Chapter 62

An hour later, Shu Fu and Chen Yuezhen, guided by Chen Fa, silently left the small building where they had been staying and stepped into the heavy rain that shrouded the night.

Before leaving, Shu Fu noticed that Chen Fa had deliberately altered the direction of the wooden slats nailed onto the window frames of two windows in the living room, which were meant to reinforce the glass. Chen Fa didn’t hide it and directly told Shu Fu that this was an agreement between her and a few members of the team. It had no significant content, no responsibility attached—just a reminder.

What had happened and how they would proceed from here, whether they would investigate, ignore, or avoid, was something they would have to decide on their own.

Chen Fa had fulfilled her agreement, but the three of them still felt heavy-hearted—not just because of what they had seen tonight, but also due to the circumstances forcing them to leave a safe shelter from the storm.

For Chen Fa, a sense of security had become a luxury since the extreme natural disasters began.

Everything she had seen in Tang Ping’s small building made her feel both horrified and disgusted, but it also made her angry. The world had already become so difficult, yet people like them, struggling in the chaos, not only had to face various natural disasters but also had to guard against “man-made disasters” like Tang Ping!

She couldn’t help but feel furious when she thought that Tang Ping had once planned to involve her grandmother in those experiments in the small building. Just the thought of it set her blood boiling. Together with Shu Fu, she had returned to their own building, brought Tang Ping back to the basement of his small building, and locked him in the autopsy room.

Chen Fa primarily wanted to force him to reveal what was behind that password-locked door, what was going on with that terrifying eye that resembled a giant’s, and what exactly he had done to these patients to turn a normal person into something like that. Or was it the case that all patients would eventually end up like that?

But Tang Ping only laughed—an arrogant, condescending laugh—asking if Chen Fa was begging him. He said if she knelt and begged, maybe he would consider telling her. Until then, he wouldn’t say a word, including the password to the electronic lock.

He seemed to think that Chen Fa would compromise for her grandmother’s sake, since her grandmother was sick, and she urgently needed more information.

But Chen Fa just coldly stared at him and said, “If you don’t want to speak, then never speak again.”

She resealed his mouth with fabric and tape, tied his hands and feet with rope, and fixed him to the autopsy table. After covering his eyes with fabric, ensuring he couldn’t move, couldn’t leave, or see anything, she picked up a hammer and crushed all ten of his fingers, then shattered one of his knee caps.

Tang Ping’s screams were muffled by the fabric and tape clogging his throat.

Chen Fa worked meticulously, crushing each finger from the tip to the base, and similarly shattering the kneecap. The intense pain caused him to twitch on the ground like a fish.

But his mouth was sealed tightly, so he could only make muted, suppressed sounds, much like the patients on the second floor. His hands and feet were bound, just like the patients, and no matter how much he struggled, it was all in vain.

He couldn’t see what Chen Fa was doing, and he had no way of knowing where she would strike next. The difference between being able to see and being blind was immense—the darkness amplified his fear to unbearable levels.

After doing all of this, Chen Fa knocked him unconscious again, turned off the lights in the room, and locked the door as she left the autopsy room. This way, even if Zhou Feng discovered that Tang Ping had failed to deliver the medication and sent someone to look for him, it would take some time for them to find the basement.

And once the door was broken down and he was found, the details of his experiments and autopsies could no longer be hidden—no matter how many people knew about it, or whether Zhou Feng knew everything. She had to try; every team member had the right to know.

The more people who knew, the more chaotic things would become within the team. And the more chaotic the situation, the more it would work in her favor.

“Do you think I’m ruthless?” Chen Fa asked Shu Fu, who had been waiting nearby, as they left.

“I thought you would just kill him outright,” Shu Fu said in a neutral tone.

Chen Fa shook her head, her expression relaxing a little. “I don’t want to dirty my hands, and besides, that would be too easy for him. For someone like him, death is too simple. Let him live, but take away the one thing he prides himself on—that’s what will make him suffer the most.”

Crushing his fingers and kneecap meant that, with the current medical conditions, he would never be able to perform experiments again. He could never again use a knife on someone for experiments. That was the most lethal blow to him.

“Aren’t you worried about not eliminating the root cause? What if he finds you later and becomes a future threat?” Shu Fu asked.

“Well, he would need to first have the ability to find me and subdue me. If that day comes, then I’ll admit defeat.” It was a chaotic time. No matter how much Chen Fa wanted to live, no matter how much she wanted her grandmother to live, when fate arrives, there’s no way to avoid it.

