The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 386 - 385: Reunion

Chapter 386: Chapter 385: Reunion

A children’s bed, a doll, a floral dress, a small wooden window that had no windowpanes.

"Did I live here before?"

"When you were very young," Su Yao said amiably, pointing at a human-height wardrobe, "There are clothes inside; you can change into them."

As the door closed, Su Mo looked around and noticed there were no cameras. Devices like trackers must have been implanted somewhere unknown in her body.

She conscientiously opened the wardrobe to find several brand-new blue uniforms that had just been recently placed there.

They seemed to be the standard uniforms for this laboratory, bearing the unique emblem of the nation.

She took off the clothes she was wearing and changed into the uniform.

With no one monitoring, she tried summoning the panel and discovered that the system could still be used normally, only her superpower was suppressed. She gave a sigh of relief, zipped up to her neck, and stared at the mini scorpion inside her System Bag for a while.

After tying back her hair, she walked out the door, to which Su Yao looked very pleased with her getup, "Alright, my girl, I’ll take you to see your friends."

He led her out of the S zone that was filled with white cages, and a massive door opened, emitting a puff of gas around them.

Su Mo couldn’t help but cover her mouth.

"This is just the final disinfection checkpoint before leaving; no need to be nervous. After all, this is a zero-contamination zone; we can’t allow a speck of dirt to mix in," Su Yao said to her with a smile, stepping through the white light that spread on the ground.

Su Mo didn’t speak and followed him out. The blinding sunlight and the expansive lawn greeted her, with a huge elevator at the center, connecting corridors leading to various destinations.

She didn’t know which floor they were on, only that looking downward, she could see the green lawn and research personnel passing by with coffee in hand.

The spray machine rose from the ground, showering a large swath of water.

"If I remember correctly, this place is supposed to be underground," she said to Su Yao beside her.

"We used countless sensors to synthesize it, isn’t the result decent?" Su Yao looked up at the patch of blue sky and white clouds, smiling joyfully.

Su Mo pursed her lips and pulled out a thin smile, "It is decent."

"Let’s go."

He led her onto a transparent walkway, heading straight towards the elevator.

"Does this elevator operate the entire underground laboratory?" Su Mo asked.

"My girl, without an Identity Card, nobody can operate this elevator," Su Yao seemed to have caught on to what she was thinking, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing deeper.

Entering the elevator, Su Mo unintentionally caught a glimpse of Su Yao’s Identity Card on his neck. As they ascended, she asked, "How did you come to cooperate with Lu Jin?"

"Lu Jin?" Su Yao thought for a moment, slipped his hands into his coat pockets, and said, "He reached out to me before the snowstorm hit, and I too am curious—how did he know about this laboratory?"

Su Yao turned to look at her, his eyes holding a hint of cunning, "The Western Region laboratory before the end was an SSS-tier protected zone. The surveillance and secrecy were so tight that not even a fly could escape."

Su Mo’s gaze grew heavy. How did Lu Jin find out about a place even Lu Chen didn’t know? She was still unclear on this, but it also indirectly confirmed what Lu Chen said—everything about Ling Ye was leaked to them by Lu Jin.

All the hardships she had faced on her journey had been thanks to this man.

"Ding, Area A has been reached, welcome to enter."

The mechanical female voice was elegant and pleasant to the ear. Passing through the corridor and into this area, there were thousands of doors with designation numbers, everyone wearing the same blue uniforms, with only Su Yao in his white lab coat standing out as very special.

To him, those people seemed very respectful, greeting him as they passed by.

Su Yao always responded with an affable demeanor.

Following him quietly, Su Mo gradually realized something was amiss—many women here were carrying children.

This recognition made her frown, "You’ve raised so many children?"

"New laboratory policy. Our population is rapidly declining, so to maintain balance, we need to develop a long-term labor force," Su Yao answered without missing a beat.

Su Mo could barely believe this reasoning, but as they walked along, she noticed that everyone, regardless of age—even aunts nearly fifty years old who should be retired—were holding a child, which was quite baffling.

"This is it, you can stay here for the night, and I’ll come find you tomorrow. Your body’s genes haven’t fully recovered, you’ll need my help," Su Yao said, gesturing toward a tightly closed door.

Excited by the chance to see her companions, Su Mo didn’t care what he was referring to and nodded obediently.

Su Yao touched her hair again, "My girl, have fun."

Su Mo felt nauseous; once he left, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Soon, the sound of the door opening could be heard from within. When Jianxiong saw Su Mo, he was stunned for a moment, then his booming voice nearly deafened everyone nearby.

"Sister!"

Unable to contain himself, he picked up the petite Su Mo and spun her around in place.

Su Mo hugged his neck with delight, her eyes filled with surprise, "Is everyone okay?"

"We’re fine. Come in, Mrs. Jiang is also here," Jianxiong said, pulling her into the room.

Jiang Yulian was sitting on the bed, while Jiang Zhuoyang crawled chaotically on the not-so-large double bed, a blanket and a pillow laid on the floor.

Jiang Yulian was thrilled to see Su Mo, "Little Mo!"

Su Mo nodded happily in response, then was shocked by the room’s amenities—there was nothing but a bed, a toilet, and some children’s items.

"Why is there only one bed?"

When this topic came up, embarrassment appeared on the faces of both Jiang Yulian and Jianxiong. Eventually, Jianxiong spoke up, "Here, to have children, men and women must live together. I had no choice but to sleep on the floor."

"More childbirth? What do they need so many children for?"

"Not sure. Since we were brought here, we haven’t done anything. Except for someone delivering food and drink, we’re just encouraged to have children."

Su Mo frowned, "What about Lu Chen, Li Qian, and Zhao Changsheng?"

"They’re next door. I’ll go call them," said Jianxiong as he stepped out the door and knocked on two other doors in succession.

Standing by the door, Su Mo saw Lu Chen emerge first. Seeing him, she immediately rushed over to hug him.

The man embraced her fully, his pleasantly fresh scent filling Su Mo’s nostrils, and she asked nervously, "They haven’t done anything to you, have they?"

"Except that I can’t use my superpower, everything’s fine. How about you?"

He stroked her back up and down, as if to comfort her.

As Su Mo looked up at him, Lu Chen noticed for the first time the reddened area on her temple where skin and flesh had been torn.

"What happened?" His hand delved into her hair, his expression turning cold.

His power was completely different from hers; ever since awakening, he’d been held in this place resembling a maternity camp. Thinking that she might have been mistreated, he struggled to contain his anger.