"You guys watch the goods, I'll go check on them up ahead!"
Zhou Tao made a quick decision, handing the large iron box beside him to his teammate and squeezing through the crowd to the front.
Along the way, he also learned a lot of information from the people around him.
"The cars those people in front of me are the kind I've never seen before. They're huge, and they definitely burn a lot of gas... They're also wearing strange protective suits, and their helmets are different too..."
These are the two strangest points.
Now most of their cars are electric because the supply of oil is problematic.
He, the production team leader, hadn't seen a gasoline-powered vehicle in over two years.
Furthermore, protective suits should be standardized nationwide, so why are there other styles available?
When Zhou Tao finally squeezed to the front with these questions in mind, he discovered that the problem was much bigger than he had imagined.
Because what's in front of us isn't just one or two cars, but a long convoy, stretching along the road like a winding black dragon, the kind that you can't see the end of!
All the vehicles in this convoy were painted black, and they were made of high-quality materials. It looked like the outer layer of the vehicles was made of thick steel plates, which probably couldn't be penetrated by bullets.
Moreover, they had no license plates, only a white number and two flags, one a national flag and the other a blue flag, printed on the front of the vehicle.
He was familiar with the national flag, but the blue flag only seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it before.
Suddenly someone reminded me.
"That's the flag of the United Nations!"
Zhou Tao suddenly remembered that the blue flag did indeed belong to the United Nations!
That is, the elderly people who lived before the apocalypse could recognize the United Nations flag, while the young people who lived after the apocalypse only remembered the simple introduction to the United Nations from history books.
"Why are there still cars flying the United Nations flag these days?"
"Could it be a convoy sent by the United Nations?"
"Wouldn't it automatically disband after the apocalypse? If all other countries are gone, where will the United Nations have anyone left?"
The group stood at the front of the convoy, exchanging glances and gestures with the helmeted drivers inside, while also discussing amongst themselves.
Zhou Tao also stepped forward, and was about to open the visor of his helmet a little to let some sound through when he saw a car in the convoy suddenly open its heavy door with a thud.
A group of people got out of these vehicles, all wearing blue full-body protective suits and black exoskeletons that made a slight running sound with their footsteps.
"Who are you people?" Zhou Tao and the others stepped forward, and the two groups met in front of the convoy.
From the front of the line, a young man in his twenties spoke up, "We are the Mutual Aid Society's No. 3 Spacetime- Cross-Spacetime Rescue Team, United Government, numbered CN003-01. I am Wang Lei, the team leader."
Zhou Tao was a little confused by this string of titles, but Wang Lei quickly added, "We came here for friendship."
As Wang Lei spoke, he extended his hand.
This statement is simple and easy to understand.
Zhou Tao immediately shook hands with Wang Lei and introduced himself, " Zhou Tao, captain of the material transportation team, Building 108."
He felt a little embarrassed after speaking; compared to the futuristic-looking young man in front of him, was his introduction too short?
He wanted to find out more about Wang Lei and the others' identities, since he hadn't heard them clearly at all.
But Wang Lei immediately seemed to notice something and made way for him from behind.
Then another man, even younger than him, stepped forward.
Zhou Tao could also hear others calling this young man "Chairman".
It was Zhang Tianyuan.
" Uncle Zhou, is this you? We have some supplies on board that we plan to donate to you. Could you help us make some contact?"
Zhang Tianyuan got straight to the point when speaking to Zhou Tao, while also having someone open the cargo door of the vehicle next to them.
With a soft pop as the car door opened, the cold air leaked out, and wisps of smoke rose into the air.
Zhou Tao felt his body cool down rapidly on the side closest to the cargo door, as if night had fallen.
He hadn't felt such cool air conditioning in a long time.
Normally, he would definitely feel comfortable, but this cool feeling is nothing compared to what he sees in front of him now.
"Apple...?" Zhou Tao looked at Zhang Tianyuan in surprise; they hadn't seen fruit in a long time.
Fruit cannot be grown in the agricultural building; only vegetables can be grown, and some basic animal husbandry can be done.
Their usual sources of nutrition are various kinds of vegetables, and meat, poultry, and livestock that are allocated to everyone in the building for holidays.
