There were no obstructions on the road, and from a distance, Chu Guodong saw a group of people standing on the road. As he drove closer, three cars stopped.
"Commander Chu, what brings you back?"
As soon as the car stopped, a group of villagers eagerly surrounded it. Chu Guodong rolled down the window, and a middle-aged man quickly stepped forward to ask him questions.
"Something came up, and I need to go back to the Liancheng base." When speaking to the people, especially those who might be the families of the missing persons, Chu Guodong didn't directly say that he suspected there was something wrong with the Liancheng base. Otherwise, the families might not be able to accept it immediately, and it could easily alert the enemy.
Zhao Rui, who was driving in the car with Chu Guodong, turned his head and said, "Don't worry, fellow villager, we'll remember to help find him."
Chu Guodong nodded, indicating that he would never forget and would inform them as soon as he had any news.
Seeing that the leaders remembered his request and that they really had things to do, the middle-aged man didn't ask too many questions. He tactfully led the villagers to a safe distance and watched the three cars slowly drive away and disappear into the distance.
The return journey was relatively smooth, as we had driven the route once in the morning and were familiar with the road conditions. It took us almost a third less time to get back to the Liancheng base than when we set off in the morning.
When I returned to the Liancheng base, it was just around 4 p.m. The gate was the same as always, and there was the same long, familiar queue.
This time, Chu Guodong did not choose to get out of the car and join the queue. Instead, he drove directly to the gate of the base, to the barrier gate for vehicles.
The person guarding the security booth was different now; it was no longer the arrogant staff member from yesterday. Today, this new person, seeing vehicles stop, obsequiously came out of the booth, checked the passes of the three cars, and then let them pass.
The travel permit was processed by Minister Li yesterday and was given to them along with the gasoline. Chu Guodong had originally thought that since they were only staying for one night, they wouldn't need the travel permit.
In Minister Li's words, the base welcomes Chief Chu and his team at any time. Passes are required, and they can come directly whenever they want without having to wait in long lines at the gate.
Minister Li spoke with great confidence, as he was certain that the Liancheng base would continue to develop in this way and become a place many people aspire to visit.
The passes given to Chu Guodong were different from ordinary passes. Ordinary passes required queuing with newcomers before entering the base, but once inside, the two groups had to take different routes.
Newcomers go through the entry procedures and pay their food allowance. Those with passes take a different route, where they are also checked and must hand over 5% of the items they bring in for base security and daily operations.
Because of this regulation, most people prefer to find work within the base rather than painstakingly searching outside the base and having to pay a cut, even if that cut is not much.
Minister Li granted Chu Guodong and his group passes for direct passage, without requiring any commission on supplies. According to Minister Li, only a few high-ranking officials in the base had this authority; everyone else, regardless of their status, had to queue up obediently and pay their commission.
After the three vehicles drove away, the staff quickly returned to the security booth and used the walkie-talkie inside the base to call Minister Li.
"Minister, Minister, those same people from yesterday are back again. They're heading towards the new employee registration area."
"Okay, I understand."
Minister Li put down the walkie-talkie and quickly ordered someone to drive him to the registration office where he had not registered his residence.
After passing the gate barrier, Chu Guodong hesitated for a moment before deciding to go to the registration office first instead of driving directly to the villa where they had stayed the day before.
After all, they said yesterday they would only stay for one day, so it wouldn't be appropriate to use the place from yesterday without their permission today.
When Chu Guodong and his group arrived at the registration office for new employees, Minister Li was already waiting inside.
Upon seeing Chu Guodong and his group's car, Minister Li immediately put on a surprised expression and came out to greet them: "Chief Chu, why are you back? Did something happen?"
"Minister Li, you're here too! I was just thinking of asking the staff to help me find you."
The two walked at the front, surrounded by the members of Team 532, and headed towards the registration office. Song Zhao followed behind, helping Gu Yanzhi slowly walk into the room.
At noon, Gu Yanzhi was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he sat in his wheelchair all day without moving around. His legs were almost giving out, so he quickly made the most of the time to move around.
Before she left City C, the doctor also advised her that her leg was recovering and that she must move around in time and do a good job of rehabilitation.
Registration Office
The building looked exactly the same as yesterday; the staff responsible for registration and the staff responsible for weighing and collecting the grain were the same as yesterday, with no changes whatsoever.
If it weren't for the fact that it was still light outside, Gu Yanzhi would have thought he had traveled back to yesterday.
Gu Yanzhi was conflicted, wondering if this base really had some unspeakable secret. She both hoped it did and hoped it didn't.
Yes, that means she has already obtained the known location of the laboratory, and once and for all, she can destroy it.
No, it's because she really didn't want people to start suffering so early. In the early days of the apocalypse, everything was incomplete. Unless it was a village like today where everyone knew each other, it would be really difficult to discover if a few people went missing.
To this day, no one knows how many people the laboratory has deceived or harmed.
While Gu Yanzhi stood aside, lost in thought, Chu Guodong and Minister Li had already discussed the need to stay at the Liancheng base for a while longer.
When Minister Li asked about the specifics, Chu Guodong only said that the mission had changed and that other details could not be disclosed due to confidentiality policies.
Yesterday, no one else had moved into the villa they were staying in, so Minister Li decided to let Chu Guodong and his group stay there as well, waiving their rent.
However, the rest is up to Team 532 to figure out. The Liancheng base has a canteen and a simple supply exchange market. When the base is short of people, the official staff will also put up recruitment signs at the supply exchange market and canteen entrance to encourage everyone to sign up.
Minister Li originally planned to simply give them whatever they wanted, keep them happy, and avoid causing them any trouble.
Chu Guodong politely declined, and after some back and forth, he only agreed to let them stay in the house temporarily. The rest would be handled according to the base's rules; there were too many of them, and the ordinary houses besides the villa couldn't accommodate everyone.
For safety reasons, the group did not want to separate.
After discussing it, Minister Li didn't need to deliver it this time; they just took the keys.
The three cars drove smoothly and unimpeded towards the villa area, arriving at the villa where they had stayed the previous day.
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