Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Shen Juanjuan returned to the dormitory and found Tang Yuanyuan and the other children, telling them everything about Lin Duozhi.

"His hand was wrapped up, with blood still on it, and he was crying, saying it hurt a lot," Shen Juanjuan said, feeling sad again as she pouted and rubbed her eyes. "He was in so much pain..."

Tang Yuanyuan and the others were also teary-eyed, repeatedly asking if his finger had been broken by Wang Zhusheng's brother.

"No, he broke it himself," Shen Juanjuan sniffed. "Don't be afraid, he won't die. The director said he will be fine."

"Why did he break his finger?"

"He said that by breaking it, he could go to Cloud Peak."

Tang Yuanyuan was confused: "Why would breaking a finger allow him to go to Cloud Peak?"

Shen Juanjuan shook her head: "I don't know either. Maybe Cloud Peak wants kids with fewer fingers."

"But without his fingers, how can he eat? Will he have to eat with his feet?" Chen Hongliang asked.

Tang Yuanyuan quickly replied: "It's just the extra finger that's gone, not all of them."

Chen Hongliang stared blankly for a moment: "Well, well, then when we play rock-paper-scissors, your paper won't be bigger than ours anymore."

Shen Juanjuan had already thought this through: "We can use rock or scissors."

Every few words, Shen Juanjuan would look out the window, feeling relieved only when he saw the minivan still parked at the gate with Chu Ya inside.

The next time he turned his head, he saw Chu Ya on the welfare home playground, walking with Director Liu towards the staff building, surrounded by a group of students who were following and staring at him.

Shen Juanjuan suddenly turned and rushed out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

Shen Juanjuan hurriedly replied: "Someone is trying to take my brother. I need to watch over him."

Chu Ya was making his way to the staff building, surrounded by a group of children, when Shen Juanjuan's voice rang out: "Brother, brother."

Chu Ya stopped, and Shen Juanjuan ran up, grabbing his hand and sticking close as they walked forward.

"Aren't you playing with them?" Chu Ya asked.

Shen Juanjuan glared at the surrounding children and replied fiercely: "My brother loves me too much. I have to stay with him; no one can take him away."

Chu Ya: ...

"Shen Juanjuan, is this your brother?" a child in the crowd asked.

Shen Juanjuan answered loudly: "Yes, he's my brother."

"Isn't he the person who came to the welfare home before? I've seen his photos."

"How handsome he is! He looks so good, look at his high nose."

...

Facing the children's bold scrutiny and loud comments, Chu Ya remained calm, but Shen Juanjuan was unhappy, glaring at anyone who got too close and frequently checking Chu Ya's expression, his mood fluctuating.

When a manager blew a whistle, calling everyone to gather on the playground, the children ran to the center, and Chu Ya told Shen Juanjuan: "You should go too."

"I won't."

"The director is here. Are you really not going?" Chu Ya leaned down and whispered in his ear.

Shen Juanjuan hesitated: "Will you leave?"

"No, I'll wait for you."

Finally, the children dispersed. As the three of them went upstairs, Director Liu asked Rong Chen: "Is everything prepared?"

"It has been ready for a while. The managers are waiting in the meeting room. The casual workers have been given a holiday, and a few new managers have also been given an excuse to go home. Now, only our trusted people remain."

Director Liu nodded, and Rong Chen asked: "When should we set off?"

"As soon as possible."

Rong Chen glanced at his watch: "We can leave tonight."

Director Liu was silent for a moment before nodding: "Alright." Then he asked Chu Ya: "Can you leave tonight?"

Chu Ya hadn't expected it to be so soon but understood that the longer they waited, the more dangerous it would become. He replied: "No problem."

As they continued upstairs, Rong Chen asked: "If we're taking the students to Linya City, should we tell them the whole truth now?"

Director Liu said: "Yes, we should. We've already had a falling out with Cloud Peak, so there's no need to hide anything."

Rong Chen hesitated: "The two older students in the car earlier must have known. After getting back to their dormitory, they seemed emotionally unstable. One of them, whose roommate was chosen six months ago, had a breakdown and went to the rooftop. Someone found him and reported it to the manager. Manager Li is now talking to him in the staff dormitory."

Director Liu and Chu Ya stopped and looked at Rong Chen, who continued: "We're leaving tonight. If we tell all the children now without giving them time to process it, I'm worried something might happen, and we won't be able to leave smoothly."

Director Liu thought for a moment: "Then let's not tell everyone the truth for now. But we can inform the emotionally stable, reliable older students. They can help manage the group after we set off. As for the other students, choose an appropriate time during the journey to tell them, being careful and attentive to their emotional changes."

"Understood. I'll select about ten older students and bring them to the small meeting room."

"Be careful when choosing. At this critical moment, don't pick those who are close to the children who were taken."

