Prologue. Chapter 0 Blank 2156. Snow

November 11, 2155

Snow-capped peaks, under a gray sky, in a mountain forest, several deer are digging through the snow with their hooves, trying to find edible plant roots. The deer are watching everything around them warily.

In a thicket of withered plants, a black muzzle stuck out. There were two people, one large and one small, wrapped tightly in the grass, an old man and a little girl whose face was already red from the cold.

"Tasia, come on."

The old man handed the gun to the girl next to him little by little. The girl held the cold and biting butt of the gun, but could not pull the trigger. She looked at a fawn in the herd in front of her, playing beside the mother deer, without knowing it at all. Danger is creeping nearby.

"Child, don't hesitate. If you hesitate, you will fail. Shoot."

Tasia's family has not caught prey for many days. They must capture prey and use the meat to exchange for some food in the largest human refuge nearby, the Winter Fortress, in order to continue to survive.

Tasia's family is an Orion family living near this mountain range. After the disaster that almost destroyed mankind, her great-grandfather and his family fled here from the city with difficulty.

Tasia likes to listen to her grandfather telling some ancient stories that her great-grandfather once told her. She is 16 years old this year and has to bear all the family expenses. Recently, the sun has become more and more difficult to penetrate the clouds. Here in Tasia When I first became sensible, it was all white.

In Tasia's world, there was only white. There was a touch of sadness on her red little face, and the hand that was holding the trigger pressed down little by little.

boom

Following a loud noise, a lot of boulders rolled down the mountain. The deer dispersed, and the grandfather and grandson hurriedly came out of the grass.

"Climb up Tasia."

Grandpa shouted. Tasia hugged a thick tree and climbed directly up. Grandpa followed closely. The two of them quickly climbed to a high place. A lot of people slipped under this thick tree. snowflake.

"No chance!"

Recently, there are fewer and fewer animals that can be hunted. Originally, the 60 or 70 families in the neighborhood all abide by the rules and must not kill all the animals. They must leave some way for the animals to survive. However, as food becomes increasingly scarce, the situation continues to increase. Ten years of cold winter has almost pushed everyone to a desperate situation.

"Sorry grandpa!"

Tasia started to cry sadly, but at this moment, Tasia saw a hand in the snow, which had turned purple from the cold. Seeing Tasia about to go down, her grandfather held her hand. she.

"Don't go down there, Tasia. The person who died on the ridge must have been washed down by the avalanche."

The rustling snow is still flowing, and there is a possibility of a second avalanche. We must wait until the situation stabilizes, then go down slowly, and then leave quietly.

Tasia had seen the dead man many times, but she always felt that the fingers of the person stretching out her hand below were moving. It was already approaching dusk and the light was very poor. At this time Tasia exclaimed.

"The people below grandpa are not dead, they are starting to work."

Grandpa, who was observing the drifting snow, shook his head.

"Stop talking nonsense."

However, the moment Grandpa saw it from the corner of his eye, he snatched the gun from Tasia's hand and pointed it at the man below who was really sitting up. His whole body was in tatters and his exposed skin was turned purple from the cold. In this way In the snowy day, he only wore a thin leather jacket, which was in tatters and full of bullet holes. He also only wore a pair of ordinary trousers underneath. It seemed that the man could hardly stand the cold. , sneezing and shivering.

"But grandpa, this man is so handsome."

Tasia said that she had never seen such a handsome man with silver hair and a strong body. At this time, the man stood up, looked at the grandfather and grandson on the tree with a smile, and said hello.

"Hey, I just walked on it and fell into an ice cave, and was washed down by an avalanche. My name is Jean!"

The man said, and grandpa finally put down the gun. At this time, Gene looked sideways at him, and suddenly a black thing jumped out. Grandpa and grandson were startled. This kind of thing that looks like a wolf is actually a mutation. Animal beasts, very ferocious.

boom

The gun rang out, and the grandfather and grandson stared wide-eyed, looking at the monster in front of them standing straight in the air, and incredible blue particles floated out of the man's eyes, and the monster stagnated in the air.

"I'm a little hungry. Let's bake this thing and eat it first."

Click

With a crisp twisting sound, the monster's neck was broken. Gene picked up the monster weighing hundreds of kilograms with one hand, leaving his grandfather and grandson stunned.

Gene turned his head to look at the grandfather and grandson on the tree, and bowed with a smile on his face.

"What is this place!"

After a while, the grandfather and grandson took Jean down the mountain and told him that this place used to be a backing town in a country in Eastern Europe, but now there are many people stationed here.

"Jean, aren't you cold?"

