Different Problems

"Quick, stop lying around on your phones, everyone! Let's clear the snow at the entrance together!"

At the entrance of the Limei Hotel, someone holding a shovel loudly rallied the others.

Night was about to fall, and the hotel lights were already on.

The first-floor lobby was packed with makeshift beds, and with the people staying in the upstairs guest rooms, the hotel housed at least five to six hundred people.

Hearing the call, someone replied with dissatisfaction, "Why are we clearing snow again? Didn't we just do it yesterday?"

"It's snowing so heavily every day, it just piled up again."

"It's almost a meter high, we really need to clear it."

"Call those people in the guest rooms out! We can't be the only ones working in the lobby!"

"Cough, cough!"

People were grumbling, and some looked outside. A thick layer of snow had piled up on the steps of the hotel entrance.

Although the main roads were being cleared by the Official Department, places like the hotel entrance steps were inaccessible to the official snowplows due to inconvenience. The residents had to do it themselves.

"Stop complaining, this is for our own good!"

"Yeah, if we don't clear it, and the snow blocks the main entrance, the logistics department won't be able to deliver supplies anymore!"

"Hurry up and come out!"

As the main door opened, a gust of cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed into the lobby.

People tightened their clothes and shivered.

Some ignored the call and simply burrowed deeper into their blankets, not showing their faces at all.

There wasn't much others could do about those who shirked their duties. A few hot-tempered individuals turned livid, and if it weren't for the armed squad stationed at the hotel, they would have probably started a fight.

In the end, it still relied on people's own initiative.

Twenty to thirty people voluntarily took tools and went outside to clear the snow near the hotel entrance steps.

Xu Xiaotian was among them. After the hotel was full, he had voluntarily given his room to a pregnant woman seeking refuge and slept on a makeshift bed in the lobby himself.

In this Apocalypse Rules Era, especially after experiencing the brutality of Rule One, very few people were willing to have children.

Yet, even though no one wanted to have children, they felt that children represented the hope for the future.

Therefore, when they saw a pregnant woman arrive, most people showed her care.

They were all willing to let her sleep in a warm guest room, or even consume more food resources.

"Damn it, look at both sides of the street, they've all turned into ice walls!"

Someone in the snow-clearing team at the entrance couldn't help but curse.

"If we don't clear the snow, in a few days, a similar ice wall will form at the hotel entrance! Then we'll all be sealed inside, unable to get out!"

Others chimed in, "Yeah, some people are too selfish, unwilling to do any work. This isn't for anyone else, it's ultimately for everyone taking refuge here, including themselves."

"In my opinion, those guys with guns should do something!"

"Didn't they say their job is only to maintain order, and nothing else?"

"Alright, alright, it's good enough that we still have food and heating. We've gotten through a few days already, and we can get through the rest... cough, cough... cough, cough, cough!"

The speaker suddenly started coughing violently midway through his sentence. Others looked over and saw that the refined-looking middle-aged man's face was flushed red, clearly not well.

"Teacher Feng, what's wrong?"

This refined man was a junior high school teacher from the local area and had checked in early.

He was also the one who first proposed the mutual aid sharing sessions at the Limei Hotel, so everyone was quite familiar with him.

"Teacher Feng, why is your face so red?"

"Let me feel your forehead... Ouch! It's really hot, Teacher Feng, you have a fever!"

"You're sick and still out here working? Go inside and rest immediately!"

"Xiaotian, quickly help Teacher Feng inside!"

"Okay!"

Xu Xiaotian agreed and quickly helped the coughing Teacher Feng inside, to his makeshift bed.

"Teacher Feng, you rest. I'll get you some water and medicine?"

"Xiaotian, I'm fine," the man said, covering his head and lying down. "I'll be fine after a nap, no need to trouble yourself."

"That doesn't sound right... I'll go get some hot water then!"

Xu Xiaotian hurried to the restaurant and found a long line in front of the hot water dispenser.

Most of these people looked sickly, covering their mouths and coughing. Some held cups of dissolved cold medicine granules, while others clutched a pack of cold medicine capsules in one hand.

Only then did Xu Xiaotian realize, "It might be the flu spreading!"

