Chapter 263 - 230: Planning and Signal Tower

Chapter 263: Chapter 230: Planning and Signal Tower

As days passed, the small cabin on the edge of the Rose Corridor gathered more and more companions around it.

Although nine out of ten of them weren’t human, Huai Yu’s life became visibly more bustling.

By early July, under Zhou Qian’s arrangement, she had once again treated his comrades to a meal.

Averaging about once a month, it wasn’t too frequent. Besides, every time they visited, they would either help clean the house, tend the fields, or bring along some good stuff that could only be exchanged from within the Defense Army.

However, Huai Yu was still a little puzzled.

Was Zhou Qian always this enthusiastic, hospitable, and proactive in the past?

Just as she was pondering this, she heard Zhou Qian calling her from the bamboo forest tunnel. "Little Yu!"

"Coming!" Huai Yu quickly hung the eggplants on a string and ran over. After all, Zhou Qian had been writing and drawing since early morning, looking incredibly focused. She didn’t want to dilly-dally.

Zhou Qian watched the girl running toward him under the sun. The intense heat had flushed her cheeks red, and she looked much plumper and healthier than before. Although she wasn’t as strong and robust as Zhou Ning used to be, she was no longer the pale, frail girl he had first met.

It proved that her Superpower was quite useful. At the very least, because they couldn’t store the mutant meat they received each time, they had no choice but to gorge themselves on it, which provided ample nourishment for both of them.

Remembering the cleaned rabbit currently suspended in the well to keep cool, Zhou Qian decided to roast it tonight.

While he was lost in thought, Huai Yu had already reached him. "What’s up?"

Zhou Qian handed her his notebook. "I’ve made a preliminary plan for our trip to the Wilderness. Let’s discuss it."

Huai Yu was taken aback. "Huh?"

Recently, Zhou Qian hadn’t mentioned going to Sanqing Mountain, nor had he brought up the Wilderness. He had simply buried himself in farm work without complaint, doing everything from sun-drying potato slices to grinding chili powder.

She had thought he was solely focused on accumulating points. How did he suddenly come up with a preliminary plan?

She opened the notebook, only to find what looked like a giant sesame flatbread drawn on the page, with sesame seeds scattered everywhere, a lump of filling in the middle, and various strange symbols.

She hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "For the Wilderness... do we need to prepare extra flatbreads?"

She thought it made sense. Winter was approaching, and flatbreads could be stored for a long time. There weren’t any actual sesame seeds because she hadn’t planted any this year, and was there only a tiny bit of filling so it wouldn’t spoil?

She mentally sighed, wishing she had planted more red beans. Now she only had soybeans, which couldn’t be made into a proper sweet filling!

While her imagination ran wild, someone rapped her lightly on the head. "All you know is eating!"

Zhou Qian stared at her, utterly speechless. "Isn’t this the location map of Lin Xuefeng that you drew? I made a copy and asked around for you recently. They all said they’ve never seen such a place."

Of course, they had also mentioned that the "flatbread" drawing was so abstract that even Van Gogh wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.

But since Huai Yu didn’t have any talent for drawing to begin with, Zhou Qian decided to keep that comment to himself.

Huai Yu was instantly moved. "So that’s why you offered to treat them to meals! It was all for this map!"

The word "map" made Zhou Qian sneer. "If this is a map, ten intelligence teams working together wouldn’t be able to decipher a single route from it. Aren’t you just so capable!"

Huai Yu instantly lowered her head.

She thought it wasn’t her fault she lacked skills; it must have been that toxic ex holding her back and stunting her growth!

However, treating them to meals wasn’t solely for the map.

Zhou Qian took the notebook back and flipped to the later pages. "This is a route map of the outer perimeter of the Wilderness that I drew.

"The Defense Army’s jurisdiction is limited to the outer perimeter. For deeper and more detailed routes, we’ll have to ask the Guard Army, which means we need to wait a little longer.

"I know you can travel through the Rose Corridor, but it’s far too risky for just the two of us to venture into the Wilderness. It’s best if we follow a convoy.

"So, forget about the Sanqing Mountain route. Look at the conventional one instead."

Both the Defense Army and the Guard Army had official duties and couldn’t accept outsiders tagging along—not even Zhou Qian. Therefore, their only option was to see how Chen Xing was getting along with the Hundred Zhao Subsidy convoy.

"In a while, we’ll sell them a batch of our stored dried vegetables and pickles to test the waters," Zhou Qian continued. "They don’t accept inexperienced people joining the team, but what if our vehicle simply follows them from a distance?"

That way, utilizing the safe route pioneered by the large convoy would save them a massive amount of energy and drastically reduce their burden.

"Additionally, I’ve told the guys to notify me immediately if they come across any vehicles being sold," he added. "I also asked those with friends and relatives in the Guard Army to help inquire about their general extermination missions."

They wouldn’t interfere with the Guard Army’s missions, but trailing behind them by half a day or a day should be feasible. Otherwise, did all those independent expedition teams really explore the danger zones entirely on their own?

Wow!

Zhou Qian seemed so reliable right now!

Huai Yu gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling.

Zhou Qian tapped her on the head again. "Also, and this is the most important point: if we don’t find him this time, you absolutely must give up. And I will never take you into the Wilderness again. Are we clear?!"

He gritted his teeth. "No matter how important Lin Xuefeng is, he isn’t more important than the living.

"In this day and age, a human life is the most precious thing of all."

Huai Yu nodded! She nodded vigorously!

Her capabilities were limited. Going to the Wilderness meant dragging Zhou Qian into danger with her. So, she had actually already decided that there wouldn’t be a next time!

Zhou Qian, however, was still worried. He calculated the timeframe. "There are four months left before departure. Vehicle modification will take anywhere from two weeks to a month. That means if we can’t secure a vehicle by early October, you’ll have to give up for this year."

Huai Yu paused, recalling that freezing dream filled with blinding snow. She steeled herself and nodded heavily. "Okay!"

"It’s just..." She hesitated, her face twisting in conflict. "Brother Zhou Qian, I never meant to ask you to accompany me.

"Look at Kuang Biao, Ke Taichiro, my chicks, Big Pup, Second Pup, Little Kui, and the vegetable patch... They all need someone to watch over them. I wanted you to stay home."

She didn’t want to make Zhou Qian risk his life for her personal affairs.

Zhou Qian sighed.

He looked at Huai Yu, but his gaze seemed fixed on the past. Finally, he spoke. "If I were your real brother, then taking on danger for you is something I would willingly do.

"Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen."

However, as for right now...

He pointed into the distance. "The Zone 69 camp will rebuild their signal tower next month. You can get ready to buy a communicator from Boss Tang.

"Although they can’t run fiber optic cables out here just yet, at this rate, having electricity at my place shouldn’t be a problem by next year."

So...

Huai Yu looked up at him. "What about me?"

Would anyone run power lines or internet cables all the way to her door?

Zhou Qian held back a smile. "Either you save up some more points and build another cabin next to my house next year, or... you can wait a few more years."

"Will they run cables out here in a few years?"

Huai Yu couldn’t bear to leave this place. Even if she lived further away like Zhou Qian, she could still commute here to farm.

But living right beside the Rose Corridor made her feel incredibly safe.

"No. I mean, in a few years, you might just get used to not having them," Zhou Qian replied with a grin.