NOVPUB
Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Lullaby
The trip to the armory was finally scheduled.
Located in the Great Canyon of Goddess Peak in the southwestern direction, the canyon lies within the vast Taiyin Mountain Range, accessible only by a perilous railway track to the destination. After the earthquake, this path was completely destroyed, so Han Yi and his group planned to enter the Taiyin Mountain Range from Baiyun Peak, which was unaffected by the earthquake.
This expedition would certainly not allow for a swift return; merely trekking over the mountains might take up to seven or eight days. If they were unlucky enough to get lost or encounter severe weather, it would probably take even longer.
Han Jiaojiao was initially worried that they might arrive too late and find nothing. After all, it had been four months since the apocalyptic world began, and it was possible that some bases had already set their sights on the batch of military weapons in the armory. However, after listening to Han Yi’s introduction to the environment near the armory, she felt relieved.
That place was too remote and isolated; the major bases couldn’t spare the manpower to go there for a while.
The most pressing issue was the transportation of military weapons. Since the railway was no longer an option, if they were to rely solely on manpower to move the weapons out of the canyon, wouldn’t it require at least a few hundred people? Then the question arose: How many vehicles would need to be packed for several hundred people traveling back and forth for a month? How much food and water would be consumed?
Perhaps they could collect food from nearby towns as they progressed?
Impractical. Once they entered the Taiyin Mountain Range, all around were endless mountains and rivers, making it impossible to pass any towns. Not to mention the round-trip fuel, these supplies were not easily obtainable.
However, she and her brother had a "space," so none of these were problems!
On the final night before departure, everyone gathered together and discussed some details about the journey again.
The final team was determined: Han Yi, Han Jiaojiao, Yan Xiao, Xiao Jian, Yang Qi, Zhou Xiaoliang, and Hao Boming—a total of seven people.
Lu Changyuan had to stay behind to look after the base, so he wasn’t going. n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
Bai Kairui was also left behind; he was used to hanging out with Yan Xiao, and felt somewhat uneasy when suddenly told to stay. However, seeing a big shot like Lu Changyuan also staying put, his displeasure instantly vanished.
Contrary to Bai Kairui, both Yang Qi and Zhou Xiaoliang were thrilled!
Being chosen by Brother Han meant the boss trusted them! Especially Zhou Xiaoliang who had not yet awakened his Ability, he couldn’t stop smiling.
As for Hao Boming, although he didn’t protest, he repeatedly emphasized during the meeting, "You all must protect me well!"
Han Jiaojiao found his fearfulness amusing and whispered to Han Yi, asking why Dr. Zhou was not brought along.
Han Yi’s response left her dumbstruck: the journey was extremely dangerous, and Zhou Yan had been with them longer than Hao Boming. If Zhou Yan were to die out there, he was afraid it would upset Han Jiaojiao.
The other members had some ability to defend themselves, but the doctor was indeed the most vulnerable. Of course, it would be better if he didn’t die, and Lu Changyuan repeatedly instructed Yang Qi and Zhou Xiaoliang that their primary task was to protect Hao Boming well.
When the discussion was nearly finished, Lu Changyuan took out a set of communication devices, handed them to Yan Xiao, and explained in detail how to use them.
Supposedly, this set of devices was exchanged at the Lingchuan Material Trade Center using Crystal Cores, at a high cost. However, the devices weren’t very effective and were extremely complicated to use, not as convenient as satellite phones. Han Jiaojiao was confused by all this, but in the end, Lu Changyuan and the team agreed to communicate each evening from six to eight o’clock.
Setting a time range rather than a specific time was to avoid situations where they might be dealing with emergencies and unable to communicate.
As everyone was discussing the various accidents that might occur on the road, Hao Tian’s intermittent crying was heard from outside the house.
Han Jiaojiao paused, saying, "Tiantian is awake..."
It was already midnight, and Hao Tian probably woke up in the middle of the night and cried because she didn’t see her parents around.
Ye Jing was still busy preparing their food for the road with Yu Wanxi, meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, steamed buns, and dumplings — the more, the better. Lu Changyuan had instructed them to pack the food according to each person’s share so Han Yi could store them in his space and everyone could eat whenever they wanted during the journey.
Busy as she was, Ye Jing surely couldn’t attend to the child. Han Jiaojiao stood up to check on Hao Tian, but as she did, she heard Tian Xinyue and Liu Ling outside —
"Tiantian, darling, don’t cry, don’t cry ..."
"Come, let Auntie Xinyue sing you a song ..."
These two were genuinely fond of children.
The crying outside ceased, and Han Jiaojiao was relieved, as were the others in the room.
Yan Xiao, with a smile in his eyes, said, "Having a few women in the team really makes a difference. As the saying goes, men and women working together make the work less tiring ..."
Han Jiaojiao looked up at Lu Changyuan and asked, "After we leave, will you assign tasks to Xinyue and the others?"
"Yes," Lu Changyuan nodded. "Just like at the Beicheng Base, we’ll let them settle in first, and after they’re familiar with things, they’ll start on real assignments. Weapons and accommodation will be provided by us, and the task rewards will be split sixty-forty."
Han Jiaojiao nodded.
This split ratio was already very generous. At Beicheng Base, it was a seventy-thirty split, and everyone returning from tasks had to pay thirty percent of whatever they collected. Moreover, Beicheng Base didn’t cover personal expenses or provide free weapons and ammunition.
About the taxation, Lingchuan Base seemed to be considering imitating this, but Beicheng Base’s policy had already caused public outrage, so the specifics had not yet been implemented at Lingchuan.
Seeing that it was getting late and they were leaving early the next morning, Han Yi and Lu Changyuan reminded everyone a few more things before telling them to go back to their rooms to rest.
As Han Jiaojiao followed Han Yi back to their room, she heard Tian Xinyue singing to Hao Tian in the next room. Her voice was soft and low, without lyrics, just a gentle hum in a soothing melody — most likely a lullaby.
This took Han Jiaojiao by surprise; she didn’t expect the usually boisterous Tian Xinyue to sing such a song to soothe a child.
Han Jiaojiao glanced around playfully and then, leaning close to Han Yi, she cooed, "Brother, sing me a song to help me sleep."
Knowing she was being mischievous, Han Yi chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Naughty girl, go wash up and sleep."
Han Jiaojiao stuck out her tongue and giggled. She hurriedly washed up, got into her pajamas, and thought to herself that she would definitely coax her brother into singing her a song once they were in bed ...
But things didn’t go as planned. Once she lay down, the faint humming from outside made her so drowsy that she couldn’t orient herself and forgot to pester Han Yi. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
She never expected that she would sleep until noon the next day.
It wasn’t just her; everyone else was also taken aback because ... everyone had overslept!
The first day of departure turned into a fiasco, and by the time everyone was ready, it was already afternoon. It was no longer a suitable time to leave, so after discussing, Lu Changyuan and Han Yi decided to set off the next day ...
Strangely due to the bizarre incident of collective oversleeping, the departure date was postponed by a day.
