Chapter 23: Return to Base

The journey back to the base was tight and the vehicles were packed. The support squad consisted of five people in two cars; adding the six members of the Second Team and Yang Yuning, plus clearing a backseat to accommodate the patient, the remaining space was squeezed into a veritable sardine can. Since everyone was a soldier of substantial build, Qi An—the only "little chick" among them—was warmly welcomed in whichever vehicle she chose to ride.

Despite the grueling schedule, Tang Long perfectly utilized every 15-minute rest stop to scour the wilderness for wild vegetables, even dragging Zhuang Xiao along to hunt a small wild boar. "These beetroots alone can earn contribution points back at the base," Tang Long said with a grin, displaying his spoils. Qi An, eager to learn everything, followed Tang Long whenever she wasn't tending to the patient, eventually gathering a bag full of miscellaneous wild game.

As the convoy passed through a tunnel, they even spotted early-blooming mountain peach blossoms in a valley! Qi An snapped off a large bunch and tucked them into a discarded glass beverage bottle.

They rendezvoused with the medical team on the evening of March 2nd and returned to the base on the afternoon of March 3rd. Guan Ling was sent directly to Qi An’s former unit, the First Military Hospital, with Yang Yuning accompanying him. The squad members gathered at the Chengfeng General Team office for a brief mission report.

Wei Fengduo looked at the six dust-covered figures, and no matter how much he tried to compose himself, he couldn't quite hide the smile on his dark face. "I have a general understanding of the mission process. You all worked hard! Whether it was reconnaissance or the rescue, you performed excellently—beyond expectations!" he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I’ll give you a half-day break. Come back at 10:00 tomorrow for a detailed report. All of you, dismissed!"

Everyone stood at attention and saluted: "Yes!"

The atmosphere instantly lightened. Zhuang Xiao, Tang Long, and the others couldn't wait to head home or to their dorms. As Qi An was walking out, Yu Shuang reached the door and poked her head back in. "General, this time... can we get a commendation?"

She winked and made faces. Wei Fengduo couldn't help but laugh, though he waved her off: "Go, go, go wash off that smell first. There's no commendation today."

That meant there would be one tomorrow. Any day was fine; let the wages, bonuses, and medals flutter into their squad's bowl! Yu Shuang was satisfied, practically skipping away.

...

Qi An said goodbye to her teammates, carrying her eye-catching bag of wild game and holding the peach blossoms as she returned to her small apartment. After half a month away, the room had gathered a thick layer of dust. She didn't have time to clean, so she took the most water-extravagant shower of her life, changed her sheets, and collapsed onto her little bed. Having slept either in cars or on the wild ground during the mission, she had missed this soft mattress dearly!

However, she only allowed herself one hour of deep sleep to recover from the exhaustion of caring for the patient. She then got up to clean the room and pulled a thin notebook from her desk drawer.

The pages were completely blank. Qi An sat at the desk for a moment before picking up her pen.

[February 17, 2055: Joined Chengfeng Second Team. March 3: Completed first mission.
Gains: A better understanding of the habits and combat power of Feral Insects. Learned where to hide and where to find water when encountering sandstorms in the wild.
Learned to identify common wild vegetables in the Northwest region and mastered some techniques for hunting rabbits and wild boars.
Drove for a portion of the return trip; driving skills have improved.
Cared for Professor Guan and learned quite a bit about nursing.
Discovered that I can sense the location of Feral Insects within a 1-2 kilometer radius.
Shortcomings: Lack of physical strength; must start weight-bearing training.
Marksmanship is too poor; target practice at the base is completely different from shooting on the battlefield. Need more combat training and guidance from seasoned soldiers.
Feelings: Although everyone fears contamination, there are too many powerful soldiers in this world. In confrontations between people, I am too weak.]

As she wrote this, Qi An rested her chin on her hand and looked at the spring rain that had begun to drizzle outside the window at some point.

[Another feeling: I really like my teammates. When they need me, affirm me, and invite me to eat with them, I feel very happy—like wrapping myself in a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold winter night. However, a blanket is just a blanket; surviving the winter still depends on one's own cold-resistant physique.]

She paused again, then wrote:

[The vice-captain is very smart, and suspicious.]

...

