Chapter 45: Sunlight and Pastures

The convoy stopped by a small stream for only half an hour. Qi An seized the moment to wipe himself down, rinse his mouth, and eat.

The vehicle had only received a quick cleaning and still smelled and looked like a latrine inside.

Yet, this was a vehicle-mounted autocannon! Even if it were mounted over an outhouse, it would still be everyone's prized treasure!

The convoy drove through the night without resting, arriving within the support range of Northern Base 3 by the afternoon of the second day.

Comrades from the regular defense forces of the Northern Base 3 Land Defense Corps had been waiting to receive them. They were all astonished by the size of the convoy and even more amazed when they laid eyes on the autocannon vehicle.

Considering the convoy would rest for only one night and the several trucks were massive, Northern Base 3 assigned them to a pasture closest to the urban area.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived. The brilliant sunshine dyed the gentle grassland into a dazzling, golden green.

The dense trees along the edge of the pasture rustled their leaves in the gentle breeze. Flocks of cattle, sheep, and donkeys stretched from the tree line all the way to the main gate of the pasture, with several sheepdogs darting back and forth among them alongside the pasture administrator.

As soon as Qi An got out of the truck, he saw dozens of square meters of water ponds swarming with ducks, a few oversized pink pigs grunting their way out of a pen, and further off, rows of vegetable greenhouses. For a moment, it felt like a lifetime away.

Everyone in the convoy shared this feeling, and the exhaustion from two days and a night of driving dissipated quite a bit.

The leader of the reception squad was surnamed Liu. He was in his early thirties, with a broad face, large eyes, and an affable smile.

Smiling at the group, he said, "The row of red-brick bungalows to the north has been cleaned up. Comrades will stay there tonight. Dinner will be delivered by the pasture administrator, but if comrades prefer to cook for yourselves, you're welcome to pick vegetables in the greenhouses."

Everyone expressed their thanks. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Captain Liu hesitated slightly. His second-in-command, a thin, dark-skinned young man, stepped forward and asked, "May I take a close look at that vehicle?"

He was referring to the autocannon truck.

The pleasant mood of the group paused. Qin Tianshuo and Yu Shuang exchanged glances, then nodded toward the deputy leader:

"Go ahead, but be gentle, comrade. This is our vital property."

The thin, young deputy leaped onto the roof of the truck in two bounds, inspected the entire autocannon closely, and ran his hands all over it.

This was already a bit presumptuous, but after climbing down, the young deputy smiled at the group:

"You guys are really amazing, being able to snatch a vehicle right from the jaws of the Corrupted Bugs!"

His tone carried the clear, innocent enthusiasm of a youth, which slightly eased the expressions of the convoy members. However, the youth then added:

"Actually, this vehicle originally came from our base. On the barrel of that autocannon, it even has the military-industrial product serial number engraved by our base's logistics department!"

Yu Shuang’s smile faded. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "And so?"

It was entirely reasonable that the autocannon vehicle came from Northern Base 3.

The Corrupted Bugs didn't manufacture weapons; their vehicles and armaments were invariably captured loot. Northern Base 3 was the closest base to that county town.

"Thank you, comrades, for retaking this vehicle! We..." The deputy was interrupted halfway through by Captain Liu, who smiled and said:

"Our base is willing to trade supplies to get this vehicle back."

Everyone in the convoy frowned. Yu Shuang pointed at the vehicle behind the two men:

"Using the supplies in your trunks? Weren't those supplies supposed to be our reinforcements anyway?"

The deputy looked displeased. However, observing the expressions of the convoy members, Captain Liu smiled and said, "Yes, those supplies certainly won't be enough. What else are you comrades lacking? Whatever our base can spare, we will definitely provide!"

Qin Tianshuo grew angry, and Li Yi said coldly, "We aren't trading the vehicle. Leave your supplies behind, and in addition, prepare two more crates of..."

His words were also cut off by Yu Shuang, who declared:

"We captured this vehicle. Regardless of who manufactured it previously, it belongs to us now, and we are not trading it. We have already reported the capture of this vehicle to the superior command headquarters. You should be receiving an order shortly: to add two more crates of 20mm ammunition to our supply cache. If you don't believe us, we can wait right here."

Captain Liu’s expression turned ugly as well.

