Chapter 146: Differences
Jiang Jue set his chopsticks down and looked up at Wang Qiang. “Handle those arrangements as you see fit. Yangyang has collected a wide variety of seeds in his space. I’ll have him pass them over to you when you’re ready.”
Wang Qiang nodded eagerly, a broad grin spreading across his face. “Understood, Boss! I’ll get to work on the plot first thing tomorrow.”
Once they finished eating, Chu Yang made a suggestion: “Why don’t we take a drive around the base today? We can get our bearings, map out the streets, and check out that Mission Hall Little Zhang mentioned.”
No one had any objections.
Lin Xiao chimed in at once. “Boss, let’s take my SUV. Your RV is way too eye-catching for driving around inside the base.”
Chu Yang considered it and agreed. Though the RV was luxurious and safe, it was a massive target that drew far too much attention, making it impractical for casual errands around the city. “Good point. We’ll take your car.”
Lin Xiao’s SUV was a five-seater with plenty of legroom. Jiang Jue and Chu Yang naturally opened the rear doors and took the back seats.
Su Mubai hesitated for a second, turning toward the seven-seater vehicle driven by Wang Qiang. Before he could take a step, Lin Xiao’s hand shot out, catching his wrist.
“Little Bai, where are you going? Sit up front with me!” Lin Xiao opened the passenger door, looking at Su Mubai with an eager, pleading expression.
Su Mubai paused. He looked down at the hand clamped around his wrist, then peered through the tinted rear window at Jiang Jue and Chu Yang, who were seated inside, completely ignoring the exchange. In the end, Su Mubai said nothing. Pulling his hand back gently, he ducked his head and slid into the passenger seat.
Lin Xiao’s face lit up with pure delight, resembling a large dog that had just earned a treat. He closed the passenger door with deliberate care, hurried around to the driver’s side, and fastened his seatbelt with a broad grin that he couldn’t wipe off his face.
Standing in the courtyard, young Little Yu looked at Lin Xiao’s SUV, which was now filled with four passengers, and then glanced at Wang Qiang’s car with its empty rows. He hovered between the two vehicles, looking uncertain.
Jiang Lin took his small hand with a warm smile. “Little Yu, come ride with Brother Wang Qiang and me! Our car has plenty of room, and we can look out at all the sights together!”
She knew the dynamic all too well and had no desire to play third wheel to either pair in the other car.
The two vehicles pulled out smoothly, driving in single file.
Reaching the gates of the Villa District, the young sentry on duty recognized them immediately. After all, they were prominent new residents who had just moved in that day; their faces and vehicles had left a distinct impression. The guard offered a friendly wave and waved them through without asking a single question.
Cruising steadily along the base’s main boulevard, the scenery outside grew increasingly lively.
Chu Yang pressed his face against the window, his eyes wide with wonder. “Man… even though we drove through it yesterday, seeing it in broad daylight is surreal. If we hadn’t personally fought off hordes of zombies and mutated beasts, who would ever believe this is the apocalypse?”
“Yeah,” Su Mubai agreed softly from the passenger seat, gazing out at the avenue with quiet contemplation. “The high-rises are still standing, and plenty of storefronts are running business…”
The scene was a stark contrast to the ruined, ghost-town wastelands they had crossed for weeks.
The skyscrapers stood intact, marred only by broken windows and weathered grime. Along the curbs, various shops were open for trade: food stalls sent plumes of fragrant steam into the air, storefronts piled spare goods along their thresholds, and a few apparel shops even had racks of clothes on display.
While it couldn’t match the bustling crowds of pre-apocalyptic times, it felt remarkably like the old world compared to the lifeless ruins outside the walls.
“Check that out!” Lin Xiao said from behind the wheel, gesturing with his chin toward a sign flashing faint crimson neon lights up ahead. “There’s an actual bar operating! Then again, anyone running a bar in times like these must have serious backing—definitely not an ordinary survivor.”
Chu Yang sighed, his thoughts mixed. “Honestly, I really admire our people’s resilience. No matter how brutal the catastrophe, as long as people can draw breath, they’ll find a way to survive and slowly piece a life back together. This base might not be paradise, but at least it feels like a real community, not a mass grave.”
Sitting in the back seat, Jiang Jue remained quiet throughout the conversation.
His sharp eyes swept across the passing streets, taking in every detail: where the security checkpoints stood, which patrols were on rotation, and the physical condition and expressions of the pedestrians. He committed each observation silently to memory. It was an ingrained habit of his—whenever entering unfamiliar territory, he prioritized mapping the environment first.
The two cars continued forward, following the general route they had learned earlier, gradually transitioning from the prosperous Inner City toward the outer perimeter.
As they drove, the stark divide in living conditions became glaringly obvious.
The smooth asphalt began to deteriorate, turning into cracked concrete riddled with rough patches and deep potholes. Further along, the paved road vanished entirely, giving way to a dusty dirt track. The tires kicked up thick clouds of pale dust as they passed.
The surrounding architecture shifted dramatically as well.
The sturdy apartment blocks and proper storefronts disappeared, replaced by sprawling rows of low, crooked shacks and flimsy prefabricated shelters.
These crude shelters were cobbled together from whatever scrap materials were available: rusted corrugated iron, sun-baked mud bricks, rotting wooden planks, and stained plastic tarps. The haphazard structures looked as though a single strong gust of wind could flatten them.
The alleyways were cramped and suffocating, yet the area was densely packed with survivors.
The residents here were far more haggard than those in the inner district. Their clothes were threadbare, their faces pale and gaunt, and their hollow eyes carried a deep, bone-weary exhaustion.
“Hey, look over there. Why is such a huge crowd gathering?” Chu Yang pointed toward a crowded alleyway up ahead.
A dense mob of people was shoving and shouting, locked in a chaotic struggle over something in the center.
Jiang Jue glanced through the window, his voice flat. “They’re selling water.” He had spotted someone squeezing out of the crush, clutching a cracked plastic bottle filled with murky liquid like a precious treasure.
“Selling water?” Chu Yang murmured, watching the scene unfold.
The summer heat was oppressive, hovering well above forty degrees Celsius, with visible heatwaves shimmering off the baked dirt. Inside the air-conditioned SUV, the temperature was pleasant, but the crowd outside was drenched in sweat, their lips cracked and bleeding from dehydration. It was no wonder they were fighting desperately for every drop.
Lin Xiao and Su Mubai watched the struggling crowd as well.
An elderly survivor, emaciated to the bone, had finally managed to trade for half a bowl of water. But as he squeezed his way out of the press, a burly man rushing forward shoved him roughly aside.
The frail elder stumbled, his grip slipping, and the precarious bowl tilted violently—spilling more than half the precious water into the dry, thirsty dirt.
Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse
