Chapter 86 A Friend

Chapter 86 A Friend

In just over a month, returning to Yunding Mountain Villa felt like a lifetime had passed.

The trees and plants in the community had grown incredibly lush, with dense green canopies that looked like clouds. The peach and plum trees were heavy with fruit, and the grass in the woods was thick and soft.

Although the Qin brothers had already harvested the previous crops in the community, the fallen seeds had sprouted again. The watermelons in the patch were each huge and perfectly round, some had even ripened naturally, burst open, and rotted in the ground.

It must have just rained, as the water level in the artificial lake was high. Lotuses were in full bloom, and the canna lilies by the lake were bursting with color, displaying vibrant and dazzling hues.

Of course, the most striking sight was the towering building at the mountain's peak, densely covered with thick, snake-like thorny tendrils. In the orange-red afterglow, layers of Chinese trumpet vines bloomed on the dark green building, creating a scene that was both beautiful and eerie.

Seeing the thirty-story high-rise covered in green plants at the mountain villa, Shen Lan stared for a long time, almost thinking he was still in a dream.

Those who had been tormented by drug addiction were mentally weakened. Before they could stabilize, they still relied on injections of the remaining drugs to stay physically alert, while the illusory dreams offered them a brilliance, tranquility, and pleasure they couldn't resist.

But now, it seemed they had entered another fantastical and illusory dream.

Hua Rou, holding Xiao Yi's hand, murmured, "It's like the demon plant empire in a game." Through Hua Rou's hand, Xiao Yi also sensed the scene: "It's so dazzling. Are we going to live here? Sister Rou, I really like it."

Guan Yuanfeng, who was ahead, glanced back at Xiao Yi and arranged for the special operations team members to unload the cargo from the plane.

Next to Guan Yuanfeng's villa, the special operations team members temporarily prepared two other villas—one for the psychics from Cangshan and the other for the special operations team members they had brought. They had previously collected generators, which they now connected to restore power and tidy up the rooms.

With many hands making light work, some people cleaned and arranged the rooms, while others, under Zhou Yun's direction, picked vegetables and fruits, caught fish from the artificial lake, and prepared the meat from the mutated beasts they had hunted in the primitive forests of the Golden Triangle. They began cooking. Qin Sheng, as soon as he got off the plane, took a car and headed back to Beiming to find his brother.

Upon arriving, Guan Yuanfeng first went to his room and called General Tan, briefly reporting the events in Cangshan but omitting the fact that the psychics had faked their deaths. He simply mentioned that since Cangshan was close to Danlin, they decided to take a few days off at home before returning.

General Tan didn't press for details and said, "That's fine. Just have Xiao Jiang submit a report. Your parents are gone, and you're always thinking about visiting family. You must have found someone, huh? Be decisive and settle it soon. I'll arrange a military spouse position for you."

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "No, it's not like that. Just a friend..." He suddenly found it difficult to explain his relationship with Zhou Yun. Were they close friends? A friend he took leave to visit?

"In these end times, I'm just worried..."

General Tan teased, "Alright, alright, no need to explain. You're such a blockhead. What girl would want to be with you? I'll introduce you to someone. Hurry up and finish your leave. Things are tight here."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Understood."

General Tan gave a few more instructions and hung up.

Guan Yuanfeng then called Ren Yuefei at Jing Nan Base and briefly explained the situation: "I plan to have your guards go directly to Jing Nan from Danlin. Also, Zhou Yun said he'll go to the herb garden tomorrow to pick some mutated herbs for them to bring to you."

Ren Yuefei asked, "It's so close. Are you really not coming over?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "No, there's a lot to do here."

Ren Yuefei chuckled, "Alright, but don't stay away from Central Base for too long. I heard the alliance is very upset and has put a lot of pressure on the military. Old Ye pretends to support General Tan, but he's actually undermining him behind the scenes. General Tan is under a lot of pressure, so be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Thanks for the reminder."

Ren Yuefei replied, "No problem. I can't help you much. With the network up, the psychic registration and contribution point system is fully operational. Almost all psychics have registered. The website also offers generous rewards for completing tasks, which can be exchanged for contribution points. This means Central Base can easily recruit psychics now. Old Ye's move is really cunning."

"All bases are now going all out, offering generous benefits to their own psychics while trying to attract psychics from other bases by posting tasks on the website. The status of psychics has greatly improved, and psychics everywhere are grateful to Central Base."

"What a selfless contribution!" Ren Yuefei couldn't help but curse.

Guan Yuanfeng couldn't help but smile slightly, "Keep it up."

