Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 186 Opening the Way

Major Chen's silence lasted only a very brief one or two seconds. Then, he slowly shook his head, showing no displeasure at Xu Xiaoyan's question. "The coverage and accuracy of the relevant testing instruments are limited. The stability and accuracy of the positioning and short-range communication functions of the implanted chip are mainly limited to the Linchuan base."

He looked calmly at Xu Xiaoyan and said, "Once the activity range exceeds the boundary of the fourth city and enters the wilderness area without large-scale infrastructure and signal relay coverage, the signal emitted by the chip will become extremely weak due to factors such as distance, terrain, and extreme weather. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible to rely on the chip's path record for accurate reverse positioning, and the error will be so large that it loses its reference value."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, the chip was originally designed to provide emergency location services for identification, basic communication, and crime prevention within a controllable area of ​​the base, not to monitor everyone's outdoor activity trajectory without any blind spots."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded as if she understood, but her heart was filled with turmoil. The Linchuan base seemed to be "high-tech", but the base was not omniscient and omnipotent. Its reach also had boundaries. There were "gray areas" in the wilderness that were not covered by technology and belonged to individual actions.

She quickly suppressed these thoughts; the current priority was to complete the transaction. "Major Chen, I understand. Now, could you please have this waitress come down to the first floor with me? We need to weigh and settle our batch of sea buckthorn. After that, the four of us will discuss and send one of us as a guide to accompany you to the sea buckthorn plantation."

Major Chen raised his hand and looked at the military watch on his wrist, which had luminous and protective features. The time indicated 5:20 p.m., and it should be quite dark outside.

"Okay," he said succinctly. "Weighing, settlement, and internal discussions all take time, but I can only give you half an hour. Half an hour later, at 5:50 pm, we will be waiting inside the fourth city gate. The person leading the way must arrive on time."

"Okay, I'll definitely be there on time," Xu Xiaoyan replied readily. She turned to the female supervisor who had been standing quietly by her side and said, "Thank you for your help."

The female supervisor bowed slightly. "It's my duty, ma'am. Please follow me." Then, accompanied by the waitress, Xu Xiaoyan walked back down the unusually quiet corridor on the second floor.

Returning to the stairwell between the first and second floors, Xu Xiaoyan pointed through the railing to a relatively secluded corner of the lobby below—Xie Yingtang, Wang Xiao, and Lu Hu were still maintaining their defensive triangular formation, with the four trailers tightly packed together. Although the surrounding crowd was still crowded and noisy, that small area, due to the vigilance emanating from the three, had formed an invisible barrier.

"My companions and goods are over there," Xu Xiaoyan said to the waitress.

The waitress nodded. Instead of trying to squeeze down herself, she raised her right hand and made a clear and professional gesture toward a specific, seemingly ordinary corner of the lobby downstairs—fingers together, arm straight, wrist down, then withdrew. The movement was crisp and clean, clearly a signal of an internal agreement.

Almost the instant the gesture was made, something surprising happened. From that corner of the hall, several burly figures who had been sitting or standing, seemingly idle or even lazy, immediately took action as if they had received a silent command.

The four men stood up almost simultaneously, their previously casual gazes instantly turning sharp. They quickly parted the crowd. All four were wearing identical dark gray uniforms, the style of which differed from that of the second-floor waiters, resembling more of a security guard or office worker.

They were tall and robust, with steady and powerful steps. They quickly arrived at the bottom of the stairs. One of them seemed to exchange a fleeting glance with the staff guarding the railing. Then, the four of them passed through the barrier smoothly and came to Xu Xiaoyan and the waitress.

They didn't speak, but simply stood still, forming a small protective circle around Xu Xiaoyan and the waitress, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Xu Xiaoyan felt a chill run down her spine. The internal order and execution of this trading center were far more rigorous and efficient than they appeared on the surface. These seemingly ordinary "idlers" downstairs were probably well-trained plainclothes security guards.

"Please lead the way," the waitress gestured to Xu Xiaoyan, as if leading four bodyguards through the chaotic crowd was a perfectly normal thing. Thus, under the protection of these four powerful men, Xu Xiaoyan and the waitress walked straight towards the location of Xie Yingtang and his two companions.

Wherever they passed, people instinctively moved aside, their gazes filled with awe, curiosity, and a hint of fear. No one dared to stop them, and even attempts to approach or strike up a conversation completely disappeared. This privileged way of passing was a stark contrast to the difficult jostling and pushing Xu Xiaoyan had experienced alone earlier.

Xie Yingtang, Wang Xiao, and Lu Hu were focused on guarding their surroundings when they suddenly saw that Xu Xiaoyan had not only returned safely, but also had a well-dressed, capable woman by her side. Even more eye-catching were the four burly men surrounding them who were clearly not to be trifled with.

The three men initially showed expressions of relief and joy, but were soon puzzled and nervous by the sudden turn of events. They looked at each other, their hands instinctively tightening around the concealed parts of their weapons.

"Xiaoyan, what's this...? Are you alright?" Wang Xiao couldn't help but step forward, lowering his voice, his tone full of concern and confusion. Xu Xiaoyan gave him an affirmative look, and even the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She whispered, "It's good, don't worry, let's go outside and talk. This isn't the place to talk." Her composure infected the three of them. Although they were full of questions, they still nodded and relaxed their tense muscles a little.

Without exchanging any unnecessary words or glances, the four burly men stepped forward and skillfully and deftly took over the handles of the four trailers. They seemed to have anticipated the weight of the trailers beforehand, and their hands were steady and smooth without any hesitation.

Then, pushing the cart, they turned and walked towards a room on one side of the hall with a sign that read "Temporary Supplies Disposal Room (No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed)". The door of that room was wider than that of a regular office. Although the crowd was still curious and pointing, no one dared to take a step closer under the cold gaze of the burly men, let alone stop them.

Xu Xiaoyan then called to Xie Yingtang, Wang Xiao, and Lu Hu, "Come on, let's follow them." She gestured for them to follow the waitress.