Chapter 320

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The car drove all night, finally stopping at daybreak.

More wretched than any previous time; even the people in the car needed half a day to recover before they could barely open the doors.

Wei's mother's legs and arms went weak; the moment her feet touched the ground she knelt straight down. It was Wei's father who reached out, helped her up, and led her to the empty space nearby to rest — otherwise she would have come face-to-face with the shredded meat and fresh blood clinging to the vehicle.

Wei's mother: ……

Wei's mother couldn't control herself; she retched several times and finally vomited up everything she had eaten yesterday.

Wei's father was still holding the trembling child in his arms. Wei Chengning tried to poke his head out but never succeeded, squirming restlessly in Wei's father's embrace.

Shen Yao took the child over, then had Wei's father take water to check on Wei's mother. The place they were staying now was an open area — no village ahead, no shop behind; apart from a few sporadic vehicles parked in the distance, nothing else could be seen.

"Dad, you look after Mom. Once Mom recovers, I'll go ahead and ask about the situation."

Shen Yao's resolve was firm; she did not change her attitude because of the harsh environment. Moreover, she had just placed a call on the satellite phone — it connected, but no one spoke. The system also showed that Wei Mingyu's vehicle was currently driving forward.

Shen Yao boldly speculated that Wei Mingyu was fine; he was just busy with matters on the road and hadn't had time to contact her.

"Mm, leave it to me."

Wei's father didn't stand on ceremony with Shen Yao. He took out clean mineral water from the car, circled past the automobile covered in filth and the stench of blood, and came to Wei's mother's side, patting her.

Wei's mother wore a listless, downcast expression; one look told you her condition was very poor.

Wei's father forcefully twisted open the mineral water bottle and held it to Wei's mother's mouth, then fetched a shovel and buried the filth Wei's mother had vomited.

Shen Yao took the opportunity to put Wei Chengning into the pitched tent, not letting Wei Chengning open his eyes the whole time — afraid the child would be frightened by the scene before them.

At this moment Wei Chengning was also very obedient; he did whatever he was told, absolutely not making a peep.

"All right, you hold onto the snacks and toys. If anything comes up, remember to call Mom."

Shen Yao stroked Wei Chengning's little head, ruffled his hair twice, then returned to the side of the car to clean — still the water bucket and brush combo; scrub, scrub, scrub — and in just a little while she had successfully transformed the vehicle's appearance.

Wei's father supported Wei's mother back. Seeing Shen Yao busy on her feet without a moment's rest, they felt some guilt.

One after another they reached out wanting to help; even though Wei's mother currently couldn't even stand steady on her legs, she still wouldn't go back to the tent to rest.

Shen Yao: ……

"Dad, Mom, you wait here. I'll go ahead and ask about the situation." Seeing the remaining bit of work could be done without her, Shen Yao simply handed it all to Wei's father and Wei's mother, turned, and ran a few quick steps toward the vehicle fleet up front.

At this time the fleet was also in a sorry state; the deep-green exteriors were draped in unidentifiable colors, and several people were injured, undergoing simple bandaging.

When Shen Yao arrived, as far as her gaze reached, it could be described as a complete mess.

Shen Yao, who had been about to speak, had to swallow her words back down for the moment. She waited to one side for a while, then found a person whose injuries weren't too severe, approached, and quietly asked their current location.

"We've already gotten out. Walk a few more days ahead and we can get on the National Highway." Once on the National Highway it would be safe, and they wouldn't have to flee in such exhaustion.

Although the National Highway has been badly damaged over these years, there are also miracles that have held firm.

The city they are heading for is named Hope, an emerging city.

Outside there happens to be a National Highway leading straight to Hope City. As long as they get on the National Highway, this mission can be said to be ninety-nine percent complete; the remaining one percent is just a matter of time.

The speaker was not old — a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking frank and cheerful, yet the dense smell of fresh blood on him could not be ignored.

But after experiencing such a great escape, who could have no smell on them? Even Shen Yao felt she was practically being cured into flavor.

She nodded thanks for the other party relaying such important information, then asked how long they would need to wait here — clearly the main force behind had not been able to catch up.

"Two days of rest and reorganization. When the time comes, regardless of how many are missing, we must march on."

The youth finished speaking, stood up, and ran to the side to help teammates organize supplies and wash the filth from around the vehicle bodies — as if the few idle sentences with Shen Yao just now were a rare way to relax.

Shen Yao merely raised an eyebrow at this; she silently counted two days in her mind.

Should be enough.

