Chapter 98

A few minutes later, Shu Fu caught a ride on a military truck with a rain canopy. It was a vehicle from the army, heading to a nearby medical warehouse to collect supplies. The massive tsunami in November had triggered a rapid, large-scale evacuation across the entire Xizhou Province. Along with people, as many supplies as possible had to be relocated.

This particular medical warehouse was privately owned and had previously been overlooked. Its owner had kept it well hidden. Now, reporting such supply locations was equivalent to handing over the materials. However, those who surrendered their supply caches would receive various benefits after relocating to Xizhou Province—such as free housing for several years, significant discounts on home purchases, or even full property ownership if the supplies were substantial enough.

In essence, these people were exchanging supplies they couldn’t take with them for a secure place to settle. Given the instability of the world, any large-scale supplies that weren’t guarded or transported by the military would likely be lost to natural disasters or looters before making it far.

The warehouse mostly contained medical equipment, which filled more than half of the truck’s cargo area. Shu Fu sat beside the stacked supplies, along with two fully armed military personnel and a few other westward evacuees who had been “picked up” along the way.

No one found it strange that a young woman like Shu Fu was traveling alone on a mountain road. In times like these, all sorts of unexpected situations could occur. As long as she wasn’t a threat, that was all that mattered.

A female soldier was assigned to check Shu Fu’s backpack and pat her down for controlled weapons. After confirming she had none, they let her board.

Once she was inside, the female soldier climbed back into the truck bed and pulled down the rain cover. She remained silent for the entire ride up the mountain, her expression serious. Every so often, she would lean near the curtain to check the outside conditions.

Seeing her, Shu Fu couldn’t help but think of Liu Shuang—how cheerful she had been when they first met and how much she had looked after her. It was a reminder that even people in the same profession, wearing the same uniform, could be completely different individuals with distinct personalities.

Shu Fu eventually broke the silence to ask where the truck was headed. She had intended to inquire about the location of the First Clinic and its distance from the drop-off point. After all, she hadn’t been able to find the clinic on her digital map. It was unclear whether that was because Wei was too small or because the clinic itself was insignificant.

As it turned out, by sheer coincidence, the military truck’s destination was the First Clinic.

Twenty minutes later, the truck drove into a plateau nestled within the slopes. Shu Fu peeked through the rain cover, taking in the scenery. The oppressive, towering mountains gave way to a more open landscape.

It was a vast valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The small county of Wei, located on the border of Xiangzhou Province, had been built right in the middle of this canyon. A large central plaza occupied the heart of the town, with buildings rising along the slopes, stacked in tiers. Some homes were situated halfway up the mountains.

However, months of heavy rain and hailstorms had taken their toll. Many hillside houses had been buried under landslides, leaving behind raw, eroded slopes covered with massive wire mesh installations—likely placed to prevent further collapses.

Most of the buildings here were three to six stories tall, with a handful of taller ones. A twelve-story hotel stood in the central plaza, the tallest structure in the entire county.

This place was a testament to human resilience. Despite being surrounded by barren mountains, the people of Wei had managed to carve out a small, modernized town. It wasn’t big—standing at one end of the main road, one could almost see all the way to the other side.

The truck passed through the plaza, drove down the main road, and finally turned into a cluster of buildings.

Only after getting off did Shu Fu understand why she hadn’t found the First Clinic on her map. It wasn’t a dedicated medical facility—it was a repurposed school. This was Wei No. 1 High School.

Amidst the ongoing natural disasters, countless emergencies had arisen. The influx of evacuees had overwhelmed Wei, pushing its medical system to its limits.

The First Clinic had been established during this crisis. The townspeople had provided the space, the military had gathered medical supplies, and professional healthcare workers had been recruited from the civilian population. Together, they had managed to transform a small county’s facility into a clinic rivaling a second-tier hospital.

Following the tsunami, most of Wei’s population had been rapidly relocated. The once-bustling clinic was now nearly empty. Many of the wards that had been added during the expansion were now being used to shelter incoming evacuees, serving as a temporary rest stop.

That was why the female soldier hadn’t reacted when Shu Fu mentioned her destination. Any newcomers who arrived here had to find a place to stay before registering for evacuation scheduling.

Wei was already a small town, and the landslides had destroyed many buildings. Even homes that remained intact were often abandoned if they were too close to unstable slopes. In this entire valley, the only large, safe structures were the buildings surrounding the central plaza and the ones near Wei No. 1 High School—where Shu Fu now stood.

