Chapter 1744 - 952: Ants Moving Homes, Snakes Crossing Paths

September 24.

Approaching October, the autumn wind rises and the air gradually cools.

Many people switched from short sleeves to long sleeves, but most of the cooperative personnel didn’t bother much, simply adding a layer of long sleeves over their original short sleeves.

Oil City.

Xiao Jun inspected the vehicles and said to Ju Tianrui behind him:

"Camp Commander, I’m leaving this side to you. Take care, we’re heading back to the base."

Whoosh—

The temperature in the north drops faster than in the south. A gust of wind blew, rustling Xiao Jun’s combat uniform.

Ju Tian Rui nodded and said, "Alright, take care on the road."

Xiao Jun glanced at Dong Tai and Zuo Ruxue standing next to Ju Tian Rui and waved to them before getting into the infantry fighting vehicle.

He said to the driver, "Let’s go!"

Vroom—

The vehicles started, followed by dozens more carrying over six hundred tons of oil, a truckload of medicine, two trucks of salt, and two trucks of sugar heading towards the gate.

It wasn’t until they drove out of Oil City that Ju Tianrui said to Dong Tai:

"Why did you suddenly want to stay? You could have returned to the base."

Dong Tai smiled and said, "Camp Commander, I want to stay and help you. Anyway, Xiao Jun shouldn’t run into any problems going back, and there’s nothing much for me to do on his side."

Ju Tianrui felt touched hearing him say that, patted Dong Tai on the shoulder, and then walked towards the wall.

The surroundings of Oil City are plains with a great view, and they could still see Xiao Jun and the others’ distant vehicles.

The hot weather in the past months had left the surrounding lands very dry.

The convoy stirred up sand and dust, driving slowly south under the morning sun.

Retracting his gaze, Ju Tianrui looked at He Bing and Zhou Ran, who were conducting the final checks on the mobile switch blade nearby, and walked over, thinking.

"Engineer He, how’s the mobile switch blade coming along?"

He Bing put the wrench on the ground, straightened up, and said, "Almost done. I’ll check the circuits again, and we’ll start testing in an hour."

"Good. What should we do if the mobile switch blade malfunctions?" Ju Tianrui, considering that He Bing and his team would be returning to the Big Camphor Tree Base later, asked directly then.

He Bing pointed to two team members who had been following him these days and said:

"I had them participate in the recent installation process. There are only a few critical points where malfunctions might occur. They should be aware and I’ve also explained how to repair faults. If they can’t fix it, contact me.

If we can’t clarify over the military radio, I’ll talk to Director Li and come over again if necessary."

Ju Tianrui felt relieved hearing his response.

"That’s good."

He then said to the team members who were sent to learn from He Bing’s team these days, "Learn well, it might come in handy."

"Understood."

He Bing glanced at Xiao Jun and added, "I discussed with Jackals and Ant from the Special Forces. We expect to finish with the mobile switch blade this morning, and we’ll head back to Big Camphor Tree Base in the afternoon. We’ll just meet Xiao Jun’s team at the transfer station."

Ju Tianrui looked at Jackals, Ant, and others by the helicopter in Oil City, his eyes filled with admiration.

Coming from a military background, he always respected these Kings of Soldiers like Ant and Jackals. With them around, it felt reassuring.

With Xiao Jun leaving with dozens of combat personnel, and Ant’s team also departing, Ju Tianrui finally understood Old Bi’s feelings back then.

As the number of people in Oil City dwindled, coupled with the desolation brought by the autumn breeze, a sense of loneliness settled in.

Ju Tianrui took a deep breath and slowly said, "Alright, with you guys here, it’s fine to return sooner. The tasks at the base are heavy. It’s fortunate that you’ve come this time."

Noticing an unusual tone in Ju Tianrui’s voice and recalling how he blankly watched Xiao Jun’s convoy leaving, a few things crossed his mind.

He smiled and said, "We’ll be waiting for you at the base. Besides, with things so convenient now, maybe Director Li will send me back in a few days."

Hearing He Bing say that, Ju Tianrui thought it made sense and visibly relaxed.

Nodding, he said, "You’re right. Alright, I won’t disturb your work."

After speaking, he walked down the wall, intending to check the oil well repair issues again.

Director Li was very concerned about this matter and almost asked about it every day during communications with Oil City.

The height of Oil City’s wall, after months of reinforcement by Old Bi, Xiao Jun, and Ju Tianrui, had reached nineteen meters.

Following Li Yu’s instructions, Ju Tianrui also distributed the refined diesel and gasoline into different buildings.

Additionally, the dozens of sets of radiation protection clothing Li Yu had sent last time were placed on the third floor of the tallest building.

As he walked to the oil well, the scaffold built next to it was still there.

Nearby, Ma Sailong squatted in front of a toolbox, seemingly searching for something.

"Mr. Ma, how’s it looking? Can it be done by tomorrow?" Ju Tianrui walked over and asked.

Ma Sailong, startled by Ju Tianrui’s sudden words, gasped as he looked up and said, "No problem, it’ll be done by tomorrow evening."

"Good." Hearing Ma Sailong’s response, Ju Tianrui nodded.

Meanwhile, in their journey south, Xiao Jun and his team didn’t encounter any obstacles, only needing to be a bit more vigilant when crossing the Cross-river Bridge.

Previously, Li Yu took the main force from the Big Camphor Tree Base northward to eliminate the Motorcycle Gang, seizing a large number of resources and vehicles.