Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 783 - 12

Huddled in the corner of the carriage, Henry squeezed himself as close to others as possible. This way, they could fend off the cold together and prevent heat from escaping.

At the moment, they were being loaded in the cargo compartment of a giant robot, about to be transported to the town closest to Lankeng Town.

Since the robot wasn't designed to transport people, the carriage was extremely cold.

Compared to being directly exposed outside, they only had a thin layer of iron to block the wind and snow.

Henry felt his hands and feet were already numb from the cold, and if he hadn't had a hot meal before setting off, he might not have been able to endure it now.

Yet even so, Henry still felt the cold invading his body through his limbs, so he could only press closer to others to prevent gaps that would carry away body heat.

"How long have we been going? I feel like my legs have already lost feeling." Someone asked, their voice filled with uncertainty about the future and intense worry about the current environment.

Henry recalled that ever since the Steam Knight arrived at Lankeng Town and conveyed the Lord's orders, they had been preparing for relocation.

After spending about a day preparing, then half a day braving the wind and snow to board the robot coming to fetch them, they had been on the journey for a long time now. Considering the time, it should be evening soon.

"We've been going for almost six hours. The Knight said it would take eight hours, so there are two more hours to go!" Someone spoke up in response.

"Only six hours? It feels like we've been going for a whole day!" someone next to Henry said in surprise.

To this, Henry wasn't surprised, as it's hard to perceive the passage of time in a closed environment, making time seem to pass slowly.

Back when he was smuggling into the Northern Territory, Henry hid on a cargo ship, and while staying in the cargo hold, he felt just like now—it felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, only a short time had elapsed.

However, for the people of Lankeng Town, this journey wasn't all that hard to endure.

The promise of becoming formal Northern Territory residents before departure was like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey for everyone, enticing them forward while allowing them to temporarily endure the hardships of the journey.

Henry didn't want to say anything about it, he just silently endured, wrapping his clothes tighter around himself for that negligible warmth.

Better to conserve energy than talk and to think about how to live in the new town.

Although the life depicted by the Knight was definitely appealing—having a formal identity and living in a town with an Energy Tower, without risking freezing to death carrying coal every day...

But the Lord isn't charitable, and no matter how kind-hearted she might be, she wouldn't raise them for nothing. Even if they don't freeze to death, they should plan for their livelihood.

Henry thought he could at least find work moving things. His body was strong enough, and he wasn't lacking in strength, so he could do that kind of work. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He heard the workers in the Northern Territory were treated well, and as long as one worked hard, feeding oneself wasn't difficult.

Maybe he could live a better life in the new town? Henry fantasized about the future, thinking he might even have a chance to marry a wife.

She didn't have to be too pretty, just able to take care of household affairs. A temper wasn't that important—maybe it would be better if she already had children?

Henry wasn't worried about being deceived. After all, the people from Lankeng Town had all smuggled into the Northern Territory, and besides their worthless lives, they had nothing worth deceiving.

As long as he was fed and sheltered, even selling his life didn't seem impossible to Henry.

With such thoughts in mind, Henry didn't join in the others' conversation, just squeezed himself further into the corner to make his body warmer.

Feeling the bumps and vibrations under his seat, Henry thought maybe he should sleep for a while, and perhaps by the time he woke up, they would have arrived.

——————————————

In the cabinet meeting room, Perfikot was listening to the disaster relief work report.

"Currently, a total of twelve teams have been deployed across the Northern Territory for disaster relief, relocating forty-six settlements, thirty-three of which were illegal settlements, with a total relocated population of over thirteen thousand people," an official was reciting from their report.

Listening to this series of numbers, Perfikot nodded slightly, feeling quite satisfied with the results.

Yet, besides being pleased with the relocation results, Perfikot also asked with concern, "The resettlement work after relocation must be done properly. We can't just drop people into cities and be done with it. They need to be able to survive, understand?"

Migration itself wasn't particularly difficult, even though Perfikot insisted on avoiding casualties during the relocation process. They managed to complete the relocation of over ten thousand people, moving them from their original congregration points to new towns despite the raging blizzard.

Though it was unimaginable, after marshaling various resources and forces in the Northern Territory, it wasn't an impossible task.

The Steam Knights and autonomous robots, capable of traversing between towns amidst the wind and snow, became the main force of this mission. They were the only ones who could still move freely under the snowstorm's cover.

Though such actions put a tremendous strain on the autonomous robots and Steam Knights, with some Knights sacrificed to the storm, they ultimately accomplished their mission.

However, migration was only the first step. After relocating these people, they needed to be resettled.

Though Perfikot adhered to a nearby resettlement principle, relocating the residents of these abolished settlements to the nearest towns, and each town didn't receive too many people, it didn't mean that the job was done by just relocating them.

Their sustenance is the next focus of work.

Fortunately, when designing shelters initially, Perfikot considered the need for expansion, so accommodation wasn't a problem.

Since each town didn't have too many people to accommodate, food wasn't a major issue either. After all, compressed biscuits could basically feed the majority of the people in the Northern Territory now.

But other needs would require considerable effort, given the sudden increase in mouths to feed.

"Rest assured, Regent. We will increase our efforts in this area," the official earnestly responded to Perfikot, showing great confidence.

But Perfikot simply shook her head and said, "Unless we stop this blizzard from continuing to wreak havoc, we'll only face more problems."