131

The house renovation was very simple, it was not difficult to set up the planters in the hallway along with electricity and plumbing. In contrast, it was time consuming to plant the seedlings. The good news was they were not in a hurry, even if the military canteen needs leafy greens there was no anxiety. As for other teams trying to buy vegetables...they had not found a suitable buyer, no need to hurry.

It seemed someone from the cafeteria had blabbed? The third morning, Luo Xun went to the canteen for delivery they were stopped halfway, of course after the crops were sold.

The other side was very polite, not the same team but the same purpose. Luo Xun and Yan Fei were not polite, they chatted and left their contact details before continuing on.

Thankfully they were no the fortress barracks. Those who could enter had some relation with the military and did not dare mess around.

The pair concluded their sale of non-mutant vegetables to their military. The person was not Captain Li but there were many people in the canteen, selling information was normal. This time when they sold vegetables one soldier secretly passed a note with information from another team.

It would take 20 days until the next harvest of the vegetables planted at home, they would need to set some aside for the barracks. The most stable buyers was definitely the military canteen. Other places to earn extra money with long-term cooperation...little to none hope at the moment.

The weather was getting colder and colder by the day, the north wind blew through the night. All the heating equipment on the two floors was in use. The rooms in 1604 were not warm but he had transformed the heating, naturally it would improve once it was turned on.

On base, the prices of wood, coal, alcohol, gas and other fuels soared. Even the military exchange windows began to slowly increase their prices.

During the autumn harvest, the Otaku squad dried the rice stalks. Although these things were not the best fuel, starting a fire for cooking was not a problem. Luo Xun and company took advantage of the chance to find coal, wood and so on before the weather really turned cold. Since they usually used more electricity to cook, getting through winter would have no problems.

"Up until now, we've been contacted by...seven teams." Luo Xun held a stack of notes in his hand, all of whom were interested in buying food from the team.

It was clear that all the members were entrusting the matter to Luo Xun – after all, who had been responsible for the matter before? Other people messing around might cause trouble for the team instead.

Yan Fei was listening and thought it would be better for Luo Xun to make the choice. After all he might be able to have everyone get a profit from growing vegetables, but he did not know how long the teams would last. Luo Xun knew and understood more than anyone else.

"These two families have the highest bids." Luo Xun picked out two notes, "I have not heard of them before but I heard that they had changed leaders recently. Although we have heard of them, I am afraid neither of these teams will work for the long term..." He sighed and looked at some others, "These prices are too low and look at their attitude...sending a younger brother to talk, no upsides so we'll pass. And finally these ones..."

Luo Xun finally found two that might develop long-term relations. He turned to discuss with Yan Fei, "What do you think? Who should we pick?"

Yan Fei picked up the notes and looked at the names before smiling at Luo Xun. "Contact both, even if they want food it might not be too much. We sell at most half and the rest goes to the barracks."

"Right! Sounds good!" Luo Xun breathed a sigh of relief. The batch of leafy greens in the hallway would mature in two days.

They could roughly estimate the weight even before harvesting. If one team did not buy all, they would pass the rest along so they always had customers.

They dialled the phone to contact each other. Sure enough after Luo Xun reported the amount of food, one team said it was enough while the other wanted more if possible.

The vegetables to be sold to the team were planted in the hallway. As for the crops planted in the other rooms, part of it was for daily consumption and part was to be sold to the barracks meal hall.

The vegetables sold to the canteen were 4 nuclei per pound. If they exceed 10 pounds, the price grew to 6 nuclei. Also sold to the two teams, each pound was 10 nuclei...of course this was the price of vegetables during winter. In better weather, the estimated price would be reduced by half.

The next morning, the team got up early to harvest, pack and load all the vegetables before returning to the rooms to eat and change.

When the group exited the iron gate on the 15th floor, they could not help but shiver – outside was very cold.

"The weather is cloudy, it looks like it's going to snow." They looked out at the gray sky and shivered thinking about work.

