Chapter 92 Imperial Power Base
The gas station lights were on as everyone ate late-night snacks while repairing the SUV that Junjun had crushed. Jiang Rong's SUV was known for its safety, but under Junjun's weight, the roof was twisted and deformed.
For safety reasons, the off-road vehicle will be driven back to the base by the other ability users for repairs. To ensure the children can get proper rest, the teammates brought the largest and best RV from the base.
Chu Qiang moved the items from the SUV's trunk into the RV, muttering as he did so, "Xiao Jiang, I'm not trying to be mean, but don't you know what kind of world this is out there? You're heading to Huangquan with just this little bit of stuff. If you encounter any mutated plants or animals on the way, do you think Little Fairy and Little Darling can handle it?"
This displeased the two mutated plants. The little fairy silently planted a sharp spike at Chu Qiang's butt, while the little darling whimpered and twisted its vines, "No problem..."
Jiang Rong slurped his instant noodles without replying. If it weren't for the urgency and the fear of alerting his teammates, would he have taken his son and left in the middle of the night? He was so bold because the road from Xinghuo to Huangquan had been cleared. As long as nothing unexpected happened along the way, he was confident he could reach Huangquan.
Chu Qiang jumped up with a yell, "Little fairy, why did you prick me again?! Xiao Jiang, you better control your cactus!"
The little fairy twisted her body and chuckled twice. Even though it was just a small ball now, it could still protect Jiang Gong.
With his teammates by his side, Jiang Rong felt less pressured about the journey. However, the thought that Huang Quan might be waiting for them to walk right into his trap put him under renewed stress.
Guan Shao placed a piece of beef into Jiang Rong's bowl. "Don't overthink it. If the imperial power really dares to attack us, then let's see who's stronger." Although Xinghuo Base has fewer people, if it really comes to a head-on confrontation, it's hard to say who will win.
The children were thrilled to see the large RV. Jiang Xiaoheng took off his protective suit and, with the help of his older brother and younger sister, kept exploring inside the RV, exclaiming, "Dad, the RV is so big and beautiful!"
Leilei proudly explained to her younger siblings, "Of course! This is one of the best RVs in the world. Before the financial crisis, it was worth tens of millions."
The three children gasped in surprise, "Wow!" After a pause, Jiang Hao asked, "Sister, how much is tens of millions?" "Yes? Can it buy a lot of small steamed buns?"
After hesitating for a moment, Leilei nodded, "Yes, we can buy so many meat buns, we could never eat them all in a lifetime!"
The children's eyes sparkled. They realized how expensive their car was and how they had to take good care of it.
After finishing their instant noodles and resting briefly, the convoy slowly set off. This time, Jiang Xiaoheng didn't have to sit in the narrow child seat anymore. He, Xiao Hao, Yuan Yuan, and Lei Lei lay down on the large bed in the RV, and the little ones soon fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Rong turned her head to look at Guan Shao, who was driving with one hand, and said, "I've noticed that you can handle any car model. You're really amazing."
Guan Shao focused on looking ahead, "I learned all of this before. I can also fly a plane. I'll take you flying sometime. Okay, you should get some sleep. You haven't had a proper rest these past few days. When you wake up, I'll teach you how to drive a motorhome."
Jiang Rong smiled, adjusted the car seat, and leaned back, saying, "Okay, I'll take a nap."
Jiang Rong had barely closed her eyes when the car suddenly slowed down. Just as she was about to get up, Guan Shao said, "It's okay, we've arrived at the Peace Base service station. You can continue sleeping."
The superhumans at Peace Base recognized the visitors as being from Spark Base and greeted them warmly, "Brothers, going on a mission? Need some gas? Come on, load the instant noodles into the car!"
The ability users from Spark Base were too embarrassed to take anything from Peace Base for free, so they all took out cigarettes and alcohol from their cars to give back to the Peace Base members. The ability users from both bases chatted and laughed, and when the Spark Base members were about to leave, the Peace Base ability users even sent a convoy to escort them away.
Seeing this, Jiang Rong sighed, "It seems that Peace Base is still quite peaceful now, but I wonder how long this peace will last."
Guan Shao said softly, "At least for now, the relationship between the two bases is good." Who can say what will happen in the future?
The Royal Power Base is located in the northwest, about 700 kilometers away from Xinghuo in a straight line. According to the current road conditions and weather, it will take Jiang Rong and his team three days to reach it.
The first two days were uneventful; they barely encountered any mutated rats along the way. On the third day, however, they ran into trouble: the road ahead was blocked by a landslide, and taking a detour would add over 200 kilometers to their journey. Moreover, the detour route passed through mountainous areas, making the terrain even more complex and introducing more unpredictable factors.
