bruised and battered.
"What happened?"
Ethan Dawson just laughed nonchalantly. "Ran into a few troublemakers. It’s already been handled."
"Even at a time like this, there are still people looking for trouble. They must have nothing better to do."
Peter Owens had a black eye. Evelyn Ford told the two of them to follow her and Ronan to their dorm so she could give them some ointment for their injuries.
"Next time you run into people like that, remember to call me and Ronan Kendrick."
Ethan Dawson raised an eyebrow. "I thought you’d tell us to stay out of trouble."
Evelyn Ford scoffed. "Seriously? We’ve got backing now, so why would we be afraid of trouble? Of course, we shouldn’t start fights, but if someone comes looking for one, don’t hold back. Beat the ever-living crap out of them."