Chapter 85: Going Home Together

Chapter 85: Going Home Together

"This is the Li family's private estate located in the virgin forest, also a secret drug manufacturing base. They secretly invite drug lords from various places to gather here and auction new drug formulas."

Shen Lan led them into the magnificent hall, stepping on the gleaming marble floor, and entered a spacious elevator that ascended directly to the highest point of the sky garden.

Here, astonishing white marble arched terraces were adorned with precious tulip bushes and observation decks. From here, one could have a panoramic view of the entire private resort villa.

The humid wind blew through the endless virgin tropical jungle, with mist floating between the deep forest valleys. Far from the noise of civilization, it was shrouded in mystery. After the collapse, it became a dangerous haven for mutated plants and animals.

Shen Lan introduced to them: "In addition to the vacation villas for guests and secret laboratories, there are also extravagant sky restaurants, temperature-controlled swimming pools, gardens, hunting grounds, gyms, equestrian fields, medical rooms, and other facilities."

"Here lies the wealth accumulated by the Li family over the years, along with a large amount of weapons, narcotics, drug manufacturing equipment, as well as greenhouses cultivating poppies and some other medicinal plants. There are also greenhouse vegetable gardens and orchards, previously planted by servants for food."

"To ensure the power supply here, high-power solar power generation equipment has been specially installed, along with wells, rainwater storage tanks, and water sources diverted from nearby rivers, as well as biogas equipment, making it completely self-sufficient."

"In addition, there is a helipad and five luxurious private planes prepared."

He pointed to a nearby helipad, and Jiang Rongqian exclaimed excitedly, "An Agusta—the Ferrari of the sky!"

Shen Lan smiled slightly: "That one is a specially customized medical helicopter, equipped with many professional medical devices. Dr. Qi was also very shocked and excited when he first saw it."

"Every helicopter is custom-built. There’s even a race track for fun, and the underground garage is packed with luxury cars and motorcycles. Those interested can go down to visit and play a few rounds."

"After the collapse, there are many zombies and mutated beasts here. Li Xiong once brought people to clear out the zombies. Because transporting food and other supplies in the mountains is inconvenient, and there is no social demand in the collapse, it was temporarily sealed off."

"After counterattacking and imprisoning Li Xiong, I secretly led everyone to secure this place as our secret base. After all, except for psychics, no one else could easily enter."

"And with Li Xiong dead, we have also killed all his confidants. The original service staff here also died when the collapse descended, completely turning it into an empty city."

"The surrounding rainforest is teeming with danger—gibbons, peacocks, Asian elephants, venomous snakes, and mutated tropical insects and ants. Ordinary people dare not enter easily, making it very safe."

"Those things from Luo Yisen's villa were also transferred here in advance a few days ago."

Shen Lan gestured with a slight smile, "There are medical facilities and living quarters below. Captain Guan, could you ask Dr. Zhou to assist with detox?"

Guan Yuanfeng turned to look at Zhou Yun, who took a deep breath looking at the virgin rainforest: "This is an excellent place for cultivating medicinal plants. I’m impressed."

He glanced at the psychics sitting on the terrace. Although their faces were somewhat haggard, they all looked at him with anticipation for a new life. Hua Rou, holding Xiao Yi, although his eyes were confused, obediently turned this way, as if waiting for his answer.

Ge Chen, who had been brought here after regaining consciousness, was somewhat confused but still said: "Captain... Can Dr. Zhou cure our addiction?"

Guan Yuanfeng said: "There is hope, don't lose heart."

Zhou Yun said: "It's convenient to grow medicine here, but not conducive to recuperation. The disturbance from mutated beasts is still significant, and long-term isolation from human interaction is not beneficial for your physical recovery and mental health." These people not only have been physically tortured for a long time but also obviously have serious psychological issues.

Shen Lan's face turned slightly cold: "We will not go to Central Base."

Zhou Yun pointed to the helipad: "There are helicopters, flying to Danlin City, not far, it takes less than two hours to fly there."

"You can come with us first, see the situation, and if suitable, we can go together, and you can change your mind at any time."

Zhou Yun said: "There are mutated herbs I have successfully cultivated there, and my mentor is also there, his expertise is much higher than mine."

He looked at Ge Chen: "If you are not assured, Brother Ge can go first. You can consider it, but I hope a decision can be made today, so we can still have dinner in Danlin."

