She reached it!

“Meow—” The little orange cat was on top, its throat almost cracking from how loudly it meowed.

Fine dust and dirt scattered across Yu Xifeng’s face, almost blocking her vision. She didn’t even have a moment to brush it away.

Yu Xifeng held herself up with one hand,

and clambered up in a messy state.

She opened her helmet, hugged the little orange cat, and kissed it. Behind her, she heard a thunderous crash.

The tall platform she had painstakingly built completely collapsed.

That was close.

If it had been a second later, maybe…

Only then did Yu Xifeng clearly see the situation outside.

The sun shone on the ice surface, the snow cracked open, revealing bare earth.

If someone were looking down from above, they could even see a cross-section of the underground shelter.

Below was an abyss thousands of feet deep.

Many people chased after the light, but one careless step could mean falling into a void.

There was no chance to retreat—because behind them, more people kept rushing toward the light.

Desperate screams tore through the sky.

In the distance, a helicopter hovered.

It hovered right above Yu Xifeng.

The engine roared, circling, then it descended.

Wang Anmin jumped off the helicopter before the ladder even fully extended.

There was an extremely strong electromagnetic field here; every second longer posed more risk to the pilot.

The pilot had already returned Wang Anmin to the original location.

He would follow orders and withdraw to the north.

The helicopter lifted off, whipping up a huge gust of wind.

The long, fierce wind blew, and the badge on Wang Anmin’s chest looked like it was stained with blood.

After organizing the affairs of the underground shelter, the north specially arranged a helicopter to transfer him to the central command.

He had earned merit many times; this was a route Wang Anmin had planned for long ago.

The disaster had only caused delays.

When news arrived of unprecedented seismic activity in the province, Wang Anmin was already on the plane.

“Multiple earthquakes have broken out… buzz… the central command has issued orders for all military districts to withdraw northward… buzz… If you don’t return, this might be the last communication.”

Wang Anmin insisted on coming back to continue overseeing the work.

The old commander remained silent on the communication channel for a long time.

“Wang Anmin, sacrifice is sometimes unavoidable. You must preserve yourself.”

That was the last sentence on the channel.

After seeing Wang Anmin clearly, Yu Xifeng tensed up.

But Wang Anmin looked pleased: “Yu Xifeng, I’m glad to see you again.”

Yu Xifeng exhaled in relief.

If he knew she had just shot the committee member, she wondered if Wang Anmin would have shot her on the spot.

Seeing Wang Anmin, she honestly couldn’t feel happy.

“There might still be aftershocks. Move toward open areas,” Wang Anmin said.

Yu Xifeng looked rather ridiculous in her outfit—an electric bike helmet paired with wool gloves meant for rock climbing.

She hugged the cat and nodded.

Wang Anmin recognized the cat and was surprised that after so long, the cat was still here.

But there was no time to question that now.

Wang Anmin raised his hand as if to give Yu Xifeng a hug, but in the end didn’t. He said, “I hope we meet again.”

Then he jumped into that pit.

Yu Xifeng’s expression showed a flicker of emotion, then she stared at the rift in the ground that looked as if it could split the earth open. Step by step, she backed away.

Finally, without looking back, she ran in the opposite direction.

Underground,

there was another violent tremor.

Wang Anmin crouched down, holding his head against the wall.

He climbed up from the dirt and dust, stepping on steel bars, pressing onward.

The calm period between quakes was often very short; he had to seize the time to organize people and clear escape routes as best as possible.

Maybe he would succeed; maybe he would die in the next second.

Bang.

An electric bike helmet rolled down from above.

Wang Anmin picked it up, put it on, and smiled silently.

The wind howled past his ears, but Yu Xifeng didn’t feel cold.

Her whole body was burning hot, drenched in sweat.

Her inner shirt stuck to her skin, and the air she breathed carried icy bits of soil.

Everyone on the surface was running.

Because the rift continued collapsing and widening.

No one knew how much time had passed.

The wind seemed to gradually calm.

Yu Xifeng glanced back. The ground’s shaking had also subsided.

From a distance, behind her was a straight cliff edge, stretching on endlessly out of sight.

Yu Xifeng was so out of breath from running, she dared not approach the cliff that could collapse at any moment.

She walked quite far away, then plopped down onto the ground.

Exhausted.

The fat orange cat

clung to her, refusing to run on its own.

When her heartbeat settled, Yu Xifeng thought of Sister Yun and Old Man Cai, feeling heavy inside.

She began paying attention to the survivors around her.

Good news: She didn’t see Zheng Weiyang.

Bad news: She didn’t see a single person she knew.

Yu Xifeng found a corner no one noticed and sent the cat back to her space.

Then she twisted open a bottle of mineral water and drank.

Her appetite was gone. She listlessly opened a pack of compressed biscuits.

“Give me the water.”

A disfigured man came over from the other side of the path.

“Give me the biscuits too.”

“Did you hear me?”

He threatened her, looking fierce but inwardly timid.

Yu Xifeng glanced at him.

She was in a very bad mood and didn’t want to deal with this clueless man.

She was too tired from running and didn’t want to move.

When the man reached out to grab the water, Yu Xifeng kicked his knee.

In an instant, she grabbed his throat.

Yu Xifeng pinned the man to the ground and picked up a stone with her other hand.

The man struggled wildly, screaming and begging for mercy.

“It’s my first time… first time robbing. My parents and wife died inside. I thought I’d just die with them… I’m so hungry, I wanted to be a full ghost.”

Yu Xifeng slammed the stone, carried by a gust of wind, onto the man’s face.

It smashed a deep pit beside his temple.

A foul smell came from the man’s crotch.

Yu Xifeng thought of Wang Anmin.

He risked everything to go back—was he trying to save people like this?

She got up disgusted. The man scrambled away like a scared animal.

Yu Xifeng’s mood worsened.

She was exhausted but dared not rest.

Leaning against the rock wall, she washed down half a compressed biscuit with water.

After a while, more people came out.

Survivors wandered, unsure where to go.

No signs of human civilization remained in sight—only ruins.

Some lay on the ground, grateful to be alive.

Some knelt at the cliff’s edge, weeping for lost family and friends.

Some carefully stepped through the rubble, needing water, food.

They wanted to keep living.

Yu Xifeng watched coldly.

She stayed from night until dawn.

She didn’t know what she was waiting for but stubbornly stayed, unwilling to leave.

“Yu Xifeng!”

She heard someone call her.

Zhang Qiu was alone; his eyes had never looked so dim. In his hands was a box Yu Xifeng recognized.

He walked up to her.

He said, “I’ll treat your wound.”