Although they already decided to leave, they can’t alert the enemy. 

Jiang Ning returned to the hospital, asked for half a day off, and mentioned that she’s not feeling good. 

After taking the ferry back to Area B, Jiang Ning went back to the house to pack up, while Huo Yishen went to the planting area to find his sister. 

Doudou was about to get off work and was very happy to see her brother. “Brother, my transfer has been approved. I can go to work in Area A next week. Then we can apply for a house there, and you and sister-in-law won’t have to keep running back and forth.” 

Huo Yishen led his sister to the side. 

The bad news suddenly came in on a sunny day, Doudou’s smile froze on her face. It took her a long time to come back to her senses. “Brother, are we really leaving?” 

“You don’t want to leave?” 

“It’s not that. I’ll go ask for leave right now.”  

She likes this job and loves the life here, but she doesn’t want to be separated from her brother and sister-in-law. 

Doudou performed well and was about to be transferred, so it was easy for her to ask for leave. 

When the two returned home, Jiang Ning had already packed up the things and put everything that shouldn’t be there into the space. She only left the things that were exchanged from Sharp-mouthed monkey. 

To avoid raising suspicion, the three of them didn’t bring any large bags. 

The steel plates weren’t soundproof as well, so they didn’t talk much as they carried their things downstairs.  

When she got downstairs, Doudou couldn’t help but look up at the room on the third floor, feeling a bit heavy in her heart. 

The incident had happened so suddenly that she hadn’t even had time to react.  

She felt an overwhelming sense of reluctance inside her, but Doudou didn’t show it. 

She was lucky enough to grow up under the protection of her sister-in-law, so although life here was good, compared with the safety of her brother and sister-in-law, it was insignificant. 

Jiang Ning also felt a bit reluctant; she had integrated into and gotten used to the life here. She was surrounded by teachers, friends, colleagues, and younger brothers. 

Now she had to stay away and start wandering aimlessly again, which felt very strange. 

It was like living in darkness and suddenly having a ray of light shine in. Just when you’re filled with happiness thinking you can grasp it, you suddenly fall back into darkness.  

Losing it felt even more devastating than not having it in the first place. 

Huo Yishen held her cold hand. “Tomorrow will be better.” 

Jiang Ning came back to her senses and didn’t look back. 

They arrived in Area B on the speedboat and left in the same way. 

The roaring motor and the waves kept rolling in the cold wind. 

As they drove towards the submarine area, they happened to see Xu Kaitai returning from a mission.  

Jiang Ning smiled and greeted him, “Instructor Xu.” 

Xu Kaitai waved in response. “Are you three going out for a drive?” 

“Yeah, we’ve been cooped up at the base for too long, so we thought we’d take a break underwater.” 

Xu Kaitai reminded them, “It’s best not to go beyond the base’s perimeter. There are more and more foreign survivors outside, and without an escort, it’s easy to get robbed.” 

The country has a long-term vision and has made no less than a hundred plans to deal with various natural disasters. 

After ten years of silent efforts to prepare for the worst, they had achieved today’s results.  

But merely improving internally wasn’t enough; they also needed to defend against external threats. 

Humans are a strange species; they excel at fighting various disasters, but they’re even better at scheming against their own kind. 

Huacheng Base is thriving, but outside there are drooling wolves. 

Jiang Ning thanked him for his reminder. “We’re just going to take a look around nearby; we don’t plan on leaving the base.” 

Xu Kaitai waved goodbye, “I’ll be on leave for a few days. Come over for a meal when you have time.”  

“Okay, definitely.” 

If… there would still be an opportunity. 

Entering the submarine, Huo Yishen let the dog out. 

If there is anyone who is unhappy after entering the base, it must be Coke. 

Usually, it could only stay inside the house and couldn’t bark; when going out, it had to squeeze into the hiking bag.  

Now that it was inside the submarine, it ran around excitedly, “Woof! Woof! Woof!”  

While protesting and expressing her dissatisfaction, it wagged its tail at the poop scooper. 

Jiang Ning squatted down and stroked its head. “Be good, I won’t keep you confined anymore.” 

Huo Yishen proceeded to pilot the submarine deeper into the ocean while skillfully controlling his emotions. 

Doudou stood in front of the periscope, looking at the solid giant tower platform on the sea reluctantly. 

Goodbye, I’ll never see you again! 

Jiang Ning noticed Doudou’s expression but said nothing.  

2688 slowly departed from the Huacheng base. 

Three hours later, the submarine approached the edge of the base, and Huo Yishen started the suspension mode. 

Jiang Ning was napping in her room; her eyes were closed, but she couldn’t fall asleep.  

Huo Yishen pulled her up gently. “Are you worried about something?”  

Jiang Ning didn’t say anything and leaned quietly on his shoulder. 

Huo Yishen held her in his arms. “Anning, we are husband and wife. Whatever it is, you should say it instead of bottling it up.” 

Still, Jiang Ning remained silent. 

“Do you feel like you’re a burden to me and Doudou?” 

Jiang Ning looked at him. “What do you think?” 

“I’m a little reluctant, but it’s nothing compared to your safety.” 

Huo Yishen stroked her face. “Don’t let your imagination run wild. We are a family and a group. Since we have enjoyed the benefits brought by the space, we have to acknowledge the consequences.” 

“If this isn’t our true home, then we’ll search for a new one, even if it means being without a place to call our own.” 

“For me and Doudou, having you and Coke is what makes a true home.” 

Jiang Ning didn’t say anything and hugged him back tightly. 

If they moved forward, they could leave the base behind, and unless something unusual happened, they would never return in this lifetime. 

And once the three of them disappeared, the base would soon receive the news.  

As long as they were meticulous, they can find out the clues by unraveling the mystery. 

The two discuss whether to leave without looking back or do something for the base. 

After all, this was the Huacheng base. 

Moreover, the space contains the 26 containers that sank to the bottom of the sea. 

Those parts were of no use to Jiang Ning, but for the base, they were the ultimate weapon for returning to land.  

With them, Huacheng Base can successfully build an island, plant more food and medicinal materials, and greatly improve the living environment of the survivors. 

Jiang Ning didn’t hesitate. “Let’s return them.”  

In the past, she had feared exposing the space, thinking that they had plenty of time and needed to find a foolproof method. 

But now that they are all leaving, exposing it is no longer a problem. 

However, the sun hadn’t set yet, and there were patrol boats on the sea. Even if they were doing a good deed anonymously, they needed to be cautious.  

Fortunately, in order to return the container, Huo Yishen had secretly gathered some information. 

In the latitude and longitude where the submarine was located, the patrol boats would pass by promptly at eight in the evening. 

In other words, as long as the container is placed on the sea before the patrol boats arrives, they will be able to find it in time. 

But they had to calculate the timing precisely; they couldn’t let the currents push the containers out of the base’s perimeters, or they would be seized by foreign survivors outside. 

Twenty-six containers were a huge challenge to place; surely, they couldn’t make them sink back into the sea again, right?  

How to salvage them was a century-old dilemma. 

If the base had the capability to salvage in the deep sea, when the container fell, they would wait until the storm was over and salvage it immediately, instead of being discovered by 2688 a few months later. 

Simply throwing them back into the sea was no different from not salvaging them at all.  

Jiang Ning made a decision. “Let’s put it on a cruise ship.” 

Since no one knows how to operate a cruise ship, it will just be a decoration. 

For the three of them and the dog, the space on the yacht was already large enough.