Chapter 220
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi stayed in the different dimension for another week.
Finally, on this morning, when Tang Yu'an went to the incubator to check, he saw a crack on the bird egg.
He stood in front of the bird's egg excitedly, watching the cracks on the eggshell grow more and more, until the small, pointed, pale red bird's beak pecked through the eggshell, and the entire eggshell broke into two pieces.
A wet red bird appeared in front of Tang Yu'an.
"Chirp—" it made a childish sound.
As it chirped, it spewed out a ball of flame the size of a green bean. Fortunately, the power was very small and did not cause any casualties.
It chirped a few times and then lay down on the bird eggs to rest.
Tang Yu'an stared at it without blinking. The bird was really small, about the same length as his index finger, very miniature.
He couldn't help but reach out his hand and move closer, and the little red bird gently touched his finger with its beak. Perhaps it had rested enough, so it began to peck at the eggshells.
After eating the eggshells, its feathers had dried up, revealing a light orange-red fluff that looked incredibly cute.
“Chirp—chirp—”
After barking twice at Tang Yu'an, it squinted its eyes and began to doze off.
Tang Yu'an quickly told Zhou Qi the good news, and soon Zhou Qi came running back. He looked at the tiny red bird and couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect it to actually hatch."
"It can spit fire!" Tang Yu'an said excitedly.
"It seems that it has good abilities and talents. It can use fire as soon as it is born." Zhou Qi nodded involuntarily.
"Then what should we feed it?" Tang Yu'an said in distress, "The insects in the Giant Forest are so big."
"Look for more, insect eggs, fruits, leaves... see what it likes to eat." Zhou Qi said.
"Okay, then I'll go out and look for it!"
Tang Yu'an was in a hurry to find food for the little red bird, but Zhou Qi stopped him and said, "It's time to accelerate the drift. Let's go back to this plane first."
"Yes, Mom and Dad's message in a bottle is coming back!"
Tang Yu'an's eyes lit up.
Anyway, the bird had just eaten the eggshell and shouldn't be hungry for a while, so he put some millet next to it and then went back to this plane with Zhou Qi.
-
Jufeng Town, a garrison.
Hongli opened her eyes and placed fire stones around her. The fire energy in these stones had been exhausted.
She stood up and finally walked out of the retreat room after such a long time. As soon as the door of the room opened, a hot breath rushed out.
Black Bear, who was waiting outside the door, remained calm. He had been reporting the situation in the town to Hongli during this period and had long been accustomed to the high temperature.
"Did the fortress send people?" asked Hongli.
"Yes, I arrived yesterday and have been assigned a room," said Black Bear.
"How many people are here?"
"Seven." Black Bear whispered, "Only three came to the guard post."
Hongli snorted coldly. He knew where the rest had gone without asking.
She continued, "Let's go and meet them."
In the open space of the garrison, three people from the fortress were sitting on stone benches. Two of them were younger, about the same age as Chi Hao Hongli, and the remaining one looked to be in his thirties or forties.
"Jufeng Town has developed quite well. I didn't expect Hongli to have some management skills." The older Li Feng said.
The other two young men couldn't help but sneer when they heard this.
This was their first time leaving the fortress to carry out a mission. They were used to the prosperity of the fortress and naturally looked down on poor and backward places like Jufeng Town.
"I can't tell." Gu Zhenfei took a bite of the fruit, then frowned and complained, "This fruit is so sour, I won't eat a single bite in the fortress!"
Having said that, he still swallowed the fruit pulp with difficulty.
It took them almost two months to get to Jufeng Town. During this period, they suffered a lot and no longer dared to be picky.
The other young man didn't say anything, but Li Feng could see his disdain.
In addition to supplies, what makes Jufeng Town look down on them is mainly the strength of the psychics.
People like them who were sent on missions had abilities at level five or above, while the guards in Jufeng Town...
At least so far, among the guards they have encountered, only the black bear is slightly stronger, but at most he is at the middle stage of the fourth level, which is indeed not good enough.
Li Feng had been to Jufeng Town before and knew what it was like in the past, so he had deeper feelings about it.
He looked at the guards.
Regardless of their strength, these guards look much stronger than those in other places.
First of all, they can eat enough and eat well, so although they look pale, they are still quite strong and in good spirits.
Secondly, he noticed that the patrolling guards would change into thick cotton clothes at night, which was rare in other places in the wasteland.
Of course, what impressed him most was that all the residents of Jufeng Town had short hair, and some of them obviously had their hair shaved off and then grown back.
This is not seen in other towns at all.
There are many benefits to cutting hair short, but Li Feng did not expect that Hongli would ask all the residents of Jufeng Town to cut their hair short in addition to his guards.
Not only has the residents' image improved, but they are also obviously more energetic. In addition to fear, they also have genuine respect and love for Hongli, the manager.
