On the morning of his return to Yuncheng, after watching the sunrise, Qiu Shi picked up two shells of unknown origin from the cracks in the rocks by the sea and brought them back to the car.
"Why are you taking this back?" Xing Bi asked.
"Hang it on the wall as decoration." said Qiu Shi.
"Which wall?" Xing Bi asked.
"The wall of my bunker," Qiu Shi looked at him, "Damn it, they didn't tear it down, did they? If we expand it, the bunker will be considered an outer city. They didn't push the bunker down!"
"How is it possible? The supervisors are Zhang Sihai and Xiao Lei," Xing Bi said, "Zhao Lu and his men are also here. How could anyone dare to move the bunker?"
"I'll continue to live here," Qiu Shi said. "I'm used to it."
"Yes." Xing Bi nodded, "But Li Feng will definitely arrange accommodation for him in the inner city."
"To be honest, I can't get used to living here. In the dormitories in the inner city, you can see people opening and closing the doors," Qiu Shi leaned against the car door. "The bunker is much quieter, and people aren't next to each other."
"Just stay in the bunker." Xing Bi said.
"The room behind me is empty, I'll give it to you," Qiu Shi said. "These two rooms are close to each other. I didn't let anyone live in that room before, but now it's perfect for you."
"Yeah." Xing Bi nodded with a smile.
Qiu Shi looked at him and said, "What a joke! Don't think I don't know what you are thinking."
"What am I thinking about?" Xing Bi asked.
"If we want to live together, of course we can live together," Qiu Shi said, "but we also need our own room, in case we need to be alone for a while. I think you guys also have your own room at the base."
"Well," Xing Bi smiled, "I didn't think you would be so thoughtful."
"I'm not so stupid that I can't even think of this. It would be like going to school or dying and growing again," said Qiu Shi.
"Hey." Xing Bi reached out and flicked him on the face.
"Pooh, pooh, pooh." said Qiu Shi.
Everybody got on the bus, there was no more difficult tasks, and there was no oppressive silence as the convoy lined up to set off.
When Qiu Shi got on the bus, he noticed that there were two cars in the distance that had not returned to the team. He looked over and asked, "What happened to those two cars?"
"It's not a return trip," Xing Bi said, "Liu Chen brought a group of soldiers to stay here."
"Didn't they say that Yuncheng couldn't run such a big business?" Qiu Shi asked in a low voice as he sat down.
"Li Feng has a 'throughout' plan." Xing Bi said.
"What is the common path?" Qiu Shi asked, "Did you mention it on the day of the report?"
"Well," Xing Bi smiled, "I wanted to wait for you to change your clothes so we could talk together, but you got off the car."
"Talk now." Qiu Shi stretched and leaned back in his chair.
"It's impossible for Yuncheng to control such a large area, but it needs to be able to reach various places safely and quickly," Xing Bi said, "Yuncheng will select a suitable route, such as the road we have explored and cleared this time, and arrange Yuncheng's outposts and contact stations..."
"Fuck," Qiu Shi was stunned. "I understand. Yuncheng can't manage such a large area, but Yuncheng has safe roads... Then the army won't have enough people, right?"
"There are vagrants and refugees," Xing Bi said. "He wants to try this road first, from Xingchuan to Benquan, from Benquan to Yuzhou, then to the base, and then to the research institute, connecting the roads, highways, and tunnels in between, and building an outpost or liaison station every few sections... It's not a small project, but if it's really done, Mr. Long's generation of city lords will leave a heavy mark in the history of Yuncheng."
"Mr. Long?" Qiu Shi looked at him, "Wasn't this done by Li Feng?"
"Li Feng has no intention of replacing Mr. Long at the moment. Everything he does now, except for us who know it is done by him, the residents inside and outside Yuncheng only know that it is Mr. Long's decision." Xing Bi said.
"Why," Qiu Shi said, "He was almost exhausted, and took so many risks, but in the end all the good things belonged to Mr. Long? Mr. Long just sat in his office in a daze, and a huge sum of money was made."
"These are not what he wants," Xing Bi looked out the window. The convoy had already set off and the sea was slowly moving farther and farther away from them. "Just like you don't want to be a heroic captain."
"If you put it that way," Qiu Shi thought for a moment, raised his head and sighed softly, "I can probably figure it out a little bit."
The convoy went back along the same route they had come. When they left the beach and drove into the city, Qiu Shi saw a huge sign on the roof of the building in front of him from afar.
Although you can see the former prosperity of various human cities along the way, there are not many advertising billboards, even ordinary lights. Now a billboard like this standing on the roof of a tall building gives people a trance feeling of traveling through time and space.
The signboard was very simple, unlike those fancy signs in the inner city with pictures and words crowded together. This signboard just had a silvery-white light, and the three neat words on it were bright and dazzling.
