This trip, besides going to Base 13, also involves stopping at Base No. 32 on the way back to pick up a batch of goods.
Sang Luoluo followed Assistant Jian to load the goods. The underground warehouse was full of scrap, damaged machinery, and old-fashioned weapons, piled up like a small mountain, as well as armored vehicles and so on.
There are a lot of goods. This batch of goods is a gift to Base 13. Base 13 only needs to modify these scrap materials to process them into the machines they need now.
Base 13 suffered heavy losses after the meteor shower and urgently needs a large amount of supplies. At this time, it is willing to offer some valuable items to exchange with other bases.
Their Base No. 32 is one of them.
This time, Assistant Jian is traveling with them on a very important occasion, and the negotiations require Assistant Jian's personal attention.
This time, the base prepared abundant supplies for them, including ample Crystal Core, a fixed amount of Crystal Core, canned food, nutrient solutions, tents for the journey, heating equipment, and more.
Sang Luoluo stored all of these into her spatial dimension.
Sang Luoluo's current spatial storage capacity is more than enough to hold all the items from this transaction for both bases, and there's even room left for her own use.
There were only three vehicles on this trip. Sang Luoluo found these three vehicles very familiar; they were the same ones that Sang Ping's convoy from Base No. 32 brought back when they returned. Three of them were left behind during the transaction.
They were a small group, consisting of three vehicles, Zhan Qun with 10 members, plus Sang Luoluo, Qi Feng, and Lei Qi, Assistant Jian, and a bodyguard he had privately hired, who was also said to be from the Guard and an Evolver.
There were sixteen people in total, who climbed into the car in batches.
Sang Luoluo, Qi Feng, and Lei Qi, along with Assistant Jian and his bodyguard, made up the five of them traveling in one car.
Lei Qi is driving.
Lei Qi had been wanting to try out this new vehicle for a long time, and not long after leaving the base, he was already fully familiar with all its functions.
Even while driving, he didn't forget to chat with them.
They were all about interesting things that happened in the wild. Now that there were outsiders present, everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning anything that shouldn't be said.
"I haven't been to Base 13 yet. I've heard the barbecue there is amazing, and the baijiu (Chinese liquor) is famous too. Let's collect some Crystal Core on our way there; maybe we can get some there." Lei Qi swallowed hard as he spoke. Now he dared to dream. He even had dinner with the base commander at Base No. 32. Things he used to think were impossible had happened so naturally. It all felt quite magical to him, and he felt that maybe he'd have the same luck at Base 13 this time.
Qi Feng said, "That's a good idea. Let's get there alive first. To get to Base 13, we have to pass through a primeval forest, which is a no-man's-land. Although our vehicles have been replaced, they can still handle the small mutated animals here, but those large mutated animals we've never seen before in the forest can flatten a vehicle with a single claw."
Sang Luoluo asked curiously, "Really? Isn't this car made of pretty sturdy materials?"
Qi Feng pulled out a few blurry photos from his wristwatch and showed them to her. "Don't let your guard down. It's very dangerous there. Only the Zhan Qun leader went there on a mission before, and I've never even seen it."
Looking at the pictures, Sang Luoluo saw that what were originally ordinary animals now looked like enormous creatures, and they had mutated. What she thought was originally a deer was now larger than an elephant, with mutated tusks and limbs. Moreover, it seemed to have some plant-like characteristics, with its fur standing on end, each hair having evolved into a sharp and sturdy barb.
Sang Luoluo looked completely bewildered. "This is ridiculous. The elk no longer looks like an elk."
Jian Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly, and Qi Feng reacted the same way. Jian Cheng said, "You even know about elk?"
Sang Luoluo pointed to the horns on the mutated animal's head and said, "Although they look strange, they are definitely deer antlers, right?"
Qi Feng handed over another picture. "Can you tell what this is?"
Sang Luoluo examined it for a moment, then stroked her chin and replied, "A gorilla?"
"What about this one?" Qi Feng took out a picture of another mutated bird. It was brightly colored, but its entire body was covered in weapons. If it weren't for its fur, she would have almost thought it was a branch of a prehistoric dinosaur.
"Peacocks have evolved to this state?!"
Jian Cheng smiled helplessly and said, "It's already quite impressive that you can recognize these. After the wasteland descended, many records about that era were destroyed. Later, the environment deteriorated, and animals mutated. Very few people can name the mutated animals before their mutation. I underestimated you before."
Sang Luoluo: "..."
Knowing that Assistant Jian meant no harm, he replied, "There's always someone who knows something."
After Sang Luoluo finished speaking, everyone fell silent.
