A few days later, another big incident happened in the Zhengyang Brigade. Their magic plane was stolen, or to be more precise, it was driven away secretly.
When the magic plane took off and flew away, everyone thought that the people from the Zhengyang Brigade were going to drive the magic plane to do something again. Later they found out that the people in the magic plane were not from the Zhengyang Brigade at all, let alone Ye Xiao, but the original pilot of the magic plane, Wu Lin, and several traitors.
Unfortunately, most of the leadership of the Zhengyang Brigade were away that day, so their reaction speed was slow. By the time they realized that the magic plane had been stolen, the triangular plane had already flown away and even its shadow could not be seen.
As for why most of the leadership was not there, it was because they went to the city to look for suitable machines, materials, and equipment, preparing to build a military factory in the Ning City base, and the things they were going to produce were of course the magic machines.
Lin Tan Tan also came out. It was Ye Xiao who took the initiative to ask her if she wanted to go out together. Lin Tan Tan thought about her own career of scavenging and naturally agreed. Then they went to a place and dug up crystal cores all over the ground. They filled bags with them and burned piles of corpses.
The June sun was already very scorching. Watching the last zombie's body being thrown into the fire, Lin Tan Tan controlled the flames so that they would not get too high and tried to cover every body, then ran back to the factory building in the distance.
The place was a mess before, and it remained so. Various instruments that Lin Tantan couldn't understand were being rummaged through by the crowd. The useful items were stored in the space of the space users, while the useless ones were left here. Of course, there were relatively few useless items. As long as they weren't garbage, even a piece of scrap metal was collected. After all, they could be used for ironmaking later if conditions allowed.
It was time for dinner. Lin Tantan washed her hands and sat next to Ye Xiao, who had already received her meal.
"Is it hot?" Ye Xiao raised his hand, and a cool breeze blew out from his hand, making Lin Tan feel very comfortable. She brushed her slightly sweaty hair and said, "A little more wind."
Ye Xiao increased the wind speed, making it like a human-shaped electric fan, with a 360-degree rotation. Lin Tan wrung out a wet towel and wiped his face and neck. The wind blew on him, and his temperature dropped. He squinted comfortably and waved his hand: "Okay, let's eat."
When on missions, everyone usually brought their own rations, but if it was an important mission initiated by the brigade, the meals would usually be provided by the brigade at their expense, as was the case today. The food was brought by the space-based psychic: multi-grain cakes and a bowl of mung bean soup.
Lin Tantan picked up a pancake. It was the size of a palm and one finger thick. The main ingredients were bean dregs, flour, animal oil, sugar, and a little eggs and milk powder. They were all very fresh ingredients. The bean dregs were squeezed out of ripened soybeans in the field, and the eggs were fresh eggs picked up that day. The animal oil was freshly boiled oil. It was soft and a little rough in texture, but it tasted very good, oily, fragrant and sweet. Most importantly, the whole pancake had a fresh and healthy taste that could not be found anywhere else.
She was full after eating just one and drank her mung bean soup slowly.
A serving of mung bean soup is not much, its main function is to give people a sweet taste and relieve heat. Under the cooling effect of the ice-type mutants in the team, it is icy and cool, and it goes all the way to the stomach, which is very refreshing.
It was the first time that Lin Tantan had a general-level work meal. Even in the clinic, her work meals were at the level of two dishes and one soup with both vegetables and rice. This was her first time eating this multi-grain pancake, and she felt it was pretty good.
The others were also eating with gusto, clearly quite satisfied with the meal. Looking at Ye Xiao again, he had already finished his fifth pancake. Lin Tan pushed his remaining pancake towards him, "Do you want more? I'm full."
Ye Xiao knew that she had a small appetite and had a lot of snacks on her, so she wouldn't be hungry. He didn't bother to be polite with her and took the cake to eat as well.
At this moment, Ye Xiao's communicator rang. He raised his wrist and glanced at it, his eyes narrowed slightly. Lin Tantan took the last cracked mung bean in the bowl and put it into his mouth, feeling the delicate sandy texture. He looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Something happened in the compound. Let's go back immediately." Ye Xiao said after swallowing the food in his mouth.
