Chapter 413

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Conceal, conceal, conceal! I can tell you're doing it on purpose!"

Song Ling pointed at Shen Jiancheng's nose and cursed him out, as if she wanted to vent all the pain she had endured these past few days.

Shen Jiancheng was scolded into covering his head and fleeing, and the child who was frightened into crying and busy dubbing voices made the Shen family extremely lively today.

Song Ling:...

Song Ling turned her head to coax the child, and before leaving she did not forget to glare viciously at Shen Jiancheng.

This person made her secretly cry for several days, almost falling into depression.

Shen Jiancheng awkwardly rubbed his palms, "I, I'm not doing this without considering Yao Yao and them."

"If you don't act sad enough, how can you fool the Patrol Team and those people at the Base? A man can act more depressed, but the women at home can't."

Whether the sadness is real or fake is one thing; he was also afraid the family would drag him down, so he hid it for several days, only daring to breathe a sigh of relief once the case was nailed down.

Being scolded by Song Ling right now is his own fault, and he indeed didn't handle it very well.

Song Ling put the child in her arms to sleep, then followed Shen Jiancheng out, "Yao Yao and them really left rather than something happening to them, so when can they send me a message, and when can we confirm safety?"

Shen Jiancheng only knew that Shen Yao really left; everything else he knew nothing about.

Song Ling:...

Song Ling slapped Shen Jiancheng's arm hard twice, "What do you know? Go work, chop up the firewood outside the house and dry it in the sun, don't get in my way."

Shen Jiancheng made a sound of acknowledgment and toddled into the courtyard, and not long after the sound of chopping firewood came from there.

Song Ling touched her chest and exhaled; although Shen Jiancheng hiding this matter was infuriating, she was now more relieved that her daughter's family was still alive, just leaving the Base to live in a new place.

"Fortunately, fortunately," as long as they were alive there was hope, and she could muster her energy to focus on other things.

The same scene in the Shen family was playing out in the Cheng family; the only difference was that Cheng Ma wasn't as angry as Song Ling, sensed something was wrong early on and interrogated Cheng Ba, thus getting the news that Shen Yao and her family of three had left.

The complicated feelings in her heart were hard to put into words; she followed the old couple and moved into Cheng Qi and Shen Yao's house to live, after all, the usage rights of this house nominally belonged to the Cheng family, and if the Shen family wanted to fight for it, it could be divided proportionally.

Cheng Ma didn't want to take the advantage for herself; although Cheng Qi had already arranged things inside, she still tidied up the items in the house, divided them into two, and had Cheng Ba take them to the Shen family to give to Song Ling and Shen Jiancheng.

"There's no need for this," Song Ling declined; she already knew Shen Yao had left many supplies and money as a retreat route for their family, and asking for family property would really be too shameful.

"You can't say it like that; this is the children's wholehearted intent, don't let them leave feeling uneasy," whether to soothe them or to keep a unified story, Cheng Ma ultimately sent the things over.

Two old women in their fifties stayed in the room nagging for a while; when they came out, they were all wiping away tears, showing that what was said had touched their sore spots.

"Go back."

Cheng Ma waved her hand, turned around, and took quick small steps back to the New Home.

The person watching them from not far away saw this, contacted those above through the wristwatch, and said there was nothing abnormal; indeed, the people were gone.

"Really gone? I didn't expect him to die this way," the members of the Patrol Team looked at me, I looked at you, none daring to speak.

What was there to say?

Something happened to him right under their noses; at the very least, they were colleagues who had worked together for many years, so they should look after the Cheng family and Shen family more in the future.

…………

"Rest in the car tonight, find a place to stay tomorrow and relax."

Cheng Qi parked the car and voluntarily took out the prepared food to set out.

Shen Yao in the back seat held Manman in her arms; the mother and daughter inevitably looked a bit pale.

This stretch of road was too bumpy; neither of them was the type not to get carsick, and they felt uncomfortable all day long.

"I'll drink some Nutrient Agent; Manman needs complementary food and milk powder here," although the food was good, Shen Yao had no appetite; she waved her hand to let Cheng Qi take care of himself, and while drinking the Nutrient Agent, she gave herself acupuncture.

Manman hugged the fortified milk bottle and drank happily with Concern Concern sounds; thanks to the system-produced Pills, the mother and daughter were fully revived once again.

Cheng Qi got out of the car, tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, picked some branches and leaves to cover around the car.

"I'll keep watch tonight; once we leave this forest, the desert is ahead," although the desert was dry and had no scenery to see, it was safer than the forest.

