Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 317: Chapter 43 Political Issues

Afafu shrugged after listening, “I think she looks quite dignified in the photo.”

Li Yan didn’t say anything further and put away the photo, “Thanks, I’m going to buy a tactical electronic board, then I’ll come to find you.”

“That fast?”

“Yes, I’m setting off this afternoon to see if there’s any gains.”

“If there are, do you still plan to come back?”

Afafu’s eyes slanted.

“Can’t say for sure.”

Li Yan’s expression was calm, but in his heart, he did not plan to linger under the watchful eyes of Black Star’s war vehicles. Finding Shuishu Park and getting the inheritance left by Yu Shu would mostly resolve the matter at hand.

“Alright, but there’s one thing you can’t go back on.”

“What’s that?”

Afafu’s smile was bright and cheerful, “You promised to be Luo Bu’s godfather.”

Li Yan blinked and replied with a dumbfounded smile, “No problem.”

After directing Li Yan where to make the purchases, Afafu returned to her post to work.

“How’s the observation progress of the undead cells? Did we find the anomaly that keeps their brains active?”

Upon entering the sterile workshop, Afafu quickly donned gloves and a mask.

“Comrade Afafu, someone from the headquarters is looking for you.”

A blond, blue-eyed researcher came over, holding a deep black, hook-type headset.

Afafu pursed her lips as she took it, then turned the corner in her lady’s leather shoes to a uniquely operating machine, touched the screen with a finger, and the three-dimensional model of the undead from Great Demon Lake appeared. She began working on it while asking the person on the phone:

“Hello?”

“Afafu, it’s me.”

Upon hearing the voice on the other end, Afafu’s delicate fingers paused.

“Mentor?”

“Hearing your voice again is wonderful.”

Through the headset, the “mentor’s” voice sounded somewhat lamenting.

Afafu immediately covered the headset with both hands, “No, no…”

Her eyes started to redden, “It’s… mentor… that I can hear your voice again.”

“It’s good that you survived, there’s nothing to cry about.”

Afafu composed herself and lowered her hands before speaking earnestly, “Mentor, did you need something from me?”

On the other end of the headset, the man did not reminisce further, “Yes, the electronic preview records here at headquarters show that you’ve returned in the past two days and specifically opened permissions to search for information on Shuishu Park?”

Crackle~

Afafu’s keystrokes were exceptionally loud, as if she had entered her work mode.

There was no rush coming from the other side of the headphones.

After a while, Afafu finally seemed to free up her hands, “Hmm, yes, that was me checking.”

On the phone, the mentor’s voice was very kind, “Why are you suddenly looking up such outdated stuff? Have you run into some trouble?”

“Siren, the data here is incorrect; recalculate it,” she called out to an assistant next to her before addressing her mentor through the headphones, “Actually, it was a coincidence. The military has required us to fully analyze the source of the zombie gene abilities found in Great Demon Lake within a month’s time. When I was reviewing the materials, I saw that a well-known researcher in zone b had published a paper on ‘enhancing the brain activity of mutant zombies.’ But I couldn’t find much information, only that she had attended shuishu park salon, so I looked it up as well.”

“Oh, you mean Dr. Yu from Yunhai Pharmaceuticals? She passed away many years ago. Indeed, she frequented Great Demon Lake over the years, and according to the military’s investigation, Dr. Yu definitely had a connection with these zombies…”

The mentor shifted gears, “However, Shuishu Park is not a scientific issue but a political one… Don’t overstep your boundaries. Let’s pretend this didn’t happen.”

“Alright, teacher, I’m not new to the job, I understand,” she replied.

“Uh-huh, you’re also skilled in your profession and still young. You could move up. The fact that you made it back alive could be a blessing in disguise. The committee won’t overlook talent…”

The mentor in the headphones babbled on, but Afafu’s eyes took on a deep and profound expression.

“Political issue…”

She opened up the electronic panel with information about Li Yan, whose photograph showed him still tied to a chair with sharp eyes that seemed to be staring intently at her through the screen.

…

With a Black Star battle vehicle license, Li Yan could unconditionally purchase weapons, equipment, and medicines from the base, and also enjoy certain discounts.

Compared to the black-market-like environment of the Kuang Zhuoma Frontline Base, Black Star’s battle vehicle had an official military supplies department. Transactions had to be reported, with exhibits and a purchase catalog available, and there were dedicated areas and personnel for demonstrations and test-firings, very professional indeed.

Without taking any detours, Li Yan arrived at the military supply market Afafu had pointed out, where he requested to buy an electronic tactical board, various fuels, medicines, and weapons equipment.

An electronic tactical board didn’t cost much. It could be used for communication, map uploads and downloads, remote public mission acceptance, reference material consultation, and even valuating spoils of war. Among many of the large forces recognized by Black Star, it could even function like a bank card.

The research data obtained from Great Demon Lake was eventually appraised at 128,000 yuan. Deducting the 100,000 yuan promised to Song Zuo, Li Yan could still pocket 28,000 yuan. Since he had retained a gene sample, Li Yan did get some advantage. Of course, given the circumstance, Li Yan didn’t feel any guilt about it.

The remaining 28,000 yuan, along with the 80,000 yuan credit in his license, added up to just over 100,000 yuan. Li Yan didn’t plan to stay at Black Star too long, so he decided to spend all the money at once.

He bought a new model of the tactical electronic board, which also came with four batteries.

In addition, the military supply officer in front of him, dressed in big leather boots and a rhinoceros leather belt, his face slick with oil, recommended quite a few good items to Li Yan.

[Black Star Butterfly Model Assault Rifle], [z-13 Tactical Machine Spider], [p121 Gene Repair Fluid], [Savior Tactical Missile]…

The military supply officer’s spittle flew as he spoke, but Li Yan wasn’t paying much attention; he only cared about the detailed yet fierce-looking iron lumps that appeared powerful in the diagrams. Some were even at the legendary level of individual combat equipment. However, some were either unsuitable for Li Yan or exceeded his financial capacity.

This gave him an insight into the far superior strength and foundation of the three great powers over the common refugees. It was hard to imagine, in the midst of winter when resources and production capacity were extremely scarce, the three great powers’ strength was abnormally developed. They even had the excess capacity to sell these powerful pieces of equipment to outsiders.

After browsing for a while, Li Yan still chose the recovery items he was most lacking.

This included [Compound Cephalosporin Injection], [Madder Concentrate Extract], [Aloe Gel Spray], with effects ranging from anti-inflammatory and purulence reduction to hemostasis and healing, and radiation prevention. Three boxes in total.

The effects of these medicines were immediate; they were part of the restricted purchase list. Li Yan spent over 25,000 yuan and was then informed that Black Star could no longer sell to him.

With the remaining money, Li Yan hesitated for a while before sheepishly asking, “Do you have any damaged, long-neglected, or simply because of defects and retired weapons and equipment?”