"Is this really a gift for us?"
Upon hearing that the apples would be donated to them, Zhou Tao and the others immediately disregarded Zhang Tianyuan and his group's identities.
After receiving permission, another person scratched a mark on the exposed apple with his glove, causing juice to splatter out. The others stared at the juice-stained glove, their eyes turning red, as if they wanted to lick it clean.
Zhang Tianyuan repeated his request, "Could you please inform them? We have prepared a total of 30,000 tons of fruit for you."
"Sure, sure!" Someone immediately agreed, as if afraid Zhang Tianyuan would change his mind, and rushed into a nearby building to contact the higher-level organization.
In front of the convoy.
Zhang Tianyuan glanced at the longing looks in the eyes of the people around him, then looked at the apples in the car.
The high temperatures in this world are indeed extraordinary.
Even with the refrigeration system keeping them fresh, the apples on the outer edge of the cargo compartment started to turn brown after only a few minutes of the car door being opened.
So he gestured to Wang Lei next to him to take a few baskets of apples from the car and place them in the shade of the solar panel array by the roadside.
Although the ambient temperature is close to 70 degrees Celsius and the apple has already started to change color, it won't spoil in the short term as long as it's not exposed to direct sunlight.
Looking at the apples that were sizzling and dripping with juice after being taken out of the car, stimulated by the high temperature.
Zhou Tao and the others followed closely, some even swallowing hard, their faces filled with heartache.
"What are you doing? Don't ruin these apples..."
Zhang Tianyuan smiled, had someone close the cargo door, and then said, "These apples have already changed color, I think we should distribute them to everyone."
Surprisingly, upon hearing his words, Zhou Tao and the others showed expressions of interest, but quickly suppressed them and shook their heads.
"No, no, you should take it back."
"It's not like we've never had apples before. Let's wait until you've negotiated with the organization before we wait for our allocation."
Zhang Tianyuan glanced at the curious and eager young people behind Zhou Tao and laughed, "Then let those young people behind you have a taste. They look so young, they probably haven't tasted an apple before, have they?"
They had already analyzed a great deal about the situation in this world before they even arrived.
The reactions of Zhou Tao and others have just confirmed a lot of this.
While people won't starve in this world, resources are certainly scarce.
Like a machine wound up to its tightest point, everyone is striving for the survival of the nation, the people, and themselves.
Upon hearing Zhang Tianyuan's words, Zhou Tao subconsciously followed his gaze and looked behind him.
He spotted Xue Liangping immediately, who had just been assigned to his team.
The young man, fresh out of school, had somehow appeared and was standing on tiptoe, eagerly eyeing the baskets of apples.
There were many other young people around him who had also just graduated, their eyes filled with curiosity and longing, just like his own.
However, as soon as these young people saw Zhou Tao looking back, they immediately looked away and lowered their heads.
well!
Zhou Tao glanced at his old friends beside him.
Now it's the older generation who call the shots.
Zhang Tianyuan could roughly guess the dilemma in their minds, so he chuckled and said, "Take them. They're not very good quality anyway. If you don't take them now, they'll be the ones who suffer if you give them to others later."
"Then..." Finally, someone tried to speak.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Tao saw the young people behind him almost immediately raise their heads, and he sighed, "Then thank you, Chairman."
He heard Wang Lei and his group Zhang Tianyuan "Chairman" earlier, so he simply followed suit.
Zhang Tianyuan smiled and gestured for Wang Lei's men to go and distribute apples.
Zhou Tao also helped maintain order at the scene. He specifically instructed each young person who received an apple to take it back to their building and share it with the younger siblings there.
Xue Liangping also received one. He wiped the water off the apple, then lifted his helmet visor in the shadows, pressed his wet gloves to his lips, and took a deep breath, as if he could still taste the apple's sweetness.
" Liangping!" Zhou Tao suddenly waved to him.
The young man immediately pulled his helmet visor back up, hid the apple in the inner pocket of his protective suit, and then ran over.
go.
"Orders from above won't come down so quickly. Let me take this President Zhang to the agricultural building and have a look around."
The agricultural building is an important place, and outsiders are not allowed to enter under normal circumstances.
