Chapter 69: North Plateau

Chapter 69: North Plateau

Chen Yuezheng had hastily put on a raincoat, not even having time to wear rain pants. In one hand, she carried two travel bags filled with supplies, while the other hand held a boat bag. Her arm was looped through an outboard motor, and she had a backpack strapped to her back. She was loaded down like a Christmas tree, not having left behind a single item of supplies.

She rushed out of the building, and her face lit up with relief when she saw them.

"I'm glad you're back! Hurry, let's go! A bridge collapsed over there, the tributary was rising fast, and the floodwaters have already reached the shoreline!" Chen Yuezheng spoke only the essentials. Though she couldn't be sure the flood would reach this area, it was safer to move sooner rather than later.

She had originally planned to find a taller building nearby to wait for them, so she could spot them in time and not get separated. Now that they had returned safely, it was even better.

Chen Fa and Shu Fu didn't have time to ask further questions and immediately stepped forward to take the travel bags and boat bag from her. The three of them left the neighborhood and headed back to the main road. The closer they got to the central urban areas of Lucheng, the higher the ground was.

Even if the flood reached the shoreline and inundated the nearby areas, it wouldn't flood into the urban areas. So as long as they left this region, they would be safe.

Following the route they had taken earlier, the three of them found a small building.

This small building was located on the second floor of a row of rudimentary commercial buildings along the street. Being a small commercial building, the single floor was slightly taller.

They settled on the second floor of an auto repair shop, where the first floor served as a warehouse. The warehouse had been emptied of useful auto parts long ago, but the steel walls protected against wind and rain, and it couldn't be seen from the outside, making it a suitable place to spend the night. On the other side of the warehouse was a room with broken windows, which was convenient for checking the outside situation.

Two hours later, the three of them had cleaned up the warehouse, collected some dry cardboard, broke apart a wooden chair, and found an empty diesel barrel in the auto repair shop on the first floor to start a fire for warmth.

The three of them treated rainwater with purification tablets and then used it to wash their bodies and faces, changing out of their wet clothes, which they washed and hung to dry on a hollow steel frame that had been cleaned. They found the frame in the warehouse, originally meant for placing car tires. They set it up next to the diesel barrel to air-dry their clothes.

On the ground nearby, two camping mats had been laid out. Shu Fu and Chen Yuezheng hung the clothes to dry. Meanwhile, Chen Fa sat on a camping mat, heating up the cans they had just traded using a gas stove and a small pot.

Shu Fu had managed to get several cans of curry-braised beef brisket and curry chicken, which they mixed into one pot and paired with bread for a curry dinner.

The curry would help keep them warm, as the heavy rainstorm had brought cooler temperatures, and all three of them had gotten wet to varying degrees. So, this curry dinner was perfect.

To be honest, with the Drift Island House as her cheat, Shu Fu had never worried about food and clothing since the disaster began. She had always been able to eat and sleep well, and this period had been the most unstable time for her.

There were no delicacies, snacks, fruits, bubble baths, soft beds, or cozy blankets to roll around in...

But perhaps because she had companions now, working together, they managed to create a comfortable shelter with limited resources in a limited environment. This sense of camaraderie was unexpectedly comforting and secure.

However, this sense of security was different from the absolute security she had felt when she was alone, which had been tinged with loneliness. Now, there was a sense of novelty and danger, but with companionship and teamwork, each day felt more fulfilling.

Although she knew this life would eventually end, and she would return to being alone after completing the Raft Level 4 progress bar, these drifting days filled with adventure, warmth, and protection would become part of her memories and grow more precious and beautiful with time.

Despite the harsh conditions, she felt surprisingly comfortable and didn't miss the Drift Island House as much as she expected.

After all, even the best things, if not shared with others, would always carry a tinge of sadness...

Late at night, Shu Fu turned over on the camping mat and looked towards Chen Fa in the room at the other end of the warehouse. Chen Fa was on the first shift of the night, sitting against the wall with a raincoat draped over her, ready to check the outside situation at any time.

As if sensing Shu Fu's gaze, Chen Fa turned her head to look back at her. In the flickering, dim light of the diesel barrel's fire, their eyes met in the air.

Chen Fa, looking at the dark eyes that didn't blink, smiled helplessly and then gestured for Shu Fu to go to sleep.

Shu Fu also curved her lips and was about to close her eyes to rest when another loud clap of thunder boomed outside. In the lightning flash, she instinctively sensed something off and snapped her eyes open, focusing on Chen Fa.

Because the room was small and the windows were broken, the heavy rainstorm could easily let water in, so Chen Fa had put on a raincoat and pulled up the hood for her night shift.

