Chapter 116: The Long Journey Home
Gu Qingji and Gu Qingyue exchanged glances. Gu Qingji said, “My brother and I have no family here. I’m an ability user, and I’m capable enough. Can we join you? Just take care of our daily needs.”
“I’m a doctor. Anyone who’s sick can come to me. I can also help gather supplies, so I won’t be a burden,” Gu Qingyue added.
Lu Weiyi glanced at Zhuang Mingxu, who nodded. Lu Weiyi responded, “Alright, you can stay with us, but you may need to follow the arrangements later.”
Gu Qingyue and Gu Qingji exchanged another look before replying, “That’s fine.”
Lu Weiyi then turned to look at Xiong Jie and Xi Shi.
“I…” Xiong Jie hesitated, uncertain whether they would allow him and Xi Shi to stay. They were both older than the rest of the group.
Xi Shi had been in poor health since childhood, and now he couldn’t go on missions. However, they had no family, and he still wanted to try his luck. “I’m in good health, I can do anything. But I need to take care of Xi Shi, as long as we have enough food for both of us, that’s all we need.”
“I… I can help around the base, like washing clothes, cooking, and doing housework. I can do anything,” Xi Shi said, not wanting to be a burden to Xiong Jie, especially when they could hardly find another team they were familiar with.
“Alright,” Lu Weiyi agreed. “To be honest, Xi Shi’s cooking is really good. It’s not fancy, but it’s simple and heartfelt, and he’s honest. If he stays, I won’t have to worry about anyone poisoning our food.”
Zhuang Mingxu, now an ordinary person, added, “From now on, when we eat at home, it’ll be thanks to Xi Shi. The base is full of power struggles, and there are ordinary people here too. Xi Shi, you need to stay alert and make sure no one puts anything bad in the food. We don’t want to harm our own people.”
Xi Shi hadn’t thought about this before, but upon hearing it, he took the responsibility seriously and nodded, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone mess with the food.”
“With Xi Shi cooking, we’ll definitely feel safe,” Gu Qingyue smiled.
“And what about you two?” Lu Weiyi asked, turning to Xu Sa and Liu Rui.
“I’ll definitely stick with you. What else is there to ask? You’ll be the one providing food, water, and shelter,” Xu Sa said, laughing cheerfully and without reservation.
“I… I’ll follow… follow Brother Sha,” Liu Rui said, his ability making him not need to promote himself.
As for Lin Yimu and Lu Xi, they were definitely following Lu Weiyi. He nodded, not saying much more.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Mingxu was still waiting for Lu Weiyi to give a concluding statement, but since he had already completed the task, he seemed like he had no worries.
Zhuang Mingxu found it both amusing and frustrating, so he decided to take the lead. “Our team will be called the Only Team. The base currently has four villas in the Longmen Villa area, plus a separate family building. From now on, we will be one unit. The team’s conditions will change according to our resources and development, so I can’t guarantee anything for everyone. But I can promise that we’ll share the hardships together, and no one will be left behind. I hope that today we come together, and tomorrow we’ll have each other’s back.”
For those returning from the battlefield, a phrase like “You are my back” is the highest form of trust.
A while later, Ning Yuan bounced back with an obvious smile on his face.
“The supplies are the same as before, but now there’s an extra 25kg of salt for each permanent resident,” he said, glancing at Lu Weiyi. He thought about the supplies from the Li family pit, feeling extremely pleased.
“It seems salt will become a scarce resource from now on,” Zhuang Mingxu remarked thoughtfully.
Lu Weiyi also thought about the supplies from the pit. He casually threw half a truckload of flour onto the vehicle in exchange for everyone’s permanent residency.
The heavy snow had just passed, and there weren’t many people queuing at the base gate. The refugee area outside the base was far quieter than before. People huddled together in a small space, barely reacting when the truck passed by. They didn’t even have the energy to approach and try to scam anyone.
There were groups of soldiers in uniform entering and exiting the refugee area, occasionally carrying out bodies, accompanied by cries, forcibly taking them away.
“What are they doing?” Antonio asked.
“The people who froze to death are being cremated. Otherwise, with the warmer weather, there might be an outbreak of diseases,” Ning Yuan explained, his heart heavy as he watched the crying figures and the bodies being carried away.
The flour bags were of a uniform weight. The group got out of the truck for inspection, and soon after, they were given new identity cards.
The person registering took photos and made notes. “Do you have a place to stay?”
“Longmen Villa, West District 601,” Ning Yuan replied.
The registrar finally looked up and glanced at their group. “Longmen Villa? Only Team?”
“Yes, that’s right. Our team’s base has always been here since the beginning,” Ning Yuan said, showing a wide grin as if he knew nothing. “Could you please let us know how our team is doing?”
“…You’ll find out once you go in,” the registrar said. The betrayal of the Only Team and the theft of their supplies had caused quite a stir at the base, and gossip spread like wildfire. The registrar, aware of this, didn’t say much and quickly changed the subject. “Your documents are being upgraded. Do the three of you, the original residents, need to update any documents?”
“Yes, please. That would be helpful,” Ning Yuan responded, playing along as they shifted topics.
After waiting a bit, the documents for all ten or so people were processed. Compared to the simple documents before, these new ones contained detailed information, including photos, age, address, and more.
