missing

"Who is it!" Ji Ding shouted, and subconsciously stretched out his hand to block the other person.

The pitch-black face started in fright at the same time as he did, and it jumped back several times violently and unsteadily, almost falling down.

Ji Ding felt relieved by the other party's staggering behavior, which was almost like a clown.

At least it's not something strong and threatening...

When Ji Ding looked clearly, he found that there was an old man opposite him.

He was so old that it was almost impossible to tell his age, or perhaps so dirty that it was almost impossible to tell his age. There were wrinkles all over his face, three on the left and three on the right, as if it were a farmland that had just been run over by a herd of angry cows.

He was clutching a large cloth bag tightly in his hand, leaning against the wall, and carefully sizing up Ji Ding.

After staring at each other for half a minute, Ji Ding frowned and asked hesitantly, "President of Country M?"

The man jumped up as if he was burned by sparks and ran backwards as if escaping.

Behind him was the staircase leading to the basement, and he ran towards the dark and gloomy place below.

Ji Ding shouted, "Catch him!"

While shouting, he ran out.

However, he had only run two steps when the old man in front of him was caught.

Xiang Chongyi grabbed one of his arms, making him completely unable to move.

"Who are you?" The old man struggled desperately, but it was no use: "Who are you?!"

Xiang Chongyi looked towards Lu Tingxiao.

Lu Tingxiao stepped forward and said in a gentle voice, "President Xirui, long time no see. Don't you recognize me?"

President Xirui shuddered for a moment before slowly shifting his gaze to his face.

Since the end of the world, Lu Tingxiao's appearance has not changed much. He has a medium-long hairstyle, which is much more difficult to manage than the ordinary short hair of the soldiers, but he looks several times more handsome.

His skin was already a lustrous tan, and the recent increase in time outdoors had done nothing to change that.

So, even after a painful apocalyptic era, his former acquaintances could still easily recognize him.

“You are…” President Xirui’s fingers trembled a little: “Ambassador Lu?”

Lu Tingxiao politely extended his hand: "Yes, it's nice to meet you, Mr. President."

This is a very common greeting in diplomatic occasions, but in the scene before him, it is not ordinary at all.

Lu Tingxiao was really happy.

He glanced at the big cloth bag in the President's hand, his eyes frank and unconcealed.

After working so hard for so long and going through several near-death experiences, everything is about to come to fruition.

Ling Shi’s wish is about to come true!

Perhaps because his gaze was too intense, President Xirui not only did not shake his hand, but instead tightened the bag in his hand and timidly took a half step back. He looked at the dozen or so White Eagle team members in front of him and swallowed hard: "We, we have a lot of people..."

A lot of people?

Lu Tingxiao tilted his head.

How many? And what kind of... status are they in?

Is this... a threat based on numbers, or a request for help based on the current desperate situation?

At this moment, figures swayed in the shadows of the basement, and one figure after another gradually appeared.

There are indeed a lot of people.

But they were silent, without making any sound, and did not even take one more step toward the upward stairs.

"Mr. President," Lu Tingxiao said, looking at the people below, "Since the apocalypse, Chinese bases have been rotating around the world to rescue survivors."

"If your number does not exceed 100, you can return to China with us this time. You will have plenty of food, comfortable beds, and a warm and clean living environment. You don't need to do anything extra. Just like ordinary Chinese citizens, you can make a contribution according to your ability."

After these words were spoken, the people below started to move.

The impatient ones were already ascending the stairs, while others were whispering to each other, discussing something.

A figure gradually walked out of the darkness and slowly appeared before everyone's eyes.

What is surprising is that this person is not of the common M country race. Instead, he has dark skin and thick lips, and looks very similar to the North African race.

"What you just said..." the man said in fluent Chinese, "...is that you treat us equally?"

Lu Tingxiao: "What kind of equality do you want?"

The scope of equality is too broad. Even the residents of China cannot get absolute equality, let alone the residents of Country M.

The man said without hesitation, "I want to study dragon horns. If you promise to give me a laboratory and provide research equipment and supplies, I will go with you immediately."

Lu Tingxiao was stunned.

I've seen strange things, but never something this strange.

Look at how thin this guy is. He probably hasn't eaten properly for many days. His life is in danger. How dare he put forward such conditions right at the start?

He subconsciously glanced at Ling Shi and saw that Ling Shi was staring at the man without blinking.

It was as if something extremely important was being reviewed.

"Hey," he patted Ling Shi's arm with the back of his hand, "What are you looking at?"

It's not necessarily about looking at people's handsomeness, right?

It was almost impossible to see his eyes, nose, or mouth. His face looked like a flat lump covered with thick black mud.