Tasia looked at this weird handsome man and really couldn't understand. In such a big winter, he felt so strange that he was dressed up like this but didn't freeze to death. Moreover, looking at this man's appearance, he seemed to have something special. Power, at this time, Grandpa was worried in his heart, because he instinctively felt that this man was dangerous.

Although the light was very dark, Grandpa Oleg had carefully observed the man's body. There were no scars at all, but there was a lot of blood, and the strangeness of this man made Oleg a little worried.

At this time, Tasia looked at the monster that Jean was carrying with one hand. These very ferocious monsters that suddenly appeared, many of them looked like wolves, tigers, or something else. They were very bloodthirsty, but fortunately their flesh You can eat it, but eating it will have a certain impact on the human body, but in this situation of food shortage, you can no longer care about that much.

Moreover, the bones of this kind of monster are very valuable and can be exchanged for some supplies, because the bones of the monster contain an antiviral component that can be made into medicine.

"I'm so cold. Little sister, would you like to lend me your cotton-padded jacket?"

Gene just said that casually, and Tasia was about to take off her cotton-padded jacket, but was stopped by Gene.

"I'm a little different from normal humans. I'm always completely lost right now."

Jean's idea at this time is to quickly return to the plateau called the Arena. Now that the situation in the Arena has stabilized, various forces have begun to cooperate in building the wall. Among them, their forces are the largest. All forces began to gradually obey them.

"Mr. Jean, where are you from?"

Oleg asked.

"Coming from the Himalayas."

Oleg immediately understood. He had heard his late father often say that many people chose to go to high altitudes to survive in the increasingly deteriorating environment. If it were not for the extremely chaotic situation, his father would have taken him with him. Their family crossed the mountains directly to the plateau, but it was too difficult and dangerous to cross the mountains, and they missed the best opportunity.

At the moment when the disaster strikes, a terrifying deadly virus is also raging across the world. It is feasible for most people to use transportation to go to the plateau as soon as possible, but those who are slower can only survive in that chaotic era. To make a living, living in such deep mountains is also the best choice for most humans.

"You're so stupid Gene!"

Tasia laughed. Gene stopped Tasia and didn't let her give him a cotton-padded jacket. Along the way, Oleg asked a lot about the plateau. Gene just casually told him the current situation there. Stable, with tens of millions of people still alive.

This shocked Oleg extremely. The sun had disappeared for decades. Even if it appeared, there was only a little glimmer, and these glimmers were gradually dying out. In the past, some things could be grown on the outdoor land, but Now that there is no sunlight, the plants are gradually dying. Most of the plants in this mountain forest have died.

There are still some surviving people on the higher mountain peaks, but it was more than thirty years ago. In such a harsh climate, Oleg knew very well that those people were probably dead, and they could often be seen accompanied by There was an avalanche and someone's body was washed down.

Scattered glimmers of light spread in front of Jean's eyes. He was a little happy. He didn't know how long it had been since he saw the light. He went to the Heavenly Punishment Pit to look for resources. Currently, Gu Yi and Tang Rao had discovered some new substance and had begun to work on it. Research, the research achieved initial success, and he took on the important task of finding resources for the entire arena.

It's just that when we came out, it was a team of 50 people, but in the middle, some died of illness, or died in fierce exchanges with some places where the forces were still remaining. The final resources were obtained and the remaining 6 people were responsible for distributing the resources. Bring back.

Jean originally wanted to follow him back. After all, he was a little worried and wanted to see his wife Ellie. However, during the journey, Jean saw the light from the northern border of Asia. He did remember it. There is a dragon lighthouse, so I decided to go and see it alone.

After bringing a certain amount of food and a locator, Gene set out alone. Unfortunately, on the way, Gene saw the light of the lighthouse extinguished.

After arriving at the lighthouse, this huge facility was filled with bloodthirsty mutant monsters, fierce battles took place, and dead people were everywhere. Jean looked everywhere for people who might still be alive.

However, he was disappointed in the end. No one survived and everyone died. He once again saw the destruction of a human gathering place. After cleaning up most of the monsters and burying the dead one by one, Jean left.

During the battle, the locator broke down, and Jean could only walk by feeling. However, he didn't expect that he would go all the way to Europe, which Jean didn't expect.

Looking at the grandfather and grandson in front of him, Jean could see that they were hungry, and they had been hungry for a long time. His eyes kept staring at the things in his hands.

"When you go back later, let's have a full meal!"

Tasia showed an excited smile and finally entered the village. This village was not big, with sixty or seventy households. At this time, Oleg and Tasia had just returned. After someone heard the noise, several nearby families They came out one after another, looking at them longingly.

