PSW - Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Once the New Year was over, Zheng Yi briefly said goodbye to a few friends at the shelter and set off on another journey with Yu Yinan.
And the destination for this trip was, of course, Xuancheng.
Yu Yinan had studied three different routes for the journey from Pujie to Xuancheng. Based on Wan Yinyue's speculations, she had even prepared maps of several cities surrounding Xuancheng. Although these maps were based on pre-apocalypse city layouts, they could still serve as a reference.
Zhao Haiyue had already introduced Wan Yinyue to Zhou Xiyue and Zhou Xiji, and they had exchanged information about the meteor fragment and Xuancheng. However, because Xuancheng was simply too far from Pujie, the shelter's upper management held a brief meeting on the matter. In the end, they decided to temporarily label Xuancheng as a danger zone and put the matter aside for the time being.
After the New Year, Humanity's Light began to radiate outward from Pujie, striving to make contact with survivors in other cities. They also worked hard to stockpile more fuel before the extreme cold fully set in and had the plant-type ability users accelerate the growth of more crops.
As for Xuancheng and the meteor fragment? Were they important? Yes. But compared to these significant discoveries, leading the majority of the shelter's residents through another extreme cold period was the more pressing matter at hand.
"Since we've taken the name Humanity's Light, we have to do everything we can to keep everyone alive."
The origin of the apocalypse, the meteor fragment... all of these things would have to be postponed until after they survived the current crisis. Although Zhou Xiji wanted to dispatch ability users to investigate, considering the terrifying situation during the last extreme heat period, he predicted that this round of extreme cold would not be as easy to endure as the first one. Fire-type ability users had to stay at the shelter to provide heat for the majority of the people. As for other ability users, if they wanted to undertake a long journey during the extreme cold, they could easily freeze to death in the icy wilderness without a fire-type ability user in the team and without enough food and water. No matter how one looked at it, the matter of Xuancheng could only be postponed.
After all, not every ability user was like Zheng Yi, possessing such terrifying control and mental strength. Even Yu Yinan couldn't use her ability continuously for long periods.
"I really wish you could stay." While seeing Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan off, Zhao Haiyue couldn't help but express this sentiment. With a powerful ability user like Zheng Yi, if she and Yu Yinan stayed in the shelter, the entire community would be able to get through the extreme cold or extreme heat much more easily.
But Zhao Haiyue also knew clearly that these two wouldn't be easily tied down to one place. If Zheng Yi did stay in the shelter for a long time, she certainly wouldn't be the one taking orders.
"You two, I wish you a safe journey." Zhao Haiyue waved. "If you find anything... if you're in a good mood when you get back, could you tell me about it?"
However, Zheng Yi didn't agree. She only glanced at Zhao Haiyue, then revealed a sweet smile and waved goodbye with an obviously feigned expression. Yu Yinan also waved, but she didn't acknowledge the request either, just saying, "Goodbye."
Zhao Haiyue watched the modified car speed away, pushed up the glasses on her nose, and sighed inwardly. She was really curious about the situation in Xuancheng! Most importantly, Yun Lingjian would definitely be interested in news about the meteor fragment.
...Hopefully, the great Zheng Yi would be in a good mood when she returned and would be willing to share some details.
"Can we reach Xuancheng before the extreme cold arrives?" Zheng Yi leaned lazily in the passenger seat, eating jelly beans one by one, the crunching sound echoing continuously.
"We should be able to, I think?" Yu Yinan recalled the route. Judging by the current temperature, the extreme cold would fully set in within a couple of days. But if they didn't make too many stops and drove continuously, given the road conditions in the apocalypse... if nothing unexpected happened, they should be able to reach Xuancheng before the extreme cold. "In that case, we might have to take turns driving."
"No need to rush," Zheng Yi said leisurely. "We should rest when we need to. If the extreme cold comes early~ then I'll have to trouble Jiejie to work a little harder each day."
"...How is that any trouble at all?" Yu Yinan started to laugh. Ever since the last extreme cold period ended, she had been looking forward to this one. Was this trouble? No! This was a golden opportunity for her to contribute to Zheng Yi!
Starting fires? Providing warmth? She wished she could stick close to Zheng Yi twenty-four hours a day throughout the entire extreme cold period.
The journey from Pujie to Xuancheng passed through many cities. This time, however, Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan didn't linger in them. They would only stop to rest after dark each day. If there were houses or storefronts nearby, they would stay the night inside. If not, they would just park on the side of the road, start a simple fire by the car to cook something hot, and make do in the car for the night.
As for breakfast and lunch, they could make do with convenient foods like compressed biscuits and bread. In this apocalypse, such foods were quite rare—not something others could eat whenever they wanted.
However, before they officially reached the territory of Xuancheng, just as they arrived in Qiying, a city very close to it, Zheng Yi's mental power sensed a very faint and unusual energy.
