Chapter 115

For Shu Fu, the answer she gave to Yao Ruoyun also surprised her.

After all, neither she nor Chen Fa or Lu Zheng had seen their families in the fragmented memories of this world. She had become even more isolated and strange; during her mission in Lou Yuncheng, she had already realized that the memories of her upbringing in this world were fake, and it was impossible for her to have any real family.

So, hearing Yao Ruoyun’s situation was shocking at first.

But in reality, this situation was quite similar to her and Lu Zheng’s. She and Lu Zheng had known each other in that world, but only Lu Zheng remembered meeting her while she didn’t recall meeting him. One reason was the possible memory gap she had, and the other was simply that her face had remained the same, while Lu Zheng’s face had changed.

This same situation could apply to Yao Ruoyun and her mother, Hua Qiong.

The term “supernatural ability user” might sound intense, so perhaps referring to them as “cross-world travelers” would be a more fitting description.

If there was an opportunity to leave Xiangzhou Province and head to Xizhou Province, she would go with Yao Ruoyun to Zhicheng to meet her mother, Hua Qiong, and see if there was a white light strip on her head.

In addition, Zheng Feifei’s family was also in Zhicheng. If the transfer went smoothly, they might even make it in time to celebrate the New Year together, fulfilling the promise made earlier.

Because of this, Shu Fu couldn’t help but focus on the transfer situation.

After both of them woke up but couldn’t fall back asleep, they packed up their things and did a simple cleaning using Shu Fu’s mouthwash and wet wipes. They decided to step outside to check the situation.

As soon as they stepped out of the makeshift curtain of the car shelter, both of them felt the temperature rising. Shu Fu had already noticed this when she woke up, but the effect was more noticeable after stepping outside, as the curtain had blocked some of it.

Both of them were still wearing snow gear, but it was clearly too warm now. Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun took off their neck gaiters and hats, and even unzipped their jackets.

The place where the armored vehicle had been parked was now empty, and only Wen Rou, Awen, and another team member were still there, resting.

The three of them were talking, and when they saw Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun, they asked if they were hungry. They had boiled some hot water and asked if they wanted stir-fried noodles or fried rice from the military rations. They mentioned that they might be moving out today and urged them to eat well and get full.

Since last night, everyone in Cheng Yu’s team had been eating compressed biscuits and energy bars.

The rescue team and the survivors had started eating biscuits from the morning, so by noon yesterday, Cheng Yu and Liu Shuang had given their remaining military rations to the other team.

The other side had a lot of people—survivors, rescue team members, and soldiers—about forty people in total. The military rations in the small team were obviously not enough for everyone, so they had to divide them among themselves to ease their hunger and calm their anxiety.

After all, everyone was sheltering in the same tunnel. It was not a good experience to eat biscuits while watching others enjoy fragrant military rations.

But they also knew that they had already received a lot of help and supplies from the other team, so it wouldn’t be right to ask for more.

Cheng Yu’s team clearly wasn’t going to let others eat biscuits while they enjoyed rice and noodles. After leaving a portion of the rations for the two girls, they had distributed the rest.

Liu Shuang and Wen Rou had originally wanted to keep their share, but since they were soldiers and didn’t care about such things, they ended up sharing it too.

From then on, both teams would only be able to eat compressed biscuits and energy bars.

However, even with this type of food, both teams didn’t have much left, and with the injured soldiers, the need for the transfer had become urgent.

Thankfully, as soon as the sun rose, everyone noticed that the temperature had risen, and the freezing rain had stopped.

Both teams quickly held a small meeting and decided to immediately use the armored vehicle to clear the mountain road from the tunnel to the bridge for the survivors. They also wanted to check the external situation to see if they could connect to the network, as their satellite computer had been left behind in Wei County.

Now, they just had to wait for the people who went out to return, and they could start walking out immediately.

“Can the snow and ice on the road be cleared?” Shu Fu asked. After all, the freezing rain had just fallen yesterday, and the ice and snow that hadn’t melted outside were still hard as rock. Even with the temperature rising more than ten degrees today, the ice and snow wouldn’t melt fast enough to be cleared.

“It should be fine. The vehicle has a flame thrower on top, but this thing consumes too much fuel. We didn’t dare to use it lightly before because our backup power supply couldn’t keep up,” one of the team members replied.