Gene took a glance and found that many of these people had physical problems. Some people had some sarcomas and dark spots on their faces. They looked not in good health. It should be caused by long-term consumption of contaminated food.

After a while, everyone in the village came out. More than 100 people gathered around. Each household took out some scattered things and set up a large pot. This monster weighed more than 150 kilograms. , after being skinned, the villagers began to sit around and deal with it. During this period, everyone had a difficult time.

The village seemed to be full of old people and children, and there were few young and middle-aged people. After receiving a pipe and some tobacco from a villager, Gene sat leisurely and smoked it. He was covered with an animal skin.

There were only her grandfather and herself in Tassia's family. Her brother went to Winter City and would bring back some things from time to time, but there was no news recently. Tassia's parents were unfortunately killed in the previous fight between two forces. She was raised by her grandfather since she was a child.

The villagers handled it very carefully, even the remaining meat on the bones was scraped off without any residue and put into the boiling pot. Gene didn't say anything, saying that it was a gift for everyone.

"Thank you, Gene."

Tassia came to Gene, holding a piece of ice flower that was picked from the tree. Gene smiled at this shy and innocent little girl and took the ice flower with a smile.

Although Gene wanted to leave after staying for a few days, he decided to stay for a while when he thought of the situation in front of him.

After that, Gene learned a little about the situation. Winter City is very large. It used to be a big town. After the disaster, the government that still existed at that time also came there and started to build walls. Most people ran to the mountains. Finally, after more than 50 years of hard work, it was finally established more than 20 years ago.

Now it has been 80 years since the punishment of heaven. Gene knows very well that this place may not last long. The Atlantic Ocean should have been frozen on a large scale due to the extremely low temperature, so the subsequent disaster caused by the impact in the center of the Pacific Ocean did not spread. Gene asked some questions about the virus, but the virus only broke out on a large scale in big cities, not here.

Seeing some old villagers trying hard to cut the bones, Gene walked over and raised one hand. He saw only a blue light flashing, and the extremely hard monster bones were cut into pieces in an instant. Everyone exclaimed.

Under the villagers' questioning, Gene just said that he was just one of the people who had human mutations on that plateau. Many people on that plateau had mutations and could use some superpowers.

Tasya was fascinated by what she heard, and looked at Gene with some longing.

"Gene, can you take me there?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Tasya."

Oleg looked at Gene seriously at this time, and Gene realized something and nodded hurriedly.

"I'm sorry, Tasya, it's basically impossible to reach that plateau now."

Seeing Tasya's disappointed expression, Gene pressed her head with one hand.

"Tasya, can you arrange a place for me to sleep? I'm a little tired and want to have a good sleep."

Tasya nodded and took Gene into her house, a three-story cabin with a lot of wooden furniture in it. It was very tidy. The floor, windows and walls were all covered with animal skins. The house was much warmer, and the stove was still burning. Gene sat comfortably on the animal skin mat and leaned down.

Tasya opened a room opposite the living room, where a bed was placed.

"Just sleep here, Gene. Although it smells a bit strong here, it's warm."

Tasia turned around and looked at Gene in surprise. He had already fallen asleep with his head tilted. Tasia found a piece of animal skin and covered Gene with it, then tiptoed out of the house.

As soon as she went out, Tasia took a pot of wine from an old man next door, gulped down a big sip, laughed comfortably, stretched her nose to smell the meat, and the villagers began to sing. Many people here rely on mutual assistance to maintain the minimum level of survival. Many people have not eaten any decent food for many days.

Grass roots, bark, leaves, and everything edible are almost impossible to find nearby. If you want to go hunting in the mountains, you have to risk being attacked by such monsters and the physical strength required for a long journey.

Recently, some people who went into the mountains to hunt have not returned for many days. Everyone knows that they have died in the mountains.

Oleg felt a little uncomfortable when he saw Tasya, who was blushing and dancing in the joy of the villagers. He pressed his abdomen and found that the lump was getting bigger and bigger. He knew that he didn't have much time left.

His granddaughter was just 16 years old, and it was the beginning of her life like a flower. He had to teach her how to survive, so he often took her to hunt in places that only took an hour to return. After a month, he finally encountered some deer, but his luck was not bad. He met Gene, a strange boy.

In the laughter, everyone squatted with a bowl, and happiness jumped on their faces. Finally, they could drink a bowl of thick broth. This big pot of food was enough for more than 100 people in the village to eat for several days, but most people would save it and it should last for more than half a month.

Dark night

The sky was like a curtain. Tasya and her grandfather sat by the fire at the door. It was time for her grandfather to tell her a story again.

"Tasia, what do you think? Yefim has been here before. Think about it. Maybe life will be better in Winter City."