Many modern people are already in a sub-optimal health state. After entering the Apocalypse Rules Era, their psychological stress increased dramatically, and their bodies became more susceptible to illness.

Coupled with the sudden drop in temperature, it was not surprising that some people caught the flu.

However, in a nearly enclosed space with hundreds of people crammed together, coupled with air conditioning running on hot air 24/7, those infected with the flu would experience rapid virus transmission and spread.

If even one person got sick, it would quickly spread to others. Hearing the chorus of coughs, Xu Xiaotian felt that at least dozens of people in the hotel were already ill.

This tightened his chest, and he felt the situation would become dire if it continued.

The blizzard had only lasted a few days, and so many people were already falling sick. What if someone's condition worsened and medication alone was no longer effective?

In this dreadful weather, how could anyone be sent to the hospital? It wasn't even clear if the hospitals were still operational...

He wasn't the only one who had noticed this problem; shouts could already be heard from the lobby outside.

Someone was yelling.

"Quarantine them! We must isolate these coughing people in their rooms! At a time like this, we absolutely cannot let them spread the virus to others!"

Under the same night sky, different problems arose in different places.

Although Guan Tong wasn't troubled by infectious diseases, he had his own issues.

He stared in the direction of the road. As time passed, the two cylindrical beams of light grew brighter, indicating the large truck was getting closer.

He could even hear the "boom... chug..." sound, unmistakably the noise of a large truck.

Guan Tong remained vigilant, but also felt a bit curious.

The rules had been in effect for several days, and the roads were already covered in thick snow and ice.

Weren't they afraid of getting stuck in a snowdrift or sliding into a ditch if the wheels lost traction while driving out there now?

Guan Tong had worried about slipping when he drove on the first day the rules took effect, let alone four days later.

Anyone daring to drive out at this hour, if nothing else, at least had immense courage!

"And judging by the look of it, the driver is heading here because Mingdao Mountain is deserted and the snowfall is light."

There was no other reason for someone to risk such great danger to drive a large vehicle to this desolate wilderness.

It appeared!

Just then, Guan Tong saw the vehicle with his own eyes.

Just as he had guessed, it was a large truck used for hauling goods, and those two cylindrical beams of light were cast by its two headlights.

Guan Tong had heard that many truck drivers modified their headlights, and he didn't know if this one had been modified. But the light was indeed bright enough, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.

"Kuh--choo!"

The large truck braked at the edge of the road, stopping not far from the end of the small path Guan Tong had cleared with his foldable shovel.

The driver, sitting high up in the truck, must have seen the small path Guan Tong had cleared through the headlights' glare.

Guan Tong glanced at his personal status panel. His Mind Power had only recovered to less than a third due to its use for writing earlier that day.

If he summoned Shadow, it would likely only last for about 30 seconds.

He pulled up his hood, silently picked up the pair of iron pliers he had brought from the self-service supply point earlier, and walked out along the path.

Regardless, since the truck driver had discovered the path, contact between them was inevitable.

Guan Tong intended to go and see if he could communicate peacefully with the newcomer.

If the person arriving was well-intentioned, he wouldn't mind cooperating to survive the remaining time under the rules.

If the other party had ill intentions, his past experiences with gang kidnappings and the conflict at the supply point had given him sufficient resolve to fight.

There was no movement from the front of the truck at this moment; the driver was doing something inside and hadn't gotten out of the car.

It wasn't until Guan Tong was nearing the end of the path and reached the front of the truck that the car door suddenly opened with a "whoosh," and a slightly petite figure jumped down, stepping on the footboard first.

"Eeyoo!"

Guan Tong was slightly taken aback when he saw the ponytail-wearing little girl jump down. She looked exactly like a primary school student around ten years old.

The little girl also saw Guan Tong after she jumped down, startled, and quickly shouted, "Mom! There's someone here!"

"Nana, don't be scared!"

Immediately after, a middle-aged woman in a cotton coat quickly got out of the car.

She held a flashlight in one hand and a crowbar in the other. After getting out, she shielded her daughter behind her, nervously shining the flashlight on Guan Tong's face.

Guan Tong raised his hand to block the bright light and said, "Don't shine it in my eyes, turn off the flashlight. Your truck's headlights are bright enough for illumination."