This is not something that ordinary people can do.
Of course, what Li Feng was most curious about was where Hongli got these supplies?
"Isn't it just being the manager of a remote area?" Gu Zhenfei whispered, "You actually left us aside for so long, what a big deal!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hongli was surrounded by Black Bear and a group of guards.
Although the person who complained behind her back heard it, Gu Zhenfei didn't feel embarrassed. He looked at Hongli a few times and felt the aura emanating from her.
He sneered and said, "Hongli, it's been so long since we last met. How come you haven't improved at all? Your strength has even regressed?"
After losing the spiritual insect in its body, the red carp was finally no longer troubled by the backlash, but its realm dropped directly from the middle and late stages of the sixth level to the fourth level.
During her time in seclusion, in addition to recuperating from her injuries, she was also practicing.
This was not difficult for her, she just had to walk the same path she had walked before.
Without having to worry about backlash, and with the help of the fire stones traded to her by two young men, her training progressed rapidly, and she finally raised her strength to the fifth level today.
Otherwise, facing Gu Zhenfei and others, Hongli would be more passive at this moment.
She glanced at Gu Zhenfei coldly and said, "So your strength is exchanged for your IQ?"
"you……"
"Okay, okay, stop arguing and let's talk about business." Li Feng stopped their arguing in time.
"Hongli, we are here with orders from headquarters. Please cooperate with us." He looked at Hongli and said solemnly.
Hongli's expression also became serious.
She looked around and said, "Let's talk somewhere else."
So, they moved to the reception room, and except for Black Bear, all the other guards stood outside the door.
"We are planning to go to the deserted city and hope you can send some people to us." Li Feng said politely.
Hongli frowned slightly. It was a deserted city again... She didn't expect that Li Feng and the others had this purpose.
According to the time calculation, Chi Hao should have arrived at the fortress not long ago, so it is impossible that Li Feng and his team set off only after receiving Chi Hao's report.
Although Chi Hao had borrowed her satellite phone, he had said that the intelligence he had gathered was inconvenient to share over the phone and that he needed to return to the fortress in person...
But calculating the other way around, the time when Li Feng and his team set out from the fortress should have been shortly after Chi Hao reported via satellite phone.
So, is there any connection between the two?
Hongli pondered and asked, "What are you going to do in the deserted city?"
"This is a secret." Gu Zhenfei said proudly.
Hongli stared at him coldly, "Then I refuse to cooperate."
"You dare!"
Before Gu Zhenfei could say anything, Hongli said, "Xie Chaori died in the deserted city. Now you want my people to die as well? No way!"
The more than one hundred guards in Jufeng Town were all selected and trained after Hongli took over Jufeng Mountain.
They may not be as good as the elite of the fortress, but they are loyal to her. They are the force she has cultivated with her own hands. How could she send them to be cannon fodder?
Li Feng calmed Gu Zhenfei and said, "Hongli, this is an order from headquarters."
"Do you want to disobey orders?"
Hongli pursed her lips and said nothing, but from her expression, it was still clear that she did not want to compromise.
Li Feng softened his tone and said, "I know that you and your sister were promoted by Xie Chaori and have a deep relationship with him, but your loyalty is ultimately to the Fortress, not the Xie family."
"Otherwise, why don't you and your sister have the surname Xie?" He directly hit Hongli's sore spot with his words.
Yes, Chi Hao and Hong Li both have no surnames.
Chi Hao is too young and may not remember it, but Hong Li remembers it very clearly. They were orphans born in the wasteland and were adopted into the fortress because of their fire talent.
Although they met Xie Chaori when they grew up, and he took care of and promoted them, they still did not have a surname.
Surnames often represent identity in a fortress.
Those who have the surname are naturally superior to them, even if their talents and abilities are not as good as theirs.
Chi Hao might be a little insensitive, so he doesn't feel anything. However, Hong Li can't stand this kind of differential treatment, so he often conflicts with others.
This is why she was ostracized and eventually exiled to Jufeng Town.
If Xie Chaori had not fought for her, she might have gone to a more dangerous place to perform the mission. Being the manager of Jufeng Town was not a tough job.
Therefore, Hongli is grateful to Xie Chaori in her heart, but it does not mean that she also agrees with the Xie family.
Seeing that her attitude had softened, Li Feng continued, "Hongli, you don't want to be punished again and transferred to another place, right?"
A hint of anger flashed across Hongli's eyes, but he suppressed it.
After working as a manager for several years, she has at least developed the ability to cultivate her energy and is no longer as reckless as before.
She looked at Li Feng and said, "I can cooperate with you, but you must also tell me what you want my guards to do. This is the bottom line."
Li Feng thought for a moment and nodded.
"We need to explore the deserted city and collect relevant information."
