Chapter 742

Chapter 742

Transportation

"I went in just fine today, so why can't I go again?" Mr. Hu pushed back.

"But you turned pale earlier—ask everyone if they were scared!" Lin Nannan shot back.

Knowing he'd been exhausted, Mr. Hu’s expression changed at Lin Nannan’s words.

Mr. Hu opened his mouth to say something, but under everyone’s gaze, he found himself speechless for a moment.

"Mr. Hu, if you trust me, I can go into the mountains to collect the plants," Zhuang Guohua said, unable to bear seeing Mr. Hu like this. He felt a pang of sadness, as if witnessing a hero past his prime, and offered.

Hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately raised her hand and said, "I can go too, right away."

Mr. Hu sighed and said, "You two are capable, but unfortunately, your knowledge of these plants doesn't match Nan Nan’s."

"So what? They can just look for what’s missing. If they don’t succeed the first time, they can try a few more times—eventually, they’ll gather everything," Lin Nannan retorted.

No one achieves success overnight; it takes gradual accumulation to reach a goal.

"Alright then!" he said, knowing they wouldn’t let him enter the mountains, Mr. Hu felt Lin Nannan’s suggestion was reasonable and nodded in agreement. "But there’s no rush. You can go into the mountains after everything else has been catalogued."

After all, the mountains were nearby and accessible anytime, whereas plants from other regions would wither if not processed promptly.

This all started with Lin Nannan. Noticing that the shipped items included different versions of the same plant and that identical names appeared in different regions, she wondered what would happen to these plants if cultivated locally. As a result, a large portion of the recorded plants had been planted in suitable spots.

The growth of these plants was carefully recorded—whether they thrived or not, all outcomes were worthy of study.

Thus, they had to make sure not to let the shipped plants decay by processing them in time.

"We understand. We’ll focus on this after everything else is settled," Zhuang Guohua chimed in sincerely, his tone full of respect for Mr. Hu.

After the meal, Mr. Hu was eager to return. The plants in the backpacks had already been sent back to the research institute, and he couldn’t wait to study them. No one could dissuade him.

Seeing that he still had energy, no one tried to stop him. Instead, they accompanied him back to the institute.

After thanking Chen Jin and the others, Lin Nannan collected what they'd gathered that day and walked slowly behind the group, feeling peaceful.

Just a little more effort, and her mission would be complete.

Though she couldn’t collect every plant in the country, she had already done all she could.

If she had relied solely on herself as before, she might have spent a fortune hiring help, yet the results wouldn’t have been as fruitful. So, she felt content.

Achieving this much with the nation’s support was remarkable, and she had no regrets—only a desire to send these materials off as soon as possible...

Having gone without sleep for two days and a night, she initially felt weary. But upon returning to the institute and seeing the items delivered during the day, she fought off sleep.

"Sis," Lu Yuan said, noticing her slight frown and thinking she was tired, "you’ve been in the mountains all day—you must be exhausted. Why not rest? These can wait until tomorrow."

"I’m not tired, don’t worry," Lin Nannan reassured her and continued working, leaving Lu Yuan helpless.

Seeing that her sister-in-law was working energetically, Lu Yuan didn’t press further. Instead, she resolved to keep a close watch, ready to notice immediately if Lin Nannan showed any signs of discomfort.

Unaware of Lu Yuan’s concern, Lin Nannan focused entirely on sending off as much as possible. She worked swiftly—collecting samples, recording data, and having Lu Yuan and the others transcribe the notes...

Zhuang Guohua seemed accustomed to the routine. Without needing Lu Yuan to call him, he came on his own.

The two of them worked together and transcribed all the materials written by Lin Nannan, completing the task quickly.

"Where is Mr. Hu?" Lin Nannan asked, a little worried.

She was afraid that the Old Man would work straight through without eating or sleeping, completely absorbed in his work.

Zhuang Guohua said with a chuckle, "Mr. Hu was at the peak of his research and didn't want to rest, until he got threatened. In the end, he had no choice but to go and rest."

The statement sounded a bit odd, but Lin Nannan knew that the only ones who dared to threaten Mr. Hu were Yin Xu and herself.

There was no need for roundabout methods—simply confiscating the plant and not letting Mr. Hu study it was enough to get him to comply.

"Make sure Mr. Hu doesn’t sneak back in the middle of the night!" Lin Nannan reminded.

"That won’t happen. Yin Xu already told Mr. Hu that once the door is locked, there'd be no point in him coming. That’s why Mr. Hu finally agreed to go back and rest." Thinking of Mr. Hu’s expression at the time, Zhuang Guohua couldn’t help but laugh.

