Chapter 272 Arrival at the Base

Unlike the lively discussion atmosphere in Qiao Yu's team, the atmosphere in Yan Zijin's team was very quiet.

The members of Tianxing's team all felt a little strange. They didn't know why their captain had a gloomy face and was in a daze without saying a word since the beginning.

Yan Zijin pursed his lips tightly and lowered his eyes to think carefully about the battlefield he had just seen.

He already knew that he couldn't treat Pendulum and the others as an ordinary second-tier team.

But after seeing the battlefield, this feeling is even stronger.

The Pendulum's acumen and risk resistance far exceed those of ordinary second-level teams.

Even... maybe he is exceptionally outstanding in terms of supernatural powers.

Although he only took a quick glance at the battlefield just now, he found many unusual traces.

The charred ground, the mutated plants that were leaning here and there, and the ice layer that was obviously thicker than other ground... all made Yan Zijin confused.

Why are there such traces left?

Under what circumstances would such traces be left behind?

Yan Zijin was immersed in his own thoughts and couldn't extricate himself, his eyes unconsciously drifted to the RV beside him.

Tang Ran, who was sitting in the corner, clenched his palms slightly when he saw this.

So far this evening, the captain has glanced at the RV seven or eight times.

Following his gaze, one could vaguely see Qiao Yu's profile reflected in the car window.

Tang Ran gritted his teeth.

What's so good about Qiao Yu?

Why are all the eyes focused on her?

From the past to the present, no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, her brilliance would always be overshadowed by Qiao Yu.

She once really regarded Qiao Yu as her best friend.

But what about Qiao Yu?

What is she in Qiao Yu's heart?

The more Tang Ran thought about it, the darker his expression became, and he unconsciously exerted more force in his hands.

Suddenly, there was a "click" sound, and the instant noodle fork in Tang Ran's hand was broken by her.

"Ranran, what's wrong with you?" The team member next to him asked worriedly when he saw Tang Ran broke the fork.

Tang Ran finally came back to his senses and quickly shook his head, "It's okay, I was just thinking about something and accidentally got distracted."

Tang Ran was so anxious to explain to her teammates that she didn't notice Jiang Zhan glanced at her dimly from the RV not far away.

As luck would have it, Yan Zijin caught Jiang Zhan's eye again.

This time, since Yan Zijin and Tang Ran were not sitting close to each other, Yan Zijin could clearly see that Jiang Zhan was not looking at him.

But the terrifying and malicious aura remained the same as before.

Yan Zijin was suddenly startled when he thought about how Tang Ran was beside Jiang Zhan when he saw him before.

Could it be that he had been misunderstood all along, and Jiang Zhan was not actually looking at him, but... Tang Ran?

Yan Zijin frowned.

Did Tang Ran offend Jiang Zhan?

Yan Zijin thought about it and felt that this assumption might not be true.

Although he didn't have much contact with Jiang Zhan, he could sense that Jiang Zhan was a very indifferent person.

People like this usually don't care about a lot of things.

But if someone offends someone he cares about... then that's a different matter.

Could it be that something unpleasant had happened between Tang Ran and Qiao Yu before?

For a moment, Yan Zijin's expression changed again and again.

He had no intention of becoming an enemy of the pendulum, and he couldn't take any risks in this situation.

If Tang Ran really offended Qiao Yu...

Yan Zijin pursed his lips, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.

It seems that he still needs to find a way to find out what happened between Tang Ran and Qiao Yu.

--

After the two teams rested for a night in the temporary camp, they set out for the survivor base in City A at dawn the next day.

Although Qiao Yu and others were very curious about what was in the Municipal Hospital of City A, it was obvious that the exchange meeting was more important now.

The city hospital is too dangerous and it is not worth their risk at this moment.

The convoy headed north and eventually entered City A again from the north.

The survivor base in City A is not as large as that in City G, but this exchange meeting was still well organized.

A long red banner was even hung at the entrance of the base.

A festive atmosphere.

When Qiao Yu and Yan Zijin's team entered the base, they asked the guard at the door and found that Xiang Heng and Baili Zhuo's team had not arrived yet.

"Nothing will happen to them, right?"

Cheng Sinian frowned, a hint of doubt flashing across his face.

"Don't overthink it." Qiao Yu pursed her lips. "Maybe we just left early. Xiang Heng and Baili Zhuo are both capable people, so nothing will go wrong."

"Let's go in first."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingchuan nodded, took his ID to negotiate with the guard, and then led everyone into the base.

Everyone followed the A City Guard's car and arrived at the entrance of the research institute without any obstruction.

At this time, a group of researchers in white coats were standing at the door.

After everyone got off the bus, a fair-skinned, kind-looking old man who looked to be in his sixties came up to them and shook hands enthusiastically with Professor Kang, Professor Shen, and Yu Qingchuan.

"Professor Kang, Professor Shen, and Researcher Yu, I've long heard of your great names. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Professor Kang, Professor Shen, and Yu Qingchuan also politely shook hands in return.

"I guess you are Ruan Weiqing, Dr. Ruan?" Professor Shen asked gently.

"Yes, yes, that's me."

After everyone exchanged greetings at the door, Dr. Ruan led everyone into the research institute.

Qiao Yu and the others always kept in mind their "assistant" identities and followed Professor Kang, Professor Shen and Yu Qingchuan seriously.

After a brief tour, Dr. Ruan led everyone out of the back door of the institute building and went to another building.

"This is the staff dormitory of our research institute," Dr. Ruan introduced softly. "Our conditions here are very simple. I'm sorry to bother you all to stay here for the next few days of the exchange meeting."

When Qiao Yu and his companions first came in, they discovered that the building was heavily guarded.

Although the official reason is that this is to protect the participants, everyone is not a fool and more or less knows the deeper meaning behind it.

——These people are both protecting and monitoring.

Dr. Ruan whispered a few words to the assistant beside him, roughly asking the assistant to count the number of people in the team and the number of rooms needed, and then arrange accommodation.

After the assistant nodded in understanding, Dr. Ruan turned around and smiled at the crowd, saying, "You've just arrived and must have had a tiring journey. Please rest in your rooms for now. Our exchange meeting will be held tomorrow. Someone will be responsible for notifying you of the time and location this evening."

"Meals will be delivered to your rooms on time every day. If you have any other needs, please feel free to tell my assistant."