Chapter 203: Chapter 170: Chen Xing Returns
True enough. The tricycle owner nodded in agreement. It was a long way; he couldn’t possibly pedal nonstop and would need to take a few breaks. Factoring that in, it really would take five hours. Besides, it was better for the little girl to take the bus than ride in his cart.
Huai Yu nodded as well. "Okay. I’ll listen to Uncle Zaozi!
"If you arrive early, sir, and I’m not at the bus stop yet, just leave the things in the grass behind the bus stop sign.
"Then go to the trading market and find Uncle Zaozi, or Boss Tang at Huaxia Gold, for the final payment."
Since she mentioned specific, well-known people, the tricycle owner wasn’t worried she would run off without paying. He nodded. "Don’t worry! I’ll deliver it for sure!" He glanced at the solid, square block of ice. It wouldn’t melt in the wild at all. It was completely safe!
Right at that moment, headlights flashed at the end of the road. The crowd immediately began shouting joyfully, "Another convoy is back! Another convoy is back!"
SWISH! Uncle Zaozi bolted as if his feet were oiled, zipping straight to the front of the crowd. Huai Yu was already satisfied with her haul for the night and didn’t plan on squeezing her way back in. She stayed behind to chat with the tricycle owner.
"Alright, sir, I’ll pay the deposit first—"
"Okay!" The owner briskly handed over his wristband. "Don’t worry, I’m a familiar face at this highway entrance. If I can’t deliver your things, I won’t have the face to show up here again."
Not to mention, Huai Yu’s items had high Mutant Values that no one else wanted anyway. Honestly, the tricycle owner had pegged her as a wealthy person from the start—his judgment was spot on! After all, anyone without money wouldn’t spend so many points hauling these two piles of garbage! Considering her destination, he guessed she was a family member of someone in the Defense Army. Plus, she knew Boss Tang at the trading market, so it was completely normal for her to be rich. He asked cheerfully, "Shall I head out now?"
Huai Yu was just about to agree when she suddenly heard Uncle Zaozi’s voice crack over the bustling crowd.
"Little Yu! It’s Chen Xing! It’s Chen Xing!"
There was no pleasant surprise in his voice—only pure worry, fear, and panic!
Huai Yu’s head snapped around. Clutching her basket, she sprinted toward the commotion.
The tricycle owner had just turned his head to wait for her answer. After a moment of silence, he turned back around. She was completely gone!
Meanwhile, Huai Yu had already sprinted and squeezed her way into the crowd.
She was hugging a sturdy, round basket to her chest. Furthermore, it was obvious at a glance that there were no goods to scavenge from Chen Xing’s side. Although the crowd was rubbernecking, Captain Zhao’s side was still continuously unloading cargo! Because of this, it wasn’t as hard to squeeze through as before. Huai Yu maneuvered through the throng with difficulty, listening to the crowd’s sighs and exclamations. Her anxiety burned like a fire.
"TSK, TSK, TSK. This is the Star River Expedition Team, right? It looks like the team is going to fall apart now."
"Exploration is a deadly business!"
"Logically, Captain Chen spends a lot of time out in the wild. How did it end up so tragically this time?"
"No matter how often she goes out, it’s still the Wilderness... Every year, there are expedition teams that never return. Even the Guard Army has suffered devastating losses there..."
"Alas... TSK, TSK... That’s true..."
"Make way, make way—!"
Uncle Zaozi shouted from the center, waving his arms and shooing people in all directions. Everyone present frequented the highway entrance and knew this was a matter of life and death, so they swiftly dispersed.
Suddenly popping out of the tightly packed crowd, Huai Yu nearly stumbled. She then saw Uncle Zaozi laying a burlap sack on the ground before carefully lifting a young man with orange-red hair out of the car’s back seat.
This was... Fen Da?!
Huai Yu rushed forward! However, just as she passed the battered front of the car, she instinctively glanced at the driver’s seat. Chen Xing was slumped over, her face deathly pale, her fate unknown. Shocked, she forgot about Fen Da and ignored Qixi, who was similarly slumped over in the back seat. She yanked the car door open, scrambled up in a panic, and checked Chen Xing’s neck for a pulse.
There was still a pulse. Her taut nerves suddenly relaxed, but not by much. Chen Xing was covered in bloodstains, her breathing was as faint as a gossamer thread, and one of her arms was drooping and bleeding profusely! The driver’s seat had been stained a dark, gloomy reddish-brown. Huai Yu trembled. She suddenly thought of Zhou Qian, who had appeared in the hospital hovering between life and death. She immediately leaned out the window.
"Uncle Zaozi, are we taking them to the hospital?!"
Sweating profusely, Uncle Zaozi continuously patted Fen Da on the ground, but the young man didn’t react at all.
"I borrowed a phone from Captain Zhao!" he shouted in a panic. "The ambulance is going to take a long time—"
The main issue was a lack of fuel, and the hospital’s quota was quite limited.
Huai Yu paused. Leaving her basket in the car, she scrambled back down and sprinted toward the convoy queueing up for inspection at the front.
"Captain Zhao! Captain Zhao!"
She shouted with all her might, but her voice was drowned out by the louder bidding voices up ahead. Huai Yu was so anxious she was on the verge of tears. Her shouts caught in her throat, and as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears of frustration threatened to fall! She stomped her foot, glanced at the Defense Army guards stationed at the ramp, and took two steps back before charging directly past them. Because she was a small, skinny young girl, the guard was caught completely off guard. It wasn’t until she was about to breach the line that he suddenly lunged forward. With his long legs and tall stature, he easily grabbed her clothes!
"What are you doing!" he barked coldly.
However, the commotion was enough to catch the attention of Captain Zhao, who was standing on higher ground up ahead. When his gaze swept over, Huai Yu immediately screamed, "Captain! Captain!"
She waved her hands frantically. Even though the Defense Army guard still had a firm grip on the back of her clothes, she jumped up and down. "One thousand points! Get the Star River Team members to the hospital within half an hour! I’ll pay one thousand points!"
The crowd instantly erupted into an uproar.
One thousand points! Even for an Explorer, this was no small sum, especially compared to the points they earned by risking their lives in the Wilderness.
The entire highway entrance fell silent, only to be replaced moments later by an even louder clamor. A tricycle owner raised his hand.
"I can take them for 500 points!"
"Me too! One cart per wounded person!"
But Huai Yu turned a deaf ear to them, looking pitifully at Captain Zhao.
He merely exchanged a glance with his team members, and someone instantly strode over to her.
"Deal! We’re all Explorers here, so we’ll take this job—but pay upfront." He raised his wrist to Huai Yu. As the two connected their wristbands, he briskly shouted, "Boys, quickly clear out the stuff in the back vehicle!"
Since the vehicle wouldn’t be allowed past the inspection station unless it was emptied, the Defense Army guard had already released his grip on her. He looked at Huai Yu, nodded silently, and stepped aside. At the same time, he waved his hand, signaling two Defense Army guards standing by the road to climb into the vehicle and help move the goods.
Huai Yu let out a massive sigh of relief. Only then did she turn to the guard beside her. "I’m sorry, sir. I was just too anxious just now."