The raincoat was a dark military green, and she was sitting in the darkness. Shu Fu shouldn't have noticed the hood, but in that brief moment, she thought she saw a flickering white light above Chen Fa's hood.

It looked like some kind of old-fashioned electronic screen...

Was she seeing things? Impossible.

A flash of lightning outside the window illuminated the room, casting a faint flicker on Chen Fa's body and face.

Sure enough, the white light strip from earlier must have been her imagination.

**

Shu Fu and the others spent their third and fourth nights on the upper floor of the auto repair shop, and on the fifth day, they rose early to pack their belongings, preparing to enter the city.

Shu Fu had mentioned earlier that she intended to go to No. 3 trading post on both the third and fifth days. The difference today was that after visiting No. 3 trading post, they wouldn't stay in Lucheng any longer. Instead, they planned to head north, passing through the entirety of Lucheng to reach the more northern Pin City.

Shu Fu wasn't sure if Lu Zheng and his brother, along with Yao Ruoyun, were still in Pin City. So, when she went to No. 3 trading post today, she planned to log into her old WeChat.

If they were still in Pin City, that would be perfect. If not, she could ask them about the current situation there.

After several days of heavy rain, the weather had finally cleared up a bit today. Lucheng, battered by days of wind and rain, looked even more rundown and desolate. The three of them were still very cautious as they entered the city, as they were carrying all their supplies with them.

The boat bag was concealed inside an empty travel bag, and the outboard motor was placed into another empty travel bag to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

They walked along the edge of the gang's territory and safely reached the museum again.

There were fewer people today than last time, possibly because the consecutive days of heavy rain and thunderstorms had made the journey more difficult, resulting in fewer outsiders coming for exchanges.

Shu Fu and the others handed over three packs of biscuits to gain entry, not only to check in and use the network but also to exchange for more portable food, such as canned goods and instant noodles, as well as bottled drinking water, to ensure they had enough supplies for their journey north.

Shu Fu had another plan in mind as well—she wanted to solve their land transportation issue.

Gold was still valuable here. If she only wanted to exchange for a drivable car without needing fuel, the price shouldn't be too high.

After all, the most expensive thing wasn't the car, but fuel, which was now as precious as gold.

In her storage, she had stockpiled over 3,000 liters of fuel in Suicheng last year, and she had only used about 200 liters intermittently. With the additional electricity cards she had won in recent months, her power supply was now sufficient, and she rarely used the generator anymore.

After connecting her phone to the network, she immediately turned off the sound before logging into her old WeChat account.

As expected, as soon as she connected, she was bombarded with messages, not only from Zhang Tian and Wu Shaoshan but also from Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu.

Zhang Tian and Wu Shaoshan had already been informed by Chen Fa two days ago that she was still "alive" and had scolded her, bringing back the worry they had due to the giant tsunamis.

Compared to the others, Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu didn't send many messages, and she couldn't attend to them for the time being.

In the midst of all the red notifications, she found Lu Zheng's name and sent him a message. He didn't reply immediately, probably due to poor signal and delay. She hadn't turned off her phone since leaving Hexi Town, and it still had plenty of battery, so she put it away without powering it off again. She prepared to exchange for the necessary supplies first.

Today, she didn't plan to use medicine for transactions, only gold.

After all, the medicine she had shown Chen Fa before was limited to a few boxes, and she might have a few other types in her bag. Using too much wouldn't be convincing. Moreover, medicine was precious, and the last transaction was partly to gather information, which wasn't necessary today.

Gold was different; it was small in volume and easy to hide, and she could carry a lot in her waist pouch. Since they had a lot of things today, they didn't separate and instead checked around together.

When Chen Fa saw Shu Fu using gold to exchange for portable self-heating rice bags, she wasn't surprised. After they left the stall, Chen Fa took out a pack of gold jewelry from the inner pocket of her front backpack and handed it to Shu Fu, signaling her to keep it safe and use it if needed for future transactions.

The gold jewelry was quite heavy, and Shu Fu didn't ask any questions. In troubled times, one couldn't be without gold. However, she only kept it temporarily and didn't plan to use it. It was just a precaution; after all, she had several gold shops stored in her space.

The three of them made a round, and being straightforward people, they quickly exchanged for their food and water supplies. Shu Fu even managed to exchange two pills for a replacement gas canister for the camping stove.

She also asked about cars at two stalls while trading. The vendors dismissed her request, stating that they only traded cars for fuel, not gold.

This left Shu Fu in a bit of a dilemma. Gold was small in volume and she could "produce" it, but how could she do the same with fuel? Should she say she found it by the roadside?