As soon as Lin Tan Tan heard it, he knew that something serious had happened, otherwise he would not have said that he wanted to rush back. The group quickly finished their meal and returned to the base at noon when the zombies were at their weakest. After returning, they saw that the place where the magic machine was originally placed was empty. Lin Tan Tan then realized that such a big thing had happened.
Bai Cheng rubbed his forehead, looking very annoyed. "I just went to Chief Lu's place. I didn't expect that in such a short time... those mercenaries rescued Wu Lin. While everyone was eating, they knocked out the last two people guarding the divine machine and drove away with it. I was careless."
Ye Xiao said in a deep voice, "The fault is mainly mine. I didn't follow any procedures the first two times I drove the Divine Machine. I just drove away as soon as I said I would. Otherwise, no one would have noticed that the Divine Machine was in the sky and I hadn't woken up."
He frowned, "But the team's discipline should be strictly enforced. It's so easy for someone to take advantage of it."
Bai Cheng also agreed, so the two bosses began to discuss how to enforce discipline.
Lin Tan Tan watched the whole process from the side and always felt that something was strange. A magical plane was lost, so were their reactions too calm?
The noise outside was much louder and more normal. Many people were laughing at the Zhengyang Brigade, saying that even if they got the magic machine, they couldn't keep it. It was easily stolen before they even had time to warm it up. Even more people felt sorry and upset about the loss of the magic machine.
The leader of the base, Lu Jianping, also came over to ask. No matter where this magical machine came from, as long as he had such a treasure in the base, it would be a great honor for him as the leader.
He blamed Ye Xiao for not handing over the magic machine to the base, and now it was lost in vain. In the middle of the conversation, Ye Xiao said that it didn't matter if one was lost, he could build one himself. So the magic machine factory started to operate from that day, and soon everyone in the base knew that the Zhengyang Brigade was going to build the magic machine by themselves.
It's not a modification, but building an airplane from scratch, one part at a time.
People found it incredible. Even before the apocalypse, privately building airplanes was impossible. Now, with so little to offer, it was even more of a fantasy. Given today's industrial conditions, it was impossible to even build a new car!
The news quickly spread back to the capital. Commander Fan laughed when he heard it. His subordinates said shrewdly, "They've just retired and they've already done something like this. It's really embarrassing. It took the research institute ten years to build five of these amazing aircraft. With nothing, they're considered good enough to have built a shell."
Commander Fan smiled and said, "Alright, young people, youthful vigor is common. Let's not talk about them anymore. The divine machine should have been taken back by Min Yande's people, right?"
"It should be."
"Min Yande is quite patient, waiting until now to make a move. You should have people move faster and get the energy cannon out sooner rather than later. Our divine machine can't be any worse than theirs."
Commander Fan took it for granted that it was Min Yande who was commanding from thousands of miles away that made it possible to retrieve the magic machine. Ye Xiao was still a little naive in his thinking.
Meanwhile, Min Yande was overjoyed. "This Wu Lin is not bad. He's finally useful after all. I'll reward him when he comes back!" Thinking of Ye Xiao's expression when he discovered the theft of the magic machine, he felt very happy. What kind of leadership skills do you have? Are you really capable of letting someone drive away the magic machine in broad daylight in full view of everyone? The Zhengyang Brigade is a joke!
But he quickly frowned again, "He said he wanted to build his own divine machine. But it's been in their hands for over twenty days now. Could they have truly figured it out?"
His confidant flattered him, "What can they come up with in just twenty days? Besides, without detailed data, professional personnel, or even a workshop, what can they do? Ye Xiao must be feeling embarrassed about losing the divine machine, which is why he said such arrogant words."
Min Yande thought about it and stopped thinking about it, just waiting for the return of Shen Ji.
However, a few hours later, he was severely slapped in the face. The magic plane flew back, but it did not fly to him, but stopped at Chen Xing's side.
