Luo Ning quickly found a place to stay in the base's 49th district, the area that had been invaded by the mutants last time. The area consisted of densely packed, uniformly built gray buildings that were crowded, damp, and some even had bloodstains on their walls that had not been cleaned off.
That night, more than 3,000 people were infected and then cleared out. With the decrease in population, there were bound to be empty houses. Luo Ning found an abandoned basement to live in and began her basement life again.
She carefully planned that if she wanted to get out, she would have to go through a group of humans leaving the base. There were two types of such groups: one was sent out by the base command, like Lu Xinghe, and the other was groups formed by civilians themselves. Most of them were people who went to work in planting and breeding farms outside the base, or some went to more distant places to find supplies to sell.
These are all opportunities, but for the past two months, in order to guard against alien species, the base has completely prohibited people from going out except in emergencies, so she can only wait for the right moment.
After spending a day getting familiar with the surroundings and the location of the cameras, the next day she put on new clothes she found in an empty house, wrapped her face with a scarf, avoided the cameras and drone patrols, and tried to approach people to find the teams that were preparing to leave the base after the lockdown was lifted.
The winter snow had melted, and the ground was dry. Bathed in the morning sun, she carefully took her first step onto the street. This was the first time she had appeared in the human world in broad daylight.
The sun was shining brightly, and her feet felt firmly planted. Passersby walked past her normally, and no one noticed that she was a different species. There was even a little child who bumped into her as he ran past and then apologized to her in a childish voice.
She tentatively continued walking forward, seeing men and women going to work, soldiers on routine patrols, and even kindergartens and schools along the way. Everything was going better than she had expected, and it was clear that even in this apocalyptic situation, the base was trying its best to make it a normal human society.
She closed her eyes, quietly sensing the atmosphere of the human world, imagining the wonderful times when she was still human.
But memories are like candy you can never eat; you can only look at them longingly.
Then she found the underground trading market from the novel. The owners here were all connected to people who could leave the base, but they were all said to be very shrewd. She was afraid that they would notice that she was wearing colored contact lenses, so she didn't dare to speak rashly. She just walked around the market and eavesdropped on their conversations.
Perhaps because of the lockdown, the vendors seemed a bit listless, and she decided to head back early as well. But a young girl wearing a baseball cap askew called out to her.
"Oh, miss, you bought these shoes from me? You're a regular customer! I also have some clothes and shoes I got before the lockdown. Would you like to come in and take a look?" the girl asked with a smile.
Luo Ning immediately looked at her shoes. These shoes were bought for her by Lu Xinghe. She had originally planned to change them, but while she could find a few clothes in the empty house, she couldn't find any shoes that fit. She had no choice but to wear them out. But aren't all leather shoes the same? How did this woman recognize them? Could it be that she was just saying that on purpose to get more business?
She shook her head and was about to leave when the girl suddenly grabbed her: "Hey, come in and take a look, it's okay. Your husband is so handsome and earns so much money, he doesn't care if you buy a few clothes. Besides, your husband will like you more if you dress up nicely, otherwise it would be a loss if another woman snatched you away."
husband? ? ?
Luo Ning's alarm bells rang loudly. Could the man who was both handsome and rich be Lu Xinghe? This woman actually recognized the shoes and even remembered Lu Xinghe.
Didn't check the almanac before going out?! Business people's memories are terrifying!
She was being pulled along by the woman, and just as she was about to push the woman away, the woman suddenly pointed to a royal blue dress and said, "Your husband took a liking to this dress last time. I'm telling you, he has really good taste. Look at you, with your fair skin and great figure. Wearing this would definitely make your husband want to tear it open himself. Why don't you go inside and try it on?"
As she spoke, the woman took off her skirt and stuffed it into Luo Ning's hands. She also took off the scarf covering Luo Ning's face. Luo Ning had never encountered such an enthusiastic and domineering saleswoman in her life.
She immediately waved her hand to indicate that she wasn't, and in her haste, she grabbed the arm of a man passing by, pretending that she and he were husband and wife. The man, seeing a woman throwing herself at him, assumed that he was trying to win her favor, so he put his arm around Luo Ning and walked away together, thus saving Luo Ning from a predicament.
The woman watched the two figures leave, somewhat puzzled: "Could I have mistaken them? But these shoes are definitely from my store."
After leaving the underground market, the man looked at Luo Ning with an ambiguous gaze. Although her face was not visible, her slender and fragrant body, and her fair and delicate fingers, made her an absolute beauty.
"Should we go to your place or mine?" the man asked impatiently.
Luo Ning deliberately poked the man's arm with her finger. The man thought she wanted to go to his house: "Okay, you wait for me here. I'll go over there and buy some wine."
Luo Ning nodded shyly. After the man left, she immediately turned and disappeared into the alley. When the man returned, she was long gone.