On the contrary, if fate favored her, even if she was on the verge of despair, she could still find a way to survive.

**

Chen Fa was very familiar with the layout of the small town and knew exactly where the street lights were and where the darkest areas were. The three of them were wrapped in dark-colored raincoats, wearing the black face masks distributed by Shu Fu. They carried the backpacks they could, and held the ones they couldn’t. With their heads down, they walked quickly and silently.

Before leaving, Shu Fu was repeatedly reminded by Chen Fa that during their night walk, no matter what sounds they heard along the way, they should not stop, nor look back—just keep walking ahead and follow her.

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t want to know, or rather, I can’t answer you.”

Before, when Shu Fu followed her to investigate Tang Ping’s small building, she hadn’t been this tense, but now hearing Chen Fa’s words, she suddenly felt a strange sense of anxiety.

The town streets were empty at night. Every house had its doors and windows tightly shut. The sky lacked a moon, and thick clouds covered the entire night sky, making everything pitch black. The only sounds were the heavy rain and the soft footsteps they intentionally kept light.

The roads in the town were relatively even, and after walking for over twenty minutes after leaving the guesthouse, things had been smooth so far. Of course, it might have been because Chen Fa knew the area well, leading them down smoother paths.

After turning a corner, Chen Fa, walking in front, quickly made a gesture to the two people behind.

This was a signal they had agreed upon before setting off. When they were halfway through their journey, she would remind them to have a sense of where they were, so they could at least be aware of how far they had gone and how much distance was left before leaving the town’s range.

They were now in the northern part of the town, where most residents lived closer to the center. This area was mostly empty houses, with some small, abandoned fields between them, now turned into pools of water due to the rain.

After turning another corner, they reached a long, narrow path. Because it wasn’t a main road, there was only one dim yellow streetlight at the entrance.

Chen Fa guided them carefully around the area covered by the streetlight’s beam, sticking to the shadows and moving quickly.

But this time, after not walking for long, Shu Fu suddenly heard a strange sound.

It was faint, blending with the sound of the heavy rain, and if one wasn’t listening carefully, it would have been missed. But at that moment, all three of them, walking in the dark, were completely alert to their surroundings and clearly heard it.

Almost simultaneously, their steps slowed.

“Clack—clack—clack—clack…” In the pitch-black rain, it sounded like the footsteps of another person walking behind them.

Chen Fa gripped her baton tightly. She had repeatedly warned Shu Fu not to go out after dark and reminded them both not to stop if they heard anything. But in reality, she hadn’t believed they would actually hear anything.

When they first arrived in this town, she had secretly gone out at night to lay out a plan for herself and her grandmother. At that time, she had walked alone twice without anything happening, and there were no strange sounds.

The town wasn’t safe at night. The warning not to go out after dark and the stories of strange noises were things that came up later.

At first, the people from the large horse team’s area were the ones who mentioned it, but at that time, the residents of the area where Yang Can’s team was stationed didn’t believe it. Some even suspected it was some trick the large horse team had set up.

But later, both sides’ residents started hearing strange noises when they went out at night.

The sound was odd, like there was someone else walking beside them. But when a person stopped and listened carefully, the strange sound would disappear.

When the person started walking again, the sound would reappear shortly after, eerie and unnerving, like there was a ghost following them…

The town had poor public facilities, and only a few streets had surveillance cameras, most of which were damaged in hailstorms. The streetlights were the same, and after the power outage, no one bothered to repair them. The lights that worked now were fixed up after Chen Fa’s group arrived in town.

Light bulbs were easy to find, but cameras were not, so there was no way to review footage to uncover the truth.

Some people at the large horse team were skeptical and even formed a group to patrol the streets with flashlights at night, but that night, they found nothing.

During that period, not only did people from Yang Can’s team frequently fall ill, but people from the town were getting sick too. Many older locals whispered about “ghost possession,” but the others didn’t believe it.

It wasn’t until one night when someone went out but never returned.

The missing person was from the large horse team, and they started accusing Yang Can’s team, causing a bit of a conflict. But since both teams were already exchanging supplies, the issue wasn’t blown out of proportion.

The next night, someone from Yang Can’s team also went out and never returned.

Two people went missing, but if someone was really hiding and attacking at night, at least the nearby people should have heard something, right? A scream, the sounds of a struggle, something!