Although Min Yande and Chen Xing were in the same camp and had a close relationship, they both had their own forces and territories, but their territories were just closer. Now, the divine plane flew to Chen Xing.
Min Yande sensed something was wrong and sent someone to inquire. The answer he got was that the magic machine was obtained by Chen Xing's grandson with his own ability, and it was his private property, and had nothing to do with Min Yande.
Min Yande was so furious that he forgot for a moment which one was Chen Xing's grandson, and ran over to ask for an explanation.
The Chen family was delighted with Cai Chengliang's return. Cai Chengliang talked about the difficulties on the road. He encountered two groups of mutant birds and his energy cannon was broken and had not been repaired yet. Fortunately, he opened the energy shield in time and escaped the disaster.
Chen Xing looked at his grandson, who had changed so much from what he remembered, and comforted him: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Grandpa is incapable of saving you. Ye Xiao imprisoned you for half a year, and I will make him pay the price!"
Chen Xing is already over sixty years old, but after the end of the world, he awakened his supernatural powers and suddenly became more than ten years younger. His aura became more and more majestic, and a glare from his two tiger eyes could scare people to death.
If it was the original Cai Chengliang, he would certainly be happy to hear this, but he is not like that now. He is a brainwashed person, and the person he hates first in his mind has long been Min Yande. After hearing Chen Xing's words, he gritted his teeth and said, "Grandpa, Ye Xiao can't be let go, but the culprit is someone else?"
"who?"
"Min Yande, he was the one who ordered Ye Xiao to lock me up!"
Chen Xing frowned: "Why would he do that?"
Cai Chengliang's mother wiped her tears and said, "Dad, can't you see? If Liangzi doesn't come back, you won't have an heir. No matter how powerful you are, in the end, it will all be lost to others."
Chen Xing frowned even more deeply as he glanced at the emaciated Cai Chengliang. To be honest, he had never considered Cai Chengliang an heir. He was destined to be childless, and although he loved his daughter, after all, she was married, and his grandson would have a surname other than his own.
Before the end of the world, he was just a soldier and had no family business that needed an heir. After the end of the world, the situation changed, and he had more power in his hands. He was also a well-known figure in this huge capital base. Only then did he begin to think that he needed an heir.
By then, Cai Chengliang had already fallen into Ye Xiao's hands. Several months had passed, and he no longer held out hope for his grandson, believing him to be dead. Meanwhile, his nephew, Chen Xianyi, frequently appeared before him. He admired the child's excellence, and although he wasn't his biological grandson, he was still his own child, so he began to raise him.
Although his grandson is back now, he has never thought about him as an heir.
When Cai's mother saw her father's expression, she gritted her teeth inwardly and said casually, "Where's Xianyi? His cousin is back, why is he gone? Oh, I forgot. His father seems to be sick again. This child is so filial. He wants to be with his father all day and night."
Chen Xing's expression changed slightly.
Chen Xianyi was filial, and Chen Xing liked his nephew's filial piety very much, but the first person he was filial to was his father, his own nephew. He didn't care about him before, although that nephew had never been nice to him, but a sick man would die eventually. Once he died, Chen Xianyi only had himself as an elder, so naturally he could only be filial to himself.
But now Cai Chengliang is back. Comparing the two, although Cai Chengliang is a grandson and a person of a different surname, his mother is his only biological daughter, and there are no elders on his father's side. The whole family depends on him...
Cai's mother looked at her father's face and gave her husband a look. Cai's father immediately understood and continued, "That's right. Speaking of which, General Min is also very concerned about our family's affairs. Last time, it seems that he personally interceded and asked Doctor Liu to come forward to save Xianyi's father's life. Xianyi seems to have mentioned it several times and expressed his special gratitude to General Min."
Chen Xing glared at him fiercely, and Cai's father immediately shut up, but his words that were obviously meant to sow discord still penetrated into Chen Xing's heart.
