When Liu Chengyun found Yu Peng, the latter was sound asleep, curled up on a cramped sofa with white bandages wrapped around his hand. A few spots of blood had seeped through the gauze, likely because the wound had not been dressed with enough care.
Although he knew everyone had been under immense pressure lately, Liu Chengyun hadn’t expected even Yu Peng to be in such a state. To ensure the secrecy of their operations, the higher-ups had not involved everyone; instead, they had reassigned a specific group of people to handle the transport of weapons and equipment.
Because they needed to stockpile a massive amount of thermal weaponry, no one had rested much during this period; everyone was working around the clock. Yu Peng was responsible for supervision, but looking at his hand, it was clear he had done much more than just supervise.
In that case, he would go to pick them up himself.
Yes, Liu Chengyun intended to receive the guests in person. Firstly, it was to show his sincerity, and secondly, he wanted to see for himself what the person who possessed a space capable of storing all things actually looked like.
It was incredible that such a strange occurrence was actually real. However, compared to that, the fact that the end of the world was truly coming seemed even more unbelievable. If someone had told him this in the past, he would have only scoffed at them, but things were different now.
Currently, besides their own country, other nations across the ocean were also secretly taking measures. As for exactly what those measures were, they were far too classified for anyone to know; they could only focus their full attention on their own nation.
With this in mind, Liu Chengyun walked outside. He made only faint footsteps, yet the soundly sleeping Yu Peng suddenly jolted awake at that exact moment, springing up from the small sofa like a projectile. “Present!”
His voice was filled with panic as he immediately saluted Liu Chengyun. The fatigue that had built up vanished instantly, and he suddenly appeared revitalized.
Liu Chengyun paused mid-stride and turned to look at him. “You’re awake?”
Yu Peng nodded heavily. “I’m awake!”
Seeing this response, Liu Chengyun’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before shifting away as he continued walking out. “If you’re awake, follow me.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yu Peng immediately fell into step behind Liu Chengyun. Once they were clear of the dense cluster of surveillance cameras, Yu Peng’s tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he finally asked where they were going. “Leader, what exactly are we doing?”
Weren’t there many urgent matters to attend to lately?
Hearing the question, Liu Chengyun did not hide the truth, though his answer was somewhat vague. “We are going to pick up a very important person.”
What? Picking someone up? What kind of person required the Leader to receive them personally? Just how high was their status? Yu Peng didn’t dare to ask more; he silently imagined a legendary, high-ranking identity for this person they were about to meet.
Because of this, his eyes widened in shock when he saw that the person Liu Chengyun had come to greet personally was merely a girl in her twenties.
What? This was the person the Leader came for?
Yu Peng knew better than to judge people by their looks and that doing so was a major taboo, but no matter how he looked at her, he didn’t feel this person was worth the Leader’s personal presence… What was the Leader’s status? To make a special trip to Base 08 in Beijing just to receive this girl?
Staring at the girl, Yu Peng felt his worldview being shaken to its core.
The girl being personally welcomed by Liu Chengyun was, of course, Xu Jiao. Beside her stood Jiang Taian and the others, with Li Sang standing closest to her.
Li Sang raised an eyebrow when she saw Yu Peng’s shocked expression, realizing that the identity of the man before them was extraordinary. She had only been in this world for a few days, and her circle of acquaintances was limited; she didn’t recognize this man. Furthermore, because this novel was a mashup of several apocalyptic stories that primarily focused on the deeds of the protagonists, her knowledge of the figures on the “National Team” side was very restricted.
However, she could still make a basic judgment. After all, that man’s reaction was too strange—it was as if he were seeing something he couldn’t comprehend in his entire life.
Just as Li Sang was about to guess the identity of this middle-aged man who carried an aura of stern authority, Jiang Taian walked toward him and said, “I didn’t expect you to be the one to pick her up.”
What?
Li Sang’s expression was an exact mirror of Yu Peng’s earlier reaction. Both of their eyes widened the moment Jiang Taian addressed the man.
She hadn’t misheard, right? It was Liu Chengyun, wasn’t it? The Liu Chengyun she was thinking of? A man of his stature actually came to pick someone up in person?
Li Sang had just thought the aide was overreacting; now it seemed the aide had been too conservative. Her jaw almost dropped.
Xu Jiao no longer knew what kind of expression to wear when facing this titan. Logically, a person she should never have had contact with in her entire life was now actively coming to meet her…
Uncle Lin had mentioned earlier that someone would come for her; it must be the man before her. And Jiang Taian’s words, “I didn’t expect him to come,” confirmed the weight of the situation.
Xu Jiao felt as if she were still in a dream, frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Jiang Taian, who had walked up to Liu Chengyun, quickly received a response. “Xiao Jiang is here too? Old Lin said the person was found, so I couldn’t wait to come and see for myself.”
Liu Chengyun seemed very easy to talk to, a kind smile on his face. Nevertheless, the moment her eyes met Liu Chengyun’s, Xu Jiao’s gaze instinctively darted away.
Despite having never met Li Sang or Xu Jiao before, Liu Chengyun confirmed one thing through this subtle reaction. “I assume this is the Miss Xu who has the space?”
Since it was their first meeting, Liu Chengyun did not put on airs but respectfully called her Miss Xu.
Xu Jiao felt unworthy of such a title and hurriedly said, “You… you can just call me Xiao Xu.”
Hearing this, Liu Chengyun didn’t decline. “Alright, then Xiao Xu, don’t be so formal. Just call me Uncle Liu.”
Although Liu Chengyun’s primary purpose for this trip was Xu Jiao, he knew about Li Sang as well. He turned his gaze toward Li Sang, thought for a moment, and said, “I take it this is the Xiao Sang that Old Lin has been mentioning to me frequently these past few days?”
Perhaps because he had heard it from Lin Shushan, his way of addressing her was very affectionate.
Li Sang nodded, a polite smile on her face. “Yes. Hello, Leader. I am Xiao Sang.”
She didn’t offer her full name; if Liu Chengyun wanted to know, he wouldn’t need her to tell him.
“Just like Xiao Xu, you can call me Uncle Liu. I heard from Old Lin that you two have other missions next, is that right?”
Jiang Taian was stunned. Another mission? Why didn’t he know about this?