NOVPUB
Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Disappeared
Sleeping in the car was never as comfortable as on a bed, and Long Yueze hadn’t slept for long when he awoke around four in the morning, quietly putting on his jacket.
Before getting out of the car, he glanced at Han Jiaojiao. In her deep sleep, she was quiet and docile, devoid of the defiance and coldness of the daytime, lying beside him like a delicate and adorable doll.
Watching her sleep so peacefully, he felt an odd sense of tranquility in his heart.
Long Yueze couldn’t resist the urge to touch her cheek but slowly withdrew his hand upon catching sight of the dagger in her grasp.
Han Jiaojiao’s arm protruded from the sleeping bag, clutching a gleaming military dagger.
Long Yueze gave a bitter smile, for even in sleep, she didn’t drop her guard. Was he really that untrustworthy? Unreliable?
He really was a failure...
Outside the car, it was very dark. The fire in the distance had become weak, probably due to the pile not being tended for a long time and was about to burn out.
Long Yueze walked into the shadows where no one was around and took out his satellite phone to try to contact his people at Chujiang.
The process wasn’t going smoothly. For some reason, after dialing twice, nobody was answering. The Long Family’s operators should be on call 24 hours a day.
Long Yueze thought to himself that something bad must have happened to the base.
On the third try, the call finally went through. The staff member sounded as if he had run to answer the phone, his voice clearly panting.
Without waiting for Long Yueze to ask, the other side stammered, "Sir... Sir! The base is under siege by an alien species! Everyone has gone to the walls! What... what should we do?!"
Long Yueze’s heart sank and he said, "Make it clear! What happened? How many alien species are there?"
It wasn’t uncommon for alien species to besiege a base, it happened two or three times a month, but usually, they would leave on their own after failing to breach the defenses for a long time.
"Alien species began to appear near the base around eight or nine in the evening, and then more and more! Now... I fear there are tens of thousands of them outside!!!"
"How could..." Long Yueze was at a loss. Tens of thousands, had the alien species from nearby nests all come here? How was that possible?!
"Is the Sound Wave Disperser not working?" Long Yueze asked in a lowered voice, "What about Long Chengming? How did he handle it?!"
"The leader is arranging for everyone to evacuate. Sir, the leader... he has held onto our aircraft..."
Long Yueze laughed out of exasperation. Though Long Chengming was the leader of Chujiang Base, he was little different from a puppet. He never imagined that in just a few days of his absence, the man had grown such audacity! 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
"Gather our men, take back the aircraft, then come to Yunan to find me," Long Yueze looked down at his watch, "With the aircraft’s speed, it should take less than twenty minutes to arrive."
"Sir?! ...But, but what about the base? The alien species outside..."
Long Yueze said impatiently, "The alien species just want to eat people; they won’t destroy buildings and equipment. Before you evacuate, make sure the research institute is completely shut down. I’m giving you two hours. By six in the morning, I want to see the aircraft at the gates of Yunan Base."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, seemingly shocked by Long Yueze’s decision to abandon the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the base. After a moment, the voice said, "Sir, the aircraft can only carry up to twenty people, and we have a lot of supplies..."
Long Yueze could not contain his anger and roared low, "Has your brain been tied in knots? Do I have to arrange everything?! If it doesn’t fit, then bring only a selection of elite troops! Only take a portion of the supplies! Lock the rest in the warehouse! Do you think the alien species are going to steal food or what?! The most important thing is the Ability Potion in the research institute! The Ability Potion! Do you understand?!"
"Yes, sir!"
After ending the call, Long Yueze was somewhat frustrated and agitated.
He wasn’t worried about some things left in the base, but the aircraft, no matter what, had to be kept in his own hands; his research results and core technology were all on that aircraft!
This spaceship originated from an alien world, and during the meteor event, the wreckage of the spaceship and the aliens were transported back to the country. Long Yueze received the news and expended a great deal of effort to obtain the wreckage of the spaceship, and then spent a hefty sum to repair it, overcoming numerous difficulties, before he could barely manage a successful restoration. It certainly wasn’t possible for it to return to space, but the metal layer of the spaceship’s shell was very special, with defensive capabilities that definitely surpassed any aircraft or warship on Earth.
This spaceship could be said to be a priceless treasure that absolutely must not fall into the hands of Long Chengming or anyone else!
Now, with Long Yueze far away at Yunan Base, all he could do was anxiously wait. He hoped his people would arrive quickly... It’s just that he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something fishy about the alien species suddenly besieging the city...
Long Yueze came back with a mind full of heavy thoughts and gently opened the car door. Just as he was about to climb into his sleeping bag, he couldn’t help but freeze.
The car was empty?!
— Han Jiaojiao was gone...
Long Yueze stepped out of the car and looked around, guessing that Han Jiaojiao had gone to the toilet in the middle of the night.
He waited on the spot for a while, and a bad feeling slowly rose in his heart.
Long Yueze returned to the car and checked the weapons. One gun was missing, and the dagger too was gone...
In such low temperatures at night, where could she go? — Outside the city? The outside was swarming with roaming alien species. Inside the city? How could she have entered without a pass?
...Wait! ... A pass?!
The pass!
Long Yueze slapped open the car’s drawer in an instant! He reached inside and searched — it was indeed gone!
His pass was missing!
How could Han Jiaojiao know there was a pass inside here?! He even deliberately placed the pass among a bunch of discarded bank cards, which were impossible to distinguish at first glance! And even if Han Jiaojiao had seen them, she shouldn’t have been able to recognize it! She had never seen what the pass looked like!!
Long Yueze punched the seat in the car, furious and frantic!
He was angry that he had carefully looked after her for several days and nights, yet she left without a word, leaving him with nothing for his efforts!
He was anxious because Han Jiaojiao was currently suffering from memory confusion, and if she exposed her whereabouts, Qin Xu would definitely make her join Qin Wenhao in death!
What should he do now? Reveal his identity to look for Han Jiaojiao inside the city? He feared the moment he showed his face, he would be caught; even if he wasn’t the one who killed Qin Wenhao, the incident occurred due to his cooperation, and Qin Xu wouldn’t let him off!
But if he didn’t reveal his identity, without the pass, he couldn’t get inside...
Perhaps he could pretend to be an official from Yunan Base to sneak in? ... No, officials have dedicated military vehicles whenever they enter or exit, and there’s equipment at the gate that automatically recognizes license plate numbers, too easy to be exposed!
Even if he managed to sneak inside, the inner city was so large, how would he find her? And even if he found her, how would he smoothly take her out?
Long Yueze considered several methods in a row, but ultimately he rejected them all.
He irritably pulled out a cigarette to light for himself, staring at the night sky which remained pitch black, he could only wait...
Han Jiaojiao wouldn’t stay inside forever, she would eventually come out.
Once his troops arrived, he wouldn’t have to be so anxious. The spaceship could turn invisible and shield against any search by superpower users with psychic abilities. By then he could pilot the spaceship to search for Han Jiaojiao.
Long Yueze thought of his spaceship and felt slightly relieved. He started the car and decided to first stake out the inner city gate. If Han Jiaojiao still didn’t come out after two hours, he would go and meet up with his people and take it from there.
