Chapter 45 Sunshine and Pasture
The convoy only stopped by the stream for half an hour, and Qi An took the time to wash himself, rinse his mouth, and eat.
The car was only given a simple cleaning; the inside was still like a latrine.
But this is a vehicle-mounted cannon! Even if it's a vehicle-mounted cannon set up over a latrine, it's still everyone's prized possession!
The convoy did not rest that night and continued to move forward until it entered the support range of the North 3 Base the following afternoon.
Comrades from the regular defense forces of the Northern Third Base were there to meet them. They were all surprised by the size of the convoy, and even more so when they saw the machine gun vehicles.
Considering that the convoy would only rest for one night and that the trucks were quite large, North 3 arranged for them to go to the ranch closest to the city.
When they arrived, it was 4 p.m., and the bright sunlight turned the gentle grass into a dazzling golden-green.
The trees along the edge of the pasture, now quite dense, swayed in the breeze. Herds of cattle, sheep, and donkeys stretched from that edge all the way to the pasture gate, with several sheepdogs following the pasture manager as they moved through the area.
As soon as Qi An got out of the car, he saw a pond of several dozen square meters filled with ducks, several large pink pigs rooting out of their pens, and in the distance, there were rows of vegetable greenhouses. For a moment, he felt as if he had been transported to another world.
Everyone in the convoy felt the same way; the fatigue from two days and one night of driving had largely dissipated.
The team leader responsible for receiving them was surnamed Liu, in his early thirties, with a broad face, big eyes, and a friendly smile.
He smiled and said to everyone, "The red brick bungalows to the north have been cleaned up. Comrades, you will stay there tonight. Dinner will be delivered by the ranch manager. If you want to cook your own meals, you can also pick vegetables in the greenhouse."
Everyone thanked him. After a few pleasantries, Captain Liu hesitated slightly, and his deputy, a dark-skinned and thin young man, said, "May I take a closer look at that car?"
He was referring to the machine gun vehicle.
The crowd's joy faltered. Qin Tianshuo and Yu Shuang exchanged a glance and nodded to the vice-captain:
"Okay, comrade, be gentle, this is our important property."
The skinny young deputy captain scrambled onto the roof of the vehicle, carefully examined the entire machine gun, and even touched it.
This was already a bit offensive, but after getting off the bus, the junior vice-captain smiled at everyone and said:
"You guys are really amazing, managing to snatch the car from the Fallen Insects!"
His tone was that of a young man, clear and innocent, which eased the tension among the convoy members. But then the boy continued:
"This vehicle actually came from our base. The serial number of the military product from our base's logistics department is still engraved on the barrel of that machine gun!"
Yu Shuang's smile faded, and she raised an eyebrow, asking, "So?"
It makes sense that the machine gun vehicle came from the North 3 base.
Since the Fallen Insects don't produce their own weapons and vehicles, they must have been captured. North 3 is the closest base to that county town.
"Thank you, comrades, for recovering this vehicle! We..." The deputy captain was interrupted by Captain Liu, who laughed and said:
"Our base is willing to exchange supplies for this vehicle."
Everyone in the convoy frowned, and Yu Shuang pointed to the car behind the two men:
"Are you going to use the supplies in your trunk? Aren't those supplies meant for us?"
The deputy captain wasn't happy, but Captain Liu observed the expressions on everyone's faces in the convoy and said with a smile, "Yes, those supplies are definitely not enough. What else do you need? We'll provide whatever our base can!"
Qin Tianshuo was furious. Li Yi coldly said, "We won't change the vehicle. You can keep your supplies, and we'll prepare two more boxes..."
His words were interrupted by Yu Shuang, who said, "The car was seized by us. No matter who manufactured it before, it belongs to us now, and we will not exchange it."
We have already reported the capture of the vehicle to the higher command. You should receive the order soon: add two more boxes of 20mm ammunition to our supplies.
If you don't believe me, we'll wait here.
Captain Liu's expression also turned grim.
