As dawn broke, the wilderness faded from deep indigo to a hazy gray. Frost-formed dewdrops clung to the tips of withered grass, bone-chillingly cold. Lu Zhao was jolted awake almost instantly by the cold. He curled up and stretched his stiff body, noticing that Gu Xun was already awake, leaning against the wall and watching the pale light gradually brighten in the east.
His complexion remained poor, but his eyes were far clearer than the night before.
"Can you walk?" Lu Zhao asked in a low, hoarse voice, still rough from sleep.
Gu Xun nodded, slowly pulling himself up by the metal wreckage behind him. His movements were still somewhat sluggish, but at least he stood steady. "We have to go."
The two shared the last half of a canned meal, carefully dividing the final sips of water between them. The empty bottle and tin were buried deep in the soil, leaving no visible trace.
According to the map, the "Hope" base lay northwest of the city. They would first have to traverse this industrial wasteland before entering the rolling hills beyond. This meant leaving the relatively familiar urban environment behind and stepping into completely uncharted territory.
At dawn, they set out once more. Gu Xun led the way, relying on his instinctive sense of direction and a rough interpretation of the map. Lu Zhao followed closely behind, his wind-element abilities continuously radiating outward like an invisible early-warning radar. Away from the dense urban buildings, the wind flowed more freely across the open terrain, delivering a richer tapestry of information—the scurrying of small animals in the distance, the muffled growls of a distant horde of corpses, and the subtle textures of the wind as it swept over different landscapes.
The wasteland proved far larger than anticipated, littered with rusted steel frames, collapsed factories, and abandoned vehicles. It seemed to have endured multiple rounds of looting and destruction, yielding almost no salvageable supplies. They navigated cautiously, avoiding unstable structures and shadows that might conceal danger.
By midday, they found a relatively intact abandoned guard post to rest. The sun barely managed to dispel some of the chill. Lu Zhao pulled out the map to reconfirm their route.
"At this pace, it'll take at least four or five more days to reach the mountains," Lu Zhao frowned, studying the considerable distance marked on the map. Food and water were exhausted; the journey ahead promised to be a grueling ordeal.
Gu Xun's gaze, however, fell upon a patch of parched, crusted earth outside the guard post, where a few resilient, twisted dark-green plants grew sparsely. "Food and water—we'll figure it out along the way. The wilderness isn't necessarily barren compared to the city," he said calmly, his voice carrying a coolness born of knowledge and observation. "Some plants have roots rich in moisture—you just need to know which ones."
Just then, Lu Zhao's wind perception suddenly detected an unusual vibration! Not from the ground, but from the air! A low-frequency, rhythmic humming sound, rapidly approaching from afar!
"Something's coming! From above!" Lu Zhao sprang to his feet, his gaze darting warily toward the southeast where the sound originated.
Gu Xun immediately went on high alert.
Several dark dots rapidly enlarged on the horizon. They weren't birds, but three... drones? Flying in formation, their bodies reflecting a cold metallic sheen, their flight path steady and professional, heading straight toward their location!
"Hide!" Gu Xun hissed.
The two quickly retreated into the narrow shadow of the guard booth, holding their breath. The drone swarm skimmed almost directly over the abandoned zone. They seemed equipped with some kind of scanning device, red lights flashing rhythmically beneath their bodies as if conducting a thorough search.
Lu Zhao's heart leapt into his throat. Where did these drones come from? Official rescue? Or the eyes of some unknown force? In the apocalypse, any presence beyond comprehension meant immense uncertainty and danger.
The drone swarm didn't linger. It headed straight northwest—toward the very "Hope" base they planned to reach—and soon vanished from sight.
Silence returned to the guard post, but the atmosphere grew even heavier.
"They... are heading toward the 'Hope' base?" Lu Zhao looked uncertainly at Gu Xun.
Gu Xun frowned, his gaze fixed on the vanishing drones, his eyes deep and pensive. "It seems that Hope Base is more... complex than we imagined." He paused, then added, "Either it possesses technology and resources beyond our comprehension. Or..."
He left the rest unsaid, but Lu Zhao understood.
Or it harbors another form of unknown danger.
The drone's appearance, like a stone tossed into water, cast an even more mysterious and unsettling shadow over their journey to the Hope Base. The road ahead seemed to hold more than just the trials of the wilderness.