Cloud City Station.
"Is this the sentry post or something like that?" Qiu Shi looked at the sign.
"Yes," Xing Bi took a look, "it's quite impressive."
When the car passes by this building, you can see the iconic big black car of the Yuncheng army.
"This is not Yuncheng, why is it called Yuncheng Station?" said Qiu Shi.
"It's a symbol. When you see these three words, it means safety. This safety is given by Yuncheng." Xing Bi said.
"It's fast enough," Qiu Shi said, "the people have been sent here."
"It will take some time to build the site," Xing Bi said, "dispatching people is just the first step."
"I suddenly realized something," Qiu Shi raised his head and said, "We are going to go on vacation this time. Are we going to help Li Feng explore the way?"
Xing Bi smiled and said nothing.
"A crooked official would really do such a thing," Qiu Shi said. "If he thinks you are useful, he won't stop until he uses you to death."
"Not really." Xing Bi turned his head to look at him. "Some people will help him while scolding him."
"What kind of fool is this?" Qiu Shi said.
After a few seconds, he turned around and looked at Xing Bi: "Your ancestors."
Xing Bi laughed for a long time: "Isn't it? He came to you because you can help him."
"Fuck," Qiu Shi frowned, thought for a while and sighed, "Sometimes I really feel that what he does is impossible to refuse."
"Let's try it this time," Xing Bi held his hand, "I'm going out on vacation this time, and I won't help the dog officials with their work."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded.
"Why do you feel so insecure?" Xing Bi asked.
Qiu Shi smiled and said nothing.
I really didn't have much confidence, especially after seeing the "Yuncheng Stations" along the way.
Coming all the way from the seaside, in almost every larger city, there will be such a sign on the roadside where they pass, and you will definitely see Yuncheng’s big black car near the sign.
The big black bus used to mean nothing to Qiu Shi. For people living outside the city, the big black bus represented a distant shelter that did not belong to them.
And now, when Qiu Shi also got into the big black car and went to fight with those people, everything in Yuncheng began to change. When he saw these words and these cars again, he would feel at ease because they had different meanings.
Li Feng wanted such roads, one, two, or more.
If he really wanted Qiu Shi to explore the way, Qiu Shi felt that it would be difficult for him to refuse.
The convoy suddenly stopped, and Qiu Shi's nerves tensed up.
"Warning ahead." Feng Zhi's voice came from the headset. He was in the lead car.
"What's wrong?" Qiu Shi touched the gun on his leg.
"We detected a jungle crossing," Feng Zhi said, "two kilometers away from us."
"Scope and intensity?" Xing Bi asked.
"It's not very strong. I've sent you the forecast map," Feng Zhi said. "It may affect us in the later stages. Should we hide in place or go straight through?"
"Just go through it," Xing Bi looked at the picture on the projection, "It looks like it's the end."
"Seal all vehicles, open lightning protection devices, and inject inhibitors," Ji Sui's voice came out, "Continue moving forward in one minute."
A minute later the convoy started moving forward.
In the distance, you can see low-lying black clouds and dark blue lights constantly appearing in the clouds.
Although there is still some distance, dust and debris being blown up by the wind can be seen outside the car window, and the whistling wind can be heard through the headphones.
He had seen this familiar yet unfamiliar scene countless times while standing on the top of the bunker outside the city.
The experience in Xima Town is an unforgettable memory.
The convoy was moving forward at high speed. When the first blue lightning struck the right side of the car, Qiu Shi saw several refugees on a small road on the side of the road, wrapping their heads with cloth and rushing into a building that looked relatively sturdy but had no doors or windows.
These refugees were lucky. They ran in the right direction, heading east, and have reached the edge of the jungle. If they are lucky, they may survive.
And going forward, it will be hard to find such lucky people again.
Everyone knew that they should go east or west, but no one could judge where they were, nor could anyone calculate the scope of each jungle.
I haven't been to the jungle for a while. I saw the blue lightning that kept striking everywhere, the black light that kept dancing in the air with the lightning, and the refugees squatting on the side of the road hugging each other tightly...
He clearly felt that the world was changing, his life and his friends were no longer the same as before, but it seemed that everything was still the same.
Qiu Shi only now slowly came back to his senses and understood what Xing Bi said, this was just the beginning.
A new order and a new world must begin step by step in this dilapidated and dangerous world.
Li Feng stood in front of the monitor and looked at the moving cloud diagram: "It looks like it won't pass through Yuncheng."
"There have been two consecutive jungle games in the past few days, and neither of them passed through Yuncheng," Director Wu sighed in disappointment, "We can only wait until the next time."
"Let's continue the experiment on a small scale in the infected forest first," Li Feng said. "The convoy will be entering the city soon. If there's a jungle outbreak now, just imagine what kind of scene that would be."
