Once there was a first, a second followed.
After deciding that their first destination would be the Imperial Capital, everyone soon agreed on their ultimate relocation destination-
A province at the southernmost tip of the country's mainland.
First, it almost never snowed there. Compared with the north, which now had no heating, its climate was relatively suitable, and both its transport infrastructure and industrial foundations were quite good.
Second, traveling there from the grasslands would mean crossing almost the entire country from north to south. Along the way, they could not only see the country's current situation firsthand, which would help with future planning, but also gather survivors.
Of course, once their numbers grew in the future, they would certainly have to move into other provinces too. They could not all cram into one place.
Otherwise, the infrastructure and industrial facilities in the other provinces would all go to waste.
After the meeting, Zhang Tianyuan headed straight for the row of communications vehicles in camp with Instructor Yin.
Under the current circumstances, with neither base stations nor radio stations, the helicopters conducting aerial reconnaissance relied entirely on that row of communications vehicles to stay in contact with them.
Among the communications vehicles, people had extended receiving antennas, some wearing headphones and others connecting speakers. Static hissed all around.
"Are you picking up broadcasts?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.
The communications team leader was there. He walked over, his plump belly sticking out, and explained:
"We want to see whether we can pick up any news from other international radio stations. They should have emergency broadcasts too. That way, we can quickly get a basic idea of their situation."
Zhang Tianyuan understood. He noticed that the equipment they had set out this time was completely different from what they had used on his previous visit.
They must have traded their old muskets for cannons after going back.
Zhang Tianyuan was just about to enter a communications vehicle to ask about the helicopters' reconnaissance when the speaker that had been hissing all this time suddenly changed in pitch.
It had clearly picked up a channel.
Everyone sensed something was coming.
Waiting for whatever would play next, Zhang Tianyuan also stopped and watched curiously.
Yet what happened the next second caught everyone off guard.
An urgent, heavily distorted female voice came from the speaker-
"Mayday! Mayday..."
The woman's voice was shrill and hoarse.
The instant they heard it, everyone realized that whoever was making this broadcast could not be in good shape.
But just as Zhang Tianyuan and the others waited for more, the voice suddenly vanished.
The broadcast reverted to nothing but static.
Puzzled, Zhang Tianyuan looked at the communications team leader.
Pinching his round cheek, the man went over to inspect the equipment and said, "The signal itself disappeared. There's nothing wrong with our equipment."
Although the signal had vanished in a flash, the broadcast had still been automatically recorded and was played back several times.
"Where could the person sending that signal be?"
"She sounded pretty worn out..."
"Even if we knew where she was, we wouldn't be able to rescue her right now, would we?"
Receiving this message out of nowhere left everyone feeling awful.
They had not even finished rescuing the survivors in their own country yet. Naturally, they could not possibly head abroad.
Faced with such a situation, all they could do was helplessly say they were sorry.
"Keep an eye on this anyway. If you can get in touch with her, give her some encouragement and tell her to hold on. Maybe we'll be able to rescue her in the future."
After saying that, Zhang Tianyuan sighed and entered the communications vehicle to learn how things were going with the helicopters...
The day after the meeting.
Tong Wenshi convened another assembly of the entire population and announced that they would soon be heading south.
Unsurprisingly, the people were ecstatic. The camp felt as though it was celebrating the New Year that day.
Everyone began packing the moment they returned to their tents, and even their dreams that night were of going home.
The engineering department also picked up the pace of organizing its documents. With assistance from the members of Division Two, they worked in shifts around the clock and sorted out all the railway and geographical documents in just two days.
These documents were marked as a priority, then packed along with the documents in dozens of other warehouses. Zhang Tianyuan sent all of them back to "2012."
Several officials responsible for oversight and answering inquiries went along with the documents.
According to the plan, all they needed to do next was find enough vehicles in nearby cities to transport everyone and all the important supplies. Then the settlement's forty-odd thousand people could set out.
Finding enough vehicles, however, would take quite some time.
"How about I take five hundred people back to the Imperial Capital first and change the broadcast? We can wipe out some of the Darkseekers in the city while we're at it, so you won't have to work so hard when you arrive later."
Zhang Tianyuan, bored from staying out on the boundless snowy plains, proposed this idea at a meeting.
Tong Wenshi stared in astonishment for a long while. After confirming that Zhang Tianyuan really meant it and was not joking, all he could do was
Give him a thumbs-up.
But he still did not agree.
Instructor Yin disagreed too. He had always believed that someone as important as Zhang Tianyuan should never sit beneath a crumbling eave. If anything needed doing, they could handle it.
Their objections were useless, though.
Zhang Tianyuan disagreed with their disagreement.
If he hid in the rear over a mere handful of Darkseekers, wouldn't that make him a coward without limits?
They now had ample supplies. If the Darkseekers dared come, he dared show them what the "power of light" meant.
As far as Zhang Tianyuan was concerned, rather than worrying about the Darkseekers, they would be better off worrying about how to get back to the Imperial Capital safely.
The Darkseekers were nothing to fear. It was the power of nature that deserved awe.
It was winter now. If they ran into a snow disaster on the road, they might end up trapped until they died.
Faced with that possibility, Zhang Tianyuan dared not take things lightly.
He gathered everyone needed and spent a full four days discussing it, followed by another three days of preparations, before finally mustering five hundred people to set out.
Of the five hundred people he was taking, a hundred had been members of the first vanguard team and were reasonably familiar with the situation in the Imperial Capital.
Yet, to Zhang Tianyuan's surprise, an unexpected person came to see him before he left.
Ding Jingye.
This survivor, whom he had brought from the Imperial Capital to the grasslands, sought him out again, hoping to return to the Imperial Capital with them...
"President Zhang, if you're going back to wipe out those monsters, count me in!"
As usual, Ding Jingye held a cigarette between his fingers as he said, "I'm a local of the Imperial Capital myself. I used to drive a taxi. If I go back with you, I can help you find your way around and stuff."
"Besides, when all's said and done, this is our spacetime. We can't just watch you hold the front line while we hide in the rear!"
Ding Jingye was very worked up, his expression that of a man ready to go along and march nobly to his death.
Zhang Tianyuan disagreed with this idea. He told Ding Jingye many times that he did not need his help fighting Darkseekers.
Besides, everyone on his team was a professional, either a soldier or an expert sent by Tong Wenshi's side. They were not necessarily any less familiar with the Imperial Capital's surroundings than Ding Jingye was.
Unfortunately, Ding Jingye disagreed with his disagreement and shamelessly insisted on getting into a vehicle.
Seeing how firm his resolve was, Zhang Tianyuan agreed to take him along. It was only one more mouth to feed, after all.
Time in Legend World entered February.
With five hundred people, Zhang Tianyuan started up the vehicles amid the snow filling the sky and officially began the journey south!