Taking advantage of the chaos within Jiaoyang Base, they successfully slipped out through a secluded side entrance.
On the way back, the group barely stopped to rest. They hurried along as quickly as they could and returned to their own territory in the shortest time possible.
As soon as they parked the vehicle, Lan Shi and Old Zhang busied themselves with taking the researchers somewhere to rest.
As for Shu Ran and Yu Yan, who had both remained energetic throughout, they were simply left to do whatever they wanted.
They really were ruthlessly discarded the moment they were no longer needed.
After Zheng Jiarong finished catching up with his brothers, he took a jade pendant and went to find Yu Yan.
“Boss, there’s something I want to give you.”
As he spoke, he held out the exquisitely carved jade pendant to Yu Yan.
“This jade pendant is the portable space Qiao Lingling used to store things. I secretly took it while Ren Hao wasn’t paying attention.”
The one Qiao Lingling used?
Then wouldn’t that be…
Yu Yan glanced at the faintly visible character “Cong” carved into the jade pendant.
Sure enough, it was the Cong jade pendant Shu Ran had told him about.
He smiled and accepted it.
“Thanks for your hard work. There’s a celebration tonight for your return, so don’t just stand around here. Go get some rest first.”
Zheng Jiarong smiled somewhat sheepishly, but obediently went off to rest.
Once there was no one else around, Yu Yan held the jade pendant in his hand and turned to look at Shu Ran, who had been stealing glances in their direction from the side.
“How do you want to deal with this jade pendant?”
Again, he was asking her to make the decision!
Shu Ran lowered her eyes, somewhat puzzled as to why Yu Yan seemed to enjoy leaving these decisions to her.
Still, she seriously thought about it.
She pursed her soft pink lips.
“How should we deal with it…”
Her brows drew together as she pondered for quite a while.
Then, suddenly, inspiration struck!
“How about this? We can give it to whoever manages the warehouse in the future. That way, we can save on manpower, and we won’t have to worry about that person harboring any bad intentions…”
She smiled, her brows curving beautifully, and took out her own main jade pendant.
“After all, the main jade pendant is still with us.”
Looking at the girl’s mischievous little expression, Yu Yan suddenly felt his hands itching to pinch her.
He stepped forward, squeezed her soft cheek, then moved his hand to the back of her neck and gently kneaded it.
“That’s a very good idea. Thank you, my Baby.”
Shu Ran narrowed her beautiful fox-like eyes and let out a soft little hum, happily enjoying the massage.
…
Time flew by.
With a large number of technical specialists joining them, the base finally settled into a proper rhythm.
And the base whose name had been giving everyone such a headache was eventually named after the city they were currently in, after much debate among everyone.
The city was called Yong’an City.
So their base became Yong’an Base.
Once the base finally had a name, everyone seemed to be injected with a shot of adrenaline. They were full of energy every single day.
The few female members under Lan Shi’s team were especially fierce. Carrying machine guns and clutching grenades, they actually managed to retrieve the research equipment that the research institute had been desperately lacking.
Of course, Shu Ran wasn’t idle either.
Aside from regularly delivering spiritual spring water to the research institute so they could develop vaccines and medicine, she spent her time practicing her wood-type ability in the fields inside her space.
Many plants had mutated after the apocalypse and could no longer be eaten.
But through Shu Ran’s tireless efforts, they eventually evolved into edible versions.
And after drinking the spiritual spring water one time, Shu Ran completely regained her human identity.
Oh, right…
There was actually another piece of good news during this period that made everyone happy.
Ren Hao and Wu Hong both died in the struggle for power.
The entire Jiaoyang Base was taken over by a newly emerging faction, and even those previously arrogant higher-ups were all driven from their positions.
And because Jiaoyang Base had essentially become a newly established base under new leadership, no one had noticed the existence of Yong’an Base so far.
That meant Yong’an Base could quietly continue developing…
One morning.
Pale golden sunlight slipped through the gaps between the curtains, breaking into several dappled beams that fell across the light-purple bedsheets.
As time slowly passed, the beams shifted little by little, eventually illuminating every piece of clothing scattered across the bedroom floor…
…
【Ding! System notification: Favorability meter has reached 100%. Mission complete!】
Startled by the sudden voice, Shu Ran blinked uncomfortably. It took quite a while before she finally opened her slightly swollen, reddened eyes in a daze.
She raised herself slightly, and the pale-blue strap on her shoulder slipped down, sliding all the way to the large hand resting beneath the thin blanket…
Did she just hear something?
Shu Ran tilted her head, looking completely dazed.
After another moment, she let out a soft whimper and buried her flushed little face back into the pillow.
As sleepiness and exhaustion overtook her once again, Shu Ran finally realized that the System had just issued a notification.
And it seemed…
The favorability meter had reached 100%?
Shu Ran’s eyes flew open.
Her entire pair of fox-like eyes instantly filled with light!
She had thought the favorability meter was going to remain stuck at 99% forever.
Who would have thought it had secretly increased while she was asleep?!
Shu Ran was just about to open the panel and take a look when a large hand suddenly pulled her into his arms.
And the hold was especially tight…
The man hadn’t even opened his eyes. He simply rested against her neck, his Adam’s apple rolling gently as he murmured in a hoarse morning voice,
“Not tired anymore?”
Shu Ran froze at his movement, then quickly came back to her senses and pressed her lips together as she tried to turn onto her side.
But the moment she moved—
The man immediately followed her.
He gently kissed her cheek, and as his fingers shifted, his arms tightened around her even more.
“If you can’t sleep, why don’t we do something that’ll help you fall asleep again?”
The moment Shu Ran heard that, her entire face flushed bright red.
She hurriedly tried to crawl away.
“No…”
But obviously, the man had no intention of giving her any room to refuse.
He quickly pulled her back and captured her lips in a hot, lingering kiss.
…
By the time she automatically left that world, Shu Ran felt as though she was about to collapse from exhaustion.
The corners of her eyes were still red as she looked around.
Everything was white.
She had no idea where she was.
“System… are you there?”
The moment she finished speaking, a little bear suddenly appeared out of thin air and threw itself into her arms, crying.
【Ranran! Waaaah! I finally get to see you!】
Heaven only knew how long it had been locked inside the privacy room.
Even with television and snacks, it had finally reached its limit!