"Aren't you going to the city gate yet?" Director Wu glanced at him. "We'll be there soon, right?"
"Let's go now and wait until they are in place," Li Feng said. "I am just a director, why would I join in the fun? The people standing on the stage to welcome them are Mr. Long and the ministers."
The ministers whose warehouse had just been raided by Li Feng and two teams of guards did not want to see him.
"Also, how are Wang Hong and the others doing these past two days?" Li Feng asked as he walked out.
"What state can it be in when it's locked in a hibernation capsule?" Director Wu looked at him. "Are you asking this sarcastically?"
"It is to ensure that no accidents can happen before the general passes away," said Li Feng.
"No, it's impossible," Director Wu said, "I'm not a fool who doesn't have anyone on my side! I've been keeping a close eye on him." When Li Feng's car drove out of the outer city tunnel, he was shocked by the welcome ceremony arranged by Minister Liu.
This welcoming ceremony was indeed somewhat different from the previous ones. Following the convoy back were not only people from Cloud City, but also representatives of the homeless and immune people, as well as the biological bodies scattered outside. They were the members of the outside world that Cloud City would face...
Li Feng said that he wanted to express Yuncheng’s sincerity and also show Yuncheng’s strength.
Minister Liu has a very profound understanding.
"Minister Liu is really good at this." He looked out the window at the tall welcome ceremony platform, all kinds of lights, flags, welcome words on both sides of the road, and the band already lined up and waiting.
"Are there any bands in Yuncheng?" Chen Dang was also quite shocked.
"There was one. The Security Bureau sent them musical instruments," Li Feng said. "They performed for five minutes during the city celebration. Their performance was rubbish, not as good as those black-blooded believers who went up and yelled a necromancy song."
Chen Dang laughed.
"Let's go," Li Feng said, "We still have to go to the stage and wait. I'm afraid Qiu Shi will see this and curse in front of Mr. Long."
"Damn it!" Qiu Shi looked at the people lining up to welcome him outside the car window, "Who the hell arranged this?"
"Minister Liu and his party," Xing Bi said. "The significance of their return this time is different. It's more grand... It's a bit exaggerated to be so grand, but I understand."
"Is it also like this for Lin Sheng and his group that returned?" Qiu Shi put his face close to the window to see what was going on around him. Suddenly there was a cheer outside the window, and everyone raised and waved the small flags in their hands.
"Oh shit!" He was so scared that he leaned back in his chair.
"Lin Sheng and his group are seriously injured. They definitely don't have this equipment. We need to send them to the medical cabin for repair." Xing Bi looked at him, "We..."
"We were both badly injured," Qiu Shi said in a low voice, "I had a lot of broken ribs, and you had a puncture in the stomach."
"I wasn't stabbed." Xing Bi said.
"I put it on." Qiu Shi insisted.
"I was stabbed in half, and now we have to each hold half of it and go on stage," Xing Bi said, hugging him, "It's okay, just walk around and shake hands with Mr. Long."
"Hey," Qiu Shi quickly pushed him away and looked out the window, "Don't be so shameless."
"Who can see it?" Xing Bi said.
"I can't see it anyway." Song Heng said from behind.
"See it! See it!" said Qiu Shi.
"I didn't see it." Song Heng said.
“… I asked Xing Bi.” Qiu Shi said.
"What did he see?" Xing Bi said, "He said he didn't see it."
"I..." Before Qiu Shi could finish his words, the car door was pulled open by someone.
"Welcome back to Yuncheng!" Minister Liu shouted outside the car.
"You actually open the door for people here?" Qiu Shi was surprised.
"Mr. Long should be here," Minister Liu said, "but his legs haven't been doing well lately, so he's waiting for you on the stage."
Qiu Shi looked at the people outside. As a corpse collector who had never seen such a big scene, he suddenly became stage frightened and almost turned the wrong way when getting off the car.
"Go up to the stage and shake hands with them," Li Feng's voice came from the side, "I'll be waiting for you over there."
“Oh fuck…” Qiu Shi suddenly felt at ease and looked back.
"Use civilized words, Captain Qiu." Li Feng reminded him.
"You need less of him..." Qiu Shi said, "Okay."
"Let's go." Xing Bi's hand gently poked him from behind, "It will be over in two minutes."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi smiled.
There was a row of people standing on the stage, including ministers and high-ranking officials whom Qiu Shi didn't know or had never heard of. The only people he could recognize were Mr. Long and Colonel Yu.
Amidst the applause, he extended his hand and shook hands with everyone one by one.
"Thank you for your hard work," Mr. Long shook his hand, "I will always remember your efforts."
Qiu Shi glanced at him. He didn't know why, but he felt that Mr. Long's words were very sincere. However, he didn't know whether the "you" included Li Feng.
