The night was dark.
The wind howled bitterly, and heavy snow swept across the land.
On the highway, dirty snow lay like a slick layer of cold, slimy jelly.
Chen Shouyi's shoe soles had long since worn away, leaving only the uppers tied to his feet.
His bare feet pounded against the frozen ground, yet he felt not the slightest chill. Steam billowed from his body, and his flushed skin radiated scorching heat.
Steam Trucks hurtled past him from time to time, roaring as they went.
Suddenly, his foot slipped. He tried to steady himself, but his feet were already too numb to obey. He stumbled, and his body, racing at high speed, flew seven or eight meters before crashing heavily into the icy, filthy snow. He slid another several dozen meters.
He had been running nonstop for more than thirty minutes, covering nearly a hundred and fifty kilometers. Even Chen Shouyi had reached the limits of his body and mind. He struggled to his feet, braced his hands on his legs, and panted like a bellows.
"Damn it..."
His clothes had been worn down to strips of fabric, and he was soaked through, chilled to the bone.
Once he had caught his breath, he hurried to pick up the briefcase that had fallen ahead of him. He unzipped it and scooped Shell Girl out. "Little Dot, are you all right?"
"Little Dot's almost been shaken to death by you," Shell Girl said pitifully, on the verge of tears.
"It's all my fault!" Chen Shouyi comforted her. "Just hang on a little longer. We'll be there soon."
"Little Dot wants to stay outside!" Shell Girl said.
She had been rolling around inside the briefcase, bumping into everything. Her skin was tough and she hadn't felt any pain, but her head