Chapter 395 - 385: Meeting

Chapter 395: Chapter 385: Meeting

Although Yang Jiabao was eager to go home and see his father and mother, he sensed something was off about his sister’s expression, so he kept holding her hand and patiently waited.

Despite being only seven or eight years old, Yang Jiabao had grown up in a family like his, so he was already quite perceptive.

Tang Mo saw that everyone had frozen at the base entrance, so she took the first step. "Let’s go," she said. "If we wait any longer, I’m afraid those guys will finish off everyone at the food factory."

Seeing Tang Mo head toward the main gate, the others followed. The Yang Family Base had actually been a military base, which Commander Yang himself had been in charge of guarding.

But after the apocalypse began, it lost contact with central command and became its own small, independent base.

The military base’s original walls were thick, more than enough to defend against the Red-eyed Meat Dragons. It was said that the current Yang Family Base housed only the original contingent of soldiers; ordinary civilians were almost nowhere to be seen.

The base entrance was a large iron gate. A small grille in the center of the gate allowed a view of the outside. "Halt! Who are you?"

Sure enough, they were stopped just as they reached the entrance. Behind the gate, a soldier in uniform watched them with a stern expression.

"Us? We’re here to bring a child home." Tang Mo grabbed Yang Jiabao from beside Aunt Hua and pushed him forward for the soldier to see. "It’s the Commander’s son!" the young soldier in uniform exclaimed joyfully. He called to the person next to him, telling them to deliver the news to Commander Yang in his office.

Even though they confirmed it was Commander Yang’s son, opening or closing the main gate required multiple levels of approval. The final order had to come from Commander Yang himself; no one had the authority to open the gate on a whim.

’It seems the discipline at this base is quite strict. In times like these, order has become a rare commodity.’ Tang Mo gave Commander Yang a mental thumbs-up.

Moreover, judging by the jubilant shouts and expressions of the young men inside, they clearly held Commander Yang in high esteem.

Soon, a group hurried to the other side of the gate, led by Commander Yang himself. He peered out from behind the gate and saw not only Yang Jiabao but also several other familiar faces.

"Ah Hua! Quick, open the gate." Commander Yang had spotted the figure of his daughter, Yang Ahua. Beside her were the two grandchildren he longed to see.

He quickly ordered his men to open the main gate and let the group inside. "Dad!" As soon as the gate opened, Yang Jiabao’s eyes welled with tears. Seeing the father he hadn’t seen in so long, he rushed forward and leaped into his arms.

Commander Yang reached out to hug his son, but his eyes never left Yang Ahua. Tang Mo watched quietly from the side, understanding perfectly. ’So Commander Yang is the type who dotes on his daughter more than his son.’

"Dad." The concern and affection in Commander Yang’s eyes were so obvious that even an outsider like Tang Mo could see them clearly. How could Yang Ahua possibly miss it? Her eyes welled with tears as she spoke the word.

This was the first time the father and daughter had truly seen each other in years, and the first time Yang Ahua had called him "Dad" in just as long.

"Ah! Yes!" Commander Yang answered, his voice thick with emotion. He had waited too many years to hear her call him Dad. It wasn’t that he didn’t regret what had happened all those years ago; it was just that his daughter was just as stubborn as he was. Neither was willing to be the first to back down, and that was what had led them to this point.

Hearing his daughter’s voice, the overjoyed Commander Yang let go of Yang Jiabao, stepped forward, and took his daughter’s hands, looking her over from head to toe.

"My dear girl... my dear girl, you’ve suffered all these years." Commander Yang wasn’t very old; he looked to be only in his forties, meaning he must have been just a young man when his daughter was born.

Yang Ahua was already in her twenties, but in her father’s eyes, she was still a child. "Let’s go inside to talk." The touching scene of fatherly love and filial devotion moved everyone present. Only Tang Mo, ever the clear-headed one, remembered how pressed they were for time and reminded them to get down to business.

Commander Yang led Tang Mo and her group into a large hall. Aunt Hua was too emotional and overwhelmed to speak coherently, so Tang Mo stepped in and succinctly explained the situation at the food factory involving Yang Ming and the policewoman.

"So that’s what’s going on!" Yang Ming had been gone for a long time, and of course Commander Yang had been worried. In this new world, Yang Ming wasn’t just one of his best officers; he was his son-in-law. If Yang Ming was in danger, he couldn’t imagine how his daughter would blame him.

Now that he finally had news of Yang Ming and had seen his daughter, Commander Yang could breathe a sigh of relief. But the grave situation at the food factory quickly made him frown again. "The world has changed," he lamented. "Morals have decayed, and men’s hearts have turned to poison."

Although Commander Yang no longer had superiors giving him orders, and he had plenty of men and resources at his disposal, he still held fast to his own sense of justice. He was committed to doing whatever he could. He knew he didn’t have the power to restore order to the whole world, but doing what he could, bit by bit—that was the creed of the Yang Family Base.

As for why there were no ordinary civilians in the Yang Family Base, there were two reasons. First, their supplies were insufficient to support the ever-growing number of people who, having heard of the base, were flocking to it. Second, the base was full of soldiers. These soldiers, even in the apocalypse, were still dedicated to protecting the country. Their own families and friends were still out there suffering. If their loved ones couldn’t enter the base and live in safety, how would the soldiers feel watching a throng of ordinary people being let in?

’Tang Mo had to admit, Commander Yang had the bearing of a great leader; he considered every problem from all angles.’

His base had a team dedicated to search-and-rescue missions for the soldiers’ families. He had housed these families in the residential buildings next to the base, posting guards and arranging for regular food deliveries. He was truly doing everything in his power to care for them.

Although the base had ample supplies, they weren’t inexhaustible, so he could only prioritize the soldiers’ families.

’He was already doing more than enough, doing it as well as anyone could.’ After getting a general sense of the situation at the base, Tang Mo’s admiration for Commander Yang grew even deeper.

’Heroes are born from chaos.’ Seeing the kind of man Commander Yang was, Tang Mo felt even more confident about her plan.