Chapter 74 Chapter 74 At least half of the people here are gone...
Lu Chen piloted the plane toward the smoking subway station. It hovered in mid-air. He turned to look at Su Qing. "To be on the safe side, place some food in the cabin. Tell everyone we're here to discuss business. Don't mention the base for now."
"Okay." Su Qing blinked. Most of the people she met in this world were easy to get along with, but she was a little curious about what the leader of T City, a person who made Chief Liang and Lu Chen cautious, would be like.
Su Qing stood up and walked to the cabin, opened the door, threw down the rope, and then she slid down quickly along the rope.
The snow on the ground was at her knees, and the helicopter could barely stop. She raised her hand and waved to Lu Chen to land.
The helicopter slowly descended, and the snow on the ground was instantly blown up. Su Qing, who was standing far away, suddenly shuddered. Snowflakes drifted into her neck, making her shiver.
Lu Chen parked the helicopter and walked towards Su Qing. The two walked towards the subway entrance one after the other.
The long staircase extended downwards, and it was quiet inside. Su Qing followed Lu Chen down step by step. When the two of them stepped down the last step, a group of people suddenly surrounded them.
"Stop! Who is it?"
Su Qing looked up at the sea of guns pointing at him, and his heart stopped for a few seconds.
Lu Chen blocked her behind him and said to the others, "I'm from the S City base. I'm here to discuss business with your leader."
A man who seemed to be the leader stepped forward and looked at Lu Chen. "S City Base? How did you get here in this icy and snowy place?"
Lu Chen replied calmly, "We have a helicopter at our base. Go tell your Chief Zhang, my name is Lu Chen."
"Do you know our leader?"
Lu Chen nodded slightly without saying anything.
The man saw that Lu Chen seemed to be very familiar with their leader, so he didn't dare to make things difficult for him. He raised his finger and pointed to inform the leader, then waved his hand, and everyone put away their guns pointing at Lu Chen and the other man.
The leader pointed to a glass cubicle in the subway station and said, "Brother, please go in and wait for a moment. Our base has a rule that outsiders cannot enter without permission. My people will go ask the leader and be back soon."
…
Zhang Jin, the leader of N City, was drinking tea and chatting with his secretary in the room. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and the secretary stood up to open it.
A man stood huddled at the door. Seeing the secretary open the door, he said with a flattering look on his face, "Secretary Zeng, there are two people outside. One said he was from the S City base and his name was Lu Chen. He also said he knew our leader, and our boss asked us to ask for instructions."
"Come in and talk." Secretary Zeng was slightly surprised to hear Lu Chen's name and turned sideways to let him in.
The man walked into the house and was almost suffocated by the warmth inside. He cursed in his heart. Being a leader is such a pleasure. This is probably the only place in the base with electricity and air conditioning for heating.
When he reached Zhang Jin, he bowed his head and said respectfully, "Hello, Chief. I am a member of the third patrol team. There are a man and a woman outside. The man said his name is Lu Chen and he is from the S City base. He wants to discuss business with you."
Zhang Jin raised his eyebrows slightly, "Oh? It's actually Chief Lu... Xiao Zeng, go and invite him in."
Secretary Zeng received instructions and led his men away.
At the subway entrance, Lu Chen and Su Qing sat quietly in a small glass compartment, surrounded by people outside.
Su Qingdong's hands and feet felt numb... She slowly moved her feet a few times.
Lu Chen saw her actions and said, "Is it too cold? I'll go ask them for a brazier." After saying that, he stood up, opened the door and walked out.
The people outside saw Lu Chen coming out and asked, "What are you doing?"
Lu Chen looked at the leading captain and asked, "Is there a brazier?"
The leading captain said sternly, "I'm sorry, brother, we are limited here and don't have that thing."
"In that case, let's go back to the helicopter and wait."
One member slowly raised his gun and pointed it at Lu Chen, "No, you can't leave now. You have to wait for someone to come back before making a decision."
When Lu Chen saw someone pointing a gun at him, his face turned cold and he was about to explode.
There was a sound of footsteps behind me.
"Chief Lu! It's been a long time since we last met." Secretary Zeng walked up quickly and looked at Lu Chen with a smile on his face.
When Lu Chen saw the person coming, he curled his lips and said, "Secretary Zeng, long time no see."
Secretary Zeng saw Lu Chen's stern expression and unfriendly attitude, and saw someone pointing a gun at him. He angrily shouted, "Put your gun down! This is our distinguished guest." Then he turned around and apologized to Lu Chen, "Chief Lu, I'm truly sorry. My subordinates neglected you without knowing the seriousness of the matter. I will punish them later. Our chief wants you to go to his office. Please follow me."
The members of the third patrol team were all stunned. They didn't recognize the newcomer and were only following base regulations, yet they were still being punished in the end? Is there any justice in the world?
Lu Chen was too lazy to bother with these trivial matters. Without saying a word, he just walked back to the glass compartment and called Su Qing out.
Secretary Zeng noticed that the person coming out of the glass partition looked a little unfamiliar, and couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Lu Chen calmly blocked Su Qing's sight, and Secretary Zeng thought a little when he saw this.
Su Qing followed Lu Chen into the subway station. As they walked along, they saw that most of the people inside were setting up tents around the ventilation vents. Everyone had a numb expression and it was quiet all around. People seemed to be just shells sitting around the fire, wrapped in tattered clothes, with their hair disheveled and the exposed parts all black.
She had been to many bases, but she had never seen people in any base as...deadly silent as here.
Occasionally, someone would hear the noise and move their head stiffly to look at them. Their dark pupils seemed to fluctuate, looking particularly strange in the light of the fire.
