Chapter 22: 022 Encounter Difficulties
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The lights had been turned off. Chen Xu lay in his bed, tossing and turning for over an hour, unable to sleep.
He usually slept well and rarely experienced insomnia. Today, though, was a special case.
The scene he had glimpsed through the glass in the bathroom lingered in his mind, and a pale silhouette seed to keep flashing before his eyes. It was as if a fire was burning inside him, making him unbearably restless.
He had just flipped over when he heard a slight sound from the other side of the bed.
She wasn’t asleep either.
...
Was I just asking for trouble?
Suddenly, he had such a thought and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. It was like inflicting a thousand wounds on the enemy and suffering eight hundred himself. Hurting each other, moving into this room did indeed make her uncomfortable. But in the end, it didn’t do him any good either.
To be honest, several tis he almost couldn’t help himself from jumping onto the bed.
But he didn’t dare, given her personality. She might have a knife hidden under the pillow. If he got stabbed, that’d be the end of it. If she decided to completely sever ties with him…
Just thinking about it sent a chill through him.
Even if this was a dream, not reality, it would leave a lifelong shadow in minutes.
How could he dare to act recklessly?
“It’s all the fault of that virtual dream device. Making the scene so realistic would be one thing, but even replicating the characters to be one hundred percent true to life is just too much trouble.”
He thought sowhat gloomily.
If it really were like a dream of his own, where he could do as he pleased, it would be so nice.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at all.
“In my dream, shouldn’t it be however I want it to be?”
Thinking this, he turned over again, and in his frustration, simply took out his phone from under the pillow, opened a novel saved on it, and forced himself to read it to divert his attention.
What he had saved on his phone were the most classic, and his favorite, online novels. He had read each one several tis.
Gradually, his mind beca imrsed in the story. As he read, he began to feel sleepy. His eyelids grew heavy, and he finally fell asleep.
……
The next day, Chen Xu woke up an hour later than usual. By the ti he was done with all his tasks, it was already breakfast ti, so he had to pause his shooting practice for the day.
While eating, Luo Xiyun’s face was cold, not saying a word, not even looking at him.
Chen Xu felt it necessary to explain, “Last night, it wasn’t intentional. I really accidentally hit that switch…”
With a bang, Luo Xiyun slamd her chopsticks onto the table and silently began cleaning up the dishes.
Chen Xu fell silent. Since she didn’t want to hear his explanation, he wouldn’t make things unpleasant for himself.
Originally, he planned to take another day of rest at ho, but given the current atmosphere, he didn’t want to stay and face a sour face. After finishing his al, he drove out.
The main purpose of this trip was to scout the road.
He was already very familiar with the nearby roads, and after two hours, he finally reached an unfamiliar area.
The torrential rain that lasted over twenty days had flooded most of the city, and as the temperature plumted, the waters turned to ice. The roads were entirely covered with ice.
He drove very slowly because the ice was slippery, and driving too fast could cause accidents. He wasn’t too confident in the anti-skid chains he had made.
Every ten minutes or so, he stopped to mark the way with red paint to avoid getting lost on his way ho.
The ice stretched as far as the eye could see, with identical surroundings in all directions, making it impossible to discern directions without a compass.
He drove for two hours straight before spotting any buildings, letting him breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far away. If he moved quickly, he could make a round trip in one day.
When he drove closer and saw the structures up close, he exclaid inwardly, what bad luck.
The scene before him was of high-rise buildings half subrged in water, and due to their height, so parts were not inundated.
What he needed most was gasoline. But gas stations couldn’t possibly be built on skyscrapers, could they? These structures held no value for him.
He drove the car up to the nearest building and stopped, took out a pair of binoculars, and looked ahead, spotting even more structures on the ice.
“It’s one-thirty right now. Returning to the villa from here would take a little over three hours.”
It had taken him four hours to get here. In fact, he spent quite so ti marking the way on the journey. If he drove continuously, it wouldn’t have taken this long.
After considering for a mont, he decided to drive ahead for another hour. That way, returning to the villa before eight in the evening wouldn’t be too late.
Having decided, he got back in the car and drove forward.
The further he drove, the more buildings appeared. He felt a bit excited, as this ant the terrain ahead was getting higher. As soon as he reached flat land, he’d quickly find a gas station.
Howling—
Not long after setting out, the wind picked up outside, carrying snowflakes and pounding against the windshield.
He couldn’t help but slow down, driving even more cautiously.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sound from the car roof made him feel uneasy. It was hail. By the looks of it, it was going to snow heavily.
“I can’t go forward anymore.”
He decisively turned the steering wheel, made a U-turn, and headed back.
Soon, he left the cluster of high-rises and drove back the way he ca.
Half an hour later, suddenly, he felt the car shake violently; so hiss of air ca from sowhere, and the car stalled.
Damn!
He realized he was in big trouble.
The car slid forward for a distance before coming to a stop.
At this mont, Chen Xu slled a strong burnt odor. Beads of sweat ford on his forehead as he twisted the key, mumbling, “Please don’t let down now.”
He turned it seven or eight tis, but the engine remained completely unresponsive.
“This is bad.”
He leaned back against the seat, rubbing his face vigorously with both hands.
The worst case had happened; the car broke down, and he didn’t know how to fix it.
Moreover, the car was stalled on the ice, far from any settlent. Worse yet, hail was falling outside.
“What should I do?”
After a while, he cald down a bit. Watching the snowflakes being whipped up by the wind outside, his brow furrowed deeply.
Thinking it over, the only option was to wait for the hail to stop. Getting out now might get him killed by the hail.
But how long would this hail last?
There was food, water, and gas for heating in the car. Being stranded for a few days wouldn’t be a problem. His main worry was about Luo Xiyun: If he couldn’t make it back, what would she do?
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