40. Supply Station

Sun Hui stepped forward, took out a laminated black ID from her pocket, and handed it to the guard. The guard took it, glanced at it, said "Wait a moment," and then turned and quickly walked into the village gate.

Fu Yunong looked up and noticed that there was a simple watchtower on each side of the village gate, with a man holding a rifle standing on each one, scanning their group warily. Even Hua Hua was stared at intently.

Before long, a middle-aged man wearing a dark cotton hat and with a slightly overweight build came out with the guard.

Upon seeing Sun Hui, he immediately extended his hand warmly, "Captain Sun, we've been waiting for you to come back!" After shaking hands, his gaze swept over Sun Hui's back, but he didn't see any familiar figures. A look of doubt appeared on his face: "Where are Old Wang and the others?" He then turned to Fu Yunong and the others, his eyes filled with obvious scrutiny.

Sun Hui's tone turned serious. "It's not convenient to go into details. These are guests from the base, please treat them well, Station Chief Zhao." She then turned to Fu Yunong and the others and introduced, "This is Station Chief Zhao Tianrong of this supply station."

"Hello, Station Chief Zhao." Fu Yunong and the others greeted him with smiles, and Shi Dong nodded slightly in response.

Zhao Tianrong immediately put on a smile, "Since you are a guest, we must treat you well!" He then turned to the side and made a "please" gesture, "Please come in."

Upon entering the village, Fu Yunong discovered that it was quite large, with wooden houses and prefabricated buildings built against the mountainside in a well-organized manner, and the terrain undulating with the hillside, making it look like a regular village.

People came and went in the village, all wrapped up like rice dumplings, busy with their heads down. Some were carrying supplies, while others were reinforcing the fences, creating a well-organized scene.

Fu Yunong's eyes sparkled; this was the first time she had ever seen so many living people. Unlike those she had encountered before, the people here, though weathered by time, did not possess the numbness of despair. Instead, they exuded a sense of peace and security, as if they were living a stable life under the protection of the rules.

Zhao Tianrong noticed her gaze and said with a hint of pride, "Our station currently has more than 600 people, each with their own responsibilities, and every single one of them is excellent."

"Station Chief Zhao is a capable manager. Your base is truly fortunate to have someone as talented as you," Fu Yunong said, taking the opportunity to praise him.

Zhao Tianrong smiled even more broadly, "You flatter me. It's all thanks to the base's cultivation and the concerted efforts of my colleagues."

The group was led to a prefabricated house in the middle of the village. The house looked like a temporary housing unit on a construction site, but when they opened the door, they found it to be very well sealed. Inside, there were three bunk beds made of iron, no windows, and a kerosene lamp hanging on the wall.

"Please rest here for a while. I'll have someone bring you charcoal and food right away." Zhao Tianrong rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat troubled. "It's just that... hot water can't be supplied for the time being. Our station is short of supplies, and everyone has to boil water once a month. Please bear with us."

"It's already very good, no need to trouble Station Chief Zhao." Fu Yunong and the others expressed their understanding.

Just then, a short, stocky man with a large black mole on his right chin and a buzz cut came over and called out, "Brother-in-law!" But as soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that the occasion was inappropriate and immediately changed his address, "Station Chief Zhao, I need to talk to you."

Zhao Tianrong smiled apologetically at Fu Yunong and the others, "Please rest, everyone. I'll take my leave now." After saying that, he followed the man outside.

Before leaving, the man glanced at the group with ill intent, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Shi Dong frowned slightly—another fool who doesn't know his own mortality.

At this moment, the man had already asked Zhao Tianrong, "Brother-in-law, what's the background of those women?"

Zhao Tianrong glared at him and said irritably, "Those are guests from the base! Captain Sun is a superhuman, do you think she brought ordinary people? You better behave yourself and don't cause trouble!"

The man's name was Guo Yong. He was the younger brother of Zhao Tianrong's wife. Relying on this relationship, he had risen from the bottom of the base to this supply station at a young age and became a minor leader in charge of logistics.

He verbally agreed, but inwardly he was skeptical. Everyone said that people with superpowers were incredibly powerful, but he figured it was just a matter of being stronger than ordinary people. How strong could a woman be? No matter how strong she was, could she be stronger than a gun?

Not long after Zhao Tianrong left, Sun Hui said she had something to do and also left.

Soon, two young men brought charcoal and food. Each person received two boiled potatoes, plus a large bowl of some kind of dark, mushy paste that smelled faintly musty.

Fu Yunong's appetite had long been spoiled by Xiao Linfang. She barely ate a potato and handed the bowl of porridge to Huahua, but Huahua also disliked it.

There was no other way, so she took out bread from her spatial storage, all kinds of bread, the largest being pineapple buns with butter inside, and also took out a few pieces of chocolate to distribute among the group. It was such a cold day; they needed to replenish their energy.

Sun Hui didn't return until dark, saying she had arranged with Zhao Tianrong to have the station staff help repair the vehicle and replenish some basic supplies the next day, after which they would head to the base. Fu Yunong nodded, remembering Sun Hui's nearly broken-down off-road vehicle.

After such a long interval, the group finally got to sleep in proper beds, even if they were just four-poster beds, which was much more comfortable than sleeping outdoors in the open.

