41. Enter the base
For an entire day, the car climbed up the winding mountain road, braving the cold wind and crushing gravel and snow, until the terrain finally leveled out as darkness fell.
Fu Yunong had just breathed a sigh of relief when her gaze swept across the front of her and she froze instantly.
It's so lively!
Although the high-rise buildings have long since collapsed, most of the once low-rise houses are still intact. Around these houses, all kinds of sheds are densely packed together: some are made of rusty metal sheets, some are plastered with yellow mud, and most are barely enclosed by plastic sheeting.
A lot of smoke rose up, and you could see that there were people inside.
The dirt road was muddy and filthy, with a foul smell of excrement permeating the air.
Occasionally, you can see figures wrapped in tattered cotton-padded clothes, hunching their necks, hands tucked in, hurrying past with numb eyes.
"Rainy weather, pull over," Sun Hui suddenly said.
Fu Yunong stepped on the brakes, and Sun Hui pulled a flag out of her backpack. It had a simple shield pattern embroidered on it, with the words "Watchmen" below.
She firmly planted the flag on the rearview mirror before sitting back in the passenger seat. "This is a no-man's-land with few resources. If it doesn't snow, we have to fetch water from the river ten kilometers away."
At this point, her tone turned serious. "They live a hard life, and many of them make a living by robbing. By planting this flag, most people will be mindful of our base's reputation and won't dare to act rashly."
"Does planting a flag guarantee safety?" Huangfu Jinrang asked.
"No." Shi Dong's voice suddenly rang out. Her gaze was fixed on the corner ahead, not only because she had been there before, but also because she could already see what was waiting ahead.
She picked up the walkie-talkie, "Songsong, stop the car."
Lin Songsong's motorcycle stopped immediately, and Hua Hua warily watched her surroundings.
Fu Yunong followed Shi Dong's gaze and saw several dark figures flash by behind the wall.
In such extreme weather, being without supplies is tantamount to waiting to die. Rather than obediently waiting to die, it's better to take a gamble and perhaps survive.
Sun Hui naturally saw that group of people as well. Her face darkened. One by one, they were trying to embarrass her!
As soon as the car came to a stop, shadowy figures emerged one after another, forming a swarm that seemed to surround the car.
A rough count revealed a dozen or so people, all emaciated, armed, and with sinister glints in their eyes. Many heads also peeked out from the surrounding shacks, waiting to see if they could get a share.
Shi Dong pushed open the car door and got out, the cold wind whipping the ends of her hair.
She coldly surveyed the people who had surrounded her, a flash of silvery-white electricity in her eyes. The next second, the dark clouds in the sky churned, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl struck the open ground in front of them with a deafening roar, sending shards of rock flying and causing the group to retreat in fright.
"Get out of the way." Shi Dong's voice wasn't loud, but it brooked no argument. "Otherwise, you'll die!"
The crowd erupted in chaos, exchanging horrified glances. Before Shi Dong could utter another word, the crowd scattered rapidly, disappearing behind the shed in the blink of an eye, even the peeping heads retreating.
Fu Yunong pushed open the car door and got out, somewhat surprised, as this was the first time she had met someone so sensible.
“These are all shrewd people who have crawled out of piles of corpses.” Shi Dong turned around, got into the car, and sat in the driver’s seat. “He has his own rules for survival. The stupid ones are long gone.”
Fu Yunong nodded, thinking to herself that they were more intelligent than the people at the supply station.
The car restarted and sped away under the scrutiny of countless complex gazes.
After nightfall, the group found an abandoned courtyard on the edge of the settlement. There were obvious signs of human activity, but Shi Dong observed that no one had lived there for at least three days.
For safety reasons, the group ate a vegetable and egg drop noodle soup that didn't have such a strong flavor and then rested.
After dinner, a few people took turns keeping watch, while the others slept fully clothed.
In the middle of the night, a faint sound of footsteps approached. Hua Hua suddenly pricked up her ears, meowed, and rushed out.
Upon seeing this, the dark figure outside the courtyard was terrified and ran away as fast as it could.
Fu Yunong looked away, smiled and patted Hua Hua's head, whispering, "With their small bodies, they're not even enough to fill your teeth."
The group continued their journey early the next morning.
The closer you get to the base, the more people there are on the road. Although they are still dressed in tattered clothes, they are more lively than the people in the no-man's-land. Occasionally, you can see people walking and talking with their necks hunched over.
Although the snow here is thick, you can still see a few surviving trees with bare trunks and twisted branches.
Looking at the withered branches, Fu Yunong wondered if these trees would sprout again.
After a long and focused drive, they finally arrived at the base's outpost. Sun Hui got out of the car and showed her identification. After a careful check by the guards, they immediately called over a guide vehicle and signaled for them to follow.
With the lead vehicle clearing the way, followed by SUVs and motorcycles, after traveling about two kilometers across the open plain, Fu Yunong finally saw the true face of the Watchers' Base:
A concrete wall, five meters high, stood before them, exactly as Sun Hui had described.
