Chapter 48: Chapter 47: The First Person Responsible

Li Mei Hotel.

Five hours after Guan Tong left, the place was packed.

The first-floor lobby alone had over three hundred people squeezed together. In the restaurant, bar, and other areas on the same floor, people had also cleared out the space-consuming tables and chairs, making room for bedrolls and sleeping on the floor.

The lobby’s air conditioning was cranked to its highest setting, constantly pumping out hot air. But it wasn’t nearly enough to keep several hundred people warm.

So, most people were huddled together, scrolling through their phones for the latest news and occasionally glancing up at the heavy snow outside.

What made them uneasy was that the slopes of the steps on either side of the entrance were already completely filled with snow. The speed at which it was accumulating was truly frightening.

In fact, the hidden rule that "regional snowfall is positively correlated with population density" had become public knowledge over three hours ago.

But everyone at the Li Mei Hotel chose to stay, with no one even considering leaving.

The hotel was located right next to a main road, after all. Huge snowplows passed by from time to time, and occasionally, they could hear the roar of helicopter blades overhead. All of this provided an unspoken sense of security.

Besides...

Many people’s eyes would occasionally dart to a corner of the hotel lobby, where an eight-man armed squad was stationed.

They had entered the hotel not long ago. The squad leader had informed all the refugees that his team was only there to maintain order, and that there was no need to be nervous or worried.

Naturally, the people welcomed this.

While people normally only dealt with Sheriffs and rarely saw these armed squads, they held a deep sense of admiration and trust for the soldiers who protected the country. Their presence made everyone feel even more secure.

"Quick, look at this video! On the side roads in the city that haven’t been cleared, the snow has completely covered the curbs!"

"It’s accumulating so fast, and it’s not even nighttime yet..."

"Good thing we’re next to a main road where snowplows clear it often."

"I’d say that’s still iffy... Don’t forget, this snow is supposed to last for a whole month... And the first day isn’t even over! Are a lot of people going to die...?"

"Don’t jinx it! We have plenty of food and water, and the support department is supposed to bring quilts and stuff later. We’ll definitely be fine!"

"Yeah, and with the soldiers here, there’s no need to worry yourself sick."

Most people were optimistic, but Xu Xiaotian, who was sitting near the entrance, stared out at the heavy snow with a sorrowful expression. "I wonder how Tong is doing. If he’s outside right now, it must be incredibly dangerous."

...

"HUFF... HUFF..."

Guan Tong, carrying his pack and sleeping bag, panted heavily as he trudged through the snow, one stumbling step at a time.

Shadow had carried him for a long stretch, but for the remaining five kilometers, Guan Tong had to walk on his own.

Five kilometers wasn’t a long distance, and with his current physique, it should have been nothing. It was just more strenuous than usual because of the snow on the ground.

He didn’t have to worry about the temperature, though. Now was the perfect time to use the six-hour effect of the [Thermoregulating Technology Underwear].

Once the underwear’s effect was active, he wouldn’t have to worry about hypothermia.

Moreover, the snowfall here was truly much lighter than in the city. Guan Tong judged from sight and feel that if the city was experiencing a "super heavy blizzard," the area near Mingdao Mountain was only getting something between "moderate" and "heavy" snow.

He was more than satisfied with this. After all, Mingdao Mountain’s desolation was only in comparison to villages and cities. True, absolute desolation—the kind where "from hill to hill no bird in flight, from path to path no man in sight"—was reserved for the uninhabited zones in the borderlands.

The short five-kilometer trek took Guan Tong over an hour. At a little past four in the afternoon, as the sky grew dim, he finally reached the foot of Mingdao Mountain. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Because the area was undeveloped, there were no buildings around the base of the mountain. There wasn’t a proper road up, either—just a thin, winding trail that snaked its way upward, looking like it had been worn down by hiking enthusiasts.

The trail was now covered by a thin layer of snow, and with the dimming light, it didn’t look very safe.

Guan Tong had originally planned to head up the mountain and find a safe place to make camp, but he gave up on the idea after some thought. He didn’t have crampons, and if he accidentally stepped on a snow-covered rock and slipped, he’d just be asking for trouble.

Besides, he was only here because it was deserted and had less snow. He didn’t have any particular fondness for mountain climbing, so there was no need to take the risk.

’I should find a leeward slope and rest for a bit.’

Guan Tong walked around the base of the mountain for a while until he reached the leeward side. He found a spot beneath a massive, jutting rock high above, which would provide perfect cover from the snow.

He wasn’t worried about the rock falling. An overhang that massive was unlikely to collapse from the weight of the snow. Even if it did, the slope of the mountain would block and deflect it on the way down, posing no threat to his safety.

Having found his spot, Guan Tong immediately started clearing the area.

He used his folding shovel to clear the surrounding snow to either side, then spread his sleeping bag on the ground, adjusting its position to prepare for the night.

Then he sat down, took a pack of compressed biscuits from his bag, and had an early dinner with the water he’d brought.

After eating, with some of his strength restored, he took advantage of the remaining daylight and got back to work.

He gathered some wood from the base of the mountain and bound it together with electrical tape to form a small wooden platform. He brought it back to his camp, lined it with dry paper, and used it to store batteries and other items that needed to be kept dry. Then, he chopped the remaining wood into logs and arranged them in a circle to build a simple campfire.

Building one didn’t require any learning; it was like an instinct carved into human bones. Fortunately, modern humans had invented the lighter, so he didn’t have to go through the trouble of starting a fire the old-fashioned way.

As the campfire crackled to life, Guan Tong watched the flickering flames drive away the surrounding gloom, and he felt his whole body relax.

He knew he had brought this somewhat "primitive" lifestyle upon himself. If he had chosen to stay in the city, to stay at the Li Mei Hotel, he might have been enjoying the comfortable life of warm air conditioning and rationed food.

But the question was, could that comfortable life last for thirty days? The pressure might not be apparent in the first few days, but as time went on and the snowfall showed no signs of letting up, all sorts of severe problems would likely emerge.

Rather than trusting the authorities to provide a perfect, thirty-day safety net for tens of millions of people, Guan Tong trusted himself more. He knew that he was the one primarily responsible for his own life.

Others might have realized something was wrong but stayed simply because they had no other choice. But since he did have a choice, he had to make a decision based on his own judgment.

’Tomorrow, once it’s light out, I’ll look around the area and see if there’s anything useful,’ Guan Tong thought. ’As for food, if I’m frugal, what I brought should be just enough. If things get desperate, I still have one food crate left in my storage. That alone should last me at least two or three days.’

’I probably don’t have enough water, but I have a portable filter and a single-person canister stove in my pack. I can just melt snow, filter it, and drink it. That shouldn’t be a problem.’

’Then, I need to earn some Binding Coins as quickly as possible—enough to save up 100 and buy the [Multi-Terrain Marching Boots] from the Sublimation Store. With those, my travel speed in the snow will definitely increase a lot...’