"Almost everyone has left."
Pang Peng glanced around the base. The outer defensive fortifications were completely deserted.
It wasn’t until they reached the public camping area that they could vaguely make out a few scattered figures in the distance, near the food court. It seemed they were also scavenging for supplies, likely trying to make one last score before taking off.
"There are still a lot of people crossing Cyan Dragon Ridge," Cao Yutang said, pointing into the distance.
The only other places with any significant number of people were likely the highway assembly point outside the base, or that group from the Cross-Country Club. The latter had a fleet of RVs, which clearly had them tied to this place. They probably wouldn’t be willing to abandon them until they’d run out of options.
According to the original plan, an escort team from the Combat Defense Department was to be split into up to three groups, completing their escort mission between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
Now, that window had closed.
That meant the people still crossing the mountains either didn’t trust the armed personnel’s expertise, had been delayed while scavenging for supplies, or were held up by other important matters. They themselves were undoubtedly in the last category.
"Let’s head to Su Chen’s vehicle first," Yan Ziqian said, raising the antenna on his walkie-talkie to contact the others.
As they had agreed from the start, all the tech teams in their private channel group had gone offline. They had left for the city much earlier, and with the increased distance—especially with a mountain range between them—they were impossible to contact.
The teams from the University of Science and Technology and Jiangnan University, however, were true to their word. They hadn’t left early just because the official armed squad arrived. Just as they had agreed, the three teams would leave together.
While Su Chen’s group had been exploring the cave, the other two teams had gone to the forested wetlands to the east to clear out tree hollows and hunt water snakes.
"Once Ruoruo gets her hidden class, what’s the plan? We could leave during the midday heat," Cao Yutang suggested, looking inquiringly at the team’s leader. "Fungal activity drops sharply in high temperatures, so it would be a good time to go."
Leaving the base to get to the Inheritance Sanctuary was a given.
Besides, the other two teams were already waiting for them. It would be wrong to keep them waiting any longer.
Yan Ziqian was certain of this. ’But what’s the plan after that?’
’None of us are from Dongfu, so we have nowhere to settle. We could either try to take refuge with the officials or find a new place to make our base and start over.’
Just then, to everyone’s surprise, Su Chen, who had been silent the entire time, extended an olive branch.
He looked at them calmly. "You can come back to the base later."
The words had barely left his lips.
The coolly elegant Yan Ruoruo, who was standing beside him, unexpectedly seconded the idea. "Let’s build our home right here."
For a moment,
the rest of them looked at the pair with strange expressions, wondering if they had planned this in private beforehand.
When they arrived at the RV, Su Chen laid his cards on the table, hiding nothing.
In short,
he had his eye on this group of talented individuals. Yan Ziqian’s chemistry skills had already been proven with the firearm primers, and the materials science expert, Gong Jun, was a top-tier talent for the apocalypse.
Then there was the biologist Yu Ziyuan, whom he only knew by name, who had discovered many ingeniously useful plants in the forest. At the very least, the Wind Fighter Grass and the Airbag Mushroom—which was sensitive to carbon dioxide levels—had left a good impression on him.
Moreover,
from what he’d learned at their first bonfire gathering, this group of eight from the prestigious Jingcheng University was the perfect post-apocalyptic team.
Pang Peng’s specialty was electrical engineering, Cao Yutang’s was mechanical engineering, another member majored in agronomy, and two were medical professionals specializing in medicine and surgery.
"This isn’t a recruitment offer. You can think of it as a partnership. I won’t control your personal freedom or your will. And within my capabilities, I can guarantee your safety."
This was Su Chen’s promise.
’Everyone has their own expertise.’
’A person’s time is limited.’
’If I had to personally handle all the logistics—on top of preparing food, clearing land for crops, and dealing with weapon crafting and maintenance—it would consume a huge amount of my time every day, not to mention the steep learning curve.’
’And that’s not to mention I’m completely clueless when it comes to firearms and ammunition.’
This was why Su Chen had extended the olive branch.
’Yan Ruoruo agreeing so readily was unexpected, though. On second thought, she probably reached her conclusion through pure, rational calculation.’
"To be honest, if it weren’t for the Inheritance Sanctuary, we wouldn’t want to leave right now either," Yan Ziqian said, pushing up his black-framed glasses and speaking candidly. "Just the equipment already here at the base, plus the two generators—we can’t take any of it with us. Your proposal, and the security your strength provides, is truly tempting.
However, I can’t make this decision on my own. I’ll need to discuss it with the rest of my team."
Cao Yutang and Pang Peng exchanged a look. This was definitely not part of their plan. Looking back, their two collaborations with Su Chen had been, without a doubt, very successful.
But when it came to his impression of the man, Cao Yutang felt a twinge of fear as he watched Su Chen’s back while he packed his bag inside the RV. He couldn’t help but recall the figure from that day, an Asura bathed in blood. ’This guy is definitely a Chosen of Khorne.’
’At that thought, he quickly averted his gaze. It was impossible to know where our little boat would sail if we accepted this offer. At the very least, Su Chen seemed to relish a challenge, and there was no telling how he planned to fight against the fungal consciousness.’
’Then again,’ he thought, ’being content with an ordinary life, hiding in some bungalow to ride out the apocalypse, or just waiting to die in a panic... none of that is an option for me either.’

Comments

Loading...