Chapter 1577 - 893: Refueling Midway
Lao Yi piloted the helicopter, flying directly toward Big Camphor Tree Base after leaving Qu City.
Lao Yi wasn’t too thrilled about returning; he also wanted to take part in the operation at Kun City, but since Li Yu personally issued the order, he had no choice but to comply.
After departing from Qu City, they encountered no issues along the way.
Just three hours into the flight, he noticed the fuel gauge indicating the remaining fuel level, leaving him no choice but to find a suitable place to land and refuel.
At that moment, they had already reached the Yong City territory in Xiang Province.
At an altitude of fifteen hundred meters, Lao Yi surveyed the ground conditions.
There were too many forests, the ground was uneven, making it impossible to land the helicopter.
He didn’t want to land in the city either.
The helicopter was already carrying some newcomers, introducing uncertainty; landing in the city would be troublesome if people were around.
Though he wasn’t afraid of trouble, Lao Yi didn’t want to waste time.
"This won’t do; the soil beneath is too soft, making it unstable for landing."
After flying a bit further, Lao Yi noticed the remaining fuel had reached a critical level on the gauge.
There was no more time to delay; they had to quickly find a place to land.
Finally, Lao Yi’s eyes brightened; he spotted a flat grassland with a wide road running through the middle.
A cement road surface, perfect for landing.
The grassland seemed to have been a pasture before, and the surrounding mountains were some distance away.
The broad grassland offered a wide view, so if anyone were around, they could be spotted while refueling.
Lao Yi began to maneuver the helicopter for landing.
A few minutes later, they landed smoothly on the road in the middle of the grassland.
Lao Yi unbuckled his seatbelt and then turned to Zhu Sai, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, saying, "Xiao Zhu, take someone to refuel the helicopter."
"Alright." Xiao Zhu responded, a hint of delight appearing on his youthful face.
It felt uncomfortable being stuck in the helicopter for too long; getting off to do some work was just the right way to relax.
Inside the helicopter, Lao Yi and another person observed Elder Zhang and his students.
Xiao Zhu and another person carried aviation kerosene off the helicopter.
The aviation kerosene was stored in barrels. Xiao Zhu took a fuel hose, inserted it into the airplane’s tank through the lift frame, and started refueling.
Outside, the grass on the lush meadow swayed in the breeze, slender blades dancing in the wind.
Standing high, looking down at the sea of grass, Xiao Zhu felt quite pleased.
Inside.
Several of Elder Zhang’s students helped carry out the barrels of aviation kerosene.
Lao Yi watched this scene and didn’t stop them.
He simply sat in the pilot’s seat the whole time, not leaving the helicopter.
He knew how valuable helicopters were in the Doomsday scenario; if he left the helicopter to refuel, and someone outside seized the pilot’s seat and took off, what then?
Although he knew the chances of this happening were almost zero, Li Yu had emphasized that safety comes first.
Therefore, the pilot’s seat must always be occupied, and it could only be him.
Due to the loud wind inside the helicopter, Lao Yi hadn’t communicated with Elder Zhang and the others at all.
Now, suddenly stopped, the whole world seemed to quiet down.
The students and Elder Zhang observed Lao Yi and his group, while Lao Yi watched them.
Silently exchanging glances.
After a minute of mutual gaze, it felt rather awkward.
Elder Zhang coughed to break the silence, addressing Lao Yi, "Captain Yi, roughly how long until we arrive?"
Lao Yi glanced at him, then responded, "About an hour and a half. Why?"
Displaying an amicable smile, Elder Zhang replied, "Nothing, just curious about what the situation at Big Camphor Tree Base is like. Could you give us a brief introduction?"
"You’ll know once you get there." Lao Yi answered somewhat impatiently.
He had missed the battle in Kun City, leaving him feeling a bit emotional.
Later, they still needed to pilot the helicopter back the same way to catch up with Director Li and the others. Thinking about this made Lao Yi somewhat restless.
After hearing Lao Yi’s response, sensing his less than delightful mood.
Elder Zhang wore a slight awkward expression, wisely closing his mouth.
Lao Yi, noticing Elder Zhang’s silence, felt a bit guilty for brushing him off when he had politely asked.
Thus, he proactively spoke, "Big Camphor Tree Base is in Gan City; what to say about our base? Personally, I feel it’s quite good—at least it’s stable; since I joined Big Camphor Tree Base, I haven’t seen any chaos."
"Everyone follows the rules. Cooperative Personnel and Extra Staff complete tasks to survive. If facing a natural disaster or a Zombie Tide, the base provides shelter. Overall, it’s very decent; you all are quite lucky to have encountered us."
Hearing Lao Yi’s words, those students who initially felt anxious seemed to relax considerably.
Traveling far to a completely unfamiliar place, their lives depending on others naturally made them anxious.
Elder Zhang rubbed his chair and nodded, saying, "Is the manager of Big Camphor Tree Base also Director Li?"
Lao Yi picked up the nearby water bottle, took a sip, then replied, "Yes, don’t be fooled by Director Li’s young age; as far as I know, Big Camphor Tree Base was established solely by him. Without him, Big Camphor Tree wouldn’t have developed as it did."