Turning back to the tent area, Wei's father and Wei's mother surrounded her, wanting to speak but stopping short.

"The officials said we wait here two days; two days later we set off directly. There's a National Highway up ahead." Shen Yao pointed forward, supported Wei's mother's arm. "Go back to the tent and rest first. I'll go re-park the car properly."

Wei's mother gave an "Mm," her complexion improving a bit. Wei's father pursed his lips, telling Shen Yao to rest together; he would go park the car.

"I still want to ask a few other people. Dad, you and Mom go back first."

Wei's father was not young, and having gone through such an ordeal, he now looked little better than Wei's mother — and there was still Wei Chengning inside their tent.

Shen Yao unceremoniously ushered them into the tent, took a few deep breaths herself, then turned the car around and parked it on the empty ground not far from the tent.

Just right — the vehicle's shade fell on the tent, blocking some sunlight, creating a man-made cool spot.

Getting out, she locked the car doors, and Shen Yao conveniently picked up the backpack from inside the car.

The bag had originally been empty; when she unzipped it, Shen Yao tossed in some bread, sausages, chocolate, candy — all ready-to-eat items — all former space-hoarded goods, to serve as tools for exchanging information with others.

People who come out, more or less, prepare food; but after so many days of long-distance travel, how much food remains is unknown.

This isn't like questioning officials; Shen Yao has no relationship with these other people. To ask questions, she must pay a price.

Moreover, at this time period, a steady stream of vehicles kept arriving and stopping, occupying more and more of the originally fairly spacious area.

Striding toward the rear, weaving past some crowds who didn't look too approachable, Shen Yao picked those who could communicate — or rather, those who would talk — to trade with.

The process need not be described in excess, but the result was good; she obtained definite information.

The people behind, though many were injured by the Swift Wind Monkeys, also genuinely wiped out that monkey troop. Plus, the officials' personnel were dispersed within the fleet; the portion that fell behind actually had a greater probability of being saved.

The middle-aged woman had a beautiful appearance, spoke in a frank and generous manner, held the bread and chocolate Shen Yao had handed over, and enunciated clearly: "Once we get through this, there won't be any major danger ahead. We've come out on this trip with great difficulty; we absolutely cannot easily perish here."

"Little sister, I'm a few years older than you. Taking the liberty to remind you: parking the car closer to the officials has no downside — the officials hold weapons in their hands."

Their family arrived a bit late; the front positions were mostly taken. But they planned to spend money or supplies to swap for a spot. Safety is most important; dead things can never compare to living people.

Hearing this, Shen Yao smiled. "Elder sister's reminder is right. I think so too. There's still a child at home; being closer to the officials makes even sleep more peaceful by a few degrees."

Some people are timid and dare not cause trouble under the officials' noses, but once away from the officials they go overboard, wanting to try everything.

To be honest, Shen Yao could not fathom the psychology of such people at all.

But that did not mean she wanted to experience it; if one could play on easy mode, why insist on challenging hard mode? That was just asking for a dead end.

After chatting a few words with this elder sister and confirming there was no other new information, Shen Yao quickly left to find someone else.

And so on, until Shen Yao had given away all the supplies in her hands; only then did she pat her empty backpack flat and leave on her own.

Inside the tent, Wei's father and Wei's mother were preparing the noon meal.

They had no appetite in the morning, and since Shen Yao still had to go out to gather news, no one said anything.

Now noon had arrived, their unfilled bellies were growling with hunger, and if they did not eat something soon they truly could not hold out.

Wei's father and Wei's mother planned to make some hot food; otherwise, eating bread, biscuits, and mineral water every day would ruin their bodies.

Taking out some rice and flour for standby, and taking out charcoal and a soup pot to cook, when Shen Yao lifted the tent flap, Wei's mother was about to call her to sit down and eat.

"Freshly made noodle soup, with some dehydrated vegetables and canned meat," Wei's mother served a full bowl, full of color, fragrance, and taste, not to mention very tempting.

Shen Yao swallowed her saliva, rubbed her belly, and reached out smiling to take it.

Eating and chatting, she told Wei's father and Wei's mother the news she had gathered; Shen Yao conjectured from the system map that Wei Mingyu and his group would reach the parking point in another hour.

Wei Mingyu might really have been framed, slower than Shen Yao had expected. Originally the system was still showing off news to Shen Yao, but Shen Yao did not fall for it.

"Host, aren't you worried that Wei Mingyu and the two children having an accident will affect the mission progress?" The system stomped its feet, if it currently had feet.

