The underground market was somewhat gloomy, with a damp smell in the air. The pedestrians inside hurried by, and the shopkeepers were also very cautious. Everyone looked around carefully, worried that government personnel or aliens might appear.
However, the upper echelons of the base actually turn a blind eye to this place. Although the population of the base is increasing, resources are still scarce. In addition to sending troops to transport raw materials back from outside the base, the upper echelons have also begun to expand the planting and breeding areas around the lava valley. Those who go out will bring back some supplies found in abandoned cities, usually clothes, books or toys, which are not easily damaged. Therefore, the base tacitly allows this place to exist.
However, some dangerous items, such as firearms and ammunition, are also smuggled back.
The base used to be gun-free, but due to the prolonged oppression of humanity, violence surged, and the death toll exceeded the number of animals consumed. Therefore, a ban was issued, and the base was placed under military protection. After the ban, those who wanted guns could only buy them here. Because of the high profits, some merchants still took the risk.
Lu Xinghe hid most of his face in his collar as he walked to a clothing stall and looked at the women's clothes on display. Although the clothes he brought back from outside the base were left over from the early days of the apocalypse, which were decades ago, some of them were still of good quality and had nice styles.
One of the dresses caught his eye: a royal blue mini-skirt with a fitted cut and a gold zipper down the back that reached her waist and hips. His first thought was that this dress would suit Luo Ning's fair skin better than the pink dress that was originally intended for An Xiaoruo.
"Dude, are you buying clothes for your wife? You have great taste. This is our store's prized possession," said a young girl wearing a baseball cap askew.
Lu Xinghe snapped out of his daze: "I'm not married."
He didn't have to answer, but he subconsciously offered an explanation.
"Oh, so it seems to be a gift for someone you like. This one is definitely the right choice, it really flatters your figure." The girl was still trying her best to sell it. Although she couldn't see the man's face, she could tell from his clothes, physique and demeanor that he was a big customer.
"No need, just give me three sets of these long-sleeved shirts and trousers, two pairs of comfortable walking shoes, and... and some underwear." He pointed to some ordinary-looking clothes on the clothes rack.
"Okay, I'll pack it up for you. How tall is she? What size shoes does she wear?" the girl asked.
"Her height is about 1.6263 meters, and her shoe size..." Lu Xinghe didn't know Luo Ning's shoe size. He recalled what she looked like barefoot and gestured with his hand: "About this long."
The girl quickly grabbed her clothes and then went to find her underwear: "What's her bra size and waist measurement?"
Lu Xinghe looked somewhat awkward and couldn't answer, "Take whatever you like."
"That won't do. It'll be very uncomfortable to wear underwear if it doesn't fit properly. If you don't know, you can call and ask," the girl suggested.
Lu Xinghe naturally wouldn't ask, and there was no way he could ask anyway: "Never mind, I don't want it."
The girl couldn't help but laugh. This man seemed aloof, but she didn't expect him to be so cute: "It's okay, it's okay if you don't know her size. Just tell me her weight, and I can guess pretty accurately."
Lu Xinghe didn't know Luo Ning's weight, only that she was slender but also somewhat plump. He looked at the girl and said, "She's a bit thinner than you."
"Oh, I see." The girl put the clothes and shoes in a bag and handed it to Lu Xinghe: "Hello, this is a total of eight hundred points."
Lu Xinghe paid the points without hesitation. Seeing that he was generous and didn't haggle, the girl took off the royal blue dress and said, "Sir, take this one with you too. It's definitely worth it. If you don't believe me, feel the material and the feel. Although it's a dress from decades ago, it's as if it was just made yesterday. It makes you look fair-skinned, shows off your figure, and enhances your temperament. Your girlfriend will definitely love it."
But Lu Xinghe gave her a cold glance and left. The girl looked at his departing figure with some confusion. Just now, his eyes were full of fantasies when he looked at the dress. He was definitely imagining what a woman would look like wearing this dress and thought it would suit her very well. Why did he suddenly change his mind?
Lu Xinghe didn't go back to the dormitory immediately with the bag in his hand. Instead, he went home first. The guards in the house were a little surprised to see him return, because he hadn't been home for half a year. Everyone knew that General Lu's youngest son lived in a single dormitory at the military headquarters all year round and rarely came home.
