Chapter 126: A Thousand Miles, Same Wind

Chapter 126: A Thousand Miles, Same Wind

In the evening, Zhou Yun was treated to a table full of bright red mutated crayfish. The rotating round table had four sections, each with a different way to cook the crayfish: spicy, garlic, salt-baked, and braised. The main dishes included shepherd's purse dumplings and dandelion corn cakes, all sourced from Mulan Mountain.

Zhou Yun didn’t hold back either, generously offering mutated agave liquor, which he had specifically brought as a gift for mutual exchange.

Luo Shouchang had brought along Sanchu Base's core management team, earnestly introducing them to Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun. He especially praised the chief engineer, Chang Wanli: "Engineer Chang has made significant contributions to the planning and construction of the entire base, and he leads a team of talented individuals."

The evening was a hit with everyone. Luo Shouchang even prepared ink, brush, and paper, requesting a calligraphy piece from Zhou Yun (the Eastern Lord): "I heard that the city gate of Guixu City was inscribed by the Eastern Lord. Since you're here in Sanchu, we must ask for your favor and have you write something."

Zhou Yun, a bit tipsy and not entirely at ease with such formal gatherings, felt a sense of camaraderie with Luo Shouchang from their past lives. For Guixu City's sake, he had to play along and gladly inscribed:

"Strive together on the path, and the wind will carry us a thousand miles."

He stamped it with his newly carved hibiscus seal, the strokes of his brush elegant and free, the simple verse clear and full of bold spirit.

Even the hardened survivors were moved, having witnessed the coldness, abandonment, and cruelty of the apocalypse.

As Luo Shouchang saw them off, he privately said to Guan Yuanfeng: "General Guan, I will never forget the great favor you and City Lord Zhou have done for me. Once we're back on our feet, I'll send our top experts to help build Guixu's industry."

Guan Yuanfeng nodded slightly, but Luo Shouchang added in a low voice: "Guixu City needs to beef up its defenses. City Lord Zhou is too important. If people knew of his abilities, it would be unimaginable."

Guan Yuanfeng nodded: "I understand."

Luo Shouchang continued: "I have a suggestion. Why not suggest setting up the Southwest Military Region Headquarters at Sanchu Base? It would be much safer for the general and the city lord to stay here long-term."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

Zhou Yun, standing nearby, couldn't help chuckling: "General Luo."

Luo Shouchang quickly approached: "Yes?"

Zhou Yun whispered: "The crayfish would taste better stir-fried with salted egg yolk."

Luo Shouchang: "...Next time you visit, we'll make sure to serve that."

Zhou Yun nodded: "Guixu City's a lot warmer than this place. Why not come to Guixu for the winter, General Luo?"

Luo Shouchang, amused and exasperated, replied: "Thank you for the kind invitation, City Lord. I will definitely visit when I have the chance."

===

Yi Qian, decked out in full protective gear, helmet, and gloves, was inside a cave collecting data on mutated shadow hemp.

This king-level shadow hemp loomed four meters tall, radiating a dark, ominous vibe. Its stem was pitch black, with spirally arranged, alternate leaves that were lance-shaped with serrated edges. The leaves occasionally flickered with faint, shadowy light.

Several flowers grew beneath the leaves on the stem, their petals thin and wispy like gray smoke, with pistils emitting a cold, eerie light that seemed to absorb surrounding light. The lowest flowers had already developed round, ridged capsules in deep purple.

Yi Qian carefully measured its height, flowers, and fruit, recording the data via voice input.

"Leaves alternate. Cyme inflorescence, perfect bisexual flowers, axillary flowers, fruit a spherical capsule..."

After finishing the day's measurements, Yi Qian was about to leave when he suddenly noticed a large frog in the shadows, its eerie blue eyes glowing like a nocturnal spirit.

He glanced around nervously: "Manager Qin?"

Qin Mu slowly walked in, taking a deep breath. He loved being near the shadow hemp—it was so calming.

