abyss rose

Chapter 38

According to the rescue route, after the third rescue team chooses to evacuate, it will retreat to the second outer city district which is closest to here.

After the rescued survivors are settled, take a short rest before going to reinforce other teams.

At ten o'clock that night, the survivors brought back by the rescue team had temporary shelters.

The third rescue team received the task and went to the seventh district as soon as possible, and cooperated with the floating city reinforcements and the rest of the base's rescue team to clean up the seventh district.

It wasn't until that moment that Chai Yuening knew that the rescue plan for the survivors in the outer city was over.

The next thing the base will start is the outer city recovery plan, which is expected to take half a month, and the estimated casualties are 30%.

The officer leading the team seemed tireless, had a quick dinner, took a nap for less than a quarter of an hour, and then led the team towards the seventh district.

Before leaving, he left a light armored vehicle for Chai Yuening.

He said: "Major General Xue of the First Rescue Team hopes that you can return to the main city to stand by."

Chai Yuening originally wanted to help a little, but seeing that Lu Qi had no intention of following the rescue team to meet up in District [-], he stopped insisting.

"The No.13 mercenary team applied to bring a family member into the main city."

"After verification, the contribution of the No.13 mercenary team is sufficient, and the application has been approved."

On the way back to the main city, Chai Yuening heard Du Xia's grandmother lower her voice and say something softly.

"Too many people have died, and being alive is like a coincidence..."

The Ninth District, which had fewer casualties, was not included in the statistics, and the total number of survivors in the other eight major urban areas was less than 7000. As Lu Qi said, vacating two residential areas in the Second District and the Ninth District can accommodate them all.

You know, before the disaster, an outer city had at least 20 people.

In the face of disasters, even the survival of human beings has become a kind of accident.

Before the catastrophe broke out, there were more than 70 billion people on the ground.

After the catastrophe broke out, human beings established four major bases in the desert, ocean, sky, and underground. During the most prosperous period, the population peaked at 2000 million, of which the desert base accounted for 100 million.

After the complete fall of the desert base and ocean base, there are only two remaining human bases with a total population of about 500 million.

Today, the remaining population of the dungeon base is probably less than 60.

Human beings are desperately living.

People are dying fast.

Chai Yuening suddenly couldn't find the direction of the future.

The people in the back seat were chatting about what they had experienced in the past few days at first, but gradually they all fell asleep, and the long, empty tunnel became so quiet that it became depressing.

It was after twelve o'clock in the evening when the car drove into the main city.

After Du Xia and her grandma settled down, Chai Yuening opened the door of her room.

The lights in the room were on, Chu Ci sat on the sofa, raised a pair of bright eyes, and quietly looked at the person returning from the door.

In her hand, she was holding a collection of poems that she had read countless times.

Chai Yuening originally thought that the procedure would be more complicated if she said goodbye during the day and wanted to meet again later.

But the moment she opened the door, she saw Chu Ci come back.

It is actually a puzzling thing that an important sample can leave the research institute without supervision according to its own wishes.

Chai Yuening didn't know the reason, and didn't want to know.

She only knew that for a moment, her eyes were sore, and she had the urge to cry.

However, she thought she should control her emotions.

"You're back."

"You're back."

The two of them spoke in unison, and after finishing speaking, they each froze for half a second, then smiled slightly with their eyebrows bent.

Chu Ci whispered, "I can't get in even if you're not here. It's the spare room card that Boss You took me to the registration office to ask for."

Chai Yuening scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment: "I forgot to leave it for you."

Chu Ci was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes and said: "Too careless, I have no sense of responsibility at all, if I don't get a spare room card, I have to squat at the door and wait for you for a few hours, won't you feel bad?"

Chai Yuening, who had just closed the door with her backhand, couldn't help but froze.

She always felt that these words were weird, but she didn't know how to refute them.

"This is what Boss You asked me to say." Chu Ci added.

"Ah, that's it..." Chai Yuening breathed a sigh of relief.

No wonder she always felt that there was a strange smell in these words, and it was like Yulan's smell for a long time.

Chu Ci: "Is there any inevitable connection between me squatting at the door and your distress?"

Chai Yuening said casually: "Conscience hurts."

Chu Ci: "Why?"

Chai Yuening: "When a person has the ability and responsibility, if he can't take care of anyone around him, his conscience will hurt."

