At dawn, Ye Lanzhou fought off his sleepiness and returned to his dorm. Passing by Xiang Renxi’s door, he remembered he had promised to talk to him.
Though he had already heard a rough account from his team, his initial shock and reluctance to face it were replaced by a recollection of Xiang Renxi’s past kindness.
Xiang Renxi might appear overly rational, even cold at times, but Ye Lanzhou wasn’t in a position to criticise him.
Everything Xiang Renxi did was for him, for the stability and for the benefit of the base.
Even if he was at fault, his past efforts and contributions couldn’t be entirely negated.
After hesitating for a while, Ye Lanzhou stopped.
But before he could knock, Xiang Renxi seemed to sense his presence and opened the door, quickly pulling him inside after confirming no one was around.
“Xiao Xi?” Ye Lanzhou was confused and unaccustomed to such “enthusiasm”. He instinctively stepped back.
“Lanzhou,” Xiang Renxi closed the door with a sharp snap, looking more serious than ever, “I need to talk to you about something.”
Ye Lanzhou, seeing this expression for the first time, was momentarily taken aback and nodded, listening quietly.
“It’s about our future,” Xiang Renxi said slowly and clearly, “and about…Chu Chenli.”
–
The mutant wave finally retreated.
Other than those in the lab, everyone in the Southern Base breathed a sigh of relief, the medical department too.
There were zero casualties from this mutant wave, though there were a few people who had overworked themselves.
Seeing his base members with noticeable dark circles under their eyes, Ye Lanzhou generously gave them two days off.
Then he turned and went to find Shen Xuanyi and April.
“Sorry, I was really busy yesterday,” Ye Lanzhou apologised.
The response that they were waiting for had been delayed due to the wave of mutants, and hence they could only receive it the next morning.
Shen Xuanyi, who had been forced to stay overnight at the Southern Base, didn’t seem displeased.
“No problem, unexpected situations are understandable,” Shen Xuanyi said slowly, “Besides, many people here will be working under me in the future. Getting to know them better isn’t a bad thing.”
Ye Lanzhou’s face twitched slightly.
The matter he had hoped to forget was brought up again, giving him the familiar feeling of distaste.
But after the previous shock, he responded more calmly this time.
“We accept your mission, I can choose my teammates, right?” Ye Lanzhou asked.
“Indeed,” Shen Xuanyi nodded and reminded kindly, “But your teammates will also be included in the assessment of your mission.”
Ye Lanzhou ignored that obvious statement, asking his next question, “What if we hand over Chu Chenli? What would we get in return?”
Shen Xuanyi paused, scrutinising him for a moment.
Ye Lanzhou blushed, stammering, “You’ve always mentioned this together with recruiting the base, this means he’s really important to you. For such an important figure, there must be an equivalent bargaining chip, right…”
These words didn’t sound like something he would say.
But since he said it in front of Shen Xuanyi, it meant that he somewhat agreed with those words.
“I heard Chu Chenli went missing before we arrived at Southern Base?” Shen Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.
“…Yes,” Ye Lanzhou hesitated briefly before regaining his composure, “But I know where he is, and I can rescue and bring him back.”
April cast a cold glance over.
Ye Lanzhou instinctively fell silent, looking at her with caution.
Shen Xuanyi signalled to April to calm herself down. His own expression remained unchanged, the smile on his lips didn’t even drop one bit.
“That’s okay too.” Shen Xuanyi thought for a moment and decided on the reward casually. “As long as you bring him back safely, your score will be doubled, and you’ll have the opportunity to choose your teammates when you join the Central Base.”
Ye Lanzhou asked hesitantly, “Really?”
Shen Xuanyi smiled, “If you don’t want it, I can pretend I never said it.”
Ye Lanzhou quickly replied, “Of course not.”
Shen Xuanyi gestured invitingly, “If there are no objections, I hope you can form a team and set off as soon as possible. After all, lives are at stake, and every second’s delay could mean another innocent person dying-“
Ye Lanzhou interrupted him, “I need time to arrange things and gather my teammates. Give me three hours!”
“One more thing.” As he was about to turn around, he remembered something important. “You must not harm Ah Li! Otherwise, I won’t let you off!”
Without waiting for a response, he quickly turned and left to handle the subsequent arrangements.
April sneered at his retreating figure.
What a quick change of face!
Shen Xuanyi rubbed his chin, looking somewhat amused, “This Ye Lanzhou really has a deep bond with that fellow surnamed Xiang.”
Despite Xiang Renxi’s terrible reputation, Ye Lanzhou still listened to him.
And he was willing to use his former lover as a bargaining chip.
Whether he was deceived or genuinely valuing his future, this clearly demonstrated two things.
First, Ye Lanzhou’s bond with Xiang Renxi was unbreakable. Second, Ye Lanzhou was stupid!
