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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Three: Return
The stars hung low, and the wild wind swept through.
As night deepened, the truck stood alone in a sheltered spot in the mountain ravine, almost blending into the darkness. Jiang He, who had been resting against the driver's seat, suddenly opened his eyes and gazed out at the profound night sky, feeling an inexplicable pang of anxiety. The passenger seat held Yin Nuo, still fast asleep, a thin blanket slipped down to her waist, revealing the fluffy little head of Tabby Cat.
Jiang He draped his blanket over Yin Nuo and rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he sat up. Outside, the campfire flickered with weak flames, where a graduate student and Weiwei were sitting close together, occasionally poking at the fire with dry branches. The orange glow illuminated their profiles, casting a warm red hue. Yellow Dog lay nearby with his head drooping, looking somewhat listless.
Jiang He opened the truck door and jumped down. The two by the fire turned at the sound and smiled at him.
"Not going to sleep a bit longer? We're not tired yet; we can switch later," the graduate student said as he handed over a stainless steel Tea Jar. "Have some hot water."
"Now that I'm awake, you two should rest," Jiang He replied, taking the jar and blowing on it before drinking. The warm water flowed down his throat into his stomach, spreading a wave of warmth throughout his body.
"No rush," the graduate student grinned, making space for Jiang He to join them. "Since you can't sleep, let's chat."
"What should we talk about?" Jiang He asked as he settled down and lit a cigarette. The spicy smoke swirled around in his lungs before he exhaled it along with that sudden anxiety from earlier.
"Just casual talk," the graduate student said, scratching Yellow Dog's chin while pointing towards the desolate road on one side of the ravine. "I did some calculations; if we keep up our pace, we should arrive around this time tomorrow. I'm worried about how to find you at that place you mentioned. What if it's an Underground Base?"
"There are military restricted areas in the Gobi Desert. In the past, they were just blocked off; they weren't buried underground," Jiang He thought for a moment before getting up to retrieve a copy of the Dongfeng Aerospace City Travel Guide from the back of the truck. He returned to the fire and flipped through it. "Look here; at least we won't lose track of the launch center. I think... that place should be nearby. We haven't encountered many Zombies on this journey; we're already ahead of them. In this vast Gobi Desert, there shouldn't be any major issues."
"That's good; hopefully, we can find everyone smoothly." The graduate student stretched lazily and grinned. "I was just talking with Weiwei earlier; once we reunite with the main group, let's head to the grasslands?"
"Hmm?"
"Nomadic life! The sky is vast and wild; it's so much better than being in the city." The graduate student spoke vividly, filled with longing as Weiwei hugged her knees quietly watching him get carried away.
Seeing this, Jiang He kept his thoughts to himself and smiled subtly. "Go rest; I'll keep watch for a while longer. We need to set off early tomorrow; the weather doesn't look good—might rain again."
Feeling somewhat tired themselves, they nodded and returned to the truck.
The mountain wind was biting cold, causing the flames to flicker uncertainly. Jiang He stared blankly at the ink-black sky, questioning himself: Would they truly be able to find everyone as hoped?
Gray clouds drifted slowly across the sky, and the strong wind stirred up the sound of fine sand and gravel. The bright moon was obscured by the clouds, and the starlight dimmed considerably.
The large buildings lay quietly on the land, resembling a giant beast in deep sleep. In the distance, a hazy outline could be seen, faintly illuminated by flickering candlelight.
Container houses formed a semicircle, connected end to end with more than ten heavy trucks, enclosing a flat activity area. Toward that cluster of buildings, on a raised salt and alkali earth platform, sat a slender figure. Long hair danced in the wind, and the back view was incredibly lonely.
Chen Zhao Zhou had just finished a round of inspections when he discovered that the diesel generator had malfunctioned again. On his way to Cheng Long's residence, he noticed the person on the platform. The cold-faced handsome man paused for a moment before walking over.
As he approached with footsteps crunching on the gravel, Su Lan's eyelids twitched, but she did not turn around. "I'll be back soon."
"I just wanted to tell you that there might be heavy rain tonight," Chen Zhao Zhou said with a slight pout. "Haven't you and Dong Dong made up yet?"
