Chapter 10
She crouched in front of the cabinet and took out today's breakfast: two bread rolls, a chocolate bar, and half a bottle of water.
Su Cheng gnawed on a roll, her smart bag slung across her body, as she considered what to bring into the next instance.
"I'll bring the shovel, a blister pack each of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory pills, and cold and fever medicine, plus ten chocolate bars and the remaining four bottles of water."
Su Cheng stepped outside and came across a middle-aged man and a girl with short red hair waiting for the elevator.
The middle-aged man looked dispirited. His stubble and messy hair made him look rather unkempt. He stared down at his feet and did not even raise his head at the sound of footsteps.
The short-haired redhead was chewing gum. She wore a leather jacket, and oversized black sunglasses covered the upper half of her face, giving her plenty of swagger. She glanced at Su Cheng, then quickly looked away.
Su Cheng had no desire to strike up a conversation either.
The three kept their distance from one another as they stood before elevators ① and ②.
The silence did not last long.
"Ding~"
Elevator ① opened first.
The middle-aged man stepped inside. Just as its doors closed, elevator ② arrived.
"Ding~"
The redhead entered, followed by Su Cheng.
The redhead beat Su Cheng to pressing the floor she had originally intended to choose: "6."
Su Cheng paused, then pressed "8."
The redhead chuckled. "Looks like we both like lucky numbers."
She blew a pink bubble with her gum, then popped it between her teeth. "Do you know why I didn't take elevator ①?"
Thinking there might be some hidden issue between the two elevators, Su Cheng grew a little more serious and followed her lead. "Why?"
Meeting Su Cheng's expectant gaze, the redhead snickered and pointed at her own eyes. "Because that guy just now was radiating bad luck from head to toe. I don't want any of it rubbing off on me."
Su Cheng: ...Fine, she had been overthinking it.
"Ding~"
They had reached the eighth floor.
The elevator doors opened onto the same expanse of darkness.
The redhead waved casually. "Since you rode the same elevator as me today, some of my good fortune must have rubbed off on you. Go without worry."
"..."
Su Cheng had rarely encountered anyone so utterly confident before.
The moment she stepped into the darkness, it felt as though she had missed her footing.
Only when she landed on solid ground did her eyes pass from darkness into light. The glare made it impossible to open them, and Su Cheng, already prepared, covered both eyes.
She seemed to be somewhere hot.
Su Cheng suddenly thought of the redhead's sunglasses. Perhaps they were meant to let her open her eyes quickly at a time like this.
The ground trembled, and a flock of seagulls flew across the sky, crying in alarm.
Voices clamored. "Why is the ground shaking? Is it an earthquake?!"
"Look over there!"
A scream suddenly rang out beside her. "Something's wrong! Run!"
Author's note:
The next instance: a tsunami~
Chapter 10
Su Cheng sensed something was terribly wrong. She was on a beach, and the instant her vision focused, she looked up to see a towering wave rising from the sea.
At the same time, a mechanical voice sounded: [Welcome to the normal instance: Tsunami Survival]
[Basic mission: survive for 5 days. Completing the mission awards 300 points and allows you to return to the apartment.]
The wave surged high enough to blot out the sky, looming over the ground like a gigantic monster. In its eyes, the fleeing humans were mere ants. When it bent down, it would swallow everything...
Su Cheng turned and ran with the crowd in a panic. Run! Get to higher ground!
But how could a person outrun a wave?
It was too late.
The wave was ready. It fell from above and charged toward the ground!
Bang-
Trees crashed down, and the doors and windows of houses shattered!
Everything in its path collapsed and sank... The wave was destroying everything, turning the land into its playground.
As the enormous wave rushed toward Su Cheng, she held her breath and clung tightly to the nearest coconut tree.
Whoosh-
Seawater slammed into Su Cheng, flooding her mouth and nose. The immense force was like a merciless hand trying to shove her into the abyss!
Though she held tightly to the trunk, she was still dragged into the sea.
The seawater engulfed Su Cheng. Bzz- All sound vanished from her ears, replaced by a shrill ringing, and her mind went blank with it.
Su Cheng tried her best to curl up, only to find that she had no control over her body in the violently churning water.
The waves tossed her about at will. She spun and tumbled endlessly through the water, like a toy of the sea thrown into a washing machine to be washed along with everything else...
At that moment, fear drowned Su Cheng along with the surging seawater.
She could no longer stay calm. She flailed instinctively, trying to escape, yet seemingly searching for something to hold on to.
Thud!
Something struck Su Cheng hard in the abdomen as it rushed past, the dull pain adding to her agony.
Glug, glug...
Seawater poured madly into her mouth and nose. Oxygen deprivation stopped her brain from thinking, leaving it to send one final urgent signal: she needed oxygen!
