Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 269: Chapter 259: A Meticulous Plan

With no electricity at Hulan Base, night came early.

By a little after nine, the tents had mostly fallen silent. People went to sleep early to pass the long night.

Without defensive fortifications, guards had to be posted 24 hours a day to prevent the Bear Clan from launching a midnight raid.

When all of Hulan Base grew quiet, it was the perfect time for Tang Mo’s plan to begin.

It was hard to say whether they were all just following Qiangba’s lead, but most people in Hulan Base carried themselves with a wild, untamed arrogance.

The Bear Clan had never attempted a night raid before, so even the guards on watch were dozing in their chairs, utterly lacking in vigilance.

It was as if they thought they were the masters of the entire grassland.

Midnight, the turn of the day, brought a chill to the air.

Tang Mo and Duoyang snuck into the tent where the bear cubs were being held.

The cubs’ cages were locked, and Duoyang didn’t have the key. That changed nothing. Often, brute force is the best tool.

The cubs were already familiar with Duoyang and Tang Mo. As they were let out of their cages, they affectionately rubbed against the two of them.

"Listen to me, okay? I’m going to take you back to your parents."

Tang Mo said, stroking a cub’s head.

Tang Mo had already instructed the Bear Leader. Right now, not far behind Hulan Base, a group of bears was standing by, ready to bring the cubs home.

However, the tent was located near the center of the base. Even though Tang Mo and Duoyang were as quiet as possible while leading the cubs out, it was impossible for more than a dozen bears to be completely silent.

Tang Mo had already used rosemary to drug the guards on duty, but soon enough, one of the cubs accidentally bumped into a nearby tent. The noise made someone poke their head out.

"The bears are escaping!!!"

The first person to see what was happening screamed. Soon, the entire base was awake, people hastily dressing and pouring out of their tents.

"Hurry, get these cubs out through the back!"

Tang Mo urged Duoyang, seizing the moment before people could fully react and emerge from their tents.

Duoyang immediately scooped up two cubs and bolted for the rear of the base.

The cubs seemed to know they were going home. They were surprisingly obedient, scrambling and tumbling after Duoyang.

Meanwhile, Tang Mo pulled the handgun she hadn’t used in ages from her Space and fired a shot into the air.

It was her signal for the Bear Leader.

In addition to the team of bears waiting behind the base to retrieve the cubs, the Bear Leader was also positioned at the main gate with another team, waiting for Tang Mo’s signal.

The moment they heard the shot, they were to advance and prepare to attack Hulan Base.

It wasn’t a real attack, of course. It was just for show, a way to keep the base’s inhabitants too busy to notice the escaping cubs.

A classic feint. Tang Mo always preferred to find the most convenient solution, to accomplish her goals with the least amount of effort.

"A large group of bears are attacking from the main gate! Everyone grab your weapons and get to the gate!"

Tang Mo yelled into the chaos. The panicked crowd in the dark hadn’t clearly heard the first shout—only something about bears—but they heard Tang Mo loud and clear. One after another, they finished dressing, grabbed their weapons, and prepared to fight.

Meanwhile, Duoyang hadn’t managed to get the cubs completely out of the base yet. People living in the rear saw the cubs scurrying past their feet and started shouting as well.

But by then, most of the people had already reached the main gate with their weapons and seen the menacing horde of bears. Who had time to worry about the shouting in the rear?

To them, the cubs were useless anyway, just something to take their frustrations out on.

With a major crisis at hand, if the cubs escaped, they escaped. They could always catch more later.

How could they possibly imagine that this was all a feint orchestrated by Tang Mo, just to let those cubs escape?

The noise from the front grew louder. The people in the rear realized bears were truly attacking and couldn’t be bothered with stopping the cubs anymore. Instead, they grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the gate.

This undoubtedly made things much smoother for Duoyang and the cubs. She had changed out of her traditional clothing and was now wearing clothes Tang Mo had given her, along with a mask and hat. Anyone would have mistaken her for an outsider, not a Hulan Base local.

It couldn’t be helped. Duoyang and her grandmother still had to live in Hulan Base, so certain precautions were necessary.

In fact, if not for Duoyang, Tang Mo would have had a much simpler plan.

’Just start a fire.’ That would have saved the Bear Leader and his clan the trip.

But Hulan Base was Duoyang’s home, so Tang Mo had chosen a more roundabout approach.

Tang Mo and the Bear Leader had already come to an understanding. The bears’ only purpose tonight was to ensure the cubs’ safe escape, not to actually fight.

The Bear Leader had, of course, perfectly understood Tang Mo’s intentions. He led his troupe of "actors" toward the Hulan Base gate at an extremely slow pace.

Once the people of Hulan Base had assembled, the Bear Leader actually had his bears stop in their tracks.

The people of Hulan Base advanced with their weapons, ready to fight, only to find the bears had seemingly retreated a little.

’What are they doing? Can’t sleep, so they decided to mess with us instead?’

And so, the two groups—human and bear—stared at each other from a distance. For a moment, it was as if time had frozen.

Tang Mo remained among the now-empty tents in the center of the base, using her spiritual power to monitor the situation at both the front and rear.

In the rear, Duoyang had already rendezvoused with the cubs and the members of the Bear Clan who had been waiting. The bears were now escorting the cubs in a swift retreat back to the forest.

Duoyang, meanwhile, immediately turned back. She ripped off her hat and mask, changed back into her own clothes, and rushed toward the main gate to blend in with the armed crowd.

"What’s going on? Let’s charge! The people of Hulan Base are no cowards!"

Duoyang shouted toughly from within the crowd, her eyes glaring resentfully at the "enemy" before her.

After spending so much time with Tang Mo, even Duoyang had learned a few tricks.

She was afraid of arousing suspicion later, so she was putting on a show now, drawing everyone’s attention and creating the illusion that she was "fighting side-by-side" with them.

Seeing that everything was in place, Tang Mo raised her hand and fired another shot into the sky.

The Bear Leader received the signal again. He knew the little ones had been safely retrieved.

He immediately ordered all the bears to retreat.

They retreated with incredible speed, perhaps the fastest they had ever moved in their lives.

After all, every one of them was anxious to be reunited with their rescued children. Who had time to deal with a bunch of humans?