"I understand."

"Also, we can now ask the children to pack their simple belongings. Tell them..."

Director Liu and Rong Chen looked at each other, while Chu Ya said from the side, "Just say we're going on a hiking trip."

The students of his military academy always got excited when they heard about a trip. The children in the welfare home rarely even went to Keke Town, so they would be even more delighted to hear about a trip.

"Right, just say we're going on a hiking trip."

Rong Chen turned and walked downstairs, while Chu Ya and Director Liu entered the conference room.

The conference room was silent, with all the managers seated below, looking at Director Liu with varying degrees of tension and confusion.

Chu Ya chose a corner to sit, his eyes slightly lowered, quietly gazing at the floor ahead.

"Now we have no choice but to take that step," Director Liu's gaze slowly swept over everyone's faces, his tone becoming more solemn. "All the children over six years old in the welfare home will go to Linya City. Those under six will stay here for now, as they are too young to travel long distances. We'll think of other solutions later. I need someone to escort the children over six to Linya City and stay there for a long time, taking care of them to the best of their ability. I can't say how long it will be, maybe soon, maybe a few years. Everyone here is a manager of the welfare home, and you've worked with me, Liu Hong, for many years. I won't force you; whether to go or stay is entirely up to you."

After Director Liu finished speaking, the conference room fell silent. Chu Ya slowly turned his head, seeing various expressions on everyone's faces, all lost in thought.

"I'll go." Someone suddenly spoke from a corner of the conference room. "Director Liu, I'm willing to take these children to Linya City and continue to take care of them there."

"Me too." A slender manager stood up. "I'm willing to go."

"Manager Zhu, you shouldn't go; your health isn't good. Let me go."

"I'll go."

"Me too."

The entire conference room echoed with responses, the managers standing one by one, loudly expressing their willingness to go to Linya City.

Director Liu turned his head to the side, and when he turned back, his eyes were slightly red.

He cleared his hoarse throat: "Although everyone is willing to go to Linya City, there are still many children left in the welfare home who cannot be left unattended. Let's do this: those with families and poor health should stay behind, and the rest can follow their own wishes."

"Don't argue with me. I'm alone and in good health; it doesn't matter where I go."

"Manager Liu, then I'll go with you; I'm also alone."

"And me, I'm willing to go to Linya City. I lost my parents two years ago and have no ties."

...

Amidst the commotion, Chu Ya turned his head to look out the window.

A few icicles hung from the window frame, and the deep winter chill was bone-penetrating, but he felt a warmth in his chest, bringing a bit of heat to his cold heart.

After a heated debate and the list of personnel was finalized, for safety reasons, the managers staying behind left the conference room, while those going to Linya City began to determine the route. Although Director Liu had discussed it with them several times privately, the situation developed too quickly, and they hadn't yet decided which route to take, leading to a noisy scene in the conference room.

"I support the first proposal, go directly to Black Dragon Mountain, cross the snow-capped mountains, and sail from the Lantai Strait."

"The way to Black Dragon Mountain is full of checkpoints. Forget about the rest, we'd be caught at the Tuta Channel checkpoint. I think we should go east, all the way to Kalüe Port, and find a boat there."

"Take these children to Kalüe Port? There are even more checkpoints along the way, five of them."

As everyone argued, a clear voice sounded: "Actually, I have a route that might avoid the checkpoints along the way."

The arguments immediately ceased, and everyone looked at the young man sitting in the corner.

The young man sat in the corner by the window, his posture straight, his dark eyes calm and deep.

"Chu Ya, what's your good route?" Director Liu asked.

Chu Ya walked to the front of the conference room, pointing at the map hanging on the wall: "To get from the Abyss to Linya City, we must pass through Wusu Sea, which is unavoidable, and there are only two civilian ports, Kalüe Port and Lantai Port. But not many people know that there is another place where we can enter the sea."

Chu Ya pointed to a small dot on the lower part of the map: "Gan Hua Town."

"Gan Hua Town? What kind of place is that? I've never heard of it."

"There's no port there, right?"

"To get to that place, we'd have to take a much longer detour, wouldn't we?"

...

Chu Ya's voice was steady: "Gan Hua Town is a military port, which is why you haven't heard of it. It's also in the opposite direction of Linya City, so Cloud Peak won't track this route first. Once we're at sea, does direction really matter? It's just a longer detour."

"But it's a military port. Won't we be walking into a trap if we go there?"

"Because it's a military port and in the opposite direction of Linya City, Cloud Peak won't expect us to enter the sea from there. They will focus on sealing off the other two ports. And there's no major road leading to Gan Hua Town, so there are no checkpoints along the way."

