Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Wang Yan and Chen Na The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment at Guan Tong’s words, then turned off her flashlight.
Illuminated by the truck’s headlights, she got a clear look at Guan Tong’s face. He was young and clean-cut, looking like a student of about eighteen or nineteen.
Based on looks alone, Guan Tong didn’t seem very aggressive. It was just that the large iron pliers in his hand would naturally make a woman with a child a little nervous and afraid.
She watched Guan Tong warily and said, "I’m from Sun Family Manor. I read online that there’s less snow in less populated areas, so I brought my daughter here. Where are you from, young man?"
"I came from Yunhua."
Guan Tong knew of Sun Family Manor. It was a village over forty kilometers away; he had even passed it on his drive here.
"Mommy, I’m cold..."
Just then, the little girl’s voice came from behind the woman. Hearing her, the woman quickly picked up the girl and put her back in the truck.
Then she said to Guan Tong, "Young man, my daughter and I are just going to live in the truck. If you have your own place to stay, let’s not bother each other."
"Okay."
Hearing the middle-aged woman say this, Guan Tong was more than happy with the arrangement.
"But be careful. Don’t damage the path I cleared," he added as a reminder.
"Alright, we’ll be careful."
Hearing the middle-aged woman agree, Guan Tong said no more and turned to walk back to the camp he had set up, following the path.
The middle-aged woman also got back into the truck. Her daughter asked curiously, "Mommy, was that big brother bullied into hiding here too?"
"I don’t know." The woman stroked her daughter’s forehead and warned her seriously, "You have to stay with Mommy at all times these next few days. Don’t go running off on your own, understand?"
She hadn’t expected anyone else to be on Mingdao Mountain. Although Guan Tong didn’t seem like a bad person, she was with her daughter—two females facing an unfamiliar adult male in the wild. She had to be extremely careful.
After all, in this time and place, if any violent crime were to happen, she wouldn’t get any help even if she called the police.
"I know, Mommy. Mommy, I’m a little hungry."
"Okay, there’s food in the truck. Mommy will get you some."
Before the Apocalypse Rules, the woman was a long-haul truck driver.
Driving a big rig like this meant she often spent whole days in the vehicle, so she was used to keeping plenty of food on board. Besides, before leaving this time, she had deliberately packed the truck with a large amount of food from home—enough for her and her daughter to last for the remaining twenty-odd days.
She took out a bag of fruit bread, tearing it open for her daughter to eat. At the same time, she didn’t forget to lock the truck doors.
This way, she could sleep more soundly at night. If someone wanted to force their way in, they would have to break a window.
The woman kept the crowbar right by her side, ready to be grabbed at a moment’s notice.
"Mommy, I’m full."
"Okay, if you’re full, go to sleep now."
This kind of large truck had a sleeper bunk. Although it was narrow, it was big enough for one person to sleep in.
Back when her husband was still alive, the couple used to drive the truck together, taking turns. When one got tired, they would go rest in the bunk while the other took over.
The woman watched her daughter slowly fall asleep in the bunk. She leaned back in her own seat, gazing at the snowflakes outside the window, the worry etched between her brows impossible to smooth away.
Because the truck’s headlights were left on, visibility in the area improved significantly. Guan Tong benefited from it slightly at his camp, able to see his surroundings more clearly.
However, with someone else nearby, he was still a bit cautious. He broke some of the branches he had stored, scattered them on the ground in front of his camp, and covered them with snow.
This way, if the mother and daughter tried to sneak over in the middle of the night, their footsteps on the branches hidden under the snow would make a sharp CRACK, waking Guan Tong up in time.
This might seem overly paranoid, but for his own safety, it was necessary.
Guan Tong wouldn’t let his guard down just because they were a seemingly helpless mother and daughter.
On the contrary, so many people had died since the era of the Apocalypse Rules began. The fact that this mother and daughter had survived meant they had something special about them.
Besides, with "black box" items like Psychic Power artifacts, no one knew what kind of item the other person might have. If you underestimated someone because they looked weak, you risked being defeated when they pulled out a powerful artifact.
For now, they were like well water and river water—not mixing. Each was fighting to survive against the Rules on their own, and both sides were happy to keep it that way.
「The night passed without incident.」
The next day, Guan Tong woke up and looked toward the large truck.
The mother and daughter hadn’t gotten out, which was normal. The truck itself was essentially their camp. There was no need to come out unless it was necessary.
After a glance, Guan Tong looked away and went about his business as usual.
After a quick bite to eat, he grabbed his folding shovel and began clearing the snow that had fallen on his path overnight.
The task wasn’t difficult, but the challenge lay in its repetition—it had to be done every single day for a month.
If he slacked off for even one day, the accumulated snow of two days, combined with ice, would increase the difficulty by an order of magnitude.
And so the day passed. He and the mother-daughter duo coexisted peacefully, not disturbing one another.
Another two days passed peacefully.
「Three days later, June 9th.」
When Guan Tong got up to clear the snow, he saw the mother and daughter also clearing the snow near their truck’s doors.
They had no choice. If they let the snow pile up, in a few more days, it would reach the level of the doors. It would be a big problem if the doors got blocked by frozen snow.