Chapter 372: Gratitude
He had wanted to say “after confinement,” but felt weird using that term for a man.
Luckily, Lu Weiyi didn’t pick up on it. His attention was entirely on the little one lying on the bed, sucking his fingers.
In just a month, the baby had grown noticeably. With no other babies currently in the base, he received all the attention. His quality of life was far from average.
“Full month already? Huh?” As Lu Weiyi leaned closer, he suddenly felt a wave of mental power probing toward him—gentle, yet sly, like a little fish brushing past and slipping away.
“Tomorrow,” Yin Jin said, noticing Lu Weiyi’s reaction. He reached out and tapped the baby’s nose, his usually cold gaze softening. “He’s been able to use psychic powers since birth. He often teases people who come to see him.”
Lu Weiyi leaned in for a closer look, his eyes gleaming with approval. “Very promising.”
Seeing that Yin Jin was recovering well, Lu Weiyi remembered a promise he had made. “Do you want to live aboveground?”
Yin Jin turned to look at him, trying to gauge how serious he was. After a long pause, he finally said, “Yes.”
“Then go up in a few days. Zhuang Mingxu had a small house built next to the entrance. It’s not big, and there’s no heating in winter. The temperature’s been dropping—it might be cold season soon. Will you two be okay?”
Lu Weiyi reached out to touch little Qin Nian’s face, only to have his finger grabbed by a soft little hand. The touch was so delicate that he didn’t even dare use force.
“I used to be an ability user. Nian Nian…” Yin Jin anxiously began to speak, but stopped when he saw Qin Nian waving his little fingers again.
He’d been confined in this environment for too long. Now that there was a chance to escape, he had no desire to stay. But he also knew how brutal winter could be outside—Qin Nian was still so young and fragile. With limited medicine and no real doctors, even a small illness could be fatal.
While the base might help, given his remaining research value, what if the right medicine wasn’t available?
Yin Jin had gone through hell to bring this child into the world and wouldn’t risk any harm coming to him.
Seeing his hesitation, Lu Weiyi told him to think it over. “The weather’s nice today. Want to go up and buy him something? Get ready for his full-month celebration tomorrow.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a handful of crystal cores and placed them on Qin Nian’s blanket, forming a circle. He then set down a small gold lock beside them. “When Ai Yi turned one month old, Zhuang Mingxu used money to make a circle and called it a lock—symbolizing a safe and long life, free of disasters.”
“Now that crystal cores are the base’s main currency, I’ll use these to give you a ‘lock’ too. Wishing you peace and good health.”
“This…” Even though Yin Jin hadn’t been out in a while, he knew the value of crystal cores. He was about to refuse when Lu Weiyi added, “Take them. You’ll need them for daily life anyway.”
After playing with Qin Nian a little more, Lu Weiyi got up to leave and asked once more if Yin Jin wanted to go out. “I’m heading to North Island—I can take you with me.”
Yin Jin only hesitated for a moment before replying, “Let’s go.”
He quickly asked about the outside temperature, grabbed a blanket and some diapers for Qin Nian, stuffed them into a roughly sewn cloth bag, picked up the baby, and followed Lu Weiyi out—all in under five minutes.
Clearly, he was desperate to get out.
Where the lab connected to the surface, a large tree had been accelerated to grow. Its trunk was hollowed out, creating a direct passage underground. Next to it was the small house Lu Weiyi had mentioned.
Built using earth-based abilities, the house’s material was indistinguishable. It had no doors or windows installed yet, and the interior was still empty.
Yin Jin glanced around, assuming this was the future home Lu Weiyi had referred to. He looked at it for a moment before Lu Weiyi stopped walking and looked inside too.
It was completely bare. No water, no electricity, no furniture.
Their base still hadn’t standardized electrical systems for private residences. Outside of central facilities, everyone had to figure out their own lighting. As for water, there were designated collection points managed by water-type ability users.
That wasn’t a problem on Central Island, where their team already had water and electricity set up. But extending those utilities to this new spot would be costly and complicated—probably why Zhuang Mingxu hadn’t done it. They simply weren’t worth the investment.
Even though the base could provide basic supplies, comfort was another matter.
Lu Weiyi now realized he may have spoken too lightly. Life up here with a baby was going to be tough.
“Little Daddy~”
“Father.”
Two tender little voices came from the courtyard, and immediately after, a small electric car came puttering over. Following closely behind, Dean shouted toward the two of them, “We’re about to catch up!”
“Hurry, hurry, big brother, go go~” Taotao bounced as she sat in the car, waving her chubby little arms excitedly.
Zhuang Ai Yi stepped on the gas and sped toward Lu Weiyi, startling him enough to quickly step in front of Yin Jin, afraid the sudden movement might frighten him and hurt the baby Qin Nian in his arms.
The car stopped steadily about half a meter from Lu Weiyi. Taotao turned her head with a loud laugh, and when she saw Dean’s little car approaching, she flailed her arms and reached toward Lu Weiyi for protection, shouting, “Daddy, daddy~”
Lu Weiyi picked her up, and Taotao wrapped her arms around his neck, turning her head to giggle at Dean, who had also just parked. His hair was tousled by the sea breeze, and with his head buried in Lu Weiyi’s chest, he looked like a little sun as he smiled and greeted Yin Jin.
