Chapter 238: Homecoming

The old woman held the little girl’s hand and said, “We really have to thank you; otherwise, we would have become those kinds of monsters.”
This incident not only mutated the zombies and plants but also reshuffled the entire base.
Others echoed, “This is the first time we’ve realized that the management at the base, while telling us there were no supplies, had secretly hidden so much, forcing us to toil like slaves.”
Seeing that they no longer had to be exploited, Tong Sui felt happy for them.
Tong Sui cautioned, “But you need to be careful; the zombies will continue to mutate, and both animals and plants pose risks.”
They nodded repeatedly.
After saying goodbye, the off-road vehicle set off back to the base.
After this red rain, many plants mutated; the originally-planted decorative trees along the roadside had their roots sprawling on the pavement.
Some plants even developed various troublesome high-attack varieties.
This posed a significant obstacle for travel.
They had to stop after a while to clear the roadway.
What used to be a three-day journey turned into a whole week.
Tong Sui had read more than half of the book in his hand, and now he had to consider the issue of experiments.
Biological experiments required specific environments and had high equipment demands.
These materials were something he couldn’t create himself.
The North Base had specialized laboratories, and he needed to find a way to sneak in.
Afterward, he would need to collect biological materials.
Tong Sui subtly turned his head to look at Jiang Hua, who was sitting beside him.
He would never let the experiments harm Jiang Hua.
As Tong Sui pondered, he wondered what could be easily collected without being discovered.
The off-road vehicle came to a stop.
Wang Tao, sitting in the driver’s seat, said, “Captain Hua, we’ve arrived at the base.”
Jiang Hua opened his eyes.
Tong Sui quickly diverted his gaze, surprised they had arrived so soon.
He recalled what Jiang Hua had said earlier—his only job was to take him to the North Base, after which they would part ways.
What should he do now?
Tong Sui frowned slightly; if they separated, he wouldn’t be able to start his experiments.
He looked out the window.
The North Base truly lived up to its reputation as the largest safe base, with solid and thick lead-gray walls that could withstand even the heaviest rains.
The buildings here were originally military structures, designed for excellent defense.
Nearby the entrance, many disheveled refugees gathered.
Most of them had traveled a long way to get here, but due to lacking abilities and sufficient crystal cores or food for submission, they could not meet the entry requirements and had to remain outside.
As their convoy approached the city gate, Tong Sui saw another long line.
The people in this line looked somewhat better off than the refugees; although thin, they appeared cleaner.
In front of the line was a table with a registration form.
Under the table were two full baskets of crystal cores.
A man in a white lab coat, wearing gloves, coldly said, “Next.”
A man stepped forward, cradling a bag of crystal cores in his hands.
The man next to the lab coat took them, counted a few, and nodded, “Please undress for inspection.”
Without a word, the man stripped naked.
Tong Sui’s pupils constricted slightly.
Would they really have to undress in public to enter?
The man in the white coat examined him meticulously, as if inspecting livestock, and said, “No wounds; go over there for blood testing and wait for results.”
The off-road vehicle drove into the base.
A few refugees who had tried to sneak in with the vehicle were blocked outside by the powers and were thrown out viciously.
A well-dressed man approached them with a beaming smile, saying, “Welcome home, everyone. Please proceed to verify your identities first.”
He held a machine in his hand.
Using facial recognition, the machine announced, “Spatial ability user Wang Tao, verification passed.”
“Spatial ability user Jian Lexian, verification passed.”
…
The man approached Jiang Hua with an especially flattering smile.
Jiang Hua looked back coldly.
The machine beeped, “Lightning ability user Jiang Hua, verification passed.”
The man then turned to Tong Sui, “It seems there is no matching record found, please check!”
“What?” The man looked at Tong Sui, “You are not from our base?”
Tong Sui nodded.
The man stated, “For safety reasons, everyone entering the base must go to the queue behind for blood testing and identity verification.”
Tong Sui hesitated for a moment and prepared to get out of the vehicle.
Just as his hand placed on the car door, it was pressed down by Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua looked at the man with the instrument and said coldly, “He is with me.”
The instrument-holding man’s expression turned awkward.
He was the security supervisor of the North Base, bound by regulations, and could not afford to offend Jiang Hua.
Despite being in the North Base, where the number of ability users was the highest, lightning ability users were still rare.
Jiang Hua could crush him with just a flick of his finger.
It wasn’t worth angering Jiang Hua for a mere inspection.
The man adjusted the instrument’s input interface, and after a series of operations, he entered Tong Sui’s identification information.
He said, “Captain Hua, the place where you are staying currently has no vacant rooms. If you don’t mind, the person you brought back can only stay in the regular people’s Area B.”
The environment in Area B was indeed not on par with Area A, concentrated with ability users, both in terms of surroundings and food.
Tong Sui lowered his eyelids.
So they were indeed going to be separated?
The distance between the two areas was so vast that losing the opportunity to meet again was uncertain.
Jiang Hua said, “If you don’t mind, you can stay with me.”