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Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Continue the Deadlock
Han Jiaojiao went to the terrace and lingered there for a while. As the sun set, the temperature dropped, and the few little ones on the terrace soon fell into a deep sleep.
To say they were sleeping, they were actually curled up in a ball, motionless.
Seeing that they were all asleep, Han Jiaojiao went downstairs and returned to her own room.
Han Yi sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, beads of sweat faintly visible on his forehead. Han Jiaojiao knew that he must be practicing his spiritual power.
It was unclear whether it was because his strength was already so great that progressing further was even more difficult, but especially since he had absorbed the Crystal Cores of over a hundred Psychic Type macaques, this had become particularly pronounced—every time he finished practicing, he would be drenched in sweat as if he had been through a fierce battle.
Han Jiaojiao practiced her Ability for the entire afternoon today and surprisingly didn’t feel tired, she thought it must be because of the Crystal Cores, and since it was her first time practicing, naturally she couldn’t relate to the difficulties Han Yi faced when making advances.
Unable to sleep for the moment, she wanted to practice some more; even if she couldn’t surpass that otherworldly Qin Wenhao, at least she had to be stronger than Qin Nanyi. But there were no more living creatures at home for her to practice on, and after some thought, Han Jiaojiao decided to buy more Mutant Animals tomorrow. After all, they were not expensive, and besides being used for practice, they could also feed the Hourly Beasts.
As for what her brother thought...
Han Jiaojiao didn’t want to care anymore.
Whether they said she was sick or crazy, in any case, she was determined to kill those two people. If possible, she didn’t want to leave anyone from the Qin Family alive.
After dealing with those two, they could find a better base to live peacefully.
Large bases weren’t just limited to Beicheng and Yunan; not far from Beicheng was another base, the Lingchuan Base, and further to the southwest was the Chujiang Base. These were all quite renowned bases after the apocalyptic world had begun.
Han Jiaojiao rested her chin on her palms, watching Han Yi until he opened his eyes. She immediately averted her gaze, lowered her head, and kicked off her slippers to get into bed.
Han Yi silently watched her for a while without saying anything then stood up and left the room.
Han Jiaojiao knew he was going downstairs to take a shower.
Every day after practicing his abilities, he would take a shower.
Han Jiaojiao was still very angry inside. Every time she thought about him knowing full well Qin Nanyi’s intentions, yet still getting close to her... Even if it was under the guise of some Professor Duan, she was still angry!
It wasn’t that she had never seen other women fawn over her brother, but she just couldn’t stand Qin Nanyi! Merely seeing them standing together, even without exchanging a word, just their standing together was enough to make the sight intolerably jarring to her!
Qin Nanyi was too cunning, with too many tricks up her sleeve, a light reason alone was capable of creating a vast distance between her brother and herself in an intangible way... Han Jiaojiao recalled how she was blocked outside the hospital today and couldn’t help but shed a couple more tears before she drifted off into a drowsy sleep.
When Han Yi came back, he saw a new blanket draped over Han Jiaojiao, their shared blanket now placed on the other side, and the pillows were set apart from each other.
Han Yi let out a laugh of extreme frustration. Without uttering a word, he got into bed and furiously yanked away the blanket from Han Jiaojiao’s body, throwing it onto the floor!
Han Jiaojiao was jolted awake, sitting up abruptly from the bed. Before she could figure out what was happening, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness. Han Yi’s arms, like iron, firmly ensnared her and he rolled over to lie on his side in the bed.
Han Jiaojiao tried to struggle a few times to no avail. She felt angry and wronged, her lips pouting slightly, on the brink of crying.
Han Yi sighed, loosened his arms, pulled her over to embrace her, and gently patted her back without stopping. In this position, they slowly fell asleep...
...
No one would have expected, this cold war between Han Yi and Han Jiaojiao would last several days.
And it was different from the usual lover’s quarrel; they ate normally, slept normally, calm and collected without any sign of argument or resentment. Except for not talking or laughing, almost everything else remained the same.
In recent days, the whole house had been permeated with a strange atmosphere.
