Chapter 103

A moment later, everyone was moved to the military off-road vehicle parked in the hotel parking lot.

The back half of the vehicle had been converted into double-row, face-to-face seating, which now seemed quite suitable for Shu Fu to sit and listen to instructions—oh no, rather, to catch up with old friends.

However, before Shu Fu could come up with a reason for the disconnection that would satisfy both Liu Shuang and Yao Ruoyun, a deep male voice suddenly came through Liu Shuang’s walkie-talkie. It sounded slightly breathless: “Where are they?”

“Did you arrive? So fast, I haven’t finished scolding this girl yet…”

“…I’m here.”

“Okay, got it.” Liu Shuang looked outside, “Don’t see the car?”

“The car can’t get in, I’m getting out at the intersection.”

“Just keep walking straight, we’ll be out soon.” Liu Shuang said, putting the walkie-talkie away and reaching out to pat Shu Fu on the head, “You’re the one forming the team, I’m easy to talk to, but as for him—well, you’ll have to explain to him why you’ve been out of contact for so long.”

Shu Fu almost didn’t want to get out of the car after hearing this, as her mind involuntarily went back to the WeChat message she received a few days ago, which only contained four words: “Is it you?”

When she first saw the message, she didn’t expect they’d meet so soon. And from the way Liu Shuang had appeared, it seemed like an awakening was imminent.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that, even though Liu Shuang had already awakened, and those who had awakened could share secrets with each other, it was probably best not to let Cheng Yu know that it was her on that raft house that day…

There was no particular reason for it, just a sudden gut feeling…

Shu Fu got out of the car, pulled up her raincoat’s hood, and carefully stepped over the ice and snow on the ground. She walked toward the small street outside the parking lot. Liu Shuang did not get out with her, and though Shu Fu felt a little anxious, that feeling quickly turned into nostalgia when she saw someone running toward her through the heavy snow.

He wasn’t wearing a raincoat, nor did he have on a helmet. It was as if he had rushed straight down from the vehicle upon arrival.

He was running incredibly fast—one moment his figure was barely visible through the snow, the next second he was already right in front of her.

She thought he would rush over to hug her, just like that day in Lou Yuncheng when they parted—he turned back to look at her just before getting in the car, suddenly walked toward her, and then gently embraced her to say goodbye.

But now, he stopped right in front of her, his hand outstretched, but then he restrained himself.

The speed at which he ran had caused them to end up standing too close to each other. The difference in height forced her to lift her head slightly, just to see his face: “Long time no see, Cheng Yu!”

Although she had prepared herself, seeing the scar running from his forehead to the edge of his eye up close still made her stop breathing for a moment. The scar was quite hideous, and she could imagine how deep the wound must have been, probably all the way to the bone.

Noticing her uneven breathing, he instinctively raised his hand and slightly turned his head to shield his forehead.

Shu Fu sighed in her heart, recalling a decision she made back on the drifting island house, and she opened her arms toward him: “It’s been so long, aren’t you going to give me a hug?”

The next second, he tightly embraced her.

His hug was still as it had been before—seemingly overwhelming, yet gentle.

“Sorry, for worrying you all…” Shu Fu returned his hug, gently patting his back.

Perhaps it was because of this apology that his arms around her gradually tightened, getting more and more intense. She felt like she was being pressed against him, almost as though she was being flattened by the force of his embrace.

Fortunately, just when she felt like she couldn’t breathe, he released her, adjusted her rain hood to block the snow, but his palm remained on her head, not moving.

She met his gaze again, feeling that he had so much he wanted to say, but in the end, all those words seemed to boil down to four words.

“As long as you’re alive.”

**

In the afternoon, Shu Fu, along with Yao Ruoyun, locked up the small tea house again with a chain and headed to the gym next door.

Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu, who had been preparing to leave, decided to rest in the gym for the night.

The choice to stay in the gym was because the venue had a wide door, which allowed the off-road and armored vehicles to drive directly inside. Furthermore, the gym was right next door to the building they had chosen to stay in, with the two buildings almost touching each other.

Earlier, when some rescue team members had come out to move the bodies at noon, they were happy to see the small team hadn’t left immediately and invited them to stay in the hotel building, explaining that all supplies in Wei were concentrated in that area, with the building having water, electricity, and heating repairs underway.

But Cheng Yu didn’t even need to speak up, as Han Lan had directly refused.

The reason he gave was what Liu Shuang had mentioned earlier—that the entire team had retired, and this trip was a private one, so it was better not to take up public resources.

As for where to stay, the question was ultimately left to Shu Fu. She led Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and Han Lan to the small tea house.

Although it wasn’t very far, the snow outside was heavy, so they all got in the off-road vehicle and had another team member drive them there. On the way, Yao Ruoyun mentioned Xun Huiming to Cheng Yu. She felt guilty, as she had already gotten in touch with her parents, and the only person still unaccounted for was Xun Huiming.

“Turns out he wanted to come out earlier to find you,” Han Lan interjected before Cheng Yu could speak.

He briefly explained the situation, and Yao Ruoyun, after hearing it, was both surprised and delighted. She finally learned that the car accident had actually been quite severe, with several rescue teams arriving and nearby counties with rescue stations being overcrowded.

