Huo Yishen hugged Jiang Ning in his arms. “Don’t think too much; he may not be in trouble.” 

Jiang Ning had this flaw. After experiencing a harsh upbringing and the natural disaster in her two lives, she tended to be pessimistic when encountering things and liked to think of the worst outcome. 

“He’s the head of the military base, so he must know that the country will rebuild our new home. It has been several months since the collision of plates, and many survivors from bases across the country have come here. If he’s not in trouble, why hasn’t he arrived yet?” 

“The ocean currents are complicated, and often beyond human control. He hasn’t arrived yet; maybe he went in the wrong direction, but he will get here eventually.” 

Fearing that she would blame herself and feel guilty, Huo Yishen comforted her. “Anning, even if you decided to take him away, he would not leave.” 

Jiang Ning was speechless for a moment. 

Yes, Gu Tinglin wouldn’t have left. 

From the moment he accepted the national mission, his fate was already determined. 

His life belongs to the country and the people. 

If Jiang Ning forcibly took him away, he would probably never find peace for the rest of his life. 

Jiang Ning understood, yet didn’t quite grasp it.  

“You’ve saved so many people in your previous life, yet your final fate was… Do you regret it?” 

Huo Yishen thought calmly. “No regrets.” 

It’s just that heaven gave him a chance to choose again. 

And he chose to live differently this time. 

But he had to admit it was tough to see soldiers and police sacrificing their lives for the country; he felt uncomfortable. 

After all, he had become a deserter. 

So, Huo Yishen understood Gu Tinglin’s choice. 

Even if Jiang Ning told him about the space, Gu Tinglin’s decision wouldn’t change. 

“If you force him to leave, your relationship will only worsen.” 

In fact, Jiang Ning knew in her heart that even if she could choose again, she likely wouldn’t speak up because Gu Tinglin’s answer wouldn’t change. 

But… every time she used the space, she felt that she owed Gu Tinglin. 

She didn’t acknowledge that he was her father but enjoyed the benefits he provided her. 

This made Jiang Ning restless. 

“I believe he will get through it.” Huo Yishen held her cold hand. “Anning, if you can meet him, I hope you follow your heart and don’t let yourself have regrets.” 

Follow my heart? Jiang Ning still doesn’t understand; is it the guilt he feels for Gu Tinglin because of the space, or the blood relationship they have? 

Or perhaps it was respect for his sacrifice as a soldier. 

“It’s normal to be confused for a while; time will give you the answer.” 

Jiang Ning thought about it and leaned on his shoulder to calm down. That night, the sliding iron door was closed. Doudou and Coke slept in 372, Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen slept in 370, and the middle was separated as a living room. 

The place was narrow, and the two of them lay flat and close to each other, with not much space to turn around. 

But returning to their new home to live again, she felt at ease. 

In the early morning, as dawn broke, Zone1-3 became lively, with soldiers getting up on time to work. 

The steel plate was not soundproof, and all kinds of noises continued for more than half an hour before they stopped. 

The three of them and Coke had nothing to do, so they stayed in bed until nearly eight before getting up to brush their teeth and wash their faces in the space, then coming out for breakfast. 

They had plain soup noodles. 

Jiang Ning didn’t plan to settle down yet, so she was not in a hurry to plant potatoes but planned to look around the base. 

After putting the dog in the backpack, the three of them left with the speedboat. 

This sea area was well-chosen. Aside from the tidal waves reaching two to three meters high, it was relatively calm most of the time. 

If the reclamation and island building are successful, it will be very suitable for human habitation. 

It is said that the Taoist Bagua compass and advanced scientific detection were used in the site selection. 

In short, it’s a rare Feng Shui treasure land. 

The speedboat wasn’t fast. They glided slowly around the under-construction offshore platform. 

Except for Area A and B, which were completed, the other platforms were still under construction, and survivors are being moved in while they are being built. 

It was noisy, but safety precautions were in place. 

Looking at the large-scale marine construction equipment, Jiang Ning was surprised, “The base has not been powered on yet. How much oil do this equipment consume in a day?” 

Huo Yishen looked at the platform under construction. “Large equipment like this usually runs on nuclear power; otherwise, it can’t operate for long. The smaller equipment uses fuel.”  

Jiang Ning thought that made sense, especially since the big machines didn’t have exhaust pipes. 

They were massive, like ants looking at elephants—this was the country’s infrastructure, a global myth of island creation. 

But why weren’t the platform constructions and island creation not carried out at the same time? 

It should be easier to build the platform by raising the seabed terrain. 

Before the natural disaster, Tianjing and Tiankun had already become symbols of artificial islands, so modifying designs based on them should have been simple. Why wasn’t it done? 

Of course, Jiang Ning’s thinking is that of an outsider, while the experts likely have their own considerations. 

In addition to the large equipment, there were many workers at the construction site. 

As long as you participate in the construction, whether you’re a regular soldier or an ordinary survivor, you must obey the orders unconditionally. 

After all, this wasn’t before the disaster; oil was running low every day, and every bit saved was important—everyone who could help had to pitch in. 

The base construction was grand. Just the six platforms being built stretched nearly thirty kilometers around; if twenty were completed, it would become a large city. 

Huacheng would be completed as long as no disasters got in the way. 

Seeing boats catching marine life, Jiang Ning curiously approached. “Can we eat that?” 

The fishermen, dressed in protective gear, were hauling up their nets from the sea. “Not yet; the research department is conducting experiments to see if they can eliminate the toxins from the fish.”  

Since the ocean was polluted by ancient viruses, humans have almost lost their source of meat. 

After several years, the survivors’ health had deteriorated.  

It’s impossible to regain strength by eating only vegetables or grains. They still need to find a way to get meat.  

The research department had been working hard for years and seemed to have made some progress. 

Once a breakthrough is made, there will be a steady supply of meat. 

In short, the day of eating meat is not far away. 

Noticing they seemed healthy and were willing to chat, Jiang Ning took the opportunity to ask, “What should we do if we want to eat meat?”  

The beautiful woman asked, and the uncles couldn’t help laughing. “That’s easy; just eat maggots.” 

Maggots? 

The kind that crawls in manure? Jiang Ning’s stomach suddenly felt upset. 

“Of course! Maggots are rich in protein; they aren’t something you can eat every day.” 

Doudou was young and had little experience. She had seen insects but had never seen maggots crawling in manure. “Uncle, how do maggots grow?” 

“They are cultivated by the research department. It seems that they are raised using rotting materials for fermentation.” 

The uncles were practical; as long as the food could meet their bodily needs, they didn’t ask too many questions or think too much—it was just asking for trouble. 

Who cares where it comes from, as long as it doesn’t kill you? 

The topic made Jiang Ning uncomfortable, so she chose to ignore it. “Can the viruses in the fish really be completely eliminated?” 

“Can’t say for sure, but the researchers are quite confident.” The workers couldn’t help but look forward to it. “If that day comes, we’ll eat meat every day and make up for the lost years.”  

Since the virus infection, humans stopped fishing, and marine life has reproduced very quickly, and the nets can be fully loaded every time.  

After walking around, they decided to return to Area B, just in time to see an administrator posting a recruitment notice for planting workers. 

Doudou instantly became interested and read it several times before leaving…