The grasslands beneath the white snow had completely changed color.
If he hadn't trusted that the system wouldn't make mistakes, Zhang Tianyuan would probably have thought it had made one.
But once he saw Bai Xu racing toward them, Zhang Tianyuan was completely certain.
They really had returned to the world of "I Am Legend."
Zhang Tianyuan picked up the radio and addressed everyone:
"Everyone, we have passed through the Spacetime Tunnel and arrived in a parallel spacetime. Please remain seated and await instructions."
Only then did he and Tong Wenshi put on their overcoats and step out of the command vehicle, heading toward Bai Xu and the members of the Mutual Aid Society Second Division following close behind him.
At another vehicle, Yin Hongda also opened the door and got out in an overcoat.
They had made thorough preparations before returning, and changes in the grasslands' weather had naturally been among their considerations.
"President! Instructor!"
Seeing his most familiar colleagues again, Bai Xu was visibly excited and rushed up to give both men a big hug.
Only then did he begin introducing the Second Division members behind him to Zhang Tianyuan.
One female member looked at the stream of vehicles behind Zhang Tianyuan and the others, then turned an expectant gaze toward Tong Wenshi.
More and more eyes settled on Tong Wenshi.
He felt it too. Grasping Zhang Tianyuan's wrist, he raised their hands of friendship high like a victor in a boxing ring. Breathing out a cloud of mist, Tong Wenshi joyfully announced to all the Second Division members:
"Everyone, President Zhang and I had very successful talks on our visit to the parallel spacetime. What we see here is only the first batch of aid. More help will follow."
"I have already secured a promise that, within one year, our brothers in the parallel spacetime will work with us to drive out the Darkseekers, restore production, and restore order throughout the country. We won't just return to the cities-we'll return in grand style!"
The Second Division members broke into cheers. Looking at the stream of vehicles behind them, they met the passengers' eyes-curiosity on one side, delight on the other.
The commotion outside the tents attracted some residents.
At first, they only poked their heads out to look. Once they saw the camouflage-green convoy appear at the meeting site, everyone understood what had happened.
In the cold of winter, the survivors who had been curled up in their tents as though hibernating began shouting at the top of their lungs throughout the camp.
"They're back!"
"The Mutual Aid Society is back!"
"Director Tong is back too..."
Just like Bai Xu earlier, one
stream of people after another gathered, racing toward them.
Before long, people dressed in all sorts of colors had assembled in front of Zhang Tianyuan and the others. Some wearing thin clothes were still hugging their arms and shivering.
Their bearing and faces differed, but the excitement and hope in their eyes remained the same.
"We are indeed from the Parallel Spacetime Mutual Aid Society. We have successfully brought aid back from the parallel spacetime. Please head back for now..."
From the moment these people began gathering, Zhang Tianyuan had been calling out to them through a small loudspeaker.
Tong Wenshi and the Second Division members were also earnestly trying to persuade them to leave.
But not only did that fail to help, the crowd kept growing.
Zhang Tianyuan and the others were like adorable little rabbits: everyone who saw them wanted to pat them, shake their hands, and preferably give them a kiss too...
Tong Wenshi and Zhang Tianyuan were the crowd's main targets.
While trying to shield Zhang Tianyuan from these people, Instructor Yin even had a handful of hair pulled out.
Seeing the surging crowd stretch beyond the limits of his sight,
Zhang Tianyuan could only hurry back into the command vehicle to hide.
The survivors were merely excited, not irrational, so naturally they wouldn't storm the convoy.
That left Tong Wenshi and the other senior officials who had accompanied him out of luck.
When Zhang Tianyuan next saw Tong Wenshi, the enthusiastic residents had even pulled a large wad of cotton stuffing out of his sleeve...
Still, it wasn't anything serious.
The two exchanged a glance, laughed, and put the matter out of their minds.
With the matter of the crowd outside settled for the moment, they next had to get busy setting up camp.
The logistics department got out first and, after choosing a site, began shoveling snow and pitching camp.
It was already afternoon, and the sky was growing dim. They had to put together a camp capable of housing over ten thousand people tonight.
Under direction, the other available personnel in the group also got out with tools to help. Even Zhang Tianyuan, Instructor Yin, and the others got out with shovels to work.
Seeing this, many survivors who had already withdrawn into their tents immediately came back out to help.
Noticing that some people were still dressed rather thinly, Zhang Tianyuan quickly had the logistics department spare some personnel to bring out and distribute a portion of the overcoats and other warm clothing they had brought.
They had brought vast quantities of supplies, with enough warm clothing to give every survivor in the camp a set.
When the logistics department began handing out clothes, the survivors were once again overjoyed.
The clothes they wore had all been collected from the cities, and how warm they were was entirely a matter of chance.
Now that they could receive another set of warm clothing, they had enough to get through this winter warmly.
Before the clothing distribution was finished, the sky had gone completely dark.
The camp relied entirely on vehicle lights for illumination so everyone could work.
After receiving clothes, the survivors grew even more enthusiastic. Disregarding the darkness and even their uneaten dinners, they all came out to help with the work.
The site bustled with fiery activity, and there were even more hands than needed. Many people stood around the edges holding their newly issued clothes, pointing things out.
Seeing this, Zhang Tianyuan had the logistics department leave only a few people to direct the work while everyone else went to cook, taking in all those people who had been standing around pointing.
After another two hours of work, at eight that evening, the camp for the ten-thousand-strong contingent was finally in order, and the vehicles had been neatly parked by category.
The cooks had also finished preparing dinner.
The settlement now held over fifty thousand people. The cooks made a dozen or so huge pots of food, and with a self-heating military ration issued to each person as well, there was enough.
"This kind of life isn't bad either!" Zhang Tianyuan squatted on the ground, eating a military ration. It didn't taste very good.
But the children around him were playing and having snowball fights in the settlement, while the adults gathered with their meals to gossip...
Under the lights, everyone wore a sincere smile.
The peaceful, lovely atmosphere suddenly imbued the machine-produced meal in his hands with the warmth of everyday human life.
"Yes. Ever since we came back, the smiles on people's faces have suddenly become genuine. They must be quite happy with things as they are..."
Wu Yisi's voice came from beside him, and only then did Zhang Tianyuan realize she was there too.
She simply cared more about appearances, standing with an overcoat draped over her shoulders and eating in small bites.
Zhang Tianyuan shook his head. "What we have now still isn't enough. We have to give them a better life, or we'll have come for nothing..."
After dinner, the residents, still reluctant to call it a night, returned to their tents one after another.
But Zhang Tianyuan and the others still had work to do.
Inside the yurt where Tong Wenshi worked.
The core members of the Mutual Aid Society's First and Second Divisions had all assembled here.
Seated in the center, Zhang Tianyuan took out copies of the cooperation agreement reached between the two spacetimes and passed them around to all the Mutual Aid Society members present as he said:
"This cooperation between our two spacetimes has gotten off to an absolutely perfect start..."