Su Qing inexplicably felt like she was being watched like a prey. She felt a chill and walked forward quickly.
After walking along the long subway corridor for a while, Secretary Zeng led the two of them to the door of a room. He knocked twice and then opened the door. "Chief Lu, please come in."
As Su Qing walked into the house, he felt a wave of heat. There was electricity in the room, the lights were on and the air conditioner was on. The house was exquisitely decorated, which was completely different from the outside.
She looked around curiously. Behind a mahogany table in the middle of the room sat a man in his fifties. He looked elegant and easy-going, and was wearing a neat and clean executive suit. He looked like a leader.
The man stood up and came over, shaking hands with Lu Chen and saying, "Ah, it's been a while since we last met, Chief Lu. I'm sorry for not coming in to greet you. I'm so sorry for that."
Lu Chen's attitude was also unusually gentle, "Secretary Zhang, I'm sorry to bother you."
"Come, take a seat. Secretary Zeng will make tea for you two." After the greetings, Zhang Jin sat back on the mahogany chair. He tilted his head and asked, "Who is this lady?"
"Su Qing, my subordinate." Lu Chen briefly introduced Su Qing.
Su Qing stood up and bowed to Zhang Jin, "Hello, Secretary Zhang."
"Hello, Comrade Su Qing, please sit down. There's no need to be like this. Chief Lu, I usually only see you bringing Xiao Li and Xiao Gu with you. This is the first time I've seen you bring a female comrade here." Zhang Jin said with a smile.
Lu Chen explained, "Our base suffered severe damage to the buildings due to the extreme cold weather, so they all stayed at the base to handle matters, and that's why we brought her here."
Secretary Zeng came over with a tea tray and placed two cups of tea in front of Lu Chen and Su Qing. "You two, please have some tea."
Lu Chen thanked him, took a sip of the tea, and said, "It's been almost two years since the end of the world. This kind of good tea can only be drunk at Secretary Zhang's place."
Zhang Jin smiled amiably, "Chief Lu, please don't be so modest. The S City base is a large and prosperous place with everything it needs. This is just some old tea that I've treasured away. I've been reluctant to drink it, so I only brought it out just because you're here."
Lu Chen waved his hand and frowned. "Secretary Zhang really thinks too highly of me. The extreme cold caught me off guard. I came here in a hurry to discuss some business with Secretary Zhang."
"Oh? I wonder what kind of business Chief Lu wants to do?"
"I have a batch of frozen potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cabbage that I'd like to sell. I wonder if Secretary Zhang is interested."
Zhang Jin exchanged a secret glance with his secretary, "This... what price does Chief Lu want to sell it for?"
Lu Chen stretched out three fingers and pointed, "This number."
"Chief Lu, this price is really high. Our last transaction was just over a month ago, and you've increased the price by at least five times." Secretary Zeng looked at Lu Chen with embarrassment.
Lu Chen sighed and said, "Under the current circumstances, my price is absolutely fair. You can buy it and sell it for several times the price. If you are not short of money, who would sell food these days?"
"Chief Lu, we need to discuss the price you mentioned. It's getting late today. Why don't you stay here with me for one night and we will give you an answer tomorrow." Zhang Jin thought about it. They were short of food. Lu Chen's arrival could be said to have solved his urgent problem, but he remained expressionless. He wanted to keep Lu Chen for a few days to lower the price.
Lu Chen raised his hand and checked the time on his wristband. "Alright, sorry to bother Secretary Zhang then."
"Secretary Zeng, please arrange two better rooms for Chief Lu and this young comrade. Chief Lu, go check out the rooms first, and we'll have dinner together later."
"Okay, thank you for troubling Secretary Zhang." Lu Chen stood up and exchanged a few more compliments with Zhang Jin.
Secretary Zeng took the two of them away, wandering around in the dim underground and finally coming to an open space where a row of mobile houses were placed.
"Chief Lu, conditions are limited nowadays. Please bear with me. This is the best room we have. It has electricity and air conditioning, and it has a bedroom and a bathroom." Secretary Zeng said as he opened a door to show Lu Chen and the others what was inside.
"It's okay. Electricity and air conditioning are extremely rare." Lu Chen reached out and patted Secretary Zeng's shoulder to show his understanding.
"Then you two can take a rest first. I'll go prepare dinner and pick you up later."
Lu Chen nodded and watched Secretary Zeng turn and leave.
Su Qing followed Lu Chen into the house, closed the door, and looked around.
Lu Chen sat on a chair in the room and watched Su Qing walk around the room. "What are you doing?"
"They have electricity. Let me see if there are any eavesdropping devices or hidden cameras." Su Qing explained while searching.
Lu Chen smiled, "Don't worry, there won't be any here."
"Ah? Are you sure? I've seen this played out in many movies and TV shows. The sinister villains always use high technology."
"I'm sure, don't look for it anymore." Lu Chen called Su Qing over, "Did you feel anything was wrong along the way?"
Su Qing put down what she was holding and sat down next to Lu Chen, saying doubtfully, "If I were to say what's wrong, I think the people here are so weird. Everyone sitting there seems to have lost their souls, and the way they look at me occasionally is also weird, and..."
"And what?"
Su Qing looked around, then moved closer to Lu Chen and whispered, "Do you think this place is particularly empty? Normally, the N City base should have more than 10,000 people, but after walking all the way here, there are only about a few thousand people. Of course, it's possible that the others are somewhere else."
Lu Chen shook his head. "You're right. Compared to when I came here before, the population here is at least half as small."
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