"How are things, have you finished packing your things? Is there anything left behind in any of the manors?"
On the deck, Lin Yuan and Kong Cheng were chatting, this was their last chance to talk before parting ways.
Yesterday, Lin Yuan had heard from Ying Tianlong that Kong Cheng would be staying here for at least another six months or more to cooperate with the fleet's work.
At the same time, they would train a batch of excellent investigation teams for the New White Eagle Federation, enabling them to counter the residual forces of the council.
Lin Yuan looked at Kong Cheng, knowing that within half a year, this old comrade's hair would turn as white as Ying Tianlong's.
"I'm all set here, Old Kong. Take care of yourself while you're here. I'll be waiting for you to come back for a drink."
Comrades didn't need many words of blessing; a simple salute conveyed everything.
"Departing."
Taking a small boat carried by the aircraft carrier, Lin Yuan, along with the Trist family of four, soon reached the vicinity of the tactical nuclear submarine that had surfaced. Someone on the submarine was already communicating with the small boat's pilot.
"Comrades, please confirm that you have no dangerous items on your person to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."
This was directed at the Trist family. After all, Lin Yuan and his companions only had changes of clothes, all packed into a small box. As for weapons and other items, apart from those that had already disappeared, the rest were in box number 016x, which Lin Yuan held in his hand.
"We have confirmed there are none," Trist explained patiently. Although their weapons had been confiscated when they boarded the helicopter, their boxes contained nothing, not even a knife. They only had some commemorative items and valuable belongings.
Aside from paper currency, other useful items could be exchanged for work points in the safe zone. They had spent quite some time selecting just three boxes.
After all, they would still need money to spend in the safe zone, wouldn't they?
"Alright, you can board the submarine once the ship docks steadily."
After speaking, the pilot began to slow down and approach the submarine.
"Trist, should I be calling you Li Xiangxin now?" Lin Yuan suddenly remembered that when they first met, Trist had said he would revert to his original name upon returning to his country.
"Hahaha, yes, I only just found out you're called Lin Yuan. How could I have called you Brother Mingjun before!" Li Xiangxin also patted Lin Yuan's shoulder with a wry smile. He had been thoroughly deceived by the person in front of him back then.
"Hey, I understand, I understand. I'll treat you to a meal when we get back to the safe zone, isn't that generous enough!" Lin Yuan scratched his head, unsure how to explain, and resorted to the universal gesture of inviting someone to a meal.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sharp pinch on his lower back.
"Lin Yuan, do you think money grows on trees!"
This was Wu Tian's inner thought. Although she wouldn't say it in such a setting, she believed Lin Yuan could understand her meaning from the pain radiating from his waist.
Li Xiangxin found it amusing watching Lin Yuan stifle his cries, then patted his two children.
"These are my two children. I may need to trouble you with them later."
The sensation in his waist disappeared. Wu Tian peeked out from behind Lin Yuan and said, "Don't worry, I'm a teacher in the safe zone. I'll report it to the school. There are also some foreign children in the safe zone who will be organized to learn Chinese."
Those were the children of foreign friends residing in Huaxia, and their numbers were extremely small, only a few dozen or even fewer in each safe zone.
Of course, the unfriendly ones had already turned into fertilizer.
"That would be the best!" Li Xiangxin clasped his hands in gratitude.
At this moment, the submarine had also arrived.
"Home!"
"Home!!!"
The submarine's interior was cramped. Even the four-person cabins assigned to them were only 4 square meters.
The corridor was just wide enough to fit Lin Junhui's high-tech stroller.
However, it was a nuclear submarine, and one of the most advanced ones currently available. The lighting was quite bright, and each bedside had a small lamp with adjustable brightness.
Lin Yuan was currently reviewing Lin Junhui's test report, while Wu Tian, Wang Xiaoxin, and Andrea were nearby, amusing the child.
