Chapter 1085 - 173: Snowy Night Unrest (Part 1)

Chapter 1085: Chapter 173: Snowy Night Unrest (Part 1)

Unfortunately, Tang Xiaoquan was keen, but Hua Biao still woke up naturally.

Many years of military life had long made him develop the habit of waking up on time.

In other words, at the agreed time, his body would send a signal to his brain, even if there’s a slight error, it’s only a matter of minutes.

"Has two hours passed?" Hua Biao asked sleepily, opening his eyes.

At this moment, Tang Xiaoquan felt somewhat worn out, having gone out to clear the snow four times, barely resting.

"Well..." At this point, continuing to hide it was meaningless, and given Tang Xiaoquan’s current state, he truly was unable to do more.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Tang Xiaoquan finally nodded: "Yeah, it’s been two hours, I was just about to wake you, didn’t expect, haha, you’d wake up on your own."

Hua Biao didn’t care whether Tang Xiaoquan’s words were genuine, he instinctively replied: "Used to it."

Pulling out of the sleeping bag, Hua Biao started patting his cheeks to wake up, then glanced at the tent top: "Has the snow water been cleaned off?"

"Yeah, cleared approximately every half hour as you requested."

"Very good!" Hua Biao was quite satisfied with Tang Xiaoquan’s cooperation.

Once he was somewhat awake, he gestured: "Alright, Quan, you’ve worked hard, go rest, I’ll keep watch now."

"Oh, okay!" Even speaking felt difficult, Tang Xiaoquan struggled into the sleeping bag, feeling some warmth from Hua Biao’s residual body heat.

Inside the sleeping bag, Tang Xiaoquan’s slowly turning mind seemed to recall something, he promptly asked: "When do I change shifts?"

"I’ll call you then, just rest easy now."

Having said that, Hua Biao turned his gaze aside, picked up a pot, and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

The snow continued falling, showing no signs of stopping.

The sky also gradually dimmed under the blanket of pure white.

Hu Xiaodong and the others had been sitting rigidly in the vehicle for hours.

Aside from their aching backsides, even the oxygen was running low.

This can’t go on! If we stay in the car all night, we’ll end up wrecked.

Taking out the hand-held radio, Hu Xiaodong instructed everyone: "Hey, everyone get out of the car, move around, don’t stay in the vehicle."

Leading the way, Hu Xiaodong jumped out of the car and retrieved the military tent.

This big guy was much larger than the one Tang Xiaoquan and his group carried, and far sturdier.

With Wei Dazhuang, Wang Qiang helping, they set up the tent and everyone went inside, starting to prepare dinner.

Given the uncertainty of the snow’s duration, ensuring physical strength was a must.

At crucial times, like Hua Biao and Tang Xiaoquan, further foot missions might be necessary.

To counter this difficulty, Hu Xiaodong insisted everyone eat well.

After all, while they lack many things, food and drink are not among them.

Setting up the cooking gear, Hu Xiaodong carelessly grabbed some supplies from the car, making a random stew.

There was no choice, the rear was too cluttered, and now really wasn’t the time to organize it.

So he took whatever he saw, since they had many people, it could surely be consumed.

"Xiaohu, how are we arranging tonight?" Wei Dazhuang rubbed his hands, casually asking.

"In pairs, me and Qiang will take first shift; Dazhuang and Xiao Luo second shift, using the hand-held radio."

"What about me?" Feeling somewhat overlooked, Huo Yuankai inquired while mumbling, handing over his written words.

Glancing at them, Hu Xiaodong chuckled, patting Huo Yuankai’s shoulder: "Brother Huo, you’ve been worried about your kid all day, tonight, just rest well, don’t worry about a thing. We four can handle the night watch duties."

Despite everything, Huo Yuankai was an outsider, and Hu Xiaodong remained cautious until they properly rescued Old Xu and Lei Tong.

He didn’t want to be ambushed at night, so he wouldn’t ask Huo Yuankai to keep watch, instead arranging for him to stay in a separate vehicle.

As for taking the car keys, Hu Xiaodong wasn’t worried about him potentially driving away.

If he decided to slip away, that’d only confirm uncertain intentions.

Better to let him leave than have him near under these ambiguous motives.

Besides, given the remote snowy landscape, being mute, even leaving would challenge survival.

"Hey, Xiaotang and the others should have reached the station by now, right?" Luo Baochun sighed softly.

His words inevitably weighed down the tent’s atmosphere.

Hu Xiaodong silently watched the stove, his expression tense, showing no emotion.

It wasn’t just 2 or 3 kilometers, and in the snow, the perils faced by Xiaotang and Hua Biao made Hu Xiaodong shudder just to imagine. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Coupled with young people’s limited stamina, with delays and stragglers, Hu Xiaodong frankly wasn’t optimistic they’d make it to the station tonight.

Let’s just hope tonight’s camping goes well!

With Hua Biao along, otherwise, Hu Xiaodong wouldn’t know how to address this situation.

The stew finished quickly, with the survivors, having barely eaten all day, unceremoniously polishing off an entire pot’s worth of ingredients.

Even the broth was devoured completely.

It really was like the enemy raiding a village.

After eating, Hu Xiaodong ordered everyone to rest promptly.

After all, camping at night in a tent had its risks.

Tang Xiaoquan and Hua Biao had no other options, but on Hu Xiaodong’s side, they had four metal boxes, staying in the vehicles was naturally safer.

After resting for half an hour, Hu Xiaodong looked outside, and the sky was steadily darkening.

"Alright, everyone should be rested enough, it’s getting late, let’s pack up and get in the cars. Xiao Luo, you’re with me; Dazhuang and Qiang, you’re together. Brother Huo, are you okay staying with the kids in one vehicle?"

The allocation prompted a hint of confusion among everyone.

Clearly, they had some reservations about Hu Xiaodong’s instructions.

Seeing this, Hu Xiaodong explained to dispel their doubts: "Brother Huo, it’s like this... At night, we’ll split into pairs for night watch, this way, in one vehicle, we’ll remind each other, but of course, if you have objections, you can voice them now."

Huo Yuankai didn’t care at all about Hu Xiaodong’s proposal, his mind was occupied with thoughts of his son and the two missing children.

He worried whether the kids would freeze or starve in this harsh snow.

So, he instinctively nodded, accepting Hu Xiaodong’s plan.

Packing up the tent, everyone followed instructions and got into their cars.

Hu Xiaodong promptly removed the truck keys, disregarding what Huo Yuankai might think about it.

Currently, to Hu Xiaodong, the most important thing was safely enduring the endless snowy night and swiftly establishing contact with the station comrades.

Night, swiftly turned dark! Tang Xiaoquan lay in the sleeping bag, eyes tightly shut.

But the bitter cold continually prevented him from falling asleep.

It’s excruciatingly painful, especially when severely worn out and exhausted, the wretched state of wanting to sleep but being unable to, wanting to but failing to sleep was truly maddening.