Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 782 - 11 Lankeng Town

The cold wind blew fiercely, carrying a multitude of snowflakes across the ground.

Under the force of the strong wind, these snowflakes seemed like fine blades, and when they brushed against the face or other exposed skin, they caused a considerable amount of pain.

This meant that anyone wanting to go outside in this weather had to wrap themselves up tightly, leaving no part exposed to the elements.

Besides preventing snow from getting inside their clothes, it was crucial to block the cold wind that would seep into every crevice, stealing away any warmth.

In the raging blizzard, once you lost body heat, it posed a significant danger, possibly even leading to certain death.

Naturally, in such perilous weather, few people would leave the shelter that could fend off the wind and snow, braving the elements outside.

Unless they had an unavoidable reason to go out.

Henry was such a person, or rather, an unfortunate one. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

His settlement was a small one, established only after the great migration.

The so-called great migration refers to when massive populations moved from the Empire's homeland to the Northern Territory following the announcement of impending doom, often referred to as the great migration by the populace.

Due to its late establishment, the settlement was lacking in both scale and infrastructure.

After all, the people migrating from the Empire's homeland to the Northern Territory were so numerous that the existing construction teams couldn't keep up, leading to several settlements being built under such conditions, missing certain amenities was understandable.

However, settlements like Henry's, which didn't even have an Energy Tower, were still relatively uncommon.

As expected, the living conditions in their settlement were not great.

Most people lived in underground shelters; thankfully, this aspect of their settlement wasn't compromised, as the shelters effectively shielded them from the harsh cold and snow, allowing them to survive in the severe environment of the Northern Territory.

But compared to other settlements with Energy Towers, their living conditions were undoubtedly much worse.

This also meant that the population in their settlement was small and largely of dubious origins.

In the Northern Territory, this was somewhat inconceivable, as both the Empire and the Northern Territory conducted extensive screening of the migrants.

Those arriving through official channels from the mainland to the Northern Territory held legitimate status, whereas criminals and gang members among the initial arrivals ended up in the Punishment Camp.

Yet even in Perfikot's original world, smuggling and illegal migration remained an undying societal issue, let alone in this thoroughly backward steam era.

A vessel capable of crossing the ocean could transport people from the Empire's mainland to the Northern Territory.

Although they encountered various hardships and even faced the threat of death en route, some were determined and reached the Northern Territory by such means.

Consequently, this settlement was established through such methods.

This was also the reason why the settlement lacked an Energy Tower.

Constructing an underground shelter might be managed through architectural firms or subtly arranged as a private job, but building an Energy Tower?

Apologies, every phase was strictly controlled by the Northern Territory's officials; even every single component was logged for inspection against issues like cutting corners or insufficient quality.

If any mishap occurred, investigation would trace every production phase and handler of the component.

Thus, everyone in Henry's settlement lived a miserably harsh life.

Some did want to move to another settlement to live better, but since they were all illegal migrants, and many carried criminal records, though checking such records in this era wasn't easy, these individuals inevitably carried some fear.

Gradually, they settled there; life was tough, but at least they managed to scrape by.

With underground shelters, although the weather was bitterly cold, life was still bearable.

Until the blizzard struck.

Fuel for this settlement, called Lankeng Town, primarily came from a nearby small coal mine; when establishing the settlement, they discovered this small surface-exposed coal mine, and relied chiefly on manpower to extract the fuel the settlement needed.

Though production was low, the settlement's demand was also minimal.

But when the blizzard hit, they couldn't reach the fuel; exposing oneself in a blizzard could indeed freeze one solid and likely dead.

Still, they couldn't manage without fuel, so residents pooled together to come up with a lousy idea, which was drawing lots daily to pick ten people to transport the mined coal.

Because this was a pit, during initial excavation, they established a few inhabitable shafts, so they wouldn't feel cold despite the wind and snow, as the ground temperature remained quite high.

By sealing the entrances, they could basically maintain a temperature that wouldn't freeze anyone.

Burn a bit of coal to warm up, and life would be quite comfortable.

But the transportation…sorry, ever since the blizzard descended, more than eighteen residents of Lankeng Town died transporting coal.

All frozen to death.

Although the town provided those transporting coal with a hearty hot meal and the thickest and best cold-weather gear, the relentless blizzard made each transportation akin to dancing cheek to cheek with death.

However, today the storm seemed to have lessened somewhat; at least when Henry and others dragged a cart of coal back, only one of the ten men froze to death.

Still, when they returned to town, they noticed the town's atmosphere felt quite off.

Because, in an open area of the underground shelter, stood a figure they'd typically never witness, a Steam Knight, with a white bear head prominently on its chest armor.

There was no doubt, this was a knight from the White Bear Knight Order, and it represented the Regent, the Lord of the North.

"By the Lord of the North's decree, executing the Empire's regent's order, all residents of Lankeng Town must relocate to Calais Town; this settlement will be abandoned." The Steam Knight produced an order, and after announcing it, he looked at the mayor: "Though you're illegal immigrants, the Lord mercifully grants you an opportunity to become official residents of the Northern Territory. As long as you relocate to Calais Town, you'll gain legal status."

"Legal status? Is this true? Are they not deceiving us?" The residents of Lankeng Town murmured among themselves, feeling a sense of disbelief.

If they could secure legal status and live prosperously, who would willingly endure hunger and freezing here?