Chu Ci: "Oh."

What a weird conversation.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became strange.

Chai Yuening looked around at a loss, as if wanting to change the subject.

The empty stomach just hit the snare drum at this moment.

Chu Ci: "Are you hungry?"

Chai Yuening: "Are you hungry now?"

The two asked questions almost simultaneously.

Chu Ci: "I didn't eat in the afternoon."

Chai Yuening: "I have a little."

Even the answer is spoken at the same time.

Just like that, the embarrassment of the last second disappeared without a trace, and two people with empty stomachs walked into the kitchen one after the other, resisting yesterday's exhaustion, and started today's supper.

There are not many vegetables in the refrigerator, and some noodles boiled in a pot of simple tomato soup, it is a warm and full meal.

After filling his stomach, Chai Yuening washed the pots and bowls, and Chu Ci stood by the side to help dry them.

At the end, I queued up to take a shower, lazily fell into bed and fell asleep.

Chai Yuening was too sleepy, since two o'clock in the morning last night, she hadn't closed her eyes much.

Even though her stomach was full at the moment, she fell into a dream as soon as she touched the pillow.

Living, it seems difficult, but also seems very simple.

Thinking about it carefully, it is nothing more than a full meal and a bed, and then... not alone.

The days after that were like going back to the time when we first met.

It's unbelievably peaceful.

After obtaining the accurate location of the dungeon, the floating city sent three waves of reinforcements within three days.

Among them, the first wave and the second wave have been cooperating with the base's recovery plan for the outer city.

The third wave of reinforcements took three days to help the dungeon base clean up all the dead vines on the ground signal tower, and protected the base technicians to carry out a very thorough repair.

During these days, the base radio was full of positive voices.

After a while, which outer city was recovered.

For a while, it was how reasonable the survivors in the outer city were resettled.

In a short while, the two bases will exchange research results, human beings will help each other, and the future will be infinitely bright.

However, if those soldiers who were responsible for recovering the outer city died in this war, they would not even be able to leave their names. They could only be counted in a huge number and recorded in history together with countless familiar or unfamiliar comrades-in-arms.

The five districts, six districts and ten districts of the base are the three urban areas that are estimated to be most difficult to recover.

Especially in the sixth district, counting from the moment the communication was restored, the military in the main city only received a message from the sixth district at the first time.

And according to the military, the message from the Sixth District was just a message hastily recorded by the Chief Sheriff of the Sixth District when the Sixth District fell.

Chai Yuening, who learned about this, seemed to hear the trembling voice of the Chief Sheriff.

He said: "The communication signal of the sixth district has been cut off, the urban dispersal alarm has been activated, and there seems to be a herd of beasts... From, sneaked in through the ventilation duct, the specific reason is unknown... The military force of the sixth district has rushed to the fifth district for support at noon today, and the remaining combat power... ...seriously insufficient. Cheng Shan, the Sixth District Public Security Station, asks the main city for support!"

On that day, the Sixth District, which was the closest to the Fifth District, dispatched almost all its troops to reinforce the Fifth District at the first time, leaving only some city defense personnel to maintain law and order.

They really sink into despair.

After the despair passed, someone sighed and said that in ten or twenty years, the outer city would be lively again.

No one knows whether this sentence is true, but everyone is willing to believe that there will be such a day in ten or twenty years.

The recovery work of the outer city of the base is moving in a good direction day by day.

First, a few urban areas that fell later and had a lower degree of mutation, and then the last three high-risk urban areas.

During this period of time, regardless of the city outside the main city, the base radio announced new death tolls every day.

And Chu Ci would be taken to the base research institute from time to time, and he would go there for a whole day.

Every time I come back, I act as if nothing happened, listening to the radio, reading a book, having a supper, and falling asleep.

Chai Yuening wanted to help a little bit, but all the applications to the military were rejected.

But this time it really has nothing to do with Xue Zhou. In the recovery plan of the outer city, no mercenary team was involved at all.

As far as the military is concerned, the actions of the mercenary team have always been unorganized and undisciplined. In a dangerous area with a very high mutation infection rate, when they need to kill their own people all the time, this self-armed and small collective consciousness It's better not to show up.

Because of this, all mercenary teams that wanted to help basically became temporary convoys for transporting supplies and non-infected wounded.

……

On the fourth day when the fog cleared, Chai Yuening saw a familiar face from a distance in the medical center of the main city.