Shu Fu nodded but didn’t take the military rations left for them, saying that they had been eating the team’s rations these past few days, and her own backpack still had food left. With that, Shu Fu pulled out a few packs of instant noodles from her backpack, and Yao Ruoyun took out two cans of luncheon meat.

They used the largest camping pot to boil all the instant noodles, and then added the two cans of luncheon meat, cutting them up and layering them on top. After cooking, the noodles became a large pot of food, and with the luncheon meat added, the smell was incredibly tempting.

Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun each took some in stainless steel cups and then brought the remaining pot of food to Wen Rou and the others: “We can’t finish it. You guys help us eat it, or else it’ll dry up and won’t taste good later.”

The three team members who had only been eating compressed biscuits and drinking plain water: …

Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun had already discussed this the day before. During the entire storm and cold period, they had never deprived themselves of food. Over the last few days, when backup supplies had been insufficient, they had eaten a bit less, treating it as a diet. After all, if they were really hungry, they could always eat compressed biscuits, which were quite filling.

Between letting the instant noodles dry out or eating them, Wen Rou and the others naturally chose to eat. As for Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and the others who didn’t get to enjoy a warm meal, they could only silently apologize in their hearts.

The aroma of the noodles was overpowering, and now that the armored vehicle was no longer there, there was no giant vehicle to act as a barrier. The other survivors in the tunnel not only smelled the fragrant scent in the air but also saw the few team members eating noodles together.

However, they also saw the two young girls, who had been protected by the other team, bringing out their own rations. It was their own food.

Over the past few days, they had secretly been guessing the relationship between the two girls and the other team. They could tell that these girls were being treated very well by the team.

Even when the military rations were distributed to the rescue team leader yesterday, the leader, who had a scar on his forehead, had explicitly said that some food should be reserved for the girls. Even though they ate slowly and didn’t consume all the food, that didn’t mean others could take their share in the future.

The military rations they ate yesterday included fried rice and fried noodles, a good balance of meat and vegetables, far better than the canned rice from the previous airdrop. It was clearly prepared to ensure elite soldiers had balanced nutrition during missions.

It was already very generous for them to share their rations, so although many people secretly envied the two girls who were being specially cared for, they only whispered a few words of envy. Most of them didn’t dare express their true feelings.

They still didn’t know what kind of relationship the two girls had with the team, and how they could be treated so well.

Now, seeing the two girls sharing their rations with the team, they could only continue to admire the aroma in the air. No wonder the team members treated them so well; it was clear they had purposely cooked more so the others could eat together.

Thankfully, the temperature had risen today, the freezing rain had stopped, and the hail was no longer falling. As long as the snow clearing and recon teams returned, they would be able to successfully transfer to the rescue station across the Yinsha River.

Everyone knew that the snow layer outside, after several days of freezing rain, had become harder to remove. So, they settled down and quietly waited in the tunnel.

**

Around noon, Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun were getting restless. They greeted Wen Rou and the three others before running outside the tunnel to use binoculars to check the road where the armored vehicle had gone.

The tunnel was built on one side of a mountain road in a canyon, in a very remote area. It was likely planned to be part of a bridge construction project to cross the river, but the work never started after the tunnel was excavated.

The only road nearby was this mountain road, which followed the canyon. One side had a mountain wall, while the other side dropped off into a cliff. About twenty meters below the cliff was the winding Yinsha River, and across the river was the southwest plateau.

The land on the other side was slightly higher, with a steeper slope. The drop between the high ground and the water surface was about 40-50 meters.

The Yinsha River was much wider than the Qinghe River in Youcheng that Shu Fu had crossed before. The riverbed here was also very low, and it had been raised after several floods. Even if she wanted to cross the river now, she would have to find a place to secure a safety rope to descend with a raft.

So, the only way for the group to cross the river was via the bridge that connected the two sides.

The temperature had risen overnight, and the freezing rain had stopped. The snow on the mountain road was still present on both sides, though it was thinner than before, with a thickness of about one to two meters. It was gradually melting into water, spreading across the mountain road and flowing toward one side of the cliff due to the terrain.

By around 1:00 PM, the armored vehicle finally returned. In addition to the seven members of Cheng Yu’s team, a few members from the rescue team had also gone out with them.

However, the returning team members didn’t seem to have good news.

As expected, they brought back bad news. When they finally cleared the snow and ice layers and reached the bridge 30 kilometers away, they found that the bridge had collapsed.

