The two returned to the car, and Xu Song continued to review the information. Although he could memorize these things at a glance, some details still needed discussion with Yue Zheng, especially regarding the route. The parts that needed further discussion were set aside for later.
“I didn’t expect them to agree so readily,” Yue Zheng said as he categorized the documents. By now, the car had already left Zone A.
“Of course, these things are all near the urban area. If we don’t go get them, the base won’t have the capability to retrieve them for a while. This plan doesn’t require much effort from them and is beneficial to the base, so they would naturally agree,” Yue Zheng said while driving.
Xu Song took out the newly received team emblem, blinked at Yue Zheng, and said, “The new emblem for the Special Operations Team sounds impressive, but I still think it would be more practical to promote our team by one level.”
“Let’s talk about it after this mission is over,” the benefits of upgrading a team were most evident in the types, prices, and special characteristics of items purchased. Although they didn’t care much about other discount rates, getting more items for the same points was still worthwhile.
As promised by Elder Wu, after they obtained those items, if they could provide the base with additional surplus equipment, depending on the situation, their team could be upgraded again.
Thinking about an A-level team made them a bit excited. Although the entire base, aside from them, didn’t have another team reaching B-level, A sounded better than B, right?
After putting the documents back into the folder, they could already see the entrance to the open space temporarily set up for everyone’s rest in the distance.
At this moment, Luo Wen’an and the others were still chatting with Mother Xu in front of the RV.
The twins were sitting at a small table, earnestly learning to write. Liu Shishi sat beside them, supporting her cheek with one hand, dozing off—she ate too much. Mother Xu’s enthusiasm was one thing, and she was also generous with oil. The last dish, the golden and fragrant fried ostrich eggs, was so delicious that a few people almost swallowed their tongues. Even those blocked outside couldn’t help but stretch their necks, inhaling deeply, trying to catch more of the aroma.
“Ah, they’re back!” Seeing the small pickup truck returning, Su Daji patted Luo Wen’an’s shoulder.
Xu Song got out of the car with a stack of documents, and Yue Zheng parked the car on the side. Xu Song noticed that Luo Wen’an and the others seemed a bit… well, he estimated they were too full, and at the moment, they were still digesting—didn’t they see that even standing up looked a bit awkward for them?
“Have you all eaten?” Glancing intentionally at the stomachs of a few people, Wang An, Zhao Xin, and He Nian all looked a bit embarrassed. On the other hand, Luo Wen’an and Su Daji appeared calm and self-satisfied.
Luo Wen’an patted his belly, “Aunt’s culinary skills are excellent. Of course, we ate our fill!”
Mother Xu laughed and stood up, “You two haven’t eaten yet, right? Wait for me; I’ll get you some.”
The RV didn’t have much space, and it would be fine for just the five of them. However, with several extra people, and considering that Mother Xu preferred not to invite people easily into their living space, it was better not to have Luo Wen’an’s group come inside.
Yue Zheng walked over after parking the car, and Xu Song followed Mother Xu into the RV. He needed to stow away the documents before joining them for the meal.
Seeing Yue Zheng approach, Wang An stood up with a smile and went to greet him, sighing, “I never thought that you guys are the legendary 0246 team in the base.” Luo Wen’an and Liu Shishi came over earlier in the morning, and without saying much, Yue Zheng and the others left first. The remaining people were those whom Mother Xu had invited over.
They originally just wanted to inquire about the news, but unexpectedly, they lucked into a big meal. It was estimated that they wouldn’t have better food than this for the whole week.
Yue Zheng smiled, “It’s just good luck.”
Luo Wen’an rolled his eyes, “You call this luck? Even with dog poop luck, it’s not as good as yours.”
Abu nearby moved his ears slightly but continued to sleep.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Despite the 0246 team having a starting point higher than other teams due to that mission, their subsequent performance proved the team’s formidable strength.
Seeing that Yue Zheng didn’t want to elaborate, the others understood that such business secrets couldn’t be easily asked about. Even though Luo Wen’an, with his eyes shining green, really wanted them to help purchase some discounted weapons, he couldn’t bring himself to ask right now.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat! I’m starving!” Xu Song, holding two large bowls and a basin of soup, beckoned everyone over, and Mother Xu brought another basin of dishes to the large table in the open space.
Yue Zheng quickly took the utensils and set them on the table. Mother Xu placed the well-stewed dishes on the table.
Today, Mother Xu made an improved version of clay pot rice, but this “pot” was quite large. It was more like a pot of braised rice with vegetables and meat combined.