He was coming back to get the eyeglasses for Luo Ning; what happened last night made him realize that her eyes were far too easily exposed.
However, since six years ago when a mutant wearing contact lenses changed his eye color and infiltrated the base, the base has destroyed all contact lenses. He also confiscated two of them two years ago, but he didn't report it because he was in a hurry to go on a mission and kept them in his bedroom.
When Lu Zheng entered the living room, he was having dinner with Zhou Yun, Lu Xinghe's stepmother. When Lu Xinghe first had his accident, everyone thought he was dead, so Lu Zheng remarried and wanted a child. At the base, even generals bore the responsibility of continuing humanity, but after so many years, Zhou Yun still hadn't conceived. With Lu Xinghe not home, the two middle-aged women ate quietly together.
Lu Zheng was happy to see his son return, but he never showed his emotions, so he didn't say anything. Zhou Yun quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Xinghe is back, come and eat."
Lu Xinghe glanced at the two of them and said, "I've already eaten. I'm just coming back to grab something and then heading back to the military headquarters." With that, he prepared to go upstairs to his room.
"Then eat some more. It's not easy for you to come back." Zhou Yun warmly pulled Lu Xinghe over. She was a good friend of Lu Xinghe's mother and had watched Lu Xinghe grow up, always treating him like her own child.
This is precisely why Lu Xinghe dislikes her; he believes that this woman interfered in his parents' relationship and indirectly caused his mother's death.
He would never have accepted Zhou Yun's kindness before, but this time he sat down because Zhou Yun was from the supplies department and knew when the people at the base went out and came back. He wanted to ask which teams had left the base recently and then make a plan to send Luo Ning away.
When Zhou Yun saw that Lu Xinghe was willing to sit down and eat, she was so excited that she immediately asked someone to bring her bowls and chopsticks. She also personally served the food and placed it in front of Lu Xinghe. The food here was much better than what ordinary people ate, as it included not only meat but also meat soup.
He couldn't help but think that Luo Ning hadn't eaten for two days, so perhaps he could take some raw meat back with him.
"Are these clothes for Xiaoruo?" Zhou Yun asked, seeing the clothes in the bag.
"Mmm," Lu Xinghe responded, lowering his head to eat his meal.
Lu Zheng looked at his son and silently moved the meat and vegetables in front of him: "Next time, you can invite Xiao Ruo back for dinner. She's growing a lot right now. The last time I saw her, she was still so tall. The food at home is always better than at the military base."
Lu Zheng originally intended to give An Xiaoruo away to be raised by someone else, but unexpectedly, the adoptive family abused the child, and Lu Xinghe happened to see it. Even though he lost his memory, he still couldn't let go of An Xiaoruo and actually took her with him to raise her himself.
When he found out, he didn't say much. Over time, he accepted An Xiaoruo. However, the two children rarely came home. An Xiaoruo was very polite when she saw him, but she never said much. Sometimes he even wondered if the two children still had memories of being raised by the family, which was why they hated him.
“She’s very busy with training,” Lu Xinghe said.
"Then pack some food and take it to her later," Zhou Yun said hurriedly.
Lu Xinghe nodded; this was exactly what he needed.
"Is there any news about Experiment 17 yet?" Lu Zheng asked again.
"No."
"It's been four or five days and we still haven't caught her. It seems this test subject is quite extraordinary. You need to be careful," Lu Zheng warned.
Lu Xinghe didn't speak, because Luo Ning was in his room. After eating for a while, he asked Zhou Yun, "Why has the distribution of all supplies been decreasing recently?"
Zhou Yun sighed: "With the continuous awakening of mutants, our breeding and farming bases outside have been attacked, resulting in many casualties and delays in transporting a lot of supplies back in time."
"Are there any plans to send personnel out recently? I can apply to travel with the team."
Zhou Yun shook her head: "Not yet. After the mutants caused such a commotion last night, the base definitely won't let you leave. Moreover, the higher-ups decided to lock down the entire base today to prevent the mutants from coming in. It's estimated that the lockdown won't be lifted until February next year."
Lu Xinghe's face darkened. It was only December, and if the base didn't lift the blockade, it would be almost impossible to get out. Did Luo Ning have to live with him for another two months?
Zhou Yun thought he was worried about the distribution of supplies, so she added, "Don't worry about not having enough supplies. The base always has reserves, and we can guarantee two months' worth of supplies. It'll just be a little tougher than before."