Even someone as calm as Lu Changyuan was getting restless, hinting and suggesting to Yan Xiao several times. Yan Xiao was at a loss and complained, "Brother Lu, aside from you, who dares to utter a peep to Han Yi..."
Disappointed, Lu Changyuan said, "Aren’t you usually quick-witted? If you can’t make it work with Brother Han, why not find a way with Jiaojiao?"
Yan Xiao replied helplessly, "I’ve asked her already. She said everything’s fine... Ah, women! Always saying one thing and meaning another. But if she doesn’t admit it, what can I do... Besides, as a man, how can I even ask these questions? It’s better off to let Sister Yu handle it."
Lu Changyuan shook his head. Han Jiaojiao was very guarded, and Yu Wanxi hadn’t been with them for long. If Yu Wanxi were to ask, the effect might have been not even as good as Yan Xiao’s.
Yan Xiao then complained, "If you ask me, when it comes to love, if there’s a conflict, it’s always the guy’s fault. Even if it’s the girl’s fault, it’s definitely because the guy didn’t handle the conflict well. What’s the big deal? A little sweet-talking, and everything is settled, right? Brother Lu, you should also persuade Brother Han not to be so cold all the time. Jiaojiao is only a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, how can she endure this? Aren’t all women supposed to be coaxed? My previous girlfriends were—each and every one—definitely..."
"Cough, cough!" Lu Changyuan coughed loudly twice, making eyes at Yan Xiao.
Yan Xiao’s face turned pale in an instant, and with a somewhat stiff turn of his head, he indeed saw Han Yi coming down the stairs.
"... Han, Han Brother, are you going out?" Yan Xiao asked, forcing a smile.
Han Yi didn’t look at him and walked out with a stern face, "Hmm, off to the hospital."
As Han Yi walked through the courtyard gate, Yan Xiao let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and collapsed onto the parlor lounge chair, lamenting, "That scared me to death... I thought he heard us..."
Lu Changyuan glanced at him, saying, "He heard."
Despair washed over Yan Xiao as he closed his eyes, "Such an unlucky year..."
No sooner had the words left his lips when Han Jiaojiao came downstairs. She swept her gaze around the parlor without saying a word.
Thinking he was clever, Yan Xiao said, "Brother Han just went out."
A scornful smile appeared on Han Jiaojiao’s face, "He went to the hospital again, didn’t he?"
"Ah?... Yeah." Yan Xiao sensed the hostility in Han Jiaojiao’s words, his heart beat like a drum as he explained, "Professor Duan’s illness has always been quite serious. I heard that one of the conditions for the cooperation between the two bases was to take advantage of Beicheng’s medical facilities for treatment..."
"Who’s leading the Yunan Base?" Han Jiaojiao suddenly asked.
Both Yan Xiao and Lu Changyuan were taken aback. Han Jiaojiao had never asked about politically charged topics like this before.
"...Huo Fengnian, but the real power is held by Qin Xu and Qin Sheng," Yan Xiao replied.
Huo Fengnian was the party secretary of Yuchuan Province, and in collaboration with brothers from the Qin Family of Nanhu Province, they had set up the Yunan Base. The reason for their cooperation with the Qin brothers was because Qin Xu controlled the Nanhu Military Region, and Qin Sheng was the governor of Nanhu Province.
Yan Xiao had expected Han Jiaojiao to continue asking since Qin Sheng’s wife was Duan Shuhua, and Duan Shuhua had a close relationship with Han Yi. However, after hearing his answer, Han Jiaojiao merely nodded, seemingly unsurprised, as if her question had been merely to verify a fact.
Han Jiaojiao headed straight out, saying, "I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back before dinner."
Yan Xiao stood up, "Are you heading to the resource trading center? Getting another Mutant Beast? — My dear aunt, I’ve been having nightmares about the sound of rats gnawing every night lately, can’t we buy something else?"
"No, I’m going to the Special Training Team." Her voice trailed back into the room as she already stepped out.
"Hey... what’s with these siblings... what’s going on..." Yan Xiao muttered discontentedly, pouting his lips, "...One after another, they’re all running outside."
Lu Changyuan looked pensively towards the direction of the doorway.
