Chapter 220 | The Apocalypse Landlady

“The Night Owl team seized the opportunity provided by the arrival of the Cold Wave and began a large-scale promotion.”

Black Rat’s tone carried a hint of pride. “They hired many beggars and scavengers in the Outer City, having them tell everyone they met about how great the Terminal Station is.”

“They said the Terminal Station has sturdy houses, clean air, endless food, and medicine to save lives.”

“They said the Terminal Station can remain unscathed under artillery fire, achieve zero casualties in the Death Tide, and stay as warm as spring during the Cold Wave.”

“They said the Terminal Station doesn’t require residency permits, doesn’t require taxes, and doesn’t require looking at the City Defense Force’s faces. As long as you sign a contract, you can have a safe residence.”

Su Wan listened quietly.

“The Cold Wave is about to arrive, and those commoners who can’t afford heating supplies are starting to get anxious.”

“They’ve realized that if they stay in the Outer City, they won’t be able to survive this Cold Wave at all.”

“Instead of freezing to death at home, they’d rather come to the Terminal Station and try their luck.”

“What if what Night Owl says is true? What if the Terminal Station really is that good?”

“So, they came.”

Black Rat pointed at the commoners currently in line, his tone tinged with emotion.

“They’re gambling. They’re gambling that the Terminal Station can let them survive this Cold Wave.”

“Once they survive and witness the wonders of the Terminal Station—”

Black Rat’s eyes lit up. “Then all the commoners in the Outer City will know how good the Terminal Station is.”

“When that time comes, Night Owl won’t even need to promote it; they’ll come running on their own.”

Su Wan looked at the commoners in line, and another question surfaced in her mind.

A deep winter lasting six to seven months, daily temperatures of minus thirty to forty degrees...

Compared to the commoners in the Outer City, those vagrants without fixed residences or stable supply sources were clearly in a much more difficult position. How did they survive the Cold Wave and live through the deep winter?

“Black Rat,” Su Wan spoke. “Survival is already hard enough for the commoners during the deep winter, but what about the vagrants? What do they do?”

Black Rat’s expression stiffened slightly, then he gave a bitter smile.

“Vagrants... have their own way of living.”

“When the Cold Wave is about to arrive, if they can sneak into the Outer City, they’ll certainly find a way to do so.”

“But the gates of the Outer City aren’t that easy to enter. Without residency, without work permits, without money, they can’t even get close to the gate.”

“So, most vagrants do one thing before the Cold Wave arrives.”

Su Wan looked at him. “What thing?”

Black Rat’s voice dropped lower. “They run toward the Non-Safe Zone.”

Su Wan’s brow furrowed slightly.

The Non-Safe Zone?

That place filled with Aberrants and mutated plants, full of dangers?

“Lord, you might not know,” Black Rat saw Su Wan’s confusion and quickly explained.

“The sudden low temperatures brought by the Cold Wave will cause the dangers in the Non-Safe Zone to drop by more than half.”

Su Wan was slightly stunned.

Black Rat continued, “Those Aberrants and mutated plants—their activity levels drop significantly as the temperature decreases.”

“When the temperature drops below minus thirty degrees, the activity of most Aberrants will decrease by over eighty percent.”

“Dangers that would have been fatal become avoidable for humans during the Cold Wave.”

“Some mutated plants will freeze to death directly, wither, and lose their activity.”

“Most reptilian and amphibious Aberrants will hibernate. You can walk right past them, and they won’t even be able to move.”

“And some mammalian Aberrants will also enter a semi-dormant state during the deep winter, their activity greatly reduced and their reactions slowed.”

“At that time, humans have an opportunity.”

Black Rat’s eyes lit up slightly, showing a hint of the shrewdness unique to vagrants.

“Those Aberrants that could easily kill a strong man might not even be able to move in the deep winter.”

“Those mutated vines that can strangle a person will be frozen so brittle and hard in the Cold Wave that they’ll break at a touch.”

“The thorns of poisonous brambles will soften, and their venom will freeze.”

“So, while the Cold Wave is cold, for vagrants, it’s actually the best time to enter the Non-Safe Zone to search for supplies.”

Su Wan listened quietly, her understanding of the survival laws of this world deepening.

Black Rat pointed toward the Non-Safe Zone.

“In the area where the Non-Safe Zone and Safe Zone meet, a type of grass grows.”

“That grass looks unremarkable, with long, thin leaves and sharp thorns on the edges. Usually, no one touches it because those thorns will pierce the skin, and they’re poisonous.”

“After being pricked, the wound will be hot and painful, like being burned by fire, and it won’t subside for several days.”

“The toxin isn’t fatal; it just makes you miserable.”

“But once the Cold Wave arrives, it’s different.”

Black Rat’s eyes lit up. “After the temperature plummets, that grass will turn from green to yellow, and the thorns on the leaf edges will soften, no longer pricking anyone.”

“The leaf tissue will become fibrous and soft, like cotton fluff.”

“The most critical thing is that it can provide warmth.”

Su Wan’s attention was immediately captured.

“Vagrants call that grass ‘Fire-Fluff Grass,’” Black Rat continued.

“Because it can keep you warm; covering yourself with it is like being around a fire.”

“Collect a large amount of this grass, then stuff it between two layers of rags and sew it into quilts or clothes, and you can withstand the severe cold.”

“The effect isn’t as good as real cotton quilts and thick clothes, but in a Cold Wave of minus forty or fifty degrees, it’s enough to save your life.”

“Eight or nine out of ten vagrants who survive the Cold Wave rely on Fire-Fluff Grass.”

“But once Fire-Fluff Grass is removed from the soil, its shelf life is very short.”

“In less than a month, it will become hard and brittle, losing its warming effect.”

“So you can't stockpile it in advance; you can only risk going to collect it in the few days before the Cold Wave arrives.”

Su Wan frowned slightly. “What kind of risk?”

“In the places where Fire-Fluff Grass grows, there’s a type of insect that specifically parasitizes this grass.”

“The insect is very small, about the size of a grain of rice, and its color is the same as the grass leaves. You can’t find it without looking closely.”

“Its bite isn’t strong, and it can’t bite through an ordinary person’s skin, but its saliva is highly toxic.”

“Just one bite, and once the toxin enters the body, you’ll die before long.”

“So, unless absolutely forced, vagrants aren’t willing to go collect Fire-Fluff Grass.”

“Only when they truly have no other way to live will they take the risk and gamble.”

Black Rat’s voice dropped. “Every year before the Cold Wave, many people die in the Fire-Fluff Grass thickets.”

“Some are bitten to death by insects, some encounter Aberrants that haven’t fully hibernated while collecting, and others are killed by their own kind while fighting over resources.”