However, Zhang Tianyuan and his group are clearly friends, not enemies, and they can produce truckloads of fruit, so they obviously have no interest in the vegetables in the building.
So, taking it easy and letting him go in for a visit isn't out of the question.
"Alright! I'll go back and bring our goods over right away!" Xue Liangping touched the apple hidden in his chest, turned around and rushed back, full of energy.
Zhang Tianyuan smiled as he watched the figure disappear behind the numerous shipping containers marked with "Building No. XX," and couldn't help but ask about the contents of the containers.
After Zhou Tao gave his answer somewhat awkwardly.
Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Lei, who were standing next to him, didn't seem to have any unusual feelings; on the contrary, they couldn't help but sigh.
"Only survival can drive someone to struggle like this."
Wang Lei was deeply moved by this statement.
He looked at the blinding sun in the sky and muttered under his breath, "It's that damn sun again!"
Zhang Tianyuan patted him on the shoulder and said a few words of comfort.
Since joining the Mutual Aid Society, this cold-blooded soldier who sacrificed everything for the Wandering Earth Project in the movie seems to have undergone a change.
In particular, after learning that both the 2012 timeline and the current Finch world were caused by the sun's destruction, his ideology gradually shifted towards anti-sun elements.
Zhou Tao stood to the side, puzzled but remained silent, watching his teammates pull the cargo box over.
At this point, Wang Lei also began to disperse the convoy behind him.
This long convoy was summoned from the Wandering Spacetime. The wheels were generally taller than a person, making them look like behemoths. Moreover, to avoid damaging the road, all the vehicles were only half-loaded.
The fruit on the container is mainly apples and pears, varieties with a long shelf life, in addition to 30,000 tons of grain.
Therefore, the total amount of supplies is 60,000 tons.
The money to buy these apples was allocated by the Mutual Aid Society and purchased from the Pacific Rim Spacetime.
As for the money allocated by the Mutual Aid Society, it was redeemed from the grain stored in the system warehouse in the "2012" timeline.
When the system warehouse was lent to the "2012" timeline, Elder Zhou clearly stated that the grain inside was paid to the Mutual Aid Society as a commission based on a certain percentage.
After the convoy dispersed, Zhang Tianyuan had the driver connect Zhou Tao's cargo box to the truck, then called everyone onto the truck, which towed the cargo box to the agricultural building.
Once inside the vehicle, you could feel the coolness even through your protective suit.
Zhou Tao and his teammates took off their helmets, and the cool air from the air conditioner brushed against their foreheads, making them feel as if they were ascending to heaven.
"Comfortable!"
Xue Liangping was sweating profusely from the sudden change in temperature, but he still looked quite content.
Zhang Tianyuan smiled and handed out tissues to everyone to wipe their sweat.
Only then did Zhou Tao notice the layout inside the car.
He had never seen that ball-shaped steering wheel before.
Only then did Zhou Tao realize that he hadn't figured out the origins of Zhang Tianyuan and the others.
As he gave directions, he asked, " President Zhang, I didn't quite catch what you meant by the Mutual Aid Society and the United Government."
Xue Liangping was also curious.
Is this the United Nations we learned about in books?
Zhou Tao shook his head secretly upon hearing these words.
He didn't think so.
It is common knowledge that there are still survivors in other countries around the world.
However, everyone also knows that other countries have already collapsed after the solar storm, with only a few survivors.
This was intelligence they had gathered only after mobilizing the entire nation's resources.
Zhou Tao didn't think it was a scam.
Before Zhang Tianyuan could explain, Wang Lei interjected, "I didn't explain clearly just now."
"We actually come from a parallel universe, and the full name of the Mutual Aid Society is the Parallel Spacetime Mutual Aid Society. It is a timeline that calls on all timelines to unite as one and overcome this calamity together."
After hearing this, Zhou Tao and his three teammates were all speechless, unable to believe what Wang Lei had said.
"You... are from a parallel universe?" Zhou Tao asked incredulously.
Wang Lei nodded, removed his helmet, saluted Zhou Tao and the other three, and then said:
"Yes, we come from a third parallel universe, where the United Government is the main governing body."
We have come here in response to the call from the Mutual Aid Society and the United Government to provide you with assistance to the best of our ability!