There were several buildings within the school grounds. The largest one in the center housed the outpatient clinic.

Today was only her second day on this mission, and it was a five-day assignment. That meant she would likely be staying here for another four days—at least three more nights.

So Shu Fu entered the outpatient building and first registered herself. She was assigned a bed—not a hospital bed, but a regular sleeping spot. The staff informed her that, due to the massive tsunami in November, the evacuation of the entire Xiangzhou Province had shifted from a voluntary effort to an official mandate. As a result, all officially designated rescue points along the evacuation route now provided free lodging and a supply package to evacuees.

Each person was entitled to one supply package per rescue point, which had to be collected in person. Once registered, a person could not claim another package at the same location.

Additionally, individuals with more than three recorded misconducts were only provided with accommodation but were not eligible for free supplies.

In simple terms, the government guaranteed lodging and basic food and water to anyone who followed the evacuation procedures and refrained from causing trouble. Those who disrupted order had to find their own food and water but would still be assigned a place to stay—essentially placing them under indirect supervision.

There was, however, a way for troublemakers to regain eligibility: by performing volunteer work at the rescue points. Depending on the severity of their past infractions, they could work for a set period to restore their right to receive free supplies.

Shu Fu quickly received her supply package. It was similar to the airdrop supply bags she had seen in the flood zones before—made of waterproof material and filled with simple yet abundant rations, purified water, water purification tablets, basic disinfectants, an emergency thermal blanket, rain gear, and other essentials.

The package’s contents were a streamlined version of an airdrop survival kit, with food and water making up the bulk. Since evacuation routes were lined with rescue points at regular intervals, evacuees following the official path could replenish their supplies at each stop.

Along with the supply package, she also received a booklet containing maps and evacuation information. It outlined the official evacuation routes, the locations of each rescue point, and emergency contact numbers. The staff repeatedly emphasized that to safely reach Xizhou Province, evacuees must strictly follow the designated evacuation route.

Since both Xiangzhou and Xizhou were predominantly mountainous regions with complex terrain, even those who didn’t want to travel with the main convoy could still use the official route. Small groups were permitted to take the same path and receive supplies from the designated rescue points.

As Shu Fu carried her supply bag to her assigned room, she felt a deep warmth in her heart. She was overwhelmed by a sense of security and gratitude, realizing just how crucial a strong and reliable nation was. If she had truly been a desperate refugee fleeing alone, even if she had been on the brink of starvation and contemplating theft or robbery to survive, this level of care would have changed her mind.

Apart from those who were purely violent and evil, many people resorted to desperate actions in times of chaos simply to keep themselves and their families alive. But when they saw that the situation wasn’t as hopeless as they feared, and that the government had not abandoned them, it was often just a single thought that determined whether they chose to return to the right path.

Considering what she had learned about Chen Fa’s evacuation efforts, it seemed that these policies had been newly implemented after the November tsunami.

Indeed, regions with military presence were different. Even in such difficult times, they could still provide every citizen with fair and free assistance. Shu Fu doubted that any other country on this planet could achieve what Huagou had accomplished.

That night, Shu Fu slept in a classroom-turned-hospital ward but found it hard to fall asleep—not because she felt unsafe (the area was patrolled 24/7 by military personnel, making it highly secure), nor because she wasn’t used to the bed. It was because she kept thinking about her mission.

Typically, missions only arose in the aftermath of natural disasters or humanitarian crises. Honestly, these rescue points had been painstakingly established by the authorities, and she truly hoped nothing bad would happen here. But the arrival of disaster was never something she could control.

Like everyone else, she had no foreknowledge of what was to come. Sometimes, she wondered if it was precisely because of this lack of foresight that she was able to rely on instinct and intuition, serving as a small but crucial cog in the turning wheels of fate for certain individuals.

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The first night passed peacefully. Wei still had internet, though it was slow and laggy. There were charging stations available, but charging required payment—100 per session, for just 30 minutes. Given the circumstances, however, most people accepted this price without complaint. After all, just having access to electricity was already a luxury.

Unable to sleep, Shu Fu hid under her blanket and browsed the internet in secret. But each time she saw the WeChat icon, she felt a weight in her chest.

