Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Grand Scavenging
Han Jiaojiao listened to him and set down her bowl, continuing to sip the porridge with a spoon.
Han Yi came over, picked up a custard bun from the table, tore off a little piece, and fed it into Han Jiaojiao’s mouth, "Don’t just focus on drinking porridge, or you’ll be hungry later."
Han Jiaojiao uh-mmed and ah-mmed as she ate an entire custard bun, then finished the remaining half bowl of porridge and stood up excitedly, "I’ve finished eating, let’s set out now!"
She couldn’t wait to try out the results of her recent practice.
Han Yi pulled her over to his side, took a paper towel to wipe her mouth, and Han Jiaojiao, feeling embarrassed, said, "Brother, let me do it, I’m not a child anymore..."
A tender smile appeared on Han Yi’s face as he kissed her rosy cheek, "You always wipe my sweat and pour water for me usually, don’t you?"
"That’s because I like taking care of you."
"Mm, Brother likes taking care of you too."
Han Jiaojiao blinked and then shyly cupped her face...
In her heart, she thought happily: Brother is so nice!
After breakfast, for the convenience of moving around outside, Han Jiaojiao specifically changed into a set of comfortable sportswear. Of course, changing clothes inevitably meant being fussed over by someone. Han Jiaojiao was genuinely a little scared of Han Yi recently, it seemed ever since he had woken up, he had become rather... um, quite lascivious.
She even wickedly speculated whether Professor Luo’s antidote might contain some aphrodisiac components. Otherwise, why would her brother have suddenly changed like this...
Fortunately, Han Yi didn’t go too far this time, although he took advantage of her with a lot of kissing and touching, causing Han Jiaojiao to breathe a bit rapidly after getting dressed.
Regardless, they finally set off an hour later...
——This time, Lu Changyuan arranged for them to visit Xinfeng City, not far from the ancient city. Xinfeng City is a second-tier city with a large area; just the prosperous markets alone spread across several districts, and even if they weren’t scavenging for supplies, it would take two days just to stroll through each market.
The list that Lu Changyuan gave them was long; they definitely wouldn’t be able to collect everything in one day, but since Xinfeng City was not far away and they had Han Yi, the human-sized mobile warehouse, it was convenient to do anything, so no one was in much of a rush.
The drive took an hour and a half to enter the city area.
They first visited a few clothing factories, packing up all the fabric and clothes in the inventory. Han Yi intended to take the machines as well, but Han Jiaojiao stopped him. She was worried about the excessive consumption of his Ability, and besides, machinery needed electricity to operate. Since they hadn’t yet restored power at the base, these machines would be useless even if they brought them back for the time being. Furthermore, whether they had anyone who knew how to use them was another issue.
Afterward, they swept through several other large factories: a paper mill, a printing plant, a cotton mill... not even the toy factory was spared, nor did Han Yi hesitate to indulge his sister, scooping up an enormous number of plush toys!
Han Jiaojiao’s eyes almost turned into sparkly stars, brimming with excitement.
Yan Xiao and Zhou Xiaoliang exchanged silent glances, speechless. This time, they felt they were doing more than just being sidelined; this time, they felt like they were there to be third wheels...
"It seems I should find a partner too," Yan Xiao said with a sense of realization as he looked at the affectionate brother and sister not far away.
"Yeah," Zhou Xiaoliang nodded.
Yan Xiao glanced at him, "I saw you were quite attentive to Tian Xinyue before, what, didn’t make a move?"
Zhou Xiaoliang looked at Yan Xiao with a terrified expression, "Big Bro Yan, don’t talk nonsense, Tian Xinyue is the woman Bro Xiao is interested in, how could we dare to have any ideas?!"
"Huh? What?!..." Yan Xiao felt like he had just heard some unbelievable news?
Just as he was about to ask for clarification, Han Yi was already walking over with Han Jiaojiao. It wasn’t clear what Han Yi had said to Han Jiaojiao, but her face was brimming with sweetness, almost enough to sweeten the two human light bulbs to death.
"Let’s go, this area is almost clear. We’ll swing by the city center, then we can head back. We’ll collect the rest next time," Han Yi said while leading Han Jiaojiao out, speaking to both Yan Xiao and Zhou Xiaoliang.
Following them, Yan Xiao said, "Ah, I really can’t figure out girls. Are stuffed dolls that charming? They can’t run or fly. Big Bro Han, next time give Jiaojiao a remote-controlled airplane instead, that would be much more interesting."
With a look of pride, Han Jiaojiao turned her head and rolled her eyes at him, "Hmph, you don’t get it."
She wasn’t a little child, of course she wouldn’t be so overjoyed by a few plush toys that she’d lose her composure. She was happy because of something else. — Just now, her brother had told her that the gift she received for her twelfth birthday was actually from him.
As a child, Han Jiaojiao loved plush dolls. The day before her birthday, her father took her to the amusement park. She saw a claw machine and wanted to grab a doll to take home, but despite spending all her tokens, she didn’t succeed in winning one. When she got home, she was somewhat downcast. Unexpectedly, on her birthday the next day, a brand new claw machine filled with various stuffed animals was sitting in the living room!
My God! She had a claw machine full of stuffed animals! Han Jiaojiao was thrilled! She had always thought it was a present from her father, only to find out it was actually from her brother.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Although her brother hadn’t taken her to the amusement park, when she got home, all she could think about was the claw machine. At that time, her brother already had his Ability, so it was natural for him to guess what she was thinking.
But still... she was so happy! So blissful! Bliss that was out of this world!
Han Jiaojiao’s face was full of smiles. Even after getting into the car and interacting with Han Yi, she was all giggles and pestering him non-stop. Seeing her like this made Han Yi somewhat torn between laughter and tears; had he known that a few dolls could win over his sister, he wouldn’t have struggled so much back then...
Soon, the car entered the city center. The road became more difficult to navigate, with many abandoned vehicles scattered haphazardly on the street. Everyone got out of the car and started walking.
The city bore signs of plundering. The supermarkets were empty, and there were traces of large vehicles’ wheels on the ground. However, the merchandise in the small shops along the street remained intact. It seemed that the military forces that had come by had only passed through and raided the large supermarkets for supplies before quickly leaving.
The reason was unknown; it could be due to the Alien Species, or perhaps they had other urgent missions to attend to.
Han Yi and his group slowly gathered items along the shopping street. The malls in the area were close to each other, and after searching them one by one, only Han Jiaojiao was still bouncing around energetically.
Yan Xiao, resting his hands on his knees, complained to Zhou Xiaoliang beside him, "The racial talent of women is too scary!"
Zhou Xiaoliang looked at him blankly. It took him a while to realize Yan Xiao was talking about shopping and responded with a heartfelt, "Yeah! We’ve been shopping for hours now!"
Han Jiaojiao, holding a water bottle and drinking, heard them and glanced over disdainfully, "You guys have such poor stamina."
"What?!" Yan Xiao was not having it, having his stamina insulted! "I’m not tired, I’m fatigued! I’ve been bored to death watching you guys collect stuff for hours. If an Alien Species shows up now, you’d see if I’m lacking in stamina!"
Han Jiaojiao gave him a teasing look and ignored him, taking a cup of water over to Han Yi.
"Brother, are you tired? Have we gathered everything that Bro Lu wanted?"
Han Yi took the cup and handed her the list with his other hand.
More than half of the items on the list had already been checked off. It seemed like they had reaped a bountiful harvest this time.