Chapter 59: Material Gathering Plan

"Is it safe to go inside the safe zone to gather information?" Cui Lie asked.

The thieves caught earlier were clearly targeting Sister Rong.

"We can make time for a trip over there. The construction of the safe zone is mostly completed by now, and the military's policies have relaxed considerably. However, the people from the apartment complex left a deep impression on us, and quite a few households own binoculars. It's hard to say if anyone might recognize you, so if you go to gather information, you'll need to disguise yourselves." Rong Xianxian did not plan to go herself. After all, there was still an unknown organization causing her trouble; bringing the two children would make her too conspicuous, yet leaving them behind would worry her.

However, Jiang Jie, Wang Lin, and the others could go. The safe zone was currently under military control, and since the purpose was merely gathering intelligence rather than looking for trouble, safety wouldn't be an issue as long as they exercised caution.

Still, who should go? How many people? When should they go? All of these details needed careful discussion.

"It shouldn't be too many people going to the safe zone; the more people there are, the easier it is to be recognized. Your weapons are all too conspicuous, whereas my weapons are concealed projectiles. I am the most suitable person to scout for information," Xia Kai volunteered.

His previous thoughts had made him feel somewhat guilty. Although he hadn't spoken his intentions aloud, he felt as though everyone could see right through him, making him eager to prove himself and perform a meritorious deed.

Before seeing the conditions outside the city, Xia Kai's heart had been filled with restless anticipation. He believed his strength was quite decent—after all, killing monsters was killing monsters no matter where it was done. Furthermore, the highway had no speed limits, and his home was very close to the highway exit. With a good car and a couple of jerrycans of gasoline, he could roar back home in just a few hours.

Now that he had witnessed the reality outside, he was thoroughly alarmed. Had it not been for Sister Rong's considerate understanding of everyone's perspectives, which led her to agree to outside exploration, there was no telling when he might have courted death on his own by leaving the team and committing a grave mistake.

Rong Xianxian nodded. Xia Kai possessed a flexible mind, making him a quite suitable candidate.

"Xia Kai can apply a light disguise and blend in with an outbound exploring squad to enter. I'll draw a map for you; you just need to gather intelligence around the commercial street and the construction sites. You must not spend the night there alone—we will come to pick you up before dark." Rong Xianxian certainly did not feel at ease letting him spend the night in the safe zone by himself.

"Does everyone have any thoughts or plans for the future?" Although Rong Xianxian knew some of the climate changes and general trends of the coming year, she could only remind them in the form of guesses.

"Gather supplies and wait for news, I suppose!" Wang Lin looked genuinely unhurried, his attitude calm and composed.

Perhaps, just as he claimed, he was simply the weakest and least secure member of his own household.

"I agree with Wang Lin's view." Seeing Rong Xianxian's gaze turn toward him, Cui Lie briefly stated his position.

"How should we gather supplies? What kind of supplies should we collect? Does anyone have any thoughts?" Rong Xianxian was utterly speechless. Did they really have to answer so briefly? Couldn't they put a little more thought into it?

"Sister Rong, you can just make the arrangements." Wang Ruirui was eating the sizzling, piping-hot roasted meat voraciously, speaking indistinctly.

Rong Xianxian let out a helpless sigh.

She felt as though she was raising a bunch of children—thankfully, a group of high-combat-value, obedient children. She would simply have to shoulder more of the burden herself.

"Let me share my perspective. With the current environmental changes, the main difficulties we face are, on one hand, the omnipresent monsters that can appear at any time, and on the other hand, the lack of stable channels to acquire survival supplies." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Without the strength to defeat monsters, we will be killed by them; without an adequate source of food, we will starve or die of thirst. This is no longer a time when you can simply buy food with money." Everyone actually understood these truths.

"Constantly improving our strength through cultivation and combat is the prerequisite for survival. No matter what, we must ensure we dedicate time to cultivation every day, alongside non-stop combat. Of course, combat also means gains." Rong Xianxian thought of the treasure that had been snatched away by Xuanxuan earlier that day.

"I have a few suggestions. Before heading north, we must stockpile enough supplies to last us through the next three to five months. Although the things we gathered today look like quite a lot, once they are dried and processed, very little will actually remain. The season is still manageable now, but by winter, the amount of food obtainable in the wilderness will drop drastically."

When snow covered the earth, monsters would no longer actively emerge to attack humans, the ground would freeze over, and the harsh climate would cut off humanity's sources of food from the natural world.

"Then let's take advantage of the current abundance of food in the wilderness to gather more. We can kill monsters, farm treasures, and collect supplies all at once," Wang Lin suggested.

"Searching for supplies in the wilderness can wait a few days. The most important priority right now is to head into the city's major supermarkets and department stores to gather provisions. We don't yet know how the temperatures will change; during our next supply run, in addition to collecting rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil, various vacuum-packed items, canned goods, and other long-shelf-life foods, we also need to gather more fold-able, space-saving travel supplies. Everyone should prepare several sets of cold-resistant sleeping bags for themselves. Bulky items that take up too much space shouldn't even be considered, as they are difficult to carry." After the scorching summer, there would be almost no transitional period before plunging straight into the bitter cold of winter.

In her past life, within the Huichuan safe zone, she had traded summer wild-vegetable and fruit preserves for grain, only to be targeted, robbed of all her food, and cast out into the freezing snow.

Had she not been fortunate enough to discover a hidden valley and be rescued by someone, she probably would have died long ago.

"There is an outdoor gear store on the next street over. Should we go take a look there tomorrow?" Wang Lin proposed.

"Since we have to drive out anyway, we might as well search supermarkets and large department stores first. The inventory is comprehensive there, allowing us to be selective. Let's leave those small shops to the people living nearby!" Rong Xianxian still preferred large shopping malls, where the quality of the goods was relatively better.

"Then tomorrow morning, we'll drop Xia Kai off at the safe zone, and the rest of us will head to Jialetian Supermarket to gather supplies. We should be able to haul two trips of supplies before dark, and then we'll go back to the safe zone to pick up Xia Kai. The day after tomorrow, we'll head to the Wonderland Mall on the north side of the city."

"Agreed," everyone chorused in unison.

"Then everyone can go off to practice your cultivation." Dinner was finished, and it was still too early for bed. Flashlights and candles had to be used sparingly, and with nothing else to do, cultivation was the only option.

Paradoxically, this could help people settle their minds even more effectively than the colorful nightlife of the past.

Everyone returned to their respective rooms. Rong Xianxian sat reviewing the day's battles and felt a lingering sense of anxiety.

If not for Xuanxuan's fortuitous intervention helping out at a critical moment today, that purple-shadowed monster probably wouldn't have been so easily slain.

Although the narrow-bladed curved saber was sharp and ingenious, making it unpredictable and hard to guard against, it fell far short when pitted against monsters with thick skin, fleshy bodies, and massive frames. Relying on her knack for discerning and targeting the fatal weaknesses of monsters, Rong Xianxian's narrow-bladed curved saber—despite its narrow strike surface—could still deal devastating blows to monsters. However, she couldn't rely on luck to find a monster's fatal weakness every single time.

When encountering something like today's purple shadow, which moved as fast as lightning and left no time to even clearly identify what it was—

If Xuanxuan hadn't saved the day, she probably would have let it escape long ago.