"Normally autumn rain...no it should be winter by now right?"

"Yes, winter started last Monday."

Wu Xin turned to stare wide-eyed at Han Li's words. "You have the time to look at the calendar?!"

Han Li rolled his eyes, "Please, I just looked at the date on my phone." He could not help but look.

Luo Xun drove to the designated location to handover the produce and then went to the barracks. When the two got out of the car, Luo Xun took out the two bags covered in cloth – in fact the days should not be cold enough to wear these coats, who made today's weather so bad?

"Everything here? Hurry up, it looks like it's going to rain today." Captain Guo saw the pair coming and looked up at the sky before ushering everyone onto the bus.

"Captain, what happens if it snows? Stop work?" A soldier breathed out mist.

"The higher ups did not say stop, we'll have to keep busy. Fortunately, the bridge is almost done and after that we can work on the outer walls." Captain Guo shrugged his shoulders, they were braving the wind and rain for construction instead of training.

If these things had not been made by ability users, who could know what would be done as the temperatures plummeted.

They drove to the destination and continued yesterday's work – every time they refined the metal, the wall would shrink and new metal needed to be added. At first, the team thought it would not be too much trouble – but it was actually like rebuilding the wall! Not easy at all!

Not long after they started working...rain and snow began to fall from the sky.

The reason it was 'rain and snow' was because it fell quickly like droplets but they were solid, hitting people with popping sounds.

After a while the reaction turned into – "What kind of rain/snow if this?! They look like grains of rice!"

Luo Xun grabbed an umbrella in one hand with the other was holding the transparent shield. This was just right, waterproof and snow-proof. As long as there was not a strong wind, it was fine to protect two people.

Captain Guo also quickly called for people to grab the umbrellas from the car. Not a moment later, there was a row of open umbrellas on the wall.

In the afternoon, the ice grains became larger, it soon became falling snow.

Standing on the base bridge while looking at the base – a vast expanse of white. It was not long until everything in sight was covered in white.

After insistence to finish the last bit of bridge work, the team returned to the car and drove back to the barracks.

When he returned home, Xu Mei had raised the heating to a level that the vegetables inside were not affected by the cold. The couple became warm due to climbing more than 10 flights of stairs.

"Don't rush!" Luo Xun was hit head-on by Puppy. He was wearing several layers and nearly fell on his back after being pounced, fortunately Yan Fei was behind him.

Luo Xun muttered while patting the enthusiastic dog's head. "She's grown more and stronger than before."

Xu Mei smiled and let the two into the house. "We raised the temperature a bit in all the rooms. Change your clothes and check the temperature."

"All right, let's go up first." Luo Xun grabbed his dog, the couple and pet went upstairs.

Xu Mei and Song Lingling had enough greenhouse experience to adjust the thermometer and plumbing. There was no strong wind, so the vents had no problems.

After checking the rooms, Luo Xun said there was no problem. He remembered the morning vegetables sales and brought out today's' earnings.

This was bonus revenue, a small portion was set aside for team funds and the rest were evenly distributed. They waited until Li Tie and the others to return before handing it out.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier and it was darker earlier. Luo Xun was preparing to make duck stew to heat up before his mobile phone suddenly rang.

"It's Li Tie's number." Luo Xun put down his cup of hot tea and answered, "Li TIe?"

"Brother Luo." Li Ti'e voice was not too clear, it seemed like there were a lot of other voices. "The snow tonight is too big, we are worried about Wang Duo and Zhang Yi out alone so we are going together to the hospital."

"All right." Luo Xun looked at Yan Fei and the others, "We were planning on everyone sharing some stew, I guess you can eat when you get back."

"All right! We'll be back soon and send you a text when we get Zhang Yi!"

Although everyone has learned how to cook, but Luo Xun and the ladies had the most delicious food. If the students wanted good food, they would wait until everyone ate together.

Li Tie's voice was very loud, Xu Mei laughed, "Then we will prepare first."