"That’s good!" Lin Nannan breathed a sigh of relief and said to the two men who were watching her, "Once you’re done here, you should go back and rest too. We'll deal with the rest tomorrow."

"Alright!" Knowing that the work couldn’t be finished that night and considering how smoothly things had been going without any delays lately, Lu Yuan and Zhuang Guohua nodded in agreement.

However, noticing that Lin Nannan showed no intention of leaving, they asked another question.

"Sis-in-law, aren’t you leaving yet?" Lu Yuan asked.

Without looking up, Lin Nannan replied, "I’m just finishing up. It won’t take long. You two go ahead first—we’re not heading the same way anyway."

Lu Yuan and Zhuang Guohua exchanged a glance. Without insisting on staying, they left first.

They thought there was nothing particularly urgent left to do and assumed the remaining tasks could easily be handled the next day. Neither of them realized that Lin Nannan had no plans to return.

Lin Nannan knew her time was running out, so she intended to finish recording everything that had arrived that day, organize it all, ensure nothing was missed, and then send the materials off.

In the research institute, all the other lights were turned off, leaving only Lin Nannan’s area illuminated...

Since military personnel were making rounds outside and there were no ongoing research projects—only documentation on plants—the institute hadn’t arranged for additional patrols. As a result, no one noticed Lin Nannan burning the midnight oil alone.

As dawn approached, she finally finished inputting all the data. Her head throbbed with a sharp, needle-like pain, and she couldn’t help but cry out in discomfort. For a moment, her vision went dark, and she nearly fainted.

This episode was even more intense than the one the day before, leaving Lin Nannan clutching her head and sitting motionless for a long time...

She knew it was the result of overdoing it with all the late nights.

Thankfully, she was almost done. Once she got her things together, she could gather her strength and send everything off, and these symptoms would disappear.

After recovering for a while, she organized all the materials, placed them in a bag, and sealed it shut. Then, she took out her personal items, including the repair solution she had been saving and some other things that had been sent to her later.

Those items were small and delicate, looking very exquisite. In reality, however, the instruments inside were comparable to the most advanced computers—something far ahead of their time. She hadn’t taken them out, thinking they might come in handy someday when the opportunity arose.

She was afraid that after sending everything off this time, she might not be able to access her space again, just like before, so she didn’t dare leave anything behind.

This research room was hers, so she took everything out of her space and locked it in her cabinet. No one would open it without her permission.

After daybreak, Lin Nannan had everything ready, including her personal belongings. She had no time left and knew she had to send the materials off today; otherwise, it would cause delays and do more harm than good.

"What a pity!" she thought, recalling how Yin Xu had told her the day before that the shipment from the far north was finally on its way. Although they were late, they had made it in time.

Unfortunately, it was indeed too late—she couldn't wait for them.

She did one final check to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, then picked up the repair solution and drank it down.

This time, she drank an entire bottle without diluting or mixing it with anything else, finishing it all in one go.

After feeling her exhausted mind felt significantly refreshed, Lin Nannan couldn't bring herself to drink the remaining portion.

This substance was truly a lifesaving elixir here, and she feared that once it was gone, there would be no more.

Given the capabilities here, it would take decades to reproduce, so she couldn't bring herself to consume the rest. She locked the remaining portion in the cabinet to prevent anyone from accidentally taking it or mistaking it for water.

After everything was prepared, she concentrated and, as before, prepared to use her mental energy to transport all these items away in one go...

She assumed it would be as simple and smooth as the last time.

Initially, it seemed that way. However, when her mental energy was nearly depleted, Lin Nannan realized she had made a foolish mistake...

Previous transmissions had relied solely on her own power, without exhausting all her energy, and she had only selected a few items—less than a third of what she was handling now.

This time, she was transmitting the combined resources of the entire nation, and the quantity was unimaginable.

Coupled with the items she had previously accumulated to send, the transmission was completed, but she was left with an excruciating headache. Her vision went dark, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

After fainting, Lin Nannan was completely unaware of her surroundings.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, who had woken up to eat, was chatting and laughing with Zhuang Guohua when she suddenly felt a sudden wave of panic. Remembering something, she abruptly stopped, leaving Zhuang Guohua puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Zhuang Guohua asked with concern.

"I suddenly feel extremely panicked, it's awful!" Lu Yuan said, sounding confused.

"Are you feeling unwell?" he continued to ask. Lu Yuan shook her head. "I'm fine, it's not me. I just feel... have you seen my sister-in-law?" She suddenly changed the subject, taking Zhuang Guohua by surprise.