Chapter 58: Family or Food?

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

For the two soldiers from Kunlun Base who had just joined Yushan Fortress, everything here was novel. Mutated Creatures coexisted peacefully with humans, and there was even someone resembling a Purifier—Xun Lili—among them. Based on previous intelligence, such a situation could be described as unheard of.

Although Wu Hongyu had lost a leg, thanks to the careful attention of the survivors at Yushan Fortress, he had managed to keep his life. Moreover, the kind-hearted survivors had found him a wheelchair, and some were even planning to acquire a prosthetic limb for him, so that he could stand on his own in the future.

Time always slipped away quietly in the rush. In the blink of an eye, the crisp autumn days had passed, and with a slight chill in the air, the white season was about to arrive. On this day, Commander Zhang once again held a meeting during lunch.

“Everyone, just eat while you listen.” This was the essential opening line before every meeting, and it always elicited laughter from the people in the fortress. Some mischievous children would even join in, reciting Commander Zhang’s classic quote along with him.

“Quiet down, listen to me. Winter has begun, and the weather is getting colder day by day. It’s fine inside our cave—warm in winter and cool in summer. But for the bunkers outside, those on guard duty shouldn’t have to freeze. We’ve discussed it and decided to get some coal. How about we set up a stove? Oh, and if any household is short on clothes or blankets, remember to let me know. The search team will fetch some for you when they go out.”

Although everyone called Old Zhang “Commander,” he was more like the patriarch of Yushan Fortress, or aptly described as the chief steward. He had to concern himself with every aspect of everyone’s daily life.

“Commander Zhang, when the search team goes out for supplies this time, could they go to Huan’an County?” Ye Rong suddenly stood up and asked loudly.

“Comrade Ye, there are no coal mines near Huan’an. We plan to check out the coal mines in Liaojing. Do you have some business in Huan’an?”

In recent years, the state had made great efforts to improve the ecological environment. Almost all the counties around City B had switched to natural gas for heating, and the original coal mines had been successively shut down. Therefore, to obtain coal, the search team had to travel nearly 200 kilometers from Yushan to the Liaojing coal mines, which was in the completely opposite direction of Huan’an.

“I was thinking that since Hongyu’s condition is mostly stable now, there’s a High-Frequency Particle Signal Enhancer in the airship. If we can repair it, we could contact Kunlun Base from here,” Ye Rong continued.

It had been over a month since they arrived here, and they had completely lost contact with the base. Only she knew how desperately she wanted to reconnect with the organization. Unfortunately, the mechanic was severely injured and bedridden, and she herself couldn’t repair the damaged Particle Signal Amplifier. The matter had been delayed repeatedly until now.

The people in the fortress immediately became excited upon hearing this. Although living conditions in Yushan Fortress were quite good, they were still a small group of just over a hundred people, isolated and vulnerable. If they could truly secure military rescue, that would mean real safety.

Old Zhang asked with some excitement, “Can it be repaired? I heard the airship was badly damaged.””It’s still not entirely clear. We need to ask Hongyu about this.” Upon hearing this, nearly a hundred pairs of eyes simultaneously turned toward the wheelchair-bound mechanic, Wu Hongyu.

Under the intense and expectant gazes of everyone, Wu Hongyu suddenly felt an inexplicable pressure. However, he didn’t dare to overstate his abilities and could only say somewhat apologetically, “Don’t look at me like that. Whether it can be repaired depends on the extent of the damage. I’m just a mechanic—I can’t fix the core components of the Particle Signal Amplifier. If they’re broken, they can only be replaced, but we don’t have the spare parts right now. So, whether it can be fixed or not will have to wait until I see the actual device.”

“So there’s still hope it can be repaired! I’ll send someone to retrieve it right away. Ye Rong, you go along too. None of them have seen that amplifier before, so make sure they don’t mess it up.” Old Zhang and his group believed in the principle of “try your luck whether there’s a chance or not.” If it couldn’t be repaired, it would just be a wasted trip. After all, the danger level in Huan’an had dropped to its lowest, so there shouldn’t be any real risk.

The next day, Yushan Fortress dispatched two search teams. One was led by Nie Chong, with Xun Lili among them, driving a modified armored truck and a semi-trailer truck to the Liaojing Coal Mine. The other team, consisting of An Sheng, Ye Rong, and Pighead Three, drove a semi-trailer to Huan’an to dismantle the high-frequency particle amplifier.

On the way, Ye Rong watched An Sheng, who was driving, with keen interest. Before long, her staring made An Sheng uncomfortable.

“Comrade Ye, why do you keep staring at me? Do I have flowers on my face?” An Sheng had always been somewhat indifferent to young women, especially since the women in the Fortress Area often eyed him with infatuation. As a result, he was particularly wary of women who stared at him.

