Su Nian looked at Jing Mo, who was speaking seriously, for a while before responding with some complexity, "Then I'll take that as a compliment from you."
Jing Mo shook his head earnestly at Su Nian's words. "You're wrong. I really am complimenting you! You were really handsome just now, you know?!"
Su Nian replied, "Okay, I got it."
Seeing Jing Mo seemingly more excited than her, Su Nian couldn't help but ask, "Some men really like girls to be gentle and weak, which triggers their protective instincts. Why aren't you like that?"
Jing Mo waved his hand dismissively, "I'm not that kind of person! What's wrong with girls? No one said that girls have to be gentle and weak and be protected by others."
In the interstellar world, there were female generals aplenty. And there were countless women who could wrestle men to the ground bare-handed.
Jing Mo certainly didn't have a masochistic tendency, nor did he like playing the role of a macho man protecting fragile girls.
Having roamed the interstellar space for so many years, the people he encountered were his clients at most. He had only ever admired them, but had never felt, like he did just now, that someone simply sitting there talking could emit such a radiant aura.
"Jing Mo! Jing Mo!"
Jing Mo looked towards Su Nian, his gaze still somewhat dazed. "Hm? What's up?"
"I'm saying, you've been driving all morning, let me take over in the afternoon!"
"Oh! Sure, sure! I'll make room for you right now."
The two got out of the car and switched positions.
Just as they settled in, there was a voice on the radio, notifying the convoy to prepare to depart.
Su Nian had already stuck a warm patch on her leg. She adjusted the seat, fastened her seatbelt, and followed the car in front, slowly moving forward.
Jing Mo, in the passenger seat, took out a map and studied it carefully for a while. "At this speed, we should arrive at our destination before dark today. After we arrive, we'll conduct search and rescue operations and clear out wild animals. I think we'll probably stay there for two or three days."
This was roughly what Su Nian had anticipated. The food she brought was more than enough for two people for two or three days.
Of course, Su Nian knew that Jing Mo had also brought plenty of food.
Just as she was thinking about it, she saw Jing Mo put away the map and take out a box of pine nuts from his backpack.
"Do you like pine nuts? Let me shell them for you!"
Jing Mo placed the lid aside and took off a ring from his hand, using it as a tool to shell the pine nuts one by one.
Seeing Jing Mo using such a sharp ring as a tool, Su Nian was momentarily at a loss for words.
Making the best use of everything?
Well, it could be said that way!
The pine nuts were tiny, not even as big as Jing Mo's fingernail, but held in his slender fingers, they looked surprisingly appealing.
Jing Mo shelled the pine nuts quickly. In no time, he had a small pile.
Seeing Su Nian not eating, Jing Mo urged, "Come on, eat! Besides pine nuts, I also brought walnuts, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. Which one do you like?"
Su Nian chuckled at Jing Mo's words. Was he treating her like a squirrel?
The whole afternoon, Jing Mo was busy shelling various nuts.
After the two of them finished the nuts Jing Mo had brought, the convoy finally stopped.
They had arrived!
Fifty kilometers might have taken only an hour before the apocalypse. But now, it had taken the entire day.
Just the thought of it weighed heavily on the mind.
Su Nian didn't dwell on it and instead looked at the holiday resort in front of her.
This holiday resort was of Chinese style, with not very tall buildings, mostly two or three stories high, made of wooden structures.
Before the apocalypse, this style was beautiful. But after the apocalypse, it was more about appearance than practicality.
No insulation, no windproofing.
Many doors and windows had been dismantled, presumably for firewood.
Some houses had collapsed, either crushed by heavy snow or knocked down by wild animals.
The sight was desolate.
Having spent a long time in the base, Su Nian hadn't seen such scenes for a long time.
Seeing it now made her feel like it was from another world.
Before they could investigate, someone emerged from one of the two-story buildings.
The person stood at the door and looked towards them, then scrambled inside, only to come out shortly after, followed by others.
A group of people ran out, shouting, but their words were indistinct. All that was clear was their excitement.
Soon, they ran up.
The leader stepped forward to negotiate, and after some conversation, someone took a megaphone and announced for everyone to enter the building.
Su Nian and Jing Mo followed behind, making their way towards the building.
As soon as they entered, various smells assaulted their senses, causing Su Nian to furrow her brows.
Although she wrinkled her brow, Su Nian didn't stop her footsteps.
In this life, Su Nian hadn't smelled this kind of smell yet, but in her previous life, she had lived in such an environment.
Even though life had improved now, Su Nian could still bear this hardship.
Su Nian remained silent but heard a woman's voice murmuring softly, "What's this smell? It's too awful. Can't someone pay attention to hygiene here? Really!"
The voice wasn't loud, and Su Nian was sure she hadn't heard it before and had no interest in finding out who had said it.
The person leading the mission this time was surnamed Kong, named Kong Jianming, a man in his thirties or forties, with an upright demeanor.
Once inside, Kong Jianming instructed people to open the boxes they were carrying.
"I've brought food for everyone. Where are your pots? Let's cook!"
At the mention of food, the people who had been huddled in various corners all reacted, their eyes glowing as they looked towards Kong Jianming.
There were no lights in the room, only firelight, so the light was quite dim.
In this dim light, the eyes of these people gleamed.
In that way, they were like wolves in the dark of night.
Su Nian pressed her lips together, her hand resting on the dagger she had strapped to her waist.
Others might not know, but Su Nian did.
When people starved to madness, they were more terrifying than hungry wolves.
Fortunately, the feared chaos didn't happen.
There were leaders here too, who quickly ordered some people to go out and collect snow to melt into water for cooking.
There were many people melting snow, after all, the water pipes were frozen, and the river was covered in thick ice.
To drink water, most people boiled snow.
The food Kong Jianming brought was mostly compressed biscuits, some dehydrated vegetables, and a small amount of canned food.
After smashing the compressed biscuits, putting them in a pot to cook,
adding some dehydrated vegetables, and chopping up two cans of meat and stirring them in, the meal was ready.
The appearance of this meal was not very appealing, but it smelled quite fragrant.
For people who were starving, it was the ultimate delicacy.