Lamplight swayed inside the tent.
Chen Shu sat at a small desk borrowed from Professor Shi's tent, bent over his writing. A glass of blueberry juice stood before him.
Dear Secretary Ning,
Have you missed me?
Since I arrived at camp, even the tiny bit of signal I had has vanished. The Blue and Yi Nations have blocked satellite data, too. I just came out of the Cube, and I even thought about borrowing a motorcycle, riding back to Leche to have a video call with you, then riding back.
If I can't talk to you, I'm going to die.
It feels like countless little people live inside my heart, clamoring every day to see Qingqing, to see Secretary Ning. When they can't see you, it's as if ants are crawling all over them.
They're driving me crazy.
I'd planned to write down everything I wanted to tell you these past few days, then send it all to you when this was over, but somehow that felt strange. Awkward.
After turning Thought over and over in my mind, I decided this old-fashioned way was better.
I asked someone from the Foreign Ministry. If I want to send a letter, I can catch the people they're sending to Leche tomorrow and have them take it along. It'll take two or three days to get from Leche to Tasha, but from Tasha to Jade Capital it'll be quick. You should receive this letter in five to seven days. At our current pace, we probably still won't have left by then. In other words, I'll still be stranded on this internet desert island.
The signal in Duqin is terrible.
Coming here gave me something to compare it to, and made me realize how good we have it back home. Just like every time