Six o'clock in the morning.
Chi Yue and Wen Qizhou washed up, called the others to the office area to check out the rental, and then carried their luggage to the parking area.
They don't have much luggage.
Things that are inconvenient to take away are given to Mingzhang and Yan Shuo for safekeeping in advance. At the moment, they only bring the necessities of life.
Maybe they had been trapped in Hunza Mountain for too long, but they were all in high spirits. When they left the "donuts" and drove to the grassland, they couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes.
There are fewer animals on the grassland.
Under the ever-lasting scorching sun, many animals could not hold on and fell on the road in search of food and fighting with their own kind.
A group of hyenas were surrounding a stinking antelope carcass, chewing it voraciously. Only a thin layer of skin was left on their bellies hanging in the air. Their normally alert ears did not hear the approaching sound of the RV.
Xie Changxiao turned the steering wheel.
He quietly walked around them so as not to disturb their eating. Chi Yunyan, who was behind him, looked at the skinny hyenas and couldn't help but sigh: "They probably haven't eaten for a long time, and the skin on their abdomens has almost fallen to the grass."
"There is nothing we can do about it. We humans in the base have a very difficult life, let alone animals that rely entirely on hunting for survival." Yao Chengwei looked out of the car window.
Nature is cruel.
Plants die due to lack of water, and herbivores cannot fill their stomachs and become prey. The hyenas that taste the prey and are temporarily full are not the meals of other animals.
"How long can the water we store last?" Sun Rui withdrew her gaze from the hyena group and asked about the resources they had.
"A week will definitely be fine."
On the eve of their departure, the five men went into the forest to collect water and stored enough water to meet their needs for a week.
Outside of Hunza Mountain, there must be more rivers and streams that have not dried up, so there is no need to worry too much about water resources.
Sun Rui nodded: "That's good."
They sat in front of the windows on the left and right sides. Chi Yue stretched out her hands to feel the hot wind, quietly feeling some expectation in her heart.
The rest of the people have their own ideas.
Not long after, the RV drove out of the Hunza Mountains grassland, and the scenery reflected in their eyes became more and more desolate.
"Where is our first stop?" Chi Yunyan, a very nervous person, later realized that he had not asked about the destination yet.
Chi Yue: "Jing City."
When she lived in Jing City, she hadn't gone shopping carefully. This time, she wanted to take a walk in the city if she had the chance.
After that, continue southward along Jingshi.
"Well, call me when the person in the driver's seat changes." He yawned sleepily and climbed onto the bed to catch up on his sleep.
The driver's seat was changed three times, and the RV driving quickly on all roads also took them to the first stop.
The highway toll booths that used to symbolize the facade of the country have long been reduced to ruins. Only one or two thin birds can be seen flying across the sky, lifeless.
Driving an RV into the city center, the once high-tech high-rise buildings and intelligent facilities have all been reduced to dust, leaving only a faint glimpse of the past prosperity.
The road covered with meteorites and various debris was too narrow for the RV to pass. They could only park the RV in a hidden place, get out of the car and walk to the landmark buildings in Jing City.
Wen Qizhou stepped on the ruins under his feet and stared at the devastation, wondering what he was thinking.
Chi Yue also frowned.
The palace became devastated, destroying the last trace of luck in their hearts. The buildings that had stood for hundreds of years failed to survive the devastating disaster.
She suppressed her depression and said, "Anyway, we don't need any tickets now. Let's take a leisurely stroll around."
Her relaxed tone dispelled the gloom hanging over the rest of the people, and she subconsciously showed a smile.
Chi Yunyan: "Let's go!"
They shuttled through Nuoda's palaces, admiring the carvings on the beams, pavilions, and columns. They found undamaged palaces and took a closer look, and then drove to beautiful parks and high-tech gymnasiums.
Then he crossed the street and came to the outskirts of the city.
Looking at the endless square city, Yao Chengwei sighed: "Palaces and other things really don't last long, only square city can stand here forever."
