There were only two bus trips per day from the Northwest Military Region to Sea City.

One at 8:00 AM and another at 12:00 PM. The trip to Sea City took six hours, nearly half a day.

The bus didn’t make any stops along the way. Unless it was for something important, no one was willing to endure such a long ride. Normally, if they needed to buy anything, they would ask the soldiers from the neighboring barracks to get it for them.

At Wen Ci’s words, the hospital’s on-duty room instantly filled with a clamor of voices. Wen Ci’s eyes curved into a smile as she said softly, "Write what you need on a list and give it to Doctor Yu in a little while."

"Alright!"

-

A few minutes later, Wen Ci left with a bag on her back. It contained two packs of instant noodles and a small thermos; she would have to eat lunch on the bus.

Instant noodles were both tasty and convenient. Just as Wen Ci was leaving the family housing compound, she ran into Yu Qing. Her eyes widened at the sight of the long shopping list in Yu Qing’s hand.

"We have to get this much stuff?"

"Yep."

"Let me see." Wen Ci took the list. Most of the items written on it were easy-to-carry things that women needed. She smiled gently and said:

"Doctor Yu, is it okay if we eat instant noodles on the bus today?"

"That’s fine." Yu Qing paused, then met Wen Ci’s eyes. She spoke slowly and deliberately, "Wen Ci, don’t be so formal. Just call me Yu Qing."

"Okay."

Before they even reached the military region’s bus station, Wen Ci saw the bus driver from afar. He was holding a wrench and getting under the vehicle. Next to it lay a dismounted tire.

Wen Ci immediately had a bad feeling.

They had to take the earliest morning bus to get back before evening. If they took the noon bus, they wouldn’t make it back in time and would have to spend the night in Sea City.

The guesthouse required documentation issued by their work unit, and by the time the papers were processed, they would have missed the final noon bus anyway.

As they got closer, Wen Ci saw that the bus’s right-side wheel had been removed, and the wheel hub had been taken out of the tire. She squatted down and asked, "Sir, will we be able to leave?"

The driver poked his head out from under the bus, his face smeared with dark grease. He waved a hand and said, "We can’t go. Something punctured the tire; I don’t know what."

As he spoke, the driver spat on the ground. "I don’t know if this route is cursed or what. This is the third time in a row a tire has blown out on the drive back from Sea City."

Wen Ci’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’The bus tire was punctured by something sharp on its way back to the Northwest Military Region three times in a row.’

Her woman’s intuition was screaming that something was wrong!

’In the future, frequent tire punctures like this are usually deliberate. And there would always be a repair shop a few kilometers away charging exorbitant prices.’

’But the road to the Northwest Military Region is surrounded by desolate, uninhabited Gobi desert. And it’s the only access road. This demands caution.’

Wen Ci spoke slowly, "Sir, have you reported this to the military?"

The driver’s eyes darted as he instantly understood the implication of her words. He scrambled out from under the bus and dusted himself off. "The young lady is right. I need to report this to my superiors."

After the driver left, Wen Ci and Yu Qing exchanged a look of silent understanding.

Wen Ci asked, "So, are you going back to work?"

"Yeah. I’m going to go cancel my leave request first."

Wen Ci didn’t plan on working today. The fatigue in her body had eased considerably, but she was walking a bit strangely, making it inconvenient for her to give injections or change dressings for patients.

As a doctor, Yu Qing could tell something was off, but she didn’t call her out on it. A hint of amusement flickered in her eyes as they parted ways on the small path near the station.

Just as she reached the entrance of the family housing compound, Wen Ci saw a brand-new bicycle parked next to the guardhouse.