Everyone suddenly understood: "We only knew about crossing Black Dragon Mountain and those two ports. If there's a third port, as you say, it would indeed be safer than going to those two ports or crossing the mountains."

Director Liu thought for a moment: "It's indeed difficult to escape the checkpoints and pursuit if we take the previous routes. I think we should take Chu Ya's new route. It doesn't matter if the road is harder; the important thing is to avoid Cloud Peak's inspection."

"I agree with the new route."

"Me too."

The managers gradually expressed their opinions, and Director Liu finally made the decision: "That's settled, then."

Chu Ya said, "Actually, this route wasn't something I came up with on the spot. In a military practical course before, the instructor gave us a case study, asking us to assume we were fugitives and plan our own escape routes from the Abyss Aisara Special Zone to Linya City. My classmates all shared their ideas, but I thought if I were to escape, I should avoid the most obvious routes, so I devised this detour."

Chu Ya lowered his eyes, a self-deprecating smile on his face: "I didn't expect that I would eventually take this path and use the escape route I planned myself."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and a manager quickly said, "What do you call this? Is it called predicting the future or strategic planning?"

"Hey, you're quite cultured."

"Of course, I went to high school in town."

Chu Ya composed himself, a faint smile appearing on his face, and began explaining the route to everyone.

Though young, he had always received elite education and military training at Cloud Peak, so compared to these managers who had lived in the abyss all their lives, he knew more.

Most of the managers were hearing this for the first time, inevitably asking a few more questions out of curiosity. Chu Ya was humble, answering everyone's questions one by one, never showing impatience even when some questions were too basic.

After planning the route, they each went to make preparations. As soon as everyone stepped out of the meeting room, they heard enthusiastic cheers from the playground.

"Field trip, travel."

"Wow, wow, wow, we're going on a trip."

"Field trip, oh, travel."

At the corner of the stairs was a small meeting room. As Chu Ya passed by, he heard a chorus of sobs coming from inside. The cries mixed with the cheers from the playground, making his mood complex.

Rong Chen's choked voice came from inside: "... you are all trustworthy senior students. The harder the times, the more the welfare home needs your help..."

After descending the stairs, Chu Ya asked, "Director Liu, will you be going with us?"

Director Liu shook his head, "There are still so many infants in the orphanage; I have to stay. Besides, my presence here can deal with Cloud Peak, buying you more time."

"But it's too dangerous for you to stay," said Chu Ya.

Director Liu waved his hand, "Actually, I've already thought about it. I don't belong to any of the three armies; they don't like me, but they also can't afford to let me leave. As long as I'm here, the Angel Welfare Home won't fall into the hands of the other two sides. They wouldn't trust anyone else to be the director."

"But too many children are leaving this time," Chu Ya worried.

"The children ran away on their own. I searched everywhere, tried to contact Keke Town and Cloud Peak, but the snowstorm cut off communication. What could I do?" Director Liu patted Chu Ya's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm confident. I've been dealing with them for years and know how to stand firm in the storm. There are still so many children here who need me; they won't do anything to me."

On the playground, children rushed to their dormitories, and many little heads pressed against the windows of the second-floor nursery area. Shen Juanjuan stood outside the dormitory building, peering over. Upon seeing Chu Ya, he excitedly smiled and made a horse stance, raising his hands toward Chu Ya: "Ha!"

Chu Ya also smiled, mouthing, "Back to the dorm."

"We want, want, want to go out, you come with us!" Shen Juanjuan, unable to remember the word 'travel' just mentioned by the manager, jumped excitedly.

Chu Ya nodded and made a turning motion with his finger. Shen Juanjuan then turned around, laughing, and followed the crowd back to the dormitory.

Wang Chengcai walked among the crowd, glancing nervously in this direction. Seeing the managers looking serious, he had a bad feeling, as if something big was about to happen.

A manager hurried over to report to Director Liu, "We've distributed the supplies we prepared in advance. Each person has a backpack with a new cotton jacket, padded jacket, new cotton pants, and new cotton shoes. The rations, ear muffs, and hats you requested last time have arrived and are unloaded in Keke Town. Xiao Wang has already driven there to pick them up, along with Lin Duozhi. They should be back soon."

The entire welfare home was bustling. Managers were distributing cotton clothes and other items. Outside the warehouse, several carts were parked, and Chu Ya and the managers led people to load the essentials needed for the long journey onto them.

But Shen Juanjuan seemed to be the busiest of them all. He would rush back to the dormitory to pack his bag, then dash to the front of the warehouse to check on Chu Ya.

This time, when Shen Juanjuan rushed to the warehouse, he didn't see Chu Ya and immediately panicked, shouting, "Brother, where are you? Where did you go?"

"I'm here." Chu Ya emerged from the warehouse carrying a bag of sweet potatoes.