The night was calm and uneventful.

The next morning, after eating the hard, dark bread delivered by the supply station and drinking a few sips of soy milk that tasted as bland as water, the group followed Sun Hui to the entrance of the village.

Both vehicles were lifted up, and several workers were using tools to repair them.

Guo Yong rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and came closer. His eyes darted flirtatiously over Fu Yunong and Xiao Linfang, and he greeted them with a grin, "Ladies, did you sleep well?"

Fu Yunong, with the mindset of "better to avoid trouble," casually nodded to get by.

Unexpectedly, Guo Yong thought he had a chance, his eyes lit up, and he pressed his advantage by moving closer. A stench mixed with various strange smells hit her in the face, and Fu Yunong subconsciously stepped aside and covered her nose.

Guo Yong was displeased. What did that mean? Was she looking down on him? Just you wait!

His face darkened, and he turned to the workers repairing the vehicle, yelling, "Stop everything! Go and move the supplies from the warehouse first, we'll fix this vehicle later!"

The workers looked at the dismantled parts and then at Guo Yong's unfriendly expression. In the end, they didn't dare to argue and put down their tools to leave.

"Stop right there!" Sun Hui frowned and shouted sharply, "Who gave you the guts? You're delaying our return to base. Can you take responsibility if something goes wrong?"

"Captain Sun, don't be angry." Guo Yong waved his hand with a grin. "What work do we do that isn't for the base? We can't afford to delay it, can we?"

Sun Hui was furious. She could tolerate being humiliated elsewhere, but how dare a nobody like you take advantage of her?

A flash of brown light appeared in her eyes, and a two-meter-long stone spear materialized out of thin air. With a flick of her wrist, the stone spear pierced the ground at Guo Yong's feet with a "thud." "I think you're tired of living!"

Guo Yong was so frightened that he stood frozen in place. What kind of strange ability was this?

Just then, a "clatter" sound came from the watchtower! Two guards with rifles turned their guns toward Fu Yunong and her group, their eyes warily locked onto Sun Hui.

"Don't move!" someone shouted sternly from the watchtower.

Fu Yunong and his group immediately went on high alert.

"Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Zhao Tianrong rushed over, waving at the watchtower and shouting urgently, "Put down your guns!"

Upon hearing this, the guard moved his gun away and aimed it back at the outside of the village.

Zhao Tianrong breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Sun Hui with a forced smile, "Captain Sun, please calm down. This kid is ignorant. I'll have him apologize to you immediately!" He then turned to the workers and yelled, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and fix it! Don't delay Captain Sun and the guests' important business!"

"No need," Fu Yunong suddenly said. She no longer trusted these people; who knew if they might tamper with the car?

She tapped her hand lightly in the air a few times, and the next second, the SUV, which had been dismantled into pieces, floated up automatically. The parts were quickly put back together as if they were alive, and in just over ten seconds, it was restored to its original state and looked brand new.

Everyone present was stunned. They rubbed their eyes and looked again. It was indeed not a hallucination; the car was parked there perfectly intact!

Guo Yong panicked completely, finally realizing who he had offended. He immediately shrank behind Zhao Tianrong, not daring to breathe.

Sun Hui, however, had no intention of letting the matter rest. She turned to Zhao Tianrong and said, "Station Chief Zhao, is this how you manage your subordinates? This is a station of the base, not your backyard! Today, either I'll clean house for the base, or you can wait for me to go back and report this. You can forget about keeping your position as station chief!"

Zhao Tianrong glared at Guo Yong resentfully, and finally sighed helplessly, "You are the superior, so do as you please."

Sun Hui was too lazy to waste words with him. She pressed her right hand down suddenly, and the ground suddenly shook. A row of sharp soil spikes rose from the ground and pierced through Guo Yong's feet in an instant.

"Ah!!!" Zhao Tianrong exclaimed in fright and quickly hid to the side.

"Brother-in-law... save me..." Guo Yong's mouth gushed blood, his body convulsed, and he looked at Zhao Tianrong with pleading eyes.

Zhao Tianrong closed his eyes briefly, then turned his face away, unable to bear it.

Shi Dong stood aside and watched coldly, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Tianrong's face, silently making a mental note of him.

Zhao Tianrong dared not be negligent in the slightest. He personally led people to move several bulging bamboo boxes and piled them next to Fu Yunong's car.

"Captain Sun, these are the supplies our station has gathered. You'll need them on the road." He had a fawning smile on his face.

Shi Dong casually rummaged through the rice and found there were still grains of white rice left. She raised an eyebrow; it turned out that everything before had just been a facade.

Sun Hui's bike was no longer usable, so she hitched a ride with Fu Yunong and the others, while Lin Songsong and Huahua continued riding their bikes.

Zhao Tianrong walked out of the village gate, a stiff smile still on his face. "I won't see you off. I wish you a safe journey and a speedy arrival at the base."

No one answered him.

The smile on Zhao Tianrong's face vanished as soon as the vehicle disappeared at the end of the mountain road.

"Station manager, what... what should we do?"

Zhao Tianrong glanced at Guo Yong's corpse and said hatefully, "What can we do? He was blind and deserved to die!"

He looked up at the vultures circling overhead, gritted his teeth, and said, "Get me paper and a pen!"