"Something's not right? What's not right?" Zhou Haimei also leaned forward, wanting to see the sea area.
As soon as she poked her head out, Xu An pushed her back, "Be careful, don't get discovered."
Zhou Haimei awkwardly withdrew her head.
"With the current weather, I estimate it's around minus 20 degrees Celsius. But look at these villagers, they're still out fishing."
"Anyone who lives by the sea knows about the sea closure period, also known as the fishing ban. Normally, people go out fishing during the warmer summer months. In this kind of extremely cold weather, there shouldn't be such large-scale fishing activities."
"But look at the sea surface, it's still calm and undisturbed, with no sign of freezing."
Before the apocalypse, Zhou Haimei lived in an inland area, so she didn't understand these things and could only listen to Xu An's words vaguely.
"Are you saying there's something in the sea?"
Xu An: "Do you remember what Chu Yu told us before, saying that Qin Chuan was in danger because he encountered a monster?"
Zhou Haimei nodded. They had thought about going to support Qin Chuan at the time, but they were only two people, and the journey was too far.
Xu An continued, "The monster Chu Yu mentioned is likely real, and it's probably the monster in this sea. And the sacrifice mentioned by that woman, with a sacrificial offering, there must be a specific deity being served, right?"
With the explanation so clear, Zhou Haimei would truly have to hit her head against a rock if she still didn't understand.
"Are you saying these villagers worship that unknown monster?"
Xu An did not deny it, but the expression on her face was enough to explain everything.
Ever since meeting the strange mermaid in the southern base, Xu An felt that the world was developing in a strange direction.
Perhaps it wasn't just from that mermaid.
It was likely that ever since her rebirth, this world had no longer been the same world.
Too many strange creatures had appeared one after another, baffling humanity and leaving them unable to find an explanation.
After their analysis, Xu An suddenly understood.
When she first met that woman, the disdain and contempt in the woman's eyes when she looked at her.
She figured that woman must have considered her to be like Qin Chuan and the others, thinking that they would eventually become "sacrifices."
That's why she was unwilling to pay them any attention.
Having figured this out, Xu An and Zhou Haimei quickly discussed their plan. They retreated to a place some distance from the village but not too far away.
This would allow them to keep watch on the village at any time and, incidentally, use the remaining signal flare from their backpacks when the opportunity arose.
Zhou Haimei: "I believe there will definitely be other survivors. Even if Qin Chuan's troops were wiped out, the more than ten people who participated in our competition are all acting separately. There's even a brother-sister team among them. We'll wait for them here."
Xu An: "That's what I was thinking. We'll just watch these people from here. I suspect there's definitely something wrong with this sea area. We'll just wait here. We still have 20 days anyway. After the lighthouse lands here, we'll make further plans."
The two agreed immediately and drove to a small, dilapidated wooden cabin that could serve as a temporary shelter.
The cabin looked precarious, clearly neglected and uninhabited for a long time. The outer layer of wood had been eroded by the sea wind, becoming mottled and rotten.
The few pieces of furniture, like tables and chairs, were also damp and unusable.
However, the two of them didn't complain too much. After all, finding a place to shelter from the wind and rain in such a location was already very good.
Xu An took out the oilcloth from the trunk and patched the holes in the roof to prevent melted snow from flowing in.
It was also to prevent the cold wind from blowing in through the cracks.
The weather was getting colder, and staying outside for too long made one feel the chill seeping into their bones.
Zhou Haimei also helped, bringing in their tents and sleeping bags.
"An'an, there are tools here! Let's take apart those tables and chairs and re-nail them onto the walls to block the wind."
Xu An glanced at the broken walls and agreed.
Even though they were only staying here for 20 days, they couldn't be careless.
Without further ado, Zhou Haimei picked up an axe and quickly dismantled the few intact wooden benches.
Xu An then re-nailed these dismantled pieces onto the walls.
After sealing all the holes in the walls, Xu An wrapped the walls with the oilcloth that had been taken down.
With no more cold wind blowing into the house, the temperature inside immediately began to warm up.
Zhou Haimei looked at the remaining four table legs.
"There are still these left, what should we do? Should we burn them for warmth?"
Xu An looked at them and shook her head, "Let's build a simple bed. The ground here is too damp, and even sleeping bags will get damp. If we build a frame, we can sleep directly on it."
Hearing this idea, Zhou Haimei also became a little excited. She hadn't slept on a proper bed in a long time.
Although they didn't plan to stay here permanently, if they could sleep on a bed, who would want to sleep in a sleeping bag?
Then, Zhou Haimei went to find the supporting frames that had been dismantled from the tents.
Xu An, on the other hand, cut the four table legs into a rectangular shape and used the remaining wood to cut out the "keel" of the bed.
Then she nailed them all together with the remaining nails.
In fact, there weren't enough nails in the middle, but this couldn't trouble Xu An, who possessed a "treasure chest."
She secretly transferred some nails she had bought from the hardware store from her space.
Since they were being nailed into the wood, no one would pry them out for inspection.
After finally finishing everything, Xu An and Zhou Haimei looked at their newly organized "home" with satisfaction.
They felt a sense of accomplishment.
Zhou Haimei spread their sleeping bags on the wooden boards, and Xu An brought in the blankets they had taken out earlier.
One was placed underneath, and the other was for covering.
Gou Dan, who had tired himself out playing, was now lying quietly in a corner of the room, fast asleep.
Zhou Haimei walked over and touched the bedding, "It's good, An'an. This sleeping bag you brought is so thick, I can't feel the wooden bed frame underneath at all. That way, I won't worry about being uncomfortable."
Xu An inwardly grumbled that she actually had ready-made large beds and soft, warm quilts in her space.
Countless times she had wanted to take them out, but after thinking about it.
She decided against it.
It would be enjoyable to take them out, but explaining it would be difficult.
Xu An, who had always disliked trouble, decided to keep a low profile.
At this moment, Gou Dan also woke up from his sleep and walked to Xu An, wagging his tail.
He rubbed against Xu An's legs in a show of affection.
"Is Gou Dan hungry?" Looking at Gou Dan's fawning expression, Zhou Haimei couldn't help but smile.
She then looked at Xu An with a similar pleading expression, feeling that she herself was a little hungry.
Xu An looked at the person and the dog in front of her, gazing at her expectantly, and instantly felt like she had become a mother without any pain.
She smiled helplessly, took the bag from the car outside, and then walked back into the wooden cabin.
Seeing Xu An carrying the bag, Zhou Haimei immediately leaned forward, "What are we eating?"