No Chance Left

"Sorry, too late," Craig snorted, indifferent. "I gave you a choice, and there won't be a second chance. Don't even think about stepping through the gates of the Base in the future."

These words instantly drained the color from everyone's faces. In extreme heat, they could find places to hide, but now it was a snowy wasteland. Without food, they couldn't go far, and they didn't even have a place to keep warm.

Some tried to continue begging for mercy, but Craig had no intention of listening. He looked at Hurley and the others, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You've all done well. After returning to the Base, you won't be mistreated."

"Thank you, Craig," Alice said calmly.

In reality, she had known about the reinforcements. She slept lightly, and even though over a hundred people were far away, the faint sound of footsteps didn't escape her ears.

Craig turned to Kobe, whose face looked grim, and sneered, "Do you really think your tricks are so clever? Now it's time for you to make a choice."

Before Kobe could speak, elderly people and children rushed out, apologizing, "Sorry, we were wrong. Can we take a step back?"

"We'll leave this place," a woman quickly added.There was no need to think; they had no hope of winning.

Kobe also compromised. Just as he was about to tell them that the rice in the grain storage was genuinely gone, not to ask them for it, he opened his mouth and saw Base reinforcements carrying bags of rice coming out.

All the villagers stared in astonishment at the direction of the grain storage. One of the doors was open, and shelves several meters high were stacked with food.

How... how could this be!Just two days ago, the shelves and rice in the grain storage had disappeared. Why did they suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Could it be that someone had cast an illusion on them?The villagers were no longer calm, staring fixedly at the people from the Base carrying rice up and down.Craig noticed their gaze, thinking they were unwilling to accept the situation and still wanted to occupy the food. He snorted coldly, "Stop looking. Even if you keep looking, it doesn't belong to you."

Kobe tried to explain, but considering how mysterious this situation was, they probably wouldn't believe him. They might even think they were making excuses or exaggerating the danger.

In the end, everyone remained silent, feeling uneasy. If only they had known about the appearance of the food earlier, they could have moved more rice.

Alice walked to the outside of the grain storage and saw ten large trucks parked outside. Base personnel were working together to move the food.

Craig looked at the villagers and said, "If you're willing to help, we can allocate some more rice for you."He knew the villagers had already moved a considerable amount of food before, but with fewer people from the Base, it would take a long time. It made more sense to use the villagers' help.

The villagers, who were previously not worried as they had their own supplies, now felt a sense of crisis. They rushed to help move the food, realizing the urgency of stocking up in the extreme cold.

Alice joined in the effort, and after a whole day of hard work, all the rice from the grain storage was finally loaded onto the trucks.

Craig gave each villager who helped a bag of fifty kilograms of rice, and everyone was overjoyed.

"Let's go back!" Craig shouted.

It was already half past six in the evening, and normally, after a day of hard work, they would rest for the night before leaving. However, Craig was concerned about potential risks during the long night. All the food was here, and any mistake could leave the people at the Base hungry. The unknowns about when they could cultivate rice added to the urgency.

Daytime was vulnerable to robbery, but nighttime was comparatively safer. When he saw the traitors attempting to follow, Craig's expression turned cold, "Don't follow us. The Base does not welcome you."

"Craig..." The traitors wanted to argue, but Craig simply sat in the car without paying them any more attention.Alice returned to her car after checking it and followed the food convoy. She and Hurley still trailed behind, with the large trucks ahead, blocking their view entirely.

The convoy moved on the snowy terrain at a moderate pace. Alice drove casually with one hand while snacking on sausages, having compressed biscuits for dinner.

The journey went smoothly; anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't dare to attempt robbery. After five days, they finally reached the Base.

The people at the Base were already aware of their mission to transport food. Seeing the trucks loaded with supplies, they couldn't help but cheer and applaud.

Craig was busy with the handover and didn't pay much attention to Alice and Hurley. "Come back in two days to exchange for rice," he instructed.

They nodded and went their separate ways.

Returning to her home, Alice was about to retrieve the keys from the space when the gate opened from inside. The Allen family, all four of them, stood at the entrance, smiling at her. Arnold walked up, assessing her appearance. Seeing that Alice looked healthy and not worn out at all, he finally felt relieved.

Blanche pulled her inside, releasing the anxiety that had been hanging over them. Even though Alice had proven her capabilities to them, they couldn't be entirely at ease.

Alexander went to cut some fruit for her. "Have something to eat first to fill your stomach. Second brother will cook for you," he said, hurrying into the kitchen.

"Did you encounter any trouble on the road? Was there any robbery?" Atticus asked anxiously.

Alice didn't mention the bear attack but explained the occupation of the grain storage by the villagers and how they managed to reclaim the food.

"That's outrageous. They can't possibly consume a hundred thousand tons of rice. It's a waste if not preserved properly," Atticus commented. He had seen selfish acts before but never something like this.

Arnold added, "That's why I said they were foolish. With the large number of people at the Base, they couldn't defend it. Even if they managed to move the food, capturing just one person would reveal the information, and their efforts would be in vain."Alice noticed a 20-kilogram bag of rice at home and curiously asked, "Is that bag of rice your salary?"

"Yes, along with a hundred work points."

"In these days, the Base has organized people to go out and search for supplies. There's quite a bit in the supermarkets now. You can use the work points card to buy things." Arnold handed her his work points card. "I have 80 work points in my account. Take it and buy what you need."

Alice smiled and pushed it back. "The items in the supermarket are not yet complete in my space. You keep it for yourself."

"It's not just about the supplies; it's about enjoying the fun of shopping. The Base's mall has clothes and blankets for sale. Check it out tomorrow," Arnold suggested.

Alice casually agreed. Unable to stay still, she checked the inventory at home, realizing that there wasn't much left from what she left before going to transport the food.She took some meat from her space and placed it in a bowl on the balcony. The outside cold served as a natural refrigerator, and there was no need to worry about the meat going bad.As she was about to go back inside, she suddenly saw the construction of "ice houses" in the open space not far away.

Blanche came out to help her with the meat. Seeing Alice staring into the distance without moving, Blanche also looked over.Those ice houses are built by people who have nowhere to live. During the extreme heat, many people couldn't even afford the dormitories and had to live in tents. They negotiated with the Base, but with nowhere to stay, they suggested building ice houses for warmth."

Alice then remembered there was such a thing. They arrived early, and at that time, the Base's houses were not fully occupied. With the increasing number of people, the houses in the Base were becoming scarce. A dormitory room was already crowded with over ten people.

Blanche continued, "Many people died in this natural disaster. The official statistics say there are already two thousand casualties."When will these difficult times end?

"It's cold outside. Let's go back inside," Blanche suggested.