Chapter 92: Gift, He Wentao’s Plea for Help
“You have to admit, this bizarre and unpredictable weather is insane! Just a few days ago, it was unbearably hot—absolutely stifling. And now, in the blink of an eye, it’s actually started snowing.”
As Jiang Nana spoke, she couldn’t help but let out a loud sneeze.
Su Ning silently nodded in agreement. “It looks like the extreme cold is about to arrive.”
Upon hearing that, Jiang Nana fell into silence. In truth, compared to the scorching heat, she found extreme cold even more unbearable.
But then again, she comforted herself with the thought that in the future, there would be someone to warm her bed. Otherwise, in such frigid weather, she really wouldn’t know how to cope.
With that, Jiang Nana led Su Ning forward. This was Su Ning’s first time entering the core area of the shelter.
Compared to the refugee zone and staff dormitories she had seen before, this place was clearly far more secure. A massive, indestructible iron gate stood at the exit, surrounded by heavily armed guards. They remained alert at all times, keeping watch over every corner where danger might lurk.
Jiang Nana took a card from her pocket and handed it to the guards for inspection. Once cleared, the two of them walked through the gate and were greeted by rows of neatly arranged villas.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that although there were many houses, most of them were empty and unoccupied.
“Don’t just stare—these villas may look plentiful, but very few people actually qualify to live here. Our shelter’s Director Liu made a rule: unless someone has made significant contributions to the base, wanting to live here is nothing more than a dream,” Jiang Nana explained.
Su Ning felt no envy in her heart. She was quite content with her current residence in the staff dorms.
The space might be limited, but it met her needs just fine.
Most of the time, she stayed in her planting space, and ever since she got the hibernation pod, she’d grown used to resting and recovering in that unique world. Her dorm was just a formality, a physical address to show others that she still had a place to stay.
Now that the issue with the Su Zonggang family had been resolved, she no longer had to worry about trouble coming her way and could live here in peace.
When she stepped into the Kou family home, she found the whole Kou household already waiting, including Kou Dingshan and some of his friends.
There were only four members in the Kou family: Father Kou, Mother Kou, Kou Dingshan, and his younger brother Kou Dinghe, who was eight years his junior. Since Kou Dingshan and Jiang Nana were now officially a couple, her family and friends had also come for the occasion. Unfortunately, Su Ning still hadn’t met Jiang Nana’s father—the famously well-informed man—which only made her more curious about him.
Aside from Su Ning, who was a complete outsider, there were also other guests from Kou Dingshan’s side. Since Su Ning didn’t know any of them, she chose to stay close to Jiang Nana to avoid any awkward moments.
Since the start of the apocalypse, Su Ning had become more reserved and quiet—though some might say more composed.
When others were handing out gifts, she silently pulled a small item from her pocket—something she had prepared for Jiang Nana—and sat quietly to the side.
Jiang Nana looked at the item Su Ning handed her, puzzled. “What is this?” she asked, opening it curiously.
The moment she saw the crystal inside, she gasped in shock.
It was a Luminous Crystal—a type of ore Su Ning had mined in the [Cosmic Mine] dungeon.
Although it wasn’t particularly useful, the crystal had a unique property: it absorbed ambient light and emitted a bright glow, illuminating its surroundings.
To Su Ning, these crystals weren’t rare anymore, so she had picked one of the more ordinary-looking ones to give to Jiang Nana.
More importantly, the Luminous Crystal was beautiful—few girls could resist the charm of a glittering, glowing stone.
For someone like Jiang Nana, who was extremely fond of pretty things, the crystal was a perfect gift. She adored it instantly and clutched it in her hands with a radiant smile, murmuring, “I absolutely love this gift.” To her, it wasn’t just a stone—it was a precious treasure.
Just as she was about to throw herself at Su Ning for a hug, Su Ning extended a hand and calmly pushed Jiang Nana’s face away.
“Your Dingshan’s coming,” she said.
While Su Ning’s gift was certainly thoughtful, it didn’t steal the spotlight. What really surprised Su Ning was the gift Kou Dingshan had prepared.
With a tender gaze, he looked at Jiang Nana and said gently, “Nana, thank you for agreeing to be with me. From now on, no matter what hardships come our way, I’ll protect you at all costs.”
As soon as he said that, he carefully took out his gift: a bright red egg!
[Monster: Little Fire Meow]
A mysterious feline creature from a monster-themed dungeon. It can breathe fire.
Skill – High-Temperature Skin: Can control and absorb heat, releasing intense temperature from its body.
The sudden appearance of this red egg stunned Su Ning.
“So you can even get monster eggs like this from dungeons? That means as players explore further, this world is only going to get more amazing.”
But she also knew full well: as the dungeons grew more rewarding, they also became far more dangerous.
After surviving the brutal trials of the Cosmic Dungeon, Su Ning had eagerly jumped into the player forums, hoping to find others who had gone through that dungeon too.
Especially Wang Chao—she wanted to know if he had made it back.
But to her disappointment, no matter how hard she searched, she found no trace of them.
Perhaps Wang Chao was in hiding, but deep down, Su Ning knew the truth: most of them probably didn’t make it out alive.
The banquet eventually came to an end.
Just as Su Ning was about to leave, on her way out of the core area, she unexpectedly ran into Researcher He—someone she hadn’t seen in a long time.
She wasn’t surprised to see Researcher Yan here, since he was Director Liu’s son-in-law, and living in this area made perfect sense.
As soon as He Wentao spotted Su Ning, his eyes lit up. He hurried over with a bright smile. “Haha! What a coincidence, Su Ning! I was just thinking about you. I’ve got a few questions I’ve been wanting to ask.”
Su Ning inwardly sighed.
Before she could respond, she was quickly and enthusiastically invited into his home.
Compared to the Kou family residence, He Wentao’s place was clearly closer to the center—and Su Ning was shocked to realize she had just stepped into Director Liu’s personal home.
“I’m really sorry to bother you at such a time, but I’ve run into a tough problem, and honestly, no one else seems to be able to help,” He Wentao said sincerely.
Su Ning grew curious—what kind of tricky situation could stump even them?
Not wanting to keep her guessing, He Wentao got straight to the point:
“This time, I entered a dungeon called [Breeding Farm]—the same one you went to before.”
“I saw a lot of strange plants and animals in there, but for some reason, this version of the dungeon had extremely strict rules. We weren’t allowed to leave the farm we were assigned to, and couldn’t explore freely.”
He turned to Su Ning and said, “So I came to you hoping you could help me look at the items I brought back. Maybe you recognize something or know what they’re used for.”
(End of Chapter)
