Thick and low dark clouds covered the entire sky like a black curtain. It was still daytime, but the light was still gray. Even the sun looked like a slightly brighter halo.
The nuclear winter lasted longer than expected. A large amount of dust permeated the Earth's space, causing the Earth's natural purification speed to be greatly slowed down.
Lin Zhong-an looked at the position of the halo and realized that it was almost evening. He could not help but quicken his pace and rushed towards the cave.
The cave was about 20 to 30 kilometers away from here. If he did not hurry, it would be night before he reached home.
Once night fell, this place became a hellish world. Not only was the temperature even more bone-piercingly cold, the darkness that was as deep as an abyss completely made it difficult for one to move an inch. Many people in the gathering place had forgotten the time because they had gone out to hunt, and since then, they had never returned.
When that time came, even he had to be careful to not lose his way.
The originally warm corpse gradually became cold after being blown by the cold wind. Soon, it was completely frozen. Water constantly seeped down from his shoulder, causing the animal skin on his body to be frozen stiff. Wearing the animal skin was even colder than not wearing it.
Fortunately, as a super evolved human who was once the top of the human race, this degree of cold could not affect him.
Lin Zhong-an carried the mutated beast and strode forward. Before the halo of the sun was swallowed by the horizon, he finally reached his destination.
He opened the broken iron cover that blocked the cave entrance, revealing the stairs on the ground.
This was a staircase that was cut by ice. It was winding inside, reaching more than 500 meters underground. Not only did it dig through the ice layer, but it also dug through the frozen soil layer.
Compared to a few decades ago, there were very few people gathered here. Over the years, some died of old age, some died of illness, and some went missing. Originally, there were nearly a hundred people, but now, there were only a dozen or so people left.
It was not that there were no women here. In fact, although the number of women here could not be compared to the number of men, they still made up a third of the population. However, after 40 to 50 years, there was still not a single person born.
Those who could live until now were basically evolved humans. The genetic difference had formed a reproductive isolation to a certain extent. If there were no accidents, in another 100 years, humans might completely disappear.
...
Today's atmosphere was a little gloomy. Almost everyone who went out to hunt returned empty-handed. The people here had not tasted meat for three days.
Of course, other than meat, there was a lot of other food stored here, so they wouldn't starve to death. However, most of the food was tender grass roots and tubers that were dug out from the permafrost layer near the cave. Not only did they taste bitter and hard to swallow, but they also didn't contain much calories. Even if they ate until their bellies were full, it would be a torture in such a cold environment at night.
Only when Lin Zhong-an arrived with his prey did the atmosphere become more lively.
Lin Zhong-an smiled as he threw down the food. "Our luck today is pretty good. Xiao Hu, go and take care of it."
The strong man called Xiao Hu quickly stood up and said with a happy face, "Alright, Boss!"
Dealing with prey was a pleasant task. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a chef who starves to death. Although he wasn't a chef when dealing with prey, there were still plenty of opportunities for him to work on it. At the very least, just the scattered ice and blood clots would fill him up.
He picked up the corpse of the mutated beast. A dirty woman who was hiding in the corner quickly stood up and followed him.
This was not the Garden of Eden for humans. The strong preyed on the weak was the most basic rule. Here, having a fixed partner was a symbol of status. As Lin Zhong-an's loyal subordinate, he still barely had a fixed woman.
However, her appearance was somewhat unflattering. Half of her face was completely torn off by a mutated beast during a life and death battle. She looked ferocious and terrifying.
However, no matter how beautiful a woman was, she would be greatly discounted in this place. It was completely normal to not bathe for a few years. The thick dirt on her face made it impossible to see her original appearance.
...
The fire was burning fiercely. A few pieces of charcoal that were burned red were burning with a pale red flame. Occasionally, sparks would burst out.
A crude iron pot that looked like it was handmade by a layman was placed on top of a rock. The meat soup on top of it was already bubbling. The heat dispersed the coldness of the cave and at the same time, it emitted a tempting and rich fragrance.
A woman with a good complexion sprinkled a few black mineral salt. She used a spoon to stir the thick white meat soup. Then, she put it in front of her mouth and blew on it a few times. She did not care about how hot it was and took a big gulp. Suddenly, everyone's throat loosened.
"Brother Ling, you can eat now." She said to Lin Zhong-an with a charming smile.
Lin Zhong-an nodded with a smile and said, "Same old rule. Whoever hunts the prey will get half and the rest will get the other half."
Of course, as the boss here, he still had to show his respect for the prey that the others hunted.
As he said that, he picked up a wooden bowl with his left hand and a spoon with his right hand. He picked up the big pieces of meat and put them into the bowl one by one. He filled the bowl to the brim and then filled it with soup.
When he was done, the others could not wait to take the empty bowls and gathered around.
Although the scene looked chaotic, if one looked closely, there was some kind of tacit order.
There was not a lot of meat cooked. After Lin Zhong-an took half of it, everyone could only get a few grams of meat. Fortunately, there was enough meat soup.
The hot pieces of meat accompanied by the soft meat soup rolled down their throats and into their stomachs. A warm feeling came from their stomachs and their bodies could not help but sweat.
Lin Zhong-an divided some of the meat to his two women. The rest was eaten by him. A few kilograms of meat filled his stomach. That feeling of fullness gave him a sense of satisfaction.
...
A good night's sleep.
The next morning, Lin Zhong-an who was hugging the two women did not prepare to wake up early.
Today, the others did not have much desire to go out to hunt. The half a ton of meat that Lin Zhong-an brought back was enough to last them for more than a month. Even if everyone got only a little, it was enough to sustain their survival with the vegetable roots and tubers.
"Why did it suddenly shake?" This evolved human who was extremely sensitive to vibrations suddenly opened his eyes from his sleep. His eyes were filled with vigilance.
The rest of the people could not sleep anymore. One after another, they lifted the animal skin and stood up. Those who were not vigilant in the post-apocalyptic world would not be able to survive until now. Moreover, the volcano that was a few hundred kilometers away had recently shown signs of recovery. They could not help but be vigilant.
"Boss, let me go take a look!" Xiao Hu said cleverly.
"No, let's go together!" Lin Zhong-an walked out of the cave first. A group of people followed the stairs and walked outside. If there was an earthquake, staying underground would be a waste of their lives.
The shaking became more and more obvious. It seemed to be approaching from afar with some kind of rhythm. It was as if there was a mountain coming towards them.
By the time they were halfway there, everyone had roughly guessed what had caused it.
"Forget it. Let's go back. It should be that level eight giant beast again. Let's wait for it to pass by." Lin Zhong-an said. His tone was weak and disappointed.
"It's that damn beast again!" The crowd cursed.
It was a terrifying giant beast that looked like an ape. It was unknown why it would wander around this area every one or two years. In the beginning, it was only a dozen meters tall and was about level seven. At that time, Lin Zhong-an treated it as a prey and was eager to try it. However, it was either because the distance was too far or he was worried about getting injured.
When he finally made up his mind, this giant beast had already become a level eight creature.
The giant body of forty to fifty meters and the shiny golden hair was enough to intimidate anyone. Such a creature was already standing at the top of the Earth's food chain.
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