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Su Cheng did not hide it, "My parents have already passed away. My grandparents are in a very far place. When I find the way home, I can see them again."

Su Nian started, not expecting to bring up Su Cheng's sad matter, and said guiltily, "Sorry..."

"It's fine. Since there is no information about your parents here, let's change places."

"Okay."

When the two turned and left, the staff member who had carried the boy away earlier hurried over and stopped them.

"Where are you going? ******?"

Su Cheng furrowed her brows. She understood the first sentence, but the second one... She quietly looked at Yun Nian.

Yun Nian acted as the translator.

"She's asking where we are going? Did we register our information?"

"Then tell her that we are looking for relatives, and we've already registered our information."

Yun Nian nodded and began communicating with the woman in fluent English.

Su Cheng could not help giving Yun Nian a thumbs-up in her heart; this spoken English was much better than hers, and a new brain really was useful.

After finishing her chat with the volunteer, Yun Nian had a trace of joy on her face, and she turned to tell Su Cheng the content of the conversation just then.

"She said the local area has arranged dedicated vehicles for survivors who don't want to wait for news to search for relatives at various hospitals. We can join the team."

Su Cheng did not expect the local place to have such a thoughtful arrangement, "That's naturally great."

The volunteer showed a friendly smile. She tapped her watch and made a gesture, signaling the two to follow her quickly.

Su Cheng understood that the other party was making time out of her busy schedule to help them, so she said one of her most familiar words: "thank you".

The volunteer smiled and led the two out of the hospital.

After twisting and turning around several tents and crowds, they arrived at the side door of the hospital, stopping in front of a truck.

There were already two haggard men in the back of the truck.

After communicating with the driver, the volunteer made an okay gesture to Su Cheng and the other, pointing to the back of the truck to signal them to get on.

Su Cheng and Yun Nian sat across from the two men.

They thanked the volunteer again.

The volunteer shook her head, said "Good luck", and waved as she left.

The truck did not look like it was going to leave immediately. Su Cheng guessed they were waiting for someone, or it wasn't departure time yet.

The side door of the hospital was not as crowded as the main entrance, but cars still came in and out one after another, and the vehicles brought wounded people lying on stretchers.

Some people had fractures, some were unconscious, and some had foreign objects pierced into their bodies...

Su Cheng saw that the most serious case was a wounded person with a wooden stick pierced into his stomach. Fresh blood stained the stretcher, and he wailed in agony while the crowd spontaneously cleared a path for him...

Yun Nian also saw this scene. Ever since getting on the truck, she had been clinging to the partition and looking around everywhere, attempting to find familiar faces in the tents.

Yun Nian looked at the stretcher moving away, and thinking of something, the corners of her eyes turned red, but she still tried hard to open her eyes to check the coming and going crowds...

She was drawing a parallel to her parents' situation.

Su Cheng could only pat her back to comfort her.

Ten minutes later, a woman with long golden hair hurried over. She first greeted the driver before getting on. Seeing the extra Su Cheng and Yun Nian, she paused slightly before showing a smile.

"Rumble..." The vehicle started.

It seemed she was the last person the truck was waiting for.

The blonde woman and the two men began communicating, and they all spoke in English.

Su Cheng vaguely understood a few words, but did not understand long sentences.

Yun Nian leaned into her ear and translated in a low voice, "They said a woman named Nanla found her child here and doesn't need to go to the next location."

Su Cheng nodded.

The truck left the hospital. Because the road was narrow and crowded, the speed was not fast.

The blonde woman looked at Su Cheng and Yun Nian, and took the initiative to start a conversation: "Are you two sisters?"

Yun Nian answered her first, "Yes."

Then she leaned to Su Cheng's ear, "Sister, she's asking if we are sisters."

Su Cheng gave her an amused look, "I understood that sentence."

Seeing that Su Cheng did not understand English, the blonde woman began chatting with Yun Nian instead.

After every few sentences she spoke, Yun Nian would finish answering and turn to translate for Su Cheng.

Su Cheng also learned from Yun Nian that the blonde woman was a tsunami survivor who was searching for her husband and daughter.

She hoped to exchange information about each other and their relatives, so that while searching for their own relatives, if any of them found a companion's relative, they could help notify them.

This was a win-win matter.

The blonde woman took out a notebook from her pocket and let Yun Nian write down her parents' names.

She also tore off a piece of paper and gave it to Yun Nian. On it were the names of her husband and daughter.

The two men searching for their wives and daughters also exchanged information with Yun Nian. Each of the four now held a piece of paper.

A thin sheet of paper carried a weighty hope.

Half an hour later, the truck stopped at another hospital.

The people in the truck got out one by one. After the driver leaned out and said something, he actually left without waiting, turning the truck around and driving away.

