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Chapter 366: Chapter 356: Return

...

Lin Qing threw a piece of wood onto the campfire, and a few sparks shot up with a crackling sound, making the flames a bit more vigorous.

Using fire for illumination remains the most reliable method.

In this city, abandoned furniture is everywhere, just break a couple of pieces, and it can serve as fuel for the night.

And she really liked the flames, especially the relationship between fire and civilization.

Perhaps beneath the ground where she sat, a fusion reactor was tirelessly working, providing essential energy for the entire subway station, but it could malfunction and go out at any time... Once it shuts down, it will have no hope of being restarted.

This fire was different; no matter how many times it went out, she had the confidence to kindle a new flame.

"What’s up, can’t sleep?" Someone walked up to her, handing her a cup of hot water.

"Uncle Li." Lin Qing glanced at the person, "You can’t sleep either?"

"Haha, as you get older, naturally you sleep less." Uncle Li pulled up a chair to sit down, "You’re worried about that Chen kid, aren’t you?"

Lin Qing stared at the flames, lost in thought, "I’m worried about all of them. Even though they seem strong... that place, after all, belongs to the Evangelicals’ base, not to mention the Ability Users, there might even be nano-living bodies."

"Who knows?" Uncle Li shrugged, "There are only two outcomes. Either they come back safely, or they all die there. But no matter the outcome, that’s all Chen’s own choice."

"I still don’t understand why he’s so... urgent." It took Lin Qing a while to find the word urgent.

According to the original plan, the Fireline Band was supposed to stay at this point for some time, then move on to the next point. As for when to act, it depended on when enough Ability Users could be recruited... If not a dozen, at least five or six. Spending several months or even half a year to gather manpower and resources was normal.

Until she met Chen Xuan.

This person stepped forward, not only agreeing with the Fireline Band’s proposition but also single-handedly taking up the flag of action—although he wasn’t going alone, those Ability Users were his partners, so essentially it was still "single-handedly." He met them in the morning and set off in the afternoon, an incredibly bewildering speed.

It was as if... his time was especially precious...

He must constantly accelerate to keep up with the passing moments.

"Because he’s interested in you, Little Yan." Uncle Li couldn’t help but laugh, "That person is clearly here for you."

"Uncle Li!" Lin Qing frowned, "We just met."

"Hahaha, don’t be mad, I’m just speaking the truth." He shook his head, "I’ve seen many young people, his gaze on you was different, wasn’t it love at first sight? Actually, you’ve noticed it yourself, right? His actions are just too enthusiastic."

Lin Qing fell into silence.

"There’s nothing wrong with that. In Jiang City, people don’t know how long they’ll live. Expressing one’s feelings isn’t a bad thing," Uncle Li added more wood to the fire, "But the premise is not to let feelings cloud your judgment. If that kid gets himself killed trying to show off, he’s not worth your concern."

"I didn’t have that thought..." she mumbled softly.

"Just because you didn’t before doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Or is there already someone you’re interested in?" Uncle Li asked, "I remember... you said you moved to Jiang City because of someone, right?"

"Not someone, but... to find an answer."

"An answer?" Uncle Li looked up curiously, "What kind of answer?"

Lin Qing shook her head without answering.

Seeing this, he did not pursue the matter. Jiang City had once welcomed a large number of outsiders, not just those escaping war and disaster, but many people with various purposes... Since she didn’t want to say, he wouldn’t pry into her secrets.

Shuh... shuh...

The sound of footsteps and sand suddenly echoed in the dark.

"Who’s there?" Both of them immediately got up and asked in unison.

The camp was still under the protection of the station’s sentry guns, so nighttime visitors were unlikely to be Evangelicals, more likely wild boars or wolves.

This shout was mainly to scare them off.

But the footsteps didn’t disappear; instead, they got closer.

Lin Qing quickly gripped her gun.

"Don’t worry, it’s us."

Several figures quickly emerged from the darkness, and she immediately recognized the person at the forefront—it was Chen Xuan.

"Did you... fail?"

Lin Qing could only think of this answer. It was only just past 4 a.m., three hours earlier than their agreed return in the morning, and without transportation, the return journey should certainly take more time. They had even discussed sending a search party if they couldn’t be contacted in the morning to provide backup.

But they had returned that night?

She even had a worse guess she didn’t voice—that Chen Xuan and the others hadn’t even entered the Evangelicals’ territory, only turning back after making a show of leaving.

However, thinking positively, they had returned safely.

"Fail? Of course not... Your intel was very accurate, and we did gain something." Chen Xuan waved his hand, and Honglian and Liuli immediately pushed a bound captive toward the fire.

It was only then that Lin Qing noticed they had one more person returning with them, "Is this person an Evangelical?"

"Hey, she’s talking to you." Chen Xuan looked at him.

The man jerked and quickly replied, "Yes, my name is Ma Kang. I was previously a Mechanical Officer, now a member of the Evangelical Association."

Lin Qing and Uncle Li exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Since when were Evangelicals so easy to talk to?

Weren’t they usually rambling madmen?

"Did you only capture him?" Lin Qing was filled with confusion, "What exactly happened on the scene?"

"Something unexpected happened; we were attacked by a nano-living body just as we were about to withdraw." Chen Xuan casually summed up the process, "...Two other Ability Users died, and there were a dozen others who survived, but since they weren’t Ability Users, I didn’t bother with them. The nano-living body was dealt with, so there shouldn’t be another body entering for a while."

Lin Qing listened, her jaw dropping.

It felt like she was hearing an absurd tale: these four managed to take down a medium-sized nano-living body without any heavy weaponry support, relying solely on their abilities? This size of an enemy is already close to the limit of a stronghold’s firepower, requiring numerous high-explosive bombs to blast it repeatedly to possibly destroy it.

The amount of force would be enough to turn a subway station upside down.

The Mutual Aid Association’s Ability Users aren’t that exaggerated, are they?

Uncle Li also showed a complicated expression, but despite any doubts, he couldn’t confront them without evidence, so he decided to start with the captive, "You all have worked hard. Since he’s an Evangelical Ability User, he must know some leads. Hand him over to our interrogators. You all can head back to the base for some rest?"

However, Chen Xuan refused, "I need to be present during the interrogation, and until then, our people will guard him."

This wasn’t an unreasonable request, given that they had brought him back.

Uncle Li nodded, "Alright, I’ll go wake everyone up."

"No rush." Chen Xuan stopped him, "Before that, you need to fulfill your promise."

"What promise?" He didn’t react immediately.

It was Lin Qing who first realized what Chen Xuan meant, "You want me to go to the base to sleep now? Four in the morning doesn’t exactly count as a full night."

"The process doesn’t matter, the key is the result."

"This..." Uncle Li hesitantly looked at Lin Qing.

"Alright, I’ll go with you." She nodded indifferently, "Though I don’t understand what you’re up to, it’s clear you’re very eager to achieve this goal, even willing to risk your life. Since that’s the case, it doesn’t hurt to accompany you once."