Chapter Fifty-Seven Brothers
Qi An's sleep this time was shorter than the last one.
She woke up after only 12 hours of sleep, when it was already broad daylight.
The sky was a clear, bright blue, the sun was shining brightly and refreshingly, the roadside was covered with lush green grass, and the roadside was full of blooming flowers, creating a fragrant and verdant scene.
This time, Qi An didn't instinctively reach for her gun. She knew she was safe, and after dozing in the sunlight for a while, she sat up.
"We'll be at Central Plains Base No. 1 soon, but we'll only be staying one night. The road ahead is easy, and we should be home in two days at most," Su Qingran said with a smile, handing Qi An a glass of water that she had already warmed.
Qi An was in the machine gun vehicle. This vehicle had been cleaned and sprayed with disinfectant produced by the new base, and it was still the most spacious and comfortable vehicle, suitable for accommodating the wounded.
Zhuang Xiao was driving, and Yang Yuning, in the passenger seat, turned around and saw Qi An's face was flushed and her eyes were clear and bright, clearly indicating that she had recovered. She couldn't help but smile.
Su Qingran reported the news to the public channel, which was immediately filled with cheers and greetings.
Qi An smiled too, a wave of laziness washing over her. She relaxed and leaned back in the soft leather seat, replying to each of the greetings.
Of course, the first to reply was team leader Yu Shuang. After confirming that everyone in the team was safe, Qi An felt much more at ease.
"Our oil tankers are all fine. The drivers locked the trucks when they got off, and they have all been found now."
Four people died from the mutation: Li Yi, Liu Weiyun, Chang Jia (a member of Team 2 from the North), and a driver. One of the drivers, who had run up the mountain, was seriously injured. Yu Shuang said, her tone not particularly somber.
Given the difficulty of their mission and the danger of last night's situation, these casualties are incredibly fortunate!
Qi An thought that if Li Yi hadn't messed up at the crucial moment, they wouldn't have suffered these casualties.
“When I was in school, the teachers at the base said that only those who are afraid of the weak will bully the weak. Li Yi was already terrified by the Fallen Insects,” Yang Yuning said calmly.
Qi An thought about it and agreed.
There are all kinds of people in the world, including Li Yi, Liu Weiyun, and You Zi.
You Zi's greetings were very sincere, but she said that when they stopped to rest, she had 100 personal items she wanted Qi An to sign.
There was another greeting that Qi An didn't expect.
Xu Le's lively and cheerful voice came through the walkie-talkie: "It's so good that Dr. Qi has woken up! We brought some calming and brain-boosting nutritional supplements, as well as some really delicious dried venison. We'll take them to Dr. Qi in a bit!"
“Their destination is the same as ours, so they followed us and joined the public channel,” Zhuang Xiao said.
He was quite happy, and the rest of the team was also pleased, because with Chen Yuezhou and the purifier Xu Le, everyone felt much safer.
“...I see.” Qi An replied to Xu Le, “Thank you, and thank you for helping us get rid of the bugs last night.”
"It's nothing! Besides, we're all comrades, helping each other is only right!" Xu Le said cheerfully and eloquently, drawing a chorus of gratitude and praise from the public channel.
Xu Le replied to each of them, chatting and laughing.
However, he became a little more cautious after turning off the walkie-talkie.
He felt that his boss was acting strangely. He hadn't slept since last night and hadn't spoken much; he was just spacing out.
Just now, the news came over the public channel of the walkie-talkie that Dr. Qi had woken up. The boss immediately sat up straight. This was the biggest reaction the boss had made to the outside world in more than ten hours.
After the public channel quieted down, Chen Yuezhou leaned back in his seat once more, gazing at the receding scenery outside the window with a deep look in his eyes.
Two hours later, the convoy entered the Central Plains No. 1 base.
The base is built in the mountains, surrounded by mountains on all sides, but it is itself a basin.
The land surrounding the base is very fertile, with large areas of forest and farmland.
The Central Plains Base No. 1 was more enthusiastic than the North Base No. 3, probably because they were both part of the Central Plains system, were close to each other, had trade relations, and were familiar with each other.
They invited the convoy to the base, but everyone felt more comfortable on the farm, so they stayed on the outer farm.
The weather was getting warmer, and the rice seedlings on the farm were green, forming a more even blanket than what they had seen on the plains.
Qi An, who once again saved the convoy, was told to rest and not do any work.
So she sat idly on the edge of the field for half a day, then went to soak her feet in the irrigation ditch and watched the colorful little fish.
She stared blankly at her reflection in the water for a long time, her gaze gradually shifting from serene to melancholic.
However, another person soon appeared in the reflection. Qi An turned his head and saw Chen Yuezhou standing against the light.
"...Are you unhappy?" Chen Yuezhou spoke after a few minutes, seemingly not usually concerned about people, and his tone of voice sounded awkward.
"No," Qi An smiled and lowered his head again.
But then she suddenly remembered what happened yesterday and said, "What I said yesterday was just something I said in anger. You're very strong."
Chen Yuezhou was taking a huge risk to help them fight the insects, and no matter what disputes there were on the battlefield, she shouldn't have been so harsh in her retaliation.
Chen Yuezhou was taken aback. He was very different now than when he was overwhelmed by the pollution levels. He didn't get angry at this topic, but instead gave a half-smile: "Is this the truth or just some consolation?"
Seeing his attitude, Qi An still told the truth: "Your mental resistance seems to be lower than his. As for your performance on the battlefield, based on the few times I've seen it, it should be about the same."
"You have a good relationship with him?"
"Not bad? Our missions are all very dangerous. We've been through life and death together on missions." Qi An said.
She noticed that Chen Yuezhou was a man who asked more questions than answered, and he would only say one thing after she had already said several pieces of information.
Qi An asked, "Are you really brothers? The way you talk about him doesn't sound like you're talking about your own brother."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Chen Yuezhou asked.
Qi An kicked up a handful of water.
Here we go again! This person will throw out a new question whenever they encounter a question they don't want to answer, always trying to control the pace of the conversation.
"Are you really brothers? How much older are you than him?" Qi An asked again.
Chen Yuezhou seemed to raise an eyebrow, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Yes, we... share the same father, but different mothers. I'm 10 years older than him."
Half-siblings, and 10 years apart? Qi An was very surprised.
"How old are you this year?" she asked.
Chen Yuezhou sat down on the nearby mound of earth. "Can I ask how old you are?"
“20,” Qi An said.
"Born in the year the apocalypse broke out?" Chen Yuezhou was also somewhat surprised.
However, many children were born in the year the apocalypse broke out, and although not many survived, some did.
Qi An's age is not particularly surprising.
“I’m 28 years old,” Chen Yuezhou said.
Qi An turned his head again and looked him over carefully.
Chen Yuezhou had sculpted features, and although his skin wasn't fair, it wasn't rough either, and his face was free of wrinkles.
She looks very young, about the same age as Yang Yuning. Is she really 28?
"Then Chen Xi must be 18 years old," Qi An thought.
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