Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Investigation

At dawn, the temperature outside was not too high. The gates of a small base on the border of China were wide open, and people were coming in and out, making it seem quite lively.

Su Qing and Qin Yu were sitting in a dilapidated off-road vehicle hidden by weeds in the wilderness in the distance. Next to them was a highway with vehicles driving on the road from time to time. Ahead was a toll station with a very strict roadblock in front of the station. Vehicles lined up in front of the roadblock, and like paying tolls before the end of the world, they were checked one by one and then passed.

The previous sign above the toll booth has been removed, and now there are only four words on it: "Wanhua Base".

After passing this toll station is the territory of Wanhua Base.

Qin Yu started the car, drove onto the highway and headed to the toll station to queue up.

The two men had made simple appearances when they arrived. Their clothes were tattered, and the exposed skin was covered with a layer of gray powder, making them look dirty and messy. Even the car they were driving was picked up on the road, and Qin Yu had smashed several windows on it, making it inconspicuous in the convoy.

The car in front was moving slowly and was about to reach them. The two men looked at each other and then their expressions became numb and timid. The next moment, the car in front was allowed to pass and it was their turn. A row of armed men blocked the road ahead and motioned them to get out of the car for inspection.

Four people came over, two of them checked the car, and the other one, a man and a woman, symbolically searched Qin Yu and found a gun on him and a dagger on Su Qing. They took a look at them and then returned them to them.

The person who checked the vehicle also came over at this time and nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

The woman said expressionlessly, "No violence is allowed within the base's inner city. Anyone caught will be killed on the spot! Each vehicle entering or exiting must pay a fee of 10 new coupons." She then handed over a small wooden plaque with a series of numbers engraved on it. "This is our base's special license plate. You must show it to register when entering or leaving."

Qin Yu paid the money and took the wooden sign, and they made way. The two of them got in the car and continued driving forward. After driving less than 500 meters, they arrived at the gate of Wanhua Base.

The guard at the door signaled them to get out of the car again, and then took the two of them to a tent.

Several people were sitting in the tent chatting. Qin Yu and Su Qing walked over to their table and sat down. They stopped talking. A middle-aged man picked up a pen on the table and asked, "Name."

"Wang Dayong, Wang Fang."

The other person wrote a few words on the paper. The man suddenly looked up and stared at the two of them. "Are you brother and sister?"

"We are from the same village, and everyone in the village has the surname Wang."

"Oh... where are you from? Just the two of you?"

"Province C."

A slightly plump woman nearby continued, "Province C? I heard it's been in chaos for a long time. There's no major base to rely on, and earthquakes are frequent. You must be having a hard time there, right?"

Qin Yu glanced at her, then lowered his head. He was very silent, old-fashioned, and even a little numb. "Our village is deep in the mountains and has had little contact with the outside world. After the apocalypse, the village chief blew up the only road into the village, making it impossible for outsiders and zombies to enter. The village has food reserves, and there are many wild animals in the mountains, so we can barely survive."

"Then why did you come out?" The man looked at him suspiciously.

"Not long ago, a major earthquake struck our area, burying all the villagers. We were the only two left who managed to escape while hunting in the mountains. On the way, we heard from others that there was a base here, so we came all the way here in search of it."

"To enter our base, you'll need to hand in one hundred new coupons or equivalent supplies every month." The woman looked the two of them up and down with a hint of disdain. "Can you afford it?"

"Can we...stay here for a week?" Su Qing asked timidly.

"Then calculate it on a daily basis, 10 new coupons per day."

Su Qing shivered and bent down, turned up her trouser legs, and untied a cloth strip rolled up in several layers from her calf. She opened the layers one by one to reveal a plastic bag inside. She moved closer to Qin Yu and covered him sideways, rustling for a while. Then she handed the thing in her hand to Qin Yu, wrapped the plastic bag again, and wrapped the cloth strip back around her calf.

Several people looked at her curiously, not knowing what Su Qing was doing. Qin Yu then handed the thing in his hand back to her. Su Qing took two steps forward, and they could see clearly that the two were taking out money.

Su Qing held a stack of worn new bills tightly in her hand. She carefully placed each new bill on the table, muttering to herself.

"One, two, three, eight..."

The scattered notes were all in very small denominations. She counted them for a long time and finally added up to seventy new notes.

"Accommodation at the base is also charged, and the prices vary depending on the conditions." The man spoke again.

The portly woman looked at the tattered money on the table and sneered, "Look at them, do they have any choice? They can live for free in the open-air shed area outside the base. You can pick any open space. But women, be careful. The people there are not picky. They will eat even the dirtiest women."

After hearing this, Su Qing was so scared that her eyes turned red. She turned her head to look at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu's eyes flashed with a trace of confusion, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he asked tentatively: "Then... Inner City, how much is the cheapest place in the inner city?"

"The mobile house costs 10 yuan a day, or 50 yuan a month. This is the cheapest."

Qin Yu took back ten yuan from the table, then pushed it towards the man and whispered, "First...pay for three days first. The rest is for three days' accommodation."

After receiving the access card and the number plate key to the mobile home, the two men left the tent and drove into the city.

