Chapter 252

Chapter 252

In June, Department Head Wang and his team led the military back to the South City Base, bringing along many engineering and technical personnel from various fields.

Among them was the Space Expert who had awakened a spatial superpower spanning dozens of acres.

Regarding this "Space Expert," the official information previously released carried a great deal of "intentional vagueness":

A government employee, highly responsible and community-minded, awakened their superpower early in the apocalypse. During the extreme cold, they distributed supplies to the public, and once the extreme cold ended, they followed the "national team" to salvage large-scale resources.

This led people to assume that this individual was at least someone like Zhou Li, Department Head Wang, or Li Cheng.

However, in reality, the "master" was merely an intern from the Resource Department office in Qingyun City:

Song Miao, female, 25 years old, soft features, petite frame, wearing black-framed glasses with a shy smile.

She looked like your typical girl next door.

Yet, it was this very girl whose spatial ability now stored large-scale industrial materials. She would assist in the construction of the industrial zone at the South City Base and would remain there for a long time to come.

Originally, the large-scale industrial revival plan was set to take place at the S Base. However, due to a series of events, the authorities ultimately relocated the project to the South City Base.

After restructuring, the S Base is now jointly managed by the Four Cities Base and the authorities, closely following the management model of the South City Base.

With the stability of the major bases, the overall situation stabilizes, and everyone could finally relax.

Department Head Wang and his team returned to the base at noon. Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, and Gao Xuyang were called to the leadership office for a summary meeting.

However, since the base was operating smoothly and any issues were promptly reported via phone, there wasn’t much to discuss. The meeting mostly revolved around casual conversations among friends.

Bro Gao had largely returned to normal, giving those who had been away a pleasant surprise.

Especially Yang Kai—Bro Gao had deliberately kept it from him during their calls. Now, upon returning and learning that his lover no longer needed to consume crystal cores and could eat meals with him again, Yang Kai was so overjoyed he almost lifted him up and twirled him right then and there.

As Jiang Nian put it, Bro Gao’s zombification virus wouldn’t be completely eradicated so easily, but it no longer affected his ability to return to a normal human lifestyle.

With Gao Xuyang safe, Department Head Wang finally felt relieved. After all, he was his nephew’s sweetheart—while he kept things formal at work, he had been privately very concerned.

After the meeting, the others left first, while Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, Chu Yi, and Zhou Li stayed behind to discuss expansion plans for the base with Department Head Wang.

Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian had now become core members of the base. Department Head Wang made no effort to hide his trust and reliance on them, always consulting them first when making major decisions.

……

Gao Xuyang removed his collar at Lab Building 3 and returned to the central dormitory with Yang Kai. Knowing he would be coming back, Gao Xuyang had already cleaned the dormitory in advance.

Tang Ji helped move their belongings and also filled Yang Kai in on Bro Gao’s status during this period—he had essentially served as Bro Gao’s interim supervisor.

"Tang Ji, thank you," Yang Kai said sincerely. After the mess at the S Base and the drama in North City, he felt immensely grateful for his decision to come here and turn to Bro Cheng for help.

Not only had he met a group of trustworthy friends, but he had also got his lover back.

Tang Ji waved his hand.

"Bro Kai, no need for formalities. We’re all brothers and friends—no need for thanks. I’ll leave the stuff here and won’t stick around as the third wheel, haha."

He, too, had been one of those saved when all hope seemed lost. Helping each other out was just what they did.

Yang Kai grinned:

"I'll treat you to drinks after we finish up these busy days."

"Sure."

Tang Ji left with a smile, though he was a little distracted as he descended the stairs. Chu Yi was still at the command post, so he wouldn’t be able to see him until later.

What should he do when they finally met?

"..."

"Professor Gao, you’re finally cooking for me again."

As evening approached, Yang Kai came out of the shower clean-shaven and was greeted by the aroma of food. He walked into the kitchen and hugged the busy figure at the stove from behind, his heart swelling with happiness.

"Mhm, I couldn’t taste anything before, so I was worried I wouldn’t do it well."

Gao Xuyang picked up a clean pair of chopsticks and a plate, took a piece of meat from the pot, blew on it to cool it, then turned around to carefully feed it to him:

"Try it."

"Mhm."

Yang Kai kept his arms around his waist as he opened his mouth to take the bite, squeezing his eyes shut in delight:

"Delicious. Same as always."

"Because I borrowed the spices from Jiang Nian."

Gao Xuyang patted the hands clasped around his waist:

"Let go. Go rest outside for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon."

Yang Kai stuck to him like glue:

"Professor Gao, I missed you so much. Let me kiss you again."

A faint, unusual flush spread across Gao Xuyang’s pale cheeks and neck as he stopped Yang Kai’s roaming hands:

"Wait till tonight."

Now that his body had recovered and his memories were mostly intact, he could feel every touch from his lover—he couldn't just give in so easily.

"Alright."

Yang Kai seemed to realize this, resting his hand on Gao Xuyang’s left chest to feel his steady heartbeat. After a moment, he chuckled softly and backed up to the doorway, leaning against the frame to watch:

They'd made it through the worst, nothing could stop them now.

His wish was simple—to live a quiet, simple life with the one he loved. Whether before or after the apocalypse, their lives had already been plenty extraordinary as it is.