“You’re special,” Ye Rong simply said these four words and continued to stare at him.

“What’s so special about me?” An Sheng was baffled by her behavior.

Although they had been working together for over a month, An Sheng always felt that this female officer was somewhat mysterious. Unlike the perpetually infatuated Zhou Xiaoxiao or the rough-and-tumble tomboy Xun Lili, Ye Rong, despite her heroic and spirited appearance, had an aloof and distant coldness about her. So, when this woman suddenly broke her usual demeanor and struck up a conversation with him, he found it a bit hard to adjust.

Ye Rong shifted her posture, comfortably reclining in the passenger seat, and explained, “You’re a Mutant infected with the Virus, yet you can coexist peacefully with humans. And that big guy in the back is actually helping humans too. Since the catastrophe began, this is an unprecedented case.”

“Is that all? I don’t think it’s a big deal. The people in Yushan are my family, and Pighead in the back is my underling. It’s perfectly normal,” An Sheng said matter-of-factly, but was it really that simple?

Ye Rong sat up straight again and stared at An Sheng, retorting, “You think that’s normal? Then why did that Lord attack us on its own initiative? Mutants are essentially no longer human—they’re a new species that sees humans as food. Do you think you could be friends with your food?”

An Sheng suddenly slammed on the brakes. The inertia caught Ye Rong off guard, nearly throwing her into the windshield. Angrily, she yelled at him, “What are you doing!?”An Sheng didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he stared expressionlessly at Ye Rong for a long time, watching until the hairs on her body stood on end before slowly speaking.

“I heard the subtext in your words. You’re implying that I’m keeping those people in Yushan Fortress like livestock for food, aren’t you? Ridiculous! Although I’m a Mutant, I’ve never stopped considering myself human. I’ve never eaten people, nor have I harmed any human! Fine, even if I’m no longer human, so what? Don’t give me that ‘different race, different heart’ nonsense. Do humans raise animals solely for consumption? Can’t humans develop genuine bonds with other species?!”

An Sheng grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, eventually cursing in frustration. This woman’s baseless suspicions were infuriating enough to make his lungs explode!

To be fair, An Sheng’s furious outburst genuinely startled Ye Rong. People in the Fortress always said An Sheng was their benefactor—though usually indifferent toward women, he was generally amiable and sincere. Today, she had been testing this Alien Race member because his behavior as a Mutant was truly unconventional.

“What are you shouting for? I didn’t say anything—these are all your assumptions. That’s not what I meant.” Although that was exactly what she meant, facing An Sheng’s rage, she didn’t dare admit it.

“Is that so? Did I misunderstand you?” An Sheng stared intently into Ye Rong’s eyes, his gaze filled with disbelief and lingering anger.

Though somewhat frightened, Ye Rong was after all a female officer who had undergone rigorous training, possessing considerable mental fortitude. She immediately raised her eyebrows and retorted loudly: “Haven’t you misunderstood? I didn’t say anything—you’ve been doing all the talking, and you even yelled at me! That’s too much!”

An Sheng knew she was being evasive but chose to let it go. However, his inner fury made him decide to ignore the female officer beside him. Expressionless, he restarted the truck and didn’t speak another word to Ye Rong.

Li Guoan had been killed by a Mutant, and he was the man Ye Rong deeply loved. From the bottom of her heart, she regarded all Mutants as outsiders—and enemies. The irony was that she had to live daily with these outsiders in a cave, a reality her subconscious couldn’t accept. All this time, she had merely been suppressing her true feelings.

The two journeyed on with separate thoughts, and indeed, no further words were exchanged. The silence persisted until the mission ended and the so-called High-Frequency Particle Signal Enhancer was transported back to the Fortress.

“How is it? Can it be repaired?”

Ye Rong asked Wu Hongyu anxiously as he inspected the equipment. She was already eager to contact Kunlun Base, especially after the unpleasant encounter with An Sheng today, making her anticipation even more urgent.

“The emitter’s exterior is severely damaged, and most circuits are burnt out. Fortunately, the core components remain intact. Though repairs will be troublesome, it’s still fixable.” After careful examination, Wu Hongyu reached this conclusion.

Upon hearing this, Ye Rong felt like jumping for joy but restrained herself from excessive display. She merely inquired about the estimated repair time from Wu Hongyu before returning to her cave.Wu Hongyu told her that repairing this signal booster would take at least a month, primarily due to the lack of professional repair tools—otherwise, the time could be reduced by more than half. After returning to her cave, Ye Rong plopped down onto the camp bed.

Staring at the flickering oil lamp, the woman murmured softly to herself, “Guo’an, I will avenge you. I will kill all the mutants and make every last one of those monsters pay with their lives!”