Village
Liu Xia squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. He could see smoke rising from a metallurgical furnace five kilometers away. He then turned to look at He Tianlin and said, "Xiao He, you wait here for now. I'll leave Atong to you."
The communication in the car just now made He Tianlin not say too much. He nodded silently and said "OK". He put the debugged communication equipment on Liu Xia and hugged her.
He Tianlin buried his chin in Liu Xia's shoulder, his voice muffled, but his eyes glanced at Song Xuan, whose face had instantly darkened. "Contact me immediately if you have any questions."
Liu Xia was a little uncomfortable with being hugged so suddenly. The usually carefree boy suddenly became clingy. He stiffened for a moment but didn't push him away. He reached out and patted his back comfortingly: "Okay."
"Let's go." Song Xuan looked at the two people hugging each other with a gloomy expression, his fingers clenched involuntarily, and he took two steps towards the street exit, turning back to urge them.
After leaving this hidden street, the two of them walked very quickly, especially Song Xuan, who seemed to be eager to take Liu Xia away immediately. He was not affected by the weight of his equipment at all and shuttled between the buildings at an extremely fast speed.
Song Xuan was carrying a travel bag half the height of a person. He had to lead the way and walk in front. At first, he was afraid that Liu Xia could not keep up, so he slowed down. But he found that no matter how fast he ran or how many buildings blocked the way and needed to be climbed over, Liu Xia could always keep following him within two meters.
This time the two were about to enter a dangerous situation. Liu Xia's ability to respond flexibly under the laser had been well demonstrated before. Song Xuan wanted to test Liu Xia's leg strength again to see if he could accurately predict the danger later.
Liu Xia raised an eyebrow, sensing Song Xuan's intention, but did not say anything, just followed closely.
Song Xuan gradually increased his speed until he reached his limit. Liu Xia still remained within two meters, neither too close nor too far.
"She's very strong." Song Xuan was secretly surprised. He had come to a preliminary conclusion: whether it was her physical flexibility or leg strength, "Sister Xiaoxia was even stronger than me."
There was no jealousy in Song Xuan's heart, only joy.
In less than four minutes, the two had run three kilometers. When they were about to reach the outskirts of an inhabited village, Song Xuan slowed down and stopped at an abandoned building covered with vines that could conceal their figures. As long as they stuck their heads out, they could clearly see the mine not far away with the naked eye.
"Every week, there are procurement vehicles coming in and out of the mine, and they will pass through that village."
Song Xuan took out a drawn map, confirmed the location, and pointed to a place marked with the words "North Gate".
"It's here. We can follow in."
Liu Xia took the map and looked at it. Although this handwritten map was relatively simple, the key information was very clear, including where to turn and where to turn, and the functions of the buildings at each location were all marked.
This map is so clear that it makes people suspicious.
Song Xuan, who had been paying close attention to Liu Xia's expression, quickly said, "I bought this on the black market at a high price. The source of this information is absolutely authentic."
Black market? Liu Xia heard a new word.
After being in the wasteland for so long, this is the first time I’ve heard of the existence of a black market in this shabby place with scarce supplies.
"There are many scavengers and vendors living in this village. They basically rely on the miners for their livelihood. My informant is among them."
Song Xuan's steady voice paused, revealing a hint of confidence and assurance: "When the procurement vehicle arrives, the informant will lead us in."
Liu Xia nodded silently. Since she believed that Song Xuan could lead her in, there was no need to question whether the informant was reliable at this time. She still understood the principle of not using a person who is not in her confidence.
Song Xuan took off his backpack and pulled out two large dust sheets from it. He handed one to Liu Xia, "Sister Xiaoxia, put this on so we don't attract too much attention."
She took the dust cloth and wrapped it around herself. The protective suit and equipment were covered tightly. If they were not opened for inspection, they would not be discovered at all. It seemed that Song Xuan was well prepared.
"Call me by my name." Liu Xia was still a little unaccustomed to him addressing her like that. It was a bit too cloying, but she was afraid of hurting Song Xuan's feelings. "Or you can call me Sister Xia like Xiao He does. I'm half a year older than you anyway."
"Okay, then I'll call you Xia from now on."
Song Xuan was not discouraged by Liu Xia's refusal. He was still very diligent in helping her to tidy up her clothes. He didn't want to be like what He Tianlin had asked. Liu Xia's helpless look was reflected in his bright eyes. He nodded to himself and smiled with curved eyebrows.
"We're all grown up now, and it's not nice to still call you that as a child."
Liu Xia had no intention of arguing with him about such unimportant matters, so she just let him go.
Then the two of them walked towards the village at a normal pace. The deserted streets gradually became relatively clean. There were many people wrapped in dust cloths moving in the village, and their clothes were almost the same as the two of them.
Song Xuan seemed to be familiar with the place. After turning a few corners, he soon arrived at a residential area. There was a noisy noise mixed with shouting and cursing, as if some conflict was happening among the residents.
When I got closer, I found that five relatively strong men were surrounding a thin young man and punching and kicking him non-stop.
"How many times have I told you that people like you who have undergone mutations are not allowed to live here? Don't you understand what I'm saying?" The man in the black dust sheet tired of kicking, spat at the young man, and cursed while panting, "Do you think you can get away by hiding at home?"
"Don't think your brother working as a worker in the mines can protect you. This is an order from the city lord."
The young man had been taking the beating in silence, but when he heard this, he suddenly punched the man in the stomach and yelled, "When my brother gets here, I'm going to kill you!"
But with his frail body, how could he defeat a strong adult? The man held his head down and pressed him face down on the dirt road. His tender cheeks could not withstand such a scratch, and a large piece of it was broken. The dirt and blood were smeared on the ground, which was a horrible sight.
"Your brother is nothing in the eyes of us Hyenas." The man put his foot on the boy's head and cursed, "Even if your stubborn brother came now, he would deserve a beating. If it weren't for the mine, I would kill him too!"
At this time, there were not many people around watching the excitement. It seemed that they had long been accustomed to the actions of the Hyena Gang. They all had haggard faces and were doing their own things, fearing that they would be implicated by this incident and get into trouble.
The boy's face was stomped hard into the dirt, his eyes slowly becoming bloodshot due to the pressure, and he seemed to have lost the strength to even curse.
"You bastard, let my brother go!" An angry roar came from a distance, accompanied by the sound of heavy running, quickly approaching this place.
A silver light flashed before his eyes, and the boy felt the pressure on his head suddenly relieved.
A warm liquid flowed down along the object above his head. The foot that had just stepped on his face suddenly fell in front of his eyes. Then a human head rolled in front of his eyes. The head of the Hyena Gang member in the black protective suit was cut off directly.
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