Chapter 283 Completed, Walking Towards the Sun
"We've struck oil! We've actually found oil!"
That day, Meng Ci and Shen Que drove to the exchange point to trade for ten liters of oil.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw a man excitedly running in from outside.
Meng Ci and Shen Que didn't rush off; instead, they hung back and listened in on the whole conversation.
Although the zombies had disappeared and the mutated plants and animals were slowly vanishing, the previously contaminated river water had not yet recovered.
So, with the goal of finding a suitable water source, the authorities had turned their attention underground.
The well-driller, whom Lin Jun and the others knew, had become highly sought after.
And today, when they drilled, after just over a hundred meters, they saw a liquid flowing out from the ground.
At first, everyone thought it was water, but as they got closer, they were stunned to see the liquid was black and smelled like oil.
As they dug deeper, more black liquid continued to gush out of the ground.
Everyone was astonished, unable to believe what they were seeing.
After all, under normal circumstances, one would have to dig thousands of meters to find oil, but now, after just over a hundred meters, they had already seen oil.
For those working hard to rebuild their homes, this oil was a lifesaver.
Just a few days later, someone struck coal.
And it wasn't just here—good news poured in from all over the world, with new resources popping up everywhere, like mushrooms after a rainstorm.
Perhaps nature had realized the immense disaster it had brought upon humans in the past few years and now began to generously provide various precious non-renewable resources to help humans stand up again.
Thanks to these resources, the pace of rebuilding picked up rapidly.
To improve connections between different bases, the government started hiring crews to clean and repair highways and other key roads.
Half a year passed by.
Just as everyone was enjoying their lives, in June, temperatures kept climbing, hitting a scorching 60 degrees.
The residents were miserable, and some even cried, fearing the end times were coming back.
Meng Ci and Shen Que stayed at home, with the air conditioning on, and placed many ice blocks around the room. Seeing how hot it was, they started to wonder if the apocalypse had really ended.
The high temperature lasted for three days, then disappeared in an instant, with the temperature returning to around 35 degrees.
Out of nowhere, the sky opened up and started pouring rain.
The sudden rain stirred many people's emotions, fearing that a storm would come again.
Fortunately, after twenty-four hours, the heavy rain disappeared, and everything seemed to calm down.
The residents cautiously went about their lives for several days, expecting another natural disaster to strike.
Unexpectedly, they received good news from the officials.
The previously detected contaminated river water had been tested again and found to be safe, so residents no longer needed to ration their water use.
As for the soil that required treatment, experts in agronomy had developed suitable fertilizers to improve the soil, and this time things were truly getting better.
Shen Que's space had disappeared when he received the vaccine, but luckily, he had already transferred all the items to Meng Ci's space.
Meng Ci's space, unrelated to his powers, had not disappeared.
With everything now calm, Meng Ci and Shen Que entered the space to check on the items inside.
They hadn't used even a third of the various crop seeds, and the antique items, solar panels, and instrument parts they had stockpiled were now unnecessary.
Leaving them with the officials was better than letting them collect dust in the space, so Meng Ci planned to secretly take them out at some point.
Shen Que had no objections.
So, in the dead of night, Meng Ci and Shen Que went to the base, quietly placed the items near the military zone, ensuring they were noticed before slipping away unnoticed.
The soldier on duty heard the noise and came with a flashlight to investigate.
Seeing the large pile of items, he was astonished.
At first, he thought he was seeing things due to lack of rest while on duty.
After confirming that the items were real, he quickly called the others over.
The resting soldiers were roused and started moving the items.
As they moved the items, they did a rough categorization and placed them in the appropriate locations.
The next day, the news reached the ears of the other residents in the base. Upon hearing about it, they associated it with the previously discovered oil and coal, believing that the heavens had finally shown mercy.
Some believers knelt and kowtowed to thank the heavens.
Meanwhile, Meng Ci and Shen Que, who had actually left the items, were fast asleep.
After all, they had been busy organizing the space themselves and had gone out to leave the items, working late into the night.
Two months later, hearing that many roadblocks had been cleared and that vehicles from other bases had come by recently, Meng Ci and Shen Que decided to go out for a stroll.
However, before they could even make a move, Lu Chen suddenly ran over.
Seeing his beaming expression, Meng Ci immediately realized that he was probably together with Qiao Shu.
Sure enough, as soon as Lu Chen saw Meng Ci and Shen Que, the first thing he said was, "Comrades Meng and Shen, I'm together with Moyan now."
Meng Ci wasn't surprised and offered his congratulations.
Lu Chen rubbed his head and thanked them.
He then mentioned that he planned to build a house next to theirs so he and Qiao Moyan could live together.
Since Qiao Moyan is introverted, living nearby would offer additional support and companionship.
Upon hearing this, Meng Ci's eyes lit up.
After all, he was planning to go out for a trip with Shen Que, and it would be helpful if Qiao Moyan and his group were living next door to keep an eye on things.
He then gave a spare key to Lu Chen, asking him to help look after the place while they were away.
After finding out Meng Ci and Shen Que were going on a trip, Lu Chen also mentioned he'd take Qiao Moyan out sometime.
Regarding the incident in the tunnel, Lu Chen didn't bring it up, and Meng Ci didn't pry. Still, he knew that based on Qiao Moyan's personality, he would eventually bring it up.
True to expectations, when Lu Chen confessed, Qiao Moyan recognized his own feelings. He didn't want to lie to anyone, including himself.
So he shared the details of the tunnel incident with Lu Chen. Lu Chen didn't see it as a big deal but felt deeply concerned.
He hadn't mentioned it to Meng Ci and the others because he didn't think it was necessary. He believed he could help Qiao Moyan overcome his troubles.
Five days later, Lu Chen started gathering materials and processing permits to build a house.
Meanwhile, Meng Ci and Shen Que, all packed up, headed out early one morning to explore the rivers and mountains by jeep.
"Shen Que, we're off!"
"Let's do this!"
"Aoou!" (a howl)
"Woof woof!" (a bark)
(End)