The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 109: Being Recruited
As dawn approached, Yao Dan and the others returned.

Yu Qing asked, "Having been gone for so long, have you discovered anything?"

Yao Dan said mysteriously, "There really are ghosts there..."

Yu Qing often kept them in suspense, and Yao Dan is now behaving the same way as him.

Yu Qing said to Chang'e, "If she won't tell, you tell her. What exactly happened?"

"Don't listen to Yaodan, there are no ghosts. There were indeed low, weeping sounds coming from inside the house from time to time. We searched all night and found that they were coming from the ventilation duct. We continued to search and found that there were several holes in the pipes outside the wall, and the sound was the wind blowing like a flute."

"Wow, even this little thing has broken their defenses. I'm worried about how they'll survive without protection once they're out here!"

After daybreak, Yu Qing asked Yu Lan and the others to move back into the house, but they refused to leave. Left with no other option, he had Yao Dan and the others forcibly drag Yu Lan and the others away.

The little fox was very well-behaved. She lay on Yu Qing's back, blinking her big eyes, looking at this and then at that.

Yao Dan and the others pulled Yu Lan and the other three to the pipe from which the sound was coming from, and had E Ying tell them how the sound came about, which dispelled some of their doubts.

Next, Yu Qing had Chang'e and the others prepare several well-preserved and adjacent rooms, settled them all in, and then gave them breakfast.

While the little fox was eating, Yu Qing wandered around and discovered that the geothermal power system was still working, but for some reason the main power switch had tripped. After he switched it back on, power was restored to most areas.

Yu Qing used the magic rhinoceros horn to get Daji to bring Furong, Yan'er, and Danggui into the Third Paradise.

"Eying, the capable should do more. Go to the entrance and meet Daji and the others."

Daji and her companions now have a certain degree of initiative. Although Yu Qing hasn't given them orders, they know to expand the landing area outside the amusement park. They've been busy all night and have already parked all three vehicles there.

Once everyone had arrived, Yu Qing announced his decision. Daji, Furong, and Yan'er would stay behind at the Third Paradise to protect Yu Lan, Yu Xuan, Yu Qi, Yu Yi, Danggui, and the little fox. Daji would be in overall charge, while Yan'er would be responsible for transporting supplies to and from Wushi City.

Chang'e, Yaodan, and Eying then continued with him to the Fourth Paradise.

To be on the safe side, Yu Qing planned to take Chang'e, Yao Dan, and Yan'er in three cars to Wushi City in the afternoon to check and confirm that a stable supply of materials could be obtained there, and at the same time transport back the first batch of reserve materials.

Yu Qing kept Eying there temporarily, mainly because he noticed that Daji seemed to have something to say and clearly had objections to the arrangement. Fearing that he wouldn't be able to answer her properly if she spoke, Yu Qing firmly cut her off. Keeping Eying around would help calm her down.

The rest of the time was spent tidying up the place. Yu Qing had all the passageways blocked off, leaving only one door for entry and exit. Since Yu Lan and her group were numerous, it wouldn't be easy for Daji and the others to supervise them, so they couldn't be allowed to wander off.

With the power supply restored, the water system is also back to normal. The fruits and vegetables grown outside, which were previously only for ornamental purposes, can now be eaten in moderation by Yu Lan and the others. In special circumstances, this can also maintain basic food supplies.

Yu Qing felt that nothing had been missed, and around two or three in the afternoon, he decided to set off immediately. His next return would only be to unload the supplies; he wouldn't come back in, but would head straight to the Fourth Amusement Park.

But before he could even step out the door, the little fox clung tightly to his leg, calling out "Big Brother, Big Brother!" and refusing to let him leave. Eying tried to explain to her for a long time, but it was no use.

Yu Qing tried to pry her hands off, but she burst into tears. Having no other choice, Yu Qing decided to take her with him. Upon hearing this, she unceremoniously jumped onto Yu Qing's back.

Yu Qing laughed and said, "We've got a burden on us!"

The flight from the Third Paradise to Blackrock City takes only 40 minutes. It's a completely undefended city, where people come and go as they please. But precisely because of this, it's a melting pot of all sorts of people, both good and bad.

The locals are descendants of miners, and their ancestors have been fascinated by the construction of underground labyrinths.

