Zhou Qiang, do you know the current situation at Kongming Academy?"
"Boss, I went to Kongming Academy once after the last heavy snow. At that time, the cave they were digging had just been completed and they were preparing the interior decoration. That cave is really huge; they almost dug out a quarter of the nearby hill, going more than a hundred meters deep into the mountain.
As for their current situation, I don’t know, but they must have moved in there to avoid the cold.
But honestly, the temperature inside the cave is indeed much warmer than outside."
Zhou Qiang’s eyes revealed his longing for the cave of Kongming Academy.
Xia Luo frowned slightly,
"This snow won’t keep falling forever. When have you ever seen endless heavy snow? Although it’s cold now, everyone can hold on. Maybe the snow will stop tomorrow?"
Zhou Qiang and others didn’t know what to say; it was too late to prepare food, firewood, or cold-resistant clothing now.
"Boss, what if this snow keeps falling for a month and the temperature drops by another dozen degrees? Many people might not be able to endure it!"
Someone quietly raised this concern.
The room fell silent; everyone looked at Xia Luo.
Xia Luo fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said softly:
"Zhou Qiang, from now on, you personally control all the food. Have the logistics team find time to chop down some big trees from the nearby mountain for firewood. If this ghastly weather continues and it truly becomes unbearable, then..."
Xia Luo paused, a hint of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes.
"Prioritize supplying food for the five hundred core elite soldiers. No matter what, we must ensure that this group of elite soldiers survives the winter. This is an absolute order and a secret. Just keep it among us who are present today; don’t let it out for now."
Although everyone present, including Zhou Qiang, were among the 500 elite soldiers, hearing Xia Luo’s decision made everyone’s heart tremble.
Over two thousand people at Xianan University—how many would die?
Everyone remained silent.
"I really have no other choice!"
The snow didn’t stop, continuing to fall, and the temperature kept dropping, about a degree a day.
Yang Dong and Xiao Zhe and others stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at the snow fluttering outside, feeling utterly lost.
In such weather, there was nothing to do and nobody could do anything; over a thousand people just stared at each other in the cave, boasting and chatting all day.
Some people brought out chess, Go, and playing cards found in the ruins, gathering together to play.
Genetic Evolution relied entirely on Genetic Fragments and had no mental methods to study; there was no need for meditation, cultivation of Qi, and the like.
The snow within thirty meters of the cave entrance was swept very clean.
Zhao Gang and others invented a new Divine Skill for snow removal. There was no need to send people out of the cave to sweep the snow; just call up a few dozen Elemental Mages who knew the Wind Blade Skill. Lined up at the entrance, they could sweep away the snow on the ground with gusts of wind by deploying the Wind Blade Technique together.
Those Wind Mages got addicted to it, forming teams every morning and evening to play the game of swirling snow with Wind Blades, so the entrance of the cave was very clear. However, beyond those thirty meters, the snow had piled up several meters high.
Another benefit of the snow at the entrance was that they didn’t have to worry about water sources.
The logistics team would put large buckets of snow into big pots every day and boil it into hot water.
Thanks to Yang Xiao predicting the harsh winter over a month in advance, the stored dried meat of the Mutated Creatures was very abundant, especially the stored one hundred thousand pounds of potatoes, which was enough to sustain over a thousand people for several months. With careful management, there would be no food worries for at least half a year.
"Xu Nanqiang, from now on, prepare two meals a day, treat everyone equally, supply in limited quantity. We need to save some food for the long winter ahead and make long-term plans."
Xu Nanqiang nodded in agreement.
The logistics team is now the busiest group, responsible for sanitation inside the kiln cave, boiling water, and cooking.
The most troublesome thing is fetching firewood from fifty meters away from the entrance of the kiln cave.
All the chopped firewood is piled there, almost like a small mountain, covered with thick snow. Now, every time we fetch firewood, a few wind mages have to go together and use the Wind Blade to blow the snow away before moving the firewood out.
"Everyone being idle all day isn’t good either, should we find something to do?"
Yang Xiao looked at Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang was taken aback,
"What can we do? Nowadays, peeing outside has to be quick, or it’ll freeze into a block of ice."
On the side, Long Yongjun, Xiao Zhe, and other boys laughed out loud, while Huang Wen, Feifei, and others blushed and glared fiercely at Zhao Gang.
"Have you no shame? We have girls here, could you watch your language?"
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Now, men and women are living together, banding together for survival, and they’ve grown much closer. Risqué jokes are tossed around casually, and sometimes in the middle of the night guys and girls even have singing competitions in teams.
Yang Xiao ignored this, instead issuing a firm order,
"You can date and even sleep together, but be safe. In this apocalypse, having a child is almost impossible to survive, so no one should get pregnant for now. Once conditions are better and if couples want to, they can freely have fun and have children."
Huang Wen also gathered the girls for a collective talk, warning everyone that there are no hospitals or medicines now. If anyone gets pregnant, giving birth would be very challenging for any woman.
A group of teenagers spending all day together playing, if they don’t find something to do, it’s really boring and easy to become impulsive!
Long Yongjun clapped his thigh and said:
"I have a good idea."
"See, our kiln cave is U-shaped, with a complete passage inside. Everyone can run."
"It’s simple, there are two entrances to the kiln cave, run out of one and come in through the other, passing through the U-shaped passage, keep circulating. This way we can exercise and get a taste of the harsh cold outside for short periods, which won’t harm us since it’s winter, and we should let our bodies slowly adapt to the low temperature."
Everyone was stunned, Long Yongjun’s suggestion seemed pretty reasonable.
"Good, this is a good idea, let’s do it."
Yang Xiao immediately made the decision.
Ever since he became the leader, Yang Xiao felt a great responsibility. Activities like exercising, which he loathed and always wanted to skip during high school mornings, now felt critical for him to ensure the health of everyone as the leader.
Everyone was originally enjoying themselves in the warm kiln cave, but were then collectively instructed to go out for running, none of them were willing, but due to the authority of Yang Xiao, the leader, everyone reluctantly ran out.
Staying in the kiln cave didn’t feel too bad, but once they ran out, the bone-chilling wind made everyone shiver.
Fortunately, the distance between the two entrances of the kiln cave wasn’t far, just a few dozen meters.
After several rounds, everyone’s bodies warmed up and gradually adapted to the cold air outside.
"Run ten laps, every morning once, and once in the afternoon. Those who don’t run won’t get to eat."
Yang Xiao issued the final order.