The female bodyguard next to Jian Cheng's assistant, who had remained silent the entire way, suddenly spoke up, saying with some longing, "I wonder how people lived before the wasteland descended? What was life like without natural disasters, radiation, and mutated animals?"
As he drove, Lei Qi replied, "What good will knowing do? We can't live the same life as them. I think life is pretty good right now. I have enough to eat, a place to live, and I'm happy to see tomorrow's sun rise. I'm already very content."
The female bodyguard who had spoken earlier chimed in, "Yes, it's already quite an achievement to be alive."
After speaking, he looked at Jian Cheng beside him.
Jian Cheng disagreed, saying, "Although living is difficult, you still have to have dreams. There are people in the base who are learning to live like humans before the wasteland. I've seen it, and I've also thought about living that kind of life."
The female bodyguard asked curiously, "What kind of days are they? Tell me?"
Jian Cheng said, "I eat three meals a day, never drink any nutritional supplements, and have more food than I can finish."
gourmet food
"Medical care is guaranteed. If you want something, just offer a reward of Crystal Core and have the people below do it for you; you don't have to lift a finger yourself."
Upon hearing the words "never drinks nutrient solution," Qi Feng subconsciously glanced at Sang Luoluo. He seemed to have noticed that, having followed Sang Luoluo for so long, she never seemed to drink nutrient solution, and moreover, her current lifestyle was no worse than that of the higher-ups.
Sang Luoluo moved her lips, "You... you're talking about the life of people in the old world before the wasteland descended?"
Jian Cheng countered, "Isn't that true? None of us have seen it with our own eyes. Based on some historical records, the lives of ordinary people in the old world were better than those of the base's high-ranking officials."
Sang Luoluo said calmly, "I don't think so. I'm also very interested in the old world. People back then didn't lack food or drink. They could farm and raise livestock, with an endless supply of meat and fruit. Transportation was convenient; they could go wherever they wanted without constantly worrying about being threatened by beast tides. Mutations probably hadn't occurred yet. Rats only grew to the size of a palm, mosquitoes could be swatted dead with a single slap, peacocks could be kept in zoos for viewing, and so could gorillas."
Lei Qi chuckled. "Boss, what's so funny? That mutated mosquito is bigger than me, how could it possibly be swatted dead with a single slap?"
Sang Luoluo sighed, "To be honest, why does nobody believe me anymore? Only three hundred years have passed, and nobody knows about these things anymore?"
Qi Feng said, "After the wasteland descended, the mosquitoes grew to the size of mutated rats."
This time it was Sang Luoluo's turn to be surprised.
The Jian Cheng explained, "Data and images of what the mutated animals looked like before their mutation are only held by a few bases. Most bases have experienced several gaps in their populations, and it's already quite remarkable that they've survived to this day. Based on the experimental data I have, what Sang Luoluo is imagining isn't entirely impossible."
Qi Feng warned, "There are mutated animals!"
They had only just left the base and were still on its outskirts. It's possible that some of the mutated animals spotted them and chased after them.
The voice from the Zhan Qun came through the equipment. "Advance faster, don't linger in combat, these mutated animals can't destroy the tanks."
Lei Qi clicked the accelerator, and the car immediately accelerated, catching up with the two cars in front.
Sang Luoluo had a headache. This feeling of being targeted by mutated animals as soon as she stepped out was absolutely terrible. The animals that followed her were all mutated animals with rich fur, of varying sizes, and extremely fast.
The car was already going fast enough, but the mutated animals were just as fast and kept chasing after it.
The car immediately activated its defense system.
The people in the car looked serious. Jian Cheng was a little nervous. He still vividly remembered the time a few months ago when he abandoned Sang Luoluo and ran away. He couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. This time, he still brought someone with him.
He saw that Sang Luoluo had bodyguards, so he felt he needed to have some too.
A mutated animal landed on the roof of the car. Sang Luoluo used her Mental Power to pull it into her space, and after using her Crystal Core to cut it open and take the Crystal Core, she threw the corpse out with a thought. Some mutated animals started fighting because of the bloody corpse.
Assistant Jian witnessed the whole thing and knew that Sang Luoluo was behind it.
Judging from her expressionless face, she's probably done this many times before.
The newly developed vehicles at Base No. 32 are truly impressive. After a whole day, the vehicles sustained minimal damage. They remained inside the vehicles without any issues, and their journey was not delayed.
That evening, as everyone prepared to rest, the train carriage was spacious enough. Jian Cheng ate canned food while studying the upcoming route, feeling that the dangers ahead would definitely be more serious than those of today.
Make sure you are fully prepared.
Sang Luoluo took out the canned food and nutrient solution from the lab and distributed them. The three cars lined up together, and the doors were briefly opened to pass the items, which was quite convenient.