Chapter 122: Hope

In truth, Huo Chenggui had a lot he wanted to ask.

But by the time he came to his senses, he was already clutching his prosthetic limb, being dragged across the cloud ladder.

Commander Qiao and Xu Xuejiao even pulled the ladder away afterward, as if afraid Huo Chenggui might run back into the Tongzi Frame.

Huo Chenggui: ""...""

He had no choice but to put on the prosthetic and take a moment to get used to it.

Clearly, Guai Guai’s craftsmanship was truly impressive.

Although Huo Chenggui had lost a leg, with Guai Guai’s prosthetic, it was almost as if he’d never been injured at all.

If anything, the only real difference was that now, with his new limb, he no longer had to fear the bites of mutant beasts.

He picked up a stone and knocked it against his leg.

“Titanium alloy!”

Guai Guai might look like just a scrap collector, but he only ever picked up metal parts.

Who would’ve thought he’d actually find titanium alloy, and even use it to make Huo Chenggui a prosthetic?

Huo Chenggui didn’t even know what to say.

Frowning, he stood up and headed straight for the front lines.

No matter what, his questions would have to wait—finding the commander was more important.

He hadn’t gone far when Nong Yasi called out to him,

“Yuebai asked me to give this to you. Take it to the front.”

She handed Huo Chenggui a large bag.

When he opened it, Huo Chenggui’s eyes widened in shock. “This…”

It was a bag full of disinfectant, along with small packets of iodine, cotton swabs, and bandages.

“Where did you get all this?” Huo Chenggui looked up and asked Nong Yasi.

Nong Yasi rubbed her nose and replied honestly,

“The disinfectant was traded for earlier. The small packets of iodine and the rest were dug out of the ruins.”

Pang Zhenggong and Commander Qiao had only opened the first shop in the underground mall.

Not only did they find a dozen boxes of dolls, salt, and two huge freezers full of sealed sausages, but they also discovered a large medical kit.

Of course, all the medicine was expired—some of it had even expired before the apocalypse.

But Nong Yasi had checked: most of it was unopened.

Most likely, the shop owner had bought it just in case, then forgotten all about it.

Right now, these medical supplies were useless sitting at the Shi family’s place.

In the Tongzi Frame, anyone who got hurt didn’t need treatment.

If you got injured in the morning, you’d be healed by noon.

All these supplies did was make Shi Yuebai’s courtyard feel even more cramped.

So Shi Yuebai asked Huo Chenggui to take them to the front lines—at least they’d be put to good use.

Huo Chenggui’s expression was complicated. “On behalf of the corps, thank Yuebai for me.”

There was no need for more words. Huo Chenggui could tell that Shi Yuebai’s people didn’t want him asking too much.

And they wouldn’t answer anyway.

He hefted the heavy bag onto his back and hurried back to the front.

As soon as he arrived, Huo Chenggui saw a mutant beast charging at Yi Zhe.

“You bastard!”

Cursing, Huo Chenggui rushed forward and kicked the beast with his titanium leg.

The mutant, the size of a leopard, howled and tumbled aside, unable to get up for a long while.

Huo Chenggui used his prosthetic to stomp hard on the beast’s head, crushing it in.

Yi Zhe, battered and exhausted, stared at Huo Chenggui in shock. His cracked lips trembled,

“Chenggui!”

“Commander!”

Huo Chenggui turned back, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at Yi Zhe.

The two locked eyes, on the verge of breaking down in tears.

Chen Yong’s booming voice rang out,

“Oh my god, Lao Huo, you’re alive?!”

He immediately rushed over and hugged Huo Chenggui tightly.

He wailed, “Brother, where did you go?”

Yi Zhe’s eyes grew moist as well.

From a distance, a mercenary shouted, “Enough with the drama! Get over here and kill these things!”

There were still plenty of mutant beasts left—was this really the time for a reunion?

Huo Chenggui didn’t even have time to explain. One moment he’d opened his eyes and found himself in Shi Yuebai’s courtyard, and the next he was back here.

There was even less time to mention that the three brothers who had died were also lying in Shi Yuebai’s yard.

No one had time to ask, but every mercenary who saw Huo Chenggui return wore a look of utter shock.

Then their eyes would redden with emotion.

They’d murmur, “Thank god you’re alive. It’s good you’re back.”

The mercenary corps had suffered heavy losses lately—three brothers dead in quick succession, and Huo Chenggui had lost a leg.

The fighting had been so fierce that they’d laid Huo Chenggui next to the bodies of their fallen brothers, assuming he wouldn’t make it either.

He’d been so badly wounded, there hadn’t even been time to treat his leg.

The fact that he’d survived was nothing short of a miracle.

After finally beating back this wave of mutant beasts and taking turns to rest, Yi Zhe wanted to ask Huo Chenggui where he’d been these past few days.

And where had that prosthetic come from? And so on, and so on.

But then, one of the three brothers who should have been dead suddenly returned, looking utterly bewildered.

“Commander, Lao Huo!”

Xiao Zhao raised his hand and greeted Yi Zhe and Huo Chenggui.

Yi Zhe’s expression changed. He looked at Huo Chenggui.

Huo Chenggui’s face changed as well.

Because his face was clean, he looked even paler than anyone else in the mercenary corps.

Right now, his face was as white as a sheet.

He bit his tongue hard, staring at Xiao Zhao in disbelief,

“Zhao… You… Weren’t you dead?”

Xiao Zhao looked confused. “What? I died?”

The dead never know they’re dead.

After Xiao Zhao died, he had no memory of anything.

But as he was just starting to regain consciousness, the scent of mushrooms filled his nose, urging him to wake up.

He sensed himself being lifted, then quickly dropped.

Then Xiao Zhao opened his eyes and sat up from the perimeter line.

After just a few steps, he saw his mercenary corps.

Everyone was full of questions, but Huo Chenggui silently swallowed everything about the Shi family.

He’d originally wanted to tell everyone that he’d gone to the Shi family’s place, and that the first thing he saw upon waking was Shi Yuebai.

But Xiao Zhao’s return made him instinctively feel that everything he’d seen couldn’t be spoken of.

What kind of existence could bring the dead back to life—there was no need to say more.

Huo Chenggui vaguely realized that Shi Yuebai’s power was still weak.

Putting her in the spotlight now would do her no good.

It wouldn’t help anyone.

But through all this, in this desperate, dark wasteland, Huo Chenggui felt as if he’d glimpsed a ray of light.

A word he hadn’t thought of in a long time surfaced in his mind.

That word was—hope.

(Our little lamb is a big user of correction tape…)"