But these two disappeared without a sound.

After that, to prevent further incidents, the town imposed a curfew.

Chen Fa didn’t believe in the “ghost” stories, but she wasn’t reckless either. With everyone observing the curfew, she didn’t rush out to find the truth.

So, like everyone else in the town, she temporarily complied with the rules.

And because she didn’t believe it, she dared to take her grandmother and Shu Fu out of the town at night tonight.

“Don’t look back, don’t stop, keep walking,” Chen Fa lowered her voice, reminding them.

Chen Yuezhen hummed in acknowledgment, gripping the weapon tightly and staying right behind her. Shu Fu had activated her personal protective shield the moment she heard the “clack” sound and pulled out a dart gun from her waterproof backpack, holding it firmly in her hand. Even though she couldn’t protect both of them, she could ensure her own safety while watching over the two ahead.

As they quickened their pace, the “clack” sound following them also sped up, still faint. Shu Fu tilted her head, listening closely, and strangely, she felt that the sound was somewhat familiar.

In that brief moment of distraction, Chen Fa, who was leading, suddenly staggered, nearly falling.

Chen Yuezhen, who was behind her, quickly supported her, and Shu Fu, holding the dart gun, raised her hand to block the two, positioning herself as a shield and scanning the darkness on both sides of the alley.

There was nothing. Aside from the dim yellow streetlight at the entrance of the alley and the torrential rain, she saw nothing.

Shu Fu quickly turned on the flashlight attached to the dart gun and began scanning the area. The alley was narrow, and this particular stretch was flanked by walls, leaving no room for anyone to hide.

“Fa Fa!” Chen Yuezhen’s worried voice came from behind. Shu Fu quickly turned around and saw Chen Fa, supported by Chen Yuezhen, half leaning against the wall, her steps unsteady.

“What happened?” Shu Fu didn’t believe in ghosts or any supernatural explanations. All the strange things were due to a lack of information. She was sure something had attacked Chen Fa, but she didn’t know what it was yet.

Chen Fa’s mouth under her mask moved, and after biting her lip hard and tasting blood, she regained some clarity and whispered, “Go… hurry…”

Only she knew the way to the warehouse in the mountain hollow, and it was very secluded. If she lost consciousness before reaching there, they wouldn’t be able to find their way on their own. Staying outside at night would be even more dangerous.

Chen Yuezhen quickly understood, grabbed her hand, turned around, and carried her on her back. Shu Fu picked up the large travel bag that had fallen from Chen Fa and quickly followed them. After taking medicine and resting for so long, Chen Yuezhen’s body had recovered enough, and carrying someone who weighed about 100 pounds wasn’t difficult for her.

Chen Fa leaned against her grandmother’s shoulder, extending her fingers to point the way.

Shu Fu didn’t turn off the flashlight, using it to guide Chen Yuezhen along the road ahead. They were already on the northern side of the town, where there were few residents. Even if someone lived nearby, they were fully armed now, and no one could clearly see their appearance or gender. At most, they would just know someone passed by.

When they safely exited the dark alley, Shu Fu turned off the personal protective shield.

Once they were out of the town, Chen Fa signaled for Shu Fu to use the electric baton on her to help her stay awake.

Shu Fu didn’t hesitate, pulling out the baton and lowering the voltage. She gave Chen Fa a shock on the back of her exposed hand. The thick raincoat provided some insulation, so the shock didn’t affect Chen Yuezhen, but it caused Chen Fa pain, temporarily waking her up and preventing her from losing consciousness.

But Chen Fa was still anxious. She knew her own condition too well.

She didn’t know if it was because she was wearing rain boots instead of proper shoes, but just moments ago, her lower leg near the ankle had felt like it was pricked by something, and her whole body went numb, making it hard to even speak.

Now, the numbness spread through her entire body and continued to invade her mind.

She could barely hold on, and the final stretch of uphill road ahead was the hardest to navigate. She also feared her grandmother wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Chen Fa bit her lip again, weakly whispering, “… Xiao Fu, do you have a boat… put me down, take the supplies… take my grandmother… and go…”

In truth, they didn’t need to go up the mountain. They were already outside the town, and the waterway was nearby. Shu Fu could leave safely now.

The mountain was darker, and no one knew if whatever attacked her earlier would show up again.

But this time, neither of them responded to her.

Soon, Chen Fa felt her feet touch the ground. After a while, someone lifted her up again and continued forward.

