Despite having been to the second floor once before, as they passed through the elevator and a long corridor of light screens, the surrounding crowd couldn't help but gasp.
They marveled anew at the luxury of the second floor.
Unlike the first floor of the Lighthouse, the second floor was like perpetual spring. Even during the extreme cold period, it was still filled with lush trees everywhere.
Xu An hadn't seen so many trees in a long time, even on land.
"I remember when I came last time, there weren't this many trees here," Xu An whispered, nudging Zhou Haimai beside her.
Xu An noticed that many people around them, like her, were clustered with their close companions, whispering.
The top ten participants of the expedition competition last time had all been summoned. Xu An took a glance, and she saw that not a few of them were injured. The brother and sister they had met when they first went down were the most seriously hurt.
The brother had directly lost an arm, and the remaining sister looked dejected, carefully supporting the man beside her, her previously unrestrained arrogance gone from her face.
Zhou Haimai tugged at Xu An's sleeve, "It feels like everyone suffered a lot after going down this time. I counted just now, and it seems only eight people are left. I heard two people from the top ten sacrificed this time, and countless ordinary soldiers were lost. Not a single one of the 100 people who followed Qin Chuan returned."
Xu An just listened silently. This time, the death toll far exceeded her expectations. She wondered what the higher-ups at the Lighthouse were planning.
Even though the Lighthouse in the past had also ventured to send personnel down to search for resources on the ground, the previous model had always been to break them into small groups, disperse personnel, and deliberately control the number of people going down.
This was to avoid large-scale clashes and conflicts with the people on the ground, which would lead to more people knowing about the Lighthouse's existence.
But the current situation seemed to be the opposite; the Lighthouse did not seem to fear its existence being known to the world.
Xu An continued to ponder this thought. If the Lighthouse was tired of hiding, then there was only one possibility.
It now possessed the capital to deter everyone, so it was not afraid of exposure!
Thinking of this, Xu An felt a chill run down her spine.
"An'an, it feels like everyone's gains weren't great this time, and they're all dispirited."
Xu An nodded, "This time, the Lighthouse is doing this, it's probably not just to collect those mutated monsters; I'm afraid there are reasons we don't know about."
Before Zhou Haimai could fully grasp the meaning of Xu An's words, they were called away.
It was the same expressionless robot that had received them last time.
However, this time, the robot's external appearance was getting closer to a human form.
Xu An looked around at many luxuriously dressed people, arm in arm with their companions, leisurely shopping, and sipping coffee in cafes on street corners.
Even during this severe extreme cold period, Xu An found some people wearing short skirts, leisurely cutting steak in the warm indoors.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought of being nosy.
No matter how chaotic the times were, there were always a small number of people who enjoyed the consequences of others bearing the burden.
Xu An now seemed to understand why, when she first arrived at the Lighthouse, the second floor had been taboo for everyone in the Lighthouse.
It was strictly forbidden, and even the entrance was heavily guarded.
She clenched her fist, gripping it tightly, her nails digging into her flesh, causing a dull ache.
But this physical pain could not alleviate the suffering in her heart.
It could be said that no one in the entire Lighthouse understood the struggle of living through the extreme cold period better than her.
The feeling of having nothing to eat, starving and relying on melted snow for sustenance, the feeling of a group of people gnawing on a tree root to eat, and yet, countless people still froze to death that winter.
Those who died of cold also did not find peace, and they had to worry about their bodies being dug up and used as emergency rations.
But looking at everything before her, Xu An felt as if she were in a different lifetime.
But despite the scene of revelry before her, Xu An knew profoundly that the truth of this world was not as peaceful as what was before her eyes, but was filled with sorrow everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, they followed the intelligent robot towards the place they had come last time.
Around Xu An, people were gathered in small groups, whispering and discussing.
Xu An's hearing was better than that of ordinary people, and the conversations of those around her reached her ears without missing a word.
"How was your harvest this time?"
Another burly man ran his hand through his hair dejectedly, his eyes filled with an unresolvable ferocity. "Don't mention it, I almost got killed down there this time."
"And you? What did you gain from going down this time?"
The man who asked was also dejected.
"What other gains are there? It's already a blessing to be able to come back alive."
The two exchanged glances and smiled helplessly.
Xu An pondered silently.
After the Lighthouse sent them down, she and Zhou Haimai had acted alone.
After separating from the main group, she didn't know what had happened to the remaining people.
However, Zhou Haimai, on the other hand, perfectly showcased her outgoing personality at this moment.
"Hey, brother, I overheard you guys chatting just now. What kind of monsters did you encounter down there to be so miserable?"
Zhou Haimai winked at Xu An and walked towards the man, acting like an old friend, which was quite amusing.
It was as if Zhou Haimai and these two men were brothers who hadn't seen each other for years.
The man standing aside was initially resistant, but after seeing Zhou Haimai's face, his impatient tone hesitated for a moment.
In just a moment, his tone became cheerful.
Before long, he was chatting with Zhou Haimai.
After all, who could refuse the approach of a radiant beauty?
Upon returning to the Lighthouse, Zhou Haimai had dyed her long hair a vibrant red again.
After a few days of rest, there was no trace of her former disheveled state.
She was once again that bright and flamboyant young lady.
And this was something Xu An was far from being able to match.
In her past life and this life combined, Xu An had never been so unrestrained, bright, and flamboyant.
Due to her mother's concealment of her identity, Xu An had not been raised with wealth since childhood. Coupled with her past experiences of wandering and struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic world,
all of this had made Xu An's heart sensitive and sharp.
In Xu An's eyes, there was a hint of envy that she herself didn't notice.
Because Zhou Haimai possessed the generosity and confidence that Xu An lacked.