Chapter 61: Why Are You Always Unhappy?

Zhao Bohan truly lived up to his reputation, possessing the knowledge reserve and analytical capability of a human AI.

Moreover, his casual remark that "their status might even surpass that of Wu Zirui" revealed the underlying sharpness of this steady vice-captain.

Qi An deeply admired him.

She had also guessed that a major battle was looming, and that her squad's opportunity lay within it.

However, she had only deduced that this decisive clash must be related to the Hive, simply because the Hive had been discovered for so long yet the base seemingly had never organized a campaign to wipe it out.

She certainly hadn't been able to clearly break down the strategic value of those specific cities like he had.

"Understood! We'll leverage the connections we've built through these past two missions and seize the opportunity from this massive battle!" Yu Shuang summarized. Her emotions always came and went quickly; now that the storm had cleared, she gave Zhao Bohan a thumbs-up. "You're truly the best, old Zhao! What would our team do without you?"

The corners of Zhao Bohan's lips curled up slightly as he looked at Yu Shuang, his expression as warm and radiant as a spring breeze blooming with a hundred flowers.

Yu Shuang was momentarily stunned and about to say something when her phone chimed with a notification.

Qin the Husky: [I'm starving to death, starving to death! When are we getting instant-boiled mutton?]

He was urging them to hurry up with the gathering. Yu Shuang smiled and replied: [Stop howling, let me ask Xu Le.]

Qin the Husky: [Xu Le is right here in our dorm. He says they're free at noon.]

Yu Shuang raised an eyebrow: [Alright then, today at noon, dinner's on us!]

Qin the Husky: o(*≧▽≦)ツ

Yu Shuang smiled again, but when she looked up, she found Zhao Bohan staring at her with a flat gaze.

Perplexed, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Without a word, Zhao Bohan silently rolled up the map, walked into the small partitioned room inside the lounge, and went to change his clothes.

The atmosphere instantly turned somewhat inexplicable. Zhuang Xiao was halfway through cracking a sunflower seed and glanced toward Su Qingran, who had already figured it out and was watching the show with a beaming smile.

Zhao Bohan's words had successfully steadied everyone's mood.

Though Yu Shuang had no idea what kind of temper Zhao Bohan was throwing, business came first. As soon as he finished changing and stepped out, she intercepted him at the doorway of the partition and lowered her voice:

"That video has been completely restored. It's very clear. Old Yang's friend sent it to me last night."

Hearing this, Zhao Bohan immediately turned serious: "Send me a copy... Best if every single one of them has a copy!"

Yu Shuang nodded, her eyes shining brightly: "The video evidence showing the spy drone had been tampered with was also sent over last night. I'll send that to you together.

With these two lethal weapons in hand, even if we can't drag Wu Zirui down from his position, Team 1 is finished, and Liu Hui will at least lose a chunk of flesh!"

Zhao Bohan nodded, his gaze ice-cold.

Their conflict with Zhou Yang, Liu Hui, and that faction wasn't merely a simple matter of bullying and being bullied—standing squarely between them were the four lives of little Zhou and the others.

What Zhao Bohan had just outlined was their grand strategic struggle, while the two pieces of evidence in Yu Shuang's hands were the crucial keys to revenge and counterattack!

With this vital information aligned, Qin Tianshu and the others also came looking for them, and the entrance to the team lounge was bustling with a crowd.

"Why aren't Captain Yu and Vice-Captain Zhao coming out yet? What are you guys doing in there?" Qin Tianshu poked his head into the lounge and called out.

Zhao Bohan pulled the curtain of the small partition back, pausing for two seconds before parting it fully. He gave Yu Shuang a gentle, polite nudge to let her exit first.

Yu Shuang looked utterly bewildered. Seeing the two of them emerge from a tiny enclosed space together, Qin Tianshu was both surprised and startled!

With both hands shoved into his pockets, Zhao Bohan said, "We're here."

With that, he and Yu Shuang passed Qin Tianshu one after the other, stepping out to blend into the crowd.

Qin Tianshu's gaze darted back and forth between their retreating backs, finally landing on Yu Shuang with a lingering sense of loss he couldn't quite explain.

The group had already reassembled, surrounding Yu Shuang and Qi An as they walked out noisily.

Qin Tianshu reached to close the door, but amidst his slight disappointment and lingering curiosity, he glanced back toward the direction of the small partition.

"Captain, are we moving?" You Zi called out to him.

Seeing that the others had already walked some distance ahead, Qin Tianshu hurriedly shut the door and caught up.

Tang Long purposely lingered at the very back, carefully locking the door before happily joining the main gathering troop.

However, deep within the now empty lounge—hidden behind the wooden partition of the small cubicle where the team's coats and garments were stored, tucked away in an extremely concealed corner of a wall cavity—a tiny speck of light flickered ever so slightly.

...

At Qi An's suggestion, Yu Shuang led the group to a restaurant situated on the main avenue right beside the Research Building.

