As a man from the base, Captain Zhang refused to give up on any survivor. He said, "Keep looking. Don't rush. What if someone's out there?"
As soon as Captain Zhang finished speaking, a beam of light swept across the deck again. This time everyone saw it clearly. It was just sunlight glancing off something, and they soon found where it came from.
On a barren, branch-strewn hill, a sheet of cellophane was hooked on a dead twig. It turned with the wind, sending a wandering flash across the water.
It wasn't a person. A false alarm, but at least nothing was wrong.
Captain Zhang had just let out a breath when, in the space of a single step, he collapsed.
Zhou Zhiye rushed over, checked quickly, and said, "Too much strain for too long. Now that he relaxed, his body shut down. Same for the rest of you. Watch yourselves these next few days. Rest well."
"Okay."
After they carried Captain Zhang back to a cabin, everyone began cleaning and putting things in order, then went to their rooms and finally slept.
When they opened their eyes again, a full day and night had passed. Exhaustion like that could only be cured by sleep.
Unexpectedly, Captain Zhang still hadn't woken.
Zhou Zhiye said, "I checked him. Nothing wrong. If he can sleep, let Captain Zhang sleep. He'll have plenty to do once he wakes. Don't disturb him."
He slept through another day. Not until evening did he finally wake up.
Captain Zhang's face was puffy, and his eyes were dazed.
Seeing everyone gathered around, he frowned. "What is it? Why are you all staring at me? Did you rest? Don't just watch me sleep."
"Do you know how long you slept? Two days and one night. We had to keep an eye on you."
Captain Zhang blinked, stunned. "What, that long? How are the ones outside? By now they should be returning to normal, right?"
At least he still remembered his responsibility.
As for the people on the mountain, no one really knew. Ever since the ship stopped making noise, the crazed ones had searched for new targets. They hadn't lingered long at the shore, though now and then a few wandered past.
Captain Zhang went up to the deck, took in the scene, and exhaled with relief. He couldn't help but sigh. "This mission really is…"
Difficult, and long.
Difficult in the doing. Long in the time.
…
Just as they were about to head below again, the satellite phone in Captain Zhang's pocket rang at the perfect moment.
If it had rung while he was asleep, no one would have answered.
Captain Zhang picked up. It was the higher-ups. He gave a quick report on the mission and their present situation. In short, he could only wait where they were until the others recovered before heading back.
After a long silence on both ends, the higher-ups shared news from outside. The mutant attacks had caused massive casualties. Bases across the country had been overrun. Even if they returned, it wouldn't be to their old base.
And on the way back, the team had a new task: go from base to base and city to city, search for survivors, and ferry them all to the Capital city base.
Yes. The Capital city base.
There was more. The route back wouldn't be easy. Low-lying areas were still flooded, so the ships could travel there, but in places that hadn't flooded as deeply during the initial cataclysm, the water had receded to nothing. When they reached those stretches, they would have to abandon the ships.
As for other transport, the higher-ups couldn't promise anything. It wouldn't be a journey of one or two days. If vehicles could be sent, they would send them. If not, the team would have to find their own way.
Captain Zhang couldn't forget the creatures in the water. They left a deep impression.
"What about the things in the water?" Captain Zhang asked. "Some land is showing already. Wouldn't the aquatic creatures gather where water remains, or strand themselves? Did you identify any species? If they're clustered, our water route is even more dangerous. Can't you send helicopters to pick us up?"
The other end went quiet, then replied, "You think we don't want to? Our situation might be worse than yours. We have no spare resources to pull for rescue. Otherwise we'd have already dispatched people to retrieve the important cargo."
By "important cargo," the higher-ups meant the four hundred bottles of that vaccine that might or might not cure anything.
Following that, Captain Zhang asked, "What exactly is inside those containers? Why are they sealed there?"
"You don't have clearance for that. Sorry."
They exchanged a few more words, then the call ended. The phone had given them nothing crucial, only another mission.
Captain Zhang said, "You all heard. From here on, bases won't matter as much. Our destination is the Capital city base."
He turned to Lan Jin. "Right, Lan Jin, do you need to go to H City base to pick someone up?"
Lan Jin glanced at Captain Zhang. "Yes. I settled Grandma Ling and Qiao Qiao elsewhere. I have to bring them, then we'll go to the Capital city base together."
Ling Jiang chimed in at once. "Yeah, we have to pick the two of them up."
No one asked where they would pick them up or why they were outside the base. Lan Jin didn't plan to explain. Still, Captain Zhang had likely guessed their secret about space abilities.
After the others dispersed, he found the four of them and said, "I figured it out. One of you has a space ability, right? Otherwise, with Lan Jin's personality, there's no way she would leave Qiao Qiao in some random place outside a base. Don't worry too much. In the Capital city base, there are people with dual abilities. But things like that draw envy. If you can avoid it, don't tell anyone."
Huang Jinghe spoke up. "Don't worry. We don't tell people under normal circumstances, and we don't use that ability outside."
"As long as you know where the line is," Captain Zhang said, and left.
The four had admitted to a space, but who owned it would be hard to guess.
Huang Jinghe had a simple thought. Since they were heading to the Capital city base, and his parents lived there, he was happy to let suspicion fall on himself. That was why he had answered so readily.
Whether Captain Zhang suspected Huang Jinghe or not didn't matter.