CHAPTER 220: CHAPTER 218 ON THE ROAD

The people in the four cars were clearly unwilling to be fooled like this, and as soon as they realized what was happening, they chased after him.

However, not all four cars pursued; one remained at the spot, probably hoping to take the return capsule away.

Through drone footage, Chen Xin saw the pursuers behind him, but he wasn’t too concerned. If it was just this level of pursuit, his car could handle anyone.

"Go ask if everything has been taken. If there’s nothing missing, we’ll leave." Chen Xin looked at the astronaut beside him and motioned for him to ask Zhang Chengguang if there was anything left behind, but mainly to check Zhang Chengguang’s condition since Chen Xin noticed he’d taken off his Protective Suit earlier.

The astronaut nodded and went off, while Chen Xin continued to drive forward. Although the three cars behind him were following closely, they couldn’t catch up to Chen Xin.

The reason he didn’t speed away was that he was worried about any items Zhang Chengguang might have left behind.

If there truly was something he needed to go back for, Chen Xin would not hesitate to crash the three pursuing cars to a stop and then return to deal with the last car before retrieving the items.

The reason he didn’t do that earlier was because Zhang Chengguang wasn’t in the car, and if Chen Xin collided with someone, Zhang Chengguang could be in danger, which would be a case of losing more than gaining.

"Old Zhang said all the data storage devices were taken, and although the items in the return capsule are valuable, they’re useless to ordinary people." The astronaut checked the data storage devices Zhang Chengguang brought back before reporting the situation to Chen Xin: "Additionally, Old Zhang took the self-defense handgun prepared for us from the return capsule. He said once you get us to the destination, you can keep the handgun."

To an astronaut, a handgun is nothing significant, and giving it to Chen Xin as a reward wasn’t a big deal.

If it were before the disaster, they wouldn’t have done such a thing, but after experiencing the recent incident, Zhang Chengguang clearly understood the current circumstances and environment, and exchanging a handgun for Chen Xin’s assistance seemed like a worthwhile trade to him.

Chen Xin didn’t pay much attention to this, merely nodding before accelerating to shake off the three cars behind him, then adjusted the course on the map, driving towards Chibi City as originally planned.

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After going through this moderate crisis, Chen Xin became more familiar with the three astronauts and also learned the names of the other two besides Zhang Chengguang: Zhao Wu and Zhang Yao.

Parking the car on the roadside, Chen Xin returned to the living chamber with the six data storage devices that Zhang Chengguang dismantled from the return capsule placed on the table in front of him.

Looking at these six storage devices resembling black bricks, Chen Xin didn’t display much curiosity, merely greeting Zhang Chengguang and the other two astronauts, then asking, "It’s almost lunchtime. What do you guys want to eat?"

Upon hearing Chen Xin mention food, the expressions on the three astronauts became animated.

They had been eating space food for the past half-year. Although astronauts receive good treatment with nutritious and tasty options, including a variety of dishes, they still longed for meals on the ground.

Yet Chen Xin, observing their excited expressions, splashed cold water on them: "I brought quite a bit of food, including canned food and shelter provisions, as well as some energy bars. They should be enough to fill you up."

"Canned food, energy bars?" The three astronauts exchanged glances and finally Zhang Chengguang asked, "Have supplies really become this scarce? Doesn’t the country have emergency reserves, including meats and vegetables? How is it that it’s come down to just canned food and energy bars?"

"National emergency reserves? I’m not sure; perhaps they haven’t been tapped in the city I’m in." Chen Xin shrugged, and under the curious eyes of the three astronauts, he took out a pack of shelter provisions from the cabinet and placed it on the table: "This is a standard shelter provision, containing pre-disaster reserve rice, post-disaster artificially raised rat meat and mealworms, mushrooms from underground greenhouses, and a small amount of fresh vegetables.

This standard shelter provision is all a survivor in a shelter can get for a day, and the two energy bars inside are only allotted to those working outside, while ordinary citizens only get one."

The information Chen Xin presented clearly shocked the three newly landed astronauts. But understandably so, given they went up before the disaster truly struck, when supplies were still normal.

And even while they were in space, they were eating standard astronaut provisions, although they had some predictions about the ground situation, they hadn’t expected conditions to become so harsh.

