I can upgrade the shelter

While the construction of the Isotope Thermoelectric Battery production line was steadily advancing, the city government was also organizing manpower to open an underground passage from the subterranean factory to this small sanctuary.

After all, with the outside temperature being tens of degrees below zero and more than one meter of snow accumulation, if someone steps poorly, they could sink directly up to their chest.

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In such conditions, the outdoors is completely unsuitable for survival and activities, so rather than bothering with ground-level movement, it is more sensible to create an underground tunnel.

There were workers responsible for these tasks, and Chen Xin finally had the time to visit Mo Qingyan’s house with Qin Lan.

Though, honestly, there wasn’t much to see; under the onslaught of minus seventy degrees and a level 12 blizzard, Mo Qingyan’s original small building had been completely engulfed by snow. The antenna that should have stood on the rooftop had long been blown away to who knows where.

Chen Xin and Qin Lan trudged across the snow to the courtyard wall. If the Power Armor wasn’t so heavy, causing both their lower bodies to sink completely into the snow, they would need only lift their legs to step over the snow and enter the courtyard with the snow’s thickness.

But it was not too troublesome now. With hands clinging to the top of the wall, a little exertion could easily flip them over.

Chen Xin and Qin Lan managed to get inside without much effort, yet the small courtyard of Mo Qingyan’s house was not much different from the outside, also buried entirely under more than a meter of snow. The original elevator was completely swallowed by the snow, and only a little bulge on the ground was visible, offering no hint that there was an elevator below the snow.

"Looks like we’ll have to use the stairs," Qin Lan said resignedly to Chen Xin as he looked at the situation in front of them.

Chen Xin nodded in agreement. In this situation, even if the elevator wasn’t frozen and still usable, there was no point in digging it out from the snow; taking the stairs would be more convenient.

Although Mo Qingyan’s house mainly relied on an elevator, it also had stairs available since no one would build a subterranean refuge with just one elevator shaft.

The two made some effort, found a way down the stairs from the unoccupied small building, but this time, it wasn’t Qin Lan breaking the door; it was Chen Xin using the Universal Mechanical Arm to pick the lock.

With the help of the Universal Mechanical Arm, Chen Xin quickly unlocked the door and entered Mo Qingyan’s sanctuary with Qin Lan.

Before the disaster, this place was originally a bar, like the gym in the small building upstairs, only open to members. Chen Xin and Qin Lan used to frequent there.

When they were dating, they were regulars here, but after they broke up, they never came together again.

However, each of them came here to find Mo Qingyan quite often, so both Chen Xin and Qin Lan were familiar with it.

The former bar had been converted by Mo Qingyan into a storage area, containing a large quantity of food supplies, most of which were now frozen into solid chunks.

"I remember our first date was here?" Chen Xin suddenly said to Qin Lan, bringing up the past.

Qin Lan, recalling the scene of their first date while looking at the completely changed bar, felt a sense of revisiting an old place, and nodded, "You were more likable back then than you are now."

"People change, just like this place has turned completely different," Chen Xin sighed, heading downwards with Qin Lan, navigating through the boxes frozen solid together on the ground.

When they got downstairs, they saw Mo Qingyan’s original wine cellar, and both couldn’t help feeling it was a pity; due to the low temperature, the wine cellar was also frozen over.

"If Qingyan saw her wine cellar like this, she might cry," Qin Lan knew how much Mo Qingyan treasured her collection, having arranged the bar upstairs for those treasures.

This wine cellar had cost her significant effort; now, seeing it all frozen, one could easily imagine how Mo Qingyan would feel.

"It’s just frozen; it should be salvageable. But for now, let’s leave it alone and let Qingyan handle it herself later," Chen Xin decided not to move the frozen wine cellar rashly.

All the wine inside were Mo Qingyan’s treasures. As it stands, they might be recoverable, but if Chen Xin were to handle them and cause damage, they would truly be irrecoverable.

Qin Lan nodded at Chen Xin’s words and continued downwards with him.

The condition of the lowest level of the sanctuary was relatively better than the two levels above. Thanks to the geothermal heat pump Chen Xin had installed for Mo Qingyan earlier, the temperature wasn’t too low. With the upper layers and the thick snow on the ground offering additional insulation, the temperature here was not unacceptably low.

At least when Chen Xin and Qin Lan descended, the tanks in the aquaponics system connected to the geothermal heat pump weren’t frozen. Although the fish inside weren’t very active, they were still breathing and circling the heating tubes, not belly up or dead.

The plants above the tank, however, were covered with frost, having a layer of white frost on the leaves, seemingly needing to be consumed quickly.

Seeing this situation, Chen Xin and Qin Lan felt slightly relieved compared to when they arrived. At least Mo Qingyan’s place hadn’t reached the worst-case scenario; although things looked grim, the losses were manageable, and the place was still inhabitable.

"The temperature here is low; it seems that if Qingyan wants to return, she’ll need an upgrade to the heating system," Chen Xin commented, shedding the Power Armor and maintaining his body temperature with the electric heating from his driving suit, as he wandered through Mo Qingyan’s house, examining the things around.

Appliances like the air conditioner and television in Mo Qingyan’s house were covered with a layer of white frost. Wiping it away showed that the frost was quite thick.

This low temperature apparently inflicted significant damage to these electronic devices, but it was obvious they were beyond recovery. Chen Xin merely glanced at them and gave up any thoughts of repairing them.

After wiping away the frost on the air conditioner’s panel, Chen Xin tried pressing the power button, but there was no response: "The air conditioner seems to be frozen. If Qingyan wants to return, she’d have to replace many things here."

"It’s better than having this place completely scrapped, and compared to the air conditioner, I think the geothermal heat pump might be more practical," Qin Lan remarked, glancing at the defunct air conditioner and the still-operating geothermal heat pump, noting which was better without needing further evaluation: "Ashen, will you help Qingyan repair this place?"

"We’ll see if she needs it. For now, let’s leave it as it is," Chen Xin shook his head, having no intention of fixing Mo Qingyan’s house right now: "Qingyan probably won’t be coming back soon, and Ding Ning can’t return either. Let’s just leave it for now, since fixing it would be a major project; let’s wait until this blizzard passes and then consider it."