Chapter 488: Contact
It didn’t take long for news of the helicopter incident to spread across Capital Base. Zhao Qiang and Zheng Yi, having heard the news, came to inquire and were brushed off by Lu Xiao.
All of Half Moon Bay’s development depended on Lu Weiyi—the strongest ability user. With him holding down the fort, the base could confidently roll out cutting-edge weapons and equipment ahead of other bases. If news of his accident was confirmed, it wouldn’t just be Capital Base that started scheming—every base would want a piece of Half Moon Bay.
It was even highly likely that, with Lu Xiao out of the city, the core of the Lieyan (Blazing Flame) Team could be wiped out in one go.
Lu Xiao had already prepared for the worst. He even held a meeting with several senior captains whom he had promoted himself, stating outright that all resources should be consolidated and made ready for a full evacuation from Capital to Half Moon Bay.
“Has it really come to this?” one of the captains asked.
“We’ve always been one with Half Moon Bay. If Half Moon Bay becomes a target, we at Lieyan will be the first to be attacked by all sides. Rather than waiting until we’re surrounded with no way to protect our people, it’s better to choose a path proactively,” Cong Qing explained before Lu Xiao could speak.
After all, it was he who had asked Lu Weiyi for help. Now that something had happened, he bore some responsibility—and even emotionally, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
No one else spoke. Thanks to Lu Xiao, they had all benefited greatly from Half Moon Bay. At this point, they couldn’t bring themselves to talk about backing out.
“Uncle Xiao, can we eat now? My little brother is hungry,” Zhuang Aiyi’s childish voice broke the silence.
Lu Xiao looked at the time—lunch had long passed. He had been so focused on planning that he hadn’t eaten himself and had completely forgotten about the kids.
“Go eat, all of you,” he said, waving the captains off and picking up Aiyi, heading toward the cafeteria.
“Major General—!” came a flurry of footsteps and shouts from the courtyard.
Lu Xiao frowned as someone called out, “Major General, Chief Zhuang from Half Moon Bay is contacting you. He wants a private reply.”
“Understood.” Lu Xiao quickly set Aiyi down in a high chair. “Can you eat with your little brother while Uncle Xiao steps out for a bit?”
“Okay! Uncle Xiao, don’t forget to eat too,” Aiyi replied cheerfully.
Lu Xiao ruffled Taotao’s hair as the boy eagerly reached for pizza, then signaled the guards to look after the kids before hurrying off.
—
Zhuang Mingxu, having received the message, was out with his team monitoring the surrounding waters for abnormal marine mutant activity. The overbreeding of land creatures had triggered strange changes in the sea as well.
“Ever since we noticed the abnormalities, I had people begin clearing seafood from nearby farming zones. Our previous land reclamation work prevents large mutant creatures from approaching the island. Aside from the occasional amphibian making landfall, things are mostly under control,” Wu Yue briefly explained what had happened during their absence.
Once it was confirmed there was no immediate danger, Zhuang Mingxu had an earth-type ability user inspect the island’s foundation. Just as they were preparing to head back, a communications officer reported the news.
Most of Half Moon Bay’s affiliated bases were located in the east and north. They had little contact with those in the west and south, and lacked information channels. When news of Lu Weiyi’s helicopter explosion came through, Zhuang Mingxu was briefly stunned. After a moment, he remembered that Lu Weiyi had a spatial ability—it was unlikely something had really happened to him.
Once he confirmed that the person contacting him was indeed Lu Xiao, Zhuang Mingxu’s first question was: Was there anything wrong with Taotao?
Lu Xiao, worried about his comrade and nephew, flared up at the question, but held back his temper out of understanding and guilt toward Zhuang Mingxu.
[He’s fine. No different from usual.]
[If Taotao isn’t reacting abnormally, then Lu Weiyi must be okay.]
Just as Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, another message came:
[Uncle can ask Taotao. He can contact Lu Weiyi anytime.]
Zhuang Mingxu had given it careful thought before revealing this to Lu Xiao. With Lu Weiyi’s situation unclear, he couldn’t help directly, so this was the only way Lu Xiao could stay informed.
[Okay, I’ll go ask him now. I’ll keep you updated.] Lu Xiao was surprised, but given Taotao’s identity, it made sense.
[Got it. I’ll also keep support personnel on standby.]
Once the call ended, one side began preparing resources, the other rushed back to find Taotao.
Upon seeing him, Lu Xiao couldn’t help but plant a big kiss on Taotao’s cheek. “Ugh, you little rascal, what have you been eating? So sour!”
“Ehehe, Taotao ate ketchup!” Taotao giggled, turning his face to show the other cheek smeared with red sauce.
“No more for now. Uncle has something important to ask you.” Lu Xiao picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. Once he confirmed they were alone, he asked, “Can you contact your father? Uncle has something very important to talk to him about.”
Taotao pressed his lips together and didn’t respond. He’d been repeatedly warned by both Zhuang Mingxu and Lu Weiyi never to mention his ability to contact his father at will.
But this was Uncle Xiao… Was he considered “someone else”? Taotao wasn’t sure. He just looked down and nervously picked at his fingers.
“Your Big Daddy gave permission for you to contact your father.”