Tasia shook her head with disgust.

"How can I like a man who is almost 20 years older than me?"

Oleg sighed. Yefim was a police officer in Winter City, and his family was much better off than them. When he took Tasia to the Winter City to exchange furs for food a few months ago, he was attracted by him. Winning, Yefim said that he liked Tasia very much and hoped to marry her. Oleg was very happy at the time. Although Yefim was average-looking, in this era, being able to marry a sheriff was considered a blessing. His granddaughter is lucky, and he has no ability to create anything else for her.

"Grandpa, I think we should follow Gene to the Himalayas!"

As soon as Tasia spoke, Oleg's expression suddenly changed. He didn't know how the guy named Jean could endure such a harsh environment and come here, but ordinary people want to cross mountains and ridges that stretch for thousands of kilometers. Mountains are tantamount to seeking death.

"No, Tasia, your delicate body cannot climb over mountains and ridges."

Tasia also nodded. She only had a hint of longing in her heart. At this time, she picked up the bowl aside, filled a large bowl of broth, and brought it in. Jean woke up at this time. , yawned, drank the broth happily, and praised the taste.

"It's just a pity there aren't some vegetables."

As soon as Jean said this, he saw that Tasia was a little embarrassed, and immediately smiled and shook his head.

"Can this small bag of bones be exchanged for more food?"

Gene looked at the small bag slung around Tasia's waist, which probably contained less than 20 bones.

"There are already a lot of them. You can exchange them for 1 kilogram of flour."

Jean had an idea in his mind that he had never seen so many mutated animals on that plateau. Jean was somewhat interested in what the medicinal ingredients extracted from the bones of such animals could do.

"When are you going to change? Take me with you."

Tasia ran out the door happily and ran in after asking for a while.

"Grandpa said he would go the day after tomorrow."

Gene raised his head and put down the broth. He hadn't eaten for many days, he thought about it and said.

"Let's continue hunting tomorrow. I'll help, and we should get a lot of harvest. You tell me where there are more of these monsters, and I'll just go and kill a few."

Jean's idea is that due to the mutation, the monster's body has produced resistance to certain substances that cause the mutation, so there are ingredients in the bones that can be made into medicine.

Jean didn't have any biological detection equipment at hand, otherwise he would have become interested and wanted to check the cell genes of this monster. It seemed that he could only go to the city.

"By the way, Jean, can you tell me what's on that plateau!"

Looking at Tasia who looked innocent, Gene scratched his head and fell silent for a while.

"Wherever people gather, there will always be fights, and it's not a good place."

Tasia said oh.

Jean then asked a lot of questions. The current population of Winter City is probably less than 200,000. Adding in the surrounding small villages like theirs, there are so many people living on this land, less than 300,000.

There is a solar greenhouse planting field in the city, but the output is average, only enough to supply people in the city. This place relies on thermal power. There is a thermal power plant in the west of the city, built next to a coal mine. On the other hand, the storage capacity of coal mines is still very large.

There is no currency here, only things are exchanged for things, and there are managers. Large-scale conflicts once broke out on this land. In the end, the smoke cleared and people finally adopted a posture of helping each other. The city lord Alexei manages Winter City.

There are peace officers and security guards in the city, which are equivalent to the army, but many of them are technical people and are also responsible for inspecting all equipment in the city.

Jean probably already knew the structure of everything. At night, Jean lay quietly on the bed, feeling a little uneasy. He knew very well what the outcome of the people in this place would be.

We have witnessed too many tragic situations where human gatherings eventually perished. Problems appearing on the edge are the beginning of the collapse of human society.

One day, food will no longer be available, and the environment will continue to deteriorate. This is just the beginning. Jean has gone out to investigate many times and knows exactly what this means.

This place is not safe. Jean can see it from the ridge. The strange light coming from the ocean. Those harmful substances are slowly moving over. They will eventually come here and cover everything here.

At this time, there was a knock on the door of the room. Gene stood up. After opening the door, Oleg was still awake. He looked at Gene blankly.

"Jean, I just hope you don't tell Tasia anymore about that plateau."

Gene nodded.

"I promise."

Oleg said thank you, and then started walking. He almost fell, but Gene held him up.

"My health is failing, and my granddaughter is still young. Her only option is to marry the city's Sheriff Yefim, so that she can live a stable life in the next few decades. You know what I mean!"

Gene nodded.

"There is nothing you can do about it. It is impossible for you to cross the mountains to reach the plateau. It is impossible to go around. I have not seen anyone who can survive in the past for decades."

Oleg looked at Jean with some surprise, and Jean smiled and bowed.

"Good night Mr. Oleg."