Chapter Forty-Six: Misty Rain Pavilion

If all ranks of officers and priests above the lowest-ranking singers are considered high-ranking Wisdom Insects, then Qi An has seen them before.

She had met the apprentice priest when Southeast Base 4 was destroyed.

"The difference between advanced Wisdom Insects and ordinary Fallen Insects is greater than that between humans and pigs, and it is said that the difference between advanced Wisdom Insects is even greater! Each Wisdom Insect has its own unique characteristics..." You Zi usually doesn't talk much, but she is extremely interested in topics related to "purification" and "mutation".

However, this was still off-topic for Yu Shuang. As she walked back, she said to Qi An, "What I wanted to say was that in relationships between people, it's quite boring because kind people are often taken advantage of."

"Wasn't it like this before the apocalypse? Was everyone truly equal back then?" Qi An asked.

She was genuinely asking the question; she hadn't experienced the world before the apocalypse.

Yu Shuang choked, vaguely remembering that there was a group of noisy kids in her class who always bullied a small, thin, and somewhat autistic child.

There was no grudge between them, but those noisy kids would kick the autistic kid's chair, overturn his pencil case, and block him in the corner after school every day.

Why? Isn't it because the autistic child doesn't do well in school, the teacher doesn't pay much attention to him, his parent is his elderly grandmother, and he himself isn't strong enough to fight back?

Will everyone be equal before the apocalypse?

Yu Shuang was quite annoyed. Qi An said, "If there is never equality, and it is impossible to be equal, but you want your surroundings to be equal, then you can only make yourself stronger."

"Like us, aren't we on pretty equal footing with Morningstar Team 1 and North 2?"

“Yes.” Yu Shuang smiled and put her arm around Qi An’s shoulder. “Although human strength has its limits, if I try my best to reach the limit of my talent, I can still create a small circle where everyone around me can be more equal and happier.”

She only told this to Qi An and her teammates, feeling that if outsiders, like Qin Tianshuo, heard it, they would definitely laugh at her.

But Qi An couldn't help but look up at Yu Shuang.

The sun had already set, and a few stars that had adorned the night sky appeared in the background.

Qi An's gaze shifted from Yu Shuang's sparkling eyes to a bright star.

There are all sorts of people in this world.

And she, or perhaps the vice-captain, couldn't help but be attracted to someone like the captain.

......

The ranch was full of ingredients. Tang Long carefully caught two rabbits, two chickens, and two large carp, along with some freshly picked vegetables from the greenhouse. He cooked a hot meal with a mix of meat and vegetables, and also made fish soup for the wounded.

The convoy had been eating dry, hard compressed rations since they set off, except for a bowl of hot spinach soup on the morning they left the village.

Therefore, no one can resist this delicious meal!

While everyone in the convoy was wolfing down their food, the dogs in the ranch were scratching at the door!

After this meal, Tang Long and the other cooks who helped out received the most respect, second only to the three leading car team from yesterday!

That night, a night watch was still scheduled, but in four shifts to ensure everyone got a full six hours of sleep.

The night watch wasn't to prevent insects or wild animals from entering, but to keep an eye on the people at North Base 3, to ensure they still had any lingering desire for the machine gun vehicles, or that they held a grudge against the minor conflicts they had with them during the day.

Nothing happened overnight, and in the morning the ranch manager even brought them hot corn porridge.

The person delivering the supplies was no longer Captain Liu from yesterday; it was a middle-aged captain who was older.

This man didn't say much. He introduced himself as Wen, saying he belonged to the same group but different teams as Captain Liu, and then directed his team members to move the boxes down.

There were no shortages of supplies, and even the machine gun ammunition was indeed in two full boxes.

Yu Shuang was surprised and couldn't help but ask why Captain Liu hadn't come yesterday.

Captain Wen only said he didn't know, but after escorting their convoy for 50 kilometers, when they parted ways, he couldn't help but say:

"The armored vehicles and machine guns are indeed very valuable weapons and equipment, but the regimental commander said that the safety of our comrades is more important than the equipment."

He saluted and said, "I hope you all complete your mission successfully and return home safely!"

The two cars belonging to Captain Wen's team drove away into the morning light.

The convoy members looked at each other in bewilderment, and Yu Shuang was the first to smile, her mood instantly brightening!

"Let's go! We'll be in the mountains in another day. There will definitely be fewer insects there, and we might even be able to enjoy the scenery!" she shouted with a smile.

Sure enough, the convoy entered the mountains a day later.

This mountain range runs northeast to southwest, bordering two provinces. Its peaks are majestic and its terrain is extremely rugged.

The towns in the mountains are much sparser than those on the plains. They walked for three or four days without encountering a single group of fallen insects.

But the same problem remains: in sparsely populated towns, the roads are difficult to travel on.

The convoy encountered treacherous cliffside roads, landslides and mudslides blocking the road, and tunnels through the mountains that were occupied by mutated rats the size of rabbits. The variety of difficulties they faced was so great that it almost drained everyone's patience and brain cells for problem-solving!

It started raining on the 5th day, and it continued to rain for several days, making the weather suddenly damp and cold.

Having just recovered from his injuries and still feeling weak, Zhao Bohan caught a bad cold and developed a high fever while moving fallen rocks in the rain.

A driver slipped and fell off a cliff while pushing his car. Although he was stopped by trees, he broke his leg.

However, by noon on the 6th, the rain had lessened, the raindrops were as fine as hair, barely perceptible, and the terrain of the mountains became gentler, making the road ahead easier to travel.

Qi Angang had just been relieved of the driver's seat by Yang Yuning when he looked up and saw distant mountain peaks shrouded in mist, with scattered eaves appearing and disappearing in the distance. He was surprised and asked in the public channel:

What's on that mountain over there? A village?

It really didn't look like a village, and its location was too high. The mountain villages they saw along the way were all in the valleys at the foot of the mountains.

Yu Shuang glanced at the car from the front and was also a little surprised: "Ancient architecture?"

“That’s Donglin Mountain,” Li Yi said. “It’s a Buddhist temple that was very famous before the apocalypse.”

He was the oldest in the convoy; he was 13 years old when the apocalypse began, and he had the deepest impression of the world before the apocalypse.

Zhao Bohan insisted on opening the window and taking a look. He was usually calm and reserved, but at this moment his eyes and tone were somewhat excited:

"East of the mountain! On the mountain is the largest Buddhist temple complex on the mainland, the oldest of which is nearly 2,000 years old!"

Upon hearing this, Qi An quickly grabbed his binoculars to take a look.

It was indeed a large area of ​​ancient buildings, scattered along the mountain, with halls and towers, half-hidden in the rain and mist, giving Qi An the illusion that it was a fairyland, another world!

The car bumped and jolted as it rolled over a patch of gravel. Qi An's view was blocked by a cedar tree, and he almost leaned out of the window in a panic.