NOVEL NEXT Chapter 100 - 100: Go to the Base? Only if She's Crazy
Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Go to the Base? Only if She’s Crazy
Jiang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, “What specific conditions?”
“They are evacuating people in batches, and those they are picking up tomorrow are males aged 16 to 35 and females aged 18 to 30. Of course, if someone has a particular skill, like carpentry, welding, or cooking, or if they are excellent swimmers, they might relax the age limits a bit.
Today, the ship that came picked up all young people from other areas, the remaining space is limited, and a few people from our complex managed to squeeze in. However, if people go there on their own, the officials will also accommodate them.
Their current base is located at the Anming Twin Towers. Each of the north and south towers has over sixty floors, so they can still fit quite a number of people.”
Su Dai glanced at the dark window outside, pursed her lips, and continued:
“In reality, we all believe that this is clearly a selection of the healthiest young labor force and women most suitable for childbirth. The officials claim they will evacuate the rest in subsequent batches, but anyone with clear eyes can guess what this actually means.
Most families have elderly and young ones, and in such harsh weather, it’s not feasible to leave family members behind and go alone, so the number of people who choose to go is not actually that high. However, with several million people in Anming, even if a small number go from each area, it still adds up to a significant figure.
This doesn’t even include those from the high-rise complexes near the Twin Towers, where it’s often more convenient to go.”
Jiang Yan was not surprised by this approach from the officials.
Before the apocalypse, during disaster relief, the priority was always to rescue the old, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the pregnant.
Now, clearly, the situation was different.
The officials themselves were evidently overwhelmed.
Otherwise, they certainly would have hoped for more people to go.
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After all, the demographic dividend applies at any time.
Jiang Yan didn’t dwell on these thoughts but looked at Su Dai and asked, “So are you going tomorrow?”
Looking at Su Dai, Sun Jingtao, and Ye Qing, it was clear they met the age criteria.
And with Sun Jingtao, who had a military demeanor about him, it was easy to think of phrases like, “If there’s war, call, and I shall return, battle and I shall win.”
“Not going,” Su Dai replied crisply.
Her response was somewhat unexpected to Jiang Yan.
“Oh?”
Seeing the surprise on Jiang Yan’s face, Su Dai gave a bitter smile and explained:
“When we went out to search for supplies, we encountered several government teams doing the same. It feels like the base is only in its initial phase now, more like a temporary refuge. It doesn’t house many people to begin with, and there’s some internal management chaos.
The key issue is that even before anything substantial is achieved, the people above are busy fighting over power and trying to solidify their positions amidst the chaos, leaving it to those below to tirelessly toil away. Going to the base now doesn’t mean leisure; daily tasks are required, and they are not light.
Rather than that, it’s better to be self-sufficient, at least being free and independent without having to submit to others.”
What Su Dai didn’t tell Jiang Yan was that this inside information was actually gathered by Sun Jingtao on his secret excursions.
But there were some things she couldn’t say too much about.
Jiang Yan listened thoughtfully.
In fact, she had little interest in going to the official base.
However, it was not an option to isolate oneself entirely; it was essential not to miss out on relevant information.
In her view, the future might bring myriad natural disasters, but as long as humanity survives, there is always hope of finding solutions and overcoming challenges.
After all, over the more than five million years from when apes evolved into humans, numerous devastating natural disasters had been endured.
Of course, internal power struggles within the officials were put aside for now, but in terms of manpower, material resources, and technology, the officials definitely had their advantages.
It was also possible that some scientists might invent something that could adapt to these types of natural disasters, though it might not be for years or even decades.
Furthermore, even if some specific benefits and technologies emerged, they would likely first be accessible to those in high positions.
As ordinary people, they would, at most, just get wind of such developments.
But she definitely wouldn’t choose to give up her right to be informed.
This was also why she initially chose Shallow Bay, aiming to be deeply hidden in plain sight.
Seeing Jiang Yan lost in thought, Su Dai asked, “What about you, Jiang Yan, will you choose to go tomorrow?”
Jiang Yan shook her head without hesitation, “I’m not going either.”
Right now, there was no place better for her than her own complete house and Space.
She had no worries about food and drink; living comfortably and not working for the base unless she was crazy.
“Speaking of which, the people who came today mentioned someone had reported you for possessing a gun. Do you want to hide or stash the gun away tomorrow?” Su Dai’s eyes brightened as she recalled this and quickly reminded her.
Jiang Yan smiled lightly and nonchalantly replied, “No need.”
“I’m just worried they might come looking for you tomorrow.” Su Dai was still somewhat concerned.
It wasn’t about Jiang Yan’s illegal possession of a firearm, but rather that firearms, as powerful weapons, possessed considerable deterrent power in this environment and were clearly lucrative in many people’s eyes.
Those driven by a desire for power would not overlook this.
Finding a legal and plausible excuse to confiscate both the person and the gun was not out of the question.
“Who asserts must prove. They may claim whatever, but whether they can find any evidence is another matter. Besides, in times like these, officials likely aren’t so idle,” Jiang Yan said calmly.
She could just throw the gun into the Space, and those bodies with bullet holes and the spent casings were long gone.
Tearing Shallow Bay inside out would yield nothing.
Besides, considering the current weather, those official ships were unlikely to venture out.
Even if they did, she wasn’t worried.
Ready to fight if necessary, or she could slip into the Space and see who could outlast whom.
Seeing Jiang Yan’s calm and fearless expression, Su Dai’s concerns dissipated.
The rain outside the window grew heavier, the wind howling so fiercely that the raindrops were being blown around visibly, forming patterns in the air.
The fact that her balcony was only made of regular glass, which didn’t block sound, made it feel like the roof could be blown away at any moment.
Su Dai wanted to say something else,
“Creak—” the door opened, and Ye Qing walked in.
He had some blood stains on his hands, likely from dealing with Zhang Dan’s body earlier.
Bending down to casually pick up a rag to wipe it off, Ye Qing pulled out a key from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Yan.
“Jiang Yan, for safety, Brother Tao and I found a lock and locked the 32nd-floor fire door. If possible, we should try to enter and leave together. If you need to go out at special times, let us know.”
“Okay,” Jiang Yan took the key.
The fire door actually had a lock, but regulations stipulate that it couldn’t be locked on a regular basis, so the property management key was long gone.
Now was not normal times, and it indeed seemed safer to lock the door.
Although others might fear them, it was hard to guarantee that no one would have ill intentions.