Chen Fa opened her eyes. Her grandmother was walking beside her, one hand holding two large bags, the other gripping the flashlight and electric baton, seemingly ready to use it at any moment. The person carrying her was obviously much smaller and more fragile.

It was Shu Fu.

She remembered that Shu Fu was only 160 cm tall and weighed less than 90 pounds. She couldn’t compare to her 170 cm, 130-pound grandmother. How would she be able to carry her through this muddy mountain path?

She didn’t know what had pricked her in the darkness earlier. Her mind was slipping out of her control, and at that moment, many fragmented images suddenly flashed in front of her eyes.

She thought about the precious boxes of medicine, and also about that rainy day in Suicheng when the first thunderstorm hit.

If that day, Shu Fu hadn’t taken them home because of Zhang Tian’s ex-boyfriend, she and Wu Shaoshan might have already died, killed on subway Line 14, during the accident…

Before she and Wu Shaoshan parted ways, the video on the apocalypse theory had already spread online. At the time, both of them had a subtle feeling about it, but neither spoke up.

Until Wu Shaoshan was heading to Xiangzhu Province and she was going to Lankou Province, and the two of them, walking together, were about to part ways. Suddenly, Wu Shaoshan turned to her and asked, “Do you think the probability of Xiao Fu being a reborn person is high?”

At that moment, she was stunned, speechless.

She had considered the possibility, but never imagined that Wu Shaoshan would suddenly ask her this question.

After she said it, Wu Shaoshan quickly left, seemingly not expecting an answer. Perhaps, in Wu Shaoshan’s heart, she actually hoped that Shu Fu was also a reborn person.

Because only if that were true could her initial guidance to move them to Shacheng become a clear direction, a beacon of hope, in this dark and despairing disaster…

It was because of this that when Shu Fu insisted on staying at the villa, Wu Shaoshan didn’t stop her or ask too many questions.

If it were really possible, she needed that kind of aura.

But it wasn’t until this moment, as she leaned against Shu Fu’s fragile shoulder, listening to her deliberately steady breathing, that she realized.

There was no need for the aura of a reborn person. A friend who, in the face of danger and adversity, did not abandon her and was willing to take the risk of carrying her forward—this was already the light that could illuminate her path in the dark disaster years.

A—hope.

---

Shu Fu, who had been practicing rowing machines regularly, had incredible arm strength and was by no means weak, moved steadily, step by step, with the light of the flashlight guiding her way.

She heard Chen Fa’s weak breathing from her shoulder, and when she spoke, her voice carried a slight sob: “Xiao Fu…”

“Mm, stay awake… guide me!” Shu Fu adjusted her breath and steps, already prepared for a long struggle.

“Mm…” Chen Fa responded and once again signaled for her grandmother to help.

Chen Yuezhen didn’t hold back, reducing the voltage and giving her hand a quick shock.

Shu Fu didn’t speak further. She focused all her attention on the mountain path beneath her feet, maintaining her breathing and treating it as an extreme physical training session.

The mountain road in the western part of the town had few trees. The trees had long been destroyed by storms and hailstorms, and the path was narrow and unclear, covered in slippery mud. Thankfully, Shu Fu wore anti-slip waterproof boots. They had seemed very expensive when she bought them, but now she understood why the price was justified.

After about half an hour, following Chen Fa’s guidance, she finally saw a cave covered in vines. The cave was well-hidden, and most people passing by wouldn’t notice it. The cave itself was short and semi-open, more like a rocky passage. However, once inside, it opened up to a hidden area.

A small hollow appeared before her, not large, but semi-circular, facing north, located on a steep cliff halfway up the mountain slope. It resembled the cave restaurant Shu Fu had once stayed in.

However, the restaurant had a roof, while this was an open little hollow. Near the inner side of the mountain wall, there were two gray houses built together.

The houses were square and seemed to have no windows. At this point, Shu Fu was nearly at her physical limit. The darkness of the night made it hard to see clearly, so she didn’t investigate the houses for now. She gritted her teeth and quickened her pace, carrying Chen Fa toward them.

Chen Yuezhen had already reached the entrance, unlocked the door with the key Chen Fa had given her, and turned back to steady Shu Fu, who was swaying with exhaustion.

Chen Fa had lost consciousness on Shu Fu’s back. The two of them, too exhausted to catch their breath, struggled to support each other as they dragged Chen Fa into the safety of the house.