Chapter 219: A Huge Supply Depot
Candice Tate had never heard such words before.
Hearing them now, she didn’t quite understand and looked at Nathan Thorne with confusion in her eyes.
Seeing her adorable expression, Nathan Thorne couldn’t help but laugh. "It’s okay if you don’t understand now. You will someday."
Candice Tate didn’t answer, simply turning to look at Sierra Sullivan.
Sierra Sullivan smiled and patted Candice Tate’s little head. "Your big brother Nathan has a point. Things you don’t understand now, you’ll naturally understand when you grow up."
Candice Tate pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Seeing her silent with her head lowered, she seemed to be in a bad mood. Sierra Sullivan found it strange. "Candice, what’s wrong?"
’Why the sudden change in mood?’
’Weren’t things just fine a moment ago?’
"I don’t want to grow up," Candice Tate said.
"Why not?" Sierra Sullivan was a little curious.
’Don’t all kids want to grow up?’
’There are so many things you can’t do as a child, and you have no power to make your own decisions.’
’That’s why children always look forward to growing up, to being in charge of their own lives. Why is Candice Tate different?’
Candice Tate looked at Sierra Sullivan, her eyes suddenly turning red.
"Because if I grow up, you’ll get old. I don’t want you to get old."
In that instant, Sierra Sullivan felt as if something had struck her heart with tremendous force.
It was a feeling Sierra Sullivan had never experienced before.
Sierra Sullivan pulled Candice Tate into her arms, gently patting her on the back in a silent attempt to comfort her.
At that moment, Sierra Sullivan didn’t know what to say, so she could only offer comfort in this way.
After spending a little more time outside, everyone except the night watch assigned by Hector Grant returned to the vehicle.
They had to travel again tomorrow and face any number of potential accidents, so it was best to rest early.
Space in the vehicle was limited, so lying down was out of the question. Everyone could only sit in their seats and lean against the backrests to sleep.
Sierra Sullivan took out a few neck pillows. "Use these to sleep. It’ll be a little more comfortable for your neck."
She didn’t just give them to her own small group; Sierra also handed one to Dominic Crawford.
Dominic Crawford looked at the proffered neck pillow and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he took it.
"Thank you."
"You’re welcome," Sierra Sullivan said softly. "Get some rest."
Although Candice Tate was young, she wasn’t the type who couldn’t endure hardship.
After putting on the neck pillow, she leaned against her seat, and soon her breathing became even and deep.
Sierra Sullivan closed her eyes as well.
’Still, she felt a little uneasy.’
’It was too quiet right now.’
’She had a feeling that something was brewing beneath the silence.’
’But no matter how uneasy she felt, it was useless to worry about something that hadn’t happened yet.’
Sierra Sullivan could only force herself to sleep.
Even as she slept, she kept one ear open, remaining alert to any movements in the surroundings.
The night passed quietly, and nothing happened.
As the sky outside gradually brightened, everyone in the vehicle began to wake up.
Before she even got out, Sierra Sullivan could see the scene outside through the window.
Hector Grant was already outside, and not far from him, a large pot was steaming.
Clearly, breakfast was ready.
’This just shows how well-sealed this vehicle really is.’
’The cooking stove wasn’t far from the vehicle, so normally, the aroma should have drifted in long ago.’
’But Sierra Sullivan hadn’t smelled a thing.’
Only when the vehicle door opened did the fragrance from outside drift in.
It was the aroma of rice porridge.
And... the smell of hot and sour soup!
First thing in the morning, both rice porridge and hot and sour soup were excellent choices.
’If only there were some tea eggs, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks to go with it...’
Sierra Sullivan had all of these things in her storage space.
But it was hardly appropriate to take them out and eat them in front of so many people, so she had to abandon the thought.
They got out of the vehicle, found a place to relieve themselves, and then washed up.
By the time they were done with everything, the others had already gotten their food and were eating.
The lack of a line was a nice bonus.
Sierra Sullivan and her group walked over with their mess tins and saw that, besides the porridge and hot and sour soup, there was a large basket of steamed scallion pancakes.
Pan-fried scallion pancakes were actually the most delicious.
But oil was precious.
Even though they could grow soybeans, peanuts, and rapeseeds for oil, the extraction process was troublesome. Subterra didn’t have the proper machinery, so they had to rely on traditional methods.
As a result, the daily output was much lower.
The oil produced wasn’t even enough for the higher-ups, let alone for people like them to eat freely.
So, fried scallion pancakes had to become steamed scallion pancakes.
However, Sierra Sullivan tried one and found it was still quite tasty.
The dough wasn’t made of pure white flour but was mixed with sweet potato flour, giving it a savory-sweet flavor.
Whether eaten on its own or soaked in the hot and sour soup, the taste was simply divine.
Each steamed pancake was bigger than Sierra Sullivan’s face.
But everyone had a large appetite; most people could eat three.
Someone with a big appetite like Nathan Thorne ate more than ten on his own.
But Hector Grant had made sure to prepare an even larger quantity. In the end, there were still leftovers—more than half—which were collected by a Space Ability User.
Sierra Sullivan knew that these leftovers would be their lunch.
’Hector Grant really is thorough, making one meal last for two. It saves a lot of trouble.’
After quickly finishing breakfast, they set off once more.
As long as the weather didn’t change and they didn’t encounter any Aberrant Beasts, they were sure to reach their destination before noon.
Their luck was indeed good. They didn’t run into any trouble along the way and arrived smoothly at their destination.
The place was very remote.
The sand on the ground was so thick that it was impossible to tell what the area had looked like before.
All that was visible now was a massive building, one-third of it buried in sand.
Hector Grant walked directly toward the main entrance.
The door was made of a very special material, and the lock on it was equally unique.
It required not only a key and a password but also a chip.
Just opening the door took several minutes.
Watching from the side, Sierra Sullivan grew increasingly curious about what was inside.
’With so many layers of security, I hope whatever’s inside is worth the trouble of this door.’
After the door opened, Hector Grant didn’t go in immediately. Instead, he let the door stay open, watching as sand poured inside.
After waiting for a while, the group followed Hector Grant inside.
Inside was a corridor of unknown length, lined with rooms on both sides.
Each room had a window, allowing a view of its contents.
As they walked, Sierra Sullivan saw seeds for all sorts of crops.
Further in, there were various packaged grains and foods, as well as all kinds of seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
At the very back were all sorts of daily necessities, clothes, and shoes.
’This really is a massive supply depot!’