67: Let's have some drinks tonight.

The RV was still moving forward.

The journey in the afternoon was more difficult than expected.

Although the highway was barely discernible, the snow depth had already exceeded two meters.

Many sections of the road were blocked by fallen trees or abandoned vehicles.

Although the RV's autopilot mode could handle these road conditions...

...the speed had to be reduced to below thirty kilometers per hour.

Qin Lin sat in the cockpit, staring ahead with a tight frown.

The radar showed a large roadblock five kilometers ahead.

It appeared to be an overturned freight truck spanning the entire road surface.

Detouring required leaving the main road and entering the wilderness on either side.

However, the conditions in the wilderness were unknown, and the snow might be deeper.

There might also be hidden obstacles buried under the snow.

"Do we need to stop and scout?" Su Yuran walked over and asked.

"Not for now."

Qin Lin pulled up the terrain scan map.

"The RV has a ground-penetrating detection function; it should be able to pass safely."

He switched the driving mode.

The RV slowly drove off the highway and into the wilderness on the right.

The headlights illuminated the front, revealing a stretch of farmland covered in white snow.

The once-neat ridges of the fields were now just slight ripples on the snow-covered plain.

In the distance, the outlines of several farmhouses could be seen, their roofs collapsed under the weight of thick snow.

"In a place like this... will there still be anyone?" Lin Wanwan asked softly.

"The probability is very low," Qin Lin said.

"Rural areas have strong self-sufficiency, but faced with this extreme climate, without central heating and sufficient stockpiles, it's hard to last more than a month."

He was telling the truth.

In his past life, he had seen too many similar scenes:

Seemingly sturdy houses turned into ice cellars in the sustained low temperatures.

Survivors either froze to death or were forced to leave after their fuel ran out, eventually dying in the wilderness.

The RV left deep crawler tracks in the snow.

The wheels automatically transformed into wide crawlers to distribute pressure and prevent the vehicle from getting stuck.

Energy consumption would increase in this mode, but for an RV with infinite energy, it wasn't a problem.

At four in the afternoon, they successfully bypassed the roadblock and returned to the highway.

Qin Lin checked the coordinates; they were still six kilometers away from that energy fluctuation point.

But the time of day (though the sky didn't matter) was already approaching evening.

"We'll rest here tonight," Qin Lin decided.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll go investigate that energy point."

The RV stopped in a relatively open area beside the highway.

This used to be a temporary parking area with a small observation deck, now completely buried by snow.

After parking, Qin Lin activated the camouflage mode.

The color and texture of the RV's shell began to change, gradually blending in with the surrounding snow.

From a distance, it looked like an ordinary snowdrift.

This was a new feature of the Lv3 rv, capable of simulating the environment in a stationary state to reduce the probability of being discovered.

However, in this weather and in this kind of place, there was no one at all.

This was completely unnecessary on his part.

But he was used to it.

"The safety measures are really well done."

Han Qing observed the changes outside the car window.

"The designer of this vehicle was very thorough."

"The System provided it; I didn't design it," Qin Lin said.

"But you are the user," Han Qing looked at him.

"The fact that you thought to activate these functions shows you have a strong sense of survival."

This was the first formal conversation between the two today.

Since that accidental contact at noon, there had been a subtle awkwardness between them.

Qin Lin nodded and didn't say anything more.

At dinner time, Su Yuran suggested:

"Let's have hotpot tonight! There are hotpot bases and ingredients in the supermarket space. It's so cold; hotpot is the most suitable."

This proposal was met with everyone's approval.

In the apocalypse, a steaming hotpot was simply a luxurious treat.

Qin Lin thought for a moment and pulled up the System Store.

He used 10 survival points to exchange for a few bottles of alcohol:

Two bottles of red wine, three bottles of beer, and a bottle of Baijiu.

"Let's relax today," he said.

"Everyone's nerves have been stretched too tight lately."

"Yay!"

Han Yurou was the first to cheer.

"I've almost forgotten what hotpot and alcohol taste like!"

Lin Wanwan and Han Qing looked at each other and smiled, offering no objection.

The hotpot was quickly prepared.

The RV's dining table could be expanded into a large table capable of seating six people.

The induction cooker was placed in the center, and Su Yuran took out a Yuanyang pot from the supermarket space.

Two types of soup bases: clear broth and spicy.

The ingredients were plentiful:

Frozen beef rolls, mutton rolls, shrimp paste, and fish balls.

Also various vegetables:

Lettuce, cabbage, potato slices, enoki mushrooms... all taken from the supermarket space and ecological box.

The most precious were those few boxes of fatty beef rolls.

They were kept in the freezer section of the supermarket space.

Now taken out to thaw, they were still fresh.

"This is just like life before the disaster."

Han Qing sighed, her eyes a bit moist.

She could no longer remember when the last time they sat around to eat like this was.

On weekends, the family would go for hotpot, and Yu Rou always scrambled to scoop out the meat.

Those ordinary moments of happiness were now so precious it was heartbreaking to think about.

"Aunt Qing, eat this."

Lin Wanwan picked up a slice of fatty beef for her.

"Your wound is in Recovery; you need to supplement protein."

"Thank you."

Han Qing composed herself and smiled.

The hotpot was boiling, steam rising, and the aroma filled the entire cabin.

The five of them sat around, and alcohol was poured into their glasses:

Qin Lin and Han Qing drank Baijiu.

Su Yuran and Lin Wanwan drank red wine.

Han Yurou could only drink beer.

"Cheers!"

Su Yuran raised her glass.

"To being alive, and to being together!"

"Cheers!"

The glasses clinked, making a crisp sound.

After the first sip of alcohol, a warm current spread from the stomach to the whole body.

Tense nerves began to relax, and the expressions on their faces softened.

"Brother Lin, pour me a little more."

Han Yurou finished her glass of beer and looked at Qin Lin expectantly.

"We agreed on one bottle, so one bottle it is," Qin Lin remained unmoved.

"Stingy!"

Han Yurou curled her lip but didn't persist.

She turned back to the hotpot, focusing on scooping out meat to eat.

The atmosphere gradually livened up.

Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol, the steam from the hotpot, or the finally achieved sense of security, but everyone started talking more.

"You know," Su Yuran said, "I used to be very afraid of the cold. In winter, I had to have the air conditioning on and use thick quilts."

"Then the apocalypse came, and I thought, it's over, the thing I feared most in my life has come true."

"So how did you adapt?" Lin Wanwan asked.

"If you don't adapt, you die."

Su Yuran shrugged.

"Human potential is forced out. And with the RV and Qin Lin, I feel... it's actually not that bad."

She looked at Qin Lin as she said this, a light in her eyes.

Qin Lin clinked glasses with her. He didn't speak, but his gaze was gentle.

"I used to be in the hospital," Han Qing took up the conversation. "I often worked night shifts. Leaving the hospital at two or three in the morning, the streets were empty, with only the streetlights."

"I felt lonely back then, but at least I knew the sun would come up when it got light, and there would be cars and people on the streets."

She took a sip of alcohol: "Now... it's forever a blizzard."

"Sometimes I wonder, will the sun really ever come out again?"

This question made the dining table go quiet for a few seconds.

"It will," Qin Lin said. "Even if the sun doesn't come out, we will find a way to survive."

"Right!"

Han Yurou raised her glass.

"With Brother Lin and the RV here, we will definitely survive! Come on, another toast!"

Everyone had another round.

The alcohol began to take effect.