Thunder had an impressive setup, but only the chassis
and engine were anything alike. Everything else was cobbled together from whatever they could find.
A can of spare gasoline was strapped to the back. It was hard to get more of this stuff, so I had to find
somewhere safe to stay within a certain amount of time. As for where... Chang'an City seemed like a good choice. It was close to the rainforest belt, the bugs' territory. In general, they wouldn't choose to attack me directly.
After all, the bugs were guarding my corpse. They knew me.
I had no idea if the motorcycle had enough gas.
I rode out of the village. People on both sides of the road waved and called out to me, but when they saw my uncovered face, they all froze, staring at me in astonishment.
I paid them no mind and sped off into the distance, heading west along the main road.
In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had passed. The road had been rough, and I was already well past the place where I'd fought those coyotes. I figured I should stop and rest, so I pulled over at random. The Luo River wasn't far away. Its rushing waters filled my ears, while insects chirped now and then among the trees and grass on either side. A breeze brushed my cheek.
The natural surroundings gave me a different kind of ease.
I didn't have to worry about those four little ones, or think about all that other nonsense. Maybe, as a Sagittarius, I was better suited to a carefree, unrestrained life.
I lay down on a large rock. Its cool surface made me feel much better; the weather was unbearably hot, and the shade was nice and