NOVPUB
Chapter 204: Chapter 204 Surrounded
A group of people made their way back along the same path.
Han Jiaojiao, in high spirits, clung to Han Yi’s arm as they walked, surrounded by darkness with only the light of several flashlights illuminating the path ahead. Emboldened by the cover of darkness, from time to time, Jiaojiao affectionately nuzzled against Han Yi, using this manner to express her joy.
Teased by her nuzzling, Han Yi felt his temperature rise. He refrained from reacting due to the presence of others, but finally, unable to bear it any longer, he pinched the softness at her chest, and Jiaojiao immediately behaved.
Even though she stopped nuzzling, the thought of owning an entire factory’s worth of military weapons made the corners of her mouth turn upward involuntarily, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
The light gradually grew stronger as they neared the exit.
Han Jiaojiao quickly suppressed her smile and adopted a look of deep concern, feigning the sullenness of a girl burdened with heavy thoughts. Han Yi, seeing the quick change in Jiaojiao’s expression, knew exactly what she was thinking. His lips curled into a suppressed smile, which he did not reveal.
Han Jiaojiao let out a deep sigh, drawing the curious glances of Yan Xiao and Xiao Jian toward her.
"What’s the matter?" Yan Xiao looked at her with open eyes, "Worried about Tian Xinyue? She’ll be fine. Han Rui might look reckless, but he’s actually a big scaredy-cat at heart."
Han Jiaojiao shook her head, "No, it’s not that, I’m just getting into the right emotional state."
Yan Xiao paused, then quickly caught on, his eyes moving slyly as his face also took on a deathly expression.
Almost instantly, Yang Qi got the hint and put on a demoralized look as well.
Xiao Jian watched their antics with complex feelings... He couldn’t bring himself to act, his temples twitching uncontrollably. In the end, Xiao Jian gritted his teeth and tried his best to appear gloomy.
Approaching the exit, Han Jiaojiao squinted involuntarily. Having been in the dark for so long, she found the sudden exposure to sunlight extremely dazzling and hard on her eyes.
Outside the cave, on the open ground, a sparse group of seven or eight people stood, with rows of soldiers stationed in the distance, guarding the entrance to the armory tightly.
There were several loud clangs, as dozens of guns were aimed at the people emerging from the cave.
Han Yi just lifted his eyes, and without any visible movement, those encircling soldiers, along with their guns, were hurled into the air and smashed heavily onto the ground!
The soldiers behind them were about to react but were stopped by someone.
"Yo! Isn’t this our famous MAX Superpower User with quite the temper?" Han Rui emerged from the crowd with a weirdly amused smile.
He glanced behind Han Yi and with a raised eyebrow, asked, "Just the few of you?"
Han Yi’s presence here was naturally for the weapons, but why did he bring so few people? Did he really think this small group of four or five could carry away all those weapons and ammunition? The lightest box of ammunition would weigh over a hundred pounds, with some heavy weapons tipping the scales at over a ton! Had Han Yi lost his mind?
No matter how hard Han Rui racked his brains, he wouldn’t guess that Han Yi had not only moved the supplies but also completely emptied the place! Not a single shell was left for him!
Yan Xiao, seeing that Han Rui indeed showed up with his men, almost laughed but remembered he had to play along with Jiaojiao, resulting in an incredibly odd expression across his face.
Xiao Jian, impatient, knocked the concrete floor with the butt of his gun, and demanded, "Where are our people?!"
"Easy there, young man, your friends are all fine." A dark-skinned man in military attire stepped forward from the crowd. He was tall and sturdy with a commanding and solemn face, appearing to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old.
At his command, several soldiers immediately spread out, revealing Zhou Xiaoliang, Tian Xinyue, and Hao Boming, who had been surrounded inside.
The three looked extremely unhappy, and although there were no ropes binding them, their limbs were stiff, motionless, and they did not utter a sound. Clearly, they were under the control of a Psychic Type Superpower User.
