It drizzled a little last night, and the air outside smelled not only rotten but also damp.
"Without the sun, clothes stink, and when it rains, they stink even more and get damper!"
"Yeah, the air smells weird, too."
The team leader said, "It's good that it's raining. Wild vegetables will grow quickly, and the team that digs wild vegetables won't have to go too far to dig. Alas, we are short of manpower. We have tried our best to plan the patrol route, but unfortunately we still can't cover the entire wilderness."
At noon that day, they were eating dry food under a building when they suddenly saw a fire not far away.
"Why is there a fire again? It's so dark here that accidents are easy to happen."
"Yes, a factory in Pingshan community caught fire last month. The person who started the fire has not been caught yet. We don't know who was so wasteful as to use gasoline to start the fire."
"Want to go over and take a look?"
The team leader shook his head: "It's a bit far. That's not our patrol range."
Just as he finished speaking, a mushroom cloud exploded in the distance and the ground shook violently.
"Oh my god, what a huge explosion!"
The sky ahead was dyed orange.
"We can't do this. Let's see if Ye Shan's plane takes off."
Four or five minutes later, Qiao Qingqing heard a sound in the sky. She looked up and saw two planes flying over from the base, heading towards the direction of the explosion and fire.
The captain also looked at the two white lights in the sky and retracted his gaze: "Okay, lunch break is over, let's continue patrolling."
While on patrol, they met a group of people digging wild vegetables. In the crowd, Qiao Qingqing saw a strange yet familiar face. When she recognized the person, her hands couldn't help but tremble.
"What's wrong, Qingqing?" Shao Shengan was sensitive to her emotions and turned his head to ask with concern.
Qiao Qingqing closed her eyes, then opened them and looked at the group of people: "I saw that person, the woman I killed with a bow and arrow."
Shao Shengan was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He looked over immediately, but he didn't know what the man looked like.
However, since the woman is now in the team digging wild vegetables, it means that she was originally a survivor of the base. Then she must have encountered some danger and was captured by people outside the base and raised as a sheep.
"What are your plans?" he asked.
Qiao Qingqing: "I'll tell the captain to give this team of wild vegetable diggers a safety speech."
Cheng Lei was carrying a backpack and a small bag tied around her waist. She was sweating in the winter, but she was in a very good mood. She was lucky these days. Although the wild vegetable digging team she joined did not harvest much, she did not encounter any danger. Today, she also met a patrol team, which was undoubtedly safer.
The people in the team were discussing whether to go further to dig wild vegetables.
"If it's farther, we might not be able to get back to the base before dark."
"Hey, does it matter whether it's dark or light now? It's all pitch black."
"Those who want to go, raise your hands. Those who don't want to go, go back together."
Cheng Lei raised her hand hesitantly. Her husband was ill and could not continue his previous work. Before her husband recovered, she had to collect more wild vegetables. However, it was not every day that she could find a reliable and safe team like today.
During the break, the crossbowmen from the patrol came over.
"Let me tell you a few things to be careful of when you're out in the wild." Qiao Qingqing stood in front of them with a calm expression. "Listen to me. Be careful when you're out in the wild in the future."
"Okay, okay, go ahead."
"I hear this so often that I'm so tired of it..."
"Ahem! Go ahead and talk, we're listening!"
Cheng Lei didn't say anything and just stared at Qiao Qingqing.
Qiao Qingqing was indifferent to people's discussions. She looked at Cheng Lei and started to speak: "The first point is not to act alone... The second point is to be wary of acquaintances. It goes without saying that strangers should be wary of acquaintances because there are many cases of acquaintances deceiving people... The third point is to be wary of the weak. The cases of the elderly, children and women being used as bait are second only to the second point..."
After she finished speaking and left, Cheng Lei still felt her heart beating faster. Why did this young security guard stare at her while she was giving a speech? Did she know her?
"I think what that woman said was just bullshit. It's no different from what everyone else said. We're all tired of hearing it."
"Don't say that. They mean well."
"So are we still going to the old farm three kilometers away to pick wild vegetables? I don't dare to go after hearing what she said."
"I just asked, the patrol team will change its route and patrol in other directions in a while--"
"Ah! Why! Can't you just follow us all the time?"
"They have a mission when they patrol, so how could they always walk the same route with us? We are very lucky that they can accompany us for such a long distance today."
Cheng Lei felt it the most. After all, the man just watched her finish her words, as if every word was engraved in her heart. She remembered her husband's words, asking her not to take risks when she went out to pick wild vegetables, to be conservative, and to come out to work as soon as his condition improved, and to pay attention to safety.
"Then, then I won't go." Cheng Lei said. She touched her belly. She didn't know exactly how long she had been pregnant, but her belly was already showing, probably four or five months. For the sake of her husband and unborn child, she had to be careful.
On the other side, Qiao Qingqing returned to sit next to Shao Shengan. She could vaguely hear the discussion over there, but she was very calm. She didn't know what kind of fate that woman had gone through to end up in such a miserable situation in her previous life. Considering the fate of that one arrow, this was all she could do.
A rat jumped past her feet, and Qiao Qingqing immediately came to her senses and quickly drew her knife to stab it.
