The two traveled for more than a month, replenishing their supplies with gasoline and water from the military along the way. The temperature continued to rise, and eventually, finding water along the route became extremely difficult.

When the safe zone appeared before her, Li Ke was shocked. More than three months had passed, and the place had changed drastically since she left.

Before her eyes was a vast expanse of green. A name flashed through Li Ke's mind: the oasis base that many people had heard about in her previous life, a place that everyone longed for, a place she had wanted to find but never managed to reach.

At this moment, Li Ke felt that this place was a perfect match for the Oasis Base in his previous life, except that this time it had a temporary name: the Joint Safe Zone.

After entering the safe zone, the temperature cooled down considerably, and there was plenty of shade along the way, which improved everyone's mood.

When Li Ke and his group came in, it was already evening. There were many people carrying bags walking through the green belt. They were in a hurry to get to the reception area to rest, so they didn't stop to ask what the people were doing.

Upon arriving at the reception area, Li Ke asked Niu Dazhuang to book two rooms. She felt like she was about to spoil after the journey. Although she had secretly cleaned herself occasionally behind Niu Dazhuang's back, the hot weather made her feel very uncomfortable.

After taking a shower, Li Ke rested for two days before setting off with Niu Dazhuang towards the Eighth District. Upon arriving in the Eighth District, she didn't linger. She simply greeted Qiu Feng and then left Niu Dazhuang behind to head to her new home in the Sixth District.

The two of them ran at breakneck speed, and ended up ahead of the returning troops. Qiu Feng said that the rescued people were still on their way and would probably not reach the safe zone for another half month.

Li Ke told them to handle these matters entirely, and not to bother her unless absolutely necessary.

Back in her new home in District Six, where only the main building had been completed when she left, the courtyard was now fully finished, and Song Xian had arranged for a small team of fifty people to guard it.

Li Ke simply greeted the gatekeeper and headed towards the basement. As for her new home, she would explore and furnish it after she had rested.

The news of Li Ke's return spread quickly. After she entered the safe zone reception center, some people who were paying attention to her already knew about her return.

Li Ke, who wanted some peace and quiet, didn't have many days of peace and quiet. She received a lot of invitations, some to banquets and others to visit her. Everyone knew that she had just returned home from a long journey, so they didn't bother her too much.

Li Ke looked at the pile of invitations but didn't open any of them. Song Xian had said he was going over, and she would wait for him to arrive before they looked at them together.

Another neighbor has appeared behind Li Ke's house, but the gate has always been closed. The housekeeper said that the neighbor has not moved in yet.

The Jian family moved in later and even came to deliver gifts, wanting to invite Li Ke to their home for a meal and a get-together. Li Ke was still hiding underground at the time, and the guard relayed this news to her after she came out of the space.

It is said that Jian Ye's wife is indeed in poor health. Although she has moved here, she has never shown her face. Li Ke picked out the invitation from the Jian family, which had the names of Jian Ye and Qin Mingyue on it.

Li Ke was surprised that the two of them had actually become husband and wife, but upon further reflection, he felt it made sense.

When Song Xian arrived, Li Ke was squatting in front of his green area, watching the people in the base catch insects and cut grass in the woods.

Watching them skillfully dig out ring-shaped hard-skinned insects from the ground, or sort and harvest the tall weeds that were taller than a person, Li Ke's mind wandered again.

She had seen these hard-skinned insects before. They looked tiny now, but once they awoke and grew a bit bigger, they would grow alongside plants and work together to hunt prey.

For a long time, humans thought they were smarter, more advanced mutant plants. It wasn't until people discovered mutant carnivorous animals tearing at these plants and insects detaching and escaping that they began to understand the situation and start researching them.

Did they discover anything? Li Ke didn't know. In her previous life, there weren't nearly as many of these insects as there are now. Of course, she had never seen such a large and numerous forest of greenwood.

Even until her death, forests were still scarce, a resource fought over by various bases. Although many people died every year, obtaining a complete forest ecosystem was still very difficult in her previous life.

Song Xian approached Li Ke, who immediately asked, "Do you know the purpose of the higher-ups collecting these things?"

Song Xian shook his head: "These grasses are said to be able to be used to extract fiber to make some daily necessities, and the insects are said to be able to be used as medicine, but these are all guesses from the people below. The people above have not said anything. But these things can be exchanged for real supplies, so everyone in the base with green areas is collecting them. We have bought quite a few green areas, so this time we have made a considerable harvest."

Li Ke listened to this information without saying a word. The core area was a restricted area that no one could enter, yet they were able to continuously trade with the bases that gathered there.

Song Xian continued recounting recent events: "Most of the bases with some influence have already moved here. Those bigwig bases have held six meetings of varying sizes, and the current situation has been reshuffled once again. On the surface, we seem somewhat isolated, but secretly, quite a few people are extending olive branches to us."

Since the situation in the safe zone has stabilized somewhat, the military has started recruiting soldiers. Anyone who passes the physical examination will be taken away, and their family members will receive a certain amount of living allowance.

There were quite a few applicants, but so far not many have been recruited. However, we've heard that many key personnel from smaller bases have been recruited.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!