Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies
Chapter 444 - 440: A New Crisis!

Chapter 444: Chapter 440: A New Crisis!

"This—"

Looking at the bowl of aromatic beef noodles in front of her, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

The noodles were translucent, soft yet springy.

The beef pieces were minuscule, each about the size of a pinky finger.

There were also two or three fresh mint leaves and a few small rings of bright red small chili garnished on top.

The toppings seemed sparse, but Jiang Yan knew that in such a resource-depleted apocalypse, they were already incredibly precious.

Mo Jingsheng, afraid she might feel it was too little, explained, "The mint and small chili are lab-produced and in limited quantities."

"As for the noodles, these aren’t the stored ones; the base chef handmade them today."

"Would you like to try?" Mo Jingsheng said, handing her a pair of chopsticks.

Just as Jiang Yan was about to dig in, Hua Bao had already stretched out a tiny leaf with a slurping sound, "Mommy, no poison~"

"Thank you, sweetheart~" Hua Bao’s thoughtful gesture warmed Jiang Yan’s heart.

Along this journey, many things she hadn’t thought of yet, Hua Bao had already been considerate enough to handle for her.

And when its presence wasn’t needed, it would quietly stay aside, never causing her any trouble.

Having Hua Bao by her side was the greatest reward and fortune of her second chance at life.

However, even though there was no poison, Jiang Yan held the chopsticks and frowned slightly as she looked at the large bowl of noodles.

Seeing her hesitation to eat, Mo Jingsheng couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"

"It’s too much; I can’t finish it." Jiang Yan gave an embarrassed smile.

Even before the apocalypse, the "clean plate campaign" was encouraged, but forcing oneself to eat when genuinely full wasn’t advisable.

Now, wasting food wasn’t just shameful.

If discovered by the base, one might even face punishment.

Upon hearing this, Mo Jingsheng chuckled, "I thought you didn’t like the noodles."

"If you don’t mind, shall I help you?" he offered.

"Mmm."

"Then watch me."

"Alright."

Eventually, only a third of the noodles remained in Jiang Yan’s bowl.

Mo Jingsheng was a bit stunned by how little she ate and gave her all the beef pieces from his bowl.

Jiang Yan felt it unreasonable to keep exchanging back and forth and buried herself in eating.

Though they were supposed to chat while eating, Mo Jingsheng focused solely on eating and showed no intention of discussing work.

He ate quickly.

It was probably a habit developed during his years in the military.

Jiang Yan tried to catch up and finally finished eating, then said, "By the way, Leader Mo, I still have the AS area’s ammunition storage. Should I return it to the base?"

"No need. After departure, additional weapons will be provided to you." Mo Jingsheng said and downed a large glass of water.

Jiang Yan asked again, "What about the Seed Bank?"

These were official assets, especially the Seed Bank, which was initially included in the treasure map.

"Also temporarily no need. When everything is collected, we’ll do a unified transfer then." Mo Jingsheng said and took another big gulp of water.

Jiang Yan felt puzzled and looked up at him, only to be stunned.

The usually cold and handsome Mo Jingsheng now had red eyes, red lips, and a flushed face.

Jiang Yan: "Leader Mo, are you allergic to food?"

The two had just been casually chatting while eating noodles, so how had Mo Jingsheng suddenly ended up looking like this? She could only think of this possibility.

"Mmm." A hint of awkwardness flickered in Mo Jingsheng’s eyes before he downed a cup of cold water and said, "I... I’m not good with spicy food."

A man could bleed yet not cry, but who would’ve thought? While helping Jiang Yan finish her noodles, he hadn’t noticed the hidden slices of small chili within.

His mouth and stomach felt like they were on fire, burning intensely.

Jiang Yan couldn’t stifle her laughter and took out a bottle of Pepsi from her backpack. "Drink some of this; it might help."

Mo Jingsheng reached out to take it and smiled, "It’s not expired, right?"

"No."

"I was just joking." Mo Jingsheng said as he carefully twisted open the bottle cap.

The cola showed no signs of bubbling over, and in that moment, he understood—it had been retrieved straight from Jiang Yan’s Storage Divine Artifact.

After all, Jiang Yan had traveled outside, and if she had carried it directly, the cola would’ve fizzed upon opening long ago.

He didn’t drink the entire bottle at once; instead, he gave Jiang Yan half before drinking the rest.

A few sips later, the burning sensation in his mouth and stomach eased considerably. Only then did Mo Jingsheng say, "Anything stored in your space ring—does it maintain its original state?"

Jiang Yan paused, "How do you know?" This man’s observational skills were far too impressive.

Mo Jingsheng smirked, "The ice shards and the water from the AS area, as well as this bottle of cola, all prove it."

He glanced at his watch and shifted topics. "By the way, the research institute made a new discovery today."

Jiang Yan: "What discovery?"

"The ultraviolet rays in the air are strengthening, likely due to the thinning of the ozone layer." Mo Jingsheng paused, "Additionally, global oceanic saturation may come faster and harsher than we previously assumed.

The glaciers at the Southern Pole and the North Pole are accelerating their melt."

Jiang Yan felt a wave of shock in her heart.

The glaciers at the Southern Pole and the North Pole had already partially melted during the previous apocalypse’s extreme heat natural disaster.

Now, with the glaciers in both regions melting for a second time—along with the remnants of planetary ice sheets from the extreme cold—the locations on the planet to be submerged by seawater would only increase.

Hua Bao chimed in, "Mommy, even if all these glaciers melt and lead to global oceanic saturation, it wouldn’t flood those places with higher altitudes, would it?"

According to scientific calculations, excluding the new ice caps formed during extreme cold, if all the ice caps at the Southern Pole and North Pole fully melted, sea levels could rise by approximately 65 meters.

On a planetary scale, many cities only had altitudes of twenty or thirty meters.

Not to mention, the Southern Pole’s ice caps stored 70% of the world’s freshwater resources.

Once the glaciers melted, mixing with seawater contaminated by corpses, nuclear radiation, and other pollutants, humanity’s water resources would become the most scarce commodity.

Surrounded by water.

Yet none of it drinkable.

Jiang Yan shared her concerns with Mo Jingsheng.

"What you’re considering is exactly what we’re worrying about now." Mo Jingsheng’s brows furrowed. "The treasure hunt is not something that can be completed in a few days or even a few months; it might be measured in years. Access to drinking water along the way is also a concern."

"The base does have some advanced filtration equipment; however, for dealing with nuclear radiation contaminants and such, professional large-scale equipment is required."

"Therefore, at that time, some of the base’s stored ice and snow will be placed into your space ring. Would that be okay?" Mo Jingsheng had already accepted the concept of the "space ring."

Jiang Yan didn’t bother correcting him and nodded, "No problem."

Her Space was abundant in water.

The small creek seemed endless, an inexhaustible supply.

Even so, since the base was providing resources, she would take them now.

"Knock, knock—" Li Haoyang announced from outside, "Leader Mo, Researcher Zhang has urgent news to report."

"Come in." Mo Jingsheng straightened his posture, his expression suddenly more serious.

Jiang Yan prepared to excuse herself but was stopped by his raised hand, "Stay and listen."

Li Haoyang entered with a thin, elderly man wearing thick glasses.

The old man looked extremely grim, clutching a stack of A4 papers in his hand.

"Leader Mo, the biological detection results from the AS area are out."

"Alright, please proceed." Mo Jingsheng’s tone was solemn yet polite.

Jiang Yan suddenly felt that when meeting subordinates, he radiated an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Researcher Zhang began speaking at length, "In the samples taken from the mutated octopus, the detected radiation dose was 300 millisieverts..."