Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The cave, though spacious, was still crowded with so many people, even some small platforms on the cave walls were covered with bedding.

They had soybeans temporarily moved from the supply store for food, and rainwater could be boiled for drinking after filtration, but dealing with excretion was not so easy.

A large platform on the mountain wall a few meters below the northern entrance of the cave had a temporary toilet set up by the soldiers, with a soft ladder placed at the entrance for easy access.

Feng Chen took out a plastic sheet from the bag, spread it on the ground, placed bedding and blankets on it, and finally took out two sets of clothes for changing. Looking around, he saw a curtain for changing clothes not far away and went in with Yan Bubu to change.

Yan Bubu still couldn't stop praising the new clothes, just not very fond of the style of these dungarees.

"Why is there no pocket on the front, just two straps?"

Feng Chen replied, "I didn't pay attention to the details at first, just checked the length and thickness. Just make do with these."

"Then how should I put my hands?" Yan Bubu usually liked to tuck his thumbs into his chest pocket, with the other four fingers hanging outside.

"Aren't there two pockets on the sides? Just use those," Feng Chen suggested, having changed himself and packed the wet clothes in a plastic bag.

Yan Bubu grumbled, "But that doesn't look impressive at all."

"Don't be so picky," Feng Chen warned.

Yan Bubu fell silent.

As darkness fell, Yan Bubu became restless, frequently walking to the cave entrance to look down, then returning after a while.

"What are you doing?" Feng Chen asked, sitting on the ground and leaning against the cave wall.

Yan Bubu replied, "I'm looking for my lion. I don't know where it went. Why haven't I seen it yet?"

Feng Chen, feeling playful, said, "Do you want to see my magic?"

"What magic?" Yan Bubu asked.

"The great lion conjuring trick."

"The great lion conjuring trick... What is that?"

Feng Chen explained, "It means I'll conjure a lion for you."

Yan Bubu said with a mix of skepticism and belief, "Really? Is it my lion? I don't want any other lions."

Feng Chen replied, "Of course, it's true, and it's indeed your lion."

Yan Bubu's eyes lit up, "Great, then hurry up and transform."

No sooner had Yan Bubu finished speaking than Feng Chen felt the Black Lion in his spirit realm becoming restless, eager to leap out. However, the ground was surrounded by people on both sides. Even though they couldn't see the lion, there was no place for it to land, so he took Yan Bubu to the cave entrance.

The two sat at the entrance of the cave, their feet dangling over the cliff. After a moment of silence, Feng Chen suddenly snapped his fingers in front of Yan Bubu and commanded, "Come out!"

Yan Bubu stared unblinkingly at him until she suddenly felt a wet sensation on her left cheek, as if licked by a tongue, and then she turned her head sharply, exclaiming with surprise, "A lion!"

A few people chatting quietly near the cave entrance were startled and jumped up, "A lion? A mutant? Where is the lion?"

They looked around, only to realize there was no lion. Dismissing it as a child's nonsense, they sat down again to continue their conversation.

Yan Bubu asked the Black Lion, "Where have you been? Why did you leave without making a sound? I've been looking for you and couldn't find you..."

The Black Lion looked at Feng Chen with a trace of sadness, then nuzzled its nose on top of Yan Bubu's head.

Yan Bubu gently stroked the lion's mane, murmuring affectionately for a while before asking Feng Chen, "Brother, how did you bring it out?"

"My magic," Feng Chen said, smiling as he looked at the distant rain curtain.

"Brother, you are so amazing," Yan Bubu said with admiration in her eyes, "I've never seen you do that before."

Feng Chen tapped his head, "Actually, it's my quantum beast. I can store it in here and also release it."

"But I am your—"

"You're not," Feng Chen interrupted, "Every sentinel and guide has their own quantum beast, normally kept in their mental realm. You're a guide too, and soon you'll have this magic, owning your own quantum beast."

"I will too? I'll have a quantum beast?"

"Yes, then you'll be able to conjure one just like I do..."