"Have a good rest." said Mr. Long.
"Yeah." Qiu Shi responded and shook hands with the person behind him again. He didn't even look at his face and just kept shaking hands.
By the time we shook hands for the last time, everyone had already left the stage.
"It feels so strange." Li Feng's voice was in front of him.
Qiu Shi looked up and smiled.
Li Feng opened his arms and hugged him: "Thank you for your hard work."
"That's enough for you to know." said Qiu Shi.
Li Feng looked at Xing Bi again. Xing Bi sighed, opened his arms and hugged him.
"Xing must go directly to the laboratory," Li Feng said, "Old Wu is waiting. As for Qiu Shi... Brigade Zhao and the others are waiting for you in the bunker. Do you want to go check first or go first..."
"He goes to the shelter first." Xing Bi said.
The area outside the city had changed dramatically. After Qiu Shi left the platform where the welcome ceremony was held, he realized that the area was still several hundred meters away from the bunker.
That part of the bunker has been included in the expanded area of Yuncheng.
There are newly built simple houses all around. They are not as beautiful as the houses built by our ancestors outside, but they look quite sturdy.
Qiu Shi walked to the bottom of the slope of the bunker. This part had not been altered. The entire rock slope remained in its original appearance. The rock that he had been looking at for nearly twenty years made him feel emotional.
I couldn't hold back the tears so much that my eye sockets couldn't hold them back anymore, and everything I saw was double.
Brigade Zhao led his men out of the bunker, walked down a few steps and stopped, then suddenly shouted, "Brother Shi!"
Then a group of people rushed down the slope, roaring.
Qiu Shi ran up a few steps, stood in a horse stance with his legs staggered forward and backward, and protected his chest with his arms.
"Brother Shi—"
Then he was drowned by this group of people, shouting and yelling, and Hu Xiaoling's crying could be heard.
"He's injured!" Zhao Lu squeezed next to him, "Brother Shi is injured, you idiots should have some sense! You've all been in battle, can't you see this?"
"It's okay, it's okay," Qiu Shi said, "Just hug me to death."
"Lin Sheng and Bai Zhan have already checked it out, there's no problem," Li Feng said as he sat in the car. "After your group has finished checking and the welcome party, we'll meet again. We need to start discussing some specific matters."
"Can Lin Sheng attend the meeting?" Xing Bi asked.
"Yes, they all have to participate." Li Feng glanced at him, "Why?"
"I won't participate," Xing Bi said, "Lin Sheng and his team will take care of the next thing."
Li Feng was silent for a while: "Okay."
"Director Li, do you have any concerns?" Xing Bi asked.
"No, Lin Sheng and the others are fully capable of doing this," Li Feng said, "I just feel a little... reluctant, a little sad."
"We are not dead." Xing Bi said.
Li Feng laughed: "Why are you talking in the same tone as Qiu Shi now?"
"I didn't see the general's video footage at the welcome party," Xing Bi said, "Has there been any changes?"
"You also noticed this." Li Feng said.
"Is this something difficult to notice?" Xing Bi said.
"The general is about to die of illness," Li Feng said, "We will also discuss this matter at the meeting. You must be present at the meeting. You must understand this and no details can be overlooked during the destruction process."
"For some people, this will be a great loss," Xing Bi said. "In the next few hundred years, no one may be able to live forever."
"I'm waiting for them to scold me down there," said Li Feng.
Xing Bi smiled.
The laboratory is still the same, but the staff seems to be much busier than before. The biological bodies that came back with the convoy need to be checked, the systems adjusted, and some minor repairs done.
When Director Wu came over, he was jogging.
"Come on," Director Wu waved his hand, "everything is ready, it will be quick."
"It's not urgent." Xing Bi followed him.
"You used to complain that I was slow," said Director Wu. "Now that I'm fast, you say you can't be impatient."
"How is Zheng Ting?" Xing Bi looked inside the experimental cabin where Zheng Ting was imprisoned when he passed by. The lights were off, and only a soft, non-glaring light shone through the glass of the inner cabin.
"He is conscious occasionally, but doesn't speak," Director Wu said. "We need to discuss the details. I'll examine you first."
"Yeah." Xing Bi lay down on the medical bed. When the instrument above him came down and started scanning, he turned his head and looked at Director Wu, "Director Wu."
"What's the matter?" asked Director Wu.
"Can our current technology determine the lifespan of a biochemical organism?" Xing Bi asked.
Director Wu was stunned for a moment, as if thinking about the reason for his question. After a while, he asked again: "Do you mean... before or after?"
"After this, how long can I live?" Xing Bi said.
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
I should be updating around the same time tomorrow, as tomorrow is the time for my mother's monthly hospitalization. I have to go to the hospital, and it feels like the last time she said she was hospitalized was just not long ago... Time flies T_T.