NOVPUB
Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Future Plans
Han Yi and Lu Changyuan entered the main hall one after the other and gave Tian Xinyue a nod, which counted as a greeting. Even so, Tian Xinyue was nervous enough to break out in a sweat.
...a joke, that’s the legendary MAX Ability User who can take on a hundred enemies! How could she not sweat!
"Brother Yi, Xinyue brought us dried vegetables and meat! Shall we also dry some vegetables to eat in the future?"
Han Jiaojiao happily bounced to Han Yi’s side, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, fondly patted her head, and said softly, "Sure, have Yu Jie help you with it."
Tian Xinyue stood up awkwardly, somewhat embarrassedly saying, "...Jiaojiao, um... I’ll be heading back first, I’ll visit you another time."
"Ah? Stay for a bit longer, stay for dinner and try Yu Jie’s cooking," Han Jiaojiao implored.
Tian Xinyue shook her head firmly, "...no need, um... There’s still work to do at the team, I should go..." Stop teasing her, staying for dinner? If she stayed any longer, she’d feel like freezing, okay?
Han Jiaojiao couldn’t persuade her, so she stuffed the jar of pickles from the coffee table into her hands and crammed a few bags of melon seeds snacks into her embrace, instructing her, "Then come over again later, and bring Xiaojie and Mengyi too, we can all dry some vegetables together."
Tian Xinyue felt like there was a row of black lines on her forehead, thinking: Drying vegetables isn’t that fun, is there a need to look forward to it that much? It’s quite tiring, okay...
Tian Xinyue slipped away quickly, barely a minute after Han Yi entered, she promptly went her way. Her fear of Han Yi wasn’t without reason.
—Because she’d probably never forget that day Han Yi led people to rescue them only to find his precious sister unconscious. At that time, Han Yi’s face was so grim he looked like a man-eating devil... Tian Xinyue had never seen someone’s gaze could be so cold. She remembered the time she saw Han Yi at the Special Training Team, thinking he was exceptionally cool, but now thinking back... she must have been blind, right?
Such a terrifying person, where’s the handsomeness in that? She doesn’t even dare to look at his face now, okay?! If she doesn’t dare look at his face, how could she tell whether he’s handsome?
Only Han Jiaojiao can smile in front of that ice-cold face in this world, right?
Han Jiaojiao watched Tian Xinyue’s departing figure and blinked her eyes.
With Tian Xinyue making it so obvious, how could she not notice...
"Brother Yi, you scared Xinyue away." Han Jiaojiao pouted looking at Han Yi, "Be nicer to her next time."
Han Yi smiled, "Afraid you would get jealous."
Han Jiaojiao covered her face, "How could I..."
"Hard to please when you do get jealous."
"Not true..."
"Who was it that cried and screamed that I wasn’t allowed to look at other women, hmm?"
"That’s different..."
Lu Changyuan couldn’t bear to watch anymore. As a seasoned single dog, he calmly brushed off a layer of goosebumps from his arm and said indifferently, "I’m going back to my room." He then turned and went upstairs.
Han Jiaojiao felt a distinct sense of being scorned.
She timidly approached Han Yi and asked, "Brother Yi, lately when you discuss things with Brother Lu, you always go next door, is it because I’m disturbing you guys?"
"What are you imagining," Han Yi patted her head, "We’re planning to set up a workstation, later on devices like the generator can be placed over there for better soundproofing, and we’ll also need to move some of the supplies there to keep them hidden. Of the remaining three buildings, two will be used for living, and one will be dedicated as a practice area for Ability Users."
"For living?" Han Jiaojiao looked puzzled at Han Yi, "Isn’t it just right for us now?"
Han Yi pinched her face, smiling, "Many people will be moving here in the future."
Han Jiaojiao’s eyes flitted around as she said, "Brother, are you recruiting allies?"
Han Yi couldn’t help but laugh as he explained, "It’s not exactly recruiting. They’re people I placed in the south before."
Han Jiaojiao then understood and asked further, "Are they all in Beicheng now?"
"Some of them are here," Han Yi paused, then added, "Others have lost contact, might be in other bases."
"What should we do then?" Han Jiaojiao thought for a moment, then offered a suggestion to her brother, "How about we post a mission request? There are many such tasks for finding people nowadays, and with some points, we can issue one."
Han Yi pulled her into his arms to sit, saying, "It’s not that troublesome, bases can communicate with each other through satellite phones. I had Zhan Rong send out messages to a few major bases. If there are those who truly wish to join us, they will certainly find a way to reach us."
Han Jiaojiao said, feeling uneasy, "What if something happens to them on the way? The distance between bases is very far, after all."
Han Yi replied indifferently, "Those who are not useful, I don’t want anyway."
Han Jiaojiao was silent upon hearing this. She thought that her brother’s words made sense. Their place wasn’t a shelter, after all. Those who stayed needed to be useful; otherwise, they would just be giving out houses and food for free, and where in the world could one find such a good deal?
"Major Zhan is a good man. He has helped us a lot," Han Jiaojiao thought for a bit and then said.
Han Yi smiled with a curl of his lip, "He is someone who understands the obligations that come with taking favors from others. He can’t help but assist."
Han Jiaojiao was taken aback, then realizing what he meant, asked, "Isn’t he afraid of angering Elder Ji after being so accommodating to both sides?"
"He’s slick. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to get so close to Elder Ji as a major."
Han Jiaojiao remembered how Zhan Rong had come to see her brother a few days earlier and had left looking disheartened. She couldn’t help but ask again, "What did he want when he came to you before?"
"The base wants us to take on a mission, like the last time," Han Yi said.
Han Jiaojiao’s heart tightened, and she hastily asked, "Brother, you didn’t agree, did you?" Missions that specifically ask for their help were definitely fraught with danger! Han Jiaojiao didn’t want Han Yi to take the risk.
Han Yi’s voice softened as if to soothe her, "Mmm, your brother refused."
What he didn’t tell Han Jiaojiao was that the Research Institute had specifically requested his participation in the mission. Perhaps because they found Han Yi quite impressive last time and thus trusted his abilities, or maybe Duan Shuhua or Qin Nanyi had played a role in promoting this...
Regardless, he had refused.
He had no interest in dealing with those people, nor could he afford to be away from the still recovering Han Jiaojiao.
"The Research Institute has had some results with the Crystal Core research, but they have yet to obtain a sample of the Queen Crystal Nucleus. Thus, they hope the base will deploy a team to gather the Queen Crystal Nucleus," Han Yi said, looking at her with a teasing gaze, "I told them I needed to stay home to take care of you, so I couldn’t go."
Han Jiaojiao inhaled sharply. —Such a dangerous mission, no amount of points would make it worth accepting!
Feeling incredibly relieved inside, Han Jiaojiao couldn’t help but grab Han Yi’s arm and said, "Then I happened to be injured at just the right time. If I hadn’t been hurt, would you have gone?"
"You’re talking nonsense," Han Yi gently thumped her on the forehead.
Han Jiaojiao touched her head, pouting, "Anyway, I won’t allow you to go. If Major Zhan comes again, I’ll send him away, not letting him see you."
Han Yi was both helpless and amused, responding, "Don’t worry, they have already invited a Superpower User from Yunan Base to come over. The mission this time is a cooperative venture between two bases. The Crystal Cores will be shared by both parties in the end."
Han Jiaojiao was stunned, muttering, "A Superpower User from Yunan Base?"
Could it be... him?
