Since they found their younger brother, the group headed straight to the injured person.
The injured technician was lying in the ward. The doctors and nurses in the base were trying their best to bring down his fever, using all the available medicine they had, but to no avail.
There were other injured individuals outside the ward, but they mostly had fractures, scratches, and the like, nothing fatal. Hearing that a healer was coming, they all made way for him.
Upon entering the ward, Hua Jin understood why everyone was so anxious.
The technician was pale as a sheet, looking like death itself. His waist was barely hanging on, mangled, and the wound was hideous, flesh and blood mangled, and the blood that flowed out had turned black, it made your stomach churn at the sight.
Surviving was already quite a surprise, but the pain looked even more unbearable.
They all had tasted such pain to some extent.
However, the people out of the infinite world did not have the function to clear debuffs upon clearing a level.
Moreover, with the presence of a healer, no one there had to endure such torment.
The room fell silent and Hua Jin went straight to the bed.
The doctors and nurses beside the bed were stunned for a moment. Tong Yiming signalled for them to make space, despite being a little puzzled, they still quietly stepped aside.
Tong Yiming asked anxiously, “Can you heal him?”
Hua Jin nodded, “It’ll take some time.”
Tong Yiming breathed a sigh of relief.
Hua Jin touched the technician’s wound, and the technician shuddered violently. The doctors and nurses watching couldn’t stand it, instinctively taking a step forward, but then stopped, glancing at Tong Yiming at the door.
Tong Yiming was also a bit uneasy, but finally, he shook his head at them.
The base’s healers had limited abilities and were helpless with such wounds. Conventional medical methods were even more ineffective. They could send him to the Central Base, there might still be a slim chance of survival.
But time was running short, the technician probably wouldn’t last until then.
If it weren’t for having no other choice, they wouldn’t have asked a stranger to treat him.
Now that the person is already here, they could only choose to trust them.
“Get me a knife, something sharp, a scalpel will do.” Hua Jin glanced at the doctor and said, “You stay, everyone else out.”
Tong Yiming gestured for the others to leave.
There was a small room diagonally opposite the ward, originally a storage room, later cleaned out for the relatives and friends of patients to stay. Now it was vacated to accommodate Chu Chenli and the others.
“I need to go back to report the situation. It’ll take me at most half an hour. Please wait here. If there’s anything you need, just ask Xiao Hu, he’s at the door.”
Tong Yiming brought them tea, exchanged pleasantries, and then hurriedly left.
Only three people remained in the room, and the officer on duty, Xiao Hu, occasionally poked his head in to ask if they needed anything to eat or drink.
He Ziyue asked for some snacks and got a small plate of sunflower seeds.
The three of them languidly cracked the seeds open, but their expressions were not so relaxed.
Originally, they had just planned to come and get a car and leave, but after this trip, they realised something was a bit wrong—
According to Tong Yiming, when they were first attacked by the wolf pack, the wolves had targeted the technician.
But the technician wasn’t awakened and didn’t have any special abilities.
Usually, in the presence of awakened individuals, mutants preferred to attack them because they were stronger and hence, tasted better to them.
In their perspective, there was no concept of “seeking death.”
They were monsters that always acted on instinct.
In the team protecting the technician, eight out of the ten were awakened. The technician was inconspicuous among them. If there was anything special about him, it was that he was the focal point of everyone’s protection.
If the enemies were humans, prioritising the weak core to throw the team into chaos would be understandable.
But the enemies were mutants.
“Have mutants evolved into gaining intelligence? Or is there something special about that technician?”
He Ziyue nervously cracked sunflower seeds as she glanced at the surveillance camera in the room. Activating her ability, her consciousness was partly connected to the base’s internal network.
The entire base’s layout unfolded in her mind.
The base was built against the mountains, with many new facilities, as if newly constructed. There was no protective barrier on the periphery, but it was filled with various electronic detection devices, used to deter mutants from entering, and gun ports, with guards at each entrance.
The interior was partially open air, and partially carved into the mountains. The densely populated areas had transparent roofs, probably to block mutants trying to infiltrate from the air.
The base was not large, but because of this, the simple defensive measures could be implemented effectively.
At least the people coming and going within the base didn’t need to worry much about a sudden mutant invasion.
He Ziyue tampered with the surveillance footage of them, changing it to a looping gif of the trio cracking open sunflower seeds, “I don’t think this place is an ordinary small base.”
“Actually, about half a month ago, this place was frequently harassed by mutants,” Mu Yanshen said.