It was like an extremely fine gray mist integrated into the air. People could hardly perceive its existence with the naked eye, or even with each breath. But it did exist, and its presence brought about some subtle, gradual changes in people.
This energy had a subtle commonality with the energy from the mind of that blue lightbulb-headed zombie.
Zheng Yi didn't sense it in great detail; after all, the energy concentration at this distance was extremely faint.
"Do you feel anything?" Zheng Yi stopped the car in Qiying, her hand resting on the steering wheel, and turned to ask Yu Yinan.
"Hm? I don't feel anything special." Yu Yinan was stunned for a moment, guessing that Zheng Yi might have noticed something different. She thought for a moment, then added, "The city of Qiying also has a forest area. The humidity here is very high, and there's a lake in the forest. Before the apocalypse, that area had a lot of fireflies. Every summer, many people would come here to camp."
"The city's landscaping was also very well done; they paid great attention to environmental protection. So maybe... there are a lot of mutated plants?"
"Yes, there are indeed quite a few mutated plants." But even after absorbing the faint energy diffused in the air, the intelligence of the mutated plants here was probably not much different from those on Sugui Mountain. Zheng Yi glanced at the green vines sprawling wantonly across the road not far away. The large patch of verdant green was particularly conspicuous on the asphalt road. "Use a ball of fire to drive it away."
"There's definitely something wrong with Xuancheng. Let's go a little deeper. We'll rest for the night near... the border between Qiying and Xuancheng, and pay a formal visit tomorrow."
"Okay." Yu Yinan agreed immediately. She had always been one to do whatever Zheng Yi said. It was just that when she was researching the city of Qiying, she had felt a bit of regret. It was a pity that it was the extreme cold period, making it impossible to see a sky full of fireflies. Otherwise, even in the apocalypse, there might still have been some.
Of course, whether they had mutated or not was another matter.
On their journey here, while passing through other cities, they had indeed discovered traces of other survivors. But Zheng Yi had a clear objective, so she hadn't been distracted by searching for them. Now, while resting for the night in Qiying, Yu Yinan finally asked about Zheng Yi's future plans. "After we find the meteor fragment, are we going straight back? Or... should we revisit those cities where we found signs of survivor activity?"
"Either is fine." Zheng Yi casually peeled a small sugar tangerine, split it in two, and fed a piece to Yu Yinan. "Are you trying to accumulate more believers for me?"
"No," Yu Yinan said with a serious expression. "This apocalypse is full of suffering and disaster. You are saving them. Their desire to believe in you is entirely of their own volition, not our objective."
Zheng Yi let out a low laugh. "So, am I really that selfless, desireless Saint who lives only for the sake of all living things?"
"To the outside world, yes, you can be," Yu Yinan said. "Although I don't have a particularly deep understanding of your true nature right now... but, I think, compared to everyone else, I must be the person closest to you? That's enough for me."
"Anyway, with your strength, no matter what kind of existence you want to become... no one can question you, right?" Whether it was her strength in combat or her skill in acting, Yu Yinan had never met anyone more omnipotent or unsolvable than Zheng Yi.
"Jiejie has such a high opinion of me~" Zheng Yi chuckled softly, her dark eyes sparkling like stars. She peeled another sugar tangerine, ate half, and placed the remaining part in her palm. She held out her hand to Yu Yinan. "Jiejie, come closer."
...No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like she was deliberately... teasing a dog.
But Yu Yinan spinelessly drew closer anyway. She didn't even need Zheng Yi to say anything. She gently lifted the hair on one side of her face, and without using her hands, she leaned down and ate the peeled half of the tangerine from Zheng Yi's palm.
Just as Yu Yinan was about to straighten up, Zheng Yi grabbed her by the collar with one hand. With her other hand, she reached up, bypassed the strands of hair falling at Yu Yinan's side, and pinched her hot earlobe.
Yu Yinan seemed to have many speculations about her.
But Yu Yinan was unwilling to delve deeply into any of her speculations, nor did she want to investigate. She didn't care about the outcome, only about the person, Zheng Yi. No matter what Zheng Yi was, even if Zheng Yi wasn't actually "Zheng Yi,"... as long as "Zheng Yi" was here, that was enough.
"Jiejie, do you want me to become a savior?" Zheng Yi asked, nonchalantly rubbing Yu Yinan's earlobe. The hand holding her collar loosened slightly. Instead of standing up, Yu Yinan obediently moved closer, raising her own hand to grasp the one that had let go.
"...Whatever you want to become, I will help you." Yu Yinan placed Zheng Yi's hand over her heart. Then, she leaned slowly toward Zheng Yi, resting her head on her shoulder. Completely unguarded, she lowered her gaze and closed her eyes, sighing softly. "I will always follow you, and I will always be loyal to you."
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