Episode 3: A World Without You

In the winter month of Nebula 2256, six years after the outbreak of the Great Crisis, the world was in ruins.

The road around the lake near the Lingshan Reservoir has lost manual maintenance, and is scarred by mutated animals and plants, making it impassable for vehicles.The cracked road is covered with thick weeds, and ferocious mutated animals and insects are hidden in the grass. Ordinary people will be injured by the creatures in the grass if they are not careful.

Of course, it is not ordinary people who can walk outside at this time.

Two figures, one big and one small, appeared in the cold wind. The big one was carrying a long box behind his back and held a black box in his left hand. The small one was wearing a thick padded jacket and followed closely beside him.

There are ship-shaped logos painted on the skirts of the two, which means that they are the supernatural beings of the largest base in the north, the Ark Base.These two are not ordinary supernatural beings. The older one is Guan Shao, the leader of the Ark Base, and the younger one is Guan Shao's adopted son Jiang Hao.

There were rustling sounds from the dry grass. Looking into the darkness, the mutated mouse's eyes shone red in the darkness.

Jiang Hao tugged at Guan Shao's clothes and let out a monosyllabic "ah".

Guan Shao nodded slightly, lowered his eyes and snapped his fingers, thousands of bluish-purple lightning burst out with the sound of snapping his fingers.The electric light quickly swept forward along the road, turning the dead grass into flying ash, and the mutant mice that had no time to dodge were scorched.The mutated animals that escaped by chance fled in panic, for fear of being affected by the electric light.

After clearing the way ahead, Guan Shao stopped and looked around.He remembered that when he left Lingshan Reservoir, it was still a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, but this time when he came back, his eyes were full of desolation, and he could no longer find any traces of the past.

He once lived with Jiang Hao in a farmhouse near the reservoir for half a year. At that time, he was injured by Gu Zefeng and encountered black rain. If it weren't for that small courtyard, he and his children might not be here anymore.

This time when he came to the neighborhood on a mission, he wanted to come over to have a look. He wondered if the mutated jujube tree at the gate of the courtyard was still there, and whether the owner of the small courtyard had returned.

Although the road leading to the small courtyard was covered with tree roots and decayed grass, Guan Shao still found the way in accurately.After snapping their fingers a few times, the dead grass and tree roots blocking the way turned into fly ash, and a yard full of dry humulus appeared in front of their eyes.

There are still jujube trees outside the courtyard wall, and the jujube pits are falling under the tree.Jiang Hao touched the rough bark and looked up at the treetop. There were several dried red dates hanging on the treetop. He had eaten these red dates and knew how sweet they were.

At the same time that Jiang Hao activated his ability to take down the red dates, Guan Shao had already opened the gate of the courtyard.Thick withered grass was piled up in the courtyard, and the roof of the courtyard was covered with decayed grass. The door of the house was open, revealing a few pieces of tattered furniture inside.

I remember that he closed the door when he left. It seems that someone lived in this room during the time he left.

After the lightning flashed, the withered grass in the yard turned to ashes.Guan Shao took two steps forward, suddenly he stepped on something.There was a crisp sound of "click", and the things under his feet had been broken.

Looking down, saw a white bone appearing in the ashes.The bones were covered with gnawing marks, which were gnawed by mutant mice.After entering this area, he saw many such skeletons.

When the mutated rat wave broke out two years ago, several nearby bases were devoured overnight by rats, including the Peace Base with a population of over one million.A well-defended base would be dealt a devastating blow, let alone ordinary people who were left alone.

Guan Shao gently moved his foot away and looked carefully. He found more bones in the ashes.

The skeletons belonged to a father and son, or father and daughter, who remained in their pre-death state.The young father curled up tightly to protect the child in his arms. What Guan Shao stepped on and broke was a leg bone that belonged to his father.

Seeing how they looked before they died, they must have been terrified and painful.They want to escape too?It's a pity that with their strength, they are still no match for the tide-like mice.

Guan Shao's gaze stayed on the two skeletons for a moment, then he walked around the skeletons with his long legs and went straight to the house.

Inside.There are traces of life in the house, and it seems that the people in the courtyard have lived here for a period of time.

After a while Guan Shao came out with a sheet, wrapped the two sets of skeletons in the sheet, and found an open space under the jujube tree to set up a grave for them.

There is a small tomb next to the newly established tomb, and a line of words is written on the wood chip in front of the tomb: Le Le, the bravest dog in the world, sleeps here.

Guan Shao's eyes fell on the inscription under the tombstone, and there was a line written in the inscription: father Jiang Rong and son Jiang Xiaoheng.When he saw Jiang Rong's name, Guan Shao's heart suddenly felt empty, "I missed it..."

