Chapter 347 - Ticket
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
2nd Sponsor chapter! Remember CSG will be 1:1 match on my sponsored releases! Thanks Travis F. and Peter B.!
"Elder Liu, stay safe, I don't think the Spatial Transfer Gate can be solved in the short-term. Serenity airship is destroyed, but Treadmill and the others onboard are safe. I received some information a few days earlier, I don't know if Elder Liu will be happy hearing it," Zhang ShengLi replied back.
"What is the message?"
Zhang ShengLi updated Liu Gan of all the transmitted broadcasts that were picked up during this time. Some were useful to Liu Gan, but most were not. There was one particular piece of information that attracted Liu Gan's attention. It was regarding Brave, a codenamed airship.
With the destruction of Serenity, Liu Gan had to shift his focus to other airships, in particular the sole Brave model. Zhang ShengLi recorded all the names that were used over the public channel and on this channel; the message was an open bounty. They were looking for people on their list. If anyone found those people, they could reach out to the Brave airship. The bounty reward for each person found was a ticket onboard the Brave. There would be a helicopter dispatched to pick the people up.
On that list was a name, Lee Dong. This person was the captain's grandson, and he was four years old.
"This DongDong…" Liu Gan suddenly remembered the name. It was close to the same name as the small kid that LuLu had rescued. The kid also said his grandpa was a captain? If that was the case, then finding DongDong would mean someone onboard the Brave would send a pick-up?
As long as Liu Gan got onboard the Brave airship, he was confident that he could hijack it solo. As long as the crew remained alive, he could navigate it to wherever he wanted.
That DongDong… could he still be in the Lucky Garden Residential District? The only reason Liu Gan still remembered the name of the area was because he had been on high alert ever since he transferred into the game, and that area left a deep impression on him.
Even though Liu Gan left LuLu and DongDong behind in the Lucky Garden District, he wasn't sure if they were still there. From the time he left them behind to now, it had been two months. With LuLu's ability and personality, it was highly unlikely that they were able to survive this long, especially with a young child.
It was good thing that the Lucky Garden District was along the route from the Biochemical Intelligence Research Center to Mr. Sheng's indicator on the map, so Liu Gan wouldn't have to take a detour. This way he could see if he was able to find DongDong. If he found him, then this Brave airship would be his.
Shortly after the transmission with Zhang ShengLi was over, Han GuangMing and Zhao Meng returned from their gathering trip. They also brought along another person.
It was a young girl.
"Elder Liu! When did you and Vice-leader He return?" Han GuangMing happily rushed over to give Liu Gan a bear hug.
Liu Gan was very uncomfortable with such an affectionate display of friendship. Han GuangMing felt slightly embarrassed after he realized what he had done and released his grip. Then, he introduced the newcomer to Liu Gan.
"Elder Liu, do you recognize her?" Han GuangMing proudly asked. When he first met Liu Gan, there was a order that was given to him and it was to find the pair of sisters. He wasn't able to fulfill this task and it caused him moments of gloominess. Never would he have thought that he could find the sister here.
"You are… the water caltrop sisters?" Liu Gan slowly recognized the young girl with mud smudged on her face. The water caltrop sisters… their surname sounded close to Lee? What was it? Lee…?
"I am DingXiang. I recognize you! You are the big brother who gave me crackers," the young girl nodded quickly.
"Oh right, you are Lee DingXiang. You have an older sister, Lee DingXin right? Where is your sister? Why isn't she with you?" Liu Gan asked Lee DingXiang. He had promised these sisters good food, but he was never able to fulfill that promise.
"Sister was taken away…" Lee DingXiang started crying loudly.
"Oh… Don't cry. Who took her away?" Liu Gan frowned.
"Three days ago, we met a group of people while searching for food. They surrounded us. They didn't look like good people. I ran with my sister as fast as we could. Sister tried to bait them so I could run away. Then, she was caught by them," Lee DingXiang sobbed as she told her story.
"Where is your sister taken from? Do you know where those people are right now?" Liu Gan asked.
"I know… They seem like they are… at… the College of Agriculture? They have a lot of people…" Lee DingXiang pointed in a certain direction.
That direction was exactly where Liu Gan was going to go anyway.
"No need to rush, as long as we know where she is. No matter who caught her, I will rescue her. As long as you lead us there, we can take a look at it," Liu Gan comforted the younger sister.
These sisters were able to survive in this horrific world together, and Liu Gan was impressed. He also wanted to fulfill his promise toward them; he owed them a good meal. Now that Lee DingXin was caught, he could rescue them and use them as guides. These sisters were the local survivors of NinJing City, so they would be the most familiar with finding the whereabouts of Mr. Sheng's map icon.
Since it wasn't dark yet, the group hurried over to the Lucky Garden District. This area wasn't affected by the gustnado so its structural integrity hadn't been compromised.
Shortly after, Liu Gan arrived at DongDong's house. Inside the house, there was a layer of dust and cobwebs in the corners. There hadn't been anyone living there for awhile now. There were no signs of LuLu or DongDong.
Liu Gan went to another location; it was the temporary camp that he had suggested to LuLu and Pan Hua before he left them. This location also was layered with dust and cobwebs. No one had been here for a long time either.
As long as there was someone living here, there would be clues as to what happened to them. Liu Gan searched and found a diary. Cataloged on the top of the diary was a date. Judging from the style it was written, Liu Gan was able to confirm that it was by LuLu.
On the first day, LuLu found a distressed mother and daughter that had arrived at the Lucky Garden District. They were rescued by Liu Gan and he instructed them to find this area… In fact, it was actually Jiang JinYuan who instructed the mother and daughter to find LuLu.
Could it be possible that he will come back? LuLu ended that day's diary with this last sentence.
After two days, a six-year old child arrived at the Lucky Garden District. Her name was LingLing and she was covered in blood. She didn't look infected, and LingLing said she was attacked by people and she quickly fainted.
LuLu helped treat LingLing's wounds and fed her food. After waking up, the first thing LingLing wanted to hear was a song. She made LuLu sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
[TL: Chapter 40 when they first met DongDong]
[TL: Chapter 66 for the mother (Cheng Qi) and daughter (Yao Yi)]
[TL: Chapter 98 for LingLing trapped in the cage]