"Let's do it together." Luo Xun got up and walked into the kitchen. Yan Fei got up and took a piece of duck from the fridge.

Duck meat, radish, potatoes, spices, dried eggplant, beans, pumpkin, mushrooms and rice...The pot was cooked on the stove then placed into an insulated container for the microwave. The aroma was in the air as Li Tie and the others came home.

"Just in time, we just put the cabbage in." Luo Xun pointed at the pot in the middle of the table. "Go and change your clothes first, then come back to eat."

"Okay."

"Change? Let's eat first!"

"We thought we were going to freeze to death! The roads are unusable now!"

"The snow is deep?" Luo Xun looked at the window. Since they were upstairs, they could not tell how much snow was outside.

"Pretty deep! It reached out thighs!" Li Tie said while sitting down.

He Qiankun sniffed and grabbed some fish with his chopsticks, "Positive we have to wear rain boots to work tomorrow."

Luo Xun shook his head, "Wear tight boots and stuff the pant leg inside. If you wear rain boots with snow outside...you might get frostbite from the cold."

Zhang Yi's chopsticks flashed while everyone was talking about the snow outside – who would ignore the food?

Everyone at the table noticed after the third time and so they jumped into action. Spoons and chopsticks moved between the stew and bowls of food.

After the meal, there were no traces of food in the pot. Song Lingling grinned, "Gee, the pot bottoms are spotless, this will save a lot of dishwashing time."

The team was spread out patting their stomachs, no one wanted to move.

Only Yu Xinran was holding a bowl of strawberries, blinking while sharing with Puppy.

The strawberry plants had matured recently, a good chance to add vitamins to everyone's winter diet. Compared to other food, both Yu Xinran and the dog preferred the sweet fruit.

Even this group of adults would have cravings – usually they ate fruit before, but today...they would have it after the meal.

"Still have to...get...tomorrow's meal ready." He Qiankun was currently full and even then he thought about tomorrow's lunch.

"There are still ingredients, we'll set up a pot for you." Xu Mei smiled at Li Tie, who expressed his gratitude.

In fact, Luo Xun and Yan Fei had the worst lunch, that 'wonderful' rice with the metal team...The taste did not need to be explained.

The next morning, Luo Xun opened the curtains, "There's frost flowers on the glass!" Due to the difference between the temperature inside and outside. How did he survive winter in his last life?

Luo Xun seriously thought back, recalled he had no winter coat, stuffed paper in his clothes to resist the cold weather. Fortunately, he was not willing to set a fire, otherwise the whole basement would have burned with a stray spark.

"The snow looks deep." Yan Fei looked at the roof next door and frowned, "Look over there, more than half of that building is covered."

"Yeah, it's as half as high as a man." Luo Xun grimaced. "During previous winters, he tried to stay at home, wait for some of the snow to melt, other people to clear some up before leaving. He could not measure the exact height but it could definitely reach the point where the door was blocked – even scarier it would happen every year!

"Wait, do we still have work today?" Luo Xun stood and looked at Yan Fei.

Yan Fei also raised an eyebrow...that was a problem.

"Luo Xun, will there be a problem with so much snow on the roof?" Li Tie came and asked when the couple went downstairs.

The lovers exchanged looks, Yan Fei said, "I will use the metal mesh on the roof to deal with it."

The whole roof had been covered with metal for protection. Did not expect that the metal mesh could also be used for snow removal. The metal on the solar panels hanging on the walls could also be manipulated to remove the snow.

The roof seemed to vibrate, the surrounding buildings had an additional week's worth of snow.

Li Tie and the others also contacted their bosses about working during the bad weather.

The heavy snow was so sudden and no one was prepared. Even the military had a pause in operations.

It was not until 7:30 that they received news – the five students did not have to work. Zhang Yi, Yan Fei and Luo Xun would continue with their work.

Zhang Yi worked at a hospital, there were quite a few frozen people with frostbite, there was no time to rest. And the wall...the base higher ups said that important work could not be delayed.