It turned out that the owner of the house had already returned, but it was a pity that he borrowed the Jiang family's house, but did not see him in person.

Jiang Hao was a little puzzled, he stood silently in front of the grave.They see countless corpses every day. What is so special about these two people that their adoptive father can set up a grave for them?

After standing in front of the grave for a while, Guan Shao bowed his head and said to Jiang Hao, "Let's go."

When he left the small farmyard, Guan Shao took something with him. When he came back this time, he just wanted to put this thing in its original place.

After returning to the room, Guan Shao opened the black box he carried with him.There is a thick photo album in the box. After opening the photo album, a laughing child is stretching out his little hand to the camera.

He found this photo album from the bedside table at that time. At that time, he and Jiang Hao were in a desperate situation. Even though he had experienced many battles, he was inevitably discouraged.When he felt sad, he would flip through the photo album. The photos recorded the wonderful moments of a child named Jiang Rong growing up from a child to a young man.Whenever he sees Jiang Rong's smiling face in the photo, Guan Shao will feel some hope in his heart, thinking that the world is not so bad.

When leaving the small courtyard, Guan Shao only took the photo album with him.This photo album followed him to many cities, Guan Shao thought, if one day he could meet the owner of the photo album with his own eyes, it would be great.

Now he did see Jiang Rong, but unfortunately he and his child had become two bones.

After putting the album on the bedside table, Guan Shao stood up and looked out the window.The huge yard was full of ashes, Jiang Hao stood in the ashes and looked towards Guan Shao with red eyes

Guan Shao signed in sign language: What's wrong?

Jiang Hao responded in sign language: I don't know why, but I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if... I lost something very important, and I can't find it again.

Guan Shao pursed his lips, and loneliness flashed in his eyes.To be honest, he felt the same way after entering the range of Lingshan Reservoir.His chest seemed to be stuffed with air, stuffy and heavy, making him uncomfortable.

Jiang Hao asked again: Father, will we come here again in the future?

Guan Shao was silent for a long time: Maybe.

Maybe he will come back, maybe he won't come again, he has no motivation or purpose to come back.

It was almost evening when Guan Shao came down from the Lingshan Reservoir. The father and son looked cold and looked a little out of sorts.The supernatural beings from the Ark Base gathered in the village named Jiang Jiaqiao under the reservoir, and the supernatural beings from the New Humanity Base were also with the Ark Base.

The cooperation between Ark and New Humans is to capture City C together. heard that there is a huge prickly pear plant in the center of City C. The prickly pear is entrenched on the highest building in City C. People with supernatural powers who enter City C will be attacked indiscriminately.They wanted the resources of City C, so the two bases joined forces.

Originally, they would meet at the outskirts of City C, but they didn't expect a terrifying bloodthirsty vine to block their way in City D. If they wanted to go to City C, they had to get rid of the bloodthirsty vine first.

Attacking Bloodthirsty Vine was a tough battle. After the battle, all the team members were injured to varying degrees, so everyone gathered at Jiang Jiaqiao for a short rest.

The team leader sent by the new humans this time is Ruan Hanyu, an ice and snow power user. She is a fourth-level power user.Unlike the abilities she showed, Ruan Hanyu was very afraid of the cold.

In the previous attack, Ruan Hanyu was injured, and she slept all afternoon before getting up. At this time, she was dressed like a ball and was warming up beside the fire.Ruan Hanyu's eyes were confused, and her beautiful face was flushed red by the flames.The flames reflected in the brown pupils make her look like she has been crying

generally.

In the afternoon, Ruan Hanyu had a beautiful dream. In the dream, she was still a user of the ice and snow department.But she didn't leave her hometown, and she didn't encounter any chilling things.She formed a base under the leadership of a young man, and they live on the land that is now.

There were many people coming and going in the dream, and there was laughter around her.Countless mutated animals and plants are friendly and cute, and everyone gets along well with the mutated animals and plants, creating a vitality.

This was the most beautiful dream she had ever had since the Great Crisis, so that she couldn't leave the dream after waking up.It would be great if everything in the dream could come true.

However, the dream is always a dream. After waking up from the dream, she still has to face the bleak reality.Ruan Hanyu sighed regretfully and raised his eyes to look at Guan Shao, "Guan team, do you believe in past and present lives?"

Guan Shao paused, "I don't believe it, but I hope there is." I hope that what I can't get in this world, I can get in another world.

Ruan Hanyu grinned and showed a smile that was uglier than crying, "Yes, it would be great if there were."