It was already 4 PM, and the curfew would begin at 6 PM. Luo Ning walked quickly towards her residence. She had successfully covered up the incident, and neither the woman nor the man from before had seen her face. Even if they met again, she didn't need to worry about being recognized.
Just as she was about to reach her lodgings, she suddenly heard the roar of airplanes in the sky. She looked up and saw three huge transport planes flying low towards the airport, indicating that supplies were being brought back.
She remembered what An Xiaoruo had said about Lu Xinghe going to the mine and coming back in the next few days. Was he on this plane? He probably thought she was dead, since they would never see each other again anyway.
After watching the plane land at the airport in the distance, she continued walking forward, returned to the basement, closed the door, and lay down to rest.
On the edge of a cliff.
Lu Xinghe stood in the wind, looking at the giant waves in the abyss. He recalled the voice of Luo Ning that he had heard on the communicator that day. Although it was unclear, after listening to it again and again, he finally understood that she was talking about a big liar and an ingrate.
She thought he was going to hurt her, and then, defiantly, jumped off the cliff.
"Uncle, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to see my sister. I shouldn't have told her that you had left the base. It was all my fault," An Xiaoruo said, crying. She went to see Luo Ning the next day, but Luo Ning disappeared after leaving only one line of text.
"This is none of your business." Lu Xinghe had dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept much for three days. He thought she was really dead and had been returning in a daze. But when he saw the words she left behind, "Take care of yourself," he felt that she was still alive.
If she truly hated him, she should have waited for him to return and killed him, instead of leaving a message and then committing suicide.
He turned back to his car, stepped on the gas, and headed towards the military headquarters. Upon arrival, he immediately issued an order to conduct a secret inspection and register all vacant rooms throughout the base.
He also went to the alien prison under the pretext of checking the ventilation system, but Luo Ning was nowhere to be found. He also searched the wilderness but still found nothing, so she must be hiding in some empty house.
The first place to suspect was the underground market, where the alleyways were interconnected and there were many hidden spaces, making it easy for people to hide.
Everyone assumed it was a routine check-up for the New Year, except for Lu Xinghe and An Xiaoruo.
When the security officers arrived in a large entourage, the vendors, seeing so many people, began to recall if they had recently done anything illegal, disorderly, or forced to buy or sell. If so, they were told to confess quickly, as these security officers were ruthless and would devour anyone without a second thought.
The woman with the baseball cap askew recognized Lu Xinghe at a glance. So he was a security officer! No wonder his demeanor was different from ordinary people. She wanted to go up and talk to him but didn't dare. Yesterday, she mistook a woman for his girlfriend, and this security officer didn't seem to have a good temper.
However, Lu Xinghe noticed that she had been secretly watching him, and he looked back at her coldly.
"Sir, I haven't done anything illegal or disorderly," the woman quickly said.
"Why are you feeling guilty if you haven't done anything wrong?" He Cheng, who was standing to the side, also noticed.
"What do I have to be ashamed of? It's just that the officer came to my shop to buy clothes last time, so we know each other," the woman said.
He Cheng assumed Lu Xinghe bought it for An Xiaoruo: "You're so good to Xiaoruo, you always buy her things."
Lu Xinghe didn't want to hear anything more from the woman. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw the royal blue dress he had seen last time, but the person he wanted to give it to was nowhere to be found.
Upon seeing this, the woman said, "Speaking of which, I saw your girlfriend yesterday, sir. She was wearing the leather shoes you bought from me."
She wanted to get closer to this security officer to facilitate future business dealings. Even if she had mistaken the girl she met that day, chatting with her would let everyone know that she had a good relationship with the security officers.
"My girlfriend?" Lu Xinghe was taken aback.
Seeing that he was willing to talk to her, the woman immediately put on a smile: "You must be your girlfriend, right? The shoes are exactly the same, and your height and build are almost exactly as you described. You're also very beautiful, with clear, bright eyes like grapes."
The woman had never seen Luo Ning's face before, but she figured she could just praise her without batting an eye; flattery never fails.
Lu Xinghe felt it was Luo Ning; she had come here to find a way to escape, and she knew this place better than he had imagined.
“She is very beautiful.” He said, looking around to find the location of the surveillance camera. He then transferred the footage to his communicator and carefully examined it in a secluded spot.
He quickly found a picture of her. Although she was covered up and had changed her clothes, he recognized her at a glance. She was getting bolder and bolder, daring to appear in crowded places openly.
He stared intently at the screen and saw her being pulled inside by the woman. A moment later, she came out again and affectionately took the arm of a young man. Although the man was not tall, he was quite good-looking.
His eyes turned cold. Who was this man? Why did they seem to know each other so well?