After Lu Xinghe finished eating, he returned to his room. Lu Zheng asked Zhou Yun, "Did Xinghe talk to us quite a bit today?"
As Zhou Yun tidied up, she smiled and said, "Yes, you were listening too."
Lu Zheng snorted coldly: "He only comes home twice a year, and when he does come back, he actually sits down to eat. There's no reason for him to be so attentive."
Zhou Yun muttered, "Keep your voice down. What kind of father are you? Xinghe can't just come back because he's thirsty, hungry, or missing you. I heard he almost died last night."
Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Pack all that meat for him. He seems to have lost some weight today."
"Okay, sure." Zhou Yun went off to get busy.
Lu Xinghe used some of his clothes as a cover, hiding the contact lenses inside. Zhou Yun handed him a bag of vegetables, and he saw fresh beef on it, which suited his taste perfectly.
Zhou Yun explained how to cook the meat, but he didn't really listen and just said thank you.
Zhou Yun was a little excited: "What are you thanking me for? You earned all of this with your life."
Lu Xinghe took the things, said "I'm leaving," and went out the door.
After he left, Lu Zheng and Zhou Yun fell silent again. After a while, Zhou Yun asked, "The test subjects have all escaped. Can you tell the higher-ups not to let Xinghe participate in those kinds of experiments anymore? I'm always terrified."
Lu Zheng nodded: "His genes don't match those of other test subjects, so the genetics department probably won't assign him any more tests."
"That's good." Zhou Yun breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I'll visit the marriage matching department more often during this time and try to find him a good wife."
"Okay, you take care of this." Lu Zheng also felt it was time.
In the dormitory, Luo Ning lay listlessly in her blankets. She was really hungry. It was already dark outside. If Lu Xinghe hadn't thrown away her two pieces of clothing, she would have gone out to find something to eat long ago.
She got up wanting to drink some hot water, but there was only one cup. She thought about it and decided to give up, but somehow she picked up the cup. That day she drank water from this cup, and Lu Xinghe drank the rest from the same cup.
He probably doesn't know yet.
Just as she was lost in thought, the door suddenly opened, and Lu Xinghe came in carrying two bags. When he saw that she was holding his cup, he wasn't too surprised.
He knew exactly where his things were. The reason he drank the water she left behind last time was because he was distracted at the time. He immediately realized that the water was hers, but since he had already drunk it, he could only pretend that he didn't know anything.
Luo Ning immediately put down the cup, looking somewhat uneasy, and then walked towards the cabinet with her head down.
Lu Xinghe stopped her and handed her the bag of clothes. Luo Ning took it with a puzzled look and opened it. There were three brand new clothes inside. It turned out that he had gone to buy her new clothes. She had misunderstood him. But why didn't he tell her in advance? Was it because they had been separated for too long and they had become estranged?
She smiled at him to express her gratitude, and then took out the clothes one by one. As soon as Lu Xinghe saw her taking the clothes, he walked away without even looking at her, because there were still some intimate clothes in the bag. He felt uncomfortable when he bought them, and he felt even more uncomfortable when giving them to her.
Luo Ning took out the clothes one by one. They were all long-sleeved shirts and trousers, two sets of gray and one set of black. They were warm to wear and convenient for moving around at night. She thought he was quite good at buying things.
Besides the clothes, there were also two pairs of shoes, and the size was surprisingly perfect. There was also a small bag inside the bag. When she took it out and looked at it, her face couldn't help but feel a little hot. He had actually bought her some underwear.
Besides her mother, he was the second person to buy these things for her growing up, and he was also a man.
Lu Xinghe didn't hear the rustling sound. He subconsciously glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw two blushes on her fair face as she quietly and casually put her underwear back into the small bag.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Lu Xinghe turned around and slowly drank his water, while Luo Ning put all the clothes away in the closet.
"Here, take this." Lu Xinghe took out the contact lens and gave it to her.
Luo Ning was somewhat surprised to see the words "contact lenses" written on the packaging. When she opened it, she was surprised to find that they were colored contact lenses, and they were even dark brown, almost like human eyes. This was truly precious. In the post-apocalyptic world, everyone was focused on protecting the military and civilian industries. There was simply no raw material for colored contact lenses to be produced. She never expected that Lu Xinghe would actually manage to get his hands on them.