Short-sighted, lacking vision, easily influenced, and biased…
Even just based on professional judgement, Ye Lanzhou had already been deemed unqualified by Shen Xuanyi.
“The rotten pot deserves a rotten lid!” Siyue was so angry she said a few extra words. “The captain really wants to give them extra points?”
“Doubling zero still counts as a double.” Shen Xuanyi smiled, “If they like, we can even increase it by tenfold.”
After all, he would be the one giving the final score.
He just hadn’t had the chance to tell Ye Lanzhou yet.
April’s usually expressionless face showed a faint smile, but then she became slightly worried, “What about that Xiang fellow?”
Shen Xuanyi tapped the armrest of his wheelchair lightly, not particularly concerned, “There’s Xiyu.”
But Fang Xiyu was still unconscious, wasn’t he?
April hesitated and cast a questioning look at Shen Xuanyi.
“When Ah Li and the others arrive, he will naturally wake up.” Shen Xuanyi said calmly.
April didn’t ask why.
Because countless past cases had proven that Shen Xuanyi’s conclusions, even when he didn’t explain, were usually correct.
Even if he explained in detail, not many would fully understand the intricacies.
Except for Fang Xiyu.
Fang Xiyu wasn’t particularly scheming, he was generally cheerful and open, but his intuition was astonishingly sharp. He was adept at distilling useful information from complex nonsense and interpreting it in his own way.
Though his rephrased explanations often left people puzzled, his insights into various schemes and plots were indeed remarkable.
Comparing their ability in this, even He Ziyue, Chu Chenli, and Hua Jin together might not match Fang Xiyu.
Moreover, Fang Xiyu was once an ardent fan of Chu Chenli, who hugs his thigh and even calls him master—though Chu Chenli has never accepted it.
Oh, by the way, there’s also the number one fan Mu Yanshen.
April’s mouth twitched.
She now felt that Ye Lanzhou had only two fates: dying miserably or dying super miserably.
She hopes his fate will be the most miserable one!
–
On the empty highway.
A new day with He Ziyue still driving.
Long-distance driving was no easy task, but unfortunately, in this group, she was the only experienced driver.
On her right was Hua Jin, a road menace even in games.
Including the time taken to settle himself in front of the steering wheel, within ten minutes the car would either stall, explode, have a natural disaster occur, a car accident or…have someone narrowly escape death.
Moreover, his driving skills were a mess. He could remember the names and effects of thousands of traditional Chinese medicines clearly, but when it came to the car, he was always clueless.
This seemed like an inherent flaw, which was even worse in reality.
Then there was Chu Chenli, who wasn’t familiar with most modern products—guns and other weapons were rare exceptions, but he had practically never touched a car.
He usually handled the physical combat, even in a vehicle, he was the one sniping the enemies.
As for Mu Yanshen…
After he volunteered to drive and ended up charging straight into a reservoir a few hundred metres away, He Ziyue banned him from touching the steering wheel ever again.
Now, they were pressed for time. Their periods of rest have even been minimised, there was no chance to let teammates practise driving.
So, it fell to He Ziyue to drive, while the others managed meals and fought off mutants.
Based on the condition of the previous road they were on, travelling from the Southern Base to Yingchen Base would take at least a week.
Maybe the quality of the car this time is really good or there were fewer mutant attacks, they had covered half the distance in just two days.
As night fell and the road ahead was pitch dark, they stopped to rest.
While others prepared dinner, He Ziyue continued to check the latest experiment records from Yingchen Base to ensure they were on the right track.
Fang Xiyu was still alive, thankfully.
They hadn’t deviated much, and she remembered the last road sign they passed, continuing straight should be fine.
However, the already old car was damaged by a bear-like mutant today, its frame deformed, and they needed a new vehicle.
Given the ruins everywhere, finding a good car in a deserted city was comparable to the probability of winning the lottery.
The places which might have cars now…should only be the bases.
He Ziyue considered borrowing one from a nearby small base and started searching for information.
A small base with about ten people probably didn’t have spare cars. Next.
A neighbouring city, dozens of kilometres away in the wrong direction, a waste of time. Next.
This city’s outskirts—oh, it’s gone. Next.
–
In this city, near the southern fork, there was a medium-small base that seemed more “modern,” with a dedicated website and broadcast station for survivors and technical personnel.
Though newly established in recent years, it seemed well-managed.
Most importantly, it was on the way and not far.
They should have extra cars.
In exchange, they could help fix system bugs or fight mutants.
Or provide some medical treatment—healing abilities were rare these days.
Suddenly, He Ziyue felt she had found a new path to prosperity.
Meanwhile, those preparing dinner looked at He Ziyue who suddenly cackled and glanced at them and couldn’t help the chill that ran down their spine.
Hua Jin, in particular, felt very cold.
—feeling the foreboding sense of someone whos about to be sold off secretly.
The author has something to say:
Teammates: Thank you to the scum man who’s happily sending over his head.