He gazed at the king-level shadow hemp as the shadow frog suddenly extended its long tongue, lightning-fast, to catch a shadowy insect drawn to the area.

He smiled at Yi Qian: "Hey Yi, did you get today's data logged?"

Yi Qian replied, "Yes, it's all logged. Do you need something?"

Qin Mu smiled, "Nothing big. Last night, some intruders snuck into the herb garden, dodging the guards. We caught them, sure, but after a night of questioning, we discovered one of them is connected to you, through leads you gave."

Yi Qian was horrified, "Who? I... I have no idea... This is a classified project, I haven’t told anyone..."

His face turned pale, and as he turned, he saw Zhu Zhuan entering with several people: "If you're clean, you've got nothing to worry about. Just come with us for a chat."

They quickly cuffed him and led him to the interrogation room, where he was shaking like a leaf.

The room was empty. He lost track of time, stuck replaying his recent actions and words. Then it hit him—he’d bragged to an old colleague about landing a big classified project, hinting he’d be less available online.

But he never gave away the location or any project details!

He kept speculating.

After what felt like forever, he was led to a glass window, strapped into a chair, and forced to watch the interrogation unfold.

The psychic was in a black restraint suit, chained up. He knew it was shadow hemp—designed to suppress psychic powers.

The interrogation across from him asked, "So, your mission was to confirm the Lord of Dongjun is here working on a top-secret project, and that’s why you scouted?"

"If it was just scouting, why the murder attempt?"

The psychic, tortured to near death, said, "I was scared the institute would be exposed. We were here to find a researcher, deliver a message. That kid... we had no idea how a kid showed up there." And the kid was a psychic!

Qin Mu smirked, flicked his wrist, and sent a dark shadow sphere straight into the psychic’s forehead.

He screamed as if consumed by darkness, writhing in agony, his skin turning ashen and rigid, his eyes dulling. His mouth gaped in pain, fangs bared, his body bruising blue and purple.

Yi Qian stared in terror as the psychic in the restraint suit transformed into a zombie!

The zombie was hauled off, and Yi Qian was dragged to the same spot, strapped into the cold chair.

Qin Mu looked at him, opened a letter, and placed it in front of him: "Here’s the letter they were supposed to give you. Go ahead, read it."

The letter was written in a warm, familiar tone, reminiscing about the past and praising the institute’s high regard for talent. Even after Wu Yuru’s incident, the institute still values their skills. They offered him a full researcher role and promised to bring his father to Central Base with top-tier benefits. The letter was careful, making no direct requests, but it was clear this sudden offer came with conditions.

Yi Qian looked at the letter, his face flushed, and he burst into tears, "I only bragged about a classified project! I didn’t leak a thing! They’re setting me up! Check my emails!"

Qin Mu smiled, "We checked your emails—you didn’t say anything. But we found one."

Yi Qian suddenly remembered that email, and his face turned pale.

"Dr. Zhou got you and your father jobs, handed you big projects, and you dug into his past? Not cool, is it?"

Yi Qian was sweating profusely, barely able to argue, "We arrived at a new base, knowing that Yao Lao has another disciple, naturally, we wanted to find out his preferences to please him, nothing more, it's... it's human nature. And the other party also said it was too long ago, Yao Lao has had many disciples coming and going, and doesn't remember much. You can check the replies."

"Manager Qin, please believe me... I can explain to Dr. Zhou."

He tried to make his demeanor appear more sincere.

Qin Mu chuckled, "I’ll discuss this with Dr. Zhou. As for you... good luck."

When Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng returned to Guixu City, Qin Mu reported the matter to them.

====

"There are many spies and informants from all sides, and with Zhao Yi's cooperation, the interrogation has been going smoothly. No innocent people have been implicated, and many have been expelled from the city these past few days."

Zhou Yun said, "Are you sure about letting Zhao Yi use his abilities? What if it gets out?"

