The ways humans express emotions are all the same at their core.
I felt that between me and Suo Tian, there was some kind of indescribable sentiment surrounding us, as if guided by fate...
That night I slept deeply.
I've found that whenever I sleep soundly, I almost always dream.
And in that final second before waking, it still feels as though the dream is vivid before my eyes, yet the moment I open them, my mind dulls, and all of it stays behind in the dream.
What remains is just a hazy impression, but no matter how I try, I can't recall what exactly I dreamed of.
When I opened my eyes, the sun outside was already blazing.
I stared blankly at the car roof for quite a while before my thoughts gradually came back.
Turning my head around, I noticed that Xiao Hu was no longer in the front seat.
Suo Tian was sitting beside me, frowning as he studied a well-worn atlas.
Yawning, I sat up, put on the clothes that had been covering me, and asked aloud, "Where's Xiao Hu?"
Hearing that, Suo Tian turned his head toward me, closed the atlas in his hands, then jerked his chin toward the window as he said, "Outside, playing with Rongrong."
I blinked, glanced out the window, and saw the three kids happily playing with mud by the flowerbed in front of the restaurant.
After finishing dressing, I was about to urge Suo Tian to get out so I could start preparing breakfast, but suddenly I thought of something and quickly turned back to look out the window... and the next second, my face darkened completely.
Shen Feng, Yangyang, Xu Shu, Han Xue, Zhou Wen, Taozi—everyone was already up.
Right now, they were gathered around our van, chatting about something, occasionally bursting into laughter.
Even Big Beard and his group, who'd drunk too much last night, were rubbing their heads as they did some light drills and stretches in the square.
...If I get out now, won't that make them overthink things?
Leaning back in his seat, Suo Tian looked at my dark expression as I stared out the window.
Guessing what was on my mind, he folded his arms and asked casually, "Getting out or not?"
I glanced at him, hesitated, then peeked out the window again. "W–wait a bit."
Just as the words left my mouth, I caught sight of Taozi, who had been chatting and laughing with the others, glance in our direction.
He lowered his head, said something to Zhou Wen, then started walking straight toward our van.
My heart tightened.
Seeing Taozi approach, Suo Tian simply and openly slid the van door open and stepped out.
At once, Taozi's floodlight-like gaze swept into the car, landing on me.
After looking me up and down, his face split into the sleaziest grin imaginable as he said, "Chen Yang, those pancakes you made yesterday were amazing. Everyone's still craving them—could I trouble you to whip up some more for breakfast?"
Before I could even answer, he added with mock concern, "Oh wait, what am I saying? You must be exhausted. How could I trouble you to cook breakfast? Go on, lie down and rest."
My temples throbbed as I glared at his coy grin.
After taking a deep breath, I jumped out of the car, walked up to him, jabbed a finger at his shoulder, and said through clenched teeth, "Thanks for your concern! Sunflower!"
"Sun... sunflower?" Taozi froze, clearly not following.
But after I brushed past him, a moment later he shouted from behind, "You damn Chen Yang, that's personal insult!"
By then I'd already joined Shen Feng and the others.
Thanks to Taozi's little ruckus, the awkwardness I'd felt earlier was gone.
Clearing my throat, I said to Shen Feng, "Do me a favor—help me knead the dough for the noodles. Let's get breakfast done quick so we can hit the road."
Hearing this, Shen Feng glanced at Suo Tian in the distance walking toward Big Beard, then nodded slightly to me. "Alright."
Noticing Yangyang's eyes constantly darting toward me, I turned to him. "What are you staring at? Is there a flower on my face or something?"
Yangyang blinked, then after a pause lowered his head, thought for a moment, and asked, "Sis, do you like Brother Suo Tian?"
I hadn't expected him to suddenly ask that question, and in front of so many people too.
I froze on the spot.
After a moment, I glanced at the people around me who were staring in curiosity, then waved Yangyang off, saying, "Shoo, shoo. You're just a kid, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Go with Uncle Gazi and get the three little ones cleaned up for breakfast."
Before Yangyang could say anything else, I tugged Shen Feng along and quickly headed toward the restaurant.
"I'll help too," Xu Shu called out and followed us.
The eggs had all been eaten up the night before, so today's breakfast could only be plain flour porridge and pancakes.
With three people working together, it really was faster than just two, and in less than half an hour, breakfast was ready.
After everyone finished eating in high spirits, we started loading the remaining supplies from the convenience store.
The condiments from the kitchen and the leftover flour were stuffed into the trunk as well.
During this time, one of the black-clad men came over to tell Suo Tian that Dr. Yang had woken up.
They gave him some bread and water, then injected him with something to make him sleep again.
The packing was quickly finished.
Since it was still early, the middle-aged man reminded us that for the next few days we'd be traveling deep into the mountains, with no more service areas ahead.