"Oh, right, Sister Wu Tian, we haven't looked at Lin Yuan's box yet! What's inside?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Tian also stopped playing with the child and realized she hadn't seen what was inside either. She said, "That's right, I haven't seen it either! Only Lin Yuan has seen it! Damn it, I forgot about this."
Lin Yuan, lying on the bed, seemed not to have heard their words, his eyes solely focused on the text in the test report.
"There is a very strange substance in the blood, never discovered before this. It differs from the substance in his mother, Wu Tian, and shares some similarities with his father's blood. However, the proportion of unknown substances in Lin Yuan's tissues is higher.
It is speculated that it may gradually manifest as the subject grows, and its specific effects may need to be observed during the subject's growth.
The most apparent effect currently is an earlier onset of intellectual development; other effects are unknown.
Summary: Currently, the physical condition is healthy, and the intellectual level is equivalent to that of a one-year-old child. The continuation or development of this condition is unknown, the effects are unknown, and extensive observation is required."
"Is that so?" Lin Yuan murmured, his voice audible only to himself, "Did something happen at hsAC that I don't know about? Otherwise, how could the Holy Mother have so confidently identified my son's abnormal changes?"
It was a pity that the hsAC base had been destroyed. Otherwise, for his son's sake, he would have made the trip.
"We can only wait for this kid to grow up."
With his thoughts racing, Lin Yuan finally came back to his senses and heard Andrea exclaiming over a cross pendant.
"Good heavens! Lin Yuan actually brought back your necklace!"
"Uh, this..." Wang Xiaoxin was clearly taken aback, holding the necklace, unsure what to say. She could only wonder in her heart if this constituted stealing loot.
Wu Tian, on the side, was also looking at the cross with sparkling eyes. The gems on it reflected a gentle and dreamy purple light under the illumination of the lights.
Girls who loved shiny things couldn't resist.
Seeing the admiration in the three women's eyes, Lin Yuan felt that bringing this thing back might have been a problem.
Shaking his head, he neatly folded Lin Junhui's physical examination report and placed it in the inner pocket of his clothes.
"Cough, cough."
Two coughs shifted their attention.
"I saw Old Wang wearing this, so I asked for it back. Is there a problem?"
As he spoke, he also signaled Wu Tian with his eyes that there were more things inside.
Wu Tian immediately understood and quickly took out the remaining items from the box.
Two swords
The remaining items were a 30cm golden pharaoh's scepter and a golden mask, wrapped in cloth.
Elsa had put considerable effort into creating this evil cult, incorporating elements of ancient Egyptian mythology in its customs, architectural style, and even its artifacts.
These two items were genuinely retrieved from a pharaoh's tomb.
Whether they were cursed was unknown, but the gold was undoubtedly real gold.
However, the mid-to-low-level cult members of the Eternal Life Cult were quite unfortunate. If they knew that their "holy sanctuary" was European in style disguised with ancient Egyptian skin, they would likely die of anger.
"Are these two for us?"
Wu Tian tilted her head and asked in a displeased tone.
So, you brought back Wang Xiaoxin's and Carol Anna's necklaces, and all we get is this?
"No, no," Lin Yuan quickly waved his hands and said, "These are to be handed over to the current safe zone of the Pyramid Country upon our return. What kind of gemstones can't be brought back then?
Besides, I'd be afraid of a curse if I wore these as jewelry! The Holy Mother was cursed to death like this, wasn't she? Just yesterday there were still some shreds of flesh left, but now they've likely been burned to ashes by the cleanup crew, leaving not even a trace."
Hearing this, Wu Tian and Andrea quickly threw the items they were holding away.
However, they turned around and looked at each other with a mix of tears and laughter. What were they even competing about just now?!
After this small interlude, Lin Yuan carefully put all the items away. Suddenly, a scene flashed in his mind.
"By the way, Old Wang, Andre, I wanted to ask about the vine in the manor. What was it, and why didn't I see it again later?"
As he asked this question, Lin Yuan felt a sense of lingering fear, worried that all of this might have been a hallucination created by the plant with the deadly floral scent.