As she was thinking, someone suddenly yanked her arm and pulled her aside.

Chen Fa and Chen Yuezheng moved instantly. Chen Yuezheng stepped in front of Shu Fu, swiftly pulling a multi-tool shovel from her backpack and swinging it toward the man’s face. Meanwhile, Chen Fa took a step forward, reversing the fire axe she had been holding, and pointed its sharp end at the opponent.

The man quickly let go and backed away, not daring to approach again.

They were inside the trading post, where unless there was a life-and-death feud, no one would act rashly. When the man suddenly grabbed Shu Fu, they forced him back and stopped their advance.

The man hadn’t expected the people next to Shu Fu to react so quickly. At that moment, he also recognized Chen Fa and, furious, pointed at them, accusing them of being accomplices of the group that had turned a blind eye to his plight on purpose.

Chen Fa gave him a dismissive look. "You're crazy."

Shu Fu also recognized the man. He was the one who had been stripped down to his underwear after falling into a trap on a street outside the trading post two days ago.

She scanned him with her eyes and gave a meaningful smile. "Oh, it's you. You're dressed quite neatly today..."

Xu Jiechu instantly understood her implication. Seeing the smile on Shu Fu's lips, his face turned beet red, either from anger or embarrassment.

That day, both women had been wearing rain hats and masks, walking hurriedly. He hadn’t seen their faces clearly. Now, standing still and meeting their gazes, he realized they weren’t older women at all. Both girls were younger than him and surprisingly attractive. Especially the one smiling at him now...

Recalling how humiliated he had been when they saw him like that, Xu Jiechu felt even more embarrassed and angry.

However, inside the trading post, he didn’t dare to cause trouble. After being robbed and losing the golden items his brother had given him, he already had enough headaches. So, without further words, he turned and left.

"Be careful," Chen Fa warned, concerned that the man might have backup and that he might hold a grudge and seek revenge later.

Two hours later, the three had exchanged all their supplies and were ready to leave.

Shu Fu hadn’t received a reply from Lu Zheng. Before leaving the trading post and losing network, she opened Liu Shuang and Cheng Yu’s chat boxes. Their last messages had been sent two months and over a month ago, respectively.

Liu Shuang’s messages were all text, starting shortly after the apocalyptic tsunamis. They began with anxious worry and eventually turned into prayers.

Cheng Yu’s first message came a few days after Liu Shuang’s. He had been on a mission and later learned about her disappearance from Liu Shuang. His messages were voice notes, each short, asking why she hadn’t left Louyun City earlier, asking where she was, asking if she was still alive...

In the last few messages, he said he was going on another mission, this time to the border, which was very dangerous. He didn’t know if he would survive.

The very last message was text.

——"If I survive this time, it means you are definitely still alive. Shu Fu, I want to see you again, alive."

Shu Fu was silent for a long time before replying to both.

——"Safe. I hope you are safe too."

——"I’m still alive. You will survive too."

The messages were sent successfully, but she knew they wouldn’t reply immediately, especially while on a mission. She currently didn’t have the time or conditions to maintain constant contact with them. Who knew when she might have to disappear again for some reason...

She had reassured them of her safety this time because she needed to blend in with the crowd for now. As for explanations, she would leave that for when they might meet again in the future.

She turned off her phone again, thinking about what reason she could use to leave the group temporarily and get the fuel sorted out, at least solving the car issue.

However, as they left the trading post, they were stopped again. This time, the man had two companions with him.

"Three against three, now it’s even!" Xu Jiechu had clearly been waiting for them for a long time. Unable to find the group from two days ago, he now assumed they were part of it and was determined to save face. "I ask you, do you want one of you to fight me alone, or should we have a three-on-three brawl?"

"You're crazy," Chen Fa remarked concisely.

Shu Fu didn’t even open her mouth, directly taking out a nail gun from her backpack and aiming it at him.

A brawl was about to happen when, out of nowhere, a cat dashed forward, climbing up Xu Jiechu’s pants and scratching his face fiercely.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Damn cat! I’m bleeding! It hurts!" Xu Jiechu, with the help of his companions, finally grabbed the cat, furiously looking around. "Lu Ce, you brat! Come out! Lu Zheng! Control your brother’s cat, or I’ll cook it for dinner!"

As he shouted, the blue-eyed tabby cat in his hands struggled again, trying to bite him.

Soon, a familiar voice called out. "What are you doing with my Lan Lan! Xu Jiechu, are you seriously bullying a cat? Brother! Quick, here! I found Lan Lan!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Shu Fu turned to see an old friend approaching through the gloomy rain.