Compared to the eateries near the East Camp, this place was much larger and offered a far wider variety of ingredients.

Though expensive, everyone had just received bonuses, so they could easily afford it! As the proposer, Qi An even grandly threw in 100 contribution points!

Naturally, Yu Shuang ordered alcohol.

In the apocalyptic era, everyone suffered endlessly from the torment of pollution, turning tobacco and alcohol into hard currency.

Yet tobacco was exceedingly rare, produced only by a few bases in the southwest.

Grain liquor was an even greater luxury, with cheap chemical-based alcohol being far more prevalent in the base's circulation.

Yu Shuang bought both. "Alcohol reflects one's character; the test of everyone's true nature starts now!" she teased, pouring drinks for the table.

"You think I'm scared? I drank everyone under the table across all teams in my base!" Qin Tianshu slammed the table and accepted the challenge.

Xu Le chimed in, "I don't believe it! Unless you go a round with Captain Yu! Come on, fill up the glasses for our two captains!"

Laughter and playful shouts merged into a chaotic din. Everyone's spirits were running high. Qi An had once heard Teacher Tang say that this was also a form of emotional release for soldiers freshly withdrawn from the battlefield.

Even though everyone repeatedly tried to yield the seats of honor next to Chen Yuezhou and Yu Shuang to her, Qi An firmly insisted on sitting in an unassuming corner.

Once she had eaten her fill, she simply smiled as she watched the others, a small glass holding just two sips of grain liquor sitting before her.

The hotpot continued to steam, its rolling white vapor making her smile appear faint and blurred, as if she had been neatly excised from this vibrant scene of mortal life.

After two hours of such lively merrymaking, Qi An stepped out to use the restroom. She noticed through the window that the sunlight had faded at some point, leaving the sky overcast and gloomy.

She wanted to stand by the window for a moment to catch some fresh air, but Chen Yuezhou appeared beside her.

"Why is Dr. Xiao Qi always unhappy at times when she's supposed to be happy?" Chen Yuezhou asked in a casual tone, looking as though he had come out to sober up, though his gaze remained sharp and clear without a hint of intoxication.

Qi An frowned slightly. "Why does Chief Chen care whether I'm happy or not?"

"Pure curiosity." Chen Yuezhou turned his head to look at her.

He already knew that Qi An had no blood relatives in the base, only teammates.

Her teammates clearly trusted and cherished her deeply, yet Chen Yuezhou couldn't understand why Qi An was always weighed down by worries, a lingering melancholy inextricably tied to her brows and eyes.

Glancing at him, Qi An thought to herself that Chen Yuezhou and Chen Xi were brothers possessing top-tier strength and looks, hailing from a major base with a bright future ahead of them—so why, judging by their inner mental states, did each one look more like a miserable little bitter melon than the last?

"It's about to rain. We should probably wrap this up," Qi An said.

Inside the private dining room, the table was indeed a chaotic mess of empty plates and bottles. With a flushed, handsome face, Qin Tianshu clutched a wine bottle and sighed emotionally: "Actually, I do have an ability too—electromagnetic induction and... and shielding. Against mutated insects, it's just... just too useless..."

"Having it is better than not having it, though your skill is better suited for the Security Corps. Little Sun's is too," Yu Shuang remarked. Having thoroughly defeated Qin Tianshu in their drinking contest, her mind remained clear and her speech articulation was pristine.

"The strongest fighters are all in the military; our physical enhancement is high, and our marksmanship is good, too," Sun Yiran muttered drunkenly as she slumped over the table with a goofy smile.

She kept stealing glances at Xu Le two tables away, her gaze just as hair-raising as when she had previously looked at Qi An.

Sensing her stare, Xu Le stopped urging drinks or cheering, shrinking back into his seat to bury his head in the leftover food.

Having noted that it was about to rain outside, Yu Shuang glanced at the window and asked Chen Yuezhou, "Shall we call it a day here then? Everyone can head back to sleep and we can gather another time?"

Chen Yuezhou smiled and nodded in agreement.

In the midst of wartime, everyone would soon receive new assignments and scatter in different directions. Who knew when this "another time" would be, or whether the same group of people would ever assemble again.

Outside the restaurant, the group parted ways, mostly heading back toward the East Camp while supporting one another step by step.

Qi An declined Yang Yuning's offer to walk her back and returned home alone.

Of course, she didn't head straight home; instead, she strolled aimlessly through the streets until she reached another small commercial lane.

The sky was blanketed in heavy clouds. Though it was only two o'clock in the afternoon, the sky had already grown terribly dim.

Outside the entrance of the bar-like small diner where she had once seen Su Qingran, Qi An spotted two men.

Teacher Tang had mentioned that the man who was "her dad's friend" went by the name Xiang Shiyang.

It was a name she had zero recollection of, but the man's appearance genuinely looked familiar to her.