Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 187 A typical day in the life of a Haiqu citizen

Haiqu base city.

No matter what happens in other parts of the world, and no matter whether outsiders believe the broadcast content, it doesn't affect the people here who continue to live their lives as usual.

The news of the reforms spread to every household, but for ordinary people, everything proceeded gradually.

The heavy snow that had been falling for two days and one night was about to stop, and Sun Qi set off for the school to pick up the little girl that the old soldier had entrusted to him.

The veteran's surname was Meng. He had a daughter, but she wasn't actually his biological daughter; she was a descendant of a friend who died in the Great Cataclysm.

In that sense, Sun Qi could be considered her third father.

Following the veteran's last wish, he allowed the little girl to take his surname and named her Sun Xiaomeng, which can be considered a way of commemorating the veteran.

Since the veteran entrusted him to Sun Qi, this young man, who is not actually that old, has been working hard to learn how to take on the responsibilities of a father.

"Little Sun, you're here too?"

The person who greeted him was Yang Kun, who had escaped from the secret realm with Sun Qi and He Xiaoyu. Yang Kun was one of the matchmakers who brought Sun Qi and He Xiaoyu together.

Ever since he adopted the child named Chen Shuyu, he has treated him as his own son, and Sun Qi would run into him every day on his way to pick up the little girl from school.

After exchanging brief greetings, the two traveled together.

Not long after the snow stopped, the snow on the road was cleared away, and many piles of snow on the roadside were taller than a person. Occasionally, you could even see snowmen made from snow.

The roadside supply stores were also open. Looking inside from the outside, the shelves were full, with not only a lot of canned goods, but also some fresh fruits and vegetables. The cucumbers had their flowers and thorns on top, the tomatoes were bright red and translucent, and there were also round watermelons, I wondered where they came from.

Sun Qi's eyes lit up, and he quickly went in and bought some. These things are expensive now, but they are indeed rare. The residents of the safe zone have eaten too much canned food and haven't seen any fresh fruits in a long time.

"Here, take this and let Shuyu try it later." Sun Qi casually handed a tomato to Yang Kun: "They even have a limit on the number of purchases, otherwise I would have bought more."

Yang Kun didn't stand on ceremony with him. After taking the watermelon, he bought one at the store and made an appointment with Sun Qi to come to his house to share it.

"It's so heavy, it'll be tiring for you to carry it to school. Why don't you buy it when you get back?"

"There's still room for us when we get back? They should have been snatched up long ago!"

"Too."

The two continued towards the school, frequently seeing soldiers in military uniforms carrying tools along the way. Many of them were superhumans, clearly indicating that some unit from the city had been captured.

This is an extraordinary nuclear-powered donkey; everyone who's used it raves about it.

"It's so good to have a country around," Yang Kun sighed. "Otherwise, with this weather, countless people would freeze to death. Unlike us now, we have heating at home, our kids go to school as usual, and we even have watermelon to eat when we get home—we're eating out-of-season fruit in the apocalypse, wow."

Having worked in the production department, Yang Kun hadn't experienced anything thrilling since the secret realm. His daily life was ordinary and uneventful, and he knew all too well how precious happiness was in this era.

Sun Qi also agreed: "It's all thanks to the commander-in-chief. Without him, not many people would have survived the Great Cataclysm. People like us would have died in the secret realm long ago and wouldn't be alive now."

Compared to Yang Kun, Sun Qi had witnessed far more bleak scenes outside the safe zone and had personally participated in the war in Haizhou. Therefore, he felt the hard-won peace more deeply.

The two men huddled together, and the conversation inevitably turned to recent political events. "Hey, did you read that interpretation of the summit's agenda in the Spark Daily? There's a lot of new information since this conference."

Sun Qi nodded: "I've seen it."

The decisions were just made at the conference, and many things have not yet been implemented. The biggest impact on them is that their previous work points have been converted into the new version of the revival currency according to the standards.

The work points system has been implemented for a long time, but it has also revealed some drawbacks. The most obvious one is that without smart devices, bookkeeping is quite chaotic and daily transactions are quite inconvenient.

After exchanging it for money, it became much more convenient; at least this method of transaction was something their generation was used to.

"Does the latest law on rights and responsibilities impose many restrictions on you superhumans?"

“Actually, no.” Sun Qi shook his head: “Just do your job honestly, like before the Great Cataclysm. As long as you live a normal life, the criminal law can’t touch you.”

"Anything not prohibited by law is permissible; it's not that scary."

“That’s true.” Yang Kun nodded, then asked another question.

"The grand competition is about to begin. Why don't you sign up, Xiao Sun? You can sign up once you reach the second rank, right?"

“Me?” Sun Qi hadn’t thought about this at all. He smiled and shook his head: “I’m just a little more capable. There are far more people stronger than me. In the arena battle, it will definitely be the ability users who go up to fight. It has nothing to do with us ordinary superhumans.”

"I did hear there will be a regular group, but you're right, we ordinary people can just enjoy the show. Haiqu will also set up a sub-venue, and I heard the finals might be held by the sea. I'm planning to take Shuyu there to see it. Will you guys go?"

"Of course, let's go together!"

Their residence was not far from the school. As the two talked, they arrived at the school gate, where they could see many children waiting for their families under the guidance of their teachers.

Chen Shuyu, who escaped from the secret realm with Sun Qi, is still a young boy in Sun Qi's eyes. He stands proudly next to Sun Xiaomeng. The little girl is a bit shy. When she sees Sun Qi, she runs over and is hugged by him.

"How was your day, Xiaomeng? Did anyone bully you at school?"

"No--"

Sun Xiaomeng is two years younger than Chen Shuyu, and her voice is still childish. She is actually a bit shy, but after half a year, she has fully integrated into her new family.

"Let's go home!"

Yang Kun also took Chen Shuyu's hand, and the group chatted and laughed as they returned together.

Meanwhile, numerous vehicles passed through the high walls of the base city and entered the safe zone.

Sun Qi and the others did not plan to participate in the upcoming grand competition, but there were quite a few extraordinary individuals who wanted to show their skills at this event.

The previous summits were mostly attended by top-tier extraordinary individuals, but the threshold for the Grand Tournament has been lowered to the second tier, aiming to determine the best and strongest individuals at each stage.

Moreover, the competition is not limited to one city or one place. After all, this grand competition was set up by Su Xun and others to encourage the spirit of the whole nation. Even the Loulan Legion, which is far away, has arranged a competition of a certain scale according to its own capabilities.

After the cataclysm, everything was kept simple. Not long after the summit ended, the grand competition began amidst great anticipation.

(End of this chapter)