“Yin, do you want to come play?” Dean raised both hands in mock claw gestures to scare Taotao. Seeing her bounce and hide her head in Lu Weiyi’s chest, he laughed and greeted Yin Jin brightly.
Yin Jin nodded, and Dean immediately came over, gently lifting the cloth covering Qin Nian’s face to peek at him. At the same time, he used his powers to sweep across both father and son’s bodies, giving a thumbs up. “Very healthy.”
“Thank you.” Although there were no injuries to heal, the feeling of a healing-type power moving through the body brought a gentle warmth, very comforting.
“You’re welcome. Where are you going?” Dean asked.
“To North Island. The government office is closing soon. I’m going to check on it, and Yin Jin wants to visit the trading center.” With the autumn harvest in full swing, everyone at the base was busy. Zhuang Mingxu hadn’t returned right away either, so Lu Weiyi planned to pick him up from work.
“I’m going too.” With only so many people on Central Island, Dean was already bored. Antonio didn’t let him wander around, thinking it was too dangerous for a healer to go out alone, but now that something interesting was happening, of course he wanted in.
Zhuang Ai Yi also tugged on Lu Weiyi’s sleeve, saying nothing, but his eyes clearly showed his desire.
“Alright, let’s all go.” Lu Weiyi glanced around in his space and pulled out a sightseeing car.
Dean immediately jumped into the driver’s seat, turned around, and flashed a carefree, radiant smile. “Dean Alfred at your service. Welcome aboard!”
Lu Weiyi held Taotao in the front passenger seat. In the back, Yin Jin sat with Qin Nian in his arms, while Zhuang Ai Yi sat in the other seat.
Once they were in the car, Zhuang Ai Yi noticed Qin Nian in Yin Jin’s arms upon hearing the baby’s little noises. He leaned forward without hesitation and asked curiously, “Uncle, are you holding a baby?”
“Yes,” Yin Jin replied, his gaze drifting from the corridor connecting the two islands to the fishing boats docked at the distant pier. Returning to his senses and seeing Zhuang Ai Yi’s curiosity, he brought Qin Nian closer. “Would you like to see him?”
“Can I?”
Yin Jin saw that the sun was about to set and lifted the cloth covering Qin Nian’s face.
“Wow, such a tiny baby! Is he one year old? His skin is so fair. He’s so beautiful—just like my little brother!” Zhuang Ai Yi complimented openly. Up front, Taotao curiously leaned over Lu Weiyi’s shoulder to take a look.
“He’s not one year old yet.”
“Then he’s younger than my brother. Is he a boy or a girl?”
“A boy.”
Zhuang Ai Yi kept chatting, and Yin Jin patiently answered every question. Before long, Dean drove skillfully into the government building’s parking lot and even greeted the security guard at the gate with familiarity.
“We’re going shopping. When Zhuang comes out, please let him know.”
“Got it, Healer Dean,” the older man answered respectfully, then greeted Lu Weiyi.
Not far from the government building was the bustling area of the base, with many important facilities located nearby. As they entered the busy streets, the surroundings grew more lively.
Salespeople in front of shops called out playfully to attract customers. Street vendors loudly negotiated prices. People coming off work hurried home. Returning fishermen carried the day’s catch.
All of them bore signs of toiling for survival, but their faces were filled with contentment. This was the satisfaction of finding peace after countless struggles for survival.
“Good afternoon, Base Leader Lu!”
“It’s already evening—haha! Good evening, Base Leader Lu!”
“Base Leader Lu, are you here to inspect the market?”
“Base Leader Lu, I just caught this fish by the seaside. Take it back and add it to your dinner!”
“Base Leader Lu, I picked these peaches from an unclaimed area. They may be small, but they’re very sweet. Let the young master try something fresh!”
“Base Leader Lu…”
“Base Leader Lu…”
People kept coming over to greet Lu Weiyi along the way, to the point that even he was surprised—let alone Yin Jin, who had never seen anything like it.
Dean, on the other hand, wasn’t fazed at all—he was used to being thanked like this as a healer at the base hospital.
“Yes.”
“Take them home and enjoy.”
“Unclaimed zones aren’t safe. Go with an adult, and if there’s danger, report to the security department.”
Lu Weiyi patiently responded to everyone. Even though he refused most offers, after just two blocks, his hands were stuffed full of random items: a barely-alive fish, a freshly cooked ear of corn, fruit the size of walnuts, and even freshly-dug wild vegetables still covered in moist soil.
“They… really appreciate you.” Yin Jin didn’t know what Lu Weiyi had done to earn such sincere gratitude from people who had lived through environments where humans had eaten each other.
Lu Weiyi shrugged.
Honestly, he was a bit puzzled too.
He didn’t appear in public often—only squad leaders and key personnel should have seen him. But clearly, the ones greeting him were ordinary civilians, many without powers, with almost no chance of having met him.