The entire square city is made of countless bricks and stones, and has been gradually corroded by wind and rain over thousands of years.
The original angular bricks have become rounded, and various substances have been deposited on the surface of the stone, losing its original color. However, it is much better than the buildings in the city center. At least overall, there are still some shape.
"Climb up?"
Wen Qizhou asked everyone for their opinions.
They raised their hands in approval. Chi Yue knelt down to tie her shoelaces, stepped forward to hold Wen Qizhou's hand, and walked up step by step.
The road to the top of the mountain is not easy to walk, and because it is now unmaintained, some places where the sun does not shine are covered with moss, making it slippery and slippery when you walk up.
"Yao Chengwei, why are you dragging me?" Chi Yunyan, who almost fell, was shocked: "I almost fell!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
An unapologetic tone.
Seeing his "No, no, no, you can throw this" look in his eyes, Chi Yunyan was so angry that he immediately grinded his teeth.
He rushed forward to fight with Yao Chengwei.
Zhao Peng held Sun Rui's hand and followed them steadily, admiring the magnificent scenery while climbing up.
"Qizhou." Xie Changxiao recalled how he and Wen Qizhou climbed Fangcheng when they were traveling to Jing City when they were young: "The last time we climbed Fangcheng, who reached the top first?"
"I."
"you sure?"
"What? Do you want to lose again?" Wen Qizhou raised his eyebrows slightly and took two or three steps forward without breathing.
“It’s not yet certain who will lose and who will win.”
"Try?"
"Okay." He walked up to Wen Qizhou and moved his shoulders and neck to compete with him: "Xiao Yue, help us time the time."
They always like to compare with each other on certain things.
Chi Yue has long been used to it.
She took out a mini timer and while timing them, followed slowly, climbing to the top step by step.
Finally──
The seven people stood on the top of the peak and took advantage of the breeze blowing in their faces to admire the continuous mountains with great enthusiasm.
"Brother Zhou, who of you won?" Yao Chengwei, who had been paying attention to the "race situation", asked breathlessly about the result.
"you guess."
"Can't guess."
"Brother-in-law is thirty-one seconds faster than Brother Xiao."
"That's about the same." Yao Chengwei felt that their strengths were evenly matched: "Brother Xiao still has a chance to return to the top!"
Xie Changxiao: "..." Silly.
They leaned against the stone wall. Chi Yue caught a glimpse of bright red from the corner of her eye and bent down to pick up the small flag in the corner.
She dusted it off.
Finding a groove on the fence, she gestured towards the groove with the flag, raised her hand and inserted the flagpole into it.
A few stars on the flag were blown away by the wind.
She stared at the flag for a long time, then took out the camera and tripod from her backpack: "Shall we take a photo here?"
"OK."
Chi Yunyan placed the tripod directly in front of him, set the timer on the camera, and then returned to the crowd and opened his arms.
In the photo, the seven dusty people stood next to a bright flag, brimming with the brightest smiles.
*
The RV is traveling at a constant speed on the road.
Wen Qizhou was driving intently, while Chi Yue was watching the road ahead with binoculars. He found an abandoned vehicle blocked not far away, and reminded him to avoid it.
Soft music lingered in the car. The five people who took turns to rest lay in different places and slept very peacefully.
Chi Yunyan opened his eyes in a daze, and was stung by the sunlight. He couldn't help but reached out to cover his eyes. He squinted and asked, "Sister, where is our second stop?"
The scenery on the road has turned into continuous green mountains and lakes, and rows of low ancient buildings not far away come into view, as if traveling through time and space to many years ago.
It is now seven o'clock in the morning, and there is a thin layer of fog hanging outside. The lake and low-rise buildings are shrouded in the hazy sunlight, as if they are glowing, and they are very beautiful.
Chi Yue: "Jiangnan."
