Overnight, Lu Heng recruited sixteen more eighth-tier ability users in Nameless City, assigning them to share many of Lin Yu's duties.
Lin Yu understood this was not an attempt to sideline him, and he had no doubts about Lu Heng's decisions.
Freed from heavy responsibilities, Lin Yu couldn't stay idle. Besides diligently studying alchemy books, he also took on the task Lu Heng had assigned him earlier: decorating the city for the New Year.
This task didn't require excessive effort; it simply involved arranging for people to set up red lanterns, couplets, and other festive items from the warehouse the night before New Year's Eve.
January 21, 2042, marked the first New Year's Eve after the apocalypse.
That morning, the people of Nameless City, like the day before, woke up at dawn. The various teams had not received any missions to kill zombies outside the city the previous day.
In the past few days, all teams in Nameless City, except for the patrol teams, had gone out to clear zombies twice.
Each team had seen a reduction in members. Most of those lost were people who, fearing zombies, had delayed their ability evolution after the apocalypse arrived. This had indirectly helped Nameless City reduce its "rice bugs."
However, the deaths of those around them had brought considerable negative emotions to the survivors in the base.
People had become somewhat numb, repeating their lives in this post-apocalyptic world, unsure when death might befall them.
But on this day, as people left their homes, they saw the red lanterns hanging everywhere in the city and the couplets pasted on places like the mission hall. Many were stunned. They stopped, gazing at the vibrant red, tears welling up in their eyes.
Spring Festival, a time that should be for family reunions, how many people could achieve that in the apocalypse?
Wiping the cold tears from their faces, they suppressed the softness in their hearts. Although they had no missions to go out today, many still planned to venture outside the city. After several days of systematic clearing, there were hardly any zombies left in the nearby cities.
Even if they encountered any, they would only be stragglers or scattered zombies that had wandered back.
Ability users who dared to venture out alone or in groups to search for supplies did not concern themselves with these few zombies.
However, as these people arrived at the city gates to leave, the gatekeepers informed them that no one was allowed to go out today.
The reason for the closure was also posted at the city gates, stating that the city would be distributing food for today and tomorrow, and everyone should bring their Nameless City identification to the trading market and mission hall to collect it.
Of course, to prevent unnecessary crowding and stampedes, there were time restrictions for collection. Each team had different time slots, and the collection windows at the trading market and mission hall were calculated to ensure everyone in the city could collect their rations by 10 AM.
Upon seeing this news, the crowd that had gathered at the city gates erupted. Everyone began checking their team's collection time.
"What kind of food are they giving out?" someone near the city gate couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know. We only received notification that food would be distributed," the gatekeeper shook his head.
However, since Nameless City prohibited people from going out, they had no choice. They were no longer a scattered, disorganized crowd. After Nameless City's reorganization, they had regained some semblance of their former order.
"When you get back, make sure to notify the people around you so no one misses out on the food by staying in their rooms," the gatekeeper announced loudly to the crowd at the gate.
The people gathered at the city gates dispersed, many with a skeptical attitude, as they wondered if Nameless City could really provide food for hundreds of thousands of people for two days.
But with no option to leave the city, they had no choice but to return home and wait until their designated collection time.
Soon, the first wave of people returning from collecting food arrived. Those gathered at the entrances of various residential areas chatting quickly converged.
"How was it? What did you get?" a middle-aged man asked after taking a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaling.
"Hey! Make way, make way! Some of my food is still warm. You'll know when you go. But I heard everyone gets a self-heating pot, hahaha, the City Lord is so generous." The person being stopped held a large tote bag, the contents of which were unseen, but the aroma of meat wafting from it was unmistakable.
"Damn, they're even giving out meat? I haven't eaten meat in half a year."
"I can't take it anymore. Smelling this meat, I can't resist. I'm going to wait there. At least I can smell the meat scent from everyone who comes out."
The gathered crowd quickly dispersed again, rushing towards the outside. The agitated crowd grew larger and larger outside the trading market and mission hall.
"We don't care if you wait outside, but you need to clear the path in the middle. Anyone blocking it today won't get their food."
Before long, the congestion completely blocked the roads to both locations. The managers inside had no choice but to warn them with a loudspeaker.
This tactic proved effective. The people immediately spread out, clearing the paths for entry and exit.
"Hey, there's even alcohol and cigarettes," a man said happily, holding his item list.
Although not much, everyone received a portion. Even women who didn't smoke could save it for their husbands or trade it for other items privately.
"Today is New Year's Eve, and the City Lord is distributing supplies for free to everyone so you can have a good New Year. For these two days, the city gates will be closed. Everyone can celebrate the New Year with peace of mind. Activities within the city are unrestricted, and you can visit each other.
However, fighting and robbery are prohibited within the city. Anyone found doing so will be immediately expelled from Nameless City," the administrators in the trading market and mission hall announced repeatedly through the loudspeakers, audible to everyone collecting supplies.
The people leaving with their food were overjoyed. By 10 AM, the New Year's free distribution work had orderly concluded.
Watching the excited crowds depart with their tote bags, Lu Heng, standing by the window on the second floor of the mission hall, returned to the sofa in his room.
Shortly after, the personnel responsible for statistics submitted the organized information on the supply distribution. Lu Heng did not look at it, handing it back to the person in charge below and saying, "Just keep the statistics. I trust you all. You've been busy all day. Everyone on duty and those who worked hard for the New Year will each receive two Level 3 crystals."
Level 3 crystals, even if sixth-tier ability users no longer needed them for advancement, could still be used as currency to exchange for the supplies they needed.