Driving through streets unfamiliar yet familiar, Chen Xin came to a stop at an intersection, pulling out a small binocular from the car to peer at a small building by the roadside.
The building was located at the corner of the intersection, an L-shaped three-story structure, with considerable land space.
The first floor used to be a street-facing shop, now charred black on the outside, yet the glass at the entrance and the metal security door were somewhat luckier than others. Although also charred, they remained intact, allowing a glimpse into the shop's relatively intact interior.
As for the second and third floors, the windows were all fitted with security grilles, also charred black, rendering it impossible to see the inside.
This was the house of a friend from Chen Xin's survival group. The first floor was her outdoor gear shop, the second and third floors were an archery range and a gym. Fully equipped, but only open to members, not the public.
Aside from these three ground pisos, there were actually two more subterranean levels — a members-only bar beneath, and below that, a shelter constructed by Chen Xin's friend.
This friend of Chen Xin was an outdoor sports enthusiast and survivalist, with a typical home, but became wealthy thanks to two urban redevelopment compensations, leading her to buy this land initially in anticipation of a third redevelopment. However, after studying abroad, she returned and built the building, starting an outdoor equipment business.
The building was designed from the start with a shelter in mind; thus, the bottom level was constructed as a military-grade bunker. Chen Xin's own shelter borrowed heavily from this friend's design.
The aboveground part of the building was built sturdily, using top-tier materials given the friend's wealth, withstanding the natural disasters leaving only a charred surface.
With the binoculars, Chen Xin spotted an antenna added to the building's roof and smiled in satisfaction, turning on the car's shortwave radio, tuning to the pre-arranged frequency and started calling.
"Calling calling, this is the Writer, Dragon Mother, I'm at your doorstep, please respond if you hear this."
The Writer was Chen Xin's nickname in the survival group, and Dragon Mother was his friend's nickname. She got this nickname because they met in a game called FF14, where her character was a white-haired, dark-skinned Dragon Mother.
She was also the friend who mentioned borrowing someone else's shelter with her sister and best friend, and also the survival group's leader.
This survival group was established by the Dragon Mother friend, with members mainly being loyal customers of her outdoor gear shop, who could use the archery range, gym, and underground bar.
Chen Xin called her Dragon Mother in the game, later finding out she was a local, and the two eventually became friends, with her introducing Chen Xin into outdoor activities and survival.
Being used to it, Chen Xin kept calling her Dragon Mother, though her real name is Mo Qingyan, a rather literary name.
Recalling how they met, Chen Xin felt a slight nostalgia, lamenting that the apocalypse had robbed them of playing FF14 or farming with Jiang Tingting.
As Chen Xin sighed about his unluckiness never getting the desired mount and now never able to, a voice came through the radio.
"Calling calling! This is Dragon Mother, Foodie, why have you come to my house? Don't you have your own shelter? Why are you out?"
The voice on the radio, still as vibrant as before, showed that despite the apocalypse's severe impact on her, she hadn't lost her spirit.
"I said before, a month after the meteor strike, we need to exchange supplies. My greenhouse just yielded a batch of vegetables. Remembering you don't have a greenhouse, I brought some over. If you don't want them, I'll take them to the official shelter to trade for supplies."
"Fresh vegetables? How many? I'll take them all! Whatever you want just say, I've gone a month without fresh veggies, sick of canned luncheon meat!"
Hearing her words almost identical to before, Chen Xin couldn't help but chuckle, Mo Qingyan was indeed the same as ever.
The lively words brought a smile to Chen Xin's face too; after a month in the shelter facing the apocalypse, his mood was sinking. Hearing his friend's voice lifted his spirits.
So Chen Xin replied on the radio: "I have four hundred pounds of fresh cabbage and lettuce, I can give you half. Trade with canned meat and wine, I know you've got plenty. Also, if you have gasoline to swap or can get me a working fridge to take back, the remaining hundred pounds are yours too."
After saying his terms, Chen Xin drove to the side door of Mo Qingyan's store building, waiting for Mo Qingyan to open the door.
Chen Xin had been here many times and knew the structure well; the above-ground three floors were not connected to the two below, nor could the building's stairs reach them; access was via the side door into the yard, then by elevator down. Thus, Chen Xin had to wait by the side door for Mo Qingyan to open it from inside.
Sure enough, after not waiting long, the similarly fire-blackened side door was opened by a figure wrapped head to toe, wearing a gas mask, accompanied by a second figure holding a crossbow, equally dressed, aiming cautiously around.
The opening figure quickly came to Chen Xin's car window and knocked twice. Though the gas mask hid expressions, Chen Xin sensed her joy.
Inside the car, Chen Xin also wore a gas mask, not removing it, simply waving, indicating he was about to drive in.
The figure nodded, pointed at the opened side door, signaling Chen Xin to drive through.
Chen Xin drove through the side door, into the familiar courtyard, without stopping, heading straight to a warehouse-like spot in the yard, while another figure pressed the elevator button.
At the figure's signal, Chen Xin drove into the elevator.
After Chen Xin drove into the yard, the outside figure hurriedly shut the side door again, then joined the crossbow-holder in the yard. The three figures then entered the elevator, the door closing, and they began descending.
Mo Qingyan had installed a large freight elevator in her shelter capable of moving cars, as she was accustomed to parking underground.
Upon descending underground, Chen Xin drove out of the elevator, then got off the car, removing his gas mask to greet the also unmassed Mo Qingyan: "Long time no see, Dragon Mother."