Chapter 374: The Sudden Arrival of Winter
Su Tao suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and even shame.
During the past six months in Taoyang, she had thought about visiting Teacher Bai.
But she was too resistant to encountering anyone from the Su family.
She had been trying hard to cut ties with her biological family and to bid farewell to the person she had been for the past decade, but she forgot that there were still people from those memories worth cherishing.
She nodded firmly and said, “I will, Teacher Bai. I’ll come visit you in a while.”
Watching Su Tao walk away, Aunt Bai sighed with emotion. What a good girl, born into such a family that only brings people down.
“Is that the youngest daughter of the Su family, Aunt Bai?” a neighbor who recognized Su Tao came over to confirm.
Aunt Bai hummed in response but didn’t say much.
The neighbor clicked their tongue twice, about to ask if she had come back to claim her parents’ house—after all, property in the Western Third District was highly sought after these days.
Before they could speak, a business car stopped in the distance. A familiar figure hurriedly got out of the car, spoke politely to Su Tao, and even opened the car door for her, inviting her inside.
Someone exclaimed in surprise:
“Isn’t that Director Xie? Coming to the Western Third District so late to personally pick someone up? Who is that woman?”
“No idea, never seen her before.”
“It’s too dark to see her face clearly, but she looks like a young woman. Maybe she’s Director Xie’s daughter?”
*
The neighbors were stunned and turned to look at Aunt Bai.
But Aunt Bai had already turned around and leisurely walked home, leaving the neighbors in confusion.
How did the most unpromising daughter of the Su family know Director Xie?
And why did Director Xie act like a subordinate in front of her?
Meanwhile, after several days of non-stop travel, Ling Tianji and Zhuo Ercheng from Xindu finally arrived near Dongyang.
They had one mission this time—to persuade Taoyang to lower their prices.
The current cost of supplies was exorbitantly high. Any quantity exceeding the set limit required an additional payment in crystal cores.
For example, they could only purchase 50 cases of water at a time. For every additional 100 cases, they had to pay one crystal core. If they didn’t want to pay, they had to wait until the next quarter to buy more.
And the wait between quarters was a full three months!
For a large base like theirs, 50 cases of water was far from enough—it was practically extortion.
If they bought water in the standard quantities, it would cost them thousands of crystal cores, and that didn’t even include other essential supplies.
The already struggling Southern Base was being pushed to the brink.
Ling Tianji removed his glasses and wiped the sweat from his forehead. As he put them back on, he suddenly noticed several towering buildings on the western edge of Dongyang, standing out prominently against the night sky.
He was stunned and asked Zhuo Ercheng beside him:
“Ercheng, when did Dongyang build such tall buildings?”
Zhuo Ercheng asked the driver to stop the car. He got out, picked up a pair of binoculars, and looked closely. The sight of those skyscrapers felt like a heavy weight on his chest.
He tossed the binoculars aside and said, “It’s probably Taoyang backing Dongyang’s development. Otherwise, they couldn’t have built so many buildings without anyone noticing.”
Ling Tianji felt a similar pang of envy:
“Dongyang really hit the jackpot… Why can’t Xindu have the same luck? We never run into a sugar daddy like Taoyang.”
Zhuo Ercheng, too tired to argue, returned to the car and massaged his temples for a long time before giving up.
He was seriously considering whether it was too late to switch jobs.
*
Su Tao was driven back to Taoyang by Director Xie himself. Apparently, someone in the Western Third District recognized her and reported it to him, prompting him to rush over immediately.
After all, when it came to their golden goose, they had to provide top-tier service—no matter the hour.
Her own Jeep was arranged to be driven back to Taoyang the next morning, a thoughtful gesture.
Even though it had been another late night, Su Tao felt it was worth it. She even fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Shi Zijin drifted back on his own. He had planned to chat with her for a bit, but seeing her already in a sweet slumber, he decided to let it go.
Another lonely night for a ghost.
*
Early the next morning, Su Tao got up to head to Dongyang for a meeting. However, the moment she stepped out of Taoyang’s gate, a terrifying wave of cold air swept over her, forcing her to retreat into Taoyang’s warmth.
What was going on?
Why was it suddenly so cold outside?
Other tenants preparing to leave for work in Dongyang also retreated in shock, staring at the freezing outdoors.
The security department under Qi Yunlan promptly issued a notice:
At midnight, Changjing issued a sudden winter alert.
Temperatures would plummet drastically, and due to climate changes, zombie activity was expected to increase on a massive scale. All necessary defensive measures had to be put in place.
After reading the notice, Su Tao frowned and looked outside. The temperature had already dropped to 8 degrees Celsius.
Just yesterday, the high had been 42 degrees Celsius.
A drop this extreme was beyond belief.
Shen Wencheng rushed out, felt the cold air, and immediately ducked back inside, pulling his jacket tighter around him.
“The climate is completely out of whack now,” he told Su Tao. “I’m guessing the temperature will keep dropping for a long while—just like how the first half of the year had record heat. We’re in for an extended period of extreme cold through the rest of the year and into early next year.”
Su Tao shivered at his words. “I’m going back to grab a thicker coat.”
The other tenants, preparing to head to work, also hurried home to find warmer clothes.
Outside the climate-controlled Taoyang, it was a brutal winter. Without extra layers, they’d freeze.
Ling Tianji and Zhuo Ercheng’s group was already on the verge of freezing.
They had no idea about the sudden temperature drop before arriving at Taoyang, so they were still dressed in summer clothes—short sleeves, shorts, and, in Ling Tianji’s case, even a tank top.
Despite layering on every piece of clothing they had, they were still shivering uncontrollably.
The guards at Dongyang, bundled in heavy coats, checked their documents and quickly let them through, even offering a kind reminder:
“You should head to the Western Third District for now—it’s shielded and has a more comfortable temperature.”