However, the two people could drive and could only slowly make their way over.

Along with Zhang Yi, the three had to move through waist-deep snow towards their destination.

There were also potholes – when they arrived, Captain Guo was told that the car could not start so they had to go on foot to the wall.

"Captain, can we use the highway?" One metal user raised their hand and inquired.

"Right! That's what I said!" Captain Guo's face was filled with resentment. "To the bridge!"

Today's situation was someone trying to pressure his team, something to do with tensions among the higher ups. Someone wanted to pull the metal team, otherwise they would not be forced to come out on a snowy day. This was a result of compromise between the leaders – but could they afford to lose people to the cold?!

Walking on the bridge that was not finished, it was interesting. Because the metal wa lightweight and the earth users had only started a section, there was a sense of thrill.

Luckily, their team had metal users. When they got on the bridge, the ability users shook off the snow without worrying about the stability. Although the metal was a little slippery, there was no problem as long as they were slowly making their way through the center.

"The earth users don't have work today?" Yan Fei whispered to Captain Guo, not seeing any other people at the bridge.

132

Captain Guo sneered, "They have long since followed...forget it, it won't be clear. Anyway, the captain of their squad team has been holding onto a new thigh..." The captain continued in a whisper, "Recently someone has been trying to trouble you two...if you don't want to deal with it, just tell me if you can leave early."

The two men had not been part of the military from the start, the ball was in their court. As long as they were explicitly targeted, no one would be able to find them with a change in phone number.

Yan Fei nodded while glancing at Captain Guo, "Thank you." He mentally tallied a favor.

The group braved the snow while working all day. The next morning, the couple received a message – no work today because one of the metal users had a high fever from last night. The people sent to the hospital have not woken up...

After a work day in the snow, the metal team dropped three members, two were regular people and one ability user. The two regular people were fine after a week's rest but the metal user died of pneumonia 10 hours later due to the fever. The whole team was silent after getting the news.

Captain Guo's expression was extremely ugly, because of this matter he had been criticized by his superior and in his record. He spoke with the pair, "The situation is messy, the whole team is involved...I can't help the people who are in the army get away but the two of you should think about it and your future."

Luo Xun and Yan Fei had discussed among themselves after hearing the news that a metal user had been hospitalized with high fever. They were aware that the base leaders were playing politics and that as long as they were in a military team, they would be pawns. If there was no external influence, they would certainly rely on the tree but now...

"We will quit, sorry for troubling you Captain Guo." Yan Fei made up his mind and took the captain's hand with a smile. "If there is anything I can help with in the future, just tell me." There might be no way for official work, but there was nothing wrong with just helping Captain Guo with a small matter.

Captain Guo bitterly smiled and shook Yan Fei's hand. "Right, I'll treat you to dinner then...if things get better I will contact you but I am afraid there will be no chance..."

The situation at the barracks was messy, plus New Town...after thinking about it he whispered, "Recently the attitudes of people in New Town are not good...nothing good has come from gathering the ability users together. If you don't need to move, avoid New Town, lest something might happen." The couple exchanged looks.

"New Town..." Yan Fei's sneer was hidden under his mask, "All the ability users concentrated together, once factions are formed it certainly would not be safe, even if everyone started at the same level."

That was why Yan Fei had little interest when Yan Gexin brought up the matter. One ability user could not guarantee a foothold in this world, how would Yan Gexin, an regular person fare?

Luo Xun also sighed, "I see. The weather is so cold, let's go home and have a nice meal. Anyway more teams now want to buy our food!"

A few teams had reached out recently, but only buying one or two pounds! That much was enough, they would take what they could.

Some things were better started early. Now the weather was so bad, working outside was not a good idea. People were waiting for better weather before crystal core hunting...

It did not take long for Captain Guo to finish the formalities and thanked the two for sending food the barracks every once in a while. He handed them a pass so they could enter in the future. After this, they would have to say farewell to this steel fortress.