Fragrant rice, tender stewed meat, potatoes, carrots, green beans, and other vegetables, as well as a plate of fried ostrich eggs that Mother Xu had prepared earlier.
The two sat side by side at the table. When Luo Wen’an and the others looked their way, Xu Song pointed to the large bowl in front of him, “More?”
Everyone quickly shook their heads. Jokingly, they hadn’t fully digested their lunch yet. Eating more now? Their stomachs would burst!
When the two were in Zone A, they hadn’t eaten anything. They had been discussing matters with Elder Wu and the heads of various departments. It wasn’t until the end that they realized their stomachs were empty.
Xu Song and Yue Zheng didn’t stay to eat there. Even though Mother Xu made a big pot of rice, it was definitely much tastier than those traditional big-pot rice dishes.
Mother Xu brought over a pot of tomato and egg soup that had been heated on the stove. The two of them ate quietly, causing Luo Wen’an and the others to look on with envy. It wasn’t that they envied Xu Song and Yue Zheng’s good food, but rather, they admired that they had a mother like Mother Xu, who meticulously prepared everything and cared for her children in every way.
Everyone felt a bit sentimental. People like Yue Zheng and the others, who could still live with their elders until now, were too few in the base. Along the way, they had seen how many were intentionally or unintentionally abandoned because the elderly and children were walking too slowly.
At first, everyone felt sad and self-blaming, but after seeing it so much, they became numb to it.
The dining table was quiet. Xu Song couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward and glanced at Luo Wen’an and the others. Seeing that they mostly had their heads down, he thought for a moment and decided to finish eating first.
After the meal and soup, Xu Song helped his mom clean up the dishes, while Yue Zheng chatted with Wang An and the others.
“Do you have any business inside today?” Mother Xu asked in a low voice while they were washing.
“Tomorrow, Brother Yue and I will be leaving the base,” Xu Song replied. “We need to plan the route later. You can stay in the base with Tiancheng and Tianyou for a few days.”
“Where are you going?”
“Near the city. Our RV won’t be able to go in, so we plan to walk. It’s more convenient.”
“Walking? How far is it?” Mother Xu wrinkled her brows. “Why not just drive the small car in? You can pull out anything you find.”
Xu Song chuckled, “We’re looking for something inside, and among them is a car. If it’s not broken, we can drive it out directly.”
“Are you sure there will be a car?”
“Yes, the information they provided indicates that there should be. We shouldn’t be wrong.”
Seeing Xu Song’s assurance, Mother Xu felt relieved. “Be careful on the road. I’ll prepare some dry rations for you to take along.”
Back outside, Yue Zheng was discussing something with Wang An. When Xu Song came out, Wang An nodded towards Yue Zheng. “Don’t worry, leave it to us. We guarantee nothing will go wrong!”
Yue Zheng explained, “We’ll be going out for a while later. I’ll have brother Wang and the others come over to keep Mom company.”
Xu Song understood and smiled, “Thanks to Brother Wang, then.”
“No problem. We won’t be going out for a while anyway. Zhao Xin’s leg hasn’t fully healed, and it’s not suitable for us to go hunting. Besides, Yue promised, so we don’t care about the meals… uh, saying it like this is embarrassing, but as long as we can eat our fill.”
After discussing this matter, the group bid farewell and left. If they stayed any longer, they might end up staying until evening. They had eaten enough for today; it surpassed what they had in the past week. Besides, the quality and quantity were guaranteed, definitely a good deal. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of a good meal?
After they left, the remaining few cleaned up the open space and returned to the RV. The twins, clutching their notebooks, followed Xu Song, while the tree that had been hiding in the car twisted its way to the door, welcoming the return of the twins. Liu Shishi had come, and now it had someone to play with, making its solitude in the car less lonely.
Taking out maps and documents, Xu Song arranged the things they had brought back today, spreading them across half of the table. The unused items were casually thrown onto the sofa beside the two. As for the other half of the table— the twins were still drawing.
“They provided the locations of these places. As for the specialized equipment they mentioned, it’s in this research facility.” Xu Song quickly marked the locations they might go to this time.
Mother Xu took a look and asked in surprise, “So many places?” And they spanned north and south in the city, in every direction.
“These are the positions of several experimental bases in the city. There are two biological labs and four medical equipment locations. They also can’t guarantee that the equipment here is still intact; it can’t be seen in satellite photos.”
“Why can’t it be seen?”
“Blocked by vegetation,” Xu Song shrugged. “That’s why they let us go and retrieve it ourselves.” Some of this equipment was useful, and some, in the base temporarily, wasn’t urgently needed. The equipment in the labs in the base was originally built in a special base north of the city.
