Chapter 197: People live by their breath, trees live by their skin

Order from headquarters?

Qiao Lan said, "To destroy the Temple, my companions and I can all join the battle to help you. We have a long-standing feud with that group, as you should know. Previously, the base didn't want to openly become enemies with the Temple, but now that we have to fight, we can certainly become comrades and allies."

"We don't need comrades who will suddenly stab us in the back. Besides, headquarters will soon send staff officers to supervise the battle." Old Song's face was very serious, without any joking look as usual, and was full of the coldness of official business.

He questioned Qiao Lan, "With Tang Xiaoyao here, even if I'm willing to believe you, will the headquarters staff believe you? Besides, Miss Qiao, listen, who else in the base is willing to accommodate you? You and Captain Ye are in love, that's your private relationship. The base doesn't belong to him alone, it belongs to everyone! Besides, after what happened today, your private relationship is over."

On the other side of the corridor, the crowd was still shouting excitedly.

The slogans of "Qiao Lan, get out of the base" came one after another.

"My Lord! Whoever bullies my Lord will be killed!"

With a loud shout, the corridor window shattered from the outside, and the old chef broke in with Fu Xingyuan and Hou Tian.

"Wow, you're making me mad. You're the ones who should get out!"

Several throwing knives flew towards the crowd.

The old chef was furious. After throwing the flying knife, he still had two shiny big kitchen knives in his hand.

"Follow me, disciples! Kill these ungrateful beasts! The dignity of our lord will not be challenged or trampled upon!"

He raised his knife and rushed towards Old Song and the guards who were pointing guns at Qiao Lan.

In an instant, the screams, gunshots, and battle shouts from the crowd merged into a chaotic mess.

It's a complete mess.

It's getting out of control.

Qiao Lan took a deep breath.

While the old chef and the others were fighting, the guards couldn't pay attention to her for a while. She dodged through the fight and rushed to Ye Qi's bedside again.

"I'm sorry about Xiao Tang. But whether I stay or leave, your injuries must be treated properly. The external injuries were treated with surgery, but what about the internal injuries? Has your mental strength been damaged?"

There was energy in her palms, moving around and checking Ye Qi's key acupoints.

Ye Qi closed his eyes, only his lips trembled slightly.

"I don't have the strength to break free. If you want to investigate, go ahead." He spoke with difficulty, his words cold and heartless, "Qiao Lan, thank you for all the time, but goodbye."

"Ye Qi, you're a scumbag!"

Qiao Lan slapped Ye Qi hard on the pillow.

If he hadn't been seriously injured, she would have wanted to slap him on the head.

"You broke up after having an affair, right? Huh? What about the fireworks you set off for me, the poems you read to me, the countless times you said you missed me, the gold bars you gave me? None of that counts anymore? Fine, you're so cruel. Break up if you will. I wasn't too deeply invested in you anyway! If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. I won't cling to you after being dumped. If you want to find a new boyfriend, I can always find one. But since you called me sister a few times, I'll help you out one more time! I'm just that generous!"

Qiao Lan cursed while forcibly examining Ye Qi's body.

The external injuries were serious, but the internal injuries were not so serious. The energy circulation in the body was still smooth. So she threw him a handful of crystal cores, all of which were of very good quality.

"Take my crystal core and heal yourself well. Don't die easily or you'll waste my feedings!"

She slapped Ye Qi's pale cheek viciously, snorted, and turned around.

"Uncle Geng, Xiao Fu, Monkey, let's go! This damn place doesn't welcome us, and we don't want to stay here anymore! Let's go!"

The old chefs who were fighting fiercely with the guards stopped fighting one after another after hearing the words and gathered around Qiao Lan.

The old chef said: "Master, go first, I will cover your retreat!"

Fu Xingyuan: "Boss Qiao, let's go quickly. This base is full of ungrateful people. There are 365 sunrises in a year. I give them 365 blessings. I hope they will be destroyed by the Temple as soon as possible. That's what they deserve!"