Ren Yuefei said angrily, "Don't think I can't tell you're gloating over the phone. Heh, the wheel of fortune turns. You think you'll stay in Central Base forever?"

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

Ren Yuefei kept pressing on his weak point, feigning a sigh: "When you return to Central Base, Dr. Zhou and Old Man Yao might not feel at ease in Beiming. I'll invite them to Jing Nan then."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "He won't go; Green Bird Pharmaceuticals keeps him plenty busy."

Ren Yuefei said meaningfully, "Oh... So, he won't go to Central Base either. That's right, he never intended to go to Central Base in the first place. He only went there to escort me and Duoduo."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

After hanging up the phone, Guan Yuanfeng walked out and asked the team members outside. He learned that Jiang Rongqian was on the rooftop installing a base station antenna, so he went up to the villa's terrace.

Sure enough, Jiang Rongqian had just finished debugging. Seeing Guan Yuanfeng, he said, "It's all set up. Now we can make calls within the whole community, and the villas can talk to each other. Mobile phone signals can also connect to this network for calls."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Actually, Beiming should already be connected to the network."

Jiang Rongqian replied, "That's true. I just tested the network, and it's working. Dr. Zhou was very happy to hear that the network was up. He said he has a guild website to set up and wanted to ask me about some technical issues."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Please help him with that."

Jiang Rongqian smiled, "Alright, I'll help him get it online tomorrow. Did you ask for leave from General Tan?"

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. Jiang Rongqian noticed that Guan Yuanfeng was standing on the terrace again, looking down. The kitchen below was filled with loud laughter and chatter. Zhou Yun was leading a group to pick vegetables in the vegetable plot. Seeing the two of them on the terrace, he waved at them with a bunch of leeks in his hand, smiling.

Someone in the kitchen called out, "Dr. Zhou, do we have lard? We're making stir-fried hand-torn lotus leaves!"

Zhou Yun laughed, "Yes, check the fridge. There's a ceramic jar at the bottom with lard."

The kitchen quickly erupted into a debate.

"You can't add water to lotus leaves, don't you know how to stir-fry?"

"If you know how, then you do it!"

"Amitabha, this old monk abstains from meat. Can we get another pot? I'll cook my own."

"Master, didn't you have some ginseng chicken soup just the other day..."

"Ahem... Amitabha, times have changed. Back then, the situation was uncertain, and I couldn't hold everyone back. Psychic ginseng is too rare... We mustn't waste it. But now that things are stable, I should uphold my vows."

"Master, this is also a rare mutated red mushroom. It's very expensive, you know. Your health isn't great right now, so focus on recuperating first. Buddha will forgive you."

...

Zhou Yun carried a basket of vegetables and entered the kitchen through the back door, smiling.

Jiang Rongqian said, "There are so many more people now, it's really lively. But," he glanced at Guan Yuanfeng, "they're all new acquaintances. We don't know their backgrounds or character. It's hard to investigate now. If there are any unstable elements among them, it might not be good for Dr. Zhou. You'll have to leave after your vacation."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I've warned him. He said Green Bird Pharmaceuticals needs talent now, and these individuals, despite drug influences, have maintained their integrity and independent thinking. They're admirable, and there's no need to worry about their character."

Jiang Rongqian noticed Guan Yuanfeng's furrowed brows: "But you're about to return to Central Base..."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Green Bird Pharmaceuticals made a splash at the City Lord Conference, attracting attention from various bases. It's bound to draw some ill-intentioned eyes. With so many mutated medicinal plants, he really does need talent."

"Leaving him alone at the summit isn't safe. With so many mutated medicinal plants and his mentor there, it's good to have more people looking out for each other."

"Besides, he can protect himself." He's already at the fifth tier, his strength surpasses mine, but he lacks combat experience and is too kind-hearted.

Guan Yuanfeng spoke smoothly, but Jiang Rongqian could tell that these reasons were likely something Guan Yuanfeng had repeated to himself countless times to convince himself.

He sighed, "Captain Guan, you still can't let it go, can you?"

Guan Yuanfeng shook his head but then saw a car driving up below. It stopped at the front door, and Qin Mu helped Old Man Yao out of the car. Zhou Yun came out to greet them and then looked up, waving at Guan Yuanfeng: "Come on down for dinner."

Guan Yuanfeng looked at Zhou Yun's smiling face, feeling as familiar as family. It was a bond even stronger than blood ties. Suddenly, he felt a genuine sense of coming home, and with a light heart, he went downstairs.