Seeing Xiang Ge standing there perfectly fine, with a huge pile of supplies beside her, Ao Guang immediately felt anger rising in his chest.
If it weren’t for saving this woman, the Commander wouldn’t have gained those extra two radiation points. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so badly injured afterward.
The more Ao Guang thought about it, the darker his expression became. The way he looked at Xiang Ge was as if he wanted to devour her alive.
“Stop staring and help me carry these.”
Xiang Ge had gotten carried away with shopping. Only after buying everything did she realize that there was no way she could carry it all home by herself without exposing her storage space.
Just as she was worrying about it, Ao Guang—the perfect source of free labor—had conveniently appeared.
No reason not to use him.
Xiang Ge stuffed everything into four large bags.
She carried two herself and shoved the other two into Ao Guang’s hands.
“Are you crazy? Why would I carry your stuff?”
Ao Guang angrily threw the bags onto the ground.
Xiang Ge wasn’t annoyed at all. She simply stood there quietly.
“How is Commander Lu doing?”
She had already noticed during their last meeting how much Ao Guang cared about his commander.
The moment she asked, Ao Guang’s emotions exploded.
“You still have the nerve to ask? Because of you, our Commander is still lying in the hospital! He’s about to be kicked out of the base!”
His eyes turned red as tears threatened to spill out.
Deep down, he had already made up his mind. If the Commander was expelled from the base, he would leave with him and protect him until the very moment his genes completely collapsed.
“Help me take these things home, and I can save Commander Lu.”
Even if she hadn’t run into Ao Guang today, Xiang Ge had already planned to visit Lu Changting.
She still owed him a life-saving favor, and it was time to repay it.
“You? Save him?”
Ao Guang looked her up and down skeptically.
She seemed more energetic than before, but she was still dressed in ragged clothes and looked thin and frail.
“Yes. Me.”
“Because I was kicked out—and then came back.”
Her voice was calm.
But those few words struck Ao Guang like a thunderbolt.
That’s right.
He had forgotten.
Xiang Ge had originally been expelled because her radiation level was too high.
And yet here she was.
“No… this is the Underground City, not Morningstar Base.”
Ao Guang quickly reacted.
“Which is why I told you to carry my things. If I can make it home safely, won’t that answer your question?”
Xiang Ge had no intention of letting this free labor escape.
Ao Guang stood there struggling internally for a while before finally bending down and picking up the bags again.
At this point, he truly couldn’t think of any other solution.
A dead horse had to be treated like a living one.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
Xiang Ge really could do it.
Logically, he didn’t believe her.
Emotionally, he couldn’t bear to give up even the slightest hope of saving the Commander.
Loaded down with bags, the two left the Underground City.
The people who had been secretly following Xiang Ge all this time immediately abandoned their plans.
They had only targeted her because she looked like a fat sheep carrying lots of goods.
But no one wanted to provoke a military officer—especially one whose rank insignia clearly wasn’t low.
Xiang Ge hadn’t expected that recruiting free labor would also give her the benefit of borrowing military authority to intimidate others, saving her a great deal of trouble.
As they walked through the shantytown, many people noticed Xiang Ge carrying two large bags while a young man in military uniform followed beside her.
The looks they gave her were strange.
The meaning was obvious:
This girl hit the jackpot. She found herself a rich backer.
Xiang Ge remained completely unfazed.
Whenever someone stared too long, she would even smile and nod politely at them.
Meanwhile, Ao Guang was too busy wrestling with his conflicting thoughts—doubting Xiang Ge while desperately hoping she really had some extraordinary ability—to notice anyone around him.
Only when they arrived at Xiang Ge’s house did he snap back to reality.
“Just leave them at the door. I’ll carry them inside myself.”
“My home is pretty shabby, so I won’t invite you in.”
Before Ao Guang could respond, Xiang Ge grabbed the bags from him and pushed everything into the house.
Then she stepped inside and slammed the door shut.
Ao Guang was left standing outside.
Of course, Xiang Ge’s real reason for keeping him out was so she could use her storage space.
There was no way she would openly carry all these supplies home and then leave them scattered around an unlocked shack.
The moment she got inside, she quickly changed into clean clothes from head to toe.
She packed a few daily necessities into her backpack and stored everything else—including her old clothes—inside her storage space.
This trip to the Underground City had been incredibly rewarding.
She had sold all her potatoes.
Ordered a laser sword.
Joined a mission team.
Bought a mountain of supplies.
The points she had earned were almost entirely spent, and her one-cubic-meter storage space was nearly full.
She wasn’t rich yet, but she was no longer dirt poor either.
Putting on her backpack, she opened the door again.
Ao Guang was still standing exactly where she had left him.
“Let’s go.”
After locking the door with the new lock she had purchased, Xiang Ge turned around.
The house was completely empty.
But that was exactly why she locked it.
Most people couldn’t get in.
Those who could wouldn’t dare make a fuss.
She had her own reasons.
“Go where?”
Ao Guang blinked blankly.
Almost instinctively, he glanced at his wrist terminal.
No warning notifications.
Inside the base, whenever someone’s radiation level exceeded 90, an alert would be sent to every soldier’s wrist device, and the nearest personnel would be assigned the task.
Right now, Ao Guang was obviously the closest person to Xiang Ge.
Close enough to touch her with a single outstretched hand.
Yet despite Xiang Ge having been out of the Underground City for so long, no alert had arrived.
Could it be…
Ao Guang remembered Commander Lu’s earlier warnings and advice to Xiang Ge.
He also remembered what Xiang Ge had just said.
A bold possibility began forming in his mind.
But he didn’t dare think about it too deeply.
His head felt completely muddled.
“You said Commander Lu is in the hospital, didn’t you?”
“So obviously we’re going to the hospital.”
Xiang Ge looked at him as though he were an idiot.
“Oh. Right. The hospital.”
Coming back to his senses, Ao Guang immediately tapped a few commands on his wrist terminal and led Xiang Ge away from the shantytown.
After walking only a dozen steps, they arrived beside a bright red sports car.
The color was so flashy it practically screamed for attention.
“Get in. It’ll be faster.”
Ao Guang opened the driver’s door and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Your car?”
The bright red paint nearly blinded Xiang Ge.
“Of course. Hurry up.”
“Oh right, you’ve probably never seen a car before. Do you even know how to get in?”
As he spoke, Ao Guang started to get out to open the passenger door for her.
“No need.”
Xiang Ge opened the passenger-side door herself and swung her long legs inside.
What a joke.
She had driven more vehicles than Ao Guang had probably even seen.
“Didn’t expect you to be rich.”
“This car can’t be cheap.”
Xiang Ge looked around at the vehicle’s features.
Not only could it drive autonomously, it even had low-altitude hovering capabilities to avoid obstacles.
She instantly wanted one.