In the end, the rescue teams had to send the injured to different counties and towns based on the severity of their injuries—those with lighter injuries were sent farther away, while those in critical condition were treated nearby.

The entire section of the road had collapsed, with over a dozen large trucks colliding. There were fatalities, people who were critically injured and unconscious, missing persons, and those who had been separated… In short, the scene was chaotic, and the rescue teams had no time to even verify which people had originally been together.

They had to wait for everyone to wake up on their own and then find a way to contact their families. Many people who woke up from the accident in this large-scale car crash were separated from their families and friends simply because they didn’t have any means of contact…

Xun Huiming had been in Kangsu County and had only woken up a few days ago. He couldn’t find Yao Ruoyun and the others, but he knew how to find Cheng Yu because he had a satellite phone. Therefore, before their journey, Cheng Yu had made a special trip to Kangsu County, hired someone to escort Xun Huiming, and forcibly sent him back to Shacheng while he was still injured.

Earlier, Yao Ruoyun had asked the rescue team to help search, and they only found her parents’ names, but not Xun Huiming’s. The reason for this was now clear.

Han Lan continued speaking, recalling how Xun Huiming had looked when he was utterly devastated, blaming himself for losing people and feeling deeply guilty… He leaned toward Cheng Yu and raised his eyebrows with a smile, making it very clear: “Indeed, they are family.”

Cheng Yu didn’t show much expression on his face, quietly shifting a little to the side.

Yao Ruoyun had been quite worried about Xun Huiming, but after hearing Han Lan repeatedly describe how Xun Huiming had been wandering aimlessly and heartbroken because he couldn’t find her, she felt her cheeks warm up. It wasn’t entirely from shyness, but more from a sense of shame, especially with the parents sitting right there.

She quickly changed the topic: “In today’s world, it’s still good to have a satellite phone. The base station in Wei was destroyed, and if it weren’t for my senior’s satellite phone, I wouldn’t have been able to contact my parents by now…”

“You have a satellite phone?” Liu Shuang immediately turned to look at Shu Fu.

At the same time, Cheng Yu also looked at Shu Fu.

Shu Fu: …

Yao Ruoyun: …

Yao Ruoyun instinctively fell silent, feeling as though she had said something she shouldn’t have.

“Yes,” Shu Fu smiled at them, a particularly sweet smile that revealed shallow dimples on both sides, “I got it by chance a few days ago.”

She strictly adhered to the principle that “too many words lead to mistakes,” and said no more.

Cheng Yu nodded, not asking further. He took out a satellite phone from the pocket of his cold-weather vest and then looked at her again: “The number.”

Shu Fu obediently gave it to him, and after a moment, her satellite phone rang twice.

“Save the number,” Cheng Yu said, then put the phone back into his pocket.

Shu Fu pulled out her satellite phone and silently saved the number. This time, she deliberately wrote the name as “Ruoyun’s Uncle,” though it was intentional.

Although no one said anything further, Yao Ruoyun still felt like she had said something wrong. She cleared her throat and decided to keep her words to a minimum from then on.

Fortunately, the residential building where the small tea house was located was very close, and they arrived quickly.

The three of them followed her into the building. They all felt that her choice of place was quite good, especially the kitchen, which still had a few coal stoves and some coal left behind by the previous owner. Once a fire was lit, the heating effect was just as good as central heating. However, the living conditions inside were severely lacking—there was no water or electricity, and not even a mattress to sleep on.

“I checked before. The neighboring houses on this floor are all empty, as the owners have already moved out. There’s no mattress, but we could bring over some sofas…” Shu Fu’s words made the three of them realize that she was planning to stay in Wei for a while.

Liu Shuang probably understood now. With the freezing rain and heavy snow blocking the roads, it wasn’t the right time to move to Xizhou Province. But this was before they had arrived here.

They had vehicles—whether military armored vehicles or off-road military vehicles—that were capable of driving in extreme conditions. If she wanted to leave Wei, she could easily take their cars.

Han Lan was a bit surprised: “You’re still planning to stay in Wei? Our team—”

His words were interrupted by Liu Shuang, who patted him on the shoulder: “Stop talking nonsense. The person’s here, let’s help move the stuff!”

“Move what?” Han Lan frowned and looked back at her. Receiving a look from Liu Shuang, he had no choice but to give up.

He, of course, knew what she was referring to. He wasn’t just trying to help the team leader—he’d been looking for him for over three months in Xiangzhou Province, and now that he’d finally found him, of course, he wanted to lend a hand.

But, well, it was fine. Actually, this situation was quite amusing. It was rare to see the usually expressionless leader show any different emotions, so why not go along with it, hehe…

Their schedule wasn’t rushed, so staying to rest for a night or two was fine. Perhaps after a day or two, Shu Fu would suggest leaving with them.

So, Han Lan followed Liu Shuang to pry open the door to the neighboring empty house, while Cheng Yu walked around the hallway, checking the building’s stability before coming over and asking if there was a large indoor space on the first floor nearby, something like a garage.

