Chapter 392 - 382: She’s Back

Chapter 392: Chapter 382: She’s Back

’Qi Jiaming left home for his own sake and for Qiao Jin’s parents. I really should get him back safely.’ What was a flight of less than half an hour for Tang Mo would have been a half-month journey on foot for Qi Jiaming.

"Really? Great!" Qi Jiaming’s eyes widened in excitement.

After all, he’d been flown by Qiao Jin before. The speed was beyond anything his own two legs could manage.

With Qiao Jin taking him, he could be home by tonight.

Besides, the feeling of flying through the sky last time had been truly unforgettable. Who wouldn’t want to experience that again?

Just as Zhao Huan’s team finished their preparations and were stepping out of the building, Tang Mo spotted a lone, distraught figure approaching from the direction of the food factory.

It was Aunt Hua.

"Let’s wait a bit. Aunt Hua is back," Tang Mo immediately told Zhao Huan.

If they hadn’t known whether Aunt Hua was dead or alive, they obviously couldn’t have waited.

But since she had returned, waiting a little longer was acceptable.

The ever-careful Tang Mo even used his spiritual power to scan the area behind her. Aunt Hua was alone; no one was following her.

In truth, if anyone in the group were to betray them, Aunt Hua was the least likely.

She was, after all, a mother, and her two children were still with the group.

"Aunt Hua, are you alright?"

As Aunt Hua drew near, Tang Mo took a few steps forward to support her.

Da Bao, holding Xiao Bao, also hurried over to their mother. Da Bao was old enough to understand; he knew that his mom had gone to find his dad last night.

His mother had even told him that if she didn’t come back today, he was to take Xiao Bao and find their maternal grandfather.

Although he didn’t know why his mother wouldn’t take him and Xiao Bao to find their father, Da Bao trusted that she had her reasons and firmly believed she would return.

"Let’s talk on the way."

Aunt Hua had been walking quickly and was a bit out of breath.

But Tang Mo noticed that her spirits were much better than when she had left. It seemed she might have received good news at the food factory last night.

The group set off.

In reality, most people in the group, including Mr. and Mrs. Qiao, had no particular destination.

But since they had nowhere better to go, following Zhao Huan’s group seemed like the safest option.

They no longer had enough spare food to pay the entry fees other groups demanded.

Zhao Huan didn’t charge them any extra fees. He was headed there anyway, so it didn’t matter if they tagged along.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Qiao, they completely deferred to their daughter. Although they didn’t know why Xiao Jin insisted on going to the Yang Family Base, they didn’t have any better options either.

On the road, Aunt Hua caught her breath and began to tell everyone what had happened the previous night.

Last night, after Tang Mo and Zhao Huan had led their people out, Aunt Hua had gone to the room Qi Jiaming had told her about.

By then, Zhao Huan had already drawn the attention of those in the base, and the entire place was in chaos trying to catch the stranger.

Aunt Hua’s appearance didn’t attract any notice.

There were simply too many people at the food factory, and Aunt Hua was just an ordinary woman. She looked calm and showed no signs of trying to flee, so no one paid her any mind.

With all the noise at the food factory, Yang Ming was naturally woken up as well.

Aunt Hua watched with her own eyes as her husband emerged from a room with another woman.

Perhaps Aunt Hua’s gaze was too intense, because shortly after Yang Ming came out of the room, their eyes met.

Surprise and worry flashed across the man’s face before he quickly found an opportunity to pull Aunt Hua into his own room.

As one of the leaders at the food factory, it wasn’t unusual for Yang Ming to pull a woman into his room.

It was just that Yang Ming had always been seen with one particular woman, projecting an image of being aloof and self-disciplined.

This new behavior took everyone by surprise.

As for the freed prisoners, seeing that Officer Yang also had this side to him, they felt much more at ease.

’As long as he’s wallowing in the mud with us, we don’t have to worry about him breaking free on his own.’

"Xiao Hua, what are you doing here?"

Yang Ming was thirty-five, a few years older than Aunt Hua, but years of physical training had kept his figure trim and upright. He didn’t look his age.

"Was I not supposed to come?"

Aunt Hua glanced at the woman standing in the room, then looked up at Yang Ming, searching for an answer in the face of the man she had known for over a decade.

"Ma’am, please don’t misunderstand."

The woman beside him had neat, short hair and none of the coquettish charm one might expect. She looked incredibly capable.

The woman’s poised demeanor, combined with the look of genuine, guilt-free concern on her own husband’s face, left Aunt Hua a bit confused.

Then, in the briefest terms possible, Yang Ming explained everything to his wife.

It turned out that Yang Ming had never betrayed his organization. In fact, his military unit was still doing its best to maintain order, even after the apocalypse began.

Although they could no longer handle minor incidents, the military was still prepared to take down some of the larger settlements that specialized in harming the populace.

"Do as much as we can for the people" was their motto after the apocalypse.

This time, Yang Ming had come here with a colleague to investigate the situation.

He hadn’t had a chance to leave since the apocalypse started. His original plan was to use this opportunity, after gathering intelligence, to slip away and rescue his wife and children.

But he never expected that he wouldn’t be able to return.

The food factory was much larger than they had anticipated. Most of the people inside were ruthless desperados—not only was their Combat Power high, but they had also formed their own survival system based out of the factory.

After being discovered, Yang Ming and his female colleague feigned defection, waiting for the right moment to send a message to headquarters.

Unfortunately, they never found the opportunity.

Meanwhile, headquarters was waiting for information from Yang Ming. Without useful intel, they didn’t dare rashly send troops.

After all, it was a long journey that required a massive amount of food. Thus, the situation reached a stalemate.

And so, with his exceptional combat skills and strategic mind, Yang Ming remained at the food factory.

His identity as a police officer couldn’t be hidden, and in truth, he never fully gained the trust of the people there.

But having a police officer in their den was a rather impressive thing. For various reasons, the leaders of the base decided to let Yang Ming stay.

However, while Yang Ming could move about freely, the female officer had to remain at the food factory.

This was no different from her being a hostage. After all, if Yang Ming hadn’t returned that night, everyone knew what would have happened to her without it having to be said.