Regarding the matter of Life No. 1, Xu An did not plan to inform her mother for the time being. She needed to ensure the safety of this item.
As soon as Xu An came out, the meal was ready. Buns with thin skins and ample filling, crystal clear, were presented before Xu An, emitting wisps of steam.
She couldn't help but quickly pull out a chair and sit down. As soon as she picked up a bun with her chopsticks, the thin skin broke open directly, and the soup inside spilled into the bowl. Read books here.
"Ah~" Xu An let out a sigh of regret, looking at the remaining golden filling, and fed it into her mouth, letting out a comfortable hum.
"So delicious!"
Although Xu An had crabs in her space, they were all frozen purchases for portable storage at the time. Fresh seafood, in such large quantities, had mostly died by the time it was transported to the warehouse and collected by Xu An.
But she could immediately tell that the crabs today were live, fresh, and delicious.
She didn't waste a single drop of the soup, scooping out the crab roe that had dripped into the bowl with a spoon and feeding it into her mouth.
"Mom, are these crabs alive? Where did you get live crabs?"
Xu An was a little curious. At this time, people who could still get live crabs were not ordinary people.
"Oh, Aunt Wang gave them to me. Her husband's seafood supermarket has had good production recently, so I asked her to specifically keep some for me."
Upon hearing this, Xu An asked, "Don't you want to give her a gift in return?"
This Aunt Wang's real name was Wang Xia. Xu An knew her as a friend her mother had met at the lighthouse.
The two often went shopping together. Wang Xia was a few years younger than Xu Yan, and her child was not much older than Xu An, only ten years old, and was doted on immensely.
According to Xu Yan, this family was also extraordinary. The husband of this family loved fishing in his spare time and studied things like Morse code.
When the officials used information to transmit the lighthouse coordinates, Wang Xia's husband decoded it almost immediately. When they were preparing what belongings to bring to the lighthouse, Wang Xia's husband strongly advocated for bringing a water tank with a large number of fish, shrimp, and crab fry.
"Aunt Wang initially said her man was crazy to bring these things to the shelter, but now she smiles from ear to ear every day, constantly praising her husband's foresight and capability."
After Xu Yan finished speaking, she realized she had strayed off topic again. "What do you think if I give Aunt Wang some of the buns I've wrapped?"
"That's a good idea. Didn't we also have some vegetables bought from the lighthouse before? Those seemed to be newly cultivated varieties, you should give her some of those too," Xu An suggested. "But don't give too much. After all, we paid for these crabs. If you give too many, they might think we owe them."
Xu Yan naturally understood the principle of reciprocity.
"By the way, how did your competition go?"
Xu An paused her eating. "Mom, I made it to the finals."
Xu Yan was taken aback. "To the finals? Then are you planning to participate in that expedition?"
Xu An nodded. She had been afraid to say it before, fearing Xu Yan would worry, but she hadn't expected her mother to ask.
She knew herself that this matter couldn't be hidden for long. After the competition ended, she would immediately follow the troops down to the lighthouse for a mission, and at that time, she would have to be honest with her mother.
"You don't need to go down this time. I'm going with the expeditionary force. I'll leave Goudan with you."
Goudan heard his name being called and wagged his tail, coming closer. Read books here.
Xu Yan shook her head. "If I stay on the lighthouse, Goudan won't be much use to me. You should take Goudan with you. If something happens, Goudan can help you."
Xu An thought about it. Staying on the lighthouse was undoubtedly the safest option for Xu Yan. Bringing Goudan with her might even help in a critical moment.
Thinking this, Xu An felt more at ease.
"Do whatever you want to do. Mom will always support you, but one thing is important: be careful and pay attention to safety. You need to know that I'm waiting for you at home."
Xu Yan did not want to use her elder's authority to restrict her daughter. It was the apocalypse now, and she knew Xu An had her own things to do. She couldn't keep Xu An tied to her side forever.
This was the greatest concession she could make as a mother.
The stone that had been weighing on Xu An's heart finally lifted. After eating and showering, she went to sleep.
The next morning.
The outside was shrouded in a hazy mist. Xu An knew that outside the lighthouse, it was likely already filled with fog.
For half a month now, the lighthouse had lost its natural light illumination. To save energy, the electricity bill had tripled compared to before.
Except for essential lighting, the once bright and brilliant lighthouse had recently become dull and lifeless.
The authorities kept issuing announcements to comfort the residents, but the continuously rising electricity prices were not convincing at all.
The surge in electricity costs indeed caused widespread discontent, but some of the public also felt fortunate.
Fortunately, they had boarded the lighthouse. If they were still on the ground now, they wouldn't know what disasters they would face.
As time passed day by day, a rumor began to circulate within the lighthouse.
There were no survivors left on the ground; the people on the lighthouse were the last spark of humanity.
This statement received mixed reactions.
Xu An ignored it. The existence of survivors on the ground was beyond doubt. At least during her encounter in the desert, she had seen many land survivors, let alone in cities with better survival resources, where there were likely even more survivors.
In her previous life alone, on the ground, which was so difficult to survive in, the number of survivors was no less than the population on the lighthouse.
Humanity's ability to adapt to the natural environment and survive far surpassed human cognition.
In her previous life, in the later stages of the apocalypse, many humans had evolved their physical fitness due to extreme weather.
Just like the Eskimos, who could tolerate the world's coldest temperatures, humans on the ground had found ways to survive in extreme weather conditions.
Xu An struggled to get out of bed. After washing up, she found that breakfast had already been placed on the table.
As soon as she finished eating, Zhou Haimei's call came.
After a brief exchange, Xu An learned that the other party was waiting for her downstairs. She quickly tidied herself up and ran downstairs.
As soon as she stepped into the elevator, she discovered someone else was in it, the rather unmemorable Chu Yu.
Xu An hadn't intended to acknowledge him, but unexpectedly, Chu Yu initiated a greeting.
She listened to his greetings and nodded stiffly. For some reason, whenever she was with Chu Yu, she always felt like she was being watched.
However, Xu An was standing in a far corner, clearly behind Chu Yu.
But this man in front of her seemed to have eyes all over his body, making her feel as if she were being stared at all the time.