"Squeak!" The mouse screamed, trembled a few times and then became motionless.
She pulled out the knife and wiped it clean casually. Shao Shengan used a stick to pick up the rat carcass and threw it away. Two people from the vegetable digging team nearby quickly walked out and picked up the rat carcass.
Shao Shengan sat down again and took out some water from his backpack for Qiao Qingqing to drink.
"I'm not thirsty, are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry." Shao Sheng'an looked at his watch. "In five minutes, it will be the departure time the captain said. He said we will go to the Old Jinhua Road. We have to separate from the wild vegetable digging team."
"Well, let's go and gather first."
The team split up, some continued forward to look for more wild vegetable patches, while others followed the patrol, planning to wait for the patrol to return and then turn back together, which was safer this way. Cheng Lei was one of them.
Half a month later, she was faced with a choice again. Her companion advised her: "You will get too little this way! Last time I went to the farm, I dug up 50 kilograms of wild vegetables. There are so many wild vegetables there! Let's go together this time!"
When she was about to agree, those eyes suddenly appeared in front of Cheng Lei again.
It was calm, but it seemed to tell many stories.
"I'd better not go. Brother Tao is not feeling well today. I have to go back early."
"Oh, Xiaolei, you are really too timid!"
Cheng Lei responded to the word "cowardly", packed up her backpack and followed the patrol team back.
A few days later, she learned that the wild vegetable digging team that was separated that day encountered danger and half of them were missing.
When she got the news, she was struck by lightning: "How could it be? Didn't they say they were going to a familiar farm to pick wild vegetables?"
"Oh, who knows! They were ambushed, and Xiaojun and his friends escaped. They said that the ambushers were all ferocious and would cut anyone they saw, like crazy people. Xiaojun was almost scared silly and still stutters. The security team received the news and went there, but it seems they can't find anyone. The world is in chaos, so we have to be careful when we go out, oh!"
Later, Cheng Lei was always so careful. Although she harvested less and went hungry every day, she managed to hold on until her husband recovered. Her husband Zheng Mintao started working again and saved up supplies. Later, she successfully gave birth to a baby boy.
Qiao Qingqing didn't know what happened to Cheng Lei later, nor did she think that her speech could change a person's fate. But when she saw Cheng Lei and her slightly bulging belly, she couldn't remain indifferent.
After she had worked in the field for about twenty days, the team received an order for a joint operation. She got on a military truck, and more than a dozen armed military trucks roared out of the base and rushed into the darkness farther away.
During the bumpy ride, Shao Shengan held Qiao Qingqing as tightly as he could, letting her sit on him. His other hand gently covered her belly to make her feel more comfortable.
"Do you want to change the heat pack? This one is not very hot anymore." He asked softly.
"Yeah." Qiao Qingqing responded softly, and Shao Shengan took out a new one from his backpack, unpacked it and quickly stuffed it into Qiao Qingqing's clothes, and put it on her stomach through her thermal underwear. She had just had her period in the morning, and this time her stomach was uncomfortable, making her feel unhappy.
"You will follow me for a while and don't act alone, okay?"
Qiao Qingqing nodded again.
She leaned against Shao Shengan and rested in a daze until the car stopped and she opened her eyes.
"This operation is quite special. I will make some arrangements now... Archers will ambush at a commanding height. If anyone escapes, they will be shot. No one needs to be left alive."
Everyone responded.
"Crossbowmen, take your night vision goggles. They will be collected after the mission. Now, let's move."
The air smelled rotten and foul. Shao Shengan stared down intently while wearing a mask.
He, Qingqing, other archers and snipers were assigned to the outermost part of the mission area to catch those who slipped through the net. He didn't know the specific content of this mission, but it didn't matter, he just needed to follow the instructions of his superiors.
A panicked figure jumped out from the corner, running for his life, and his figure cast a clear trace on the night vision goggles worn by Shao Shengan.
A crossbow arrow flew out and hit the man's back. The man fell to the ground and struggled to get up in pain. Before Shao Shengan could fire another arrow, he shot a crossbow arrow from another direction, and another arrow hit the man's calf. He fell down again with a flutter, and this time he couldn't get up again.
Shao Shengan looked at that place, where Qingqing was, and his eyes softened.
After that, more fugitives passed by this street. Some of them drove, and then it was the sniper's turn to take action. The bullet would directly penetrate the windshield and kill the driver, or hit the rear fuel tank of the car, causing the car to roll over and explode, with flames shooting into the sky.
In the firelight, the entire street was lit up, making it impossible for anyone who tried to hide by clinging to the wall to escape to the spot.
The crossbow arrow flew out, taking another life.
Feeling the pain in her stomach, Qiao Qingqing slowed down her breathing, and the crossbow in her hand did not shake at all.
The fire not far away was getting more intense, and the sound of gunfire never stopped after the explosion. It was clear from the noise that this operation was large-scale, and it was unknown what kind of vicious group was being surrounded this time. In her previous life, Qiao Qingqing had never been so far away at this time. In a place that she and many survivors could not see, the base was trying to maintain the situation and crack down on various crimes. And this time, being able to participate in it made Qiao Qingqing feel a strange sense of pride.
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