The next morning, she woke up shivering. Even though she had slept fully clothed, wrapped herself in an emergency thermal blanket, and covered herself with the provided bedding, the cold still seeped into her bones, making her teeth chatter.

She recalled that the clinic was supposed to have heating—installed after the rescue point was set up. Although it wasn’t powerful, it should have at least kept the room from being this bitterly cold and damp.

Shivering, she got up and asked around, and sure enough, the heating system had failed. Apparently, this was a common occurrence. “You’ll get used to it,” people said.

Shu Fu: …

She wouldn’t get used to it at all. She had always lived in a perfectly climate-controlled home with a stable temperature of around 25°C. This wet, bone-chilling cold was unbearable. The hallway thermometer read 2°C, but she felt like she was trapped inside an ice cellar.

She hurried to the restroom, slipped into a stall, and despite the biting cold, changed her base layers to sweat-wicking thermal underwear. She swapped her mid-layer fleece for thicker, high-pile fleece clothing and exchanged her regular insulated jacket for a down-lined waterproof coat. She even switched her waterproof boots for a pair lined with thick fur.

On the surface, her outfit looked exactly the same, but she had upgraded all her layers to withstand temperatures as low as -20°C.

Finally, she put a warming pad in each boot and one on her back. As expected, she immediately felt warm—not cold anymore, maybe even a little too hot…

That day, she took a walk around several buildings of the First Clinic. Except for the smallest building, all the others were open to the public.

The smallest building was still being used for medical treatment. She heard that quite a few patients inside had not yet been transferred—some were in comas and had no one to claim them. Their evacuation was scheduled later because they required special vehicles for transport. Additionally, some were separated from their families, and their relatives might still be searching for them, so they had to be confirmed before they could be moved.

Even though these individuals were unconscious, as long as they had identification on them, their information could be registered into the system and accessed at any rescue point.

The second day—technically the third day of the mission—also passed peacefully.

On the fourth day of the mission, she woke up early again. She went to the restroom at the end of the hallway, quickly washed her face, and rinsed her mouth with mouthwash—one of the supplies she had packed in her backpack this time. It was a small bottle of concentrated mouthwash, requiring only a tiny sip for each use. After rinsing, she would spit it out and then swish her mouth with clean water.

This was something she had learned from her last time in a shelter. Using a toothbrush and toothpaste could be too conspicuous, but not brushing at all was uncomfortable. Mouthwash, on the other hand, was quick, discreet, and refreshed her breath in just a few seconds.

She had a compressed biscuit and drank a bit of purified water for breakfast.

The biscuit was cheese-flavored—surprisingly tasty—and quite filling. She thought she would be wandering around idly again today, but as soon as she walked downstairs to the first floor, where the outpatient clinic was set up, she heard a familiar voice at the rescue point’s information desk, anxiously urging the staff to check the computer records.

“…Yes! The surname is Hua, like in Huashan! The given name is Qiong, with the ‘king’ radical! Yes, 48 years old! And another one with the surname Yao, Yao with the ‘female’ radical! Is there any record?”

The woman’s hair was disheveled, her head wrapped in gauze bandages, with a dark stain of dried blood visible on her forehead.

Her face was pale, her lips bloodless, and she looked panicked and helpless. She was still wearing a hospital gown, with a military coat hastily thrown over it—a standard-issue thermal coat from the clinic.

She seemed to have run over from the medical building, which was connected to this one via a corridor with rainproof curtains on both sides. Though she hadn’t been directly exposed to the rain, the floor was wet.

Shu Fu noticed her shoes—hospital slippers, now completely soaked. She was standing barefoot inside those wet slippers, shivering uncontrollably. Just looking at her made Shu Fu feel cold.

“Yes! His name is Yao Guofan! That’s right! Great! Can you confirm the details? Where was this information registered? Wait, there’s also someone with the surname Xun—Xun like in ‘upper Xun, lower Xun’! Xun Huiming! Is there any record of him?”

She leaned in eagerly, almost ready to push aside the rescue worker and check the computer herself. “No? Where were Yao Guofan and Hua Qiong registered?… Zhicheng? That far? …What? Can I go there now? …No! When I woke up, all my belongings were gone! My ID and phone are missing! …Yes, I understand. Really? I can be transferred directly? …Okay, then please check the transportation schedule for me. The sooner, the better!”