“Can Big Daddy tell me himself?” Taotao looked at him with wide, shining eyes.
Lu Xiao was anxious—how was he supposed to get a message from someone hundreds of miles away with only a radio?
“Your father’s in trouble. Can you help Uncle Xiao ask if he’s hurt?”
“He’s not hurt. He’s sleeping on me. He’s fine,” Taotao replied, giving Lu Xiao a very strange look.
Lu Xiao paused for a moment, not understanding what he meant. He tried to gently persuade him, “Uncle Xiao misses your father. Don’t you miss him too, Taotao? Can you try to find him? Tell him Uncle misses him, and Taotao misses him too.”
“If you tell him, Uncle will give you some candy—many colors, very pretty ones. Okay?”
Lu Xiao suppressed the agitation in his heart and forced a gentle smile as he coaxed him softly.
He swore—neither Lu Weiyi nor Lu Xi had ever been coaxed by him like this.
“…Okay,” Taotao mumbled as he picked at his fingers, his big dark eyes rolling mischievously. “Then Uncle, give it to me first.”
Lu Xiao’s mouth twitched. “Alright, Uncle will get it for you. Wait here.” He remembered Cong Qing had bought a ton of snacks for these two little ancestors and stored them in the villa. He got up and left the bedroom immediately.
He hadn’t gone far when he heard a door open. Looking back, he saw Taotao darting toward the dining room where Zhuang Aiyi was eating, his short legs moving like he was being chased by a dog, shouting “Brother!” nonstop.
Lu Xiao had a bad feeling. Then he saw Taotao hugging Zhuang Aiyi’s head, whispering something in his ear.
Zhuang Aiyi turned to look at Lu Xiao, his gaze now filled with suspicion. He still remembered that this was Uncle Xiao, but pursed his lips and asked seriously, “Uncle, my little brother says you lied—that my little daddy got hurt.”
Lu Xiao stepped closer, squatted down, and looked up at the boy, trying to use words a child could understand. “We can’t find your little daddy. We’ve lost contact with him.”
“Your big daddy wants Taotao to help pass a message to your little daddy. Can you talk to Taotao for us?”
Zhuang Aiyi looked back and forth between Taotao and Lu Xiao, hesitated for a long time, and then asked, “Uncle, you’re not lying to me, right?”
“I’m not. Let’s pinky swear.” Lu Xiao held out his pinky.
Zhuang Aiyi solemnly extended his own pinky and linked it with Lu Xiao’s, pressing their thumbs together to seal the promise.
Seeing Zhuang Aiyi agree, Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and brought the two children back into the bedroom.
“You go find Little Daddy. I’ll wait here for you,” Zhuang Aiyi said. He had entered the space before and had been pulled in during dangerous moments, but he still remembered Lu Weiyi’s warning: only do it in front of others if absolutely necessary.
Taotao looked at him, wanting to say something, but Zhuang Aiyi gave him a shove—and Taotao vanished on the spot.
Even though Lu Xiao already knew Taotao had a connection to the spatial jade, he hadn’t expected to see that. Seeing Zhuang Aiyi’s calm reaction, he tried to hide his shock.
As soon as Taotao entered the space, he began yelling for Lu Weiyi while running toward the snack section. He flopped down on the highly elastic membrane that separated the zones, gazing longingly at the preserved snacks across the way, drooling nonstop.
His small hand hovered up and down, unable to decide.
“Father… Father—”
The child’s clear voice echoed through the space. Lu Weiyi, rushing on his journey, heard it and thought something was wrong. He immediately flashed into the space.
Sensing his presence, Taotao turned his head joyfully—only to see him sitting on the ground in filthy clothes, completely disheveled.
“Father, what happened?” Taotao was alarmed. He rushed forward, reaching to pull at Lu Weiyi’s clothes despite the grime.
“Don’t touch, you might get hurt.” Some of the insects’ secretions were corrosive. Even with two layers of clothes, Lu Weiyi still had injuries on his skin.
Panting, he struggled to remove his clothes and toss them into the corner. Then, using his mental powers, he floated a few pre-apocalypse snack packs to Taotao before asking what was going on.
Upon hearing that Lu Xiao was anxious to find him, he immediately realized the news of the helicopter explosion must’ve reached Capital Base.
“Tell your uncle that…” Lu Weiyi looked at the little one squatting and staring up at him, fell silent, and decided to write instead.
Seeing his trembling hand struggle to hold the pen, Taotao’s heart ached. He tore open a snack and fed it to him while occasionally leaning in to blow gently on the wound on his shoulder.
Once he’d finished writing, Lu Weiyi told Taotao to leave the space.
“Father, come with me. Let’s find Big Daddy—he’ll protect us.” Taotao’s round eyes were full of trust in Zhuang Mingxu. He didn’t understand that Zhuang wasn’t a powerful fighter—he only knew that whatever he couldn’t solve, Big Daddy could. That made him the most amazing person in Taotao’s eyes.
“You go. I’ll wait here,” Lu Weiyi said. He had never tried following Taotao to another location through the space and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to return to where he’d entered. It wasn’t the right time to risk it. “Father will wait here for you.”
