After resting for two days at the Beijing Base, Jiang Hao led his team back to Hangzhou. They crossed the perilous ice fields, and when they finally returned to the underground base, Jiang Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The elevator doors had barely opened when Jiang Hao saw a large crowd waiting ahead. They were management committee officials who had come to welcome them, and everyone applauded warmly as they looked at Jiang Hao and his team.
Director Ding came over, shook Jiang Hao's hand, and said, "Welcome back, Commissioner Jiang. You've made another major contribution to Earth. The base has prepared a welcome banquet. Let's head over together."
Everyone sat down in the cafeteria. More than four hundred people had left, but only a little over a hundred had returned. The mood was somewhat somber. Jiang Hao stood with a cup of mushroom wine and said loudly, "Everyone, sacrifices are unavoidable for the sake of the future. Those who fell can rest now, while those of us still alive must keep striving."
Hearing Jiang Hao say that, everyone felt that it was true, and their hearts gradually eased. Indeed, sometimes living was harder than dying. The dead were free of all burdens, but the living still had to struggle for survival in this apocalypse.
"Let's raise a toast together."
"Cheers!"
The mushroom wine was slightly astringent upon entering the mouth, with an alcohol content of around thirty-five percent. To Jiang Hao, who was used to fine liquor, it was absolutely terrible. But here, it was already a rare commodity, incredibly expensive and not something people could drink casually.
In this era, anything edible was precious.
When he returned home, the little girl saw Jiang Hao come back and jumped barefoot from the sofa. She ran over with