She began waiting anxiously again. This time, the wait was longer. In the meantime, she asked more basic questions—like what she should do without an ID or phone if she needed to contact someone, how long she had been hospitalized, and how she could pay when she had no money. She also asked what she should do for basic necessities if she were transferred to Zhicheng.

The staff multitasked, checking the computer while quickly answering her questions.

She was about to ask something else when Shu Fu stepped forward and called her name:

“Yao Ruoyun?”

The woman flinched in surprise and turned around. When she saw who had called her name, her expression shifted to shock, joy, and disbelief all at once.

“Shu Fu!? Oh my god! Senior, what are you doing here!? I knew it—you survived again! Hahaha, that’s amazing! I kept telling Lu Zheng that you’d be fine this time too!”

Her face lit up, and she practically pounced on Shu Fu in a hug. Shu Fu had been prepared and caught her steadily.

“Mm, long time no see.”

Yao Ruoyun hadn’t changed much in personality, though she looked much thinner—her once round face was now more of an oval. She was also noticeably weaker, whereas Shu Fu, who trained daily, held her easily.

Ruoyun had just woken up that day. First, she had to process the shock of being unconscious for days and getting separated from her family. Then, she found out that her loved ones were alive and safe in a secure city. Now, she had unexpectedly reunited with an old friend she had lost contact with for a long time.

With so many emotional swings, she was talking nonstop, a little overwhelmed and incoherent. She was so engrossed in her conversation with Shu Fu that she didn’t even hear the rescue staff calling her twice to inform her that there was an available seat on a transport heading to Gongmang County the next afternoon.

Gongmang County was one of the transfer points for evacuations from Wei to Zhicheng. There was also a military-run rescue center there.

Evacuation vehicles from Xiangzhou Province to Xizhou Province never traveled directly to their destinations. The mountainous terrain made the roads treacherous, and natural disasters often led to unforeseen circumstances, changing road conditions unpredictably.

Therefore, numerous rescue stations were set up along the way to provide rest stops. These small towns and villages were located along national highways, provincial roads, and mountain paths, each guarded by a small, fully armed military detachment.

Tomorrow afternoon, a vehicle will be heading to Gongmang County, primarily to transport a batch of previously located medical supplies. Since an extra vehicle will be traveling along, the journey will be safer.

Yao Ruoyun clearly had a lot to say, and it didn’t seem like she would stop anytime soon. Seeing how cold she was, Shu Fu pulled her to a sheltered spot at the back of the classroom, where there was no draft. She had Yao sit down, take off her wet slippers, and then retrieved a portable insulated cup from her backpack. Opening it, she handed it to Yao, letting her warm her hands and drink the hot water inside. She also took out a thermal blanket and wrapped it around her, covering her feet as well.

Holding the cup of hot water and wrapped in the warm blanket, Yao Ruoyun felt the warmth return to her body. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

When she first saw Shu Fu earlier, she had been overjoyed to reunite with her here. But at the same time, she also felt a bit nervous.

After all, it had been over a year since they last saw each other, and their time together in the library back then wasn’t all that long. To her, Shu Fu carried a natural filter of admiration—perhaps because, in her heart, Shu Fu was her mother’s savior. That alone made Yao Ruoyun feel an unconditional sense of trust and closeness toward her.

But she didn’t know how Shu Fu saw her. After all this time without contact, she worried that she might be too enthusiastic, too forward—that Shu Fu might find her annoying.

Yet, when Shu Fu gently helped her take off her wet slippers and wrapped her in a warm blanket, that uneasy feeling melted away, as if it, too, had been embraced by warmth.

Shu Fu was still Shu Fu. She hadn’t become distant just because they hadn’t seen each other in so long.

To Yao Ruoyun, it felt like reuniting with family, and she immediately began pouring out all her hardships. From her words, Shu Fu was able to piece together what had happened to her family.

Her family had relocated early this year—during the initial phase of the migration. They had left Pincheng, taking the Youcheng route. Back then, the cities were still intact, and their journey wasn’t as turbulent as Shu Fu’s had been later on.

However, the migration was chaotic. With so many people on the move, entire towns were relocating one after another. When they reached Xiangzhou Province, the news of the apocalyptic tsunami broke.

It was the first time this planet had ever been struck by a tsunami hundreds of meters high.

For the people of Huagou, that catastrophic tsunami, which wiped out two entire provinces, was the final, devastating blow that crushed their hopes.