Lin Dong raised an eyebrow: "Are you a child from here? What? Can't speak?"
The sound of the thunder and rain had covered his footsteps earlier, so he hadn't heard them at all. Now that he was awake and paying attention, he could still hear the little boy's breathing.
The little boy's vacant eyes finally moved slightly, and his chapped lips slowly parted: "It's... not cold here~"
What should have been a clear and light voice was hoarse.
After speaking, the little boy curled up on the floor, his large eyes slowly closing.
Because of the constant temperature furnace, even the floor was warm. The boy, who had been frozen for who knew how long, greedily enjoyed the warmth here.
"What a strange child," Lin Dong frowned slightly: "What's your name?"
The little boy slowly opened his eyes: "I... don't have a name."
Lin Dong: "..."
"I asked what your name is."
The little boy thought seriously for a moment: "I'm called... No. 3."
No name, only a number!
Just then, footsteps came from outside the room.
"No. 3? Where did you hide? Coming here so late at night... Uh... Who are you?"
At the door of the room, an old man with a hunched back appeared, carrying a kerosene lamp.
His attire was identical to No. 3's. He had found clothes from who knew where and haphazardly put them on to keep warm. The old man wore thick reading glasses and looked kind-hearted.
As soon as the old man saw Lin Dong, a wary expression appeared on his face. He looked left and right, then immediately picked up a wooden board from the ground.
"Who are you? How did you get in? There's no food here, hurry up and leave!"
Lin Dong chuckled and touched his nose. This old man was treating him like a bad guy.
No. 3 got up and whispered: "Grandpa Dean, it's... not cold here."
The Dean was startled: "That's right, why is it so warm here?"
In just this short while, he was almost sweating.
Lin Dong laughed: "Don't be nervous. It's raining outside. I'm just here to stay for the night. Don't worry, I'm not a good person... Bah! I'm not a bad person!"
Dean: "..."
The old man saw that No. 3 had not been harmed, and only then did he lower his guard.
"No. 3, go back to sleep. No. 49 and the others are looking for you~"
No. 3 showed a reluctant expression. It was truly warm here, and he really didn't want to leave, but he also couldn't bear to leave his companions.
Lin Dong smiled and took out another palm-sized constant temperature furnace from his Pregnant: "Little Three... Uh... I'm not called Ganzi.
Take this back and have a good night's sleep!"
No. 3 took it in a daze, and his eyes instantly lit up with surprise.
Not long after he left the room, a cheer came from downstairs.
The old man gave a wry smile and sat down on the opposite bed: "Sir, please forgive me for this. My name is Chen Tianxin, and I am the dean of this orphanage."
"Lin Dong!"
"Mr. Lin Dong, may I ask, how did you get here?"
"Oh, the place I was staying at just got blown up by a few rounds of rocket launchers. I had nowhere to sleep, and it started raining, so I just ran over temporarily."
"......"
Chen Tianxin didn't know how to respond for a moment. Had the thought process of young people become this strange now?
However, he had heard the commotion from that earlier rocket launcher bombardment.
Chen Tianxin smiled bitterly: "Mr. Lin, please forgive me for speaking frankly beforehand. The heavy snow has fallen for so long, and many children in our orphanage have frozen to death. Now, including No. 3, there are only 7 children left.
The remaining supplies in the orphanage... are truly limited. You can stay here, but please do not snatch our food, otherwise these poor children... Alas~"
Lin Dong raised his eyebrows slightly. This old man was quite straightforward.
"No problem, I'll take care of my own food!"
"Then thank you, Mr. Lin!"
Thinking of No. 3, Lin Dong suddenly asked: "Dean Chen, why do the children here not have names, only numbers?"
"Alas~" Chen Tianxin sighed deeply, his face filled with worry.
"I did it on purpose.
These children are basically all abandoned in swaddling clothes and sent to me. They either have congenital diseases or physical disabilities.
Without parents, their lives are destined to rely only on themselves.
So I don't give them names, nor do I let outsiders hold them, precisely because I'm worried that once they feel even a tiny bit of love, they will pursue love.
Without love, they might be able to live as indifferent people.
But if they experience brief love and then cannot pursue it, that would be... too cruel for them!"
Lin Dong was silent. Chen Tianxin was right.
I could have endured the darkness, if I had never seen the light.
If I had never felt love, I would not pursue love, or crave love.
These are a group of pitiful children.
Chen Tianxin: "I had thought that when they were old enough to support themselves, I would let them decide what they should be called. I'm old, and I can't take care of them for their whole lives.
Mr. Lin, please rest well. I'll go check on the children."
After speaking, Chen Tianxin left with a hunched back.
In the dormitory on the first floor, a group of children had lost their sleepiness and were excitedly gathered around the constant temperature furnace, looking at it non-stop.
"Brother No. 3, what is this called? It's so warm."
"Hehe, I know, this is called a Rubik's Cube. It contains powerful energy. That's how it's portrayed in the movies."
"That's great, my feet finally won't be afraid of getting frozen and rotten. Well, they're already rotten."
"Wuwuwuwu, I miss Sister Number 9. If we had this earlier, maybe Sister Number 9 wouldn't have frozen to death."
Children are like this; if one person cries, everyone will cry together. Even No. 3, who was usually unperturbed, had red eyes.
Chen Tianxin walked in, showing a kind smile: "Children, hurry up and go to sleep~"
The children immediately wiped away their tears and hid under the covers, but the trembling quilts indicated that they were just hiding inside and crying.
"Alas~" Chen Tianxin sighed deeply, helped them pull up their blankets, and then, carrying the kerosene lamp, returned to his room to sleep.
In the dark, Lin Dong returned upstairs, crossed his arms, and continued to sleep, muttering: "There's actually such a kind old man in the apocalypse? How rare!"
The rain kept falling.
The atmosphere was not harmonious~
Outside, it was already bright. Lin Dong stretched and got up to look out the window.
The snow level had begun to drop!
The snow, which had previously been as high as two stories, had now decreased by about a meter. If it continued to fall like this, perhaps the scene of white snow everywhere would no longer be seen.
However, who could say how the weather would change later?
He sniffed lightly, and the scent of food came from downstairs.
Since he couldn't leave, he might as well go down and see.
Chen Tianxin had started a fire, and seven children of various ages sat around the fire, each holding a broken bowl and eating with relish.
Upon seeing Lin Dong come down, a nervous expression flashed across Chen Tianxin's face.
Lin Dong smiled and waved his hand: "Don't be nervous, I just came to take a look."
The children turned their heads to look, and also showed nervous expressions, except for No. 3.
No. 3 bit his lip and handed over the bowl in his hand: "Uncle... you eat~"