"Of course, we should certainly cooperate with you, officer. However, my sister is very ill and cannot get out of the car. So please be kind enough to let us through," Rulu said calmly, his gaze meeting the soldier's eyes with a strange gleam.
"Your sister is sick? Well... then there's nothing to be done—" As the soldier met Rulu's gaze, his stern expression immediately softened. He put away his gun and waved at the armored trooper blocking the car, saying, "No problem, let them through."
Upon hearing this, the armored trooper moved away from the front of the small car, clearing the path.
"Thank you," Rulu said with a peculiar smile to the soldier before driving off.
To be safe, Rulu kept his Spiritual-power focused on the soldier, maintaining mental control over him. Only when the car was far away did he release his mental control of the soldier.
When they were completely safe, Rulu also breathed a sigh of relief. He thought to himself that it was fortunate he had acquired this strange Spiritual-power; otherwise, there would have been no way for him and Nana to safely return to the concession area. He owed thanks to that green-haired girl whose name he didn't know.
After that, every time Rulu traveled some distance, he would encounter checkpoints set up by Sanctuary troops. Each time, Rulu used his Spiritual-power to control the soldiers and pass through smoothly. After passing through four consecutive checkpoints, he and Nana finally entered the concession area, bought medicine for Nana's illness at a pharmacy, and gave it to her.
Rulu continued driving with Nana through the concession area. During their journey within the concession area, he encountered several more inspections by Sanctuary troops, all of which Rulu resolved using his Spiritual-power.
About an hour later, Rulu drove to a spacious, deserted area where numerous white stone monuments stood on the ground.
"This... this is Blue Sea City's cemetery area. Is the secret house my father mentioned located here?" Nana, having taken the medicine, was feeling much better than before. She looked around the vast area through the car window as she spoke.
Rulu replied: "Yes, this cemetery was established long ago during the war period. A large number of soldiers who died in battle are buried here. After the war ended, the citizens of Blue Sea City became very superstitious about this place, and few people come here. This is the most sparsely populated place in the concession area. According to Uncle Qiao, the secret house he purchased before is in the woods to the east. Let's go there and see."
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Rulu drove toward the eastern part of the cemetery. After a while, he found the woods and continued driving deep into them. Suddenly, Rulu discovered a small, dark, single-story house standing in a clearing deep within the forest.
"This should be it. Let's get out," Rulu said, finding a secluded spot to park the car. He helped Nana out of the car and together they approached the small house.
Rulu took out a set of keys from his bag. These keys had been left by Mayor Qiao during their previous escape. Now that Mayor Qiao was gone, his belongings were kept by Rulu.
After trying several keys, Rulu opened the door of the house. Rulu and Nana entered, finding the house empty and covered in dust, clearly uninhabited for years. Despite being uninhabited, the house had water and electricity, and all electrical appliances worked normally.
"According to Uncle Qiao, there's another house underneath this one. We'll be safer living there. The entrance to the basement should be in the wardrobe in the bedroom..."
As Rulu spoke, he led Nana to the bedroom and began searching the wardrobe. After quite some effort, he found a locked metal hidden door on a concealed wall of the wardrobe.
Rulu used Mayor Qiao's keys to open the metal hidden door. Behind the door was a staircase leading downward. Rulu turned on the light switch beside the stairs, and holding Nana, they entered through the hidden door and descended the stairs into the basement.
The basement was very spacious, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and various other rooms, even larger than the small house above. There was also a secret passage leading somewhere unknown. Rulu guessed this passage was another exit from the basement, convenient for escaping in case of an attack.
There was also a monitoring room in the basement, where a large screen clearly showed various scenes surrounding the small house outside.
After examining the basement together with Nana, Rulu sighed: "It seems Uncle Qiao anticipated long ago that he might meet with misfortune and prepared this house in advance. I didn't expect that Uncle Qiao wouldn't get to live in this house, but we would."
Mentioning Mayor Qiao made Nana sad again: "Father worried so much about us. Now that he's gone, I really don't know how to repay him."
Rulu said: "The best way to repay Uncle Qiao is for you to live well, Nana. By the way, from now on, you'd better not leave this house or interact with people outside. Don't trust anyone, not even your former friends. Don't let anyone know about this house, not even Captain Guan and the others, understand?"
Nana was taken aback and said: "Rulu, are you saying that from now on we will live completely isolated from the outside world?"
Rulu came to Nana's side, put his arm around her shoulders, and said softly: "I know living here alone will make you feel lonely, Nana, but you also know that Sanctuary is hunting for us. For our survival, this is the only way."
Nana nodded, resting her head on Rulu's shoulder, and said with a slight smile: "It's alright. I can endure this hardship. Besides, don't I have you to keep me company, Rulu? And there's internet here, so I won't feel bored no matter how long I stay."
Seeing Nana smile, Rulu felt relieved: "Good. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, Nana, so get some rest first. Leave everything else to me."

