After wandering around the winding heat dissipation area for more than half an hour, Natsume and Hanako followed Liang Qiuru and finally arrived at the "camp" she mentioned.
I originally thought that this "camp" would be home to a large number of survivors, but I didn't expect that it was just a control room that could be sealed from the inside. Before entering the camp, Natsume and Hanako had to undergo a series of inspections to ensure that they had not been bitten by those monsters.
Have passed or drank the water here.
After the confirmation, the gate of the camp opened, and the first to step out were a Zhengxing self-defense team member and Yan Haoming, who was holding a submachine gun.
We haven't seen him for a long time. Yan Haoming has turned into an uncle with a beard. He looks slovenly, but his eyes are very bright and he seems to be in good spirits.
Natsume and Yan Haoming had a very good personal relationship. Now that he saw that the person he cared about was still alive, Natsume relaxed a lot. He walked up and hugged Yan Haoming.
Yan Haoming patted Xia Mu on the back and said nothing.
After entering the camp, Liang Qiuru told Hanako and the others that there were less than a hundred survivors left in the camp. The others were either frozen to death on the upper floor or poisoned to death after drinking contaminated water.
Others, like the corpse Natsume and Hanako saw just now, became food for monsters.
After hearing these words, Hanako and Natsume felt sad for a while. Thinking about the data they had received earlier, it showed that there were at least 570,000 civilians in Shelter 03, Mochino Ecological Zone, New Tokyo City, and now there are only less than a hundred people left... This is simply...
…unimaginable.
But what makes Natsume and Hanako even more difficult to understand is why most people are frozen to death on the upper floor, but there are no people on this floor where the temperature is suitable.
Liang Qiuru explained: "Actually... we were driven to this level by them..."
"Ah?" Hanako didn't understand.
Liang Qiuru rolled up her sleeves and showed Hanako a look and said, "Look, it's because of this."
Hanako stepped forward to take a look and was stunned.
Natsume also looked over curiously, and saw a strange bright red mark similar to an ancient seal script talisman on Liang Qiuru's arm, which was as white as paper.
"What...what is this?"
Liang Qiuru shook her head and said with a wry smile: "I don't know."
Hanako asked again: "Then...does everyone in the camp have such marks on their bodies?"
"Yes." Yan Haoming came over with two cups of tea. He also rolled up his sleeves after sitting down.
Hanako and Natsume looked over and saw exactly the same red mark, except that Yan Haoming's mark was lighter.
"This..." Huazi looked at Liang Qiuru nervously and said, "Mom, are you okay? You'll be fine, right?"
Liang Qiuru smiled and touched Hanako's head and said, "It's okay. What can happen to me? Moreover, those who drove us here may not have dreamed that we would become the last survivors."
Yan Haoming also sighed: "Yeah, if the seniors hadn't been calm and decisive enough to bring us down, we might have been burned to death by them as infected people."
"Burn...burn to death? You mean they have burned people with marks before?" Hanako's heart trembled, and she couldn't help but think of the charred corpses she had seen in the upper area before.
"Well, once it gets dark, the evil in people's hearts is revealed. You don't even know how scary those people who took the lead in making trouble were." Yan Haoming still felt uncomfortable after recalling the scene more than a month ago.
Natsume frowned and said: "Then...since everyone else is gone and Colonel Fang Xiaodong has also brought people here, why doesn't anyone in the camp seem to be planning to leave?"
After hearing this, Liang Qiuru and Yan Haoming looked at each other, and the two of them just smiled and said nothing.
Hanako had just come back to her senses, and she asked: "Yes, Mom, I was wondering before. Colonel Fang has been shouting with the loudspeaker for so long, you should have heard it long ago! Why do you seem... a little bit
Don’t you even look happy?”
"I'm happy, of course I'm happy. We've been trapped in this hellish place for so long. Of course we hope to be rescued one day earlier, but that's before we find the 'diary'." Liang Qiuru's expression was slightly bitter, but her consciousness made her
She must accept reality.