"If it really affected mission progress, you would not be as calm as you are now," The system had long urged Shen Yao to help; do not forget the system's real name is the Childbirth System.

The blatant preference for offspring made it harder for the system to watch the host's offspring have an accident than to kill it.

System:...

Sometimes, being manipulated by the host was just a matter of a few sentences. The system was now facing this kind of embarrassment; it was completely no match for its own host, and yet its own host was especially talented and capable, making giving up even more impossible.

The system, feeling it had a bitter fate, cried and hugged its own chubby body, hiding in a corner emo.

Shen Yao took this opportunity to communicate with Wei's father and Wei's mother; they took out some supplies and exchanged with the people around them for a place where Wei Mingyu's group could rest.

It was better for the family to stay together, and besides, this location was not far from the officials; once there was any sign of trouble, they could get in the car and escape in time.

Wei's father and Wei's mother naturally would not refuse; after finishing the noodle soup in their hands, they turned and left the tent to check the situation inside the Che Xiang.

Now the food in the trunk was still sufficient, but because of escaping they were in a sorry state; some opened grain had changed taste, edible but not very tasty.

However, these things were not thrown away; they were still honestly placed in the car. Wei's mother touched them, planning to use these for transactions.

"When the time comes, speak the truth; we can also add other things."

Bargaining requires give and take; you cannot just name a number and that's it; it must meet both parties' expectations.

Wei's mother was accustomed to frugality, not only toward herself but also toward her family.

Wei's father did not agree to using these food to test the waters; if they angered someone, they would all be finished. They could not cause trouble under the officials' noses.

Wei's mother pursed her lips, "You are too cautious; only by doing this can you make others rest assured."

Which family could produce even a bit of food without a strange smell? They were refugees who had been fleeing for over ten days; to them, having edible food was victory.

Wei's father:...

Fine, anyway he could not convince Wei's mother; upon careful thought, it was not without reason.

The two tidied up; in a short while, a pile of food appeared on the Ground, with rice, flour, grain, and some quick-prep vegetables.

When Shen Yao came out of the tent, she saw this scene before her eyes.

"All of them?"

Pointing around in a circle, Shen Yao looked around again; there were gazes looking over. Even if not that many, the meaning in their eyes could not be hidden.

Tsk tsk

"How is it? Enough or not?" Wei's mother and Wei's father did not know the price for now, so they could only put out everything they did not need.

To be honest, these things were not many, and moreover many of the food had been opened; some people might not want them.

But placed in this kind of situation before one's eyes, if not too picky, they could still eat for ten days or half a month; the coming days were completely enough to reach the destination.

"Enough. I'll go discuss with the others; you wait for me."

Wei Mingyu's car showed it had arrived; now vacating the spot was convenient for them to make room and move the car.

Shen Yao first found the people around her own area; after discussing, she found it would not work, so she had to settle for second best and grope around farther places.

Fortunately, effort was not betrayed; she found a suitable target. The other party agreed to vacate space, but the price had to be raised a bit more.

It just so happened that Wei Mingyu's car also had grain; taking it out to share would be enough.

Taking people to find Wei Mingyu, she bumped into Wei Mingyu cleaning the car body; Shen Yao explained the transaction content, and Wei Mingyu simply drove people over in the car.

As for Wei Mingyu occupying the other party's empty seat, where would the other party go? That was not something they should worry about; the other party had their own headache.

"How is it?"

Shen Yao looked at Wei Mingyu; the other's condition was far worse than hers. Inside the car lay Wei Minzhi and the child handed over to the small one, listless and without a bit of spirit.

Wei Mingyu smiled bitterly, "Encountered a Monkey Group, almost fell in" and could not get out.

He also did not expect to suffer such a big loss; Wei Mingyu was still a bit frightened now. Looking at Shen Yao's face right before him, he still could not help but hug the person into his arms.

Shen Yao:...

Quite moved, but best not to; the smell on their bodies was really not pleasant.

After Wei Mingyu controlled his emotions, he began to talk about their escape experiences after separating, including the officials taking action, others running around, causing the team to be blocked and unable to drive, etc.

Now Wei Mingyu could drive out, thanks to his composure at the time, not losing his head and causing problems.

Shen Yao patted Wei Mingyu's shoulder, and called Wei Minzhi and Wei Chengyan and Wei Chengen on the car to get up, "Let's eat first."

Heaven is big, earth is big, eating is the biggest; whatever matters, wait until after eating to say.