Among the members of the Second Team, Yu Shuang, Su Qingran, and Zhuang Xiao had no family. These loners naturally slept through their first day of vacation, though their situations varied. Zhuang Xiao slept like the dead, Su Qingran dressed up beautifully to go out, and Yu Shuang went to the training grounds after only two hours of sleep.

She was jogging slowly to warm up when Zhao Bohan caught up to her.

Yu Shuang was speechless: "I’m impressed. Every time I want to sneak in some extra practice, you always find me! Why didn't you go see your brother and sister-in-law?"

"I already checked in with them," Zhao Bohan said calmly. "They are very busy and won't be off work until curfew."

"Oh, the troubles of an elite family," Yu Shuang said, not without jealousy.

When the apocalyptic disaster struck, Yu Shuang was eight years old. All her relatives had died except for one cousin. She fled with her cousin to the nearby Central Plains Base No. 3, where they relied on each other to survive. Her cousin joined the army first and was killed in action five years ago, leaving Yu Shuang entirely alone, with no attachments other than her teammates.

After running two laps, Yu Shuang sensed something was wrong and asked Zhao Bohan, "Do you have something to say? Is it about that broken drone?"

"I wanted to talk about Qi An," Zhao Bohan said.

"What about Little Qi?" Yu Shuang stopped immediately. "Did she purify too much? Is there a lingering effect?"

"No!" Zhao Bohan was a bit speechless. When Qi An returned, she was running up mountains and down rivers; did she look like she had any lingering effects?

"Her purification ability and her mental reinforcement value don't quite match up," Zhao Bohan said. He had studied purification himself and understood the industry standards: "Generally, if your reinforcement value isn't at least 8 or 9, you wouldn't dare touch a Level 4 mutant; you'd be assimilated 100% of the time. But Qi An dared to touch it, succeeded, and then had the strength to purify you again afterward without being contaminated. Isn't that a bit abnormal?"

...

After finishing her diary, Qi An tore out the page, burned it over the gas stove, and the notebook returned to being completely blank. She grabbed her wild vegetables and peach blossoms and headed out.

The sky was already dim, and the drizzle was dense. Due to the emissions from the insect oil refinery, the air took on a damp, grey haze. Qi An was headed to the Research Department.

The Research Department was a six-story building with a hollow square structure. Like the other buildings, its exterior was mottled and dilapidated, but the interior was clean and bright. The entire fourth floor was dedicated to biological laboratories. The Mental Reinforcement Scientific Training Laboratory, where Tang Xinying worked, and the Genetic Reinforcement Laboratory—rumored to be the most ominous and highly classified place in the building—were located at opposite ends of the same floor. Both were key research fields for Central Plains Base No. 3, possessing an imposing air of dual strength.

Qi An was very familiar with the Mental Reinforcement Scientific Training Laboratory. She greeted the guards at the door and entered Tang Xinying's office.

Teacher Tang was as beautiful and dignified as ever, though her face looked weary and dull from a full day of busy work. However, she was pleasantly surprised when she saw Qi An and stood up immediately. "Little Qi? You're back from the mission?"

Qi An beamed. "Yes." She handed over the vibrant green wild vegetables and the delicate, budding mountain peach blossoms. "I saw these on my way back and immediately thought of Teacher Tang."

Tang Xinying’s beautiful eyes lit up at the sight of the peach blossoms, and a smile overflowed from the corners of her eyes. Because she was so happy, she immediately took Qi An to the best restaurant in the street for a meal. Even though Qi An tried to stop her, Tang Xinying ordered three signature dishes, treating Qi An to a sumptuous dinner that would count as a New Year's Eve feast at the base.

Though, the taste still fell far short of Tang Long's wild game feast.

Qi An avoided mentioning anything classified, picking and choosing a few twists and turns and anecdotes from the mission to share. She tried to downplay the events, but Tang Xinying was also a veteran of the battlefield; she raised her eyebrows and fell into deep thought several times, as if she might have already guessed the dangerous truth behind the anecdotes.

"Has your purification ability improved?" Tang Xinying asked suddenly after listening.

Qi An’s heart skipped a beat. Just as she thought. Teacher Tang had always been very concerned about her strength, especially the growth of her mental power.

"Uh... I suppose so. During emergency purification, there’s no time to think about safety, so the mobilization of mental power is much more intense and thorough than it is at the base," Qi An replied hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xinying pulled Qi An up. "I'll take you back to test it."