Along the bumpy journey, the damp road made everyone uncomfortable. It wasn't just Xiaofang who felt this way; the entire team walking through the cavern seemed to have their spirits dampened.
Liu Xing's brief speech in the assembly hall didn't have the desired impact. People merely followed organizational orders out of habit, collecting herbs to heal their companions.
For some time now, to varying degrees, a sense of resentment had been accumulating among everyone. This resentment didn't stem from the inexplicable threat of illness—facing life and death situations made physical pain seem trivial. What people disliked the most was the sudden collective isolation enforced by the higher-ups, leading to a complete restructuring of the management within the base. Not only did personnel change, but the entire system underwent a transformation.
The previously available democratic forums for issue resolution and coordination vanished abruptly, replaced by a committee that stood independently from all production departments yet held authority over everyone. From basic necessities to work assignments, everything required the committee's approval. However, the selection of committee members didn't involve drawing experts and elites from various departments; instead, ordinary individuals seemed to have risen out of nowhere, ascending rapidly. Many of them were introduced to each other, lacking any exceptional personal talents, and their seeming inability to escape suspicion of forming cliques and pursuing personal interests was quite apparent.
This group of people currently wasn't engaged in any production. They didn't carry weapons and spoke with smiles, yet their tone brooked no room for negotiation. For instance, when a committee member said to a worker, "I suggest you do it this way," perhaps the worker would contest, "We've always done it like this. Why change? What's the benefit of this change?" The committee staff remained unruffled, smiling, "It's better if you do it the way I said." So they'd approach leaders, and before long, someone would come to talk, conversing with production department heads and workers.
Initially, the workers argued their points forcefully, faces flushed with conviction. In the end, they still complied with the committee's requests, their smiles concealing their lack of protest. However, their eyes clearly betrayed a sense of betrayal. Such incidents occurred a few times, and even the most naive person understood—the base had changed. It was no longer the democratic era of the past. The committee had won authority but lost the people's hearts.
Amidst this situation, no one in the team asked too much, not even questioning how they got here or why they were notified to carry out the mission. Collecting herbs, gathering curative materials for comrades – the reason was sufficiently convincing, and having one was enough for them.
Xiaofang glanced at the marching group, leaning against the damp wall, shaking off the sand that had gotten into his shoes. Among the dwindling number of soldiers from the entire base, he noticed that aside from the remaining military personnel, there were quite a few girls in the group. He recognized a few of them.
"It's coming back to me," Xiaofang suddenly recalled. These girls might not be related to each other, but Xiaofang knew all of them. Their encounters had left deep impressions, as all of them had visited the Committee Office during his duty. Xiaofang remembered that they seemed to be looking for members of the committee at the time, and they were extremely displeased, almost all of them ending up in heated arguments, but ultimately being persuaded to leave.
As for the remaining people, Xiaofang glanced at the others. He felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine. Among the marching group, he saw many determined faces, people with a strong sense of not backing down and even a hint of scholarly air about some of them.
With a relatively agile mind, a sudden thought occurred to Xiaofang, "The people in this group are all those whom the committee can't control. So, is this mission really just about collecting herbs?"
Born under the banner of the Red Flag, Xiaofang was startled by his own thought. He didn't want to harbor such suspicions about the organization. Yet, another voice told him that this wasn't the same organization anymore, those revered superiors and leaders of the scientific division had all been isolated.
The group stopped in a low-lying area of the cave.
At this moment, Li Xiaodong, the committee member in charge of the mission, began to arrange things.
"Um, everyone, pay attention. Divide into three teams and enter through these three entrances."
"Each team should bring proper lighting equipment and search for a plant resembling a dandelion. Look here, this is the dandelion. Since we don't have any samples left, search for something that looks like this. The only difference is that it has blue flowers."
"Walk along the entrance of the cave; there are several large chambers inside where these flowers are distributed."
"We only discovered this plant yesterday, so we have to use this manual method to collect it quickly. Don't worry; there's no danger inside. Once you're in, spread out immediately and search for the plants."
"Alright, now divide into three groups."
In this group of over two hundred people, there were nearly fifty members of the committee, both male and female. Xiaofang noticed that after their group was split into three, they weren't included in any of them. Furthermore, the method of division was quite crude, simply splitting the crowd into three parts. The feeling wasn't like they were being organized into groups, but rather like cutting a pastry into three pieces to give to three different people.
With a curious notion in mind, Xiaofang fixated his gaze on Li Xiaodong, trying to discern something. Benefiting from the cave's darkness, Li Xiaodong stood out vividly under the illumination devices. Xiaofang could catch every nuance of his emotions, while Li Xiaodong remained unaware of Xiaofang's intense scrutiny.
When someone constantly smiled no matter what they said, they were definitely concealing their emotions. Xiaofang observed that Li Xiaodong maintained a smile – a mere upturned mouth devoid of any genuine cheer. If you ignored his tiny eyes, his appearance was characterized by a downward curve at the corners of his mouth, with a dark complexion that suggested a resolute demeanor. However, combined with the prolonged, forced smile, it appeared extremely insincere.
Xiaofang noticed a conspiratorial glint in Li Xiaodong's eyes when he interacted with a few select committee members. This convinced Xiaofang of his suspicions, reinforcing his belief that something was amiss.
As he observed Li Xiaodong casting reluctant glances at a few pretty girls, Xiaofang's suspicions grew heavier. He patted the small crossbow in his pocket – it had been given to him by the team leader. This reminded him of the evening when the team leader had departed.
"Xiaofang, come here," the team leader called.
Seemingly uncomfortable, the team leader tried to appear unaffected, striding over with apparent ease, though Xiaofang, who was inherently perceptive, detected a slight tremor in his legs.
"After the shift change, rest at the camp for two hours, then go to guard the West Three Outpost."
"Yes!"
What shocked Xiaofang was that as the team leader left, he brushed past him and surreptitiously placed a finely crafted small crossbow in his hand, whispering almost inaudibly.
"Take care of yourself. The committee is up to something!"
At that moment, Xiaofang's throat went dry from nervousness.
He subsequently steadied his emotions and performed an action he admired himself for. During his duty, he concealed the crossbow in a crevice between the building's stones, sealing the opening with a stone chip.
After his shift, the committee's first order of business was a thorough body inspection for all members. The reason given was that virus infections would result in the appearance of red spots on the body. Xiaofang wasn't sure if his crossbow hiding was correct; he relied entirely on instinct at the time. As for the team leader, he never returned to the camp after that and was said to have fallen ill due to the virus.
When Xiaofang was summoned to the assembly hall earlier, he took the opportunity to discreetly retrieve the cleverly concealed crossbow. On a night without electric lights, nobody would pay attention to the dark wall.
Today's events were peculiar at every turn. Gritting his teeth, Xiaofang stared at the approaching group that was about to enter the cave. Suddenly, he spoke up, his voice so loud that it startled even himself.
"I have a question!"
All eyes turned toward him, including Li Xiaodong, whose face displayed astonishment.
"Why aren't the committee members going with us?"
Xiaofang spoke loudly; since he had already started, he figured there was no harm in going all the way. "Is there something wrong inside the cave? Or do you have some scheme in mind, something you want to do to us?"
Li Xiaodong finally stopped smiling. His downturned lips reflected a mixture of fear and anger in his gaze.