Lan Jin looked tense, and Zhou Zhiye sighed helplessly. "From what I can see, Qiao Qiao really doesn't have any psychological issues. You don't need to be this nervous. Maybe kids just like things that adults don't."
So there was no need to take it so seriously.
Lan Jin's mouth twitched. She felt Zhou Zhiye's medical skills weren't all that impressive after all. Seriously, those mutated creatures, how could anyone call them cute?
She was still convinced Qiao Qiao had some kind of problem, but with so few psychologists around, she had no choice but to leave the child with Zhou Zhiye. As long as he could guide Qiao Qiao in the right direction, that was already enough.
…
After crossing mountains and rivers, the group finally arrived in Y City. They stopped outside the base, blaring the horn for a good while, but no one came. Once they were sure the place was empty, they went inside to look for cars. The locals who'd once lived in Y City Base knew the layout best. They quickly led everyone to where the vehicles were parked.
As soon as they stepped in, fifteen cars lined up neatly greeted them. The sight was almost blinding.
Everyone let out a long breath, then burst into cheers.
"Finally! No more walking! I thought my legs were gonna snap off."
"Yeah, and with cars we can haul way more supplies. We won't starve on the road anymore."
They hadn't gone hungry yet, but ever since leaving the ship, they'd been carrying everything by hand. With so many people, they could only bring so much food. Supplies had been running low.
Captain Zhang said, "Take all the cars. Then sweep the base clean. No matter what, we're gonna load every last crack and corner with supplies."
Of the fifteen vehicles, ten were small cargo trucks they'd once used on missions. The other five were off-road vehicles.
The off-roaders couldn't carry much, but the trucks could take a huge load. They packed every useful thing left in the base onto them—gasoline, medical kits, food, water. Not a single item was left behind. Even after all that, the trucks still had space to spare.
Excited, they drove off toward S City.
…
With cars, their speed skyrocketed.
Even when they ran into mutated creatures on the road, the vehicles sped past before the things could get close.
In just five days, they reached the center of S City, and a day later, the S City Base.
Once there, they raided for supplies again. Gasoline was top priority. Even if they didn't use it all on the road, they could hand it over when they reached the Capital city base. Besides, empty trucks were pointless—why not fill them?
The supplies were there, the mutated creatures were there too, but they didn't see a single survivor.
Captain Zhang muttered more than once, "So… there's really no one left outside? Everyone who survived already moved into bases?"
Shen Zhiyu said, "Given the way things are now, there's no way people could still be out there."
Everyone knew how terrifying mutated creatures were. Sure, some survivors had powers, but compared to the endless waves of creatures, those weak abilities didn't stand a chance.
"Honestly, it's better if no one's out there. In times like this, they wouldn't survive a day."
…
Maybe it was the water, maybe it was the heat. At first, mutated creatures only circled around the bases. But as the weather grew hotter and rivers dried up, they started roaming everywhere. You could see them no matter where you went.
Still, these were just the ordinary ones, the ones corrupted by poisonous fog, like Xi Yu had explained. The ones with human faces were still trapped in the great forest.
But with how things were going, it was only a matter of time before they came out too.
For now though, that wasn't something they had to deal with.
…
They passed through S City, then L City, moving from place to place. Finally, after a month and a half, they reached the outskirts of the Capital city.
If the roads had been intact, the trip wouldn't have taken that long. But after the earthquakes, many routes were broken. Without water to cross, some paths were impassable. They had no choice but to detour again and again.
From the great forest to the Capital city, the whole journey had dragged on for nearly three months.
If the weather followed normal patterns, it should've gone from summer to autumn by now. But the endless daylight hadn't ended, and the heat still scorched everything. Not even a single drop of rain had fallen.
The sun baked the earth until it cracked. Dust storms rose with every step forward. The environment was brutal.
…
Lan Jin didn't care about any of that. What she did notice was how Huang Jinghe's excitement grew the moment they entered Capital city's range.
"It's been so long. I can finally see my parents again. I've been waiting forever for this."
Hearing the joy in his voice over the radio, Captain Zhang chuckled and teased, "Don't get too excited yet. What if your parents are out on a mission? You might get back and find they're not even there."
Lao Gao laughed and said, "Captain, why mess with him? Xiao Huang's been excited the whole trip, just waiting for this moment. Don't ruin it for him."
Huang Jinghe said, "It's fine, I can handle it. But if I don't see my parents… I'll be a little down. I've been waiting so long, you know."
Even Zhou Zhiye joined in. "Are you sure you know exactly where the Capital city base is? Better not take a wrong turn. We don't wanna waste time."
Xi Yu said, "No mistake. I was transferred from Capital city base to H City base. This is the right road. But the Capital city base is huge. When you see it, don't be too shocked."
None of them had been there before, so Shen Zhiyan asked curiously, "Huge? How huge? Our base is already massive."
And it was true—any proper base had to be large, otherwise how could it house so many survivors? And that was just the military base. The government's bases were another story.
No base was ever small.
But Xi Yu shook his head. "It's different. The Capital city base isn't like the others. You'll understand when you get there."