Continuing on, the man smiled after she took his arm. Instead of pushing her away, he naturally put his arm around her shoulder and they walked out of the surveillance camera's view.
It's obvious they already knew each other, otherwise what man would be embracing a strange woman like that?
When did she meet him? Where did they meet? Where did they go after leaving here? Did this man hide her away?
With a snap, the edge of the communicator was crushed by his hand.
Knock knock knock.
The loud knocking startled the drunken man awake. He staggered to his feet and went to open the door, but it was pushed open by a powerful force, and a young military officer barged in like a demon, looking around.
"Sir, I...did I do something wrong?" The man was instantly sobered up.
Lu Xinghe didn't see Luo Ning and grabbed the man by the throat: "Where is she?"
The man was being choked and couldn't speak. An Xiaoruo quickly came in and stopped Lu Xinghe: "Uncle, you're going to strangle him."
Lu Xinghe loosened his grip slightly, and An Xiaoruo quickly showed the man the photo on the communicator: "Where is the woman who was with you yesterday afternoon?"
"She...cough cough...she's gone." The man's face turned pale with fright.
Seeing that he really knew her, Lu Xinghe tightened his grip: "Where did she go? How did you two meet?"
The man's face turned red again from being pinched: "I...I don't know her. After we left the market, she...she disappeared."
Lu Xinghe refused to believe it; she and this man were already arm in arm.
"Uncle." An Xiaoruo, fearing something might happen, quickly pulled Lu Xinghe away.
The man, now free, said with a mournful face, "Sir, I'm telling the truth. I really don't know her. She suddenly grabbed me and walked away, then suddenly disappeared, and I've never seen her since."
Lu Xinghe gradually calmed down and realized that Luo Ning had done all this to avoid him. She must have done it because the female boss recognized her shoes.
Back in the car, An Xiaoruo looked at Lu Xinghe and then smiled slyly.
"What are you laughing at?" Lu Xinghe said irritably.
An Xiaoruo replied, "Of course it's because you're jealous, Uncle."
Lu Xinghe glared at her: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
“I’m not making this up. Uncle, didn’t you just think that man and Sister Luo Ning had something going on? Do you know how angry you were just now, even when you were killing the aliens? I’ve never seen you this angry,” An Xiaoruo said.
Lu Xinghe gradually calmed down: "Was I like that just now?"
An Xiaoruo nodded: "Mm."
"Aren't you afraid of her?" he asked again.
An Xiaoru shook her head: "I'm not afraid. I always felt that she was a good alien, otherwise you wouldn't like her, right, Uncle?"
"I don't like her at all." Lu Xinghe denied it, but in his heart he was also asking himself, is this love? Or is it a side effect of being kept?
He couldn't explain it clearly either.
Maps of vacant rooms in each district were sent to his communicator one after another. He quickly flipped through them and soon saw that there were many vacant rooms in District 49. More than 3,000 people had been cleared out there recently, and Luo Ning had also been to that district.
This time, he didn't send any other security officers. Instead, he went there with An Xiaoruo. Although there were many rooms to check, they eventually found themselves walking towards a gray brick building.
There was a faint scent of wild orchids here; even though it was very faint, they could still smell it.
However, they searched the entire building but still couldn't find Luo Ning. But the fragrance was still there, which meant she was still there and hadn't noticed their arrival.
The two continued down the stairs from the first floor and discovered that there was another floor below, but this floor did not exist on the building plans and must have been dug out by the common people themselves.
An Xiaoruo thought Luo Ning was downstairs, and just as she was about to continue walking, Lu Xinghe stopped her and gestured for her to go down alone.
Luo Ning was smarter than he thought; she would definitely sense their approach and escape through another exit.
Luo Ning, who was in the basement, also heard footsteps. She knew someone was approaching and that someone must have discovered that someone lived there. She immediately got up, opened a section of the ceiling, and jumped up. It led directly to the ground.
After she went outside, she carefully put the cover back on, knowing she would have to go back after everyone left.
After finishing this, she lay on the hatch and listened to the sounds coming from the basement. The footsteps were very soft, like a girl's. Girls these days are really brave. If she were still human, she would never have come to such a dark place.
Just as she was sighing, she suddenly heard Lu Xinghe's cold voice behind her: "What exactly did I lie to you about that you would call me a big liar and an ingrate?"
She closed her eyes resignedly. This person must be an anomaly. Why did he appear so silently without making a sound? And how did he know she was here?
She didn't speak, nor could she utter a word. She just looked around, searching for a chance to escape. She planned to jump onto the windowsill, climb to the roof, and then leave from the roof.
But he had already grabbed her sleeve, and this time his voice was no longer fierce but somewhat weak: "Tell me, what exactly did I lie to you about that makes you hate me so much?"
Then he slumped to the side and fainted in her arms.
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