Most people who have not grown up in the south of the Yangtze River will have a dream of the south of the Yangtze River, fantasizing about the slow and gentle lifestyle, Wu Nong's soft-spoken tone and the big rivers.
She had always liked this environment.
But I have been busy and have no time. I never thought that one day when I come to Jiangnan, I will be in the apocalypse where order has collapsed.
Chi Yunyan was completely sleepless. He immediately got up and looked outside, feeling: "This is my first time in Jiangnan."
Yao Chengwei was woken up by him while he was sleeping.
When I opened my eyes and saw the scenery outside the window, my tired and tired mood became soothed.
They are full of longing.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the RV parked by the lake.
The lake is clear, with withered lotus flowers and yellowing lotus leaves inside, reflecting the dark green mountains not far away.
Although it is not as beautiful as before, it still gives people a sense of Chinese painting that is carefully created stroke by stroke and blended out.
Chi Yue walked to the lake shore to relax.
It rains a lot in the south of the Yangtze River. Even though it is extremely dark now, it has not rained for a long time, and the lakes have not dried up. There is a moist and fresh atmosphere in the air, which is very different from other places.
She looked back into the car and softly woke up the people who were still playing chess with Duke Zhou: "We have arrived in Jiangnan. Come down."
Wen Qizhou parked the RV next to a wide round pavilion, and everyone woke up from their naps, got out of the car and walked around.
"The house over there is so beautifully renovated. If I had bought it before and opened it as a B&B, I would have made a lot of money."
Yao Chengwei’s thinking is very special.
Chi Yunyan secretly complained in his heart. He walked slowly to the lake and looked down. He couldn't help but be surprised: "The water is so clear."
In recent years, natural disasters have occurred continuously.
Especially the heavy rain that fell in the first year was a devastating blow to the already watery Jiangnan. The lake level rose and the entire area would have been flooded at that time.
Therefore, people nearby moved their homes due to the rising lake water and fled in a hurry, abandoning the place where their ancestors had lived for generations and moving into the base that provided them with shelter.
This place happened to be a tourist attraction, with a small town of villagers next to it. Zhao Peng and Sun Rui curiously walked a few dozen meters forward, opened the door and took a look inside.
The room was filled with debris and plankton washed ashore, and the ground was soaked in a shallow layer of water, making it slightly dirty.
The wooden pillar was covered with moss, and a black-and-white striped sea snake was hovering above it, looking over with eager eyes.
There are signs of disaster everywhere, and it must be the same scene in all the houses.
Outside the town, there is still the scene that fascinated countless people before the end of the world, but the town is already in a mess.
The two walked back in silence, their initial thoughts of staying in these abandoned houses for a night completely given up.
Back around the round pavilion, Wen Qizhou looked at their expressions and guessed what the scene was like in the town.
He said silently: "We will stay in the car tonight." The novelty can be lost, there is no need to suffer.
They all agreed.
Chi Yunyan on the other side didn't know when he found a wooden boat parked on the shore.
Perhaps it was launched just before the end of the world, and it was out of place among the rotting boats that had been soaked in water.
Brand new and solid.
After he finished checking, he stood on the boat and waved to Chi Yue and others on the shore: "Sister, come here quickly! Let's go swimming on the lake!"
Chi Yue's eyes lit up.
They then walked to the wooden boat. She and Wen Qizhou sat at the front, Zhao Peng and Sun Rui sat in the middle of the wooden boat, and Chi Yunyan, Xie Changxiao, and Yao Chengwei sat at the back, rowing with two oars. , and exerted force with a bang.
Seeing Yao Chengwei and Chi Yunyan swaying the oars, Xie Changxiao was terrified, fearing that they would fall: "If you two fall, we won't fish them out."
"How can it be?"
"Our skills are very good."
The people who were "quarreling" yesterday are now unanimously speaking out, raising their chins in a tacit understanding and showing off their skills.
The wooden boat slowly sailed into the middle of the lotus leaves and was surrounded by a withered lotus.
