move

President Ali picked up the wooden tray containing the dragon's right leg and handed it to him. His voice was old and carried a hint of weariness. "This is what I brought you here, right?"

Ling Shi nodded but didn't say anything.

"Take it," the old man said. "Take it."

Ling Shi was not sure and repeated: "Give it to us?"

It would be too easy to get the dragon's right leg in this way.

The old man stroked the remains of the dragon horn, still looking a little reluctant to let it go: "It's just... I feel a little sorry for Rashid. This thing is the result of his hard work..."

"Hmm?" Ling Shi suddenly had an idea. "Rashid... Is the President talking about... the researcher who studied the dragon horn remains?"

The old man came to his senses and did not answer the question about "Rashid". Instead, he said, "This dragon horn remains to us now, but it is only the culprit that attracts the corrupt people to attack us one after another, causing the deaths of our people one after another."

"If sacrificing a piece of the deadly dragon horn bone could save the 30,000 North Africans in this valley, I wouldn't hesitate a moment."

"Thirty thousand..." Ling Shi was a little surprised. They had just seen only a few hundred people.

The old man nodded. "The scenery in this valley is beautiful, but unfortunately, the supplies are too scarce to feed 30,000 people. Therefore, we have to go deeper and deeper, trying to dig up all the food in nature. The 30,000 people are becoming increasingly scattered. Unfortunately, even those who go the deepest are almost unable to collect enough wild fruits... If you hadn't appeared, our 30,000 people probably wouldn't survive more than half a year..."

These words were so sad that Ling Shi and the others didn't know how to respond.

Everyone was silent for a moment, and finally Lu Tingxiao spoke: "Since the president has given us what we want, we promise to properly accommodate everyone here. Please rest assured."

The old man nodded. "I have no other choice but to trust you. Do you have any ideas for how to accommodate them?"

Lu Tingxiao thought for a moment and said, "Although we can find a suitable place in North Africa for everyone to stay, without sufficient armed forces, we will not be able to survive the day-to-day attacks of the Corrupted. Therefore," he paused and looked into the old man's eyes, "I suggest that we all move to the Chinese base."

The old man was stunned and speechless for a moment.

It is a very difficult decision to ask everyone to leave their hometown and go away from the place where they have lived all their lives.

But if I don’t do this...where is the way out?

Knowing it intellectually is one thing, but emotionally it is extremely difficult to accept it.

"Please rest assured, President," Lu Tingxiao continued, "Once you arrive at the Chinese base, we can set aside a separate area just for you to live in. Furthermore, China can arrange personnel to assist you in training your own armed forces. If all goes well... perhaps in a few years, you will be able to return home one day."

The old man remained silent, thinking for several minutes. He finally sighed and nodded: "If you want to survive, there is no other way."

He then asked, "However, the transfer of 30,000 people is not an easy task. How many passenger planes do you have?"

Lu Tingxiao shook his head. "Not many. Preliminary estimates suggest that at most 300 people are being transferred per day."

The old man calculated the bill carefully and muttered, "In other words, it will take more than three months to settle everyone..."

"Yes." Lu Tingxiao nodded.

The old man sighed again: "If it takes so long..."

"Not only is there not enough food in the valley, but the number of corrupted people outside the cave, attracted by the remains of the dragon horn, is increasing day by day. They attack us frantically every two or three days. If we don't have enough strength to deal with these corrupted people, I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry." Lu Tingxiao comforted him, "Leave all these problems to us."

It was almost dusk, and the president arranged small cabins for the White Eagles to live in, so that they could rest in peace and wait until tomorrow to discuss the details of the relocation and resettlement of the people.

Although the living environment here is very spacious, Ling Shi still took the initiative to ask to live in the same room with Lu Tingxiao.

At night, after eating a simple meal, Lu Tingxiao leaned against the wooden bed and said to Ling Shi beside him, "Why do you have to share a room with me? Are you so reluctant to leave me?"

Although the room was simply furnished, the size and position of the two single beds were very similar to those in the dormitory at their base.

Ling Shi sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Lu Tingxiao across from him, and slowly exhaled: "Someone needs to stay and help them resist the corrupt people."

"Of course." Lu Tingxiao said, "I've already thought about it. Let Peng Gaoxuan take a few people to stay. He has the strongest defense and can hold out the longest."

Ling Shi shook his head and said in a soft but firm voice, "You know, just defense is not enough. The best defense is offense."

"Then let Xiang Chongyi stay, and Lai Xinyuan as well," Lu Tingxiao said. "One of them will attack from close range, and the other from a distance. If that doesn't work, let Zuo Hao stay too. That should be fine, right?"

Ling Shi exhaled slowly: "I'll stay. Without me, the casualties will increase exponentially."

Lu Tingxiao stopped talking.

The two were silent for a while, and Ling Shi continued, "Muye and Chu Yi are flying the plane. In the cabin, besides you, there's also Ma Minghong. Although most of these North Africans are weak, they've been fighting the corrupted people for so long, it's hard to say if one or two of them might be injured and suddenly become corrupted on the plane. Just like what happened in Rams..."

"I'll stay too." Lu Tingxiao said, "Let Ma Minghong take Qiu Bao and Tang Wu and send them back."

He had a stern face and showed a rare expression of obvious displeasure, and he didn't want to hide it at all.

