Chapter 883

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Chengyi"

Wei Ran saw Shen Chengyi and called out.

Shen Chengyi nodded silently, walked over to Wei Ran's side, and sat down, "How is it?"

She was asking about the body, and also the mind; after all, surviving with difficulty in the wilderness for over ten days, even if Wei Ran had a body of steel and iron bones, she couldn't endure it.

Wei Ran's expression first froze, then she pursed her lips along with her, indicating there was no problem, "Once we return to the shelter, everything will be fine."

Cheng Nan and the others hadn't returned, so Wei Ran couldn't give up on herself even more; she had to live on carrying Cheng Nan's share, and Cheng Nan's family was still at the shelter — all of this needed her to look after.

Wei Ran was far stronger than imagined; although on the way back there were several times she couldn't persist, the final result was that Wei Ran became more powerful.

Shen Chengyi didn't say anything, just raised a hand and patted Wei Ran's shoulder; it was a good thing that Wei Ran could adjust, and not drowning in the past wasn't a problem either — what they needed to handle most next was the matter of returning to the shelter.

He asked again about the vehicle situation; previously Wei Ran's words had been disjointed and confused, Shen Chengyi could understand, but still wanted to confirm several more times, because once they left this repaired building, there would be no possibility of turning back.

"It's in a small mountain hollow, several trucks parked haphazardly."

Wei Ran tried hard to recall the situation when they went out; they saw the vehicles on the third day of going out — it was a not-so-clear day, everyone walked and walked and wanted to rest, and it just so happened the small mountain hollow had favorable terrain that could block wind and rain.

Unexpectedly, after they went in, they ran into those trucks buried in the accumulated snow.

Why confirm they were abandoned? Because around the trucks there were still many already dried bloodstains, and at the same time, the trucks' condition wasn't very intact either — they were covered in various fine scratch marks, some compartments even split in two; except for the cabs which were barely intact and drivable, there wasn't a bit of other value.

After Wei Ran and the others discovered this problem, the first thing was to scan the surroundings and check the situation; the most critical point was whether the danger had passed now — if not, their situation would be extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, their luck was fairly good; there was nothing around except those abandoned trucks and bloodstains — only endless white snow remained.

"We discovered that the markings on these trucks are related to the temporary camp.

Communication equipment lost contact with the Commander-in-Chief long ago; we also don't know what happened at the temporary camp."

Wei Ran's tone was low, because to force the temporary camp to abandon vehicles, it was most likely an extremely great difficulty — even whether the temporary camp still existed was uncertain.

Comparing the temporary camp and the squad's combat power groupings, the temporary camp only held the advantage of more people and more hot weapons; but some mutated creatures aren't afraid of hot weapons, and ordinary people without abilities, no matter how many, couldn't solve the fundamental problem.

Hu

Wei Ran exhaled, "We were exhausted from the journey; having finally found a drivable vehicle, naturally there was no thought of giving up."

This is human nature; indeed one worries about the temporary camp's safety in one's heart, but currently they can't help — letting these abandoned trucks turn waste into treasure for their own use isn't a big problem either.

Wei Ran spoke openly and aboveboard, and the others staying by Wei Ran's side, including Shen Chengyi, didn't feel it was wrong either — this isn't a safe modern society; thinking things must be returned to their original owners, what they picked up is theirs — if others want it, they can try, but only after they encounter us first.

"Among the people we brought along there happened to be metal-type ability users; have them check the trucks' condition — repair what can be repaired, seize the time to repair; record what can't be repaired, thinking to see if tools can be found when we return.

We also cleaned up the surroundings; those encountered... were directly buried on the spot — they must have a place to rest after all."

Wei Ran's words meant the dead cannot be revived, but they also couldn't be left there to rot in the wilderness.

After all, they were colleagues who had worked together; after Wei Ran and the others finished these matters, they thought to rest in the small mountain hollow, then drive back.

Wei Ran smiled bitterly, "It was our carelessness," something happened at night.

They thought checking a few times could confirm safety; the people arranged to stand guard were also careless, leading to a sneak attack by those mutated creatures that crept over.

Wei Ran didn't want to recall that tragic chaos; several died on their side, and those repaired trucks could only be left in place.

"... Still in the small mountain hollow, but this time going over we need psychological preparation," Wei Ran's voice was low, clearly she had been badly burned by mutated creatures — she indicated those mutated creatures had everything, but coexisted harmoniously with each other; their purpose was to hunt all creatures that could provide energy so they could safely pass this winter.

