novelraw Chapter 287 - 279: A Volcano in the Mountains
Chapter 287 - 279: A Volcano in the Mountains
For the adults, it was more difficult because their bodies weren’t as agile as the children’s.
Some ingrained ways of thinking made their coordination less stable, after a whole day of learning, not a single one could ski independently. Not to mention performing high-difficulty moves like Cheng Xiaoxiao, such as rapid skiing, rapid spinning, and one-legged jumping.
The people of the 132th Regiment felt immense pressure; everyone in the Patrol Team must learn, and every child had to get involved, even the hundred-year-olds were dragged out for a little exercise.
The girls also had to learn, except for the elderly women and older folks.
Soon, more and more people joined, and the little ones who learned earlier became little teachers.
The ones who followed didn’t trust them, yet they spoke eagerly, "Underestimating us? I sure have fallen many times, but I’ve been exploring little by little and I know the tricks of the trade, don’t worry, we’re so clever, teaching you guys is a piece of cake." The children said confidently, almost pounding their chests to guarantee it.
Everyone was half-skeptical; although they wanted Mr. Cheng to teach, they didn’t have the guts to ask, besides the first day when he taught Cheng Jia and Cheng Sicheng, he didn’t even teach his own team members. After personally teaching her girlfriends for a day, he hadn’t been seen on the ski field since.
In contrast, the little ones became increasingly proficient at skiing, with rich experience, leaving no choice but to ask the little ones for help.
Cheng Sicheng, gradually familiarizing himself with skis, sped through the cold wind, feeling the joy and exhilaration of soaring with the wind, skiing at will, and at this moment, his mind was completely emptied with only this world before him.
When all the worries are left behind, merging into this piece of nature, it becomes incredibly pleasant and relaxing, allowing accumulated suppressed emotions to be vented well.
Although he couldn’t perform jumps and spins like Xiaoxiao, a week’s practice brought significant improvement.
This sport could be played by children, women, and men, except for the elderly with difficulty in movement.
After a week of practice, most people could ski slowly, and fewer people were falling.
When Cheng Xiaoxiao returned, she saw this lively scene.
Yang Fan standing nearby couldn’t help but sigh, "If only there were never any wars forever."
"Yes, they long for a peaceful life so much." Xu Zhifen was full of imagination, hoping this moment of laughter and joy would last forever, with no more deaths.
"I’m afraid there’ll never be a peaceful life again."
Once Cheng Xiaoxiao said this, the two frowned simultaneously, thinking of each other’s abilities and a series of arrangements, couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.
Indeed, Cheng Xiaoxiao deliberately leaked part of her secret, which was a secret that all the team members knew, to implement her plan, she must have enough manpower.
So, she once again had a "prophetic dream," and this time not only did the 132th Regiment know, but everyone here knew, initially, people didn’t believe, while team members would show a dumbfounded expression staring at the counterpart.
Afterwards, there was a series of popular science explanations, presenting various facts, the journey was the best proof, and through teammates’ passionate speeches, people gradually began to believe, without special abilities, could someone lead a group of the elderly, weak, women, and children to get here? Without special abilities, could a team be led so well, while others faced a nine-to-one death escape from famine, they remained unscathed?
And along the way, without forgetting to study literature and martial arts, such a miraculous journey, how could an ordinary little girl who hasn’t yet come of age possibly achieve this?
So people gradually believed this explanation, as if only the power of gods could explain everything.
This was also thanks to Yang Fan’s team being a group of commoners, they would believe in the supernatural even if it was unreasonable.
But Han Xifeng’s group didn’t think that way, they leaned more towards conspiracy theories.
No matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn’t think it through, so they could only drop it and wait and see.
During this time, the first to pledge allegiance was Yang Fan, their team lacking clothes and food, in peril, always on the brink of being annexed by the few big forces in the city. Rather than being slaughtered at will, joining the 132th Regiment could seek a turning point.
Since Mr. Cheng had this ability to protect everyone’s life, he was willing to believe in this legendary girl, of course, abilities were one aspect, what moved him the most was that the elderly and children in her team were well taken care of, the children could still study literature and martial arts, promising a hopeful future.
Subsequently, Lin Yiqiu and Quan Bin’s teams also joined in.
They didn’t join in all at once, assessment had to be conducted after all, and at a more rigorous level than before, although she urgently needed people now, rules couldn’t be broken, so she changed the assessment system, the ones wanting to join now came in all varieties, from various fields with varying characters.
She didn’t have that much time to verify everyone one by one, so she would hire these people to build the Underground City.
Of course, this was a labor relation, genuinely wanting to join the 132th Regiment was not so easy, those with abilities were comparatively easier, the specific implementation could be referred to personal value, the outstanding performers, exceptionally talented ones, those with unique insights, all had preferential treatment.
This was only about personal ability, the most important was character, those with flawed character, no matter how capable, she wouldn’t allow such people into the regiment.
This time Cheng Xiaoxiao went together with Yang Fan to inspect the mountains.
To the northeast of Yuan Yang City stood Daxing Mountain, Daxing Mountain stretched endlessly, directly connecting to Weilin Canyon.
The elderly, weak, women, and children in the team were hidden by Yang Fan in a valley of Daxing Mountain, where the temperature was slightly higher by a few degrees compared to Yuan Yang City.
Once there, they saw that the valley was dotted with treehouses, covered in snow, with wisps of smoke drifting, a rough estimate revealed that there were at least seven to eight thousand people here, truly a large number.
It was estimated to be most of the population of Yuan Yang City, one couldn’t help but admire Captain Yang for being able to protect so many people under such difficult circumstances.
Yang Fan kindly explained that this valley was discovered by hunters while hunting, back then they built one or two treehouses in the valley for ambushing prey.
Afterwards, war broke out, they then organized and hid the elderly, weak, women, and children of the team here, and built more treehouses, forming a village in the mountains.
Because of this unique valley, the people could settle here, they gave this mountain village a pleasant name, Taoyuan Village.
The idea of a utopia, probably hoping that this mountain peach garden could escape disaster and war, preserving the seeds of hope for the people.
Taoyuan Village often shrouded in mist, with heavy dew in the morning that wet the feet, yet rarely raining, and usually several degrees warmer than outside.
During this snowy winter, it became more noticeable, especially during night when outside now was close to minus twenty degrees, while here, night temperatures only reached a few degrees below zero at most.
The system astonishingly discovered that the slightly higher temperature was due to deep within the mountains three to four kilometers away, where trees and undergrowth became sparse and gray-black rocks began to surface, the further inward, the higher the temperature, what did this imply? It suggested that Daxing Mountain might be a dormant volcano.
However, whether it was indeed the case still required an on-site visit for confirmation.
Despite this, Cheng Xiaoxiao’s heart began to stir, if it truly was a volcano, then their group of people really might have hope.
After familiarizing themselves with Taoyuan Village, she inquired from the village elders. It turned out that for nearly a hundred years, Daxing Mountain had never experienced a volcanic eruption.