The dilapidated scene has a unique flavor.
They rowed a circle in the lake leisurely, enjoying the rare pleasure, and then rowed towards the river bank.
The town didn't know if there was any danger, so they entered the town in groups of two or three to check separately, so as not to encounter malicious people who would disturb their sleep during the rest time.
Chi Yue saw many kites placed in a certain family's home that had been soaked by the rain and could not see their original appearance.
She studied it for a while.
Thinking that there were unintentionally collected kites in the space, he picked out a few, took Wen Qizhou's arm and stepped out of the room.
They checked the town and made sure that no one besides them lived here, and then returned to the lake shore with confidence.
"There are actually kites!" Sun Rui looked at the kites they found in other people's homes, with surprise flashing in her eyes.
She and Chi Yue gathered together, happily called the others, found a slightly wider area, and flew the kite.
The atmosphere is incredibly relaxing.
Yao Chengwei tried hard to get his kite to fly, but other people's kites had all flown up. His kite had not yet taken off, and kept hovering above his head, refusing to move.
Chi Yunyan laughed at him mercilessly.
Xie Changxiao also laughed heartily and deliberately pulled his kite towards Yao Chengwei.
The kite was flown high above Yao Chengwei's head, as if he was laughing at him along with his master.
"That's enough for you!" An angry Yao Chengwei tugged on their kite strings to prevent them from getting too carried away.
Zhao Peng and Sun Rui, who were on the side, held the jellyfish kites and stayed away from them to avoid the "war" from spreading.
They looked up at their kites.
The kite held in Wen Qizhou's hand had two colorful ribbons hanging on it. The ribbons fluttered in the wind, as if flying on the bottom of the sea.
─ "Pray for a boat."
A murmur sounded in his ears.
He followed the murmur and looked back at Chi Yue, who was playing with the camera, with gentle eyebrows and unbridled love.
Chi Yue clicked the shutter button.
She used her camera to record Wen Qizhou's eyes filled with love, and then called the remaining five people, gesturing for them to turn their heads.
Before their expressions could calm down, they heard a "click" and the camera captured it all at this moment.
*
The night sky still looked like day, with dazzling light falling in everyone's eyes.
But they're used to it.
The RV parked beside the wide circular pavilion. They entered the RV and closed the door, closed the curtains and turned on the lights inside.
With everyone sitting around, Chi Yue "finds" a dazzling array of snacks such as spiced melon seeds, biscuits, nuts, dried meats, juices, and cola from the lockers, and places them on the table.
"Ah! My happy water!"
When Chi Yunyan saw Happy Water, he picked up the can of Coke and rubbed the iron sheet with nostalgia and joy.
Snacks and drinks are not produced at the base.
Suddenly seeing so many things, the big-hearted Chi Yunyan and Yao Chengwei screamed and opened the potato chips happily.
"Sister Yue, where did you find the snacks?" Zhao Peng was chewing on the melon seeds that had not gone bad, and he was really a little curious.
Xie Changxiao: "It fell from the sky."
Really unable to find a good excuse, he stuffed a handful of barbecue-flavored potato chips into Zhao Peng's mouth to save him from getting to the bottom of it.
Realizing that they didn't want to talk, Zhao Peng automatically zipped up his mouth, chewed potato chips, and asked no more questions.
"Do you want to watch the drama?" Chi Yue felt that it would be too boring to just eat snacks and not follow the drama.
"think!"
"Then you guys come and pick one."
Wen Qizhou took out the projector.
He plugged in the USB flash drive handed over by Chi Yue. The USB flash drive contained more than a hundred movies and TV series, enough for them to pick one they were interested in.
The remote control was handed to Xie Changxiao. Xie Changxiao pressed the up and down buttons and asked them what type they wanted to watch. Then based on some voting, he played one of the most popular palace battle dramas before the end of the world.
The opening song plays.