Shen Chengyi listened and replied with a "Understood"; there were still quite a few hot weapons here in the building — when leaving they couldn't be stingy; whether ordinary people or ability users, all must be armed to the teeth; best to make them understand danger is everywhere in the wilderness — only by protecting themselves can they survive.

"This matter isn't your fault," Shen Chengyi dryly comforted Wei Ran a couple of sentences, then stood up and left the original spot, continuing to walk alone inside the building.

…………

The third day after Wei Ran and the others returned was the day everyone inside the building set off.

They couldn't delay any longer, because time waits for no one, and also the food remaining inside the building fundamentally couldn't last a few days.

Having processed these foods in advance, then allocated them according to personnel; other things like tools or weapons were also all allocated; as the people walking in front left, the others followed one after another.

Ya!

The climate outside really is cold; how long has it been since they showed their faces — can this kind of environment really let them return to the shelter instead of dying halfway?

Timid people shrank their shoulders, wishing they could bury their bodies.

Bold people looked around everywhere, wanting to engrave the environment into their brains.

Cautious people moved carefully, afraid danger would appear and they couldn't respond in time.

Careless people were happy-go-lucky, only caring when they would return to the shelter.

Shen Chengyi walked hidden among these people; her gaze fell on everyone in turn, without half a fraction of lingering risk.

Wu

Or perhaps there still was some, but as someone who long knew these virtue-bottom colors, Shen Chengyi didn't hold any hope for them.

The journey process was truly too boring; winter is originally not the season of all things reviving — the surroundings all turned into a world of ice and snow; wanting to find anything was no different from climbing to heaven.

The small mountain hollow's geographical location is relatively far; back then Wei Ran finding it took three days — and now with so many of them journeying, time-wise it's definitely only more, not less.

The prepared dry rations are about one week's worth; as long as they find the vehicles, they need to rush back non-stop — even they have to consider the route being smooth; any problem during the period and they'll face a situation with no food.

"Prepare some in advance; if they come in use, it also saves delaying time."

Journey, rest, rest, journey — they had strict time limits, and outside wind-and-rain lodging was uncomfortable; everyone even ate with lightning speed, absolutely not staying an extra minute.

"Chengyi, you yourself be more careful."

Wei Ran grabbed Shen Chengyi's arm; no matter how reluctant, she could only let her leave.

There weren't many people in the team who could shoulder responsibility; and she had lost a batch when she went out before — currently only Shen Chengyi could still hold on; not taking advantage of the time to stockpile more food, when things get chaotic and she can't attend to it, it'll only be even more of a collapse.

Shen Chengyi patted Wei Ran's shoulder, turned around, and in just a moment disappeared from everyone's sight.

They were now on an empty space; the snow originally on the ground had been cleared clean by the ability users. The big shot sat within the safety range circled off by ability users, not taking off his protective suit, but hugging tightly together to resist the cold outside.

Shen Chengyi's departure did not alarm anything; only the few clan heads in charge knew, and they were fairly reassured about Shen Chengyi, while Liu Mingfeng held Shen Chengyi in even higher esteem.

After all, Shen Chengyi had brought back Wei Ran and the others after going out for just a few hours back then, and the title of Big Shot had long been pinned on Shen Chengyi.

"This time we'll surely have a bountiful harvest, and we can catch our breath," no need to rush the journey, lest they neglect one end for the other and encounter unknown dangers.

"Captain Wei, we..." Liu Mingfeng gritted his teeth, "really not care about the others?"

The other squads and temporary camps scattered around—did they really not go looking for them?

Wei Ran:...

"With our manpower, it can't be done," they hadn't looked into the temporary camps before, and now it was even more impossible.

Looking down at the body tightly wrapped in the protective suit, Wei Ran told Liu Mingfeng to pay more attention to the situation within the squad; saying anything else would be useless, after all, they couldn't still expect Shen Chengyi—she wasn't from the Officials.

Liu Mingfeng:...

The topic came to a pause; others might have other thoughts in their hearts, but these thoughts were not suitable to be spoken. The big shots fell silent, listening to the crackling of the bonfire beside them, as if waiting for something.

Bang!

Shen Chengyi threw down the mutated creature corpse on her body with an expressionless face; behind her was a pile of corpses stacked into a small hillside, and underground was a wooden board that could be dragged away.

