Chapter 79 Joint Mission

The Peace Base isn't entirely without merit; in fact, it has many aspects that the Spark Base could learn from. What Jiang Rong values ​​most is the Peace Base's electricity and communications. The Peace Base has civilian electricity, and there's mobile phone signal within its boundaries.

There's a thermal power plant to the north of the Peace Base, generating enough electricity to power the entire base, with surplus power to spare. The people at Peace Base were prepared for Jiang Rong to ask for electricity, but after a moment of amazement and envy, Jiang Rong and her group said nothing more.

Electricity from power plants is much better than electricity from solar power and diesel generators, so Jiang Rong naturally wants a stable supply of electricity.

But if they were to speak to Meng Liang, it would be as if someone had a lifeline for the Spark Base in their hands. If a conflict were to break out between the two bases in the future, and the Peace Base were to cut off the power, the Spark Base's vital facilities would be rendered useless.

In contrast, Jiang Rong preferred a power plant. However, the situation at Xinghuo Base was different from that at Heping Base; their base had fewer people, and building a power plant would require a huge investment of manpower and resources.

Jiang Rong wrote the words "power plant" in her notebook, and then wrote "wait" after it.

Although the Xinghuo Base cannot build a power plant now, as long as the base continues to develop steadily, sooner or later they will be able to attract technical talents and build their own power plant.

While the civilian electricity problem couldn't be solved for the time being, the communication problem could be resolved. After some friendly negotiations, the Peace Base dispatched a 100-person technical team to assist the Spark Base in restoring communication signals.

Jiang Rong and his group stayed at the Peace Base for three days, during which the leaders of the two bases held several cordial talks. On the morning of the fourth day, it was time for them to return.

Jiang Rong politely shook Meng Liang's hand: "President Meng, thank you for helping us solve a big problem."

Meng Liang smiled weakly, “It’s only right. Our Peace Base also needs to rely on the Starfire Base sometimes. This time you brought the brothers to my base, not only bringing us vegetables, but also a lot of seeds. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

Meng Liang looked sadly in the direction of the Spark Base: "These past two days, I've been thinking about what kind of base the Spark Base is in my dreams. It must be very beautiful to produce so many resources. It's just a pity that my body is useless; even leaving this building has become a problem. Otherwise, I really want to go and see the Spark Base."

Even though Jiang Rong was wary of Meng Liang, seeing the gloom in a patient's eyes, he couldn't help but say, "There will be many opportunities in the future. Mr. Meng, please take good care of yourself. Once you have recovered, you are welcome to come to the Xinghuo Base anytime."

Meng Liang smiled slightly and shook hands with Jiang Rong again: "I look forward to that day."

As Jiang Rong and her group slowly departed, Meng Liang's eyes shone like two silver lamps. The superhumans around him remained expressionless, their pupils reflecting a silver light.

*

When Jiang Rong and his group arrived, they received a warm welcome from the entire base, and when they left, they were naturally given a warm farewell. The people of Peace Base gathered at the entrance, banging drums and gongs. Jiang Rong and his group waved several times before boarding their return vehicle.

Zhou Xing led his convoy ahead, intending to escort Jiang Rong and her group to the checkpoint ten miles outside the Peace Base. If the roads were clear, the journey of ten miles wouldn't take long.

When the convoy stopped again near the checkpoint, everyone saw Zhou Xing jumping up and down with a walkie-talkie in his hand: "Everyone's gone?!" Then a string of curses burst from Zhou Xing's mouth: "Zombies? Zombies my ass! Open your eyes and look carefully, there are no zombies in broad daylight!!"

After Zhou Xing finally finished yelling, Chu Qiang asked with concern, "What's wrong? Why did you get so angry?"

Zhou Xing scratched his cheek in frustration. "I shouldn't be angry at such an important occasion, but those people down there were just too much. I didn't say anything about not completing the mission, but they actually started spouting nonsense, saying they saw zombies. Can you believe that?"

Everyone nodded in understanding; no wonder Zhou Xing was so angry. If there really were zombies, survival for ordinary people would be even more difficult after the major crisis. Now that almost a year has passed since the major crisis, no one would believe that there were zombies.

Jiang Jinhu comforted him, "Old Zhou, don't be angry. It's probably just an excuse from those guys down there because they're afraid you'll scold them. Go back and have a good talk with them. If it's really troublesome, just send us a message."

Zhou Xing's anger slowly subsided. "Captain Jiang, brothers, even a thousand miles of farewell must come to an end. I'll see you off here for today. We'll all sit down and have a good drink and eat another day!"

Jiang Rong smiled and nodded: "Go back quickly, and be careful."

After watching Zhou Xing's vehicle drive away in the rearview mirror, Jiang Rong heard three rhythmic knocks coming from the radio. The convoy drove a few miles forward and then stopped again, with Jiang Jinhu and his team scanning each vehicle with their instruments.

After confirming that nothing suspicious was in their car, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Pan Pan let out a long sigh of relief: "They say you can't be too careful, but if you have to be on guard all the time, it'll be exhausting."

As soon as the words were spoken, the supernatural powers flowing through everyone finally quieted down. Circulating their powers tirelessly for several days without sleep had not been easy for them.

Jiang Rong turned her head to look in the direction of the Peace Base. Even from more than ten kilometers away, they could still see the silhouette of the Peace Building. Guan Shao said slowly, "What? Still worried about Meng Liang?"

Jiang Rong nodded slightly: "Although he looks like he's terminally ill, I still feel like something's not right."

Chu Qiang said optimistically, "Xiao Jiang, don't worry. With Meng Liang's health, who knows how long he can hold on? Now that we've left the Peace Base, it'll be difficult for him to control us even if he wanted to."