Hou Tian: “…Yeah.”

Several people jumped out of the window one after another.

The height of a three-story building was nothing to them. They climbed up the bulge on the wall and quickly jumped to the ground.

"Team Leader Song!" The guards asked for advice.

Old Song ordered: "Don't chase them anymore. Withdraw your forces to protect the interior of the base and let them go."

"But they injured the people!" said a guard, pointing to the crowd at the other end of the corridor.

The old chef's throwing knives flew over and injured several people, who fell there screaming and bleeding.

"No one died. Never mind. Let's send the injured to the emergency room." Old Song divided the guards into two groups. One group maintained order at the medical point, and the other group protected Ye Qi and hurried downstairs to the intensive care unit.

Soon, orders were spread throughout the base to cancel the base partnership of Ms. Qiao Lan and others, expel them from the country, and never allow them to enter again.

Another order is that the base will be under martial law starting today, and no new members will be accepted in the short term. All personnel must be on alert and prepare for battle.

The news that someone on Qiao Lan's team had severely injured Ye Qi spread rapidly, and before long, even the tens of thousands of people living in the neighborhoods surrounding the base knew about it. The apocalyptic environment was hostile, and entertainment was practically nonexistent. This kind of emotional violence, combined with the blood, violence, and gossip that surrounded the head of the base, naturally became explosive news, spreading far and wide.

Qiao Lan and his group did not stay in the base for long. They hurried back to the guest room building, took their daily necessities, and left together.

When the old chef and his men went to the medical station to support Qiao Lan, Wen Jiaojiao and her group stayed with Xiao Li to protect her. The two groups left together, and on the way out of the base, they were pelted with stones by angry people who had heard the news.

Wen Jiaojiao caught the flying stones with a smile and threw them back casually. Every one of them hit the target, knocking out whoever threw the stone.

After this happened a few times, no one dared to come forward again.

After walking two blocks, Captain Xiao came rushing over from behind, shouting.

"Don't go! This must be all a misunderstanding! I'll suppress public opinion within the base, so you two should come back first! Since we're going to war, why bother with division? We must unite and fight the enemy!"

He had previously led people to chase the fish that had escaped from Xingchen Park. When he came back and heard that Qiao Lan had been driven away, he was so angry that his face turned blue.

"Uncle Xiao, thank you, but I've been chased away. How can I have the nerve to go back? A person lives by their breath, a tree lives by its bark. Chasing me out is a loss for their base, not mine. I wish their base long-lasting prosperity! Ugh!"

Qiao Lan stood in the street, spitting loudly, her angry voice echoing throughout the street. Captain Xiao's persuasion was in vain, and she chased him back.

This caused the survivors who were hiding and watching the fun to discuss privately for a long time and gossip excitedly.

Some survivors expressed concern.

"I heard this girl named Qiao is quite good at fighting, and it seems she has several awakened masters around her. If she leaves, the base will lose a great support. If we really go to war with Chengbei, can we win? I heard that they are very powerful."

"Oh, why worry about that? If the base here is occupied by the Temple, maybe we still have a chance to enter the base."

"Maybe he's dead."

"Just die. You'll die sooner or later."

People discussed it for a while and then put it aside.

In the apocalypse, life is uncertain. You might even die the moment you go to sleep. Who cares if major bases fight each other or if their leaders are assassinated? As humble ordinary people, we have no control over anything, so we just let it go and live one day at a time.

But Qiao Lan is no ordinary street survivor.

As the subject of gossip, she was very carefree during the day, but had trouble sleeping at night.

I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

In her temporary residence, she stared at the moon outside the window, her mind full of today's scenes, the events before, and her past life. She thought about Xiao Tang, Ye Qi, and why...

"Sister, someone is here to see us. They came out of the base."

The small animal that Xiao Li sent out to keep watch came back to report the news.

"who?"

Qiao Lan appeared calm on the surface, but there was some turmoil inside.

Could it be...