Chapter 231: No Paradise

Chapter 231: No Paradise

Following Director Xu's orders, Liang Yue and the students were escorted for deep cleaning. Wu Chengyu, expecting to join them, was stopped by Director Xu.

“Come with me,” she instructed.

Wu Chengyu’s eyes lit up excitedly as he turned to his classmates. “See? I told you my dad isn’t just any ordinary person here.”

His classmates looked at him with envy as he eagerly approached Director Xu and his father, Wu Jianguo.

Wu Jianguo leaned in close to his son’s ear and whispered, “Xiaoyu, you must obey your superiors here. Whatever Director Xu tells you to do, you do it. Understand?”

Wu Chengyu, still thrilled, nodded, thinking he was about to be assigned to an important position.

Director Xu smiled warmly. “Xiaoyu, come with me.”

As Liang Yue and the others were led down the left corridor, Director Xu took Wu Chengyu away. His classmates watched with envy as he left.

“Lucky him!”

...

Wu Chengyu followed Director Xu through the vast underground complex of West Hill Base. Though not high, the temperature was around six or seven degrees Celsius. He was curious about everything he saw. Soldiers in white military uniforms guarded the area with guns, giving the place an air of strict discipline. Few people were around, and those moved purposefully, making the entire scene feel orderly.

Director Xu brought Wu Chengyu to a private room, pointing to the bathroom. “Take a shower first.”

Wu Chengyu found the room peculiar. It had women’s clothing and seemed like someone’s personal space. But after so long without a proper shower, he didn’t think much of it and eagerly rushed in to clean up.

After half an hour, feeling refreshed, he stepped out of the bathroom—only to freeze in shock at what he saw.

The room’s lighting had changed to a suggestive pink from a rose-shaped bedside lamp. Now wearing nothing but a loose piece of lingerie, Director Xu lay on the bed, propped up on one hand, looking at him seductively. Her massive legs resembled thick slabs of pork piled together.

“What are you waiting for? Come here,” she cooed, patting the bed.

...

Meanwhile, after Liang Yue and the students finished their showers, they were given new clothes—standard uniforms in a dull gray color, practical but far from attractive.

“Follow me,” a woman who seemed to be in charge said as she approached. Two armed soldiers followed her closely. A sense of dread began to settle in the hearts of the students. Life in this shelter was nothing like what they had imagined. The atmosphere felt more like a prison, deep underground with dim lighting and armed guards.

They instinctively huddled closer together, looking to Liang Yue for guidance. She frowned slightly but remained silent. It wasn’t the time to act rashly, not before understanding the rules here.

Liang Yue quietly signaled the students to stay quiet, and they nodded in understanding. She led them as they obediently followed the woman deeper into the shelter.

The place was enormous, with countless corridors branching off in different directions. After hours of walking, they had no idea where or where they were going. The dim lighting overhead flickered occasionally, adding to the students’ pale, exhausted faces.

Eventually, their long march ended as the woman led them to a massive workroom. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a three-meter-high, thousand-square-meter underground cavern.

Inside, they heard a rhythmic “creak, creak” sound. To their amazement, the cavern was filled with stationary bicycles bolted to the ground. Around a thousand people were inside, pedaling away relentlessly. The scene resembled a gigantic fitness center, but the expressions on the cyclists’ faces were far from those of people exercising—they were blank, numb, and exhausted. Yet, no one dared to stop.

“What are they doing?” a wealthy young lady gasped.

The woman glanced at them and then at Liang Yue. “This is where you’ll be working from now on. Your job is to generate electricity for the base. These bikes are actually generators, connected to the base’s power system.”

“The base’s code of conduct will be given to each of you shortly,” she added, her tone calm but chilling undertone as if she were addressing a group of tools rather than survivors.

Finally, she emphasized, “Remember, if you want to stay in this base, you must fully obey the rules. The consequences of disobedience are severe.”

After briefly introducing the base’s operations, the woman sternly ordered them to start working immediately. A girl suddenly broke down in tears, clutching Liang Yue’s sleeve.