As the deputy opened his mouth to speak, Jia Wenxuan gave him an amused look: "Did you receive orders from your superiors about wanting to trade for the vehicle? Just how high-ranking is this superior of yours?"

Were they higher-ranking than Northern Base 1?

Their mission to transport fuel had been issued by the Northern Base 1 Land Defense Corps Headquarters. Could any authority in the entirety of Northern Base 3 outrank that?

The atmosphere grew tense. The young deputy felt that this was their pasture, their territory, and saw no reason to tolerate arrogance from outsiders.

He rested a hand on his sidearm and wanted to take a step forward.

However, the members of the convoy either folded their arms or leaned lazily against the trucks. Without deliberately radiating any threatening or warning signals, their collective aura alone was imposing enough to make one shudder.

At the front, Yu Shuang wore a half-smile, staring steadily at the youth.

The young deputy’s legs felt as heavy as lead, and his face turned beet red. The members of his squad behind him broke out in goosebumps, suddenly feeling an urge to board their trucks and flee.

Captain Liu’s expression flickered for a moment. He spoke a few words into his walkie-talkie, then returned with a somewhat stiff, forced smile:

"If comrades are unwilling to make the trade, then so be it..." He cast a look of intense regret toward the autocannon before saying:

"We will prepare the ammunition, but there isn't much left of this caliber in the base. It's hard to say how much we can gather."

They had backed down, but not entirely.

How much ammunition of this caliber Northern Base 3 actually had was hard to verify. Were the convoy members supposed to break into their armory to inspect it?

Yu Shuang let out a breath and said indifferently, "Please have the comrades from Northern Base 3 wait half an hour while we inspect the supply inventory. If anything is missing, we'll draw up a list on the spot."

Captain Liu was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile: "Alright, make whatever list you need, comrades! As long as we have it, we'll give it to you!"

When the convoy inspected the supplies, they found mostly basic items: food, water, and rifle ammunition.

Yu Shuang requested an additional crate of airdrop munitions, some anti-inflammatory medicine, batteries, and a sniper rifle to replace the one Qi An had discarded.

None of these were exceptionally valuable items—just enough to allow both sides to save face.

After the reception team from Northern Base 3 departed, everyone set about organizing their brick-house accommodations.

The brick houses were decent—spacious yet clean, with four habitable rooms in total.

The drivers took one room, the wounded and the doctor took another, and the remaining space was split into separate rooms for the men and the women.

Yu Shuang was in a mediocre mood. As she walked to the greenhouse with Tang Long and Qi An to pick vegetables, she said lazily:

"If we weren't executing a mission issued by Northern Base 1, given our status as a remote little outpost, do you believe Northern Base 3 would have dared to detain us along with the vehicle?"

"Surely not," Tang Long said.

Qi An replied, "It's possible. At least, if someone spoke the way Li Yi did, getting detained is a distinct possibility."

If they had been even more aggressive, getting killed wasn't out of the question either.

Once the other party blocked all communications, who would ever know where you died?

"But if everyone acts like that, how are we supposed to fight the Corrupted Bugs? Won't we end up like that America across the ocean... America what?" Tang Long momentarily forgot the name of that distant foreign nation.

"Amerikah. Before the apocalypse, it claimed to be the number one superpower, but not long after the apocalypse began, the government collapsed. Each region governed itself, and with private fortresses belonging to billionaires and major corporations fighting for resources and preying on each other, they endured a dark age lasting over a decade," Yu Shuang said.

According to Old Zhao, both Northern Base 1 and several coastal bases had refugees who had crossed the ocean, recounting the bloody history of the other side of the water.

However, that wasn't her main point. "What I'm saying is, although there is order, the essence of this world remains the survival of the fittest."

"Well, obviously! If you're weak, the Corrupted Bugs will eat you—oh wait, Corrupted Bugs don't like eating people, you get eaten by the contamination!"

Qin Tianshuo and You Zi had come along to help gather ingredients. Hearing Yu Shuang's remark from a distance, Qin Tianshuo let out a scoff.

You Zi chimed in, "Even what kind of Corrupted Bug you turn into after being eroded by contamination depends on how strong your will is to resist it.

If your will is weak, or if you willingly surrender to the contamination, you can only become a low-ranking worker bug.

The stronger your will, the easier it is to mutate into a wise bug, or even a higher-ranking wise bug!"

At this, she grew interested. "Have any of you ever seen a higher-ranking wise bug?"