Feng Chen paused. He knew that Yan Bubu was close to evolving into a guide and that his spiritual entity should already be appearing in the cocoon of his mental realm, but he didn't know what kind of quantum beast it would be.

"Conjure what?" Yan Bubu pressed, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Feng Chen leaned back on his hands, exhaling deeply, "I don't know yet, but we'll find out soon enough."

"Will my quantum beast be pretty?"

"Pretty."

"Wow... then I won't name the lion yet. I'll wait for my quantum beast to appear, and we can think of names together." Yan Bubu was both joyful and expectant.

The two of them, along with a lion, sat in front of the cave entrance. Feng Chen was chewing on a wild grass plucked from the cliff, half-closing his eyes as he gazed at the distant rain. Yan Bubu leaned against him, occasionally petting the Black Lion lying beside them.

"So, you are actually Brother's quantum beast. Why haven't I seen you before? Did you just start following him?"

Listening to Yan Bubu's chatter, Feng Chen felt an immense sense of peace and solidity despite the flood and mutant creatures lurking in the grass below the mountain.

The first night in the cave was restless, with mutants trying to climb in from the cliffs. Soldiers stood guard at the four entrances, with occasional gunshots breaking the silence.

Those lying on the ground looked up at the cave ceiling, not speaking, just silently waiting for dawn.

Yet, Yan Bubu slept soundly, hugging one of Feng Chen's arms and draping a leg over him.

Feng Chen remained in a semi-conscious daze, but instantly opened his eyes at the sound of soft footsteps nearby.

In the northeast corner where the military headquarters were located, gas lamps glowed dimly, casting light on the tall figure of Lin Fen, who was patrolling inside the cave.

Feng Chen lay still, watching Lin Fen stop in front of his and Yan Bubu's sleeping area, bending down to look at Yan Bubu for a moment before suddenly pinching his nose.

Feng Chen: ...

Yan Bubu, unable to breathe through his nose, opened his mouth to breathe, and Lin Fen released his hold with a soft chuckle.

A medical officer hurried over from behind, whispering, "Major General Lin, three people have fevers. We're not sure if it's from getting wet in the rain or the onset of mutation. We have no place to quarantine them, what should we do?"

Lin Fen said, "Everyone's in this cave. Regardless of the cause of the fever, they must be isolated."

Yu Yuan also came over from where the military was stationed, standing silently nearby to listen.

"But where do we isolate them? We can't just throw them down the cave, it's swarming with mutants," the medical officer fretted.

Lin Fen's voice was calm and steady, "Given the situation, even if we have to put them down the cave, we must isolate them."

The medical officer became anxious, "But—"

"I have an idea," Yu Yuan suddenly interjected, "Look at these platforms on the cave walls. If we nail wooden bars outside them, it's like having individual isolation rooms. If anyone turns into a zombie, the bars won't stop them, but it gives us enough time to respond."

Lin Fen and the medical officer looked towards the cave wall, and Feng Chen also turned to look up.

There was a small platform on the wall, about one story high from the ground, neither too big nor too small, just large enough for a person to lie down. Similar platforms dotted the cave walls all around.

"This place is indeed suitable, but will the families of those with fever agree? Locking people up like that, and nailing bars..." the medical officer muttered quietly.

Lin Fen's voice grew stern, "Then tell those families, they either stay on the platform or leave the cave. Those are the only two options."

Soldiers quickly found wooden bars and started nailing them around the platforms, leaving a small door on each for access.

Faced with the choice of leaving the cave or staying in isolation, the families of the feverish, though reluctant, knew it was a military order. They quickly made their decisions, carrying the three feverish individuals, who were delirious with high temperatures, onto the platforms.

The platforms were prepared with bedding and chamber pots. The soldiers locked the wooden doors, keeping the keys safe. Until the feverish patients improved, food was passed through the bars, and the medical officer could only diagnose and prescribe medicine from outside the wooden enclosure.

After this flurry of activity, it was the latter half of the night. Fortunately, the mutants seemed to understand that this place was hard to infiltrate or perhaps they too were tired, no longer attempting to climb the cliffs, finally settling down.

