Chapter 332: Chapter 327: Apocalypse Sisters
Duan Kai acutely sensed Ye Qiu’s gaze and gave her a puzzled look.
"Let’s find a place to talk. It seems that Mingming is a bit resistant to you," said Ye Qiu candidly. Duan Kai withdrew his gaze, feeling somewhat irritable as he watched Mingming’s unfamiliar eyes.
"I rarely came home before, so it’s normal for him not to recognize me." The group found a place to sit down, with a campfire lit in front of them. The orange glow of the fire on Duan Kai’s pale face made him seem much more peaceful.
Duan Kai showed Mingming some photos; perhaps seeing his dad, the boy clutched the photos tightly, his lips pressed together in silence. Duan Kai touched his head with a heartache, and Mingming shrank back, causing Duan Kai’s outstretched hand to stiffen.
Ye Dong keenly detected the evil Qi emanating from the man and his teammates, evidence of their extraordinary past, whether from their pre-apocalypse special work or the short post-apocalyptic period, proving that these five men were not simple.
"Mingming, he is your uncle, not a stranger. From now on, you’ll be living with your uncle," Ye Dong gently told Mingming, feeling somewhat reluctant in her heart.
Although Mingming was young, he was sensible. Having been with Ye Dong for a few days, she had already grown fond of him. Moreover, she was not at ease entrusting Mingming to these men who did not look friendly. However, as they were relatives with blood ties, she couldn’t keep the child, and the post-apocalyptic days were getting harder. She was unsure if she could protect both her sister and Mingming. It was the right decision for Mingming to stay with his uncle.
"Auntie Dongdong," Mingming’s eyes welled up with tears as he clutched at her clothes, while his other hand gripped Ye Qiu’s fingers tightly and refused to let go.
Seeing this, Duan Kai’s relaxed eyebrows furrowed again, and the word "troublesome" escaped his lips once more.
"Where are you two going?" Duan Kai asked the sisters.
"To the national base."
"As far as I know, there are four major bases within the country, located in Sichuan, Hu Province, Jiang Province, and Beisheng. Which one are you heading to?"
Judging from his words, he seemed to consider accompanying them. Ye Qiu and Ye Dong exchanged glances before asking, "Do you have any recommendations?"
Duan Kai didn’t directly answer but analyzed for them instead: "I’m not familiar with Sichuan’s situation. Hu Province is closest to you. Beisheng has the most resources. Jiang Province is the farthest from you, but the least dangerous, and most of the country’s bigwigs have gone to Jiang Province."
"Are you planning to come with us?" Ye Qiu asked him.
"If possible, I’d like to wait until this kid warms up to me." In reality, Duan Kai could have taken Mingming away directly, but the child had just lost his father and was very resistant to his uncle. Besides, all the men in the team were single and really didn’t know how to take care of a child. Anyway, their current plan was to find a base to check out, so it wouldn’t hurt to accompany the sisters.
"Which base has the most advanced experimental equipment?" Ye Qiu asked again.
Duan Kai curiously glanced at her and honestly replied, "Jiang Province, but that’s the most heavily guarded place post-apocalypse; it’s hard for ordinary people to get in. If you want to conduct experiments yourself, I suggest you head to Hu Province Base. It has convenient access and might be able to get the most advanced equipment from Guang Province and Shanghai, though it’s very dangerous." After speaking, Duan Kai paused and squinted at Ye Qiu, "May I ask what kind of experiment you want to conduct?"
"I have some ideas about the apocalypse and want to see if they’re true," Ye Qiu’s statement was simple, but Duan Kai keenly felt that she might truly bring unexpected surprises. However, he still needed to observe for a while and couldn’t make a quick decision.
"Have you decided which base to go to?" Duan Kai asked.
"Hu Province, I guess."
"Alright."
With a simple agreement reached, since they decided to travel together for the time being, and with Mingming as a link between them, it wasn’t too awkward for the seven adults. Duan Kai was obviously the leader in his team, and what he said was what the other four men did. Within half an hour, they cleared the nearby zombies, creating a safe temporary shelter and even preparing food, arranging the order for night watches.
Ye Dong became curious about the identity of Duan Kai and his men once again, recognizing that such a level of efficiency and habit could not be developed in just the short period after the apocalypse. Were they special forces, mercenaries, or assassins?
Just like her sister Ye Dong, Ye Qiu was also very curious about Duan Kai, but not because of his identity; it was because she had heard of his great fame in her previous life.
Duan Kai was a post-apocalyptic powerhouse whose strength rivaled that of Ying Yiming. He too had established a base after the apocalypse, but his luck wasn’t very good. In the tenth year of the apocalypse, his base was attacked both by a zombie horde and a surge of mutant animals. With his strength, escaping alone wouldn’t have been difficult, but he chose not to abandon his people. Protecting the last group of survivors, he was buried along with his base under the onslaught of the zombie horde.
Legend had it that Duan Kai’s methods for establishing his base were not exactly noble, but both the Superpower Users and ordinary people within highly regarded him. Years after his death, the survivors continued to bring up his name.
"Boss, there’s a Mutated Vine ahead, with many zombies and mutant animals’ corpses around it, as if they’ve been drained of energy."
"Go around it."
"I want to check it out," Ye Qiu suddenly said.
Duan Kai looked at her intently: "Give me a reason. This Mutated Vine is not easy to deal with."
"This is what we got from killing a Mutated Vine a few days ago." Ye Qiu took out a green bead, "The energy inside seems different from that of ordinary mutant plants. I suspect they originate from underground, possibly related to the onset of the apocalypse."
Post-apocalypse, Duan Kai and his men had also collected many Crystal Cores, but whether from zombie brains or mutant animals and plants, all the cores were pearly white. He had never seen a green one before.
Recalling the volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis before the apocalypse, Duan Kai found Ye Qiu’s words plausible. The source of mutation could indeed be underground.
"Did you discover anything else at that Mutated Vine?"
"Its roots had a strange kind of soil, but there wasn’t much of it, and without proper equipment, I couldn’t conduct research or analysis." Ye Qiu took out another bottle, which contained something similar to soil, but it was golden in color.
Duan Kai examined it closely, greatly shocked. He looked deeply at Ye Qiu, feeling once again that joining them was the right choice, as she might bring about unimaginable change.
"Let’s go see what’s so special about that Mutated Vine then!" Deciding, the group started moving forward towards the danger.