Jiang Rong smiled gently: "That's true." After a pause, he waved to everyone, "Get in the car, we should go home."

After being away from the base for three or four days, everyone really missed home.

*

Time flies, and it's already late May. The Spark Base has once again ushered in a bumper harvest. Last winter, the Spark Base harvested a lot of vegetables, but this time the harvest is mainly grains and rapeseed.

In late May, the Xinghuo base was filled with the fragrance of wheat. After the combine harvesters circled the fields, the warehouses were filled with clean, plump wheat grains. The empty roads and squares of the base became drying grounds, where large swathes of wheat and dark rapeseed were drying.

Children and villagers walked in groups into the harvested fields, carefully picking up any wheat grains that hadn't been completely harvested. The food in the base was hard-earned; not a single grain could be wasted.

After the wheat and rapeseed were dried, the flour mill and oil mill at the base started operating. A variety of pasta dishes appeared on everyone's tables, and golden rapeseed oil was used. For a long time to come, the base would not lack food.

The straw was bundled up and collected; it can be used to feed grubs and other herbivores, or as firewood. The harvested land needs to be tilled and left to dry for a period of time before rice seedlings or other crops can be planted next month.

In late May, many cell towers were erected at the base. After nearly a year of silence, residents were finally able to make and receive phone calls again; however, the signal was currently only available within the base, and weakened outside of it.

By May, residents at other bases were plagued by mosquitoes. However, the Xinghuo base had few mosquitoes, thanks to the abundance of frogs and bullfrogs in its fields. Although they are delicious, the base had been focusing on protecting these beneficial animals since last year. After several months of nurturing, the number of amphibians at the base had increased significantly, and pests and diseases had decreased considerably.

The Starfire Base is thriving, but the world outside is incredibly harsh. After months of breeding and reproduction, mutated plants and animals roam freely outside the base. Those with supernatural abilities must be extremely cautious when venturing out to find supplies; a slight misstep could mean they never return.

On May 25th, the superhuman team received a distress call from the Peace Base. The person who sent the distress call was Meng Liang, whose voice was growing weaker, "President Jiang, I'm sorry to trouble you. Zhou Xing from our base went to W City next door on a mission last week, but he hasn't returned. The base has sent nearly two hundred superhumans to search for him, but not a single one has come back."

Jiang Rong was astonished: "So many people, and none of them have returned?"

Meng Liang responded, "It's not just our Peace Base; the ability users at the Southern 'New Human' Base haven't returned either, nor have those at several surrounding smaller bases. Roughly estimated, the number of ability users who haven't been able to return has exceeded six hundred."

Upon hearing this number, everyone gasped: "So many people?!"

Jiang Rong asked seriously, "President Meng, may I ask what mission Captain Zhou and his team went on?"

After a moment's hesitation, Meng Liang said, "We need to find medicine. W City has the best medical laboratories and pharmaceutical companies in the country. Since the beginning of spring, the number of people injured by mutated plants and animals at various bases has risen sharply. Without enough medicine, there will be many unnecessary casualties. Therefore, several of our bases are planning to restart their pharmaceutical companies..."

Meng Liang apologized, "I'm sorry, President Jiang, our base is just a small one compared to other bases, so we don't have much influence. Please don't mind that I didn't tell you beforehand."

Jiang Rong didn't mind. Compared to large bases, even the Peace Base was just a little brother, let alone the Spark Base. He said seriously, "President Meng, let's skip the formalities. How many ability users do you need from us? When will we take action?"

Meng Liang raised his voice slightly: "I was thinking, if our two bases can gather three hundred superhumans, can we contribute two hundred and you contribute one hundred? If so, have your people gather in front of our base gate tomorrow morning."

Jiang Rong readily agreed: "Okay."

After hanging up the radio, Wang Chenggang sneered: "They didn't say a word about something as important as restarting the pharmaceutical factory. Now that there's trouble, they're suddenly thinking about working together."

Jiang Jinhu chuckled twice: "If Zhou Xing weren't such a nice guy, I really wouldn't want to bother with them."

Jiang Rong took a deep breath: "Even without Zhou Xing, we still have to go. Medicine is very important. Even if we don't need it, the ordinary people in the base do." People eat grains and other foods, and they're bound to get sick. They need medicine, and even if they don't use it, having it in their own warehouse gives them peace of mind.

Guan Shao said slowly, "I'll go select the accompanying team." After a pause, he considered his words and said, "This mission is quite dangerous, so I suggest that our team split into two parts. I'll take Jin Hu and the others, and you guys stay at the base."

Jiang Rong understood Guan Shao's meaning. With over six hundred superhumans unable to return, there must be something terrifying inside the pharmaceutical factory. Just to be on the safe side, it was indeed necessary to leave some people at the base as a precaution.

Jiang Rong simply didn't want to be the one left behind. As one of the base's leaders, he couldn't just hide behind his comrades when faced with difficulties. Although his physical abilities weren't as good as Guan Shao's, if a real fight broke out, Xiao Guaiguai and Xiao Xiannv wouldn't be any worse than anyone else. Besides, this was a mission in cooperation with other bases, and it would be better if he was there.

Jiang Rong glanced at Guan Shao calmly, and Guan Shao quickly understood his meaning. He said helplessly, "I understand. Pretend I didn't say anything."

Chu Qiang then laughed: "That makes sense. We are the strongest team in the Starfire Base. How can we split up and operate separately?"

Author's Note:

My head hurts so much, my brain feels like mush... TAT

I'm feeling so uncomfortable even though I don't have any positive symptoms.