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Chapter 223: Chapter 223 Preparing the Wedding
Everything was progressing with fiery intensity.
In less than a week, nearly everyone at every base had heard of the existence of the Space-Time Base.
Lu Changyuan hadn’t intentionally advertised the new base. He simply did what Han Yi instructed, spreading rumors that claimed the Mutant Alien Beasts around the Space-Time Base kept a respectful distance, not daring to intrude. The reason... was the theory proposed by Hao Boming: where the Dragon’s Eye is found, a dragon’s spirit protects, and all evils are warded off.
Believe it or not.
The more the news spread, the more incredible it became. Despite the absurdity of the rumors, many people believed them, and gradually, individuals flocked to the Space-Time Base. Seeing that indeed no Alien Species or Mutant Beasts were to be seen near the ancient city, they became even more resolute in staying.
Aside from those who relocated voluntarily, Lu Changyuan also hired a large number of craftsmen from other bases. They were tasked with building greenhouses, constructing heating boilers, erecting watchtowers, laying out wiring, and designing bridges... There were too many projects to advance and the deadlines were too tight. In the past, it would have been impossible to complete so many projects within a month, but now, with all sorts of Superpower Users, time was significantly shortened.
For example, the most time-consuming part of laying underground cables was digging deep trenches, but with Earth Type Superpower Users or those with strength-related abilities, it could be done in one day.
Everyone in the base began to get busy. Even Professor Luo and Zhu Chengzhi, who were otherwise physically unskilled, were not idle. Han Yi threw them a pile of unidentifiable alien devices previously stored in the Ring Space and let them study to their heart’s content.
Despite help from many, Lu Changyuan was still extremely busy, wishing he had the ability to grow three heads and six arms. At this time, Han Yi announced that he was getting married!
Lu Changyuan almost exploded on the spot!
But after giving it some thought, he realized that with already so much going on, one more event—a wedding—would hardly make a difference...
Besides, could he even prevent Han Yi from getting married? Alright, there was now one more affair to attend to in the base...
Lu Changyuan spoke to Han Yi with righteous expression, "The wedding must be conducted, but its date must be postponed."
This was the wedding of a leader and the leader’s spouse, and it also marked the Space-Time Base’s first major event. It had to be grand and spectacular! It absolutely could not be hastily arranged. Hence, the date had to be delayed; otherwise, they simply couldn’t manage a grand and glorious wedding in such a short time.
Han Yi was indifferent to the timing, saying, "The date doesn’t matter, but the wedding photos need to be taken before the Ice Age starts. You help me find a photographer first." Otherwise, once it gets colder, they’d have to go out dressed like rice dumplings, not to mention looking nice for wedding photos.
Lu Changyuan felt a headache coming on.
Han Yi was about to leave after finishing his words but then turned back to add, "Oh, and make sure the photographer is female." He didn’t want a man eyeing his sister.
Lu Changyuan closed his eyes in pain, trying to negotiate, "I can find the person for you, but you’ll have to get the photo developing machine yourself."
Photo developing machines are heavy and bulky, and photo labs are usually located within cities, areas dense with Alien Species. Currently, everyone at the base was too busy to spare, and Lu Changyuan simply could not arrange for a team to go into the city to transport the machine.
"You handle the arrangements, and let me know once you have a plan in place," Han Yi said with a wave of his hand before leaving.
"Brother Han." As Yang Qi entered, he happened to catch Han Yi on his way out and respectfully greeted him.
On a normal day, Han Yi would barely give him a glance, but today, seemingly in a good mood, he nodded at Yang Qi, a faint smile playing on his lips.
When Yang Qi entered Lu Changyuan’s room, he still felt a bit flattered by the attention.
"...Brother Lu, Qingyang has agreed to our terms. They will start transporting materials to us tomorrow, but the new warehouse isn’t built yet. Brother Yan asked me to inquire, where should we store the coal once it arrives?"
"Don’t worry about that for now. Just find a temporary place to set it down." Lu Changyuan rubbed his temples in frustration, "Go and find out quickly which city district hasn’t been scavenged by the military. Go on, hurry."
"Ah? ...Oh..." Yang Qi left with confusion clouding his mind.
...
After leaving Lu Changyuan’s office, Han Yi went straight to the back garden.
The back garden was vast, originally part of the imperial garden exclusive to the emperor and his concubines in ancient times, where outsiders were strictly prohibited from entering. The same rule applied now, with a sign at the entrance stating: No Entry.
Because Lu Changyuan had set aside this area specifically as an activity ground for the Space-Time Beasts.
The Space-Time Beasts were highly aggressive towards strangers unless Han Jiaojiao was present to keep an eye on them. For the sake of public safety, it was better to keep them isolated. Moreover, the back garden was very close to the North Gate of the ancient city, allowing the Space-Time Beasts to come and go freely from the base and incidentally serve as guards for the city gate—an excellent two-for-one strategy by Lu Changyuan, who was accustomed to making the most of resources...
Despite the garden’s size, Han Yi found Han Jiaojiao quite quickly due to his special connection with his sister.
She stood in the lush, chaotic grass, grasping at something in the air with both hands. With every wave and retraction during her movements, one could vaguely see two semi-transparent long whips dancing around her. Xiaogua and Xiaodou were dodging constantly between the swings of the whips.
It turned out she was practicing her abilities with the Space-Time Beasts, which explained her disappearance after lunch.
Han Yi did not want to disturb her and stood watching silently from a distance.
Han Jiaojiao was very focused during her practice, her gaze cold and fierce, as if she was truly engaged in battle. The long whips in her hands appeared to be formed from condensed water vapor, and wherever they passed, the plants and leaves were stripped of their moisture, turning the surrounding scenery to a dry yellow in short order. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
However, the two whips were clearly not easy to control, lacking some flexibility, which made it easy for Xiaogua and Xiaodou to dodge her attacks.
After all, they were formed from tiny water droplets, not real whips or vines grown from her own body, so how could they easily hit whatever she aimed at?
Luckily, Han Jiaojiao was not in a rush to succeed. Perhaps today’s practice had already achieved the results she wanted. She practiced for a while before stopping and noticing Han Yi not far away.
Han Jiaojiao’s face lit up with a smile, and with a flick of her wrist, the water whips in her hands whooshed away. She ran toward Han Yi.
"Brother! How long have you been here?"
Han Yi wiped the sweat from her face with his hand, "For a bit."
Han Jiaojiao took his hand and pointed to a stone table and bench not far away, "Brother, let’s go over there, it’s cooler."
Under the shade of ancient trees, the stone bench was cool, and the surroundings were quiet and serene. Most of the peonies and peonies that once adorned the gardens had withered due to neglect, but the large trees and bamboo thickets were more luxuriant, and the lotus flowers in the ponds bloomed proudly, swaying. It was just uncertain whether these plentiful plants would survive the coming Ice Age.
Pepper lay quietly on the stone table, probably napping. Sensing Han Jiaojiao and Han Yi approaching, it moved slightly, then continued to lie still.
After sitting down, Han Jiaojiao once again conjured a cluster of water vapor. This time she didn’t make it too long or too big, just a small one in the palm of her hand, and then tried to control its direction with her ability.
The semi-transparent vine-like mist in her palm moved up or down, left or right, following her intention.
Han Jiaojiao was concentrating on practicing when she caught Han Yi staring at her incessantly.
Han Jiaojiao smiled, "Brother, why are you looking at me like that?"