Qin Sheng enthusiastically encouraged: "Yes! My brother and the others will definitely treat everyone well! Seafood! Pigeon porridge!" He spoke, his voice tinged with longing, "I really miss home. I wonder how my brother and Zhu Zhu are doing."

Zhou Yun didn’t push further but turned his attention to the greenhouse. "I’d like to inspect it. If it’s suitable, I can start planting some mutated herbs right away. The herbs I brought from Yanling are still on the special forces' helicopter, especially that mutated kudzu, which is perfectly adaptable."

His eyes lit up: "The drug lord must be very wealthy, and the energy resources here must be abundant. Time is precious; let's plant a batch before we leave!"

After all, the area at Nanshan Herb Garden is limited. For Green Bird Pharmaceuticals to grow and expand, it must widely distribute those two zombie drugs across various bases, and the raw materials will definitely be needed on a large scale. We can't rely solely on our own cultivation.

Moreover, planting mutated herbs here is really reassuring, as there's no fear of being discovered.

The warm and humid climate is also very suitable for outdoor growth of cacti. We can immediately plant a large area of mutated cacti, aloe, and the most crucial raw materials for the two zombie drugs, purple dragon horn and large flower rhino horn!

In this warm subtropical climate and fertile soil, they'll thrive abundantly with no need for human care.

Even in extreme weather, being on the mountain, there's no fear of flooding, at most drought, and he originally cultivated mostly drought-resistant plants.

He eagerly rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work: "Let's go down and check the soil conditions."

Shen Lan: "..."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

Finally, Tang Anchen efficiently helped Zhou Yun plant the tuber of the mutated arrowroot near the soil of the back mountain horse field.

In the greenhouse, Zhou Yun planted a batch of new wheat seeds, and also planted mutated ganoderma and poria. He also planted some seeds from Peacock City, bought at the city lord's meeting, to grow seedlings for later transplanting.

In the artificial lake of the garden, he planted lotus seeds, and soon a lake full of lotuses will be seen.

He planted a batch of thorny tendrils in the courtyard, and also planted two rows of mutated peach pits along the long walkways of the courtyard. When spring comes and the flowers bloom, one can stroll under the peach blossoms.

Zhou Yun mused with a touch of longing, then planted a few banana trees in the corner of the courtyard.

The psychics from Cangshan stood on the terrace watching the special operations team members really accompanying this team doctor around the estate with hoes, planting wherever he pointed.

Qi Shuhong asked Shen Lan: "Are we really going to Danlin? Are they trustworthy?"

Shen Lan looked down at the tall Captain Guan standing by the lake, his whole demeanor hard and cold, yet he had somehow taken out an umbrella and opened it over Dr. Zhou's head, shielding him from the scorching sun.

The dog named "Comet" happily ran back and forth in the garden.

He murmured: "At first, I didn't trust them much, fearing they'd see us as mere research subjects. But..."

They are so earnest in planting herbs here, sowing seeds. Wherever Dr. Zhou is, there's always a vibrant sense of life.

This is very ordinary, but in the apocalypse, it is very extraordinary.

Ge Chen said: "Captain Guan is the best captain in the world. If you don't trust him, who else can you trust?"

Hua Rou whispered: "But I see Captain Guan these days, he hasn't talked much with you. He didn't ask about your retirement situation, what hardships you've suffered here."

Ge Chen said: "Without Captain Guan's instructions, Little Tang wouldn't have paid so much attention to taking care of me. You don't know, Little Tang only listens to the captain. And Deputy Jiang asked about my situation after retirement, and also about my family. Not to mention Dr. Zhou who has been so attentive in treating me."

He chuckled, seemingly lost in a reverie of memories: "The captain is always like that, when he leads the team, he is very serious, never jokes with us."

Qi Shuhong said: "I see he is very kind and caring towards Dr. Zhou, seems different from other team members."

Ge Chen said: "Dr. Zhou is different from us, he is not a member of our special operations team, he is an expert specially invited by Captain Guan for this mission."

"You see he is so gentle, just like a scholar, coming all this way, it's all for Captain Guan's sake. Ordinary people can't invite him."

"I heard his master is very powerful, a leading figure in traditional medicine, so he just said, with his master treating us, it's more certain. His master is over eighty years old, we can't let the old man come to our place full of poisonous insects, we should go there."

Qi Shuhong asked: "Who is his master?"

Ge Chen said, "Uh... I didn't ask, and even if I did, I wouldn't know. Besides, look at how skilled Dr. Zhou is—he just gave me a few needles and I fell asleep! His teacher must be even more amazing."