It seemed his nephew had indeed grown too close to Min Yande. He hadn't previously cared, for it was a good thing for young people to be adept at socializing. Furthermore, his connections with Min Yande were all through Chen Xianyi. But if Min Yande had deliberately detained Cai Chengliang in the south, the situation would have become very delicate.
If Cai Chengliang had returned safely, perhaps Chen Xianyi wouldn't have gotten into trouble. It was precisely because Cai Chengliang had gotten into trouble that he felt he had no successor, and so he took notice of Chen Xianyi. Before the apocalypse, Chen Xianyi wasn't close to him, but after the apocalypse, he came to him and started showing off...
Once a person follows a line of thought, he cannot stop doubting and imagining. The more Chen Xing thought about it, the uglier his expression became. So when Min Yande's people came to ask about the Shen Ji, he didn't give them any face and directly said that the Shen Ji had nothing to do with Min Yande.
He said, "That pilot must be Min Yande's man, right? Get rid of him." He then asked Cai Chengliang, "Is there anyone among the people you brought back who can fly a magic plane?"
Cai Chengliang said: "No."
"It's okay if they don't have any. Didn't our people also participate in pilot training back then? Find someone to give those people emergency training. Remember, those are the ones who returned with the magic plane. They have nothing to do with Min Yande!"
Chen Xing snorted coldly and said, Min Yande, don't even think of using any excuse to get this magic machine back! Now that this thing is in his hands, you want him to hand it over with just a few words? Dream on! Chen Xing narrowed his eyes and began to think about something.
Elsewhere, next to the divine machine, four mercenaries who had returned with Cai Chengliang were waiting anxiously under the guard of several soldiers.
The four of them had a mission to "rescue" Wu Lin, cooperate with Cai Chengliang to escape back to the capital on a magic plane, create the illusion that he had escaped with great difficulty, and then preferably be able to lurk by his side.
Now that they have arrived safely, the next step is to see if they can stay.
Even if they can't, as long as they leave safely, their mission will be accomplished, and Ye Xiao will do what he promised them.
Next to them was Wu Lin, who kept whispering to them, "Are you stupid? What future can you have by following Cai Chengliang? You should have listened to me and followed me to General Min. We still have time to leave now. The divine machine is very fast, and they can't catch up."
Sister Ni said coldly, "Shut up! If we hadn't seen you could fly the divine machine, we wouldn't have brought you along. You're lucky to have made it out alive."
Wu Lin was about to say something when someone suddenly came over. The leader looked at the five people and pointed at Wu Lin: "You must be Wu Lin, right? Take him away."
The people behind him rushed forward, subdued Wu Lin, covered his mouth, and dragged him away like a dead dog. The leader said to the four people, "Follow me, the four of you."
The four of them looked at each other, and Sister Ni asked hoarsely, "Where are you going? What are you doing?"
The man was a little surprised that the one who spoke was the only woman among the four. It seemed that this woman must be very capable.
He didn't show any disdain, and simply said, "Go learn how to fly the divine machine. You rescued Master Cai, and Master Cai has instructed that you won't be treated unfairly."
The four of them breathed a sigh of relief and followed him.
Sister Ni walked in silence, suddenly remembering what the man had said to her in the interrogation room a few days ago: "The reason you came here is to buy the divine machine?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"My family is on the other side of the ocean, and I need to go to them. Ordinary planes can't get there."
The man showed a slightly surprised expression. "I see. But the current divine machine doesn't have the ability to sail long distances, and neither the energy shield nor the energy cannon can last long."
She felt bitter, and she knew it, but she could only hope in the divine machine.
The man said, "You said you wanted to work for us. I guess you're hoping we can improve the Divine Machine so that it can one day cross the ocean."
She licked her lips and said nervously, "Yes."
"Then from today on, you can start accumulating contribution points. I have a rather dangerous task here, which may not even yield any results. Are you willing to take it? If you are willing to accept it, I will give you the right of first refusal when the divine machine is improved in the future."