Qin Mu laughed, "No, Master Xinhai came up with a method to teach Zhao Yi to use pulse diagnosis as a cover. Yao Lao found it quite interesting and seriously taught Zhao Yi how to take pulses. Now he has quite some experience in pulse diagnosis."

Zhou Yun fell silent.

"The medicinal garden was actually a focal point for espionage from all sides. It's understandable they targeted Yi Qian as a potential weak point."

"Originally, we wanted Zhao Yi to conduct a lie detection test, but we found an email in his inbox where he contacted a former student of Yao Lao who stayed on as a faculty member, trying to inquire about you. Although the response indicated no recollection, he might have inquired about more than just this person."

Qin Mu didn't continue, and Zhou Yun smiled, "It's nothing."

This must have occurred in a past life too. If he didn't find out this time, maybe he found out elsewhere. But how did he manage to stay under my tutelage for so long without revealing any clues?

Qin Mu said, "If we don't mention this, he hasn't really done anything wrong. He's been meticulously recording data daily. This time, he merely mentioned in passing that he was working on a confidential project. It's inevitable for young people to show off. But since he previously worked at the Psychic Research Institute, he naturally caught the attention of those with ulterior motives."

Zhou Yun said, "Then let him go. We're currently understaffed, so a small punishment as a warning will suffice."

Qin Mu laughed, "After this, he's unlikely to entertain any further schemes. He might even be grateful to you and work even harder." What a diligent worker.

Zhou Yun said, "Few researchers are willing to stay grounded and endure the solitude. Let him continue. The research on shadow hemp still needs to be advanced."

Qin Mu agreed.

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Enhance security measures. If there's anything, always bring it up with Jiang Rongqian. Zhou Yun's safety is paramount."

Qin Mu smiled and agreed, "Yes."

He gave Zhou Yun a teasing look. Returning to Guixu City, where the temperature was still over forty degrees, Zhou Yun couldn't stand the heat and unbuttoned the collar of his linen shirt. Captain Guan wasn't exactly considerate.

He then reported on the city's situation over the past week before leaving the city administrator's office.

Of course, the city administrator's office was actually located in the headquarters building of the Southwest Military District. The entire administrative team for Guixu City was still in the process of being assembled, and the office building was directly set up within the military district.

Zhou Yun looked at the mountain of documents on his desk that needed his signature, as well as another pile of research materials and laboratory setup matters sent over from the hospital, feeling a bit overwhelmed: "There's too much to do. We need to quickly set up a management team. This is unmanageable."

Guan Yuanfeng also had a lot on his plate, but he was more concerned about Zhou Yun: "Didn't we have Zhu Zhuan recruit and select management personnel earlier?" He walked over and adjusted Zhou Yun's collar.

He had of course noticed Qin Mu's gaze earlier, but Zhou Yun remained oblivious, and he didn't intend to remind him.

Since that night, Zhou Yun had clearly preferred more intense processes. Gentle and tender lovemaking could hardly please or satisfy him. This made it difficult for him to gauge the right degree, often leaving marks on Zhou Yun.

Yet Zhou Yun didn't mind at all. Although he could easily erase the marks with his wood psychic abilities, he always kept them. Moreover, he also liked to leave his own marks on Guan Yuanfeng.

This undisguised possessiveness felt novel to him; he had never been cherished like this before.

Zhou Yun didn't know that Guan Yuanfeng's thoughts had already drifted to last night's intense activities. He said listlessly, "There also needs to be a screening and investigation process." It was too hot, so he pulled open the collar that Guan Yuanfeng had just adjusted, revealing the clear marks on his neck.

Guan Yuanfeng's gaze deepened, his Adam's apple bobbing: "I'll go over some paperwork first, then come back to pick you up for lunch." If he lingered any longer, neither would accomplish much work today.

Zhou Yun remained oblivious. After all, Guan Yuanfeng was very serious about work. He nodded in agreement, "Alright."