Liu Mingfeng widened his eyes, "So many?"

Shen Chengyi said she had good luck and ran into a rabbit hole; taking advantage of the time, she blew all the rabbits out.

Of course, some rabbits inside were ones she threw out from her space to make up the numbers, after all, the quantity was too little, not enough for everyone to eat and drink.

Wei Ran called the others not to rest, to hurry and take out the food, and roast it with the bonfire.

Cooked jerky could be eaten anytime, and even cooked jerky could provide energy—this was also something the researchers at the Laboratory, or rather humanity, could not figure out. Normally, the energy contained within mutated creatures should be best eaten raw, but the result was that cooked food was stronger.

The researchers at the Laboratory attributed it to several reasons, but since none could convince everyone, it became ambiguous. In the end, those who went out only remembered to cook the food, and no longer pursued the rest.

Everyone began to busy themselves—some skinned, some cut meat. The bonfire became even more vigorous because of the ability users; the surrounding heat drove away the original cold, making even the big shots feel somewhat hot.

However, they could not take off their clothes, so they could only slowly place the processed meat beside the bonfire to roast, while they themselves left their original positions to rest. Because the bonfire was so vigorous, their range of movement extended further; some people wished they could take out their sleeping bags, spread them out instantly, and lie down to rest.

As the great meritorious official who brought the food, Shen Chengyi now needed to do nothing; just staying put honestly, someone would bring things over to her.

With only the protective suit left on her body, Shen Chengyi lay on her side on the sleeping bag, her expression indifferent.

Wei Ran carried a bowl of roasted rabbit meat over; the rich, fragrant rabbit meat was very appetizing. Even though Wei Ran had already eaten, he was still incredibly jealous.

He pushed Shen Chengyi, and Wei Ran handed the bowl to her, "Try some. You've been busy for so long—how can you not eat your fill?"

Shen Chengyi turned over and sat up, pulling open the opening on the protective suit to reveal a fair and clean little face.

Shen Chengyi had never been very emotional; in speaking and doing things, she had her own ideas. Shen Yao had once tried to correct her, but because Shen Chengyi's logic was deep in her bones, forcibly changing it might hurt the mother-daughter bond.

Shen Yao did not truly want to raise her daughter into an enemy. Aside from a few points unsuitable for modern society, she let Shen Chengyi be for the rest.

Thus, Shen Chengyi's ideas were relatively correct. No matter how others spoke or sacrificed, she had her own plans and ideas, and very few things could influence her.

Picking up a piece of rabbit meat and putting it into her mouth, Shen Chengyi thought the taste was not bad. Of course, if the seasoning were heavier, she would love it even more.

Wei Ran:...

"Having something to eat is already good." They didn't have that much seasoning left in their hands; what little remained was saved bit by bit through frugality. Living outside is truly hard. This time, upon returning to the Shelter, I won't come out no matter what.

Shen Chengyi raised her eyebrows, continued to bring the bowl over and eat slowly. She thought of Shen Yao and the others far away at the Shelter, not knowing how they were doing.

Hmm, compared to Shen Chengyi who was eating in the wind and sleeping in the dew, Shen Yao and the three others were naturally living extremely well.

"Ability improvement; next, we won't need too many Evolution Potions." They could rely on Crystal Cores for energy, and the number of times they went to the Ability User Center could be reduced.

Shen Chengyu pinched her arm, which had become much thicker, and waved it back and forth. Hehehe, not letting her hard work of many days go in vain; she finally got through the most awkward period.

Shen Chengning signaled Shen Chengyu not to be too happy. The two of them had only just started on the right path; the upcoming training and battles were the key.

"Tsk, don't worry. Big Sister will be back soon." With Big Sister helping to guide them, how could the two of them worry about their abilities not improving rapidly?

Shen Chengning:...

"Big Sister has no news yet." Although the delivered Evolution Potions had not stopped, continuing like this for the long term really wouldn't do.

"Mom has it figured out. Big Sister should be fine." Shen Chengyu believed that with Big Sister's abilities, she could definitely survive. As for those Official Personnel not as good as Big Sister, he pointed his fingers back and forth, then simply pulled Shen Chengning to go find Shen Yao.

Shen Yao:...?

"Don't worry. Your Big Sister is very safe." She was now at the Camp eating freshly roasted rabbit meat. Ignoring the environment and location, it was better than what the three of them ate at the Shelter.