Aside from the soldiers taking turns on watch, everyone else began to sleep. Feng Chen adjusted Yan Bubu's sleeping position, and, listening to the cat-like snores beside him, he too fell into a deep sleep.

By the next day, the flood had receded, with water levels dropping back to where they were before the tsunami.

Lin Fen led a team to the dock to assess the situation. Considering the possibility of diving, and with sentinels out clearing mutants, resulting in a severe manpower shortage, Feng Chen joined them.

The two slaps from yesterday had their effect after all. Although Yan Bubu claimed they didn't hurt, he didn’t dare to act up and insist on following, instead just watching Feng Chen with longing eyes.

Feng Chen squatted in front of him, "I'll be back soon. Do you want to go to Uncle Wu's?"

He wasn't sure if Yan Bubu would resist staying with Wu You, but to his surprise, Yan Bubu nodded, "Okay, I'll go to Uncle Wu's."

Yan Bubu was sent to Wu You's place. He watched Feng Chen's figure disappear at the cave entrance before reluctantly withdrawing his gaze.

"Jingjing." Wu You rummaged through his bedding in a flurry, pulling out a bunch of grass-woven grasshoppers from beside his pillow, totaling seven or eight.

"Uncle Wu made these for you," Wu You said with a voice laced with cautious appeasement.

Yan Bubu took the bunch of grasshoppers, "Thank you, Uncle Wu."

"Ah, no thanks needed, I'm glad you like them."

Feng Chen followed Lin Fen to check the large ships that had been washed into the city center. After Lin Fen climbed aboard and thoroughly inspected them, his expression turned grim.

As the water receded, the full extent of the damage to the ships was revealed. They had collided multiple times with buildings underwater during the tsunami, damaging their main engines and components beyond repair with the current resources.

"What do we do now, Major General?" asked a soldier accompanying him.

After a moment of silence, Lin Fen replied, "Let's go to the shipyard."

Feng Chen knew he wanted to search the shipyard for replacement parts, but he also knew the hope of finding them was slim.

He had been eager to reach the central city, participating in salvage operations daily, aware that the usable parts in the water were dwindling. After the tsunami, even the parts that might have been assembled were scattered to unknown places.

Nevertheless, holding onto a glimmer of hope that something might still be found, he accompanied Lin Fen to the shipyard.

Lin Fen donned a pressure-resistant diving suit and went underwater alone, not allowing anyone else to dive. Feng Chen and a few soldiers waited on a hovercraft.

About ten minutes later, Lin Fen emerged from the water, removing his bulky helmet, gasping for air, and asked Feng Chen, "Did you often participate in salvaging parts before?"

"Yes," Feng Chen nodded.

Lin Fen pointed downwards, "Only in this area?"

Feng Chen thought for a moment, "Only here."

Without another word, Lin Fen picked up another pressure-resistant diving suit and tossed it to Feng Chen, "Come down with me."

Feng Chen, puzzled but compliant, changed into the diving suit and followed Lin Fen underwater.

He was very familiar with this warehouse at the shipyard. Diving straight down about a hundred meters, they entered the warehouse's main door. On the ground were scattered unusable parts, while the useful ones were stored in large containers nearby.

Their task then was to crawl into these containers one by one, searching for the required parts based on the component diagrams they had memorized.

As expected, those parts had been washed away by the water, including the empty containers. However, inexplicably, other items had appeared, such as an umbrella, a single-seater sofa, etc., swept here from afar by the sea.

Lin Fen didn’t stop, swimming towards the front of the warehouse, and Feng Chen followed.

As they passed several containers, Lin Fen suddenly halted, and Feng Chen heard him through the earpiece, "Haven't you checked further ahead before?"

Ahead? Wasn’t there just a wall there?

Thinking this, Feng Chen saw that the wall in front had collapsed at some point, revealing a new container on the ground.

The light from above illuminated the area beside the container, showing a dark steel structure in the water, appearing to be part of a ship's hull.