Yun Nian translated for Su Cheng, "That driver

uncle

said it's getting late. He'll come back here to pick us up at eight tomorrow morning."

It was nearing evening, and the sky was indeed beginning to dim.

Su Cheng rubbed Yun Nian's hair. It was a good thing she had Yun Nian, such a talented little translator. She'd really helped solve the major problem of the language barrier.

"Come on, let's go have a look over there first."

There were many simple shelters outside this hospital too.

Many people who had survived the disaster, along with the injured, had been brought to the hospital. Those with nowhere else to go would rest for a while in the shelters, then set out to look for their loved ones or return home.

A bulletin board caught Su Cheng and Yun Nian's attention. They walked over to it and saw it covered with missing-person notices.

Besides Su Cheng and Yun Nian, two men and a woman were also going through the notices one by one.

Yun Nian stood on tiptoe to look over the information on them.

Su Cheng remembered that Yun Nian had told her her parents' names the first time they met: Yun Cheng and Li Murou...

Asian names stood out among all the English names, but after checking every notice, they still hadn't found the names they hoped to see.

"Don't worry. Let's look inside too."

Su Cheng and Yun Nian entered the hospital lobby, where there was also a registration desk.

Su Cheng didn't understand English, so Yun Nian had to go up and speak to the staff herself.

But as Yun Nian spoke with the brown-haired woman at the registration desk, the two seemed to get into an argument. The woman grabbed Yun Nian by the arm.

Su Cheng knitted her brows and hurried over, grabbing the brown-haired woman's wrist. "Let go."

Seeing Su Cheng's displeased expression, the brown-haired woman let go and explained something in English, helplessly.

Su Cheng looked at Yun Nian. "What happened?"

Yun Nian said, frustrated, "She says I should go to the temporary children's shelter arranged by the government. I refused, and then this happened."

"Does she have any information about your parents?"

Yun Nian shook her head. "No."

"Do you want to go to the shelter? The local government should help you look for your family."

Yun Nian shook her head firmly. "But I don't want to passively wait for an outcome that might be good news or might be bad news. I want to go look for my parents myself."

"Okay. Then let's go."

Su Cheng took Yun Nian's hand and led her away. The brown-haired woman tried to stop them, but Su Cheng's look made her back down.

The two searched for Asian faces beneath the shelters outside the hospital, calling out the names written on their papers...

It wasn't until they reached the last row of shelters that Su Cheng noticed volunteers handing out free sleeping bags in a corner. She looked at Yun Nian. "We're staying here tonight. We need to get one."

Yun Nian nodded, went over to speak with the volunteers, and came back with two sleeping bags.

Each of them carried a sleeping bag and chose an unoccupied shelter as their place to stay for the night.

The sky was dim now, and few spots remained. They didn't want to squeeze in among strange men or choose a corner that was too secluded, so it took them a while to find a suitable spot.

Su Cheng had five chocolate bars and one bottle of water left in her storage bag.

She took out three chocolate bars, and she and Yun Nian each ate one and a half.

They shared the bottle of water and took a cold medicine pill as a precaution. She put the half bottle of water they hadn't finished into her storage slot.

At the two hospitals, they'd been so focused on finding people that they hadn't asked whether the hospitals had places where they could get free supplies, or whether aid stations had been set up elsewhere...

They still had to spend three days in this instance. How could they get by without enough food?

Su Cheng got into her sleeping bag, planning to ask Yun Nian to help inquire about it tomorrow.

Once her body, which hadn't rested well, relaxed, fatigue and drowsiness began to set in. But Su Cheng didn't fall asleep right away.

Maybe it was a habit she'd picked up in the last instance. Even when sleeping outside, she remained somewhat alert, ready to wake at once if anything seemed wrong.

After night fell, the lights came on.

There was a crescent moon in the sky that night, along with countless stars.

But the people beneath the sky had no inclination to admire it as they looked up. As they gazed at the crescent moon shining with a silvery glow, their thoughts were with the loved ones they'd been separated from...

Unlike the noisy bustle of daytime, the people beneath the shelters quieted down after nightfall. Faint, stifled sobs could be heard... sadness spread through the night.

Su Cheng turned her head, sensing something. The person beside her curled up in their sleeping bag, trembling slightly...

Infected by the atmosphere, Su Cheng couldn't help being stirred by bad memories, too. She closed her eyes, her thoughts sinking into silence.

Although this world was called an instance, everything about it was far too similar to the real world Su Cheng lived in. It felt real...

Su Cheng looked up at the brightest moon in the night sky and couldn't help wondering: were the instances entered through the apartment elevator really fictional?

The apartment could send its bound residents into instance worlds and even activate something called the "Gene Lock," unlocking the body's potential... It could be called mysterious and powerful.

Those who managed to obtain a pass and leave the apartment in the end would be absolute powerhouses.