Chapter 549: This Attitude
Chapter 549: This Attitude
An Ran held Doll in one arm, wrapped snugly in a thick cloak. The tiny hand, hidden in its sleeve, pawed clumsily at the mask on its face but was too small to pull it off.
In her other hand, An Ran clutched the bag of cookies, standing there blankly as she watched the soldier who had given them to her climb back into the car and drive off toward the base.
To be given cookies as a gesture of goodwill—it felt strangely novel.
"They said they’ll accept us," Luo Feifan said as he approached her, "but we’ll have to go to the base for a physical examination."
Fatty, standing behind An Ran, immediately hunched his shoulders. He hurriedly called back the few people still begging at the tunnel entrance, then put on a pitiful act again, his voice dripping with grievance.
“Heavens! In weather this cold, how are us widows, orphans, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the pregnant supposed to make it there? Look, look—snow and ice everywhere! We can’t walk, ah, help us! An Ran, you see, with hearts this cold, if we fall into their hands we’ll be abused in all sorts of ways.”
Of course, he was really just trying to cling to An Ran.
"I think their attitude is a bit too careless, don’t you?" An Ran remarked, handing the biscuits to Fatty. She ignored his whining, shifted Doll in her arms, and walked over to join Luo Feifan deeper inside the tunnel.
Luo Feifan nodded. "Their attitude isn’t great, no. But this is the end of the world. Their first impression of us is that we’re nothing but a massive burden. In today’s society, who cares about burdens? The fact they agreed to let us in at all is already better than expected. Once we’re inside, I doubt it’ll be too bad."
"That’s probably true," An Ran admitted. "We don’t have any skills they’d value. If we want to pass as ordinary people, then we’ll have to accept being treated like ordinary people." She sighed, then glanced back at Fatty’s aggrieved face. "The snow’s coming down harder and harder. If this keeps up, there’s no guarantee some disaster won’t hit. And I saw several women in your group who look ready to give birth. We should go to the base first and find somewhere safe to stay. Think about it—there’s strength in numbers. If monsters appear again, it’s better to face them in a base than stuck in this tunnel."
Fatty, trailing after them, finally stopped making a scene. Her words made sense.
"They’re going to take two-thirds of our supplies," Luo Feifan added with a frown. "They’ll allocate us housing in the villa district, but we can only bring one-third of our goods inside—including crystal cores."
"What?!" Fatty nearly jumped up. His eyes darted about, then he grinned slyly. "Supplies? We’ve only got a quilt each! And the rice, vegetables, and fruit—we’ve eaten almost all of it! Crystal cores? Where would we even get those? We’re just a bunch of useless burdens. Just let them take whatever they like."
An Ran shot him a look, torn between exasperation and amusement. Was it even possible to be this shameless?
But then again, she herself didn’t like the idea of giving up two-thirds of her supplies. What kind of ridiculous rules did this base have? Back when Tang Jianjun built Tiesi Village, they’d only demanded a few crystal cores. Why did this base want so much?