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Chapter 95: Chapter 95 High Score Task
As soon as Lu Changyuan came downstairs, he saw Yan Xiao and Bai Kairui, one on each side, languidly lying on the lounge chairs cooling themselves.
He paused for a moment before asking, "Where’s Ayi?"
He had just been discussing base tasks with Han Yi when they heard Han Rui kicking up a fuss downstairs. Han Yi went down, so why hadn’t he come back after such a long time? They hadn’t finished discussing the task yet...
Bai Kairui, ever so enthusiastic, replied, "Brother Han and Jiaojiao just went back to their room."
After hearing this, Lu Changyuan fell silent for a while, then sluggishly walked down in his slippers, picking up a banana leaf fan lying next to Yan Xiao to fan himself slowly.
Yan Xiao gave him a suggestive wink and squint. "Brother Lu, didn’t finish the discussion? Should I call Brother Han down?"
Lu Changyuan glanced at him sideways and said indifferently, "Would you go in my stead?"
Yan Xiao’s expression stiffened, and he silently chuckled. "You know, with important discussions, one can’t rush. Sit down and cool off for a bit first... Want a drink? I’ll go get you one."
Lu Changyuan snorted and leaned back in the chair, draping his legs over another chair and closing his eyes to rest.
Yan Xiao dragged his lounge chair a little closer to Lu Changyuan and asked eagerly, "Brother Lu, how’s the discussion about the mission going? I’ve heard the Labor Center has been abuzz about it today."
Lu Changyuan cracked open an eyelid to look at him. "What, you interested in taking it on?"
"How could I? I’d, of course, follow whatever instructions the superiors give, hehe... I just heard the reward points are particularly high, got a bit curious, that’s all..."
Bai Kairui added from the side, "But we’re not short on points."
Yan Xiao shot him a look. "We can use points to exchange for goods at the resource exchange, right? Later we can swap for an air conditioner and bring it here to use openly, right?"
Although they had plenty of valuable items, not everything could be used openly. Furniture was inside the house and invisible to outsiders, but part of the air conditioner needed to be installed outside, where it would be visible, and that would be difficult to explain.
Lu Changyuan couldn’t be bothered with them, certain that there would be some outcome by dinner time. He reclined lazily in his chair, asking, "Where are the others?"
"Dr. Zhou and Sister Yu went to exchange food at the resource exchange. There have been many robbers outside lately, and Xiao Jian went along too, to avoid any trouble."
To avoid drawing attention, they would send Zhou Yan and Yu Wanxi with Life Cards to the resource exchange every few days to trade for some food. However, both of them were too genteel, lacking abilities for self-defense and obviously vulnerable carrying bags of food. Therefore, Xiao Jian and Yan Xiao would take turns accompanying them as a precaution.
Originally, their visits to the resource exchange were just for show, but unexpectedly, Yu Wanxi managed to find some real treasures. A few days ago, using points, Yu Wanxi exchanged several bags of grain crop seeds. The next day, realizing the value of these seeds, Beicheng Base withdrew the remaining ones from the trade center’s shelves.
Now, seeds for grain crops were priceless treasures. Although the current climate and environment weren’t suitable for farming, once all the conditions for agriculture were met, it would signify the end of the apocalyptic world. These seeds symbolized the hope for humanity to survive and thrive.
Yu Wanxi came back with a smile on her face. As soon as she entered, she said cheerfully, "Never would have thought, people have started trading on the streets at the resource exchange!" She raised the small shopping bag in her hand to show the men in the hall, "Ran into a tofu seller, selling tofu for ten points apiece or exchangeable for other goods. I bought two blocks, and we can make cold tofu salad tonight."
Everyone was happy to hear this. Although Yu Wanxi’s cooking was not bad, they were limited by the available ingredients. Fresh food like tofu hadn’t been on their plates for quite some time.
Yu Wanxi, carrying the tofu, hummed a tune and made her way into the kitchen.
Yan Xiao turned his head and shouted into the kitchen, "Sister Yu, are there any bean sprouts left from yesterday?"
"Yes, if you fancy it, I’ll soak some more mung beans later tonight," Yu Wanxi’s voice floated out. With the increasingly scarce supply of fresh fruits and vegetables at the trading post, Yu Wanxi had resorted to soaking mung beans, making sprouts that were easy to stir-fry or mix with seasoning, and they were quite refreshing to eat in the hot weather.
——It was rumored that plans were afoot to build an artificial intelligence vegetable greenhouse at the base, where an intelligent system would control the temperature and humidity within the greenhouse. However, this project faced numerous difficulties before it could officially commence: a shortage of manpower, technology, materials, and even space.
After dinner was made, Han Yi came downstairs, clearly satisfied and content.
Yu Wanxi was setting the table when she noticed Han Jiaojiao hadn’t come down yet and asked, "Where’s Jiaojiao?"
Han Yi raised his brows slightly and said indifferently, "She’s asleep. I’ll take dinner up to her later."
Yu Wanxi didn’t think much of it, having lived with the siblings for a while now and grown accustomed to their closeness. She set the tableware and carried a small bowl of bird’s nest soup from the kitchen, saying, "Let her drink this when she wakes up, then she can slowly have her meal."
Lu Changyuan eyed the bowl of bird’s nest and blurted out somewhat unexpectedly, "Recently, she really should need to replenish."
Yan Xiao seemed to choke on his food, coughing violently.
Han Yi was teased but didn’t get angry, probably because he was in a good mood, and he chuckled lightly as he settled down to eat.
"Brother Han, regarding the tasks released by the base today, should we take them on?" Xiao Jian looked up and asked; "The points for the tasks have been raised again when we came back earlier."
Lu Changyuan smirked, "That old fox is too insincere; points are like the base printing its own money. He can print as much as he wants, but the real value is still tightly held in his own hands."
After some thought, Xiao Jian also found the base’s methods unsettling, and he said, "Then we shouldn’t get involved in this mess. There’s no real benefit."
However, Han Yi said, "We should wade into it." His lips curved into a smile, and he spoke in a measured tone, "After all, it’s a good deed that benefits the country and the people. The thing is, the time to step in isn’t right yet."
Xiao Jian nodded and said no more, instead focusing on his meal.
Yan Xiao looked around and asked, "What exactly is the task? Why were the points raised again?"
"The research team from Yunan Base was invited by Beicheng Base for collaboration, and on their way here, they encountered trouble, getting trapped in an abandoned car repair shop. The rescue ability team sent out by Beicheng Base was wiped out," explained Lu Changyuan succinctly, glancing at Yan Xiao, "I suspect that Yunan Base might have discovered something about the Crystal Core, which is why they traveled all this way."
Yan Xiao gaped for a moment before exclaiming, "Damn, a whole army wiped out? An ability team usually has at least a hundred people, and they were all annihiliated?! What about the base’s other military forces? Even if it comes to the worst, they could still shoot, the Alien Species isn’t impregnable."
Lu Changyuan shook his head and said, "The old fox just lost an ability team; no doubt, he’s bleeding inside. How could he bear to spare another batch of manpower and munitions? I reckon he wants the civilian forces to go in first and thin out some of the Alien Species, reducing the pressure and danger for the military forces to follow."
After finishing his thought, Lu Changyuan smirked to himself. "He has a clever plan, but it remains to be seen how long those researchers can hold out. That auto repair shop has little food and water."
"It’s already the second day today," added Xiao Jian.
Picking at his food with less interest, Han Yi said, "When people from the base arrive, let Changyuan talk to them."
Lu Changyuan took a bite of his dish and responded, "Got it."
Companions who hadn’t been active for a long time started gearing themselves up, eager to stretch their muscles.
