Chapter 55: The Informant

Hiding behind a snowdrift was quite chilly, so the two of them simply stepped inside the spatial dimension. They could still hear outside noises from within, and if anything happened, they could just peek through a gap. Should anyone move about alone, they would follow.

However, after waiting for three hours, not a single person came out alone. It had been dark for a while, so they decided to head back for the day and return tomorrow at a different time, hoping to catch the shift change.

To their surprise, just as they were about to leave, the guard shift changed. The off-duty guard, carrying today's issued supplies, walked alone toward the opposite building.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng followed. As the man rounded a building and was about to enter a side unit, Lu Ruisheng pressed a dagger against his lower back. "Don't make a sound, or I'll kill you. Let's find somewhere else to talk."

Too terrified to shout, the man could only follow them forward.

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng were thoroughly familiar with their own residential compound. The door to the outdoor transformer room ahead could be opened; they knew it had been left unlocked since repairs were done after the snow stopped. Leading the man inside, Gu Pan closed the door. With the power outage lasting this long, the place had long since been abandoned.

Lu Ruisheng looked at the man and said, "Let's talk."

The man was only in his early twenties, quite young, short in stature, and very thin.

At that moment, his legs were trembling with fear. "I didn't participate in any murders. I'm just a gatekeeper on watch. I don't want to hurt anyone; I just wanted to get some food. My grandmother is old, and she really can't take it without rations. If you're here for revenge, don't take it out on me."

Gu Pan could tell right away that this novice was timid yet quite filial. All his weaknesses were exposed at once; he was truly too green.

Still, someone like this was easy to buy off. "We don't want to kill anyone either, and we aren't here for revenge. We just want to make a deal with you—do a good deed to accumulate some virtue, and earn extra food to boot. You won't lose out."

The man looked at Gu Pan in horror. "Are you going to kill me and sell my organs? Why else would you give me food?"

Gu Pan's small head was filled with huge question marks. She thought to herself, how on earth did his train of thought get wired this way?

Lu Ruisheng looked at his bewildered wife and smiled.

Turning to the man, he said, "You're overthinking it. At a time like this, who even does things like that? You can't even find a doctor for a regular illness, let alone sell organs. We just want you to help us gather some information. Your boss is very ambitious. If he plans to attack the other group in the compound, we hope you can give us a heads-up so we can prepare. This will reduce casualties. Isn't that a good deed that builds virtue?"

Listening to her husband's solemn nonsense, Gu Pan nodded repeatedly. "See? I told you it was a good thing, didn't I? Even though it's the apocalypse, staying alive is what matters most. Killing and fighting all the time is no good. Look at how many casualties you had today!"

Reminded of today's scene, the man felt a wave of nausea. "I... I carried eight corpses today. I don't want to die."

Gu Pan suggested, "How about this: if your boss prepares to attack the other group in the compound, just use a piece of chalk to draw a tortoise on the wall of the transformer substation."

"Alright, when you see the mark, run away. We have a lot of people and guns, so you should run far," the man advised kindly.

Seeing that the other party was sincere, Gu Pan offered him a tip as well. "Your build isn't suited for fighting, so don't try to stand out in the squad. Just stick to keeping watch—it's much better. Even if you get fewer supplies allocated, at least you'll be safe."

The man nodded repeatedly. "You're right. My grandmother said the exact same thing. I plan to just keep watch all along."

Gu Pan took out a one-pound bag of millet and handed it to him. "This is a deposit. Cook some porridge for your grandmother to nourish her stomach."

The man accepted it happily. "Thank you. I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Ding Weiguo. You can just call me Little Ding." He then asked hesitatingly, "Do you think what I'm doing is betraying my loyalty?"

This question stumped Gu Pan. This kid certainly had his shortcomings, which explained why he was so well-suited for sentry duty.

After a moment of thought, she replied, "Not at all, because you are doing a righteous thing. You are saving the lives of good people. You are glorious."

Ding Weiguo thought about it, nodded, and said, "You're right. I think so too."

Listening to their conversation, Lu Ruisheng kept his head down and drew circles on the ground. His wife was truly a master swindler.

After the carrots came the stick; a bit of threat was necessary. Without some restraint, he might easily switch sides again.

Therefore, Gu Pan sternly warned Ding Weiguo, "We know where you live, so you'd better not betray us. We aren't pushovers either."

Ding Weiguo, who had just been in high spirits, grew nervous again under Gu Pan's serious expression. "I won't! I really won't! Double-crossing people always ends in a miserable death—I've watched plenty of spy warfare dramas."

Gu Pan nodded. "Alright, then let's hope for a pleasant cooperation. It's getting late, you should hurry home." Who would have thought that spy dramas could have such unexpected benefits?

Ding Weiguo bid them farewell and left, hugging the bag of millet.

After making sure no one was outside, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng returned home and shared the matter with their companions.

Just as they had suspected, Li栋's side spent the next few days resting and adjusting, and the entire following week remained quite peaceful.

This gave Gu Pan and her group time to go out and exchange gold. They previously had 5 hours and 53 minutes left before the timer maxed out. This trip out allowed them to exchange another hour and twenty minutes, leaving them with 4 hours and 33 minutes.

Looking at the steadily growing time in their reserve, Gu Pan felt increasingly at ease. Acid rain was coming in the later stages, though she could no longer recall the exact timing—roughly a little over a year from now. Last time, they had been fortunate enough to stay indoors, but those caught out in the open were burned to death directly by the acid rain. She still dared not recall that scene.

Who knew what other bizarre and twisted weather patterns might appear later? If there ever came a time when the outside air was genuinely harmful to the human body, being able to hide entirely inside the spatial dimension for a month or two would bring true peace of mind. Otherwise, even if one survived initially, their health would still be compromised.

However, Gu Pan and the others wanted to avoid attracting the attention of the higher-ups among those scalpers. They knew those people undoubtedly had status and backgrounds, and drawing their notice could invite trouble. Caution remained their top priority; they spaced out their visits, changed their clothes each time, disguised their voices, and maintained a flawless disguise.

Over the past few days, Chen Shaonan had upgraded the electric fence at the entrance. Any thief attempting to pry open the iron door at night would now be directly electrocuted into unconsciousness, triggering an alarm that would immediately alert them indoors.

Every day as they went out and came back, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng made it a point to check the transformer room wall for marks.

Judging that the time was right, the two of them also visited the stone bridge to check up on the latest grain market rates.

For a period, the exchange rate between grain and gold did not fluctuate much because gold itself was becoming increasingly scarce. As a result, a much wider variety of items was now being accepted for exchange.

Watches, diamond rings, antiques—valuables of the past could now all be traded for food, and their prices changed by the day.