N-M Chapter 298 Return to Raccoon City
Chapter 298 Return to Raccoon City
The convoy dispatched by Raccoon City arrived at the nuclear power plant without incident.
Five modified heavy trucks carried supplies, equipment, twenty armed personnel, and dozens of scientific and technical personnel.
The team leader was a young Chinese man named Zhao Lei, who was appointed by Night Owl as the deputy captain of the Raccoon City security department.
When he got out of the car, the first thing he saw was the eerie withered vegetation surrounding the nuclear power plant.
"This place..." he frowned, "is even more eerie than the report described."
Miller greeted them: "You've come at the right time. Unload the supplies on the first floor of the administration building, and put the equipment in the underground parking garage first."
Zhao Lei nodded and directed his men to begin unloading the cargo.
Lin Fan walked out of the administration building, and Zhao Lei saw him and immediately ran over.
"Young Master Lin, Captain Night Owl asked me to deliver a letter to you."
After saying that, he took a sealed envelope out of his pocket and handed it over.
Lin Fan took it and opened it; inside was a handwritten note.
The note was written in owl's handwriting and contained three things:
Xia Yanshan's forces have been fully incorporated and are currently operating normally.
Huaxia attempted to contact Raccoon City via satellite communication, but the signal was unstable, and only fragmented messages were received, the gist of which was "hoping to make contact with Lin Fan".
Construction on Domingo's memorial has begun and is currently under control.
The contents of the note had already been mentioned by Night Owl during their previous conversation. After reading the note, Lin Fan folded it and put it in his pocket.
Should China contact him?
Could something have happened in China?
"Zhao Lei, how long will the convoy rest before we can return?"
Two hours is enough.
"Okay. You'll come with me in two hours, and the rest of you will stay here."
"receive."
Lin Fan turned and walked back to the administration building, thinking that he should explain everything he needed to before leaving. He found Miller.
Have you reviewed the supplies list?
"I checked," Miller said. "Weapons, ammunition, communications equipment, medical supplies, food, and water—enough to last us two weeks."
"A second batch of supplies will arrive within two weeks," Lin Fan said. "Your primary task is to restore the power supply here. Helen said the reactor is still usable; have her take the technical team to assess it."
"clear."
"The second task," Lin Fan said, looking at him, "is to send people to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the marijuana plantation in the northwest. Do not approach, do not attack, only observe and record. I need to know the activity patterns of those mutated plants."
"Roger that. That Bruce—"
"Let him participate. He knows that area best."
Miller nodded.
Lin Fan patted him on the shoulder: "I'm leaving this to you. Contact Raccoon City using the communication equipment if anything happens."
"Mr. Lin," Miller suddenly spoke.
"Um?"
Miller hesitated for a moment, then said, "Thank you for saving us."
Upon hearing this, Lin Fan patted him on the shoulder but didn't say anything more.
……
Two hours later, they set off back to Raccoon City.
Compared to the convoy that had come from there, only one modified truck returned. Lin Fan sat in the passenger seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window.
The road conditions on I-84 are better than expected.
Although abandoned vehicles and traces of some mutated plants can be seen on the road occasionally, the road is generally clear.
Zhao Lei drove, occasionally stealing a glance at Lin Fan.
"Just say what you have to say, why are you acting like a thief?" Lin Fan said with a smile, noticing this.
Zhao Lei coughed lightly: "Young Master Lin, Raccoon City has changed quite a bit recently."
"How so?"
"There are too many people. After Xia Yanshan's group joined, the total population is almost over five thousand. Food, housing, and shift scheduling all need to be rearranged. Brother Night Owl is busy every day."
"Anything else?"
"And another thing..." Zhao Lei considered his words carefully, "Domingo's church is becoming increasingly influential. Before, there were probably only a few hundred people participating in prayer activities, but after the giant beast incident, there are now nearly two thousand people."
Lin Fan didn't say anything.
Zhao Lei continued, "It's not that he's causing trouble; he's actually quite well-behaved. But that number of people... Night Owl is a little worried."
"What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried that one day he'll misbehave and two thousand people will follow him, which would be a huge problem."
Lin Fan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
In this world, anyone can betray you, but he believed that Domingo, who had been brainwashed by the Great U, would never do so.
But he knew this, while others did not. He knew that Night Owl was using someone else's words to give himself a heads-up.
Therefore, he did not think that the Night Owl's worries were unnecessary.
"It's better to guide than to suppress faith."
He said, "As long as the direction is right, having a large number of people is not a bad thing."
Zhao Lei didn't quite understand, but he didn't ask any more questions.
The convoy continued along the highway.
The scenery outside the window gradually changed from barren to showing signs of human activity. Roadblocks that had been cleared appeared on the roadside, and occasionally, marks left by patrol teams could be seen.
Three hours later, the outline of Raccoon City appeared on the horizon.
From a distance, the city was enveloped by a gray-white mycelium wall, which was also affected and rose to a height of more than ten meters, gleaming faintly in the setting sun.
Outside the wall was a ring of mutated blue-green vegetation that had stopped growing, like a strange wreath covering the city.
As the convoy approached the south gate, the guards opened the passage after verifying their identities.
The truck passed through a gap in the mycelial wall and entered Raccoon City.
Lin Fan opened his eyes and looked at the street outside the window.
The changes are indeed significant compared to when he left.
There were noticeably more people on the streets, and everything was in good order. Some were carrying supplies, some were repairing buildings, and a patrol team in uniform passed by the intersection.
But what's most noticeable is that some graffiti has appeared on the walls on both sides of the street at some point.
It's not the kind of random scribbling, but rather murals with a unified style.
The painting depicts two giant octopuses guarding a city.
The sudden shift to an abstract art style made Lin Fan's lips twitch.
"Who drew this?"
Zhao Lei followed his gaze and gave an awkward laugh: "Uh...it was spontaneous. I couldn't stop it."
This……
Ok!
Upon hearing this answer, Lin Fan was at a loss for words.
Soon, the truck arrived in front of the municipal building.
Lin Fan pushed open the car door and jumped out. The first person to greet him was Night Owl.
"Young Master Lin!"
The owl strode over, its face showing relief at surviving a close call.
"You're finally back."
"Hmm." Lin Fan glanced at the municipal building. "Where are they?"
"The base needs manpower right now, so everyone is busy, but don't worry, I've already made the arrangements. As soon as the word is given, everyone will be here within ten minutes."
"No rush, let's go see the old man first."
Lin Fan stepped upstairs, with Night Owl following behind, reporting on the situation over the past few days as they walked.