A few hundred meters further on, we arrived at the main entrance of the base. The gate was tightly closed, made of thick steel plates, and a dozen heavily armed soldiers stood at the entrance, while sentries patrolled back and forth on the city wall.
Shi Dong glanced around and spotted three superhumans, but none of them were of high level.
"Everyone, get off the bus!" The soldier at the door stepped forward and gestured.
The checks here are much stricter than at the outpost. First, they verify the documents, and then the soldiers carefully inspect the vehicles and everyone's personal belongings.
After registering their personal information, a middle-aged man with the rank of captain asked, "Are there any people with superpowers among you?"
“These are all of them,” Sun Hui quickly replied.
The captain was clearly taken aback for a moment, then asked them to demonstrate their abilities.
Shi Dong, Xiao Linfang, Lin Songsong, and Huangfu Jinrang all had their unique supernatural abilities shining through their palms, while Fu Yunong put the car into her spatial storage right in front of them.
The captain's expression changed from surprise to solemnity. He quickly said a few words into the walkie-talkie before closing the door. "Please come in! There's a car waiting for you inside!"
Fu Yunong looked and saw that there were indeed two heavily armed military vehicles waiting inside the gate.
After entering the gate, Sun Hui pointed to a high wall in the distance, her tone filled with obvious pride, "Look, that's where I led the team to build! Back then, we didn't have enough supplies, so I relied on my superpowers to fill the gap before the blizzard."
The group looked in the direction she pointed, and the wall there was indeed newer than the rest. Fu Yunong sincerely praised, "Sister Hui is really amazing."
Sun Hui smiled even more brightly, said nothing more, and followed Xiao Linfang and Lin Songsong into another military vehicle.
Fu Yunong, Shi Dong, and Huangfu Jinrang got into the car in front. Hua Hua looked up at the roof and meowed. After Fu Yunong asked the soldier, she nodded to it.
Hua Hua immediately leaped up and landed steadily on the roof of the car, curiously turning her round head.
The base was much more orderly than Fu Yunong had imagined. Most of the houses were single-story bungalows, with few two- or three-story buildings. The walls were painted white and were somewhat mottled.
The road wasn't wide, barely wide enough for two cars to pass side by side. Every few steps, a patrolman in uniform carrying an iron bar would walk by. There weren't many pedestrians on the road, and most of them were wearing old cotton-padded clothes. When they saw a car driving by, they would instinctively move to the side of the road to make way.
Most pedestrians walk, with only a few cyclists occasionally seen.
Fu Yunong's gaze swept across the roadside and saw small shops with signs for "Barbershop", "Grain and Oil Supply Point" and "General Store". Although the shops were simple, there were a few people queuing at the door.
She thought to herself that this place felt more like a normal society than anywhere else she had ever seen before.
Shi Dong observed silently the whole way, and the deeper they went, the more doubts arose in his heart. This scene didn't seem like something that should exist for a population of 80,000...
The vehicle drove for about ten minutes through the base, passing a stone bridge spanning a river. The water under the bridge was wide and covered with thick ice, and several soldiers were patrolling along the ice.
After driving for a few more minutes after crossing the bridge, we finally entered a heavily guarded compound with a sign at the entrance that read "General Executive Yuan".
Finally, the car stopped in front of a five-story building with dark gray walls and three bright metal characters that read "Administration Building" in the center. A row of armed guards stood at the entrance.
The guide got out of the car first and gestured for the others to follow, saying, "Please come with me to complete the registration procedures."
Upon entering the administration building, the lobby was bustling with people, and many staff members in work uniforms were busy with their work.
Upon seeing Fu Yunong and her group enter, they all looked up, their eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry, yet also with a hint of superior aloofness.
Sun Hui greeted several familiar staff members and then went upstairs first, saying she was going to report the situation.
The guide led Fu Yunong and the others to the registration window. The registrar was a middle-aged woman who had been expressionless at first, but her eyes lit up instantly when she heard the guide say that they were superhumans. She immediately put on a fawning smile and quickly took out the registration form. "Thank you for your help, please register us!"
After registering the information, the registrar called out to the side, "Xiao Zhou, take a few people to Building 1 to check in. Remember to send them their daily necessities over, don't neglect them."
"Hey!" Xiao Zhou, a young woman, responded loudly and led the group towards the back of the administration building with both enthusiasm and caution.
The group followed Xiao Zhou through the parking shed behind the administration building, where many bicycles and a few cars were parked.
Not far after that, you can see two three-story gray buildings on the left and right. The building on the left has a yard in front of it with a few bare trees and the word "Building 1" on the wall.
The group went up to the third floor.
Xiao Zhou took out a set of keys and handed them over. "These are all single rooms with private bathrooms. You can choose whichever you like." He added, "I'll go get the toiletries first, and then I'll come back later to take you to the cafeteria for dinner."
Fu Yunong took the key and pushed open the door to a dormitory room.
The room was small, with a single bed, a bedside table next to the bed, and a simple wardrobe at the foot of the bed. The window had glass panes, which, although a bit blurry, could barely block the wind.
Looking at this unfamiliar "dormitory," Fu Yunong suddenly had the illusion of returning to the 1970s.
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