In the city, some of these locations had equipment that had just been purchased from abroad before the apocalypse. Some hadn’t been delivered to the north yet. Some were from other research units.
After the apocalypse, there were too many things that needed rescuing, and these items could only be pushed to the back. As time went on, there were more and more things for the base to handle. Now, with no spare manpower to enter the city, these things could only wait there to mold.
Now, assigning this task to Xu Song and the others had two main purposes. Firstly, their proposed idea was very attractive. If successful, humanity would gain some level of information in this post-apocalyptic world. Knowing oneself and the enemy was key to long-term survival in the future.
Secondly, letting Yue Zheng and the others retrieve items had no downside. Even if they overfulfilled the mission, the base could offer some additional benefits, support in reputation, and, for the vast base, it wouldn’t cost much.
“How should we go tomorrow?” Xu Song handed the map to Yue Zheng and waited for him to make a decision.
Yue Zheng frowned for a moment, used a pen to mark for a while, and then said, “For now, follow this route, and the rest will depend on the situation.”
The current situation in the city was uncertain. They could only take it step by step.
“Be careful tomorrow. If you can’t beat them, run. Watch out for those bugs,” Mother Xu earnestly instructed the two with a worried expression. She knew that the kids had made up their minds, and there wasn’t much she could say. Besides, the kids were strong, and at the very least, they could ensure their own safety.
Thinking about the bugs still present in the city, Xu Song’s mouth twitched slightly. He nodded, “We’ll bring Xiao Shu with us. Before we leave, we’ll have it fill the water tank at home. The team can get a certain amount of water for free from the water source every day. Don’t forget to have Luo Wen’an and the others help you bring it back.”
Mother Xu waved her hand, “I know, don’t worry. Your mom knows what to do.”
On this day, Xu Song and Yue Zheng rested early, while Mother Xu stayed up a bit later than usual. She prepared some portable and durable food.
The twins climbed into bed early as well. Xiao Shu filled every container at home that could hold water before swaying back into the car, standing silently by the small bed, spreading its branches and leaves, becoming still.
Under the blue sky, white clouds, and the dazzling sunlight shining in the vegetation-free central area of the base, Xu Song and Yue Zheng woke up early and packed their bags, heading towards the gate.
The camping site from before was near Area A, and south was the under-construction East Zone.
Currently, except for the central road leading to the gate, high walls had been erected on both sides, and construction was underway inside.
Although Earth-element ability users were putting in extra effort to construct various buildings, these things couldn’t be accomplished overnight. Planning, design, and other aspects required coordination from various parties. Earth-element ability users weren’t necessarily trained in architecture, and the newcomers to the base hadn’t participated in the initial construction of the base.
Now, they had to learn from scratch. Some of the original experienced ability users had unfortunately passed away due to accidents before, so the base construction this time would likely take some time.
The two walked all the way towards the gate of the base. Besides them, many others were also getting ready to go out. After all, staying in the base every day consumed a lot, and everyone prioritized survival and eating.
Following the crowd, they exited the base. The vast majority of people dared only to stay near the base— the previous bird tide had damaged many vehicles and transportation tools used by small teams for commuting. The aftermath of the bird tide had just passed. According to rumors, there seemed to be many migratory birds choosing to settle nearby now. Who dared to run around recklessly?
Seeing that most people who left the base only stayed nearby, the two felt it was convenient. They turned a few corners in the overgrown path and couldn’t see many people anymore.
“Should we go here first?” Xu Song pointed to a location on the map.
Yue Zheng nodded, “Yes, let’s check the situation here first.”
“Don’t we need to go to the south, to those places further away?”
“The equipment here was purchased just before the apocalypse, and it’s closer to the base. If the things here are well-preserved, our future tasks will be easier.” Yue Zheng pointed to a location marked in red. “Moreover, this place is closer to the military base, and we can take a look at what’s there.”
This time, the most beneficial thing they got after applying was the specific locations of several military bases around City B and a rough idea of the items inside.
Although Xu Song and the twins could sense the distribution of creatures around them, when reporting specific situations to the base, the results obtained from these devices would be submitted. It was better than Xu Song manually marking them one by one. In addition, with the biological instrument detector, they wouldn’t need to explain why they could accurately mark the specific positions of certain creatures.
In addition, there might be many weapons inside, and who would be willing to let them go? Even if they couldn’t take them away, reporting back to the base could earn them a lot of points. Such a lucrative opportunity, only fools would pass up!