She didn't go up to say hello, but went straight to Lao Xiang's ward.

Youlan sat by the hospital bed and peeled the apples of the common people.

Chai Yuening stepped forward: "Ban Xiangming is still alive."

Youlan was stunned for half a second, then responded lightly: "Very good."

There was no other response after that.

On the day Lao Xiang was discharged from the hospital, everyone in the team gathered together and ate a feast of Youlan's treat.

In the small temporary house, seven people squeezed into a table. For ordinary people, the big fish and meat on the table may not be so rich even during the festival.

"The outer city is about to be recovered!" Youlan asked holding a glass of wine. "After recovery, after a half-month inspection period and a one-month repair period, people will be able to live again. What are your plans?"

"After finally entering the main city, how can there be any reason to go back to the outer city?" Lao Xiang said.

"I think the outer city is pretty good." Lu Qi said loudly, "The main city is just a more comfortable place to live, and there are fewer rules in the outer city!"

"Talking about this, you just don't want to be caught by your brother-in-law."

"So what? I can do whatever I want, and it's his turn to take care of me?"

"Oh, that's right!" Liandong was afraid that the two of them would quarrel, so he quickly helped to change the topic, "Boss You, what are your plans for the future?"

"Of course I want to go back to District Seven. All my property is there." Ulan said, "I want to go back and reopen them."

"Where is the guest from?" Chai Yuening asked.

"In the future, there will always be." Youlan replied, "If you are still alive, you will have everything."

Youlan said, seeming to remember something, raised his eyebrows and looked at Chu Ci.

After thinking for a while, she got up and walked to Chai Yuening's side, and gently tugged on Chai Yuening's sleeve.

"Captain Chai, come here."

Chai Yuening was stunned for a moment, and under Chu Ci's blank and curious gaze, she got up and followed Youlan into the bathroom, and closed the door.

Youlan: "I heard Liandong say that Chu Ci is going home?"

Chai Yuening froze for a moment, forced a smile, and nodded.

Youlan: "You two just broke up like this?"

Chai Yuening: "What... what?"

Youlan: "How old is the little girl, is she an adult yet? You play so flirtatiously with her, don't you intend to take responsibility?"

Chai Yuening: "No, what is this about?"

Youlan: "Chai Yuening, look at that girl clinging to you every day, don't do things that disappoint her."

Chai Yuening bit her lip and sighed helplessly.

"Some things are really not what you think."

Youlan rolled her eyes and sighed: "Is it likely that you know best in your heart that you put your reluctance on your face, don't lie to yourself."

Chai Yuening: "I admit, it's normal to be reluctant after getting along for a long time."

Youlan: "Isn't that right?"

Chai Yuening: "...you don't understand."

Youlan: "I really don't understand what you are thinking. If you can't bear it, you can keep her. If you can't keep her, you can chase her. It's such a simple thing."

As Youlan said, he leaned against the sink and sighed angrily.

It's like a aunt and six wives who get angry and feel very puzzled after failing to help the younger generation to hold the red line.

Chai Yuening shrugged, turned and walked out of the bathroom, and sat back at the lively dining table.

She thought that You Lan had misunderstood her and Chu Ci too much.

The relationship between them is really not the kind of relationship that Youlan imagined.

Moreover, Chu Ci's departure was not something she could persuade with a word.

There are many things Youlan doesn't know. After all, she is just an ordinary person, and people will not tell her things that ordinary people may not be able to accept.

After that, life went on as usual.

Chai Yuening always thought that on the day when the base fully recovered the outer city, the Floating Void City and Chu Ci would leave.

Just before that day came, the base broadcasted a bad news throughout the city.

Major General Xue Zhou, a division-level officer of the main city army.

Unfortunately, he was infected during the recovery mission in District [-]. After insisting on continuing to command and operate for two hours, he committed suicide by drinking a bullet at the first moment when his body began to undergo slight changes. He has now been cremated safely.

The content behind the broadcast is a summary of the officer's half-life achievements.

He led the execution of many dangerous missions, brought back many ground samples for the base, and killed mutants in several cases of mutants attacking humans inside the base, saving many people.

One night three days later, a military officer who looked familiar to Chai Yuening came to the building where their mercenary team temporarily lived.

He was Xue Zhou's adjutant. He knocked on the door of Lu Qi's room and handed over to Lu Qi the gun that Xue Zhou had never left before his death.