"We’ll eat this; this should be enough for the three of us." Zhang Chengguang picked up the shelter provisions from the table, deciding that the three of them would eat this to adapt to life with scarce resources.

Chen Xin chuckled, waved his hand, then casually took out some dehydrated vegetables, rice, and a canned luncheon meat: "Although official shelters have to eat what you have in your hand, I do have some additional items. There’s absolutely no fruit, but there are a few vegetables and rice, and the canned food is luncheon meat; I hope you don’t mind."

As he spoke, Chen Xin placed a pot on the induction cooktop to prepare lunch.

"This really is an extravagance!" Zhang Chengguang looked at the food Chen Xin brought out and could only say some polite words.

After all, if what Chen Xin said is true, the food he brought out would count as quite a lavish meal in today’s world.

Nevertheless, it made the three astronauts deeply worried about Flame Country’s current situation.

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After their lunch, Chen Xin continued to drive, following the initial plan through Chibi City, discovering Chibi City’s shelter as expected. But neither Chen Xin nor the three astronauts had any desire to stop and communicate with Chibi City’s official shelter.

Chen Xin was assured in his provisions, not needing to stop for supplies, and the three astronauts felt their data was too important, preferring the axiom of minimizing matters by heading directly to the Three Towns rather than wasting time in such a county city.

Chibi City, after all, is just a county-level city, and even if they contacted the local county government and official shelter, the help they could receive would be very limited, possibly just some supplies or a couple of police or armed escorts.

But for Chen Xin and the three astronauts, this seemed unnecessary and meaningless.

Instead of attracting unnecessary attention just to gain a few helpers, it’s better to go directly to the Three Towns, which is ultimately safer.

Therefore, they soon passed through Chibi City, driving forward on a road where no traces could be seen.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Chengguang looked at the pitch-black scene outside the car window and asked Chen Xin, "Have you all been living in such an environment for half a year?"

"Not entirely, it was manageable at first. The first month, after the meteor hit, there were fires everywhere, making it impossible to go out, so everyone stayed cooped up in shelters. Aside from being tedious, it wasn’t too bad." Chen Xin conversed amicably while driving, discovering Zhang Chengguang to be quite chatty: "After the first month, the temperature wasn’t too low yet, and the environment wasn’t as harsh as now, so most people took that opportunity to go out to collect and exchange supplies.

However, the internet was already down, phones were unreachable, and only a few official landlines could be used, making it hard to learn about situations elsewhere. I don’t know how other places are doing, but the city government where I am managed to ensure supply provisions, albeit with some hardships, yet we survived without lacking clothes or food."

"It sounds surprisingly decent?" Zhang Chengguang couldn’t help but express some surprise, as Chen Xin’s description made the situation seem alright.

Chen Xin nodded in agreement, confirming: "The first few months were manageable, roughly akin to the days in the seventies or earlier, with secure food provisions, overall quite decent.

However, once the temperature dropped, it became tough to endure; the plummeting temperatures, plunging tens of degrees below zero, meant unless one had ample winter clothing or protective gear, stepping outside for even less than half an hour would leave a person frozen.

Although underground shelters can keep out some cold, lack of heating could still be fatal, and the chill severely impacted plant growth and animal breeding; a friend’s greenhouse was almost entirely destroyed."

"Cold, darkness..." Zhang Chengguang’s mood grew complicated and heavy with a rising sense of guilt; if only their mission hadn’t failed, perhaps none of this suffering would have happened.

Perhaps recognizing his thoughts, Chen Xin offered some words of encouragement: "Don’t burden yourself too much with responsibility. You’ve already done your part and accomplished what you could. Although no one wanted it to turn out this way, since things are like this, let’s look forward. Focus on surviving and making the best of life here and now—that’s what’s truly important."

"Thank you!" Zhang Chengguang smiled at Chen Xin’s encouragement, but he still couldn’t overcome his inner turmoil.

Such things aren’t resolved just by a few comforting words; perhaps only when Zhang Chengguang comes to terms with it on his own will the burden lift.

Chen Xin didn’t dwell further, continuing to drive, advancing along the road indistinct in the darkness.