Chapter 126: Chapter 126

**Underground Air-Raid Shelter**

When Sang Chu and Lin Song arrived, Old Yan pointed to a small hole off to the side. “Just... just the girl can crawl in!”

Looking at the dog-sized hole, Sang Chu glanced at Lin Song and took a deep breath. “Alright.”

Sang Chu was slim and petite, so crawling through the hole was manageable for her, but Lin Song, with his broad shoulders, definitely wouldn’t fit. Seeing Sang Chu’s determined expression, Old Yan let out a small sigh of relief.

It was precisely because she looked so thin and frail that Old Yan allowed her to enter the air-raid shelter.

As soon as she entered the cave, the scene was even more heartbreaking than the photos she’d seen before.

Looking at the sparse supplies on the ground, Sang Chu’s voice softened, “Elder, what do you eat here?”

Old Yan gave a bitter smile. “As long as it fills our stomachs, it’s fine. Girl, you crawled in through the small hole yourself—honestly, the people outside can’t be trusted.”

“Don’t worry, Elder. How many people are here in total? I need quite a few crystal cores. If everyone has some, I can exchange food for them.”

As soon as she said this, everyone who had been sitting or lying down stood up, their eyes fixed intently on Sang Chu.

Old Yan said, “My surname is Yan, everyone calls me Old Yan. Girl, it’s not that I don’t trust you—I do have crystal cores, but food...?”

Sang Chu raised her hand and produced a small sapling. “I’m a wood-type ability user, Elder. Don’t worry, as long as you have crystal cores, there will be plenty of food for everyone.”

“Big sister, if I have a crystal core, can I exchange it too?”

A little boy, holding a piece of dry bread, looked at her expectantly. Seeing how thin he was, Sang Chu’s heart ached, but before she could answer, Old Yan quickly pulled the boy to his side.

“Mumu, this thing can’t be eaten. Wait, I’ll get you something to eat later.”

After comforting the child, Old Yan turned to Sang Chu with a slightly apologetic look. “Sorry, girl, the child is young and doesn’t understand. The crystal cores are over there—come with me.”

He patted Mumu’s head and gently said, “Mumu, the big sister wants crystal cores. You keep your bread and wait here, be good, okay?”

“Mm, I’ll be good. You have to come back quickly!”

Although he said he’d be good, Mumu still clung tightly to Old Yan’s clothes, as if afraid that once he left, he’d never return.

Old Yan gently pried his hands off. “I’m not leaving, just taking the big sister to see where we keep the crystal cores. Don’t worry.”

At that moment, a woman came over and took Mumu’s hand. “Mumu, don’t worry. Old Yan isn’t leaving. I’ll stay here with you, okay?”

“Auntie, really?”

“Really. I’ll stay here with you. If he tries to leave, we’ll grab him together, alright?”

After a while, Mumu finally let go, his eyes still fixed on Old Yan.

As Old Yan led Sang Chu deeper into the cave, he explained, “Mumu’s parents went out to look for food and crystal cores, but they never came back. So now, he’s terrified of anyone going out to search for food or cores—he’s afraid they’ll never return.”

Sang Chu said, “I can understand searching for food, but why was he looking for crystal cores? Did he want to use them to awaken an ability?”

Old Yan shook his head. “No one knows if it’s possible, but we have to try everything. What if it works, right?”

After walking for a while, they reached a room that looked like a storage area. Old Yan pushed open the heavy door, revealing piles of crystal cores of all sizes scattered on the ground.

Seeing the pile of crystal cores, Sang Chu’s eyes widened slightly. “Old Yan, how do you have so many crystal cores?”

Old Yan walked over. “These are what everyone has saved up. At first, we all thought there was hope, so we hoarded them like crazy. But who knew—awakening an ability is something you’re born with. Even with crystal cores, if you can’t awaken, you just can’t. Over time, we just accumulated more and more.”

He looked at the scattered crystal cores, some even stained with blood. “Girl, see how much food these are worth. If possible, could you give us a little extra?”

Sang Chu glanced over the pile—there were at least several dozen. “I have seeds for cucumbers and tomatoes, so for now I can only grow those for everyone. But my friend is a space-type ability user and has cooked food. If you’d like, I can ask her to bring some over for you?”

At this, Old Yan’s eyes immediately filled with caution. “I’m not going outside. Cucumbers and tomatoes are fine, but you have to give me the actual fruit.”

“That’s no problem. But Old Yan, don’t you want to take the others and leave?”

As Sang Chu had walked through the shelter, she’d noticed that most of the people inside were elderly, women, and children. It was obvious that someone had been sacrificing themselves to keep them alive. In an apocalypse, anyone who survived this long must have paid a heavy price.

Especially with so many dangerous ability users outside.

The shelter had clearly been modified, which meant there was once an ability user here—most likely one of Old Yan’s people.

That was probably how he’d managed to keep everyone safe in the shelter.

Old Yan stared intently at Sang Chu, as if trying to see through her. “What are you planning?”

“My vehicle is parked outside Qingliu City. If you want to leave with us, I can arrange for you to go first.”

“You can’t get out of Qingliu City.”

When Old Yan said this, his tone was heavy. He immediately walked to a window and looked at the tightly sealed opening. “You used to be able to see outside from here, but now it’s all sealed up. There’s no way out of Qingliu City.”

“I have a way to get you out. How you want to proceed is up to you. I’ll start growing the fruits and vegetables here. You can organize people to exchange their crystal cores for food. For each core, I’ll give a cucumber or tomato. Any extras I grow, I’ll count as food and leave them here for you.”

Old Yan didn’t know what she was planning, but as long as she stayed in the shelter, he wasn’t worried. “Alright, I’ll go make arrangements now.”

Sang Chu nodded slightly, then got to work. As people came to exchange their crystal cores, each person received food from Sang Chu.

When it was Lu Linlin’s turn, she hugged her daughter tightly, hesitated for a moment, then quietly placed a crystal core on the table and slowly approached Sang Chu.

Seeing her face, which matched the one in the photo, Sang Chu glanced at the scar on her arm and took out a photo. The person in the photo was unmistakably Lu Minli.

“You…”

“Shh!”

Sang Chu made a hushing gesture and lowered her voice. “I’m a friend of Lu Minli. He’s also in Qingliu City. I’m here to find him, but I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found your father. Do you know where he is? If I find him, I’ll leave right away.”