"Does he have any last words?" Lu Qi asked.

"Yes." The adjutant said, "The ashes are scattered, no one worships them, and don't occupy the land. Leave the gun to you, whether it's self-defense or destroyed, you can do whatever you want."

"Oh……"

"The major general said it was good that you didn't enter the army in a fit of anger." The adjutant said with a bitter smile, "There are some last words that I want to tell you. Many times, in the face of absolute responsibility, black and The boundaries between whiteness, right and wrong are all fuzzy. You don’t need to understand, and neither do most people, but the fact has always existed, and it will not change because of anyone’s evasion. In this place where you can only talk about hope In the world, the overall interests of mankind are above everything else, and no one's life is an exception."

"..."

There are many things worth mourning in this world, but people who are used to living in danger never spend too much time immersed in pain.

After that, a gun was added to the boy's waist.

Other than that, everything seems to be the same as before.

But Chai Yuening could tell that it was a silent relief and understanding.

She couldn't help thinking superstitiously, a belated forgiveness might also comfort the spirit of the deceased.

……

On the No. 18 day when the fog cleared, the outer city was successfully recovered by the military, and the military sacrifice was as high as 30.00% as expected[-].

The Dungeon Base once again expressed its gratitude to the Floating Void City for its selfless help.

The fighter jets from the Floating Void City will also leave the next day.

One night before leaving, Chu Ci still returned to this temporary residence.

Chai Yuening wanted to help her pack her things, but found that she couldn't pack anything except the two newly bought clothes after arriving in the main city.

"Actually, you don't need to bring clothes, you won't be missing."

"..."

Regarding the fact that Chu Ci once lived here, thinking about it is like an illusory dream.

Before falling into the dream, I came empty-handed, and after waking up from the dream, I walked away empty-handed.

"Is there really nothing you want to take away? Ask Youlan for some fruit, and eat it on the way?"

"No, just send it to me." Chu Ci said indifferently.

In the early morning of the second day, Chai Yuening was awakened by a strange dream.

In the dream, someone grabbed her arm and gently shook her awake.

When he opened his eyes, in the warm yellow light, Chu Ci frowned at her and smiled.

"Chai Yuening, I'm leaving, you said you would send me back."

She was so sleepy, so sleepy that she didn't have much energy, she reached out subconsciously, trying to ask Chu Ci to give her a hand, but it was in vain.

Chu Ci disappeared, and everyone said she had gone back.

She ran and ran, chasing all the way to the ground, only to see the white belly of the sky, one after another fighter planes drifting away like flying geese in the distance where the morning glow was shining.

The moment she woke up, Chu Ci was not by her side, and Chai Yuening jumped out of bed with bare feet almost immediately.

The next second, the sound of washing from the toilet next to the wall made her heave a sigh of relief.

Chai Yuening got dressed, and when she left the bedroom, she happened to see Chu Ci coming out of the toilet.

"you're awake."

"Ah."

"I'm leaving soon. When I get to Floating Void City, I'll show you around."

"You can walk around there?"

"Yes." Chu Ci said lightly, touched his left arm wrapped in a medical cloth, and said with a raised eyebrow, "It's just that you won't get lost in the base."

Chai Yuening couldn't help being stunned for a moment.

That wound has been there since they first met.

At the beginning, it was the place where the locator was taken out, and later it was injured again in the sixth district.

After returning from the ground, the dressing of this wound was much more professional than in the past, but she only now knew that the small shackles had once again been implanted in Chu Ci's body.

"Does it hurt?" She asked tremblingly.

"It doesn't hurt."

"If it hurts, you can say it."

"Then don't tell anyone."

"Ah."

Facing Chai Yuening's assurance, Chu Ci slowly took a few steps forward.

She seemed to be hesitant, but still leaned over slightly, and gently pressed her ear to Chai Yuening's heart.

Chai Yuening subconsciously took half a step back, but she stretched out her hand to gently wrap her around her.

She listened silently to the sound of beating again and again, and after a while, she murmured.

"I don't dare to tell the doctor. I'm obviously not injured, but it hurts here. I shouldn't be sick..."

"It's really not a big deal, it's very light."

"It's just that I'm used to the pain in other places, but I'm not used to the pain here."

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The author has something to say:

Wow, today's chapter is a bit fat.