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After landing safely, Bai Tang shook her head, and the system's voice suddenly sounded.
"Ding, the mutual crossing of humans between two worlds is complete, the passage between the two realms is fully opened, and the timeline has been unified."
What does that mean? Does unifying the timeline mean that the time progression in both worlds will be consistent from now on? If five units of time have passed in this world, then only five units have passed in the Red Mansion World? Bai Tang casually eliminated a Zombie and provided the Crystal Core to the system to replenish energy, deciding to return to the Red Mansion World after half a unit of time.
Half a unit of time later, Bai Tang appeared in her room in the Red Mansion World. She opened the door and stepped outside.
Bai Dad, who was watering the flowers and trees in the garden, stared at Bai Tang in astonishment. "Aren't you supposed to be back in modern times? Why are you back again?"
“Dad, how long have I been gone?” Bai Tang asked instead of answering.
Bai Dad glanced at his watch—this watch was over thirty years old, bought with half a year's salary when he first started working. Although it looked clunky and heavy, its quality was excellent; it still worked perfectly after decades. Later, as mobile phones gradually replaced watches for telling time, Bai Dad cherished this mechanical watch and kept it safe. Now that he was in the Red Mansion World without electricity and unable to use his mobile phone, he took out the mechanical watch again.
"Ten-thirty. You've only been gone for half a unit of time."
Sure enough! Bai Tang was overjoyed; she no longer had to worry about spending too much time in modern times and returning to find that several years had passed in the Red Mansion World, making it difficult to visit her parents often.
"Hehe!" Bai Tang laughed happily, excitedly hugging Bai Dad's arm. "Dad, I have something to tell you. Because I brought you both to the Red Mansion World, it led to a complete opening of the time-space passage between the two worlds. The flow of time has become consistent; half a unit of time has passed here while only half a unit has passed in the modern world."
"Really?" Bai Ma asked happily. Hearing her daughter's voice, Bai Ma and Wu Xuemei rushed out from the kitchen just in time to hear Bai Tang's words.
"That's great! This way, we won't have to wait one or two years or two or three years for Tang Tang to come home," Wu Xuemei said excitedly.
The different flow of time between the two worlds had been a source of worry for everyone; they just hadn't voiced it. Now that this problem was resolved, everyone was very happy.
"Dad, Mom, you don't have to worry about me anymore! Just enjoy your rural life peacefully; I'll come back to see you in a month!" Bai Tang waved goodbye to the three of them and activated the Time-Space Gate again, leaving the Red Mansion World.
Bai Tang's landing point was located five kilometers outside City D. However, she didn't intend to return to City D but headed towards Southwest Base in S Province. The Southwest Base is near Provincial Capital where most of Bai Family's relatives lived. If they were still alive, they would definitely be at Southwest Base—Bai Tang had once given each relative a sip of water mixed with three Peiyuan Pills; their bodies had been nourished and could not have turned into Zombies. Bai Dad had suggested that Bai Tang check on their relatives and help them out. The family had never considered bringing their relatives to the Red Mansion World because given Bai Tang's system, there were varying characters among her relatives; they couldn't guarantee that none would covet their daughter's system. So it was better not to let these people know from the start.
The system restarted; skills returned along with her cultivation level. Bai Tang could use her skills again; she could fly with her sword or use Lightness Skill—her speed was incredibly fast. Bai Tang chose to use Lightness Skill; running on land would attract mindless Zombies. Killing them would not only yield Crystal Cores to replenish energy consumed by Time-Space Gate but also earn Experience Points. With Experience Points, she could level up; under circumstances where tasks were rarely issued by the system, Experience Points had become quite rare for Bai Tang. Now she could earn Experience Points by killing Zombies—though it was pitifully less than what she would get from completing tasks, every little bit counts—Bai Tang's enthusiasm for killing Zombies soared as she remained stuck at the Transformation Stage. Whether it was one Zombie or a group of them, as soon as Bai Tang saw them, she pounced on them with an aura so fierce that even Zombies hesitated.
The Zombies howled, translating to: "Brothers, run! The killing god has come! We are no match for her!"
Unfortunately, before these Zombies could turn around, they transformed into Bai Tang's Experience Points, and the contributed Crystal Cores enriched Bai Tang's wallet.
Three days later, Bai Tang arrived outside the Southwest Base. The Southwest Base was one of the five refuge bases built by the Nation, and it was very large. Its defenses were not comparable to those hastily constructed bases like City D. The outer walls of the base were very high, and the Main Gate was made of iron—heavy and thick, not easily opened. Only two types of passages were available for personnel and vehicles to enter and exit.
There was a long line outside the base, all made up of people who had rushed to the base from other places. The heavy snow had stopped for two days, and as the weather warmed up, many people who had been stuck on the road or at home hurried to the base. Since Bai Tang was unfamiliar with what was inside the base, she chose not to sneak in but instead stood patiently at the end of the line.