Guan Shao nodded, "Captain Ruan, let's discuss the next strategy. The situation in City C is complicated, so it's better to decide on the strategy first."

Ruan Hanyu looked up at the sky, and there was a dead silence under the gloomy sky.Her pupils are like the sky, without a single star, "Here we come."

There are still many challenges ahead, and what awaits them if they are not careful is death.Whether it is a supernatural being or an ordinary person, they are still struggling in suffering.

Guan Shao, who was sleeping, suddenly became short of breath. He tightly gathered the quilt and sweat rolled down his forehead, "Get out of here!"

Jiang Rong woke up suddenly, he stood up and quickly turned on the switch of the bedside light.After the orange light was turned on, Jiang Rong noticed that the electric lights around Guan Shao felt a little out of control.

Jiang Rong and Guan Shao have been working together for several years, and the lightning that others fear is not scary to him.He protected his arm with his ability, then shook Guan Shao gently, "Guan Shao, Guan Shao, wake up!"

Hearing Jiang Rong's voice, Guan Shao's consciousness gradually returned, he opened his eyes, sat up and took a deep breath, "Xiao Rong..." As Guan Shao regained consciousness, the blue-purple lightning quickly disappeared.

Jiang Rong handed over the water bottle and asked concerned, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Guan Shao picked up the kettle and drank several mouthfuls of water. It took a while for his heartbeat to gradually calm down.Seeing Jiang Rong's concerned face, he said in a low voice, "Yeah, I had a terrible dream."

Jiang Rong patted him on the back lightly and said in a coaxing tone, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the nightmare is over."

Guan Shao put his arms around Jiang Rong's shoulders, and the two of them leaned back and cuddled together.Guan Shao clearly remembered the scene in the dream, "I dreamed that I was attacked by Gu Zefeng on the day of the black rain, and I was seriously injured and I ran away with Little Hao. I came to our house in a panic, but the house in the dream was alsoIt’s not what it is now, but a small quaint courtyard.”

Jiang Rong's breathing was stagnant and his body stiffened unconsciously, then he heard Guan Shao say, "I took Jiang Hao to live in that house for more than half a year, during which time we encountered many mutant animals, in my dream I beat Jun Jundied."

"When I left, I took your photo album from the nightstand. Later, my teammates and I went to the north to form the Ark base. Without your careful care, Little Hao has been unable to speak. There is no you in my dream, no Qiang Zi, there is no mother and daughter of Pan Pan and Chunlan, there is no Xiaohu, and there is no Spark Base. Han Yu is still there, but she has become a supernatural person in the New Human Base."

"In the dream, my heart was empty, and I always felt that I had lost something important, and I wanted to find it but couldn't find it."

"Mutated animals and plants are becoming more and more rampant, and there are fewer and fewer surviving bases. After I destroyed the imperial power, the northern ark and the new human beings in the south became the largest bases in the north and south."

"Ark and the new humans joined forces to seize City C, but on the way forward, they encountered a little boy blocking the way. It was a hard battle, and we won the victory at a heavy price."

"After arriving in City C, the little fairy stood

On the tallest floor, a mountain of corpses piled up in the neighborhood around it.In the battle with Little Fairy, Zhanqing and Weixian died, and Gangzi was disabled... Everyone left one by one."

In the dream, the little fairy called "Jiang Gong" one after another. It failed to wait for its master, but only waited for the merciless attack of the supernatural being.

Guan Shao took Jiang Rong's hand and put it on his lips and kissed it softly, "Xiao Rong, what would I do without you?" Thinking carefully, they are now happily together because of Jiang Rong.

Jiang Rong's hand landed on Guan Shao's chest and stroked gently, his eyes were slightly red.He couldn't tell whether what Guan Shao dreamed about was from his previous life, but the previous life he experienced was a hell just like what Guan Shao said.

Facing his frightened partner, Jiang Rong comforted him softly, "You must be too tired recently to have the nightmare. Don't worry, the nightmare has woken up, and the things in the dream won't come true."

In his previous life, he and his son lasted for less than three years, but now it is the sixth year after the Great Crisis.They still have a long time to go, and they will get better and better in the future.

Guan Shao's kiss slid along the back of Jiang Rong's hand to his arm, "Yes, it must be because of too much pressure. How can I not find you in my dream? It must be because I haven't felt you well recently."

Jiang Rong's breathing suddenly became disordered, and he pushed the man on his back, "Stop making trouble, tomorrow, tomorrow, uh..."

Guan Shao stretched his hand along the collar of his nightgown, thinking that he must have loved Xiao Rong badly.Without Jiang Rong, every day would be a disaster.