With this, she can walk in the light like a normal person, and it will be much easier for her to leave the base.
"Don't wear them now so you don't break them. These are the last two. Use them when you leave," Lu Xinghe instructed her.
She nodded, carefully put away her contact lenses, and then wrote on a piece of paper, "When can I leave?"
Lu Xinghe replied, "The entire base is under lockdown right now, so it might take some time. I'll let you know when the opportunity arises."
Although she couldn't leave immediately, Luo Ning wasn't unhappy. She would have been willing to stay a few more days, because after this separation, they might never see each other again.
Looking at the smile on her lips, Lu Xinghe felt inexplicably irritated, and even considered taking the contact lenses back.
Luo Ning's stomach rumbled, and Lu Xinghe took out the meat, the fresh beef still glistening with blood: "Eat."
Luo Ning recognized it as beef. This kind of thing is very rare in the base. Meat in the base is given priority to the military. Even so, such a large piece of beef is a luxury. It is very likely that he used his power to obtain it. But if this is discovered, it will be bad.
She shook her head and wrote on the paper, "I'll go out and find something to eat myself later. You can take the meat back."
Lu Xinghe's eyes narrowed: "With me here, don't even think about eating people."
Luo Ning looked at it strangely and scribbled on the paper: "You know I don't eat people."
Lu Xinghe didn't know; he couldn't remember. Although he had some images of living with her in his mind, he still couldn't recall the details.
"Don't go out. The base is under martial law. You stay here quietly. I will send you away when the time is right. I'm going out now, and you are absolutely not allowed to run around." After giving the warning, Lu Xinghe picked up his clothes and went out again. He hadn't been to the military headquarters all afternoon, and his communicator was now overflowing with messages. He also took the food to An Xiaoruo.
After he left, Luo Ning ate her beef. She only realized there was a smell of alcohol in it after eating half of it. She didn't finish it. After cleaning the table, she went into the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and washed up briefly. Then she tried on the clothes Lu Xinghe had bought. The outer clothes and pants fit well, and the shoes were just right, but the bra was a little small. Lu Xinghe probably thought she was too thin and assumed her size was small. But it was already good enough that she had something to wear. For the past five years, she had been wearing tattered vests, so she was already very content.
However, just as she finished dressing, there was a knock at the door, and Song Pei's voice came: "Major Lu, are you there?"
She held her breath and remained motionless. Song Pei, who was outside the door, did not hear a response and frowned. He thought he had heard the sound of water coming from inside when he passed by. He thought it was Lu Xinghe inside and wanted to ask about the footprints in the snow last night, but now there was no sound at all. Could it be that he had misheard?
"Song Pei, what are you doing here?" He Cheng walked over from the side.
Song Pei replied, "I wanted to ask Major Lu about killing that female mutant last night. Is he in his room?"
He Cheng peeked through the crack in the door: "The light is off, he's probably not here. If you want to find him, you can send him a message first."
"Okay, I'll be going now." Song Pei turned and left.
Luo Ning then slowly moved her body. Song Pei could actually hear the sounds in the room. As expected of the male lead, he was much more capable than ordinary people.
Lu Xinghe delivered the food to An Xiaoruo's room. An Xiaoruo was on her way to the Gene Department to change shifts. She was very happy to see the food Lu Xinghe brought, because it meant that he was not angry anymore.
"Thank you, Uncle. Are you going home today?" she asked.
Lu Xinghe nodded. He looked at An Xiaoruo and realized that, as her father had said, she was indeed shorter than her peers, which was probably due to malnutrition in the past.
"You eat quickly, I have to go now." He still had to go to the military headquarters.
But An Xiaoruo grabbed his arm: "Uncle, is there any news about that test subject?"
"Not yet," he replied.
An Xiaoruo said with some disappointment, "There's still no news. Do you think she might have died last night?"
"Isn't it a good thing that she's dead? Why do you look unhappy?" Lu Xinghe asked, puzzled.
An Xiaoruo quickly composed herself: "No, how could I be unhappy? She's a different species, Uncle. Don't overthink it. Go on ahead, I'm going inside to eat too."
"Hmm." Lu Xinghe turned and left, but An Xiaoruo had no appetite.
