“Master!” Feng Mu hurried to meet her. His gaze fell on Chen Shijie behind Su Wan, and his pupils constricted slightly.
“Get him in the car.” Su Wan pushed Chen Shijie into the back seat. “Where are Lei Lie and Scarface?”
“They’re in this car!” Feng Mu answered while holding the door open. “As for the transfer of the commoners…”
“Every available vehicle from the Outer City City Defense Force has been dispatched. Fifteen trucks, six armored personnel carriers, plus several command and communications vehicles—they’re all here.”
“The first batch left nearly an hour ago; they should be nearing the Terminal Station by now. This is the second batch.”
Su Wan nodded, her gaze sweeping over the convoy.
The truck beds were packed with people. Most were the elderly, the weak, women, and children, though there were some young men as well.
Wrapped in tattered quilts and old clothes, they huddled together in the vehicles, shivering. Some held their children while sobbing quietly, while others sat with closed eyes and moving lips, though whether they were praying or cursing was anyone’s guess.
No one was speaking.
It wasn't that they didn't want to; their lips were so frozen they couldn't even open them.
“Let’s go.” Su Wan pulled open the door and sat in the passenger seat. “I’m going back with you.”
The convoy set off once more.
The snow grew heavier, and the wind became more violent.
The temperature was still plummeting.
Su Wan glanced at the thermometer inside the car. It read minus thirty-two degrees.
The numbers on the display were dropping before her eyes at a visible speed.
Thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five…
In ten minutes, the temperature would drop to minus fifty degrees.
By then, let alone the commoners in their rags, even the City Defense Force soldiers in their thick winter gear inside the vehicles would be facing a life-threatening situation.
“Go faster.” Su Wan’s voice was calm, but every word carried an undeniable sense of urgency.
The driver gritted his teeth and floored the accelerator. The off-road vehicle jolted forward through the snow. The wheels slipped more frequently, and the car fishtailed occasionally, drawing muffled cries of alarm from the commoners in the back.
Fortunately, the Terminal Station was not far away.
Through the window, Su Wan saw the familiar silhouettes in the distance.
The main building, the side wings, the apartment buildings, the medical center, and the laundry building—one structure after another became faintly visible through the blizzard.
The convoy accelerated into the Terminal Station’s sheltered zone. The invisible energy membrane enveloped the entire area, sealing out the wind and snow.
The temperature rose abruptly. This sudden warmth left the commoners in the trucks stunned.
One second they were shivering in the bone-chilling wind, and the next, they felt warm air brushing against their cheeks.
The extreme contrast of moving from hell to heaven caused everyone’s mind to go blank for a moment.
An old woman wrapped in a tattered quilt was the first to react. She tremblingly reached out her hand, feeling the long-lost warmth, as tears welled up in her clouded eyes.
“There really is a way to live…” Her lips trembled, her voice so raspy it was almost inaudible. “There’s actually a way to live…”
Beside her, a young woman holding a child felt her tears break through instantly. She clutched the child tightly to her chest, her shoulders shaking violently, unable to utter a single word.
The convoy came to a halt in front of the Terminal Station building.
Black Rat was already waiting at the entrance with members of the Order Maintenance Team.
“Quick! Everyone off the vehicles!” Black Rat shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the wind and snow. “Elderly and children first! Young men follow behind! Don’t push! No crowding!”
All the butler robots joined the guiding effort. Their mechanical arms steadily supported the elderly with mobility issues, while their electronic eyes scanned everyone’s physical condition, marking those in need of emergency medical attention to be prioritized for the medical center.
The convoy continued to arrive in succession.
One truck, armored vehicle, and command car after another emerged from the blizzard, stopping at the Terminal Station’s gate to unload batch after batch of commoners.
Over three hundred City Defense Force soldiers also entered. They jumped off their vehicles and stood in the snow, looking at the grey building standing tall on the edge of the Ruin Zone, their eyes filled with bewilderment.
The mission to transfer the commoners had been issued without much explanation. Before this, when had they ever cared about whether the commoners lived or died?
They had heard their commander say the transfer was to ensure these commoners survived, but they hadn't initially taken it seriously. They hadn't expected it to be the truth.
The Terminal Station was truly a place that could let them live!
A young soldier rubbed his frost-reddened hands and exhaled a puff of white mist, turning to his companion. “Is… is this the Terminal Station?”
His companion nodded, his gaze fixed on the white robots at the building’s entrance. “Can’t be wrong. This must be the famous Terminal Station!”
Black Rat ran out of the building. Seeing the City Defense Force soldiers standing in a daze in the snow, he frowned and waved at them.
“What are you all standing there for? Get inside! It’s warm in here!”
The soldiers looked at each other but didn't move.
They were men of the City Defense Force, out on a mission. They only followed Feng Mu’s orders.
Under Su Wan’s command, Feng Mu stepped out from the crowd.
“Everyone, go inside and rest! Once the cold wave passes, we will return to the city together!”
With their superior’s order, no one hesitated any longer. They all hurried through the open fire door.
Inside the first-floor lobby, the atmosphere was bustling.
A row of ten management robots was lined up in the center of the lobby, processing the new commoners’ check-ins.
Scanning, signing contracts, and assigning rooms—the entire process was seamless and much faster than before.
Commoners who hadn't yet completed their check-in were guided by the Order Maintenance Team to temporary settlement areas on both sides of the lobby. Thick quilts and blankets were laid out there, and hot ginger soup and rice porridge were being served.
In a corner of the lobby, a white-haired old man sat on a quilt, holding a bowl of hot porridge and taking small sips.
Someone walked over and asked, “Brother, what’s this place like?”
The old man looked up, tears glistening in his clouded eyes. His voice was raspy. “In all my life, I’ve never stayed in a place this good.”
The person paused for a moment, then smiled. “None of us have.”
Su Wan stood at the corner of the stairs, watching it all in silence.
Feng Mu appeared at her side at some point and whispered,
“Master, a total of over two thousand three hundred people were transferred this time. Combined with those who came on their own before, the total number of commoners from the Outer City has exceeded four thousand.”
Su Wan nodded, her gaze resting on the commoners who were drinking porridge, wrapped in quilts, or weeping quietly while holding their children.
Only a few hours ago, these people had been huddled at the foot of walls, in alleys, and in broken shacks in the Outer City, waiting for the cold wave to descend and for death’s sentence to be carried out.
But now, they sat in this warm building, holding hot porridge, covered in quilts, with robots patrolling, the Order Maintenance Team keeping the peace, and medical robots on standby.
It was only an hour’s drive from hell to heaven.
Rate on N.U.