Entering from the city gate, there is a two-way cement road separated by barbed wire. On the other side of the fence is an empty wasteland. This is the outer city of Wanhua Base. Anyone who pays a fee can settle down here. At the same time, there is no strict management here, no rules and regulations that must be followed, and no expensive housing prices like in the inner city. Although it is very unsafe, many people choose to live here.

The closer we got to the inner city isolation gate, the more people there were. The open space began to be filled with shabby tents or wooden boards with a space that could barely accommodate one person. In some places, there were sheds with rows of people lying underneath.

Su Qing sat in the passenger seat and looked at those people, then he saw several men and women stacked together. At the same time, the sound of men and women shouting loudly came in through the half-open car window.

Suddenly, everything went dark before his eyes, and Qin Yu stretched out his hands to cover Su Qing's eyes.

"Don't look."

The outer city is chaotic, poor, and has few rules. As long as it does not affect the inner city, no one cares about murder and arson. This kind of open-air battle is staged every day. People around have long been accustomed to it and no one cares.

Qin Yu stepped on the accelerator and drove away quickly from this messy place. After showing his access card and entering the inner city, he put down his hand that was blocking Su Qing's eyes. Su Qing blinked and looked at the inner city in front of him, which was obviously much better than the outside, and sighed in his heart.

The mobile housing area was on the edge of the inner city. Qin Yu followed the signs to find where they would live for the next few days.

The sun had risen by now, and there were fewer people outside. Everyone had an indifferent look on their faces, and they didn't care about the arrival of new faces. Qin Yu parked the car in the designated area, and the two of them came to the door of the mobile house, opened the lock and walked in.

The room was empty except for a broken wooden bed without even a mattress on it, and only half the space left for movement.

This instantly reminded Su Qing of the situation when she first came to this world. However, at least there were no holes or leaks here, which was slightly better than her original cabin.

The climate is hot and the prefabricated houses are too thin, making them feel like a steamer. Su Qing was sweating all over after just a few minutes of coming in. I really don't know how the people living here can survive.

Su Qing couldn't bear it any longer. She looked out the window and saw no one. She quickly took out several basins from her backpack and threw them full of big ice cubes. She also took out two popsicles and handed one to Qin Yu.

"It's too hot, eat some ice cream to cool down."

"This mission is special, so you can't be too ostentatious. You've suffered with me." Qin Yu walked forward with concern and wiped the sweat that kept sliding down Su Qing's cheeks.

The military received intelligence that Luo Xinxin's whereabouts were found in Wanhua Base, and sent Qin Yu to investigate. Su Qing followed him after knowing this. The two needed to keep a low profile and disguise themselves as poor refugees, so their options were very limited.

He could overcome any condition, but Qin Yu couldn't help asking Su Qing to suffer with him.

"Wait for me outside the base. I'm enough here by myself."

Su Qing took the ice cream back from Qin Yu's hand, tore open the bag and stuffed it into his mouth, then pulled him to sit on the bed.

Qin Yu took the ice cream out of his mouth with one hand, frowned and tried to get up, but saw Su Qing standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, a cunning light in her eyes.

"Commander Qin." She deliberately dragged out the last word and tapped his chest with her fingertips. "Now please sit here obediently and watch your girlfriend show off her magical powers!"

Afterwards, Qin Yu watched Su Qing tossing and turning in the room. The ice cream slowly melted on his tongue, and the refreshing coolness spread in his mouth. The ice basin in the room also continued to emit coldness, dispelling the heat in the room.

Su Qing first took out a thick cloth to cover the window, and then took out a solar-powered electric fan and waved it towards the ice basin, blowing the coolness into the entire room.

Then she came to the bed and motioned Qin Yu to stand up, put the old wooden bed into her backpack, and took out a broom to clean the dust on the floor.

Qin Yu ate the ice cream in a few bites and took the food from Su Qing's hand. "Let me do this kind of physical work."

Su Qing smiled and didn't fight with him. The two of them simply cleaned the house. She took out two moisture-proof mats and spread them on the floor. Then she put two mattresses on top, and then put two straw mats, two straw pillows and two silk quilts on top.

She clapped her hands. "Done. The air conditioning fan needs electricity. The generator is too loud and will be exposed. The ice basin is also effective in cooling. This place is too small, so we can only fit two mattresses. Let's make do." Su Qing raised an eyebrow at Qin Yu. "Well, I'm still very useful."

Qin Yu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, raised his thumb neatly, and his eyes were filled with undisguised admiration.

"As expected of the leader of China's first base! He's truly omnipotent."

"that's all?"

Qin Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly reached out and rubbed her hair, not hard, but with a bit of doting, "Well, I'm really lucky to have the favor of Chief Su."

Su Qing's ears felt hot, and she glared at him, but her fingertips secretly grasped the hem of his clothes, "Don't try that."

Qin Yu chuckled softly, stroking the slightly curled hair in her hair with his fingertips. "I'm telling the truth. I don't know how many good deeds I did in my previous life to be able to be with you in this life."

Su Qing took a deep breath and muttered in a whisper, "Let go if you keep talking nonsense."

Qin Yu hummed softly, and changed the hand that was kneading her hair to tapping the back of her neck, the rhythm like soothing a frantic cat, "Okay, I'll listen to Chief Su."