Seeing that Hongli wanted to say something, Li Feng added: "Don't worry, the fortress has already lost a sixth-level strongman in the deserted city, and we will not allow any greater losses."
Hongli raised his eyebrows slightly. Li Feng was not surprised by Xie Chaori's death. Obviously, he did leave the fortress with his men after Chi Hao reported the situation.
Thinking of this, Hongli couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
Her brother was indeed too naive. He traveled thousands of miles back to the fortress to report on his work, but as soon as he hung up the phone, the other party sent an advance team to pick peaches.
Moreover, the team leader this time was from the Li family. I don’t know what the Xie family is doing. They wasted Xie Chaori’s life in vain!
Hongli didn't want to hand the guards over to these people.
They wouldn't allow any further losses to occur? That sounds nice, but when were the Jufeng Town guards incorporated into the fortress's system?
Her guards would become expendable in the hands of this group of people.
However, Hongli also knew his situation. He used to be in the late sixth stage and could still hold out, but now he has dropped to the fifth stage and no longer has the confidence to fight head-on.
not to mention……
She was indeed curious about what was going on in the deserted city and what made the fortress attach so much importance to it.
After careful consideration, Hongli finally gave in. She said, "Okay, but I want to follow you."
Gu Zhenfei interrupted again, "Didn't you hear us say this was confidential? Who are you and why do you still want to follow us?"
Li Feng also looked embarrassed.
Hongli didn't back down. She said, "You just said that I'm loyal to Fortress, but it's really chilling that Fortress is so wary of me."
"I've been operating in Jufeng Mountain for three or four years. I'm the closest force to Desolate City. I'll know what you're investigating sooner or later, or should I..."
"If you really find out anything, you'll just transfer me away and reap the benefits, right?"
Li Feng paused, waved his hands and said, "How can this be possible?"
Seeing Hongli's refusal to back down, he could only nod and say, "Okay, follow me if you want."
"When do we set off?" asked Hongli.
"Tomorrow."
"OK."
So they discussed some details and finally left the reception room.
"Uncle Li, do you really want to take the red carp with you?" Gu Zhenfei gritted his teeth.
"Don't make things more complicated. This is her territory after all." Li Feng advised.
Gu Zhenfei snorted coldly, "She's only in the early stages of the fifth stage. It wouldn't take us any time to seize power. Is there any need to be afraid of her?"
"She is from the Xie family after all." Another young man who had been silent for a long time interrupted.
"So what? Uncle Li also said that the Xie family didn't even give her a surname!" Gu Zhenfei muttered, "Xie Chaori is dead, and I haven't seen what happened to the Xie family..."
"Okay, stop arguing!"
Li Feng frowned and said, "Who is the leader? Don't say anything more. I've told you countless times to be careful with your words and actions in the wasteland."
Gu Zhenfei finally calmed down.
By the afternoon, they finally met up with the other four people and summarized the information they had collected.
"Hongli probably really doesn't know what's going on in the deserted city. Apart from being in seclusion for a long time, there hasn't been any unusual activity recently."
Someone investigating the situation in the market town added: "Even after the flood receded, she didn't send anyone to the deserted city."
They actually arrived earlier, but encountered a flood on the way and had to wait until the flood receded before reaching Jufeng Mountain.
"Li Li and his men have been dealt a heavy blow," the other two said. "The highest rank of the people who can assist us this time is only level three."
Hearing this, Li Feng couldn't help but frown.
"Why are they so weak?" he said. "I remember they should have at least four fifth-level ability users?"
The local stubborn forces in Jufeng Mountain were actually cultivated by the aristocratic families of the fortress, mainly from the Li family and the Gu family.
Therefore, Hongli always had reservations when dealing with these people before, and even when he gained the upper hand later, he did not dare to kill them all.
"Three died and one was disabled."
Gu Zhenfei couldn't help but widen his eyes and interrupted again: "Did Hongli do it?"
"Not exactly..."
"If it is, it is. If it is not, it is not. What do you mean by not completely yes?" Li Feng also frowned.
The investigator scratched his head and said, "They did get into trouble after causing trouble for the red carp, but two of them rolled down the mountain and died on their way back, and the other two..."
"I heard that Hongli threw a ball of fire, and one of them was burned to death. Another one was close by and was also touched by the fire, and was burned to death."
"Without those four, the remaining people were unable to defeat the Red Carp's guards, so they were eliminated. Only a few small soldiers and crab generals were left."
Hearing this, the other two who hadn't seen Hongli couldn't help but ask, "Is Hongli really that powerful?"
Gu Zhenfei looked strange, and Li Feng said: "No, judging from his aura, he should be in the early stage of the fifth level."
"Then how did she defeat four fifth-level espers?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally put away their contempt for Hongli, wondering if she was hiding her strength.
