CHAPTER 598: CHAPTER 596: STRANGE SOLDIERS

"What Admiral Lu," Luo Cong raised his head, his face stuck in an impatient expression, his tone suddenly shifted to a more emphatic one, "Lu Chen?"

Lu Chen greeted him casually and sat down in front of his desk, "It’s been a long time."

"What brings you here, kid?" Luo Cong managed to pull his jaw up and poured him a glass of water.

"To Luohe."

Luo Cong paused, and then motioned for Su Mo and the others to sit wherever they liked before sitting back down, "You can’t go there, are you also here because of the Bunker over there?"

Lu Chen looked up at him, "You too?"

He nodded ambiguously and took a sip of tea, "I’ve led the soldiers here also aiming for Luohe. I sent a reconnaissance team to scout ahead first, but not one returned. Have you seen those bodies outside?"

Lu Chen took a sip of tea and asked coldly, "What caused that?"

"Mutated bees, there might have been beekeepers in this forest before. Now mutated, these creatures are everywhere in the forest, their stingers carry a deadly virus, making them extremely dangerous."

Remembering those swollen, bloated faces, Su Mo couldn’t help but shudder and asked proactively, "Anything else?"

"The surrounding forest of Luohe was a research site for insects before," Luo Cong looked at her and then at Lu Chen, "And who is this?"

"My wife," Lu Chen said nonchalantly, causing Luo Cong to nearly fall off his chair in shock, "Jiang Hai actually agreed to your marriage!?"

At the mention of Jiang Hai, Lu Chen’s expression darkened, "He’s dead. We originally had a base in City B, but it fell."

Luo Cong’s expression also turned grim, he drained his glass of water and sighed, "I know, I heard about it on the broadcast, but it’s too far away, I didn’t lead soldiers there."

Lu Chen didn’t want to delve into this topic and merely stated, "Luohe, we have to go and see. If the Bunker is still usable, then I will find a way to clear that area."

Luo Cong shook his head at him, advising earnestly, "Why are you so fixated on that place? Anywhere else would be safer than the insect forest around Luohe."

"There won’t be any safe places left."

Luo Cong looked at him in surprise, his expression impassive, "What?"

"The surface will soon be uninhabitable," Su Mo put her hand on Lu Chen’s shoulder and sighed, "The Second Ice Age, we will soon be engulfed in endless blizzards and disasters. If we don’t find enough heating materials and a safe Bunker before that, we won’t be able to survive."

This startled Luo Cong, "Where did you hear this? Snow? Wasn’t there a terrible blizzard a few months ago?"

That time, it had frozen many of his soldiers to death. Thinking of this made him sad.

Su Mo leaned her hands on the table, seriously saying, "Our researchers mentioned it, you must have also seen that earthquake, right?"

Indeed, it had split a mountain into two halves, leading Luo Cong into deep thought, "How much longer?"

"Two years; we’re already counting down. So, this Bunker is our hope; if it’s compromised, we need to quickly move to the next possible survival location."

Jianxiong, who had been a mere background presence for quite some time, stepped forward and said, "We’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Could you tell us in detail what kind of mutated insects are there?"

Luo Cong thought for a long while before responding, "Let’s go out for dinner first, and later, I will tell you."

They didn’t refuse the meal, but as they sat by the fire outside, holding the strongly smelling lamb meat they were given, Su Mo fell silent. She stared at the piece of meat in her bowl that was just boiled in water, finding it impossible to swallow. She couldn’t help but look up and see the soldiers opposite her calmly eating their meat and even cherishing the broth.

The lamb had an overwhelming smell. Su Mo tried to conform, but struggled for a long time without being able to eat that piece of meat and silently set her bowl down, turning to see Lu Chen with a similar expression.

They had all been spoiled by her cooking, and now facing this, they simply couldn’t bring themselves to eat.

Noticing that they hadn’t touched their food, Luo Cong coughed lightly and said, "This lamb is the best we’ve got. In the mountains, this is the only game we can get."

Lu Chen eventually picked up his bowl without changing his expression. After biting off a piece, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed. The taste that assaulted his senses was truly more than most could bear.

The three men were somewhat okay, but Su Mo spat it out immediately. She couldn’t help but put down her bowl, stood up, and curtly directed two soldiers, "Move this pot away."

The two soldiers, confused, moved the pot, then watched as Su Mo magically pulled out vegetables and meat continuously.

Yes, bright white vegetables.

Chinese cabbage, greens, wild boar meat, chili peppers...

All eyes gradually changed. They really didn’t have any seasoning in these woods to remove the gaminess from the lamb. Now, seeing Su Mo systematically pulling out seasonings, their eyes almost glowed green.

Expertly heating the pot with oil, Su Mo decided to make a large pot of mixed vegetables. She had all the vegetables chopped up and poured them in one go. She also cut the pork slices and tossed them into the pot for a quick stir fry, and soon, a pot of aromatic vegetable medley was ready.

She had someone bring a clean iron bucket and filled two large buckets with it. She didn’t waste the bit of oil left in the pot, directly pouring washed rice into it to cook some rice.

Smelling the intoxicating aroma in the air, no one wanted to eat the nauseating lamb in their bowls anymore.

Luo Cong, shocked, dropped his chopsticks and said, "Lu Chen, what’s the story with your wife, these vegetables! How has she managed to keep them so fresh!"

The man, rare pride showing in his eyes but maintaining a composed tone, said, "It’s her own secret."

With the large pot dish paired with rice, Su Mo’s portions were just enough for everyone to get a bowl.

The sight of the green, oily vegetables nearly brought tears to the soldiers’ eyes, and they ate with extra appreciation.

Su Mo returned to her seat, pleased that her companions had managed to eat, but these soldiers were indeed pitiable. How they managed to eat that lamb was a mystery.

She nibbled on her chopsticks as she finished her meal, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over a soldier scratching his shoulder, which sparked a bit of curiosity.

That was a bit too forceful, looking as though his nails were almost tearing through the fabric of his clothes.

Su Mo caught his eye, and he immediately panicked, hurriedly scraping up the delicious food in his bowl. His desperate expression as he tried to swallow it made Su Mo feel uneasy.

She tugged at Lu Chen’s sleeve and whispered, "Look at that soldier over there."