The bridge had been around for a while. It wasn’t a large city bridge, and they weren’t sure when it had collapsed, but it was likely recent. A large crack had appeared in the middle, making it impassable.

The previous plan had been disrupted. Now, they had to re-plan a new route for the transfer: First, they would still aim for the original rescue station, but they needed to find a different way to cross the Yinsha River. Second, they would consider changing the destination and head to another rescue station that didn’t require crossing the river.

After Cheng Yu and the team returned, they quickly and concisely explained the situation to the other team members who hadn’t gone out, and everyone returned to their teams for a meal.

However, Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and Han Lan didn’t have time to eat. They only drank a few sips of water before setting up a map on the camping table and turning on a camping lamp to begin planning the new route.

Shu Fu walked over, handed each of the three a chocolate bar, and gestured for them to eat something first.

Cheng Yu took a bite and immediately realized it wasn’t their energy bar. He turned to Shu Fu and asked, “Is this yours? Didn’t I tell you to save your food for yourself?”

“Since you’ve already bitten it, you’re not planning to give it back, are you?” Shu Fu feigned shock.

“…” Cheng Yu glanced at Han Lan, who was holding his own chocolate bar, about to take a bite. Cheng Yu quickly snatched the unbitten one from his hand and gave him the one he had bitten.

Han Lan: …

Cheng Yu wrapped the bitten chocolate bar back in its packaging and handed it back to Shu Fu. “Keep it. Eat it when you’re hungry.”

Shu Fu: …

What could she possibly say about this move?

Liu Shuang silently watched them, crunching through his chocolate bar in a few bites. Han Lan glanced at Liu Shuang and, holding the bitten chocolate bar, protested, “Why does he get to eat the unbitten one?”

Cheng Yu extended his hand to him. “You don’t have to eat it.”

“Hmph!” Han Lan opened his mouth and swallowed the chocolate bar in two bites.

The playful banter between the three team leaders eased the slightly tense atmosphere among the other team members.

In fact, the team leaders hadn’t mentioned yet that they were facing a much bigger issue: they were running out of fuel!

Only their team, the few rescue team members, and some of the military personnel knew about this. However, everyone was in agreement to keep this information from the other survivors for now.

If they stuck to the original plan and route, the fuel would have been enough. But now, with the detour and possible change of destination, the journey could take longer. They might not be able to take all four vehicles on the road; they would likely have to make do with two to ensure the armored vehicle and ambulance could still run.

This meant more people would have to walk.

Additionally, food was also running low. Whether they decided to detour or change destinations, they needed to finalize the new transfer route quickly and leave before the food ran out.

The new plan had to be much more cautious because there wasn’t enough fuel to waste on exploratory trips. Once they started the transfer, they had to take everyone along, or the vehicles might make it out but not be able to return.

Moreover, they had already checked the area and found that the signal was down, likely due to the extreme cold and snowstorm.

Bad news kept coming, but the only somewhat positive update was that the temperature had risen, and it seemed like there would be no more freezing rain or snowstorms. The thick snow on the mountain road was also melting by itself. Once they set out with the new route, they wouldn’t need to use the armored vehicle to clear the snow, and the road would be much easier to travel.

But the good news didn’t last long. Before the three team leaders could finalize the new route, a sudden thunderclap struck the sky. Moments later, the deafening roar of thunder startled everyone inside the tunnel.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, ceased talking, and stood up to walk toward the tunnel entrance, looking out at the dark sky that had unexpectedly turned ominous.

Another two thunderclaps split the sky, and someone instinctively covered their ears, their face showing fear as they stared at the cloudy sky outside.

Was it going to rain again?

Moments later, the heavy rain began pouring down. The rainwater fell from above like water columns, densely packing the tunnel entrance as if it had been covered by a curtain of water.

After the freezing rain, the weather had just cleared up for less than half a day, and now torrential rain began again. The disasters seemed to be lined up, one after another, without giving anyone any chance to catch their breath.

The heavy rain quickly washed away the ice and snow from the mountain road and rock faces. Within half an hour, the snow was completely gone, revealing withered, yellowed, and rotting grass beneath it. The world seemed to have transitioned quickly from winter to spring.

That afternoon, everyone in the tunnel stood in silence, watching the heavy rain and thunderstorm outside for a long time.

