The peaceful days lasted less than three days.
The second earthquake ca again.
Although it didn't last long, both of them finally abandoned their wishful thinking.
Shen Yi began to contemplate an escape route.
He brought back a large jeep he had found earlier.
The vehicle was well-preserved overall, except for a slightly deford front bumper.
The two began to modify the car.
The modification mainly involved removing the back seats to create more space.
They loaded it with easily storable food cans, bottled water, and liquor.
Batteries, camping lights, portable stoves, gas canisters, bowls, utensils, and cookware - almost everything they could think of was loaded into the car.
They also prepared two cans of gasoline and strapped a tent to the roof.
In short, they were ready to flee at any mont.
They aid to be able to jump in and drive away at the first sign of trouble.
Another four days passed.
The third earthquake arrived.
Cheng Jun speculated it might be expanding its territory.
Each tremor represented the underground roots absorbing nutrients and stretching.
This ant that sooner or later, its surface roots would spread to where they were.
On the afternoon of the 99th day after the apocalypse.
Shen Yi and Cheng Jun had ceased all unnecessary outings.
Cheng Jun irritably pushed aside the chessboard, unable to concentrate.
Shen Yi understood her anxiety but could do nothing about it.
What else could they do besides waiting passively?
"Squeak... squeak..."
Hearing the familiar sound, they exchanged glances and imdiately stood up.
Going downstairs, they found the sa rat.
It stood on its hind legs, and the black flower on its head swayed and turned as they approached.
Shen Yi tried to stop Cheng Jun, intending to go alone.
"Wait."
Cheng Jun grabbed Shen Yi's hand and, taking a deep breath while suppressing her discomfort, said:
"It might be trying to convey so ssage... look at the flower on its head."
At this reminder, Shen Yi recalled their previous encounters with it. Back then, they were either too surprised by its appearance or suspicious of its intentions to notice this small detail.
Shen Yi walked over and stared intently at it,
"Are you suggesting there's sothing in that direction?"
The rat made no response except for the gentle swaying of the flower on its head.
Shen Yi had a sudden realization and asked again,
"Are you asking
to follow you?"
This ti, instead of disappearing imdiately, it squeaked once, and the black flower turned again to indicate a direction.
Shen Yi finally understood that each ti this rat appeared, it had been trying to give him hints and guidance, but he hadn't understood its aning then.
Seeing it hadn't left, Shen Yi turned to Cheng Jun and said:
"This might be a blessing in disguise. Following it might lead to sothing valuable."
"Is this... safe? It's just a guess."
"If it wanted to harm us, it wouldn't go to such lengths. There must be sothing else going on."
"Then this ti I'm coming with you!"
Cheng Jun looked at Shen Yi with determined eyes and spoke decisively.
"Alright!"
Seeing her stubborn expression, Shen Yi couldn't refuse this ti.
They had too many questions in their minds, so even though they knew following it might be risky, they chose to go anyway.
The feeling of groping in the dark was too uncomfortable.
Having made their decision, Shen Yi tentatively said to the stationary rat,
"Let's go."
With a whoosh, the rat transford into a black shadow and disappeared, reappearing ten ters away in the blink of an eye.
It stopped and looked back at them, as if asking why they weren't following.
Seeing this, Shen Yi imdiately pulled Cheng Jun along to follow.
Thus, the two humans and one rat proceeded down the street.
The journey wasn't long; after walking for less than ten minutes, it finally stopped in front of so ruins.
"This is..."
Cheng Jun murmured,
"This is where I woke up."
Though only a hundred days had passed, returning to this place gave Cheng Jun a sense of unfamiliarity.
Following the rat deeper inside, Cheng Jun pushed aside the thick undergrowth.
"This is where I was lying when I ca through."
Pointing at the ground, Cheng Jun turned to tell Shen Yi.
Shen Yi hadn't known this, as he had found Cheng Jun already crouching on the main road.
He thought for a mont and said to Cheng Jun:
"Perhaps the rat was guiding you even then, don't forget you were the first to et it."
"That's possible, I was just too afraid of rats at the ti to notice..."
Cheng Jun realized this could be true, considering the rat had co to find her right after she crawled out.
As they ventured deeper into the ruins, darkness swallowed everything.
Shen Yi took out a salvaged phone and turned on its flashlight.
This was all the device was good for now; Shen Yi usually just used it to check the ti.
Following the rat, they ca to a large cavity.
The flashlight's beam reflected off the walls, dimly illuminating the entire space.
Their footsteps splashed in water, and distant dripping sounds echoed far through the quiet space.
The air was thick with the sll of mold mixed with decay and a hint of blood, presumably due to the perpetual darkness and damp conditions of this place.
The environnt was very unsettling, and Cheng Jun gripped Shen Yi's hand tightly, her palm sweating.
Shen Yi continued forward; having co this far, there was no point in turning back.
Cheng Jun was afraid but couldn't let him go alone, so she tried to stay calm.
Finally, the rat stopped in front of a half-open large door.
The mont Shen Yi stepped forward—
"Hum."
An electrical sound rang out, and phosphorescent white lights ca on, illuminating the entire space.
"There's still electricity?"
Shen Yi wondered aloud.
Regardless, having light made things feel much more reassuring.
Stepping inside, Cheng Jun observed the architectural style of their surroundings.
"It looks like so kind of underground laboratory."
"You think so too?"
Along the long corridor, a pungent sll wafted toward them.
Shen Yi carefully walked forward and discovered sothing difficult to describe.
It was sothing between moss and fungus, with large white tendrils connecting them, forming a spiral network-like structure.
It looked strange and disgusting yet possessed a complex beauty.
They covered large areas of the walls and floor in an eerie manner.
Regardless, touching them without knowing their nature wouldn't be wise, so Shen Yi led Cheng Jun carefully around them.
Past the corridor's corner, the rat was already waiting.
Upon entering, they saw chaos everywhere - scattered docunts and papers, dried blood, and more of those strange fungal plants.
Crossing various glass partitions, Shen Yi followed the rat into an office.
The room could be called either an office or a research lab.
It contained many incomprehensible tools and instrunts, with papers and docunts scattered across the desk.
On the other side was a transparent incubator, though it had a large hole in the middle.
While Cheng Jun began examining the docunts, Shen Yi compared the size of the hole with the rat's form.
He privately estimated that this rat might have escaped from the laboratory.
Since entering the office, the rat had been struggling with a small cage on the desk, trying to squeeze into it.
However, its body had grown too large, and even breaking the cage wouldn't let it fit inside.
Suddenly, it transford into an oil-like liquid and flowed into the cage, but after returning to its original form, it couldn't move.
So it had to flow back out of the cage again.
Reviews
All reviews (0)