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Chapter 121: Chapter 121 Unexpected Crisis
"Jiaojiao! Over here, over here!"
Tian Xinyue stretched out her arms, standing on tiptoes and waving vigorously.
Han Jiaojiao jogged over, tilting her body to show off her bulging twin-shoulder sheepskin bag, and smiled, "I’m all ready. Are we setting out now?"
Tian Xinyue stepped aside and pointed behind her, introducing the two men and one woman, "This is Wei Jie, Wang Mengyi, and Li Qian. We’re in the same group."
"Hello, I’m Han Jiaojiao." Han Jiaojiao nodded her head slightly with a smile, which counted as a greeting.
By chance, apart from Li Qian, she remembered the two boys.
During the last rescue of the scientific researchers, this Wei Jie was running around Hong Yun and seemed to be highly trusted. Wang Mengyi she had also seen before, he was the boy who stood up for Su Xue the last time.
Seeing Han Jiaojiao, Wang Mengyi’s face turned somewhat awkward, and he said in a deep and resonant voice, "Hello, uh... sorry about last time, I misunderstood you."
"What about last time?" Tian Xinyue squeezed over, curious as she looked at Wang Mengyi, and asked, "Wang Mengyi, what did you misunderstand about Jiaojiao?"
Wang Mengyi seemed a bit afraid of Tian Xinyue, and the tall, thin man took a step back, muttering without speaking.
Han Jiaojiao just smiled casually and pulled Tian Xinyue slightly, saying, "It’s nothing, really."
Tian Xinyue’s eyes shifted, and suddenly she said, "Oh! —— I get it now, it must have to do with Su Xue, right? Hey, Jiaojiao, don’t take it to heart. This guy, he’s a straightforward person. He’s stood up for Su Xue who knows how many times and took the blame as well. He’s the type who would help count the money after being sold, believe it or not?"
Wei Jie stepped in to smooth things over, "Okay, okay, since you’ve already pushed her to the logistics department, why bring her up again..."
Tian Xinyue objected, "Did I push her there? She brought it on herself. All I did was submit a few more reports for the team members."
Wei Jie gave a wry smile, thinking that if it hadn’t been for her constant submission of reports to the higher-ups, Su Xue’s punishment would have been squashed by her boyfriend a long time ago...
Tian Xinyue was not the type to dwell on things. After complaining for a bit, she quickly put it out of her mind, flung her hands, and said, "Let’s go, the sooner we leave, the sooner we return, and we can get back in time for dinner. If we go late, the cafeteria will only have gruel and assorted noodles left."
Han Jiaojiao helplessly thought to herself that having something hot to eat was already good. When the Ice Age came, the cafeteria would basically only provide compressed food for the team members. If you wanted to eat something else, you needed to use points to buy it.
The group got into the jeep one after another, with Wei Jie sitting in the driver’s seat, Wang Mengyi in the passenger seat, and the three girls seated in the back.
Their mission this time was to adjust the monitoring equipment at its location.
Of course, the base could not rely solely on a wall or a protective net to withstand Alien Species. All around the base, monitoring devices were placed at regular intervals, transmitting surveillance footage to the inside of the base round the clock. In this way, as soon as any creature entered the monitoring area, the base would be immediately notified and able to respond promptly.
However, due to a lack of maintenance personnel, these devices often malfunctioned; sometimes the lenses would be obscured by something in the wind, sometimes it was electrical wear and tear—there were all sorts of issues, and this time, it seemed to be related to Mutant Animals.
Han Jiaojiao had volunteered to ask Tian Xinyue whether she could join precisely because she had heard about this. The material exchange could only buy small mutant creatures, but her Ability needed larger Mutant Beasts to fully test the effects of her practice. At the same time, Han Jiaojiao also wanted to test the level of her Ability in actual combat.
She had casually asked without holding out much hope, but to her surprise, Tian Xinyue agreed right away.
The destination was not far from the base, and it took only a quarter of an hour to get there by car, after all, the cable and electric lines of the base could not reach too far afield.
This task could be considered extremely simple and easy, and given its close proximity to the base, it was no wonder Tian Xinyue agreed without a second thought to take her along.
Just as Wei Jie had driven the jeep to the location, the wireless telephone in the car rang, heavy with static, but a woman’s voice could be heard—
"Call for Special Team Three, Unit 136 leader, Tian Xinyue, calling Special Team Three, Unit 136 leader, Tian Xinyue..."
Wang Mengyi handed the headset to Tian Xinyue, who frowned and muttered, "Seems like it’s Su Xue," before taking the headset and responding, "This is Tian Xinyue."
"...The mission time has been changed to tomorrow, please respond if heard."
"We’ve already arrived, why change the time now?" Tian Xinyue asked, frowning.
Su Xue on the other end either didn’t hear or just repeated again, "The mission time has been changed to tomorrow, you can bring your team members back."
"I’m saying we have already arrived!" Tian Xinyue thought Su Xue didn’t hear clearly and shouted, "Hello?! Su Xue! What is the reason for changing the time?"
"...The mission time has been changed... been changed... beep——————"
The last sound was the tone of a disconnected call.
"What the hell is she playing at?!" Tian Xinyue said in irritation as she took off the headset.
Most of them had heard what Su Xue said, and Wei Jie, looking outside with some indecision, said, "What now? ...Go back?"
According to the Special Training Team’s discipline, once the logistical department issues a recall notice, team members must return immediately, but the problem was that Su Xue had not given a reason, making it a bit awkward...
Tian Xinyue said with some difficulty, "How about we take down the surveillance camera before we leave? Otherwise, it’s a wasted trip."
Wang Mengyi agreed, "Taking down the camera won’t take long; I’m quick, it can be done in one or two minutes, it won’t cause a delay."
Han Jiaojiao didn’t see the Mutant Beast, and although she was somewhat disappointed, she could only accept the decision. After all, for an organization like the Special Training Team, discipline and safety are the most important.
Everyone got out of the vehicle one after another, taking out the folding aluminum ladder from the back of the van and setting it up under the utility pole; Wang Mengyi climbed up first.
Standing up there, Wang Mengyi looked and spoke easily, "The camera is fine; the wire has come loose, probably pulled off by a Mutant Animal. Hand me the pliers and some tape, and it’ll be fixed right away."
This type of surveillance camera with a pan-tilt head, due to constant movement in all directions, often has the connections between the device and various wires coming loose after long-term operation. It’s common for them to be completely severed if a stray cat or dog happens to scratch at them.
Hearing what Wang Mengyi said, everyone relaxed. If there was a malfunction in the camera itself, not only would they have to dismantle the camera and take it back to the base for professional repair, but they would also have to come back to install it. Whether it was one trip or two, the mission points were the same.
Now, just reconnecting a wire was enough to finish the job, and everyone was feeling a bit gleeful inside.
Li Qian had already turned to search for the pliers and tape in the back of the vehicle.
But Tian Xinyue’s face suddenly went pale as she shouted, "Wang Mengyi! Get down quick!"
Everyone looked at Tian Xinyue as she grabbed Han Jiaojiao’s hand and pushed her towards the jeep! With urgency in her voice, she loudly ordered, "Everyone in the car! Fast!"
In the moment she was pushed into the vehicle, Han Jiaojiao seemed to sense something and turned her head abruptly—
Just then, on the northwest horizon, a massive black mass had appeared out of nowhere, moving towards them at a high speed!
Han Jiaojiao’s face changed color as Wei Jie’s urgent voice rang out, "It’s a bird swarm! Get in the car fast!"