The suffocating sensation drove Su Cheng to swim toward the surface, but the turbulent water gave her no chance. Another huge wave struck, dragging her back underwater the very next second after she surfaced...
Forced along by the current, she struggled wildly, trying hard to get her head above water for air.
After she had bobbed up and down for a while, the water finally began to calm, its wild revelry spent. As Su Cheng passed a house pillar, she clung to it like a lifeline.
"Hah, hah-"
Su Cheng tilted her head back and breathed hard, every breath trembling.
Her soaked hair clung to her scalp. Cuts of all sizes covered her face, and her left eye was bloodshot, perhaps because something had washed into it. Her fingertips had turned white from gripping the pillar too hard... She was an utter mess.
Completely exhausted, Su Cheng rested briefly against the pillar. Aside from the stinging in her face, the dull ache in her abdomen reminded her that it was no minor injury.
At that moment, four words surfaced in her mind:
Alive after the disaster.
The current had slowed considerably. Damaged cars, trees, planks, clumps of mud, and human-made objects of all sizes kept floating past Su Cheng.
Su Cheng raised her head and looked into the distance along the current. At last, she spotted several large trees still standing.
Another huge wave could strike at any moment. She had to get to higher ground quickly.
Ignoring her exhausted body, Su Cheng let go and swam toward a floating tree trunk.
Every movement sent piercing pain through her abdomen.
Still in the water, Su Cheng could not examine her injury. She could only endure the pain and push the trunk along with the current, following the route she had planned.
Under the blazing sun, Su Cheng felt somewhat dehydrated. She licked her dry lips, hoping no more huge waves would come...
"Help! Is anyone there?!"
It was a girl's voice, but Su Cheng could not determine where it was coming from.
Barely able to look after herself, Su Cheng turned her head away.
"Help! Dad, Mom... where are you...?"
The girl's tearful cries reached Su Cheng's ears one after another, stirring certain unpleasant memories.
Once, Su Cheng had called desperately for her parents like that too, only to never receive an answer again...
Su Cheng sighed. In the end, she could not get past her conscience and called back as loudly as she could, "Where are you?"
"I'm here!!!"
Following the voice, Su Cheng found the girl on a pile of debris.
The girl was about eleven or twelve, around the age of entering middle school. She lay on a plank atop the debris. Apart from minor scratches and bruises, she was unharmed. She was overjoyed to see Su Cheng.
"Have you seen my dad and mom?"
"I don't know your parents."
"My dad's name is Yun Cheng. He's wearing blue swimming trunks. My mom is very thin. Her name is Li Murou, and she's wearing a pretty floral dress..."
The girl began describing them excitedly. Seeing no change in Su Cheng's expression, her voice grew quieter. She bit her lip and fought back her tears. It was clear that her family cherished her.
"Can I go with you?"
She did not simply cry heedlessly or sink into grief, instead trying hard to remain calm, which rather surprised Su Cheng.
"Mm."
With Su Cheng's permission, she carefully climbed down from the debris and held on to the trunk alongside her.
"Thank you, big sister. My name is Yun Nian. What's yours?"
"Su Cheng."
"Where are we going?"
"Up those big trees over there."
Seeing that Su Cheng had no intention of talking, Yun Nian gradually fell silent.
The farther they went, the lower the water became. Once it only reached their calves, they no longer needed the trunk.
Fragments of houses and trees lay piled together. Stranded sea fish flapped their tails and thrashed about. Mixed with mud, the water was a dirty, murky yellow.
Su Cheng and Yun Nian reached a patch of reeds.
Beyond the reeds stood the large trees Su Cheng had picked out.
"Hiss..."
The pain in Su Cheng's abdomen grew worse and worse. She lifted her clothes to reveal a glaring purplish-red bruise on her upper left abdomen!
"Big sister, you're so pale..."
Yun Nian supported Su Cheng worriedly.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going."
Su Cheng shook her head and covered the injury with her clothes again. She did not resist Su Nian's support. Having someone help her could ease a little of the pain that walking sent through her abdomen.
Her base layer clung wetly to her skin. Although it was waterproof, it could not withstand being soaked in seawater.
Still, it was worth noting that although the base layer had been slashed in several places, her skin had not been injured. Ordinary clothing probably would not have offered such protection.
Su Cheng pushed aside the reeds and made her way through the muddy water.
Yun Nian let out a short cry at something she saw. She looked helplessly at Su Cheng. "Big sister, over there..."
Su Cheng looked in the direction Yun Nian pointed. A person lay facedown in the muddy water, utterly motionless, without any sign of life.
A crab crawled slowly across his mud-covered back...
"Don't look."
Su Cheng covered Yun Nian's eyes. "Let's go."
"...Okay."