After a moment's thought, the superhumans decided to clear the obstacles ahead. Although they were few in number, they believed they could clear the obstructed section of the road tonight with a little effort.
Inside Leilei's space were several bulldozers and excavators, and the superhumans worked together with a clear division of labor. The landslide-affected section was three kilometers long, and in no time, they had cleared more than three hundred meters of it.
Just then, a buzzing sound came from above. Everyone looked up and saw a black drone hovering overhead. Jiang Jinhu chuckled twice, "Damn it, is it blocking our way?"
The world is in chaos these days. Some small bases can't survive, so they've resorted to highway robbery. Jiang Rong and his group only used ten vehicles on this trip, and Jiang Jinhu felt they must be being watched. Maybe the landslide ahead was caused by these people.
Just as everyone was about to retaliate, a lazy voice came from the drone, "Oh, blocked? You're not up to the task, are you? You'd better move aside, and watch our Royal Power Base show you how to instantly open a main road. Move aside, everyone move aside, don't get shot."
Wang Chenggang's face darkened. "It's Fengzi." Apart from Gu Zefeng, no one else is so shameless.
Guan Shaotong and Jiang Rong exchanged a glance and nodded. Jiang Rong then called out, "Put all the construction vehicles away."
The Royal Power Base was indeed quite capable; in no time, a tunnel appeared in the collapsed section of the road. Pan Pan was completely impressed. "Superpowers can be used like this?" If they had known they could create a tunnel in a collapsed area, they wouldn't have gone through so much trouble.
Meng Weixian said seriously, "That's not necessarily true. The superhumans of the Imperial Power can open a hole, but we might not be able to." He even suspected that this landslide was deliberately caused by the people of the Imperial Power to block superhumans from other bases.
After the tunnel opened, several SUVs drove out. Gu Zefeng, wearing a black trench coat and with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, got out of the car. He looked around and his gaze fell on the large RV. He squinted at the RV, "Nice vehicle, now it belongs to our Royal Power."
Without waiting for the expressions of the ability users at the Starfire Base, he stepped onto the RV and entered. Gu Zefeng clicked his tongue, "Guan Tou'er, you've fallen from grace, getting such a luxurious RV. But I like it~"
Jiang Rong's expression changed; the children were still in the car. Just as he was about to stop Gu Zefeng, Guan Shao gave him a wink, "It's alright, Gu Zefeng won't hurt the children, don't worry."
They've now entered the territory of the imperial court and are counting on it to save Jiang Xiaoheng. They'd be willing to do anything, even offer a motorhome, or even ask for an exorbitant price from Gu Zefeng, as long as Xiaoheng can be saved.
Gu Zefeng took two steps forward and plopped down on the RV's sofa. "I didn't expect you guys would actually dare to come to Royal Power. I'm not..."
Before Gu Zefeng could finish speaking, the sliding door next to the sofa opened. Three children cautiously stepped out, and Jiang Hao placed a glass of water on the table in front of the sofa. "Uncle, please have some water."
Jiang Xiaoheng placed the fruit platter on the sofa. "Uncle, please have some fruit. These are small cantaloupes from our farm; they're so sweet!"
The water and fruit platter were taken away by her brothers. Yuanyuan tilted her head and thought for a while before taking out three candies from her pocket. She placed the candies in front of Gu Zefeng and said, "Uncle, have some candy." When Gu Zefeng wasn't paying attention, she took back two candies.
Gu Zefeng: ...
Seeing that Gu Zefeng didn't react, Jiang Hao became bolder. He stared at the cigarette in Gu Zefeng's hand and said seriously, "Uncle, smoking is harmful to your health." Jiang Xiaoheng nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes."
Gu Zefeng raised an eyebrow. Were they complaining that his smoking was too pungent? These three kids are quite clever; they're interesting.
A half-smoked cigarette, still glowing, popped out of the car door. Gu Zefeng looked around and then at Jiang Hao. "You're Jiang Hao?"
Jiang Hao nodded. "Yes, I am Jiang Hao."
Gu Zefeng's lips curled up. "They look alike." Jiang Hao and his biological father, Jiang Zhen, are becoming more and more alike.
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Xiaoheng again, "Jiang Xiaoheng?"
Jiang Xiaoheng nodded. "Yes, Uncle, who are you?" Xiaoheng's voice was soft and sweet, with a rising tone at the end, which put people in a good mood.
Gu Zefeng, in a playful mood, said, "I'm your grandpa, call me Grandpa Gu."