"I lied to her." Su Lan's expression was darker than the sky itself, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic. Instead, she asked an unrelated question: "What have you been doing?"
"Huh?" Chen Zhao Zhou was taken aback by the question but quickly smiled and replied, "Just checking around, nothing much." He then jumped onto the platform and sat down next to Su Lan. A gust of wind blew at just the right moment, sending a face full of sand at the handsome pair.
"Ugh." Chen Zhao Zhou spat out some sand from his mouth and asked, "What are you thinking about? I noticed you looked troubled even back in Nantang; why are you still like this now?"
"Should I be happy?" Su Lan tilted her head to glance at him and hesitated before asking, "Can you answer me a few questions?"
"You can ask; it's up to me whether I answer or not." Chen Zhao Zhou did not refuse and lit a cigarette before handing it to her. Su Lan took it and watched as sparks flickered in the wind before speaking up. "That place over there—what is it?"
"Brother Long didn't tell you?" Chen Zhao Zhou raised an eyebrow and looked toward the dark buildings in the distance. Seeing that Su Lan remained silent, he chuckled softly. "You're as stubborn as Dong Dong; if you just talked it out, it would be fine. You're just like us—caught in this situation because of your identity. Dong Dong will understand."
"If you're not going to answer, forget it." Su Lan felt somewhat irritated and turned her head away, unwilling to listen to his nagging.
Handsome Brother Soldier smiled silently, took off his military cap and set it aside, pointing at that dark shadowy area. "That's a place where a bunch of lunatics and madmen harm normal people."
Su Lan turned back around, her gaze piercing as she stared at him. "Continue."
"I don't think you'll be interested." Chen Zhao Zhou exhaled a puff of smoke, his eyes reflecting some melancholy. "Back then, Establishment and RCA hadn't split yet; all resources were shared. But as the main entity, Establishment gradually became dissatisfied because RCA's components were too complex. As plans progressed, signs of instability began to emerge. So Establishment decided to kick RCA out and prepare to go solo; they shifted their focus here and quietly withdrew from the cooperation between both sides. However, the leader of Establishment clearly didn't anticipate that there would be moles on their side during this separation process, so everything got messy—intertwined in ways that couldn't be untangled..."
"Get to the point." Su Lan couldn't help but roll her eyes. Chen Zhao Zhou was rambling on about things she already knew, and she had no interest in listening to his nonsense.
Chen Zhao Zhou didn't mind. He lowered his head in thought and asked, "What do you consider the point?"
"Who are you serving? What is this place for?" Su Lan bluntly voiced her doubts. "Also, what were you and Cheng Long doing in Nantang Township?"
"One question at a time." Chen Zhao Zhou took a deep drag from his cigarette, flicked the butt away, and watched as the ember traced an irregular arc through the air before being swept into a patch of Red Willow.
"Nantang Township was where we wanted to escape all of this, but unfortunately, it was destroyed. This place is a Laboratory. I won't hide it from you; inside, there are a bunch of lunatics conducting research. I don't know exactly what they're studying. As for our superior... well, you wouldn't know them anyway. They should be arriving in a day or two; I'll take you to see them then." Chen Zhao Zhou answered smoothly. Noticing Su Lan's disapproving expression, he asked, "Are you really that interested in all this?"
"Have you been inside?" Su Lan pretended not to hear his question and pressed on, "What is it like in there?"
Chen Zhao Zhou seemed surprised that this ice queen had so many questions. He sighed, "I've been inside, but I can't describe it well. If you really want to know, I can take you in. But you'll have to wait... What are you thinking?"
"I want to save my companions." Su Lan spoke without any pretense, directly revealing her intentions as she said softly, "Can you let them go? They have nothing to do with this; they just want to survive."
"I'm curious—are you really that close with those people?" Chen Zhao Zhou asked, puzzled. "You’ve been with us longer, right?"
"That's beside the point. Those people... they're good people." Su Lan's mind flashed with the faces of those who never gave up even in adversity, and her lips involuntarily curled into a smile. "Please help me with this. You don't need these few people."
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