"Don't leave, okay?" Shen Juanjuan, relieved, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Chu Ya threw the bag of sweet potatoes onto the cart, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from Shen Juanjuan's forehead, and patiently reiterated, "Don't run around. Stay in the dormitory and pack your things. I won't leave without you."

"Okay, got it."

Shen Juanjuan ran back to the dormitory building. The hallway was chaotic, with managers distributing cotton clothes and backpacks, loudly calling out names. Children ran around with large and small packages in their arms.

"Ouch!" A child fell, scattering their belongings. A manager shouted, "What's the rush? Don't run around. We're not leaving immediately; there's plenty of time."

Shen Juanjuan entered the dormitory, where Tang Yuanyuan and others were stuffing their belongings into their backpacks, which were already bulging.

"My flower paper needs to go in, um, the water bottle won't fit, so take out the water bottle, don't bring the water bottle."

"Where's my slingshot? Where's my slingshot? Have you seen my slingshot?"

"What is a field trip?"

"Chief Administrator Chen said we're going to another place to worry."

"It's not to worry, it's to travel."

"What is travel?"

A manager entered the dormitory with a stack of new cotton jackets, saw their packed bags, and veins bulged on his forehead. He pulled out all the messy items and put the water bottles back in.

The manager went to the hallway, tapping a ruler and shouting, "We'll check each one later. If anyone dares to bring toys or anything, they'll be sent to the punishment room! Everyone is going on a field trip, but he'll stay alone in the welfare home!"

All the children were both excited and busy, except for Wang Chengcai, who stood by his bed, holding his new cotton jacket, lost in thought.

After a while, he dropped the jacket and left the room, approaching a manager, "Manager Jiang."

Manager Jiang was counting the stack of cotton jackets against the wall and asked, "What is it?"

"Why are we suddenly leaving here?" Wang Chengcai asked.

Manager Jiang, without looking up, replied, "It's a whole-home activity, a trip. Do you know what a trip is? We're all going on a trip together."

"Didn't three students who were taken away today for differentiation return?" Wang Chengcai pressed.

Manager Jiang responded smoothly, "They said today's test was wrong and needs to be redone after we return from the trip. So they are very upset now and crying."

Although he got an answer, Wang Chengcai wasn't reassured. He slowly returned to the dormitory, sitting on his bed, looking deeply troubled.

After helping move supplies for a while, Chu Ya prepared to return to Mixin Town. Director Liu glanced at his watch, "Go back and prepare. I'll give you an hour. Is that enough?"

"Yes, it's enough."

"Alright, we'll wait for you."

Chu Ya went to the dormitory to pick up Shen Juanjuan. Under the gaze of the other students, Shen Juanjuan proudly held Chu Ya's hand, saying, "This is my brother, my brother. He made a car for me, it's at home."

Director Liu stood on the playground, watching Chu Ya and Shen Juanjuan leave the orphanage. Rong Chen, who had just finished a meeting with the older children, ran over.

"How did it go?"

Rong Chen sighed. "I called in about a dozen older children; half of them can accept it, but the other half can't. Yu is with them in the small conference room."

Just as Director Liu was about to say something, a manager rushed over, breathlessly saying, "Director, there's trouble."

Both Director Liu and Rong Chen felt a jolt of anxiety. "What happened?"

"Xiao Wang picked up Lin Duozhi from Keke Town after collecting supplies. At the town gate, a military vehicle was parked, and sentries were checking people passing through to see if they had entered the differentiation phase. Lin Duozhi has already differentiated, so Xiao Wang didn't dare bring him through the gate. They're hiding in the town now."

"Can they climb the wall? Can Xiao Wang take him over the wall?" Director Liu asked urgently.

"The walls of Keke Town are built to keep out mutants; they are high and smooth, with electric fences on top."

"What should we do?" Rong Chen stomped her foot heavily. "Why did this happen now? We're supposed to leave soon."

"Xiao Wang said he found an underground water channel in the west of the town that leads outside. But the channel is too narrow, only fitting a child, and it's impossible to bend or stretch your limbs. He measured the length of the channel and thinks if he pushes Lin Duozhi into it, and another child crawls in from the outside to grab Lin Duozhi's feet, they can both be pulled out together."

"How big of a child would it take to pull him?" Rong Chen asked.

"The older children should be able to manage."

Rong Chen looked around and saw a tall girl carrying a stack of cotton jackets taller than herself walking by. She quickly called her over: "That girl, it's Liu Zhen. Come here, come here."

Liu Zhen, still with red eyes from the meeting in the small conference room, wiped her eyes and lifted her chin. "I can do it."

A loud thud came from the direction of the dormitory building, followed by a manager shouting, "What's the rush? You knocked over all the carts in the corridor. Luckily no one was hurt, but if anyone runs around again, I'll break their legs."