Soon, they could no longer stand the conditions. As the rain intensified, it was mixed with fierce winds. The strong gusts blew the rain into the tunnel in waves, like high-pressure water jets hitting the people inside.

Everyone was forced to retreat deeper into the tunnel.

For them, the only positive news was that the temperature had risen, but the long rainy period had begun again.

**

The following day, the rain intensified again, becoming a torrential downpour. Lightning flashed and thunder roared across the sky. The rain fell in dense columns, and from inside the tunnel, nothing was visible except the obliterating rain.

Someone, ignoring the deafening thunder and the attempts of the rescue team to stop them, put on a raincoat and tried to venture outside. Within seconds, the rain and wind forced them to retreat, crying out in agony.

Everyone was trapped in the tunnel, far more anxious than when they had been trapped inside the building by snow. They all understood that, in this weather, even the rescue drones couldn’t reach them.

And now, their food was truly running out.

They had to reduce their food rations per meal, breaking a single compressed biscuit into smaller portions. In this situation, Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun didn’t want to stir up trouble. When they were hungry in front of others, they mostly relied on compressed biscuits, energy bars, and chocolate bars to substitute for meals. In the cave shelter, they only had small amounts of tasteless jerky or dried meat to supplement.

Sometimes, Shu Fu would quietly feed each team member a piece of beef jerky, chocolate, or candy—small items that could be slowly savored.

Feeding Liu Shuang was fine; as long as she persevered, she would usually eat. Han Lan, on the other hand, didn’t refuse anything.

The hardest part was feeding Cheng Yu. Unless she directly shoved the food into his mouth, he wouldn’t eat anything handed to him. He would just take it, wrap it back up in a clean plastic bag, and hand it back to her.

Shu Fu: …

After everyone had rationed their food for two days, someone, desperate from hunger, went back to search through the wreckage area behind the building. They ended up finding a large box of instant noodles and river snail rice noodles under a scaffold, about sixty or seventy packs in total.

This person was overjoyed, covering their mouth to suppress their excitement, trying to sneak the box of food over to their small group.

But as soon as they managed to pull out the box, a voice called out loudly nearby, “Hey, what did you find?”

That person: …

The survivors in the tunnel had nothing to do, and even the smallest sound could attract attention from others.

Yao Ruoyun’s shout was loud enough to draw a crowd of curious survivors.

“Wow! What? What did you find?”

“Oh my god! Is it food? No way! Who hid this here? Is it expired? Can we still eat it?”

“Tch! At a time like this, who cares about expiration dates? Instant noodles and river snail rice noodles never expire for me!”

“Don’t say that, just hearing those words is making my mouth water. Hurry, let’s divide it up and cook some!”

…

The person who found the food wanted to continue struggling, claiming the discovery as their achievement, thinking they should get a larger share.

However, before they could finish saying anything, they saw the female team leader of the elite squad, standing with a calm expression, her hand resting on her waist. “Everyone gets an equal share.”

That person: …

Oh my god, this is terrifying!

“Equal share! Of course, it’s an equal share!”

Not far away, Han Lan looked at Liu Shuang and couldn’t help but smile.

She even resorted to threats… Over the past few days, he thought she had completely stopped caring, never asking or saying anything.

But now, it seemed like she was afraid someone might misuse the sentiment—though, so far, it had only been her one-sided guess…

“Tch, cold on the outside but warm on the inside…” Han Lan sighed and withdrew his gaze from Liu Shuang.

After Yao Ruoyun called out to the others, she quietly sat back down on the camping chair near the cave shelter, leaning next to Shu Fu. She lowered her voice and gently said, “It’s taken care of.”

“Mm.” Shu Fu, leaning back with her hands tucked into her sleeves, closed her eyes and relaxed, replying softly. On special days, there should be some special gifts.

Yao Ruoyun glanced at Shu Fu. Over the past two days, when she was alone, she would always pull her hood over her head and tighten the drawstring, leaving only her face visible, looking like a concealed youth with a somewhat downcast expression.

So, Yao Ruoyun continued speaking in a soft, comforting tone, saying that the rain would stop soon, and at least today, Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu wouldn’t have to worry about food supplies for everyone. They didn’t have to starve themselves to save food for the others anymore. Shu Fu had done a great job; she shouldn’t feel bad.