"What's your name?" Ling Shi suddenly asked.

The man was stunned for a moment and replied, "My name is Rashid."

Ling Shi's eyes lit up: "Are you from Country M?"

Rashid shook his head. "I'm from North Africa. It was..." He pointed at President Siree. "He had me abducted by force."

Now Lu Tingxiao understood everything.

This person turned out to be the genius researcher that the North African president had been thinking about all the time!

It was he who, in the short time since taking over the remains of the Dragon Horn, had discovered many of its secrets! Ling Shi even hailed him as a genius far superior to him!

He is still alive.

"President Ali is already at the Chinese base," Ling Shi said with a smile, "He misses you very much."

This sentence immediately excited Rashid: "Is President Ali still alive? Did he... mention me? Do you know me?"

As he muttered, he tightly grabbed Ling Shi's sleeve.

Ling Shi patted his arm soothingly: "Yes, he told me a lot about you, and kept blaming himself for not protecting you."

Seeing the physical distance between the two getting closer and closer, Lu Tingxiao suddenly felt a subtle sense of crisis and dissatisfaction.

The two are talented scientific researchers who share the common attributes of "genius" and "scientific research" and have an aura of xenophobia.

I always feel that in the days to come, they will have endless common topics to talk about and undisguised appreciation for each other.

When they achieve important research results, they cheer and celebrate together...

Lu Tingxiao said, "Hey, now's not the time to make friends."

He pointed to the crowd in the shadows of the basement and said, "Let's pick up the survivors."

Rashid stopped chatting with Ling Shi and waved to the people below: "Come up quickly."

After hearing his words, the people below no longer hesitated and ran up one after another. They all seemed to obey Rashid's words.

He originally thought that they were North Africans who were captured with him, but unexpectedly he saw the faces of people from the M country.

Rashid smiled sheepishly: "There are some twists and turns here. I'll explain it to you in detail later."

Lu Tingxiao didn't want to listen either. Relying on his absolute military superiority and a subtle sense of displeasure, he threw all his pride away and snatched the bag from President Xirui's arms. He told Ma Minghong, "Send everything aboard the plane."

Now the value of the two planes is revealed.

Ma Minghong arranged for all the refugees from Country M to board civil aviation.

According to the previous rescue practice, Lu Tingxiao, Ma Minghong and others went to the civil aircraft and were responsible for escorting/protecting the group of M people.

Ling Shi, half of the White Eagle team members, and Ji Ding returned to the base on the combat transport ship they came in. He also invited Rashid to join them.

Along the way, Ling Shi listened to him talk about what happened after the apocalypse.

It turned out that President Xirui kidnapped him from North Africa with the intention of letting him continue his research on the dragon horn bones.

Unexpectedly, before he had the chance to participate, the human experiment went wrong, the doomsday era came, and Country M fell immediately.

President Xirui could only hide in the safe base in the basement with a small number of people.

Rashid didn't expect that the president would take him along.

From this perspective, he is grateful to the president.

However, the safe base has limited supplies, and the hundreds of people there have almost reached their limit after living there for several months.

At the critical moment of life and death, the title of president is no longer useful. Xirui wants to enjoy resources first, and has fierce conflicts with people around him again and again.

Rashid, on the other hand, because of his gentle personality and smart mind, can always make reasonable suggestions, distribute supplies well, and get along well with the people around him.

Until the end, President Xirui held on to the dragon horn skull tightly and planned to go out alone to find a way out.

Until they met the White Eagles.

After finding the last skull, Ling Shi was in a very happy mood. After listening to Rashid's gossip and having a good sleep on the plane, they arrived at the Chinese base.

The speed of the combat transport ship was much faster than that of a civilian aircraft. Ling Shi did not wait for Lu Tingxiao and the others. He went into the base first, settled Rashid down, found him some clean clothes to change into, and ordered someone to bring him hot water and meals, and then let him have a good rest.

After finishing his work, Ling Shi sat in the living room of his dormitory to rest and looked at the time.

When he was at the North African base, he promised Lu Tingxiao that he would rest well and not go out for three months after returning this time.

The corners of his mouth curled up.

I haven’t been back for a long time, and I really miss the dormitory at the base.

However, three months is too long. When Lu Tingxiao comes back, I will discuss with him to shorten the time to half a month.

Now that the remaining bones of the dragon horn have been gathered, it would be better to get rid of this great evil as soon as possible to feel at ease.

After waiting for another hour, Ling Shi lost his patience and called Makino: "Hasn't the civil aircraft arrived yet?"

Makino: "Captain Ling, I was just about to report to you. Captain Lu's civilian aircraft... is missing."

Ling Shi's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean it's gone?"