Ling Shi sighed, "In the entire team, only you, with your rank and authority, have enough say within the base to secure a safe haven for these North Africans. Return to the base and negotiate with Prime Minister Yu and General Xiao. Only you can do this."

"Then I'll go back and be back soon." Lu Tingxiao said, "We have always been partners in fighting against the corrupt people."

Ling Shi slowly stood up, walked over to Lu Tingxiao's bedside, and then slowly sat on the edge, holding Lu Tingxiao's hand. "You know, the Prime Minister and the Generals are in fierce conflict at the base right now. If you just show up and leave, and leave for three whole months... there's no guarantee that the people you rescue won't become victims of their political struggle."

Lu Tingxiao let Ling Shi hold his hand, but sneered: "When did you learn about politics?"

Ling Shi sighed: "I'm just not interested, not stupid."

"The power within the base has always been precariously balanced. The influx of this group of North Africans could very well be the external force that upsets this equilibrium. No matter which side secures the support of these 30,000 people, the balance will tilt. Once the balance of power between the two sides is lost, large-scale bloodshed is inevitable."

He said sternly, "Lu Tingxiao, you need to go back and take charge. Keep these 30,000 people stable, and maintain the balance of the three forces within the base."

Lu Tingxiao understood every word Ling Shi said.

But just as the North African president does not want to leave his homeland, understanding it intellectually is one thing, and accepting it emotionally is another.

He continued to frown and said nothing.

Ling Shi leaned down, moved closer to Lu Tingxiao, and gently touched his stubborn lips: "Stop making trouble, be good."

Lu Tingxiao's eyes darkened suddenly, he grabbed Ling Shi's neck and pressed him down hard.

As if to vent his feelings, he kissed fiercely, sucked hard, and licked desperately... until the last breath of air was deprived, until the faint smell of blood filled the air...

Ling Shi pushed him away, licked the wound at the corner of his mouth, panted slightly, and cursed: "Are you a dog?"

Lu Tingxiao also licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "This is enough for you to remember me for a while."

Ling Shi cursed again: "Psycho! My brain is not broken, my memory functions normally, do I need you to remind me like this?"

Lu Tingxiao looked at him and chuckled.

*

The next morning, under the arrangement of the North African president, the first group of personnel returning to the Chinese base was determined.

Since there was only one plane, the president selected only ten people.

Lu Tingxiao had a stern face the whole time, as if someone owed him tens of millions, which scared the ten North Africans so much that two of them almost gave up their spots and turned away.

Ling Shi handed the remaining bones of the dragon horn to him. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only give him a tight hug and send them on the plane.

He watched the plane fly off the grass, into the sky, and gradually disappear from sight...

I feel a little uncomfortable.

After meeting Lu Tingxiao, the two of them saw each other every day, sometimes even stayed together all the time, and had never been apart...

It wasn't until this moment that Ling Shi realized that, since when, he had become accustomed to Lu Tingxiao's company...

Now that he's gone, there's no more mocking words or mischievous eyes...

Just as he was stunned, someone behind him suddenly shouted loudly: "Corrupt people! Corrupt people! They are coming again!"

Ling Shi quickly came back to his senses and glanced around.

Sure enough, a hundred meters away, behind a cluster of tall trees, the figures of the corrupt people appeared.

First a few, then a dozen, then dozens...

Ling Shi retreated quickly: "Establish a defense line."

The White Eagle team was already prepared. Qiu Bao and Tang Wu, who were at the front of the team, released the safety catch of their rocket launchers...

......

After a tough battle, Ling Shi was almost exhausted.

There were many dragon warriors among the North Africans. The people had been surrounded by the remains of the dragon's horn, immersed in the air with an excessively high visibility index, and many of them had evolved.

However, due to the lack of correct advancement methods and doctors to treat wounds, most of the dragon warriors here are first-level and have an extremely high mortality rate.

However, there are quite a few second-level and even third-level corruptible people.

Before the White Eagle Team arrived, the North Africans could only sacrifice their lives, dying in batches, to stop the corrupt people.

After the White Eagle Team arrived, the task of resisting the high-level corrupted people almost entirely fell on them.

Ling Shi led his team members to resist the advances of the corrupt people again and again.

Not only that, when there is no attack by the corrupt, he will discuss with the president where to re-establish the North African base in the future.

To this end, they sometimes leave the cave and look for a suitable place outside.

Sometimes, the places they found were so thoroughly destroyed by the corrupt that the cost of repairing them was too high, so they had to give up.

Sometimes, due to the long-term presence of corrupted people, the air concentration there would be very high. If feasible, Ling Shi would try to purify the air there to create conditions for further search.

Sometimes, they would occasionally encounter surviving humans, one or two, three or five, almost all on the verge of death. Every time they encountered someone, the president would be particularly happy and rescue them all and return them to the cave base...

As for Ji Ding, they never saw him again. The corrupt people on the street returned to their chaotic state.

On the other side, Lu Tingxiao returned to the base. No one knew how he managed to get the only two large passenger planes in the base from Xiao Yang and use them as a means of transporting the North Africans.

Muye and Chu Yi became full-time pilots, and together with the six air force soldiers sent by Xiao Yang, they took turns flying two planes, continuously transporting people from the North African base.

The move took three months...