*
Inside the base, the management was evident. Even though it was snowing heavily, the snow inside the base had been cleared. Even if it had melted, the ground remained relatively clean, with piles of snow stacked neatly and gutters leading outside the base.
People walked along the road in groups, wearing clothes of varying thickness. It felt like late winter or early spring. The people inside the base weren’t living in comfort either, but having a place to shelter from the cold greatly reduced the chance of freezing to death.
The new identification clearly stated their residence, and when they arrived at the gate of Longmen Villa, the security guard was a bit slow but didn’t make things difficult. The group drove up to the gate. It was tightly closed, and after a while of knocking, someone inside called out, “Who is it?”
“It’s Ning Yuan, Brother Chen, open the door.”
“Ning Yuan? Ning Yuan is back! Xiao Bai, go tell Wu Yue!” Chen Zhong, hearing the news, immediately became excited, shouting for the person in the living room, then quickly running out. “Ning Yuan, you’re finally back! Where’s Mingxu?”
He looked around, “Young Master Lu, you haven’t changed at all,” he remarked, still as pure and untouched by the apocalypse as before.
“Brother Chen,” Lu Weiyi nodded and called for someone.
Chen Zhong was momentarily stunned. After all, this young master had never called anyone before; a mere glance was usually enough to greet someone, and even nodding was something he rarely did.
“Brother Chen, how have you been?” Zhuang Mingxu lowered the passenger window and greeted him.
“I… we… sigh…” Chen Zhong thought back to when he left, and now, no matter what, he couldn’t find any good words to say.
“Let’s talk about it when we get back,” Ning Yuan noticed that people were starting to subtly pay attention to them and reminded Chen Zhong.
Lu Weiyi helped Zhuang Mingxu into the wheelchair and pushed him toward the yard. Wu Yue quickly walked out. When he saw Zhuang Mingxu, his eyes reddened. “…Mingxu.”
“Wu Yue,” Zhuang Mingxu smiled at him. “You’ve worked hard.”
“Your leg…” Wu Yue shook his head, looking at him.
“It’s nothing. The medical conditions before weren’t ideal. Xiao Yi said he’ll bring in some medical equipment later for a full check-up and come up with a treatment plan,” Zhuang Mingxu explained. This was also to prepare for his recovery in the future.
He still didn’t know what method Lu Weiyi intended to use, and he was worried it was something unknown, so he preferred to explain in advance rather than suddenly recover later and attract attention.
“Alright,” Wu Yue said, seeing that Zhuang Mingxu was in good spirits, he finally relaxed. He patted Zhuang Mingxu’s shoulder and looked at Lu Weiyi and the others. “I thought something had happened to you.”
“No, we came back directly,” Ning Yuan replied. “Did anyone return?”
Wu Yue knew he was asking about Li Ji and the others, so he shook his head. “Not a single one.”
Ning Yuan was relieved, and the group returned to the villa.
Back at home, Lu Weiyi relaxed. Zhuang Mingxu also felt like he had finally returned, but he didn’t forget to greet the others. “This will be our home from now on. Make yourselves comfortable and don’t stand on ceremony.”
“This is Wu Yue, the former person in charge here; Bai Miao, Chen Zhong, and Shen Xing.” Zhuang Mingxu knew Lu Weiyi wasn’t likely to introduce them, so he took the initiative. “These are our companions who came back with us. Let’s all get acquainted. We’ll be on the same team from now on.”
As they were all men, there was no need for formalities. Before long, they all became familiar with each other. Wu Yue even took the opportunity to tell Zhuang Mingxu about their situation.
Zhuang Mingxu already knew, and Wu Yue’s words were just to set an example for Chen Zhong and the others.
“Sorry, I really did my best,” Wu Yue still felt guilty. Although there were no significant losses, that was only because Lu Weiyi and the others had arrived in time. Otherwise, not only would they have lost supplies, but Wu Yue might have even lost his life.
“What are you talking about? You did great,” Zhuang Mingxu patted his shoulder and comforted the other three. He then asked about the recent days.
“Before, I exchanged the water you stored for supplies. The weather changed in the last couple of days, and the four of us didn’t go out. We just used the bedding we had at home to make do. It wasn’t that bad, but I heard the base took quite a hit. The snow came so suddenly, and a lot of people froze to death at the base. A few small teams went out looking for supplies and never came back,” Wu Yue said.
Bai Miao added, “Especially the Li family. I heard they lost thirty or forty people, and not a single one returned. All the people who betrayed us were taken in by them. It’s karma; they deserve it, hmph.”
“Yeah, karma,” Ning Yuan said, rubbing his nose in agreement.
“Whether it’s people or supplies that are gone, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re all still alive. That’s the most important thing. So don’t dwell on the past,” Zhuang Mingxu said, giving a summary of what had happened. “From now on, Wu Yue, please arrange accommodations for everyone. We’ll all stay together.”
“I’ll arrange it. Wu Yue has a fever,” Chen Zhong said.
“Fever?” Zhuang Mingxu looked at him. “Well, congratulations.”
“What’s wrong with you? I have a fever, and you congratulate me?”
“We had someone with a fever a couple of days ago, and they awakened an ability. Go rest, and maybe when you wake up, you’ll have an ability too,” Zhuang Mingxu explained.
“Really?” Wu Yue looked at Ning Yuan and Lin Yimu.
Both nodded, and he immediately stood up. “Then I’ll go sleep for a while. Don’t mind me, just make yourselves at home.”