Shu Fu opened her eyes, saw Yao Ruoyun’s cautious expression, and smiled. Then, she reached up and pulled something from under her hood near her ear, putting it into Yao Ruoyun’s ear.

Immediately, a soft, soothing melody filled Yao Ruoyun’s ear. It was a guitar-accompanied song, one of Shu Fu’s favorites—In Somnia, which had a leisurely and calming feel.

Yao Ruoyun’s eyes widened in surprise, but she held back from making a sound. She reached up and adjusted the small wireless earbud, making sure it was snug, then mimicked Shu Fu by pulling her hood up to cover her ears, tightening the drawstring under her chin.

How could she forget? Her senior was a “Doraemon!”

So now, beside the cave shelter, there were two “concealed youths.”

Yao Ruoyun tucked her hands into her sleeves and sat in the same position as Shu Fu, leaning together. To avoid missing out on any conversations, she left the earphones without noise-canceling mode, but this also meant that the heavy rain outside became the background sound for the music.

If one ignored the dim and old tunnel and the current state of the trapped survivors, Yao Ruoyun realized she used to enjoy rainy afternoons at home, lying on the couch, listening to music, reading, and snacking.

Closing her eyes and listening to the music, she often felt a disorienting sense of time, as if she were not in this remote, unfamiliar tunnel but in her own warm, safe home.

On a holiday afternoon, she’d be lazily lounging around at home, while her parents were busy in the kitchen.

It felt like, if she opened her eyes, she would see her mom walking out of the kitchen, asking if she was hungry and if she wanted some bubble wontons.

She had eaten them since she was little and had grown tired of them, so she’d refuse, insisting on fried chicken wings and boiled fish instead. Then, her mom would helplessly go back to the kitchen, and soon the smell of fried chicken wings would waft out…

Yao Ruoyun missed home, missed her parents, but the house they used to have in Suicheng was long gone. Fortunately, now she had a small wooden raft cabin, and when she saw her parents again, they would have a home together…

She leaned against Shu Fu’s shoulder, quietly rubbing the tears that had slid down her cheek onto Shu Fu’s clothes. Shu Fu didn’t open her eyes but raised her hand and gently patted her head.

When Awen came to call them to collect supplies, he was momentarily speechless at the sight of the two of them leaning against each other like “concealed youths.” “Oh, what’s going on here… Hurry up and go, even if you’re not eating it, at least take it.”

Meanwhile, the leaders of the two teams gathered together to supervise and count the food they had found—35 packs of instant noodles and 41 packs of river snail rice noodles. Liu Shuang seemed worried about missing something and suggested searching the construction debris area again. They really did find a box of ready-to-eat canned food under another scaffold.

The box contained 40 cans, and there were five or six different flavors inside—old duck soup, chicken stew with mushrooms, braised pork, potato beef brisket, preserved vegetables with pork… It was enough to make them cry tears of joy.

That day, the survivors in the tunnel seemed to be celebrating a holiday.

Someone calculated the date and realized that it really was a special day.

“Wow! It’s New Year’s Day!”

“Really? I didn’t even remember the date. Don’t mess it up!”

“Wait, in this crucial moment, I have to open my phone and use a bit of battery!” Someone immediately pulled out their phone from their clothes pocket, turned it on, and discovered it wasn’t yet New Year’s Day—it was December 31st, the last day of the year.

“Wow! That means tonight is New Year’s Eve!”

“With all this food, today really is a day worth celebrating!”

“Wait, but we actually found that place earlier too. Why didn’t we find these foods then?” Someone raised a question. As soon as they said that, several people turned to look at the person who was proudly accepting praise from others.

“Yeah, I remember checking that area several times and didn’t find any food. And it was such a big box—how could we have missed it?”

“Hey, do you think he could be the one from the rumors… an ability user?” Someone whispered, speculating.

“Him? An ability user? Can he really be that generous? I just heard that when they said the supplies would be shared, his face went dark…”

“Stop overthinking it. No matter where this food came from or who put it there, it saved our lives! Don’t keep questioning it. Instead of trying to figure it out, just eat a good meal with gratitude!”

…

Yao Ruoyun would always remember this day. She and her senior, along with Cheng Yu, Liu Shuang, and a whole bunch of survivors she had never met before, were hiding in a tunnel during a fierce storm. They boiled instant noodles, cooked river snail rice noodles, opened cans, and celebrated the New Year together.