64: Unsuccessful start

Ai Yue drove her brand-new kaibaihe battle shield down the road. The exquisite vehicle stood in sharp contrast to the ruined city. While passing through a potholed section, Ai Yue miscalculated, thinking it was just a shallow puddle. To her surprise, as soon as the car entered, muddy water instantly submerged the tires. She stepped on the gas to try and burst out, only to hear a loud "thud" as she hit a very hard rock.

The car didn't stop but slid to one side. Worse still, due to inertia, Ai Yue didn't have time to react before the entire vehicle was thrown off the road and plunged headfirst into a nearby farmland.

After so many days of rain, the farmland had long since turned into a quagmire.

Before the car plunged into the mire, Ai Yue acted quickly, grabbing Da Wang and ducking into her Space.

When she reappeared in the car, she found the entire front end buried in mud. Fortunately, she had been quick enough to hide in the Space with Da Wang; otherwise, she would have definitely been injured.

Looking around, she found that the front doors—both driver and passenger—couldn't be opened, nor could the sunroof. She had to crawl out from the rear door. Standing on the body of the car, Ai Yue looked at the messy scene before her, speechless.

The endless fields were entirely covered in silt. There was nowhere to step nearby, and she was too far from the bank to jump across.

After double-checking, she realized she could only crawl her way out. She rummaged through her Space and found a giant aluminum basin that had once held rice. She threw it onto the mud and carefully jumped into it. The large basin immediately sank into the mud, but luckily, it stopped just before the mud could spill over the rim.

Reaching out, she stowed the kaibaihe battle shield and attempted to move toward the shore. With one careless move, the edge of the basin tilted, and instantly, sludge poured in.

At that, she completely lost her balance. The basin carried Ai Yue as it sank bit by bit into the depths. She hadn't wanted to get covered in mud, but now, her entire lower body was completely caked in it.

Fearing she would get stuck in the mud and be unable to get out, Ai Yue made a snap decision. She continuously pulled basins and wooden planks from her Space to use as stepping stones, moving quickly toward the shore. After wasting five basins and two wooden planks, Ai Yue finally made it safely to the bank.

Filthy, Ai Yue couldn't stand the muddy feeling inside her shoes. She vanished into her Space to take a quick shower and changed into black clothes, a hat, and a windproof mask. For a moment, it was impossible to tell if she was male or female.

After tidying herself up, Ai Yue emerged from the Space and continued forward, driving the car which had also become filthy.

She drove past a village, and as the sky was gradually darkening, she decided to rest there for the night.

After driving in, Ai Yue found the place very desolate. It didn't look like anyone lived there; the villagers had likely either died or fled.

Ai Yue entered a house that looked relatively sturdy. It was overgrown with weeds, and the walls were pitted from acid rain erosion, but staying for one night would be fine.

Opening the door and walking inside, she found a thick layer of dried silt covering the floor. The other furnishings in the room were all trapped in the silt and unusable.

She took some firewood she had previously stockpiled out of her Space and piled it in the center of the room, intending to use it after sunset.

Next to the woodpile, she placed a camp bed and sat on it, preparing to settle her dinner.

Since she was out and no one was watching, she naturally had to eat something good.

Half a chicken, a plate of boiled pork slices, a side of fish-flavored eggplant, and a bottle of beer. Although it looked like a lot, she didn't waste a bit and finished it all. Ai Yue lay on the bed satisfied, closing her eyes to rest.

By now, it was completely dark. Ai Yue got up and lit the fire to dispel the chill of the night. The moon also made a rare appearance; looking at the bright moon outside the window, she realized today was the fifteenth.

Since the natural disasters had followed one after another, as time went on, no one remembered specific dates anymore.

Ai Yue kept looking up at the moon, silently calculating in her heart. Two and a half years had passed since the Apocalypse began. Looking back, those two and a half years felt as long as a century, feeling somewhat unreal and hazy.

In her daze, Ai Yue fell asleep.

An unknown amount of time passed, long enough for the fire on the ground to go out.

Suddenly, a crisp "crack" echoed in the silent night. Ai Yue snapped her eyes open. She didn't move, listening quietly. A moment later, whispers could be heard.

"Little sister, be careful. You almost woke them up," a thin, reedy voice said.

Another voice stopped the person who was about to continue speaking: "Shh, don't talk. Let's go in and see."

After that person finished speaking, no more voices were heard.

Only the sound of light, hurried footsteps could be heard as they quietly crept in.

Ai Yue's gaze turned cold as she waited for them to approach.

Through the cold moonlight, Ai Yue saw three small figures. They were sneakily tiptoeing around the fire, seemingly looking for something.

Finding nothing, the three of them stepped even more lightly as they walked toward Ai Yue.

Ai Yue found it a bit strange; judging by their size, they didn't seem like adults, but rather like children.

The three of them reached Ai Yue's bed. Just as she was about to get up and grab them, she saw them crouch down and reach under the bed.

"Big Brother, why isn't there anything? Niu Niu wants to eat meat," a little girl's shrill voice came from under the bed.

"Shh! Big Brother will look some more."

As he spoke, a small head and a hand poked out near the head of Ai Yue's bed, preparing to reach toward it.

Before he could reach out, he met a pair of large, round eyes. He was so startled that he let out a loud cry and fell backward abruptly.

The other two scrambled out from under the bed, urgently shouting "Bro" as they caught the one who had fallen.

Ai Yue sat up on the bed and switched on a flashlight, shining it on them!

Sure enough, they were three children. The one Ai Yue had startled was the oldest, a boy of about eight or nine. The remaining boy and girl were both very small, around six or seven.

At this point, the startled boy regained his composure. He rolled up and immediately grabbed the other two children, preparing to run.

"Stop. Move again, and I'll kill you," Ai Yue said fiercely.

The three children stopped instantly. The Little Boy turned back and fell to his knees before Ai Yue with a thud. "Big sister, please let us go. We just smelled the scent of meat and were so hungry we couldn't stand it. That's why we came here to steal from you."

Seeing their big brother kneel, the other two little ones also knelt beside him with their heads bowed.

Ai Yue didn't know if he was telling the truth. "Where are you from? Where are the adults in your family?"

"We've lived here since we were little. There are no adults in our family. Please let us go, sister. Don't eat us," the leading boy said fearfully with his head down.

"Eat you? Don't worry, I don't eat people! How many people are left in this village?"

"There's no one left, just the three of us."

"Then how did you survive?"

"Eating grass and bark. We eat whatever is edible."

Ai Yue had been observing the Little Boy closely and noticed he didn't dare look up at her, his hands nervously twisting the hem of his clothes. She understood in her heart that this Little Boy was likely lying.

Perhaps the outside was already surrounded by people waiting to come in and catch her. After all, a car was parked outside; she was sure they must think she had plenty of supplies. They didn't dare come in themselves, so they sent three little ones to scout.