The sound of chewing snacks mixed with the sound of the TV series, accompanied by laughter, and in the changing light and shadow, everyone watched the TV series with interest, and no one remembered that the world was currently in a catastrophic world.
A moment of joy is enough to form a river, supporting their motivation to move forward in the apocalypse.
They followed the drama until early in the morning, lying on the soft bed with unfinished emotions, and slept peacefully.
Early the next morning, Chi Yue got up and looked at the map, planning the direction of the next stop.
Sun Rui also woke up early and came over to take a look.
"Sister Yue, where are we going today?"
Their initial plan was to follow wherever they went. They didn't make a rigid plan so they could change it at any time, but they generally wouldn't stay in the same place for too long.
"How is Gusu?"
"sure."
It was Xie Changxiao's turn to drive the first section of the journey today. Wen Qizhou sat beside him and observed the road conditions. Chi Yue and Chi Yunyan sat in the back, chatting about everything.
They were already in Jiangnan, and it didn't take too much time to get to the next stop this time. However, the road conditions were not good. The meteorites from before fell on the ground, and scattered stones and abandoned vehicles littered the road.
The detour took some time.
At four o'clock in the morning, the RV arrived in Suzhou.
Gusu is gentler than Jiangnan. It is a small bridge and flowing water in the true sense. It is like a graceful and graceful girl combing her long black hair with a wooden comb.
The South can be relaxing and healing.
Since arriving here, starting from the south of the Yangtze River, they have been like visiting the mountains and rivers, which is lighter than traveling.
After visiting the nearest scenic spots around, Wen Qizhou looked at the surrounding situation on the map and found that there was a mountain not far away from them. It was a tourist attraction that had been developed recently. The other scenic spots were a bit far away, but this one was the closest.
He told the others.
They all thought it was good, so they drove the RV to the scenic spots in Yuming Mountain to find out.
When they reached the bottom of the mountain, everyone found a quiet and simple village not far away, located in a bamboo forest.
"There seems to be no one here." Zhao Peng leaned out of the window and took a look in the direction of the village: "Should we go in for a walk?"
Chi Yue nodded: "Let's go."
Although the village is at the foot of the mountain, the terrain is high enough.
Each house is supported by pillars more than one meter high, and the bottom does not fall on the ground.
Wen Qizhou and Xie Changxiao took the lead.
The two of them walked in front. Although it was quiet and peaceful here, it was not necessarily without danger, so be careful.
Chi Yue followed them.
Her expression was as usual, but her right hand was placed on her waist, habitually touching the cool gun.
Slowly walked into the village.
After going all the way deep and seeing no trace of human existence, I slowly began to feel relieved.
Who would have guessed──
Just as they turned the corner, a black figure suddenly approached them.
"who?"
Wen Qizhou and Xie Changxiao suddenly turned around.
Yao Chengwei, Chi Yunyan, and Zhao Peng protected Sun Rui and Chi Yue and backed away, keeping a distance from the people who suddenly rushed out.
They looked at the boy warily.
The boy's body is well-proportioned, and it should be like the kind that can only be raised by good food and drink before the end of the world.
But the exposed skin was strangely pale, looking like a vampire escaping from the castle in the sunlight.
"Ah...&$@..."
He was gesticulating hurriedly.
Everyone was confused, couldn't figure out what he meant, and couldn't communicate at all.
Realizing that they couldn't understand, the young man pointed at the house not far away and danced around trying to push them there.
Chi Yue was full of doubts.
His "invitation" action could easily make them feel weird, and the more they looked at it, the more creepy it became.
She turned her head as if feeling something, and took a look at the house where the young man rushed out.
The door was open, and I saw a lot of bacon hanging in the house, which had been dried in the sun. It was all over the house and on the ground.
Where did all this meat come from?
Her eyes suddenly paused, and a chill rose from the soles of her feet, almost overwhelming her.
She finally saw what it was.
On one of the pieces of hanging bacon, the outline of the dried meat clearly came into view.
It was an adult hand.
…