Qi Shuhong: "..."

Shen Lan: "What kind of place is Danlin City?"

Ge Chen replied, "Captain Guan is from Danlin City. It's really close to us, and the climate isn't much different, so we should adapt easily. Captain Guan was on vacation when he received the order to come and rescue us. Now that he still has some leave left, he wants to hurry home to visit."

Shen Lan: "..."

Having been trapped by the drug lord for so long, he had long forgotten what a normal life was like... things like taking a vacation to visit family, or making a colorful cake, or cooking a pot of chicken soup.

He suddenly felt that this group, who could still think about resting and eating well during the apocalypse, were a rare bunch of normal people in such times.

Taoist Master Yunyin suddenly said, "I'll go with Ge Chen. I feel like I get along well with Dr. Zhou. Life's short, especially in these end times. Even if it's just chatting every day, it's better than sitting around doing nothing."

Zen Master Xinhai said, "Eating well and sleeping well—I'm also willing to go. I'm almost sixty. If Dr. Zhou wants to study me, let him. If it helps him save more people, it's a good deed, building good karma for the next life."

Zhang Guangming smiled, "I feel the same. If it's Dr. Zhou studying me, it doesn't seem so scary. He cherishes and cares for herbs so much; he must be sincere with people too."

Li Ming scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, "I privately asked Captain Guan yesterday if the special forces team would take me if I could quit my drug addiction. He said yes. I want to be like Captain Guan and Brother Ge."

Ge Chen patted his shoulder, "You made the right choice!"

Hua Rou looked around, holding Xiao Yi, and said, "Xiao Yi and I are coming with everyone." Xiao Yi stared into the void, "I like the pastries Dr. Zhou makes."

Qi Shuhong glanced at Shen Lan and finally smiled apologetically, "Actually... I also want to say that I really want to meet Dr. Zhou's teacher. The development of mutated herbs is so fast; I really want to see this new field."

Shen Lan sighed, "Since everyone is so eager for a new life..."

Hua Rou whispered, "Brother Shen, you actually want to go too, don't you? You were staring at Captain Guan and Dr. Zhou for a long time just now."

Shen Lan: "..." He touched his nose, "I just don't want to make such a big decision for you all, because I really don't trust my intuition right now."

He was afraid that going there might lead them into a trap.

He found it hard to trust anyone anymore.

He clapped his hands, "Alright, it's settled. Head back to your rooms and pack up the essentials and some meds. We'll leave in an hour." The worst outcome had already been anticipated, but they had encountered a remarkable special forces team and a powerful "team doctor." They had already changed their fate once; perhaps this was another turning point?

At least he had also thought about some peaceful days, just focusing on eating and resting.

In the afternoon, as the sun began to set, after Zhou Yun had planted some mutated herbs wherever he saw suitable spots, Shen Lan arrived.

When Shen Lan came down, he heard Zhou Yun talking to Guan Yuanfeng, "Although we don't need to worry much about fertilizing and watering, we still need to guard against the mutated snails and locusts here. We should set up protective nets in advance."

Guan Yuanfeng nodded, "We can look for some alternatives at the farm supply store in Danlin City after we return, or find something like mosquito nets."

Zhou Yun nodded in approval, "Yes, that's easy to find." He then looked up at Shen Lan, "Have you decided?"

Shen Lan told him their decision, "We're all going to Danlin City."

Zhou Yun wasn't surprised, as if he knew they would choose this, "Then let's pack up. Since we're planting herbs here, no need to lug around those heavy, inconvenient items from the Luo family villa. Just take some personal belongings and travel light."

Everyone quickly packed their luggage. Zhou Yun went to the medical room at the villa to check the medical equipment and drug reserves. He didn't take anything, just made a list and took some photos to show his teacher later to see if anything was needed. Then they boarded the plane.

The custom luxury helicopter was indeed extraordinary. Although Zhou Yun was still following the special forces' helicopter, he also went to check out the "airborne Ferrari." It had leather seats, a high-end medical cabin equipped with infusion pumps, micro-pumps, ventilators, ECG machines, ultrasonic flaw detectors, suction devices, and integrated monitoring and defibrillation equipment. It also had a stretcher with dedicated lighting, oxygen tanks, and blood transfusion equipment.

Zhou Yun and Qi Shuhong were amazed by the drug lords' wealth before heading back to the special forces' helicopter and taking off.

In the evening, as the sky was filled with colorful clouds, they finally returned to the long-awaited Yunding Mountain Villa.