Driven by a fondness for burrowing animals with a remarkable sense of direction, many people edited their genes, inserting numerous modified genes from moles and mongooses. Their offspring inherited these traits.

They discovered a deep-sea plant called Silver Gorgon by chance. This plant grows about 30 meters underground and can survive without sunlight or air. Consuming Silver Gorgon has been proven to prolong life.

The discovery of the silver hook brought great wealth to the local people. However, they never engaged in business or any profession. It is said that they spent half their time underground, and no one knew what they did.

Many outsiders made a fortune by reselling silver, building large-scale projects and living comfortable lives. This attracted many more to try their luck here, but also led to numerous conflicts due to the lenient laws.

In Wushi City, apart from the areas designated by the locals, the land more than five meters underground belongs to whoever occupies it first.

Moreover, there are no taxes or fees here. As for any disputes between outsiders, they don't care at all, even if someone dies. There's only one rule: no one who dies here can be buried.

Following the information provided by Ruyi Star, Yu Qing parked the car near the bunker-like building. This area was local territory and had an automatic charging system. Pedestrians could freely pass through the ten-meter-wide enclosure outside the building, but conflicts were prohibited.

After getting off the bus, they began looking for businesses owned by outsiders. Finding these places wasn't difficult because they couldn't dig foundations; the businesses owned by outsiders here were all single-story houses.

This time they purchased a large amount of daily necessities. Of course, they also encountered a small problem. Food was not a problem, but it was too difficult to buy clothes that fit Yu Lan and the others.

Although the ready-made clothes here can be customized in size and style, and a set can be completed in ten minutes, they surprisingly do not have templates suitable for the body shape of native humans. They have become a negligible group, and in the end, they could only make some for them based on Yu Qing's body shape.

The little fox had a bunch of clothes made that fit her perfectly. She only stood in the fitting room for a dozen seconds, and the machine automatically generated more than a dozen styles of clothes for her. After confirming the selection, the machine started spitting out garments one by one in less than fifteen minutes.

Yu Qing, carrying the newly refurbished little fox, and Yao Dan and the others, carrying large and small bags, returned to the parking area, loaded up their supplies, and prepared to return to the Third Paradise.

Unexpectedly, a burly man emerged from the bunker, beaming and gesturing for them to wait. Yu Qing looked at the hooked hands and felt a pang of fear. He worried that he had left his car there a little too long and would be questioned.

However, the big man didn't seem to have any ill intentions. He came over and actually invited Yu Qing and the little fox to his house. This was quite unexpected. As far as Yu Qing knew, the locals never invited outsiders to their homes, and even silver transactions were conducted outside the fortress.

Yu Qing naturally didn't dare to go to the big man's house rashly, and simply replied, "We really wouldn't dare to bother the host. We shouldn't have parked here for so long..."

The big guy said, "You've misunderstood. I genuinely invited you and the kids to come to my house."

Yu Qing didn't know how to answer, and only said, "This..." The big man said, "That's right, I was too abrupt. I should have explained the reason first. To be honest, I invited you to my home because of this lovely child. You may not know, but here, having a child come over is a good omen."

Yu Qing then realized what was going on and smiled, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you..."

The big guy reached out to hug the little fox, but she clung tightly to Yu Qing's neck and wouldn't let go.

Yu Qing said, "I'm very sorry, she's very shy around strangers."

The big guy said, "It's alright, I was just so happy that I was so rude to the little one."

Yu Qing followed the large man into his fortified home. The ground floor consisted of a large hall, easily three or four thousand square meters in size. Nearly a hundred humanoid beauties were busily setting up there.

The big guy led Yu Qing to a sofa that was seventeen or eighteen meters long and sat him down. Then, the humanoid girl served him various drinks and pastries.

The burly man sat down not far from Yu Qing. He sighed deeply and said, "I really envy our distinguished guest for having such a lovely daughter."

Yu Qing quickly explained, "No, Master, you've misunderstood. She's my younger sister."

"Ah. That's just as enviable. Your Excellency may not know, but it has been about twenty-two years since a child was born in our Blackstone City."

Yu Qing was taken aback and said, "This is unbelievable... So the population here is decreasing?"