After that day, she kept asking about the seventeenth test subject, and even dreamed about her. In the dream, she was sitting on a small stool under a big tree full of pink flowers, and the test subject was standing behind her, braiding her hair. The dream was so real, as if she had experienced it herself.
After Lu Xinghe arrived at the military headquarters, there was nothing special to do except for some routine reports, psychological monitoring, and counseling.
After each large-scale killing of civilians and subsequent infection of the mutants, the military would arrange for psychological counseling for security officers and soldiers to prevent them from developing any negative emotions.
After he sat down in the chair in the psychological monitoring room, a woman with a somewhat familiar face and a similar age to him walked in, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.
The woman smiled at him and then began to conduct psychological monitoring. She asked him questions and he answered them. Ten minutes later, the report came out, showing that he currently had no psychological problems, but he had some tendency to be controlling.
Lu Xinghe felt she was unprofessional because he didn't care about anything right now, so why would he think about controlling it?
Just as he was about to leave, the woman suddenly said, "It seems you really don't remember me."
Lu Xinghe glanced at her again: "Sorry, she does look somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place her."
The woman smiled at him and said, "It's normal that you don't remember, after all, you even ran away from the base to avoid me back then."
Lu Xinghe finally remembered that she was the woman who had been arranged for him by the marriage department eight years ago, but he couldn't remember her name. He only knew that she had later married a soldier and had twins.
"Oh," he replied.
“You haven’t changed at all. My name is Yu Wan. I’m not here to talk to you about how you rejected me back then, so don’t be nervous. I just want to know how you survived those three years,” Yu Wan said.
Lu Xinghe frowned at her: "Don't you know that I suffered a head injury and don't remember anything from before?"
Yu Wan shook her head: "I'm sorry, I don't know. I didn't see a report of your head injury in your medical records."
"It's nothing. Why do you want to know about my past? I remember your psychology department has a rule against interfering in patients' private lives, right?" Lu Xinghe said righteously. He thought she hadn't let go yet. He and she had only met two or three times back then, and there was no affection between them. Besides, she already had a husband and children.
Yu Wan looked somewhat sad: "Because my husband is also missing, Qi Lin. You should know him, right? Everyone says he's dead, but I still feel like he's alive. Just like back then when they said you were dead, I didn't believe it either. So I'm wondering if he's still alive somewhere, waiting for us to rescue him."
Lu Xinghe paused for a moment: "I really don't remember. I'm sorry I can't help you."
Moreover, even if Qi Lin were still alive, in that environment where mutants roamed freely, he would probably be being raised by mutants just like he used to be.
After he finished speaking, he left the psychology room and walked out. When he opened the door, he heard Yu Wan crying softly behind him, and on the bench in the corridor in front of him sat a pair of cute twin girls.
He stopped, a pang of reluctance in his heart, and said to Wan, "I'll arrange for people to investigate when I get back. I'll let you know if I find anything."
"Thank you," Yu Wan said gratefully.
Lu Xinghe walked down the stairs, floor by floor, thinking about what Yu Wan had just said about his medical report, which did not record any head injury. But they had always said that his amnesia was caused by a head injury.
He glanced in the direction of the medical department and decided to go ask about it tomorrow.
When he returned to the dormitory, he saw that the room had been cleaned up, but Luo Ning was not in the closet but lying on his bed.
She had actually slept in his bed without his permission. He walked over with a cold face and then smelled a faint scent of alcohol on her. Her face was flushed, and her rosy lips were slightly parted, revealing her white teeth and a section of pink tongue between them.
She had been drinking, and she was drunk.
Alcohol is one of the few human foods that mutants can accept, but where does alcohol come from?
He looked at the piece of beef Zhou Yun had given him. Luo Ning had already eaten half of it. He picked it up and smelled it, and surprisingly, he could smell alcohol in the beef. It must have been Zhou Yun or someone else who injected alcohol into the beef to marinate it. He didn't expect Luo Ning to get drunk after eating it.
Fortunately, she slept peacefully after getting drunk instead of going on a rampage, otherwise the base would probably be in a frenzy by now.
"Wake up, go to your place to sleep." He couldn't speak loudly, so he could only say it softly.
But Luo Ning just turned over and continued to sleep while hugging his pillow.
He wanted to remove the pillow and shake her awake, but as soon as he reached out and touched the pillow, she suddenly lowered her head and bit his finger, letting out a soft whimper like a kitten and holding it between her lips.
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