Shu Fu knew he was trying to get closer to the vehicle. After all, the vehicles they were driving were highly coveted in Wei, and even the armored vehicle wasn’t indestructible. If someone wanted to cause trouble, a few Molotov cocktails could do the job.

Of course, they could stay in the car, but that was for when they were out in the wild. Now they were in the county, and it made sense to stay somewhere more spacious and comfortable, rather than deliberately making things difficult for themselves and everyone else.

Shu Fu thought for a moment and then remembered the gymnasium just one wall away.

With the help of Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and Han Lan, the things needed for her and Yao Ruoyun to spend the night at the small tea house were quickly moved in.

Many survivors had passed through Wei, and a number of empty houses had been temporarily occupied. Some had been left in a mess, with piles of trash everywhere, but not every house was like that—there were always some that hadn’t been touched and were still clean.

These people were especially good at finding the necessary supplies in the shortest time possible.

Not only had they brought her two thick mattresses, but they had also found clean, thick blankets, quilts, and winter clothes in the closets—winter supplies the original owners couldn’t take with them when they left.

Additionally, they found a few large, sturdy stainless steel barrels that could be used for water storage or for burning firewood for warmth.

Then, Liu Shuang opened her own backpack and took out military rations and bottled water.

“We have enough food and water,” Shu Fu quickly showed her the supply bag next to her. She didn’t intend to take Liu Shuang’s things—her visible supplies were still limited because she was waiting for the right moment, which was Yao Ruoyun’s awakening.

“Why are you being so polite after not seeing each other for so long?” Liu Shuang reached out and flicked her forehead. “Take it. We have plenty of supplies on the vehicle. This little bit doesn’t matter.”

Shu Fu didn’t return the supplies Liu Shuang had given her. As for Cheng Yu, when Liu Shuang handed over the supplies, he didn’t say anything. But when they were leaving, he simply left his backpack in the corner of the room.

Shu Fu didn’t notice until after the three of them had left. Han Lan didn’t like carrying a backpack; apart from weapons, he usually went empty-handed. Liu Shuang had put her pack back on after taking out the supplies, so the backpack left in the room could only belong to Cheng Yu.

Inside, apart from the military rations, canned meat, canned fruit, and water, there was a walkie-talkie, two signal flares, a fully charged stun baton, a first aid kit, and an outdoor emergency kit.

Everything was still sealed and didn’t look like his usual daily items; it seemed more like he had specifically packed the backpack for her before going upstairs.

“Xun Huiming’s uncle… how thoughtful!” Yao Ruoyun praised from the side. The first aid kit and emergency kit were expected, but he even packed a stun baton, walkie-talkie, and signal flares. Now that he had Shu Fu’s satellite phone, he brought these too—how much was he worrying about them not being able to contact him if something happened here!

Afterward, she and Yao Ruoyun quickly arranged the bedding and supplies. They spread thick blankets on the two mattresses and ate something. Then, she quickly checked the black notebook in the kitchen. The mission time had long passed, but the task still showed as incomplete.

She thought for a moment and then decided to visit the gym next door.

However, they didn’t plan to leave the supplies like food, water, or the medical kit at the tea house. They could break in, and so could others, so they decided to pack everything into backpacks to carry with them.

Shu Fu already had a backpack—it was like Doraemon’s hidden pocket, large on the outside and looking full, but it didn’t contain many heavy items. But when needed, she could always pull out exactly what they needed.

Cheng Yu’s backpack wasn’t as big as the supply bag, and the military bag was rather eye-catching, so Shu Fu took out the things from it and divided them between the supply bag, letting Yao Ruoyun carry the larger one with food and water.

She also gave her the stun baton, took one signal flare for herself, and kept the walkie-talkie.

As for the first aid kit and emergency kit, Yao Ruoyun couldn’t fit them, so Shu Fu stuffed them into her own backpack. Finally, she folded Cheng Yu’s empty backpack and put it in her own, planning to return it to him later at the gym.

---

The two places were really close, especially from the residential building where Shu Fu and the others were. There was no need to go around the building to reach the main street—just a left turn out of the corridor and there was a small path that led directly to the side door of the gymnasium.

Wei was too small, and there was only one gym in the county. There wasn’t much urban planning, and entering through the side door, there was no open space; it led directly into the side entrance of the building.

The snow outside was getting heavier, falling down in sheets, so thick that even the buildings a few meters away were barely visible. The two of them didn’t want to detour, so they went straight through the unlocked side door, planning to find someone inside the building.

Inside the side door was a pitch-black hallway. Shu Fu took out her flashlight and shone it on the wall. She quickly found the gym’s floor plan. Taking out her phone, which had no signal, she used it as a camera to take a picture of the plan and then followed the directions on it.

After turning two corners, as they neared the bend of another exit, they heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction, along with low, unhappy voices.

“…What’s the big deal? Just driving an armored car, and they really think they’re someone important! Tch! If it weren’t for that car, who would bother with them! Just wait, I’ll have my brother take care of you!”

Shu Fu raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.

She made a shushing motion to Yao Ruoyun, and the two of them quietly stopped, hiding behind the corner wall.