"That's fine." Li Feng nodded. "Our mission this time is to investigate whether the deserted city really exists..."
He paused, not finishing his speech, and continued, "Based on the information we've obtained so far, the possibility of it existing is very high. If we do find it, you should understand its importance without me having to explain it further."
The other six nodded.
"If it really exists, in addition to further determining its location, we also need to control the entire deserted city." Li Feng said.
Everyone nodded seriously. Gu Qingtai, another young man who had gone with Hongli to see him, said, "In that case, why don't we just start by taking control of the deserted city?"
Judging from the intelligence we have obtained so far, there is an 80% chance that a space rift exists in the center of the deserted city.
So in order to avoid unnecessary omissions, the best way is to control the deserted city from this moment on.
"Yes, I agree."
The person in charge of investigating the market town said, "I've already found out that the residents of the deserted city are basically people with special abilities who left Jufeng Mountain."
"They are quite capable and familiar with the environment of the deserted city. After we control the deserted city, we can let these residents explore the center of the deserted city. It will definitely be more effective with less effort!"
Li Feng listened to their proposal and nodded with a smile: "Not bad, it turns out that young people dare to think and act."
He felt that this method could indeed achieve their goal well.
Originally, Li Feng did want to use Hongli's people as cannon fodder, but because of the explicit rules, he didn't dare to push them too hard.
Now I heard that Hongli could fight four enemies of the same level, and still remain unscathed.
The cooperation of four fifth-level people is enough to deal with sixth-level ability users. Even he does not dare to underestimate the people trained by Li Li.
The true strength of the red carp is frightening.
In this case, the original plan needs to be adjusted, and Gu Qingtai's proposal perfectly solves this contradiction.
The deserted city is not under Hongli's jurisdiction, and they let the residents of the deserted city consume the food. She can't have any objections, right?
We will set off for the deserted city tomorrow. First, let some guards control the main traffic arteries, and then let other people capture the residents.
They began to discuss a specific action plan and coldly decided the life and death of the residents of the deserted city.
For this team, the only important thing is completing the mission and maximizing profits. As for those human lives... they don't seem to care.
Their plan of action is also simple.
After all, in their opinion, with the strength of the seven of them, plus the guards from Jufeng Mountain, wouldn't it be a matter of minutes to take control of a deserted city with few people?
-
At the same time, outside Qingmu Castle.
Chi Hao stood at the front of the bus and looked into the distance. The bus was driving on a rather bumpy and rugged concrete road.
It’s unknown how long this cement road has been built, and many sections have cracks and obvious depressions.
The bus moved forward with difficulty, and in the distance, the entrance to the fortress could be seen.
On both sides of the road are endless farmlands. Many people can be seen working in the fields, and in the distance are rows of densely packed houses.
Unlike other fortresses, Qingmu Fort is surrounded by abundant water and trees, and the climate has become relatively stable after experiencing a catastrophic period in the first thirty years.
Such an environment is naturally lush with vegetation, which has nurtured a large number of planters, but it has also attracted countless mutant creatures.
It took Qingmu Fort twenty to thirty years to finally clear the land within ten kilometers of the fortress, but even so, large mutant creatures still often came to feed.
Because there are many farmers living on the reclaimed land, they make a living by assisting the planters in farming.
Chi Hao encountered three or four mutant creatures on the way, and wasted some time in assisting the guards in dealing with them.
Now we can finally enter the fortress!
After a series of inspections - because his nameplate and gun were lost, the inspection was particularly strict.
Fortunately, we finally returned to the fortress safely.
Looking at the crowds on the street, Chi Hao couldn't help rubbing his hands excitedly.
Next, let's see how he counterattacks and catches up with Lan Yunqing! Of course...
Thinking of Lao Xie, his excitement subsided. He still had to persuade the headquarters first and send people to the center of the deserted city to look for him!
Chi Hao felt that Xie Chaori was incredibly lucky. They had faced so many dangers together in the wasteland, and they had always managed to escape them safely. There was no reason for him to fail this time...
In short, he had to see the person alive or the body dead. He felt that he couldn't let Lao Xie stay in that ghost place in the center of the deserted city forever!
Just as Chi Hao was about to return to the headquarters to report on his work and try to get help, he suddenly saw new messages popping up in the store channel on the message board.
【Message Board (Shop Channel)】
【Skyward Stone】:.
【Green as Blue】:?
Who's this? Is there a new guy at Ping'an Grocery Store? What's the point of suddenly ending things? Chi Hao was puzzled.
But as he was thinking about it, he saw——
【Xiangtianshi】: Rat?
【Green as Blue】: ...
【Xiangtianshi】: Little mouse?
【Green as Blue】：…………
【Green as Blue】: Who the hell are you?!
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