Before the vice-captain could speak, Jia Wenxuan glanced at him with a smile: "You received orders from your superiors to change cars? How high are these superiors?"
Is it even higher than North 1?
Their oil delivery mission was issued by the Northern 1st Army Command. Could the entire Northern 3rd Base have a higher command than that?
The atmosphere was a bit tense. The junior vice-captain felt that this was their ranch, their territory, and what right did the other side have to act arrogantly?
He placed his hand on his gun and tried to take a step forward.
However, the convoy members either crossed their arms or leaned lazily against their cars, without deliberately sending any threatening or warning signals, yet their aura alone was awe-inspiring.
Yu Shuang, standing at the very front, looked at the boy with a half-smile.
The junior vice-captain's legs felt like they weighed a ton, his face was flushed red, and the team members behind him felt their hair stand on end and were thinking of getting into the car and running away.
Captain Liu's gaze shifted for a moment, he spoke a few words into the walkie-talkie, and then returned with a somewhat stiff forced smile:
"If the comrades don't want to switch, then so be it..." He glanced at the machine gun vehicle with great regret before saying:
"We will prepare ammunition, but there aren't many bullets of this caliber left at the base, and it's hard to say how many we can gather."
They regressed, but not completely.
It's hard to say how many North 3 caliber bullets they have. Could the convoy members really run into their armory to check?
Yu Shuang sighed and said calmly, "Comrades from North 3, please wait half an hour while we check the supplies. If there are any shortages, we'll make a list on the spot."
Team Leader Liu was taken aback for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Alright, comrades, just list them out. We'll give you whatever we have!"
The convoy inspected the supplies, which consisted mainly of basic food, water, and rifle ammunition.
Yu Shuang asked for another box of airdropped bombs, some anti-inflammatory drugs, batteries, and a sniper rifle that Qi An had thrown away.
None of them were anything valuable; it was a way of saving face for both sides.
After the group that had been receiving guests from North 3 left, everyone went to tidy up their brick house accommodations.
The brick house was alright; it was empty but clean, and there were four habitable rooms.
The drivers were assigned to one room, the wounded and doctors to another, and the remaining men and women to separate rooms.
Yu Shuang was in a so-so mood. When she went to the greenhouse with Tang Long and Qi An to pick vegetables, she said lazily:
"If we weren't carrying out a mission issued by the North 1 Base, given our remote and small base status, do you believe the North 3 Base would dare to detain us along with our vehicles?"
"Impossible," Tang Long said.
Qi An said, "It's possible. At least speaking like Li Yi could get you detained."
If he were any more reckless, he might get killed.
Once the other party blocks communication, who will know where you died?
"But if everyone does this, why bother fighting the Fallen Insects? Won't it end up like that America across the ocean... America what?" Tang Long couldn't think of that distant country's name for a moment.
"America was known as the number one country before the apocalypse, but its government collapsed not long after the apocalypse began. Each region ruled its own territory, and the private strongholds of the wealthy and powerful corporations competed for resources and fought each other, resulting in a dark age that lasted for more than a decade," Yu Shuang said.
She heard from Lao Zhao that there were refugees who had traveled across the ocean to the North 1 base and several other bases along the coast, who recounted the bloody history on the other side of the ocean.
However, that wasn't her main point. "I mean, although there is order, the essence of this world is still survival of the fittest."
"What else can you do? If you become weak, you'll be eaten by the Fallen Insects. Oh no, the Fallen Insects don't like eating people; they'll be corrupted and eaten!"
Qin Tianshuo and You Zi came to help collect ingredients. Qin Tianshuo heard Yu Shuang's words from afar and scoffed.
You Zidao said, "Even what kind of corrupted insect you become after being polluted depends on how strong your will to resist the pollution is."
Those with weak will, or those who willingly surrender to pollution, can only become the lowest-level worker insects.
The stronger one's will, the easier it is to mutate into a Wisps, or even a higher Wisps!
At this point, she became interested: "Have you ever seen a higher wisdom insect?"
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