"Hey, are you alone?" A middle-aged man behind Bai Tang struck up a conversation. Behind him were several men and women who seemed to be with him.
"Yes!" Bai Tang replied lightly, appearing aloof in the eyes of outsiders.
"Do you want to join us? Having one more person means more care!" The man's eyes flashed with calculation as he looked at Bai Tang. She suddenly realized how appealing her current image was. Her clean appearance suggested she hadn't suffered much; such people were either skilled or had powerful backgrounds. However, if she had a strong background, she wouldn't be waiting in line like them. So this seemingly delicate girl might actually be a master?
"No thanks, I'm looking for someone in the base. After I find them, I will leave!" Bai Tang rejected the man's invitation. This man must have been quite successful before the apocalypse and was good at assessing people.
"Oh really? That's too bad!" The man stopped pressing her after hearing this.
Soon it was Bai Tang's turn. After filling out her basic information and undergoing an unpleasant full-body inspection—Bai Tang's flawless skin made the inspecting woman envious enough that she wanted to cut her with a knife—after another round of observation, Bai Tang finally entered the interior of the base. The Southwest Base, like the bases in the capital city, was an underground structure; however, due to the large number of people, above-ground areas were also utilized to build makeshift shelters. During the coldest days, all survivors retreated into the Underground Base; only when it warmed up did some move out. Those who came later did not have the luck of those who came first and could not enter the underground section; they could only stay in above-ground makeshift houses. Of course, those with strong abilities or special skills could also reside in the Underground Base. Additionally, relatives living in the underground section could gain entry as well.
In the central area of the above-ground section was an administrative center where one could register as a Hunter, accept tasks, submit tasks for rewards, and search for information about relatives. Bai Tang took out three packs of instant noodles and gave them to a child who helped guide her; seeing how pitiful the child looked, she added an extra pack. The child gratefully bowed to Bai Tang, stuffed the instant noodles into his coat tightly, and ran off quickly.
Bai Tang sighed as she watched the child's back disappear before retracting her gaze and walking into the Administrative Hall. Nowadays, Crystal Cores and Gold had replaced pre-apocalypse paper currency as circulating money. Since Bai Tang didn't want to use Crystal Cores, she handed a piece of Gold to the person responsible for retrieving information; after all, she could obtain as much as she wanted when she returned to Red Mansion World.
"Bai... Bai... I found it!" The girl attending to Bai Tang exclaimed loudly. "Bai Jiabin's group has a total of thirty-four people; they were among the third group to arrive at the base after the apocalypse and are living in Room 137 in East District on Level One."
"Thank you!" Bai Tang handed another small piece of gold to the receptionist but frowned slightly. There were eight siblings in Bai Dad's family; adding their spouses, children, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and granddaughters together made over forty people. Now there were only thirty-some left—some must have met with misfortune.
After exiting the Administrative Hall, Bai Tang called another child to guide her to where Bai Family used to live in East District. The layout of East District resembled a beehive—crowded yet orderly. Bai Tang easily found Room 137 where Bai Family lived but only saw Aunt Bai along with several aunts and three cousins.
"Auntie! Aunt! Aunt Er! Cousin..." Bai Tang called out.
Hearing her familiar voice, several women rushed out joyfully and surrounded Bai Tang, chattering excitedly.
"Tang Tang! Is that really you? You've come!"
"Tang Tang, where are your mom and dad? Are they okay? Why didn't they come with you?" Aunt Bai's expression changed immediately when she didn't see her younger brother and sister-in-law.
"Aunt, don't worry. My parents are fine; they are in a very safe place." Bai Tang quickly reassured Aunt Bai, "They were worried about you all and asked me to come check on you!"
"That's good, that's good!" Several women felt relieved.
"Tang Tang, come inside and sit down!" Aunt Bai pulled Bai Tang into the room and made her sit by a bed. Bai Ergu hurriedly poured a cup of water for Bai Tang. After the heavy snow, many water sources had been contaminated, making it difficult for people to access clean water. This cup of water was likely Bai Ergu's only ration.
"Aunt Er, I'm not thirsty; you should keep it for yourself!" Bai Tang knew the value of water and declined Bai Ergu's kindness.
"You silly child, just drink it!" Bai Ergu insisted, shoving the cup into Bai Tang's hands.
Feeling warm inside, Bai Tang accepted it without further refusal and drank it all in one go. A few aunts smiled at her.
"Aunt, what about Uncle and the others?" Bai Tang inquired about the situation of the others.
"Your uncle and your three uncles and two aunts went to work on repairing the wall. Although it's tough work, they can exchange it for three mantou and a bottle of water..."
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