As time went on, the large pool of candidates began to stretch out and disperse.
Differences in physical strength, choice of direction, and ability to cope with the environment quickly divided people into different groups.
At the forefront was a leading group composed of the strongest, most determined, or most familiar with this type of environment. They maintained a wary distance from each other and kept their heads down as they made their way.
In the middle was the largest group, struggling forward amidst exhaustion, thirst, and disorientation. Some began to try to form temporary small groups to share limited resources and information in order to increase their chances of survival.
Those left behind are the exhausted, injured, or completely disoriented; their prospects are the bleakest.
Cesare was fortunate to meet two other young people, also from the Upper HiveCity, shortly after setting off.
The three traveled together, relying on their relatively better education and basic geographical and logical reasoning skills to try to plan the optimal route.
However, lacking practical field experience, they strayed off course during a sandstorm and wasted several hours recalibrating their path.
Kax always went it alone.
He moved like a ghost through the shadows of the wasteland, occasionally ambushing lone candidates and using intimidation rather than lethal attacks to steal the small amount of water or food they had saved.
He moved swiftly and efficiently, avoiding unnecessary entanglements as much as possible, prioritizing conserving energy and advancing quickly.
Groom, on the other hand, demonstrated remarkable resilience.
He didn't know any complicated survival skills; he just used the most clumsy yet most effective method—keeping moving forward.
While others slowed down due to fatigue, he maintained a steady pace.
He endured the thirst when his mouth was dry.
His pure physical strength and endurance, derived from the workers of Necromunda, allowed him to incredibly maintain his position in the lower ranks of the leading group.
The daytime temperatures are alarmingly high; the exposed rock surfaces are hot enough to burn the skin.
With nowhere to hide, the only option was to tough it out.
Water became the most precious thing.
The limited amount of drinking water provided by the camp was quickly used up, and finding a water source became crucial for survival.
Some astute candidates began to look for low-lying areas in the dried-up riverbeds or to try digging in search of possible groundwater with a strong smell of radiation.
Every successful discovery is accompanied by careful consumption and storage, while the losers can only continue to struggle in their growing weakness.
As the starlight was finally swallowed by the murky horizon, the wasteland seemed to switch modes in an instant.
The suffocating heat of the daytime quickly dissipated, replaced by a biting cold.
The temperature difference was extreme, and the cold wind howled from all directions, easily penetrating the thin cloth robe and taking away the last bit of heat from the skin, like countless icy needles piercing into the bone marrow.
The light had almost completely disappeared, with only the faint glow cast by the broken nebulae in the sky and the ever-burning, polluting halo of the distant Hive City outlining the twisted and hideous contours of the wasteland.
The darkness was not silent; the wind was the constant background noise, interspersed with even more ominous sounds—the long, mournful howl of an unknown mutated creature echoed from afar, reverberating through the desolate wilderness, reminding everyone that this land was not inhabited by them alone.
Occasionally, the sound of gravel rolling down nearby, or the rustling of something quickly crawling across the sand, would trigger a tense exchange of glances and the sound of daggers being gripped tightly.
The sense of security that light brought was completely gone.
Lighting a campfire is a foolish act; it's tantamount to setting up a conspicuous target for predators or other malicious individuals in the dark.
Most candidates could only find the most sheltered place possible—the leeward side of a giant rock, the bottom of a dry ravine, or huddled inside the rusty remnants of a metal pipe.
They wrapped themselves tightly in rough cloth robes, their bodies trembling involuntarily from the cold, the sound of their teeth chattering clearly audible in the quiet corner.
Cesare and his two companions squeezed into a shallow pit, their backs against the cold earthen walls.
The cold swept away his aristocratic composure. He hugged his arms tightly, curled up into a ball, and felt the icy chill of the ground seeping up into him.
In the darkness, he could almost hear his own heart pounding, and every strange noise from afar made his muscles tense.
He began to truly understand the weight of the word "test," which was not only a physical drain but also a cruel torment of the will and nerves.
Kax chose a crevice in the rock with a relatively open view.
Unlike others who shiver violently from the cold, he maintained his core body temperature by controlling his breathing and making subtle muscle movements.
His eyes narrowed slightly in the darkness as was his habit, adapting to the dim light like a nocturnal animal, warily scanning for any possible movement of shadows around him.
For him, the danger of the night came not only from the environment, but also from the "others" who might be lurking in the darkness.
He kept a dagger in his hand, remaining in a semi-conscious, light sleep state.
Groom leaned back against a metal plate, bracing himself against the strongest winds.
Unlike others, he was not dominated by fear; his long years of labor taught him to conserve his strength in harsh environments.
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the cold and the faint howls in the distance, and focused his attention on regaining his strength.
His breathing was heavy and steady, as if he regarded this night's rest as another round of work breaks, only in a more extreme environment.
In the darkness, there is more than just endurance.
Sporadic and brief conflicts continue to occur.
A short scream followed by muffled thuds and thrashing sounds, occasionally accompanied by the dull thud of a sharp weapon entering flesh and painful groans, before everything quickly returned to the sound of wind and sobbing.
Most of these conflicts stem from the struggle for better shelter or panic attacks triggered by misjudgments in the dark.
No one knew exactly what had happened, and no one dared to intervene rashly in the darkness. They could only huddle in their own corners more cautiously, praying for dawn to come as soon as possible.
This night was exceptionally long.
The cold, fear, unknown threats, and suspicion among their own kind, like invisible pressure, tested the mental limits of each candidate.
Some of the weak-willed even let out suppressed sobs in the darkness, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of the wind.
What sustained them through this long, cold night was only the faint hope of reaching their destination and the survival instinct ingrained in their very bones.
When the first faint, almost imperceptible ray of grayish-white light appeared on the horizon, many people nearly wept with joy.
However, as the light intensified, what reappeared before them was still that boundless, death-filled, radioactive wasteland, and their journey was far from over.