Chapter 32: Sheep Among the Wolves (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendation Votes)_1

Jiang Yu's face was somber as he bandaged the wound with a bandage found in the car.

Chu Xu's shot was indeed accurate, grazing Jiang Yu's arm and leaving only a wound as thick as a finger.

However, the flesh around the wound was turned outward, looking quite ferocious, and it took a lot of Yunnan Baiyao for Jiang Yu to stop the bleeding.

Amidst the pain, he thought the gunshot wound was much more serious than he had imagined; it was difficult to stop the bleeding, and it seemed to be harder to heal than a normal wound.

It was hard to imagine how the protagonists in movies could be so lively after being shot so many times.

Because of Jiang Yu's displeased expression, the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat oppressive.

Baluo said with a smile, looking for conversation, "Weird, why didn't they chase after us?"

"That's because before I came to your rescue, I had already flattened the tires of the other cars," Jiang Yu said with an unfriendly tone. "My mission has failed. While the Commander's attention is on you, take me to the international airport."

Baluo nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay."

The less Jiang Yu wanted to stay with them, the more reassured he felt.

Jiang Yu felt his pockets and suddenly asked, "Do you have any money?"

Baluo gave a wry smile; they had been prisoners for several days, and any money they had was long gone.

At that moment, the young man driving said, "There isn't enough fuel in the car to get to the airport."

Jiang Yu was startled, "Isn't there half a tank left?"

"Not enough, we need to refuel once," the driver said. "But..."

No money!

Jiang Yu punched the seat, "I'm really amazed by you all! Taking such risks to rescue you, you should be running for your lives! Instead, you have time to hold a dagger to my throat!

"If you could have been half a minute faster, I wouldn't have been exposed!"

In response to Jiang Yu's questioning, Baluo could only offer a sheepish smile, while the driver and the young man in the passenger seat seemed to have been mistrusting Jiang Yu all along and ignored his complaints.

The two cars had been driving across the plains until dawn; when everyone saw that indeed no one was chasing them, they gradually relaxed their vigilance and caught some shut-eye in turns standing guard.

After waking up, where to go became an issue; there was only so much fuel left in the car, and they had now entered a barren mountain area. Rumor had it that there were packs of wolves lurking about, and it would be very dangerous without a car.

But with Jiang Yu present, they were uncertain if they were truly out of danger.

Everyone has the desire to survive; even members of the Adventist faction who acted like lunatics, when they saw hope, would definitely try to find ways to stay alive.

So they did not rush to take the next step, but waited for Baluo to probe into the details of Jiang Yu through casual conversation.

At first, Jiang Yu responded coldly, making Baluo question his life choices, until Baluo brought up the collaboration with Kong Xiang and praised Kong Xiang a few times, which softened Jiang Yu's tone.

Seeing an opening, Baluo eagerly continued the conversation, taking Kong Xiang as a starting point.

Jiang Yu deliberately revealed some details of his relationship with Kong Xiang, such as Kong Xiang's latest academic achievements, the recent report Kong Xiang had written on the societal impact of Genetic Modification technology, and the "Miracle Project" that Kong Xiang had "revealed" to him, among other things.

But regarding his own mission, he said not a word.

Baluo trusted Jiang Yu even more. Knowing about the "Miracle Project" meant that Jiang Yu was held in high regard by Kong Xiang; otherwise, he would not have been privy to such secrets.

Especially that report on Genetic Modification, which within the Adventist faction, was a document that only the upper echelons could circulate; Baluo had read it before coming to Mongolia.

As for Jiang Yu's mission, Baluo guessed it must have been to act as an undercover agent by the Commander's side.

Having established a preliminary trust, Baluo decided to lead everyone to a nearby stronghold.

The stronghold was in a small town in the mountains, which Jiang Yu felt was even smaller than a village back home.

Who would have thought that this outpost had already been abandoned, without even a slice of bread left behind.

Among them, a man in his thirties who spoke Mongolian asked the local residents and learned that the people from the outpost had evacuated just two days ago.

The man asked the neighboring residents for some food, but without money or anything to exchange, the residents were unwilling to help.

By this time, it was already evening. They hadn't eaten since the day before and after another day and night of exertion, all of them were already starving, their eyes green with hunger.

They felt like they couldn't overcome the locals if they tried to take food by force, and everyone started to become irritable.

One of the women about Baluo's age suddenly asked, "Baluo, you must be aware of our purpose for coming to this base! Why has even the warning outpost around the base been evacuated? Did something unexpected happen at the base?"

This woman, Lisa Xabi Pu, was a well-known biologist, but few knew that she was a staunch member of the ETO Descendant Faction.

Baluo, seeing the others also staring at him, realized that their recent imprisonment had caused everyone to lose patience, and they were on the verge of forsaking their last shred of dignity.

Baluo was compelled to say, "Clarifying the current situation of the base is the purpose of our mission."

The members were all taken aback; the base had always been their last hope, and now even the base seemed unsafe!

Baluo continued, "About ten days ago, the base sent out a distress signal, and since then, all our contact with the base has been cut off.

"We don't know if there has been any new progress during the days we were captured, but the situation now does not look optimistic."

The man who spoke Mongolian asked, "But why did the people from the outpost leave?"

Jiang Yu replied with a sardonic smile, "That's your old problem: you wreak havoc on people's homelands and then leave the mess for the locals to deal with."

Baluo and the others did not retort, as what he said was indeed the truth.

Lisha suggested, "Regardless, we should go check out the base. Even if an evacuation order was issued, there should still be people there who haven't left."

Everyone agreed, reasoning that if their own people hadn't left yet, there would be food and clean clothes.

Baluo frowned, "But..." He turned to look at Jiang Yu.

Then the others also turned their gazes to Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu leisurely pulled out a dagger, "Tell me, how do you plan on dealing with your lifesaver?"

Feeling guilty, several people turned their heads away.

With an apologetic smile, Baluo said, "The base has a high security level, you see, maybe you could wait here while we..."

"Cut the crap!" Jiang Yu interrupted, "You expect me to wait here for a month if you don't show up for a month?"

"No, of course not," Baluo quickly explained.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yu said, "Your concerns are unnecessary, I know that two key technologies of that plan were verified at this base."

Baluo was taken aback, not expecting Jiang Yu's rank to be so high, "You know about that plan?"

"I only know a part of it."

"I also only know a part of it." Baluo stroked his chin, considering for a moment before saying, "Technically, you are qualified to enter the base, it's just that without the leader's authorization..."

Lisha said impatiently, "What's the point of 'the leader's authorization' at a time like this!"

Jiang Yu also said, "I won't enter the base, and I will leave immediately after acquiring supplies."

Finally relieved, Baluo said, "Alright then, let's head to the base now."

The group got back in the car, and just as they were running out of gas, they stopped in front of a small power plant.