Having his dignity challenged in front of an entire room of people made it difficult for Lu Han to keep his composure.
Maintaining the most basic smile, he said, “I won’t stay for more than a week.”
Regardless of Lu Han’s purpose for remaining at Base No. 18, Cen Jiao immediately set a deadline.
“Three days.”
“Three days?” Lu Han suppressed the frustration in his heart, but it was hardly appropriate to bargain while standing on someone else’s territory.
He had only come to Base No. 18 under the pretext of escorting his daughter here for further training.
He had no official business that warranted negotiations or long-term interests between the two bases.
Nowadays, every base ruled over its own territory. Whoever possessed the strongest influence governed the surrounding land. There was no such thing as relying on any central government.
The various bases competed with one another for resources.
If he angered Cen Jiao, she could simply detain him at Base No. 18, and Base No. 9 would have no grounds to protest.
After all, she had already given him a deadline.
If he insisted on lingering around like a spy, getting arrested would be entirely his own fault.
After weighing the situation carefully, Lu Han finally relented.
“Fine. Three days.”
Men of Base No. 9 had their pride.
After leaving the conference room, the academy director eagerly followed behind Lu Han with a flattering smile.
“Deputy Director Lu, it’s been a long time. That shipment I had someone purchase for me from Base No. 9 really helped me out.”
“Director, I have no intention of doing business.”
Without even glancing sideways, Lu Han continued walking straight ahead.
“Of course, of course. Someone of your status handles major affairs. You wouldn’t bother with such small matters. It’s just…”
The director lowered his voice.
“Could you introduce me to a few… people who do small business?”
Lu Han cast him a sidelong glance.
“How small?”
The director smiled awkwardly.
“The Regeneration Factor business.”
Lu Han narrowed his eyes without saying a word, but the atmosphere around him instantly turned cold.
The director wisely stopped talking.
He had no intention of offending him.
“It’s nothing, nothing…”
“Please don’t worry. Since Lu You is studying at our academy, I’ll make sure the teachers take good care of her.”
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to teach.
Healing-type abilities were rare, but Lu You had awakened a Self-Healing ability.
It could only heal herself.
It was practically useless.
Still, the director understood.
If she had possessed a genuine healing ability, Lu Han would never have allowed her to leave Base No. 9 so easily.
“There’s no need. Just treat her like everyone else.”
Lu Han had already left an entire Guard Squad behind to protect Lu You.
As long as she behaved herself and stayed here for six months, she would be able to return to Base No. 9 without so much as a scratch.
“Of course. A talented student like Lu You certainly doesn’t need any special treatment… Deputy Director Lu, have a safe trip.”
Even after Lu Han’s vehicle had driven away, the director continued smiling obsequiously.
Only after the car disappeared completely did the smile slowly fade from his face.
“Load the cargo!”
…
Recently, the fog had been growing thicker and thicker.
Ever since driving the two children to school on the first day, Xie Yuanchuan had used the heavy fog as an excuse not to drive.
Every morning, no matter how much they tried, they couldn’t wake him.
You could never wake a lazy father who was only pretending to sleep.
Cen Yi wasn’t interested in moving either.
After faithfully preparing loving lunchboxes for an entire week, he very calmly transferred 500 points to each of the children and told them to buy breakfast outside.
As a result, Cen Wu and Cen Yuxing had no choice but to wake up an hour earlier every day and walk to the academy together.
Fortunately, the base had several self-operated restaurants.
Although the prices were a little high, at least they wouldn’t go hungry.
Cen Wu randomly picked a fried dough stick and dunked it into her bowl of soy milk until it was completely soaked.
Cen Yuxing immediately copied her.
The crispy fried dough absorbed the soy milk thoroughly.
When they took another bite, it was no longer greasy.
Each mouthful burst with rich flavor.
“So this is what you eat every day?”
A voice full of pity sounded above their heads.
Cen Wu recognized Lu You’s voice immediately.
She pretended not to hear it.
Cen Yuxing couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge her.
Lu You waited for quite a while.
When neither of them responded, she became visibly unhappy.
Back at Base No. 9, everyone would have crowded around her the moment she appeared.
She would never have needed to initiate a conversation herself.
For Cen Yuxing’s sake, Lu You snorted softly before choosing to sit down anyway.
She waved her hand.
The bodyguard responsible for taking care of her immediately placed an insulated lunch box on the table.
“Here. Dad hired a private chef to make these for me. Pork soup dumplings and preserved egg and lean pork congee. You’ve probably never had preserved eggs before, have you? They’re made through a very complicated process. Even in Base No. 9, they’re not very comm—”
Before she could finish, a loud voice interrupted her from behind.
“Your preserved egg and pork congee is ready! What? You’re tired of eating it? Then let me add a salted duck egg! They’re worth practically nothing—we’ve got plenty of them in Base No. 18!”
The restaurant owner shouted so loudly that everyone in the room could hear.
Damn it.
She hated pretentious people more than anything.
Lu You’s face alternated between red and pale.
She glared at the bodyguard beside her.
“What are you waiting for? Put it away!”
Then she muttered under her breath,
“But the soup dumplings were made by a private chef. They shouldn’t be that common…”
“What? You want steamed buns, mantou, siu mai, or flower rolls? Oh my, those are things people make at home! Why come to a restaurant for that? You might as well have a bowl of chicken noodle soup instead. The broth’s been simmering over high heat for five whole hours!”
The owner had been listening with her ears perked up the entire time.
She could hear every single muttered word.
Base No. 9?
Did it really think it could compare to Base No. 18?
Before the apocalypse, she had been the executive chef at a five-star hotel.
At the height of her career, this little brat hadn’t even been born yet.
Lu You sat there stiffly, tears gathering in her eyes.
When she looked up at someone, she appeared so pitiful that anyone would feel sympathy for her.
Cen Wu hated that expression the most.
It always looked as though the whole world owed Lu You millions of points.
As if the world couldn’t function unless it revolved around her.
After finishing the soy milk in his bowl, Cen Yuxing completely ignored everyone except his younger sister.
He directly transferred points to the owner.
“The breakfast was delicious. I’ll bring Younger Sister here again tomorrow.”
“Come! Both of you come anytime!”
Looking at the adorable brother and sister, the owner’s heart nearly melted.
After they left, Lu You also walked over to the owner, her voice choked with emotion.
“Auntie, I really didn’t mean it. I just didn’t know Base No. 18 had such abundant supplies. I’m honestly so envious of you.”
The owner’s expression stiffened slightly.
As an adult, she couldn’t seriously hold a grudge against a child.
She had only argued because she couldn’t stand hearing someone belittle her base.
After wiping her hands on her apron, she packed up a freshly fried dough stick and handed it to the little girl standing before her with reddened eyes.
“It’s no big deal. I wasn’t deliberately picking on you either. This fried dough stick just came out of the fryer, so it’s still hot. Here, take it. No points needed.”
Lu You accepted it gratefully.
“Auntie, you’re really not angry with me anymore?”
“Of course not. You’re welcome to come again anytime.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
After Lu You left and reached a corner, she immediately threw the fried dough stick into a roadside trash bin.
She disgustedly dusted off her hands.
“Are all the people in Base No. 18 this clueless? Throw away everything in the lunch box too. Just looking at it annoys me.”
Without saying a word, the bodyguard dumped the entire insulated lunch box into the garbage as well.
At that moment, neither of them realized that their actions had already violated the laws of the base.
Above the street, the all-seeing surveillance cameras silently flashed.