Sister Ni looked at the other three people. She knew that these three people must have their own requests, and this request could only be achieved most quickly and confidently by listening to Ye Xiao. Therefore, the four of them would never betray Ye Xiao and ruin the plan. From this point of view, they were all very reliable and trustworthy to each other.
Thinking of this, she felt a little relieved. From a distance, she saw a group of people get out of a car and walk into the gate in a menacing manner. She recognized the fat man surrounded by people as Min Yande. Seeing his dark face and the posture of looking for trouble, she couldn't help but admire Ye Xiao in her heart. He did nothing but send Cai Chengliang and Shen Ji back, and caused a rift between Min and Chen from a mutually beneficial cooperation.
And this crack will only get bigger in the future.
…
"So, everything is just a show. You did this and sent Cai Chengliang and Shen Ji away just to create discord over there?" Lin Tantan asked this question at the Ning City base.
Ye Xiao smiled bitterly: "Yes, when did you realize it was just a show?"
Lin Tan Tan shrugged. "It just feels wrong. You're not an idiot. How could you allow someone to take away such a large plane so brazenly in broad daylight? Thinking about it, you deliberately transferred most of the people out to empty the compound, right? You also deliberately obscured your actions so that most people didn't know where you were. Oh, and you took me out of the base as well. Was that intentional as well?"
Ye Xiao smiled and said, "Yes, I was worried that if you saw the divine machine running to the sky and knew that it was not me inside, you would use a rope to pull it down."
Lin Tan Tan: "..." Don't talk about her in such a barbaric way.
"But isn't the divine machine very important? Why do we need to send it back?"
Ye Xiao said, "We have thoroughly researched the Divine Machine and are about to create a new one. Setting up a factory is a big move that would be hard to conceal. That would be like telling everyone that we not only have the Divine Machine, but we will also be making more based on it... Many people would be very nervous."
Xu Qin, Jiang Xiaotian, and some other experts were each responsible for exploring a part of the divine machine. In just over twenty days, they worked day and night to figure it out thoroughly. Afterwards, Xu Qin and Jiang Xiaotian had a burst of inspiration. Not only did they add the design of an energy cannon, they also had new ideas for the energy shield and other aspects of the structure. However, it was difficult to realize these ideas on the original divine machine, so creating a new divine machine was inevitable.
So it would be better to give away the old magic machine that they had dismantled and reassembled again and again, and modified until it was about to fall apart, so that some people would relax their vigilance, and then they could produce new ones in peace.
Under the current conditions, no one would believe that they could produce a new machine out of thin air if they lost the prototype.
Lin Tan Tan understood: "So that's how it is. But I'm really surprised that you let Cai Chengliang go. I thought you would lock him up for life. Won't he retaliate against us? And does Meimei know about this?"
Ye Xiao thought to himself that Cai Chengliang was not just a casual move. His main purpose was to let Cai Chengliang go back to Chen Xing to play a psychological trick and sow discord. The magic machine was just brought along by the way. Otherwise, he could have destroyed the magic machine directly. Why bother to let it fly back thousands of miles?
But it's okay to let her feel that way.
He said: "Meimei knows and he agrees with it. Cai Chengliang has been brainwashed. The person he hates most now is Min Yande, not me."
Lin Tantan was surprised for a moment, then realized: "You took Zhang Jiujiu away just to let her do this?"
Ye Xiao nodded: "We have roughly figured out the pattern of Zhang Jiujiu's new ability. Her so-called brainwashing ability is only temporary for normal people. Her two friends have gradually awakened from the memories caused by brainwashing."
"What about Cai Chengliang?"
"Cai Chengliang is different. He's been locked up for six months, and his mental state is already unstable. Even without brainwashing, he can be easily hypnotized or guided. So for him, the brainwashing effect is likely permanent."
Ye Xiao said, "Anyway, Chen and Min are not on good terms right now. Min Yande doesn't have time to pick a fight for the time being. We also have more time to plan where the base should be located in the future."
Lin Tantan immediately gave him a clue: "Do you have any idea?"
Ye Xiao said: "Follow me."
He took Lin Tantan to Cheng Qinan's place.
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