“Ms. Liang, Ms. Liang…” she sobbed, not even knowing what to say, just calling out in despair.

The others shared her feelings. The brutal reality of their situation had crushed their spirits. Life in the shelter, with its oppressive environment, felt like something out of a sweatshop from two centuries ago. Even though their time at Tianqing Academy had been dangerous, at least they had freedom there. Liang Yue had protected them.

The woman showed no sympathy for the girl’s tears. “You can cry, but you’ll work first.”

Liang Yue quickly comforted the girl. “Let’s just get to work.”

With two armed soldiers standing nearby, Liang Yue dared not take any risks. She had assumed this was a government-run shelter where they would be properly cared for, but now she realized how naive she had been.

The students, still tearful, followed Liang Yue to the bikes.

...

The red light bathed the scene in Director Xu’s room as she dressed herself with a satisfied expression. Clearly, the new boy had been to her liking. After getting dressed, she stepped out of the room. Wu Jianguo, who had been waiting outside, greeted her with a sycophantic smile.

“Director Xu, were you satisfied with my son’s service?”

Director Xu gave him a pleased smile. “Not bad at all. The son of a bureau chief has quite the skill in bed. Did he inherit it from you?”

Wu Jianguo laughed obsequiously. “Not at all! Please, don’t call me that. That was in the past.”

Director Xu’s tone became businesslike. “Make sure to clean up afterward. I’ll ensure logistics takes good care of you two, allocating extra supplies.”

Wu Jianguo was overjoyed, bowing and thanking her profusely. “Thank you, Director Xu! Thank you! Let me know if you need anything, and I’ll bring him right over!”

Director Xu walked away, her large figure swaying as she left. Wu Jianguo’s expression darkened as he opened the door to the room.

The red light illuminated the space, heavy with the scent of hormones and blood. Wu Chengyu sat on the bed, wrapped in a sheet, his eyes unfocused. His body was bruised, with blotches of purple and blue, and the sheet beneath him was stained with blood. It was hard to imagine what he had endured during that time.

Wu Jianguo closed the door behind him and sighed.

“Son, are you alright?” he asked as he approached, saying, “To survive here, you must learn to accept all of this. It’s okay. You’ll get used to it.”

Wu Chengyu looked up at his father, tears streaming down his face.

“Dad, why didn’t you ever tell me it would be like this? Weren’t you the chief of a bureau? How could this happen?”

He couldn’t understand. He thought he would continue living as the privileged son of an official, even here.

Wu Jianguo sat beside him, his voice low and heavy. “This is how things are now. My title as bureau chief is worthless here.” He began to explain what had happened since the apocalypse began.

At first, the people who arrived here were the elite of Tianhai City and their families. Wu Jianguo had some status in the city but wasn’t at the top. His position’s nature determined his place in the hierarchy. Thanks to a tip from a friend, he had only managed to get here at the last minute.

In the beginning, everyone treated each other respectfully, believing that the snowstorm would last a month or two, after which they could return to their roles. But soon, it became clear that the effects of the supernova were much more severe than anticipated, plunging the world into an ice age that could last years or even decades.

Wu Jianguo’s voice was filled with sorrow. “This meant that our former identities and statuses were gone.”

“Soon after, those who controlled the armed forces staged a coup, killing the base’s leaders. The leader of the rebellion became the new head of the West Hill organization. He’s ruthless, punishing anyone who defies him harshly. He’s the one who introduced the class system here.”

Wu Jianguo looked at his son with a heavy heart. “Of course, there will be a hierarchy in any society with human activity. Even without ordinary civilians, there will still be those who supply and those who control. What happened today is your first lesson on how to survive here.”

“For those at the bottom to survive, they must unconditionally obey those in power. You should be glad—this might be your way out of the lower class.”

Wu Jianguo forced a smile as he patted his son’s head. “Even if it means using your body, selling yourself, it doesn’t matter. In this circle, nothing is off-limits if it leads to success.”