Han Yi glanced at the military-uniformed man expressionlessly.
The military-uniformed man, probably feeling that Han Yi’s group was not a threat due to their small number, allowed his subordinates to easily release them. Once freed, the three immediately ran to Han Yi’s side, warily eyeing Han Rui and the military-uniformed man.
Han Rui took a couple of steps closer, arrogantly introduced, "This is Zhang Zhuo, Major General Zhang."
"I didn’t expect to encounter Han at such a desolate place," Zhang Zhuo said with an inscrutable look as he glanced at the pitch-dark cave behind Han Yi. "I wonder how much Han has gained from this trip?"
Yan Xiao immediately started babbling beside him, "Aiya! What gains? We came back empty-handed, there was nothing in there at all!"
As soon as the words fell, the faces of Zhang Zhuo and Han Rui changed dramatically!
Han Rui especially, after his shock, shrieked, "Impossible! We’ve already surveyed the area! The tracks are blocked, there’s no way through, and there are no traces of any large vehicles passing through the outskirts! Don’t try to pull any tricks on me! If you know what’s good for you, tell us what’s in there right now!"
"How can you say we’re playing tricks?" complained Yan Xiao, his face turning sour, "Didn’t you see us come out with empty hands? And as for that survey, isn’t that an overstatement? Goddess Peak stretches for miles, could you have really surveyed the entire vicinity?"
Zhang Zhuo’s face was also unpleasant—For this expedition, the base had prepared for a full month, with huge investments in both manpower and resources. After numerous obstacles along the way, they had finally reached their destination. If the armory was truly empty... it would be a colossal joke!
Although Zhang Zhuo didn’t think much of Han Rui, he also believed Han Rui made a valid point. Such a large factory couldn’t possibly be empty. He thought so, and skepticism began to show on his face.
Han Jiaojiao feigned a defeated sigh, "It’s true, it’s completely empty inside... "
She was about to say everything was gone, there was nothing left, when a thought struck her, and she changed her tone, "...pitch dark, we found nothing, and we encountered some monsters, it was so scary! Wuu, brother, I’m scared..."
As she spoke, she buried her head in Han Yi’s chest as if it were real.
Seeing this, Yan Xiao’s mouth twitched, thinking: Lady, isn’t your acting a bit too exaggerated?
Surprisingly, Han Yi cooperated very well and gently patted Han Jiaojiao’s back, soothing her with soft words, "Don’t be afraid, your brother is here."
Taking advantage of being nestled in Han Yi’s arms, Han Jiaojiao tried to squeeze out a few tears to show she was truly scared but failed despite her efforts. Frustrated, she turned to look at Han Rui and Zhang Zhuo, pretending to be naive, "Are you going in? You really have to be careful, there are monsters in there!"
Han Rui and Zhang Zhuo exchanged a doubtful look.
"What kind of monsters? Alien Species?" asked Han Rui, half-skeptical.
Han Jiaojiao, still huddled in Han Yi’s embrace, shook her head, "It was too dark inside, we couldn’t see clearly."
Han Rui frowned and looked at Yan Xiao.
Yan Xiao, slightly embarrassed, cursed silently to himself: We haven’t even had the chance to compare notes yet...
"Um... it seemed like, maybe, snakes?" said Yan Xiao with a forced smile.
Zhang Zhuo’s face darkened and he remained silent. After a long moment, he raised his hand in a dismissing gesture, and from behind him walked a refined young man. Although dressed in military attire, he looked more like a delicate scholar.
Zhang Zhuo whispered some instructions, and the refined man bowed his head slightly, his face tense. After a while, he relaxed and looked up at Zhang Zhuo, "Major General, I found no traces of Alien Species or Mutant Beasts."
Yan Xiao, with ill intention, said, "Hey, is your Psychic Type Ability user up to the task? That monster was elusive; you’d better be thorough when you use your abilities to search."
