Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy! novel Chapter 166

Even though the place wasn’t decorated with Lunar New Year ornaments, the festive mood was still in the air.

The basement and bunkers were filled with the rich aroma of smoke and delicious food wafting from stoves and bonfires. The dishes—steamed dumplings, egg drop soup, congee, pickled vegetables, and dried fruit cakes—were simple yet brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

"Eggs! Eggs! Dan Dan likes them!"

"Honey, don’t put any more in my bowl! You need the nutrients more than I do," Auntie Yang’s husband chided gently, picking up the egg yolk and placing it in his wife’s bowl.

The survivors formed small and large circles, chatting as they enjoyed their meals together.

The doors of the basement creaked open, and soldiers carrying crates and black-covered boxes entered. They set up enormous pots, making the survivors crane their necks in curiosity.

All of a sudden, one of the soldiers called out, "Get your cards, grab your bowls, and line up!"

The survivors hesitated, unsure of what was happening, but they still obeyed. Meanwhile, those who had attempted crimes or theft in the past few days were escorted to the first floor, where they were briefly exposed to the blizzard’s freezing darkness as a warning.

After that, no one dared to commit another crime.

The people in line grew nervous, only to realize that the soldiers were handing out free soft wine to adults and warm soy milk to children and the elderly.

Laughter and cheers filled the air as the tension dissipated.

Winter continued until the thirtieth day.

On the last day of the dungeon, the temperature plunged to a staggering negative 85 degrees Celsius and remained there. Nanzhi heaved a sigh of relief.

Outside, the world had turned into an icy wasteland, as if the Ice Age had returned. Every plant, tree, and living creature caught in the blizzard had frozen into ice sculptures. The snow piled so high that it reached the second floor of buildings, and the bone-chilling cold crept into even the deepest basement shelters.

The soldiers took out the frostbane serum, diluted it with water, and distributed it in small doses to both residents and soldiers. Additional stoves were lit, burning coal and charcoal to fend off the cold.

A portion of the deep, penetrating chill miraculously dispersed.

Inside Unit 1502, Nanzhi checked her inventory. Her coal and charcoal reserves had dropped to 50 kilograms. She then turned her gaze to the countdown timer of the double dungeon.

Something was nagging at her.

"Didn’t you say this was a double dungeon?" she asked.

The system responded:

[Yes, it was supposed to be a double dungeon, but you prevented that from happening.]

She frowned. I prevented it from becoming a double dungeon?

Sifting through her memories, she reviewed her actions. If the system had said "it was prevented" rather than "you prevented it," she would have thought it was related to the mass fever. But if it was something she actively did…

"Are you referring to the winter plum blossom tree?" she guessed.

[Yes.]

The system didn’t elaborate further, but Nanzhi’s mind raced.

She quickly pieced things together. If given enough time, the winter plum blossom would have borne more fruit due to the snow’s nutrients. That could have helped the wolf king upgrade to Tier 2—or worse, created more wolf kings, possibly with ice attributes.