Without asking further, Lin Fen swam past the container, heading forward, and Feng Chen followed.

Indeed, they found themselves in a vast space, likely the shipbuilding workshop of the shipyard, with a massive, brand-new cargo ship sitting inside, its paint unmarred by a single scratch.

This appeared to be a newly built ship from the shipyard, not yet delivered to its owner before the earthquake struck.

The shipbuilding workshop and the adjacent parts warehouse were separated by just one wall. Lacking a map of the shipyard and with the workshop's entrance well concealed, they had searched for parts in the neighboring warehouse for so long, never realizing that just beyond the wall lay this large ship.

The two swam up to the deck of the cargo ship and then entered the engine room.

Lin Fen inspected the engine room, examining several main engines thoroughly, then looked up at Feng Chen.

“Guess what, do you think this ship can be started?”

Feng Chen hesitated, and Lin Fen added, “If you guess wrong, you’ll have to give the annoying spirit to Yu Yuan.”

Feng Chen frowned, “I won’t guess.”

Lin Fen chuckled softly, no longer teasing Feng Chen, and revealed the answer: “Although the ship has been submerged, it hasn’t been exposed to high temperatures or damage. All the major components are intact. It just needs Lythium installed and some adjustments to certain instruments.”

Feng Chen's voice rose instantly, “You mean to say…”

“Yes, we can head to the central city in a few days,” Lin Fen said, his voice tinged with excitement, his eyes shining with pleasure beneath his mask.

“That’s great!” Feng Chen exclaimed, performing a backflip in the water, turning several somersaults in succession.

Displaying such childlike joy was rare for Feng Chen. Lin Fen didn’t comment, but swam up beside him and patted his shoulder, “Come on, let’s take a tour.”

Although Feng Chen didn’t think there was much to see in the manufacturing workshop, he still followed Lin Fen. As Lin Fen swam slowly forward, passing by the large machinery, he explained each one to Feng Chen.

"This transmission device transfers the engine's power to the propeller, while also reducing speed, dampening vibrations, and altering the rotation direction of the propeller. Our Western Alliance's T5 warships and the Eastern Alliance's 6CD warships use this type of transmission. Come here and take a look..."

Initially, Feng Chen was somewhat puzzled as to why Lin Fen was explaining all this to him, but he gradually became engrossed in the information.

Lin Fen spoke about everything from naval ship development technology to military information technology and biotechnology, encompassing much of the current information about the Western and Eastern Alliances. Some aspects of the Eastern Alliance's biotechnology were even new to Feng Chen.

It was only when Lin Fen finished speaking and suggested they head back that Feng Chen realized he had been listening intently to the explanations for a full half-hour.

Swimming behind Lin Fen, looking at his agile figure, Feng Chen understood that on the surface, they were touring the manufacturing workshop, but in reality, Lin Fen was imparting military knowledge to him. He felt a complex mix of emotions, indescribable and profound.

When Feng Chen surfaced, the two soldiers waiting on the boat helped him and Lin Fen aboard.

"Major General Lin, did you, did you find anything in the water?" one of the soldiers asked, his voice trembling.

Feng Chen looked at him and noticed the soldier hunched in his raincoat, shivering.

Lin Fen removed his oxygen mask, "Why are you shaking like that?"

"Cold, ah, so cold," another soldier said, shivering.

A gust of wind blew by, and Feng Chen felt its chill. It was no longer gentle, but icy cold, penetrating to the bone, causing every pore on his skin to suddenly contract.

Lin Fen also noticed the drop in temperature, frowning as he looked up at the sky. It was still overcast, raining heavily, no different from usual.

One soldier tried to steady his voice, still uncontrollably shivering, "Right after you guys dived, the temperature suddenly dropped, at least by twenty degrees."

"No, more than that, I feel it's colder than winter," the other soldier added, shaking his head.

Feng Chen removed his pressure-resistant diving suit and glanced at his wristwatch, which displayed a temperature of 5°C.