"No. No one has died in these seventy-two years. You probably know that we have a silver ditch here, and everyone lives a very long life. But this thing also makes pregnancy very long for the women here. You might not believe it, but it takes thirty-four years to give birth to a child at full term."

Yu Qing shook his head: "It takes 34 years to conceive one child? That shouldn't be possible, right?"

"It's true. It must be some kind of unexplained mutation in our genes. 34 years isn't the longest; it might become 44 or 54 years in the future. The previous generation of women only took 18 years to conceive. Just imagine what the outcome might be if things continue like this."

"That's what people call the destruction of a nation and the extinction of a race. However, if you all live long and healthy lives, you won't have this worry."

"I hope not. But as the idiom goes: neither alive nor dead, neither dead nor alive. This situation may be a kind of automatic error correction function of nature at work."

Seeing that the big guy was engrossed in conversation, Yu Qing estimated that he wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon. So he used his spiritual rhinoceros to instruct Yan'er and Chang'e to immediately take the supplies and return to the Third Paradise with the vehicle. After picking up E Ying, Yan'er and Chang'e would return to Wushi City with the empty vehicle to transfer the remaining supplies.

Yu Qing left Yao Dan and a car there out of caution. In an unfamiliar place, you can't completely trust anyone based solely on intuition.

This large man appeared kind and gentle, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance in his speech and manner. If such a person is truly virtuous, he is a rare and precious friend. But if he is a hypocrite, he is undoubtedly a wicked and treacherous individual.

Yu Qing's vigilance stemmed from the hundred or so humanoid beauties in the hall. These beauties were incredibly diverse, mimicking the appearances of different races and species. Moreover, their expressions were all excessively humble, indicating that their master possessed a strong desire for control.

The hall had been tidied up by then, leaving only four or five humanoid beauties. The huge dining table was laden with flowers and food. The burly man warmly invited Yu Qing to dine with him.

The little fox had never seen so much food before, and kept saying in his ear, "Big brother, big brother..." Clearly, she couldn't wait to go and try it.

The big man laughed and said, "Look, this little darling is getting impatient. Let's sit down at the table, enjoy the food and chat, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Yu Qing exchanged a few polite words and then sat down with the host.

Yu Qing was very satisfied with the little fox's behavior. It was clear that she was interested in all the food on the table, but she sat calmly next to Yu Qing and did not reach out to grab the food as Yu Qing had expected.

She gently tugged at Yu Qing's sleeve, pointed to the plate, and whispered, "Big brother..."

Yu Qing smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I'll get it for you right away."

The big guy also exclaimed, "Truly a born aristocrat!"

The atmosphere gradually warmed up. The two clinked glasses and chatted animatedly. However, when it came to the details about Yu Qing and the little fox, no matter how the big guy tried to subtly inquire, Yu Qing skillfully deflected the question.

After several rounds of drinks, the big guy was still chatting with Yu Qing, not wanting to leave. Meanwhile, E Ying, Chang'e, and Yao Dan had been waiting outside for a long time, and the little fox had already fallen asleep on his back, so Yu Qing got up to say goodbye.

The big guy said, "It's already late, why don't you stay here for the night?"

Yu Qing said, "No, there's something urgent. One group of us has already set off, and we need to catch up with them."

The burly man didn't say anything more and simply saw Yu Qing to the door. Seeing that there were indeed two fewer cars outside, he stood by the door and said, "That's enough for now. Welcome to come again next time."

"Of course. Of course. Thank you so much for your hospitality."

As soon as Yu Qing got into the car, he ordered the plane to take off and leave.

He had a terrible headache; it seemed he had drunk too much. Chang'e asked, "Are you alright?"

Yao Dan reached out and took the little fox from Yu Qing's back, intending to let her lie down comfortably in her arms. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Husband, something's wrong! The little fox doesn't seem to be breathing!"

Yu Qing rolled his eyes at Yao Dan: "Nonsense! When you're asleep, your breathing is naturally lighter."

Chang'e said, "Yaodan, take a look at me."

Chang'e took the little fox and examined it carefully. She said, "My lord, there really is a problem. The little fox's pulse is very weak, and its face is bluish. It may have been poisoned!"

(End of this chapter)