Chapter 44: The Battlefield Begins After the Dining Table
The shelling and screaming continued for an hour with no sign of abating.
Even with Qi An's exceptional sleep ability, the noise-canceling headphones couldn't continue working once they broke down in the mountains.
The other two people in the room also got up. Everyone had actually slept for 20 hours since noon.
"Xiao Lin came over early this morning and carried two more buckets of water."
Before dawn, the regimental commander delivered two boxes of freeze-dried vegetables, instant noodles, fresh eggs, and fresh goat milk.
"These are all specially supplied meals; we'll have special rations for the next three months."
Su Qingran served Qi An a bowl of hot egg noodle soup with two poached eggs.
"Yesterday, Lao Qin and his group brought pickled shrimp, dried small fish, melon seeds, and rice cakes from Zhongyuan No. 1."
When we passed by our old base, Tang Long brought us some dried mutton, a bag of apricots, and a big watermelon!
Yu Shuang magically pulled snacks out of the cupboard, revealing a table full of dazzling snacks!
Qi An immediately smiled, ran to the bathroom to wash his hands, and sat down at the bar.
First, I buried my head in the big bowl of egg noodles and ate every last drop of soup. Then I nibbled on a handful of salty dried fish and ate two slices of bright red, tempting, sandy, and sweet watermelon.
Feeling refreshed and satisfied!
Qi An leaned back in his chair.
This food is probably top-notch even in the entire base.
Canned food? What kind of canned food?
She lazily remained still for a moment, then rummaged through their "strategic reserves" on the table and found a vacuum-packed... white strip?
"What is this?" she asked curiously.
"Milk tofu!" Yu Shuang chuckled. "Guess where this comes from?"
Qi An looked at it repeatedly for a long time, "Could it be a gift from Gao Chenglin?"
Anyway, this dairy product must come from the north.
But Yu Shuang curled her lip: "Him? He's such a dense blockhead! Yesterday, Vice Captain Chu Qingqing gave Lao Zhao dried bayberries as a gesture of goodwill, and he was still in the dormitory, laughing and regretting it!"
However, her team did not encourage such social niceties, so Zhao Bohan did not accept the dried bayberries.
Everyone swished their bowls and helped each other change their medicine. Yu Shuang put on the new military uniform that had been delivered yesterday.
"We've been fighting for an hour and we still haven't finished. This wave of bugs is something else."
I'll be going to the office in a bit to prepare for the possibility of a special operations team being called in for mobile support. You two can relax and do whatever you want today.
She turned up the collar of her military uniform and went to work looking quite spirited and imposing.
However, just as Qi An casually sat down in her little leather chair and opened her small bookshelf, she received a message from Yu Shuang:
[Xiao Qi, um, the higher-ups have ordered all the idle purifiers to go to the purification station...]
Qi An: ......Alright then.
She also put on her new military uniform and went downstairs.
Indeed, whether it's a major battle or a minor one, there are never enough purifiers.
Most of the fallen insects in this large-scale attack came from the south, so the field hospital set up purification stations behind the three main defensive points of the southern wall.
Qi An went to the largest one in the southeast corner. Even before he got close, he could see the bloody battle almost right under the wall.
The battlefield stretched westward, seemingly without end. The once lush riverbank was now choked with insect corpses, forming a dike that severed its connection to the river.
The shallow beach, once shimmering with silver light, has become a murky and highly poisonous ditch.
This is daily life in the apocalypse; war is right next to the breakfast table.
The purification station, set up with two simple plastic sheds, was extremely busy. Soldiers with a pollution level exceeding 55% had to be removed from the battlefield and come here for purification. Wounded soldiers would also come here before being sent to medical stations further back.
Qi An immediately spotted Yang Ying, sitting in the very center of the crowd, clearly the leader, then saw You Zi beside her, and then...
I actually saw Yang Yuning, whom I hadn't seen in a long time!
It was indeed Yang Yuning, casually dressed in a camouflage short-sleeved shirt, with a rifle slung across his back, one hand hooked around his tactical belt, the other outstretched, chatting with the squad leader guarding the post station.
Qi An paused for two seconds, then realized where the milk tofu came from.
Yang Yuning has been based at that new base on the grasslands further north!
Just as Qi An was about to look away, Yang Yuning looked at her as if she had sensed something.
The moment the man saw her, his gaze froze, his words caught in his throat, and his hand froze in mid-air.
Qi An nodded and smiled at him before going into the shed.
"My brother must be from North 1. He's the team's head, and he came to escort me here just to see me."
"Girlfriend? He doesn't have one..." Yang Ying answered the incessant questions from the surrounding purification masters while purifying.
The pressure of purification is indeed immense; the younger purification practitioners are keeping excited by Yang Yuning's looks and gossip.
Qi An, being a short person, would normally go unnoticed in this chaotic area, except by the guards. However, Yang Yuning's gaze followed her, so he called over several girls, and Yang Ying also looked over.
After reporting to the leading senior purifier, Qi An sat down next to You Zi.
Yang Ying's gaze darted between her and Yang Yuning, her brows furrowing in confusion.
She was still angry.
What happened in Ye Xuanming's office yesterday made her angrier and more aggrieved the more she thought about it after she got back.
The members of Team Stars must have cheated!
This Qi An is definitely nothing special! She might just be lucky, or have great teammates!
She's eaten countless pounds of sand since coming to this tiny, run-down base in the frontier, and her face is sunburned. She can't possibly not even become a chief purifier!
She glanced sideways at Qi An, her "arch-nemesis," and snorted.
Her attitude greatly influenced the work arrangements at this purification station. Within 10 minutes of Qi An sitting down, a wounded soldier was brought to her for purification.
You Zi was quite busy, but after chatting with her like a family member for a while, she had some free time.
The two were seated far away from the other purifiers, like a broken beam on a long bridge.
You Zi was initially a little confused, but after Qi An explained it to her, she suddenly understood and snorted.
Neither of them felt embarrassed or awkward.
You Zi spoke with even more enthusiasm about her triumphant return and the sorrow of parting. Qi An, noticing the soldiers who desperately needed purification but were still in line, would call out to them.
Upon hearing this, some soldiers, even those who hesitated, came over without daring to delay.
As a result, more and more soldiers came.
It's so crowded there's barely any room left!
Qi An had to shout, "Line up! Line up according to the pollution level. I won't purify the area if someone cuts in line!"
The ranks immediately became orderly, but some soldiers were still eager to fight.
Yang Ying was taken aback. Yang Yuning had already walked up to the older purifier with a frown, but upon seeing this, she was stunned and felt that this was exactly what should be done.
He looked at Qi An, who was surrounded by the crowd, his emotions churning.
Qi An got busy, and You Zi also started to work hard, but she encouraged him:
"There aren't many Fallen Insects left outside, this wave will definitely be over soon!"
The piercing screams outside the walls had indeed become much less frequent, but beyond human hearing, subtle energy disturbances, seemingly from another dimension or another space, continued.
Even stronger!
Qi An waved his hand to signal the next male soldier to wait, then frowned and focused his attention.
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