So besides the bottled water we already had, we also searched the entire service area for several large barrels, boiled water to fill them, let it cool, and loaded them onto the vehicles.
Once everything was ready, Suo Tian came over again to check on Rongrong and Xiao Hu.
After confirming they were fine, the convoy finally set off once more.
Before leaving the gas station, every vehicle was filled to the brim, with a few extra barrels stored as backup.
Only then did we finally leave that service area behind.
Rolling down the window, I leaned out, watching the service area fade into the distance behind us.
For some reason, my heart was suddenly filled with emotion.
It seemed that ever since the world ended, we'd been constantly leaving one place behind only to move on to another.
Leave, arrive. Leave, arrive.
Over and over, all this time.
Looking at the green mountains along the road, the air thick with the scent of spring, I took a deep breath.
Hopefully, the headquarters will be the last place we'll need to seek shelter.
But… if we just end up hiding away in some protected corner for the rest of our lives, can that really still be called living?
Realizing my own thoughts, I couldn't help but laugh at myself bitterly.
Since the world fell into chaos, who really has any sort of proper "life" left?
The convoy drove until noon, and sure enough, there wasn't a single sign of a service area or human habitation on either side of the road.
Aside from the paved highway beneath our wheels, we seemed to have entered a vast no-man's-land.
Mountains of all sizes surrounded us, connected by man-made tunnels.
At first, it felt fresh and exciting.
Everyone in the car chattered endlessly about the scenery, and whenever we spotted a particularly strange-shaped mountain, it sparked lively discussion.
But as the morning dragged on, the novelty wore off, and by noon, people had fallen into silence.
It wasn't until the convoy stopped for food and rest that spirits lifted again, when we could finally step out and feel the mountains up close.
Once outside, the feeling was completely different from inside the vehicle.
Only when standing at the foot of those towering peaks could one truly appreciate their magnificence and grandeur.
Breathing deeply, gazing into the distance, I couldn't help but marvel at the Creator's work.
Nature's beauty is truly beyond comparison.
After stretching a bit, we had a simple meal and gave the kids some cookies and sausages.
Then the convoy prepared to move again.
But just as we were about to return to the vehicles, a distant sound suddenly drifted toward us.
Everyone heard it at the same time.
The black-clad men reacted instantly, tilting their heads toward the sky.
It was only then that we realized—the sound seemed to be coming from… a helicopter?
We all raised our heads to look, but nothing could be seen yet.
Still, the noise was growing louder and closer.
Silent, we kept scanning the skies.
Finally, after a while, Big Beard pointed toward the sky above a distant mountain peak and shouted, "There!"
Following the direction of his finger, sure enough, a helicopter emerged from behind the mountain.
Just as I was wondering if it might be a military aircraft, another appeared.
Then a third. A fourth. A fifth…
Soon, more than a dozen helicopters filled our field of vision one after another.
"Waaah... big pwane." Tingyun, tugged along by Rongrong, blurted out excitedly, her words unclear.
We kept staring up at the sky, watching the helicopters.
Their flight path seemed to be heading diagonally behind us.
If my sense of direction wasn't wrong, that should be… north.
Before long, the helicopters disappeared into the distance, vanishing from our sight.
Standing beside me, Yangyang sighed, "That was spectacular..."
At that, Taozi curled his lips in disdain and said, "Spectacular my ass. If they were really badass, they'd blow up all the walkers."
Hearing that, Zhou Wen pinched Taozi's cheek, then turned to Yangyang with an apologetic smile and a nod.
"Alright, alright, everyone back in the vehicles, let's move out." Big Beard's booming voice came from up front again.
I looked ahead and saw that Suo Tian and the others were already back in the cars, so I turned to the rest and said, "Let's get in too."
The convoy slowly started moving again.
Xiao Hu no longer insisted on sitting in my arms, but instead huddled together with Tingyun and Rongrong on the makeshift bed we had built by removing the seats.
The three kids chattered excitedly about the helicopters they'd just seen.
Tingyun and Xiao Hu were still quite young, their words a little unclear, and it wasn't certain whether Rongrong really understood them.
Still, the three of them talked away with great enthusiasm, bursting into peals of childlike laughter every so often.
"Hey, what do you think those helicopters were for?" After we'd been driving for a while, Xu Shu suddenly asked.
"Probably transporting supplies," Han Xue replied.
"Mm, most likely. After all, there are so many shelters out there, and some of them must be quite large. More people means more supplies. Those helicopters might be tasked with delivering them," Zhou Wen added.
"Not necessarily," Jun Di said.
"I think maybe they were carrying important people. Maybe experts studying the current situation—like Dr. Yang, or people even more senior than him. Or perhaps some high-ranking leaders."
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