And after crossing the desert, they would be one step closer to this destination.

The super-large Base named No. 25 was established on the plain in front of the desert.

Shen Yao made a sound of acknowledgment and did not argue with Cheng Qi about the matter of keeping watch.

They had been traveling for more than half a month since setting out; during this time they had experienced being chased by wolves and driven away by tigers, surrounded by herds of cattle and sheep, and even one of their cars broke down; they finally left that relatively dangerous area safely.

The spirits of both of them were not very good; they were holding on by a single breath.

"Call me if anything happens," after saying this, Shen Yao held Manman, who was pecking at rice like a little chick, turned to her side, and fell asleep.

Cheng Qi saw the scene behind through the rearview mirror; a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he cheered himself on in his heart to persist a little longer; once they reached the New Base, things would be easier.

Shen Yao's sleep this time was not restful; she kept worrying that some Mutant Beast would rush over.

Her previous experiences made her terrified; every time she told the system again and again, afraid that the system, which had finally come online, would drop the chain and not do its job.

"Host, there's movement ahead!"

The system made a clanging sound; regardless of whether it was early or late, once it discovered a situation, it would wake Shen Yao up.

Shen Yao opened her eyes and met Cheng Qi, who was turning his head back from the front.

By this time, fish-belly white had already appeared at the horizon; the time was around five or six in the morning.

Manman lay in Shen Yao's arms sleeping with a rosy face, occasionally licking the corner of her mouth.

Shen Yao quietly pushed open the car door and switched places with Cheng Qi; she moved her sore body, "Drive slowly first; wait until Manman wakes up to eat."

Cheng Qi nodded, "I'll sleep for a while," his eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night.

Shen Yao made a sound of acknowledgment, stepped on the accelerator, and shot straight out.

The car drove on, moving farther and farther from the place the system said had movement.

Host and system breathed a sigh of relief together. "Host, luckily we ran fast, that was a cheetah."

After mutation, the cheetah was large and fast; even driving a car, they were no match for it.

"Once we leave this forest, we can sleep well tonight."

Shen Yao looked ahead, both hands gripping the steering wheel, swerving around obstacles and going straight when there was no danger, soon leaving behind dust and tire tracks.

This place was already sparsely populated, with few people traveling year-round; not only were the roads deserted, but mutant beasts were everywhere.

Clang—

The car knocked aside a tree branch blocking the road, followed immediately by monkey groups bursting from both sides, and wild fruits thrown by the monkeys like stones.

Crackle crackle

Wild fruits of various sizes clattered and banged against the car.

Manman, who had never seen such a scene, burst into tears, eyes still closed, making Cheng Qi feel heartache enough to choke.

Coaxing while gnashing her teeth, neither of the two wanted to attack these monkeys, because monkeys were too vengeful; once one was hurt, the others would bite them relentlessly, chasing until they were satisfied.

Shen Yao had to speed up, letting the increased speed cause instability, shaking the people inside left and right, which ironically coaxed Manman to stop crying.

"Find a place to rest first," Cheng Qi said through the window, looking behind.

Although the monkeys continued to chase, they were ultimately no match for the car's speed; the distance between them gradually widened, until they could no longer be seen.

Shen Yao slowed down, and soon the car stopped steadily by the roadside.

The two got out of the car; Shen Yao took Manman and took out a bottle of prepared milk powder from her space, stuffing it into the child's arms.

Cheng Qi took out Wang Yuan to observe the surroundings; unlike the lush forest behind them, where they were, the vegetation was low and sparse, pitifully little.

"I'll go check ahead; wait for me to return," Cheng Qi told Shen Yao, then ran two quick steps and disappeared from Shen Yao's sight.

Shen Yao turned back to grind medicine, then drank a nutrient agent without changing expression.

Although the nutrient agent tasted strange and indescribable, the satiety was truly strong.

"Mommy, mommy."

After drinking her fill, Manman rubbed her round little belly and lay pitifully in Shen Yao's arms to complain.

Remembering what had just happened clearly, Manman was simply a little pitiful one; though she spoke haltingly, she could describe the general meaning.

Shen Yao cooperated seriously with her own daughter, kissing and hugging her and lifting her high, finally putting the monkey matter behind them.

Manman kissed Shen Yao's cheeks with smacking sounds; the pleasant child's voice floated by, like a string of clear wind chimes ringing in the wind—noisy but not disturbing.

About half an hour later, Cheng Qi returned slowly from the distance.

Sweat drops appeared on his forehead; Shen Yao handed him a handkerchief to wipe. "How is it?"

