Accident

The snow fell harder and harder, completely covering the car's windshield and blocking his view outside.

Chen Xu broke off a piece of chocolate and stuffed it into his mouth. Listening to the howling wind outside, he could not help thinking of the typhoon that had struck without warning a month ago. He was beginning to understand what lay hidden behind the name Doomsday Survival in this dream world.

"So, 'Doomsday Survival' doesn't just mean that all the people in the world have disappeared. There are plenty of natural disasters still to come. By the time this dream ends, it might really be the end of the world."

He sighed, unscrewed the thermos lid, and poured himself a cup of hot water. Watching the steam rise from the cup, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Now, he was trapped in a dilemma. If the snow kept falling, he would eventually freeze to death. The food he had brought could last him three to five days at most.

There were no buildings within ten kilometers. If he left, he did not know how to ski, and the ice skates he had brought were useless in the snow. In such a blizzard, he might die even faster.

To him, this was only a dream. If he died, he died. At most, the dream would end early.

But—

"If I die, what will happen to Luo Xiyun?"

He muttered, "Besides, I haven't slept with her yet. How can I die just like this?"

That was right. Over the past few months, he had put up with so much grief from that woman. How could he be willing to die without sleeping with her? He wolfed down the rest of the chocolate, drained the cup of water, then lay back in his seat to conserve his strength. Once the hail stopped, he would leave and walk back.

He waited all night.

The hail stopped in the evening, but going out at night was even more dangerous, so Chen Xu waited another night.

At daybreak, he was ready. Before setting off, he cooked a steaming bowl of instant noodles. After eating and drinking his fill, he opened the car door and headed into the wind and snow without looking back.

He was fully equipped, wearing thick mountaineering cold-weather gear, goggles, and carrying a hiking pole, with a backpack on his back.

"What a strong wind."

The moment Chen Xu stepped outside, he felt that the wind was far stronger than he had imagined. Every step took immense effort. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, making it even harder to move forward.

At this point, all he could do was grit his teeth and keep going.

The blizzard had turned everything into a vast expanse of white, making it difficult to tell direction. Every so often, he checked his compass to make sure he did not lose his way.

As he walked, Chen Xu could not help feeling lonely. Perhaps only after losing something did one learn to cherish it. He longed more and more to see Luo Xiyun.

It was only at this moment that he realized how important Luo Xiyun's company had been to him over the past few months.

Without her, could he really have endured such overwhelming loneliness and lasted until now on his own?

He was only an ordinary person. Even if he was rather introverted, did not like making friends, and preferred being alone, he was still a normal person, an inseparable part of human society. If he were pulled away from society entirely, he simply could not survive.

Several hours later, Chen Xu stopped for the fifth time. With difficulty, he pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket, tore off the wrapper with his teeth, and swallowed it whole.

Then he took a thermos from the side of his backpack, poured out the little water that remained, and drank it in one gulp.

He casually threw away the empty thermos and looked ahead. The wind and snow had weakened somewhat since he set out, and visibility had improved.

The terrain around him had not changed at all.

"I should have walked about ten kilometers." He made a rough estimate. As the snow continued falling, the snow on the ground grew deeper and deeper. Coupled with his exhaustion, his speed had slowed more and more.

"I should be able to get off this ice sheet before dark."

After resting for a few minutes, he felt the warmth rapidly draining from his already heavy legs. He did not dare delay any longer and forced himself onward.

After walking for several more hours, he had eaten all ten pieces of chocolate in his pocket, and the hot water in both thermoses was gone.

Tired.

At that moment, he felt only one thing: his legs no longer seemed to belong to him. He could only move forward mechanically. He kept gasping, his lungs burning as though they were about to burst out through his throat.

Gradually, his vision began to darken in waves.

"No, I need to stop and rest for a while."

His reason told him that his body had reached its limit.

Just then, he spotted the outlines of some buildings not far ahead. His spirits lifted. He had finally made it off the ice sheet.

Buildings were good. He could hide inside one and rest properly for a while, eat something, and regain his strength.

At that thought, fresh strength rose within him, and he walked toward the buildings.

After another dozen or so steps, the outline of the building became clearer.

"Push a little harder." He took a heavy breath and encouraged himself.

He took another step. Suddenly, his toe struck something, and he lost his balance. His strength was completely spent, and he could not correct himself. He pitched forward headfirst, then began rolling continuously downhill.

"Damn it."

His heart jolted. The ice sheet along the way had been exceptionally flat. He had not expected there to be a slope here. As he rolled downward, his forehead slammed into something hard with a bang, and stars burst before his eyes.

At last, he rolled to the bottom of the slope. He struggled to open his eyes, but his field of vision was entirely filled with red.

"It's over."

He tried desperately to stay conscious, but his awareness kept sinking until he finally lost consciousness.

"Why hasn't that bastard come back yet?"

On the evening of the day Chen Xu left, Luo Xiyun began feeling uneasy when he still had not returned by a little after eight.

Over the past few months, Chen Xu often drove out, but he had never spent a night away. Even during their cold war, it had been the same.

"Is he playing some kind of trick again?"

She thought it through gritted teeth. During the day, she had discovered that the heater in Chen Xu's room had been perfectly fine; he had merely unplugged it. He had actually dared to lie to her and say it was broken, causing her to spend the last two days tidying that storage room.

As time passed, she grew more and more uneasy. By midnight, she had no choice but to acknowledge that Chen Xu had probably met with trouble.

That night, she sat on the bed beneath the covers, but her heart was ice-cold. It was as if she had returned to that first month. The darkness all around her was like a bottomless abyss, swallowing her bit by bit.

"Chen Xu..."

Only this man, who so often made her grit her teeth in anger, could give her the strength to resist such loneliness in this empty world.

And so, she sat there all night.

At dawn, she suddenly stood up.

She was going to find him.