Jiang Xiaoheng found it a bit strange; this uncle looked very young, not like an old man at all. But since he'd said that, he should oblige. Jiang Xiaoheng earnestly called out, "Grandpa Gu~"
Gu Zefeng laughed heartily. Guan Shao and Jiang Rong's son were calling him grandpa, so wasn't he their father? Heh, interesting! He really wanted to see Guan Shao and the others' expressions.
Yuanyuan readily agreed, "Grandpa Gu, aren't you hot wearing so many clothes? I have a little skirt that you can borrow."
Jiang Hao skillfully took a pair of shoes from the shoe cabinet at the car door entrance. "Grandpa Gu's shoes are a bit dirty. It will be more comfortable to change into a pair of slippers."
Gu Zefeng initially dressed up as a cool and handsome guy, leaning back on the sofa. But after a while, he ran out of cigarettes, took off his cloak and shoes, and the three children had him completely taken care of.
Guan Shao nodded to the superhumans from the Imperial Power organization. "Could you please lead the way? Your Captain Gu is in the same car as us."
The RV door closed slowly, and Guan Shao skillfully started the RV. Jiang Rong tilted his head to look back, and strangely enough, why were his three children so friendly to Gu Zefeng? They were actually crowding around Gu Zefeng, feeding him fruit and offering him snacks. Gu Zefeng actually seemed to enjoy this feeling, sitting with his legs crossed and a satisfied expression on his face.
However, this is a good thing. If the children can get along well with Gu Zefeng, they will be more willing to do their best to treat Xiao Heng.
*
Escorted by the superhumans at the Royal Power Base, they arrived at the base's gates several hours later. Located deep in the mountains, the towering peaks served as a natural barrier, and all people and vehicles entering and leaving the base underwent rigorous checks.
Guan Shao and the others had no chance to speak to Gu Zefeng along the way. With the imperial power so close at hand, everyone was somewhat nervous: they wondered what conditions the imperial power would offer to save Xiao Heng.
Guan Shao slowly parked the RV outside the base gate, and the superhumans from the Royal Power organization walked over with their instruments in hand. At this moment, Gu Zefeng stood up from the sofa and said, "Open the car door."
The Royal Power Base possesses advanced technology; their instruments can identify whether a person is a superhuman and what kind of superhuman abilities they possess. The group from the Spark Base, numbering over a dozen, consisted entirely of level two and three superhumans, except for Meng Weixian and the three children. Even within the Royal Power Base, such a team was among the best.
Cars are not allowed into the base. Mutated animals need to wear unique collars to enter. Lele, Junjun, and the lazy cat can wear collars, but Xiaoguai and Xiaoxiannv are forced to stay outside the base because they cannot wear collars.
Watching their beloved RV being driven away by a strange man, the three children lowered their heads in disappointment. Yuanyuan looked at her little hands regretfully, "Oh no... the RV is gone."
Gu Zefeng patted Yuanyuan's hair, then picked up Jiang Xiaoheng. "It's okay, we'll give the car back to you, but you have to be good. And you, you have to cooperate with the doctor's treatment, okay?"
Jiang Xiaoheng naturally wrapped her arms around Gu Zefeng's neck, "Okay~"
Gu Zefeng was very satisfied. He held Jiang Xiaoheng in his arms with his only remaining arm and called to the two children, "Come on, Uncle will take you to ride in our base's big truck."
Jiang Rong hesitated and said, "Captain Gu, may I ask..."
Gu Zefeng calmly glanced at Jiang Rong, "Don't do business in front of children. Trust me, you can come in."
Jiang Rong pursed her lips and strode after Gu Zefeng. As he walked ahead, his companions followed closely behind.
The imperial base was vast, situated in a mountain basin. High steel walls surrounded the basin, with high-voltage electric fences mounted on them. The inhabitants of the base lived normal lives under the protection of these walls and the electric fences.
After passing through the steel gate, the superhumans from the Starfire Base boarded a large bus, while Gu Zefeng and his three children rode in a smaller car. The bus followed the smaller car into the Royal Power Base, and after traveling for more than half an hour, the smaller car still hadn't stopped.
Jiang Rong, concerned for his three children, couldn't hold back any longer. He cautiously asked the driver, "Excuse me, where is Captain Gu taking us?"
The driver gave Jiang Rong a suspicious look, then said in a local dialect, "Going to the research institute! Didn't you want to treat your child? Our experts have been waiting for you."
Jiang Rong was stunned: Gu Zefeng took Xiao Heng directly to get treatment? This... doesn't fit his domineering persona.
Author's Note:
The aftereffects of Yang Kang are quite severe. These past few days, Lao Mao has had back pain, restlessness, blurred vision, and stinging fingers. The worst thing is that his brain has crashed, and he becomes completely blank when facing the computer.
Everyone needs to take good care of themselves and absolutely, absolutely must not be reckless!
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