Short-Term Mission Kits

It was probably because of his ability.

But this position was honestly a little embarrassing. Yu Jing couldn't help wishing she could act more naturally, and slowly lifted her hand off her pants.

Suddenly, she felt the coolness at her waist slide down a little.

Her heart jumped, and she pressed her hand against the young man's firm forearm.

"I..."

With the danger past, Su Huan felt much more relaxed and couldn't resist teasing her.

In an ordinary tone, he said, "The swelling will go down faster if I ice it. Your clothes are in the way, so lift them a little."

"Oh, okay. All right."

Yu Jing realized she'd been overthinking it. Awkward and embarrassed, she tugged at the hem of her mustard-yellow top and lifted it slightly. I'm a mother, and I still get all awkward over something this small.

"Your belt's too tight. Loosen it a little."

Su Huan tugged at her pants. Her ample hips filled out the jeans, leaving no room to spare.

After hesitating, she loosened her belt a little, remembering that she'd misunderstood Su Huan before.

Watching the obedient woman, Su Huan's lips curled.

He lifted his cool palm, leaving only his index finger in contact with her skin, and traced it up the smooth skin at her side, moving more than four inches toward her waist.

The icy touch and tingling that came from her nerve endings made Yu Jing bite down on her lower lip.

Something felt off, but Su Huan stopped his finger before it reached forbidden territory. If it had gone even a little higher—even just an inch—she would have stopped him at once.

But now... He was only trying to help reduce the swelling. She was being paranoid. What was there to worry about? Be brave!

Yu Jing's thoughts grew muddled, and she completely forgot whose claws had left the bruises on her waist.

His cold fingertips lingered only briefly before his whole palm settled against her skin and moved a little higher.

"Hiss..."

Yu Jing sucked in a sharp breath.

Was this the spot?

Maybe it was a little lower...

But the conflicted woman wasn't sure. Sometimes cold and pain were hard to tell apart.

Su Huan looked down at the foolish Auntie Yu, unable to hide the inexplicable smile on his face.

His palm slowly slid downward.

Auntie Yu was timid, and her figure was surprisingly curvy, unlike the women of the apocalypse, whose bodies often had sharp edges: calluses on their shoulders and elbows, or hip bones jutting out from hunger.

Under the cold touch, her pores gradually tightened, leaving her skin even smoother, like fine satin.

His palm glided over her soft waist, just past her hips, and stopped at the top of her bottom, never crossing the line.

But even here, she felt wonderfully full beneath his hand.

To help the bruises fade faster, Su Huan repeated the motion four or five times, widening the area a little each time for better results.

"Mom, are you still up there?"

Her daughter's voice suddenly rang out.

Yu Yue jumped, suddenly realizing that her waistline and half of her rounded bottom were exposed. Her cheeks flushed bright red. She quickly lowered her shirt, then stepped back to put some distance between herself and Su Huan.

I should've expanded my listening range to cover this carriage.

She regretted it inwardly.

The sweet scent of roasted chestnuts that had lingered beneath Su Huan's nose suddenly faded. He shook himself, hid his unusual expression, and put on his usual fake smile.

Yu Yue looked up and caught sight of his distant expression. For some reason, a ripple of sadness stirred in her heart.

"It's so dark up there. I can't see you," Yu Jing said softly.

"A really scary snake-shaped Evolutionary Beast was chasing us. It couldn't catch us, so it left," Yu Yue said, struck by inspiration.

"Good. At least it didn't catch up."

Yu Jing walked over.

Su Huan narrowed his eyes at the brightness in Yu Yue's gaze, then glanced at Yu Jing, who had clearly relaxed. He scoffed inwardly.

She was so foolish, yet always tried to look composed in front of her daughter.

He raised his wrist and saw that half an hour had passed.

Looking up at Yu Jing, he said, "Tell Liang Kuan to stop the train and get ready to backtrack. Have Wang He and the others prepare too. We'll head out together in a bit."

Yu Jing raised an eyebrow. "Aren't Evolutionary Beasts chasing us from behind?"

"They're aquatic Evolutionary Beasts, after all. Some have evolved to move onto land, but they're more comfortable in the water. Once the attractant's scent fades, they'll go back."

Su Huan briefly explained.

After about fifty minutes, the train finally backed up to a spot about a kilometer from the Water Plant.

Backing up had taken longer than moving forward.

Su Huan planned to attach another locomotive at the rear next time they stopped at a station, so they could use it specifically for reversing.

It would also make it easier to escape.

Maybe he could think bigger: add a powered carriage after every three to five or six to seven cars.

That would distribute the power throughout the train.

It would also double the Armed Train's carrying capacity, allowing them to double the armor thickness.

Thirty-millimeter steel armor. Just thinking about it made him feel incredibly safe.

While Su Huan's thoughts wandered, everyone gathered in Carriage 2.

He glanced over the group and said calmly, "The attractant's scent lasts about half an hour, while the scent of a high-level Evolutionary Beast lingers for about three hours. An hour and a half has already passed, so we have another hour and a half."

"In other words, if we go now, we'll only run into a few lingering Evolutionary Beasts and the occasional zombie."

"I'll say this once: whenever you go out, no matter how hot you are, put on a jacket. Don't leave large areas of skin exposed, and make sure your jacket and undershirt are separate garments."

"Other than that, follow orders. Don't panic or make a fuss over every little thing."

As he said the last sentence, Su Huan fixed his gaze on Yu Jing.

Only after she nodded did he continue. "This mission is to retrieve the water purifiers. Here's the team: Qi Xiaoba, Yu Jing, and Wan Xing will stay on the train. Liang Kuan, Yu Yue, and I will go on the mission. Yu Yue will scout with her perception ability, and Liang Kuan will handle defense and support. Any questions?"

Hearing Su Huan's clear, orderly instructions, everyone shook their heads.

"Xiao Ba will guard the storage car, and Wan Xing will keep extracting Pan-Energy Crystals. Yu Jing, you need to hurry up."

"Evolving with one to three crystals is considered safe. Once you go beyond three Pan-Energy Crystals, the chance of failure increases dramatically."

Su Huan emphasized the point.

"I'll be quick."

Yu Jing's almond-shaped eyes lifted slightly, and a hint of determination showed in them.

Su Huan took three palm-sized pouches from the wall behind him, unzipped them, and poured out some supplies.

There was water and food, along with a familiar cylindrical object.

Su Huan explained, "These are short-term mission kits I put together. From now on, remember to bring one whenever you go out. Each kit has a 1,000-milliliter bag of saline and a small packet of beef jerky. But the jerky isn't for you to eat. It's for luring away Evolutionary Beasts with a keen sense of smell in an emergency."