“How do you know?” He Ziyue asked, realising she asked a pointless question. “Reading minds again, aren’t you.”
“It was their fault for thinking too loudly,” Mu Yanshen lazily defended himself.
He originally had volunteered to come and steal…no, borrow a car.
It would be too time-consuming to have to save people here, then to find another way to get a car after.
So they split up.
When Tong Yiming contacted the base, Mu Yanshen already knew they were coming, so he could only wait.
Bored, he set up a small stall at the entrance for fun.
With years of experience in fooling people, he successfully attracted a crowd and heard a lot of inside information.
Of course, most of it came from their minds.
Now, though they were delayed a bit, if they could get a better car, the time spent here could be made up with speeding on the road.
Moreover, the strange behaviour of the mutants also worried them, so understanding the situation better was also beneficial.
“The last large-scale mutant invasion they encountered was a month ago, when about a third of the base’s frontline combat personnel died.”
These details were not recorded on public websites.
Mu Yanshen pointed in a direction, “Next to the base’s small forest is its cemetery, but most of them are cenotaphs. It’s also one of the better-protected places here.”
“Until about half a month ago, the mutants seemed to have suddenly disappeared. They found it strange but have not been able to investigate the cause until now.”
Then came the sudden attack on the team during their field operation.
“…They’ve become smarter,” Chu Chenli said.
“Compared to the possibility that a mutant king suddenly appeared and gathered them all, or a divine saviour decided to protect the world or this base and secretly guarded them, this seems more plausible.”
He Ziyue touched her chin, pondering, “But speaking of which, half a month ago…wasn’t that around the time we just got back?”
Mu Yanshen nonchalantly looked away.
Chu Chenli did not respond to her comment.
After a moment of silence, He Ziyue also fell silent.
Some things were not suitable for them to delve into right now.
When Hua Jin pushed the door open and came in, he saw the three of them silently cracking sunflower seeds, which startled him so much that he stepped back and shut the door again.
This word ‘silence’ was very normal for Chu Chenli.
Sometimes, it wasn’t too strange for Mu Yanshen either.
But when it involved He Ziyue, it usually meant something was seriously wrong.
Hua Jin steadied himself and reopened the door.
He Ziyue looked at him strangely, “Did you see a ghost or something?”
Hua Jin glanced at her, sighed silently, and decided to get to the point, “That Xiao Zheng just said that he got us permission, and he’ll take us to choose a car in a bit.”
Chu Chenli asked, “How’s the technician?”
“He’s cured.” Flower Jin paused, then realised Chu Chenli’s underlying question, “He’s just an ordinary person, no abilities, not awakened, not one with a special blood type either. The only things he took into the mountains were normal inspection tools and specially made ammunition, the very same he took with him the last time he went into the mountains, about a month ago.”
“…”
After a brief silence, He Ziyue sighed, “Thanks for bringing us the worst news ever.”
Mutants had evolved and grown brains.
Or…mutants sneaked over from the infinite world.
Neither sounded like they would be easy to deal with.
They had their abilities, so it wouldn’t be too bad for them, but many ordinary people would suffer.
Unaware of their worries, Xiao Hu knocked on the door and asked if they needed more water or food, his attitude noticeably better.
He Ziyue raised her hand, “More water, we’ll take it with us for the road.”
Meanwhile, Tong Yiming had just returned from reporting the situation and heard that the technician had woken up. Seeing the technician sit up and greet him, he stood with his mouth agape for a long time.
Reviving the technician also showed that the people they brought back indeed had some skills.
Tong Yiming remembered he had guests to entertain, hurriedly exiting, and bumped into them coming out from the opposite door.
Seeing Hua Jin, he called out ‘Divine Doctor’, then quickly corrected himself to ‘Great Sage’.
“Shall we eat first or would you like to choose your car?”
“The car,” Hua Jin calmly held back He Ziyue, “We’re in a hurry, sorry.”
Tong Yiming looked disappointed but didn’t insist, leading them to the underground garage.
Stored here were their newly modified cars.
At a glance, their base wasn’t too wealthy, but they felt it was worth trading a car for the technician’s life.
When Tong Yiming reported back, his superiors had said that as long as the technician was saved, they could pick any car on that level, even multiple cars.
“Oh, you’re too kind, we feel so embarrassed,” He Ziyue said, eyes sharp, pointing to the most spacious SUV, “We’ll take this one. Does it have fuel?”