"Ahead is the edge of the desert; our earlier plan was correct." Seeing was believing; no matter how much was said before, there would be misgivings. Now the road ahead was near, and Cheng Qi finally felt relieved.

Shen Yao urged Cheng Qi to eat quickly upon hearing this; since the road was ahead, they had to seize the time. The Mild Season had already passed nearly two months ago; even after arriving at the New Base, they would still need to gather and scavenge. They couldn't truly rely on supplies in the space to eat the mountain empty.

Cheng Qi laughed lightly, took out nutrient agents of different colors, gulped them down in one mouthful, and indicated he was done eating.

Shen Yao:...

Fine, let's go after eating.

The three continued on their way; Manman was held by Cheng Qi, and Shen Yao focused on driving.

When the road became increasingly uneven, the surrounding scenery became increasingly desolate.

Time passed in a flash; evening came, and Shen Yao and Cheng Qi discussed it, finally deciding to rest simply in the car.

The desert's desolation was somewhat unexpected; around them was only a thin layer of soil, not even a single wild grass could grow. No wonder it was said to be safe here, because wild creatures simply could not obtain food to survive here.

The system volunteered to help keep watch, and the family of three slept a full night for once.

When the sun rose the next day, soft warm microglow fell upon the earth; the car with a new driver started at the right time, heading toward the distance.

This desert was very large; the car had driven for five days without seeing the end.

No wonder there was no one; in such an empty place with nothing, who would foolishly run over here? If the food brought wasn't enough, they could easily starve to death.

"Visibility is a bit low today; it might wind," Cheng Qi said to Shen Yao sideways, his hand resting on the steering wheel without moving away.

Wind in the desert could easily affect the journey and could also cause the consequence of getting lost.

They had a space, so they didn't worry about food, clothing, and daily necessities after getting lost, but after the Mild Season came the Cold Season; they could not possibly stay in the wild to spend the winter.

"We need to keep driving forward and find a sheltered dirt slope."

"Keep going forward; I remember there's a canyon ahead." Although the canyon road was narrow and hard to pass, it was a very good wind shelter; tall stones could block the blowing wind, sand, and gravel, and could also protect the car body from being scraped.

Cheng Qi also thought of the place Shen Yao mentioned; he suddenly stepped on the accelerator, drove urgently all the way for two hours, and finally found the spot.

At this time, visibility outside the window was terribly low; the howling wind roared, kicking up small storms.

Cheng Qi parked the car, took out a protective bag from his space, and put it over the car body to secure it.

Just as the opaque protective bag was spread out, the view inside the car dimmed.

Turning on the car's built-in lamp, Shen Yao took out a small wooden table from her space, then laid out the cooked food and dishes flat.

Two adults and one child; the three held bowls, drinking soup and eating, while beside their ears was the rustling sound of the wind blowing and moving the protective bag.

"The wind hasn't stopped; we can't leave today," Shen Yao said, looking at her new wristwatch that only retained basic functions, thereby relaying the system's detection results.

Cheng Qi ate up the remaining food and dishes, then took out clean water to simply wash.

"Then let's stay here first; by speed, we've already crossed half the desert; in another five to seven days we can get out." After getting out, the road would be easy to walk; in three to five days they would arrive at the range of Base No. 25.

By then they could replace the car beneath them with the large truck in the space; after all, they needed a reasonable excuse to take out supplies to survive the Cold Season.

Shen Yao silently calculated the time in her heart; they could make it.

As long as they reached the New Base before the Cold Season arrived, they wouldn't need to worry too much.

Accompanied by the howling windstorm, the family of three slept a not very restful sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, the windstorm outside had already stopped, leaving only silence.

She got out of the vehicle, put away the protective bag, swept away the thick dust around it, used two nutrient agents to settle breakfast, started the car, and got back on the road.

Before leaving this desert, they did not encounter another similar storm.

"Switch cars, and load that damaged car into the rear carriage."

They were now penniless, including needing points to move into a new base, and the only things they could use to offset the cost were these two vehicles.

"If the price is right, sell the truck, and hand the car over to the base for maintenance."

Base No. 25 is different from Dawn Base; they permit private ownership.

That is to say, they could use the car openly and aboveboard on a daily basis.

Correspondingly, vehicle prices at Base No. 25 would be much cheaper than at Dawn Base, because they could be manufactured here.

Shen Yao took out supplies while sighing, "Life at a big base is still more comfortable."

Unlike Dawn Base, no matter what she did she had to consider this and that, exhausting herself to death.