Tong Yiming nodded quickly, “Yes, but not much. I’ll have someone fill it up immediately.”
His “immediately” was indeed prompt.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the tank was full, and the trunk was stocked with food and water.
Additionally, there were firearms, ammunition, and a few sharp weapons.
Not a lot, but enough for short-term emergencies.
Even though Chu Chenli and his group were in a hurry, they were stunned. They had never asked for these.
“Although I don’t know where you’re going, you can never be too prepared for unexpected accidents on the road,” Tong Yiming said, “Our superiors are too busy to send you off, and we don’t want to delay you any longer. We hope you visit again when you have the chance, our LuNan Base will host you properly.”
An intention to build connections.
But he knew they were busy, so he didn’t force them to stay for bonding.
Tong Yiming, along with Xiao Zheng and Zou He, personally escorted the four to the entrance of the base, pointing out a shortcut and giving them a rundown of the small bases they would pass along the way.
The ones which were notoriously stingy, to avoid, with histories of robbery and murder.
The ones that were genuinely poor and might not even spare a mouthful of food.
The ones that were famously generous and could be approached for help in trouble.
–
Lastly, he mentioned a base named Linfeng, around 200 kilometres from LuNan Base, slightly smaller but well-equipped with basic supplies, enough to accommodate a few passersby.
Tong Yiming happened to know the leader of Linfeng Base, and with his connections, Linfeng Base might even let them stay overnight, it was better than camping outside.
They could endure harsh environments, but it didn’t mean they liked it.
He Ziyue earnestly shook Tong Yiming’s hand, “Thank you, Captain Tong. I, He Ziyue, will never forget your great kindness!”
Tong Yiming had long noticed she was a bit quirky, smiled wryly, “No, it’s your life-saving grace I will never forget. I can only do my best in these small matters.”
He Ziyue wanted to continue being courteous, but Hua Jin grabbed her by the collar, dragging her back. She nodded at Tong Yiming from the driver’s seat, “See you next time.”
Tong Yiming stepped aside sensibly, waving, “Safe trip ahead.”
The next moment, He Ziyue stepped on the gas and sped off.
Half of the journey to the Yingchen Base remained.
–
In the evening, the sky filled with clouds.
The colours of a burning sunset made it seem like the sky was ablaze, and the earth was bathed in red.
Under the vast expanse of red maples, buildings hidden within were engulfed in flames. People screamed, cried, and fled, only to fall under the gunfire after a few steps.
A man in a laboratory coat lay on the ground, clutching the intruder’s trouser leg tightly, speaking each word with difficulty: “You‘ll face retribution!”
Blood pooled beneath him, and his body was covered in countless knife wounds. The wounds were already fatal, but he held on with his last breath, glaring furiously at the intruders.
They could hardly be called “people”; they were a group of ruthless devils.
The man in white looked coldly at the dying man and sneered contemptuously, “Retribution? Aren’t I already here?”
“Natural disasters, apocalypse, being infected, mutants, awakeners…doesn’t it all sound like a bad nightmare?” The man in white squatted down and whispered in the man’s ear.
He curled his lips into a sinister smile, reached for the pen knife on the desk, and aimed it steadily at the dying man’s artery.
“I’m helping you find relief.”
Blood spurted out.
The man opened his mouth in vain, like a fish out of water, his voice turning into a strange hiss.
The light in his eyes gradually faded, his arm weakly hit the ground, unable to resist anymore.
“Plop.”
The pen knife fell into the pool of blood.
The man in white stood up, pulled out some tissues from the desk, and wiped the blood off his hands in disgust. Then he picked up a stack of confidential documents from the desk.
“No need to thank me,” the man in white said as he turned to leave.
The bloodstained tissue fell slowly onto the corpse’s face, covering half of it, leaving only one eye staring intently at his departing figure.
On the back of his clothes were two bold characters—
‘Yingchen.’
The author has something to say:
A transition chapter~ Due to recent adjustments to my schedule, there’s another chapter that I haven’t quite finished writing, so I’ll post it tomorrow. Everyone should get some rest too, kisses.
This small subplot is actually the first wave of reputation-building. This chapter didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted, so it’s not too detailed. I’ll expand on it later. The main idea is that this base is in cooperation with the central base. Xiao Mu is not only gathering information but also intentionally helping Hua Jin build a reputation for future developments.
When I come back, I’ll focus on detailing this part further. Even if you don’t come back to read it, it won’t affect the plot progression.