"Diary? What diary?" Hanako couldn't understand again.
Natsume noticed something was wrong. He asked tentatively: "Auntie...is that diary related to the mark on your arm?"
Hanako suddenly became nervous when she heard this.
She looked at Xia Mu and then at Liang Qiuru.
Liang Qiuru fiddled with the charcoal fire in the stove and said after a long silence: "You are only half right. There are indeed some records related to the mark in the diary, but it did not explain what it was specifically and why it appeared in our
What will these people bring to us... ah... the 'chosen ones'? But it records in detail the origins of the monsters we have discovered, as well as many aspects of the planet we live on.
The secret explains why life was born in the solar system, and where our life form is located in the level of civilization. In short... it seems a bit too... too amazing, you know?"
Natsume frowned: "Um...Auntie, you want to say...the contents in this diary are a bit too incredible, right?"
Liang Qiuru was startled for a moment, then smiled and said: "Yes, I am at a loss for words, but I really feel it is very rude. But when I saw the sentence at the end of the diary and the signature, I found that
I can’t help but believe everything it records.”
Hanako asked blankly: "Huh? Why?"
Liang Qiuru didn't speak. She looked downcast and seemed unwilling to mention too much.
After Yan Haoming glanced at her, he said:
Hanako said: "Hanako, do you still have an impression of your father?"
Hanako was stunned again and thought to herself: 'Why did you suddenly talk about my father while we were chatting?'
But Natsume on the side was shocked when he heard this and understood instantly.
"Well...of course I have an impression. I already remembered it when he died. I still remember the last Spring Festival he spent with me..." Hanako recalled the past with a slight smile on his face, but
As she talked, she realized that she could not remember her father's appearance. At that moment, she suddenly felt her heart tightening, and the dust-covered scars were uncovered. The pain in her heart did not really dissipate with the passage of time.
Feeling the change in Hanako's mood, Natsume hugged her and gave her some comfort and warmth.
Hanako came back to her senses, smiled gratefully at Natsume, then took a deep breath, cleared her mind and asked Yan Haoming: "Uncle, tell me, what happened?"
Yan Haoming was about to speak, but Liang Qiuru suddenly interrupted: "Nothing, the owner of that diary belongs to a professor named Liu who was in your father's expedition team back then, so... I just said... I can't deny it completely.
See it all."
Yan Haoming was startled when he heard this.
Hanako was also startled, and then said with suspicion: "Really? Mom? Don't lie to me. Although you haven't said it all these years, I also know that you don't believe that dad is dead, right? You have always
Are you checking his whereabouts?"
Hearing this, Liang Qiuru looked at her daughter and said, "Yes, my dear daughter has really grown up, and she has learned to hide her hidden thoughts. But mom has let you down. I have been wasting my efforts for so many years. Your dad may... really
It's no longer there, it's just my wishful thinking... that..."
Liang Qiuru didn't say any more.
The way she pretended to be relaxed was heartbreaking, so Hanako sat over and hugged her mother.
Yan Haoming saw this scene but hesitated to speak, and finally let out a sigh.
Natsume saw everything, and he knew that things were definitely not as simple as Liang Qiuru said...
…
After resting for a while, Liang Qiuru said: "It's getting late, it's time to send you up."
Hanako was nestled in her mother's arms but unwilling to get up. She said, "I won't leave... unless you are willing to go with us."
Liang Qiuru rolled her eyes and said, "It sounds like I care about you very much. You are already such a big kid. Why? You haven't been weaned yet?"
Hanako suddenly blushed: "Mom! What are you talking about! Natsume and the others are still here!"
However, a certain lady named Liangqiu didn't care at all.
After Yan Haoming and Natsume coughed awkwardly, Yan Haoming said: "Uh... don't pay attention to us, we didn't hear anything."
Liang Qiuru said boldly: "Here, look, you are just being pretentious."
Hanako: "...Mom, I admire you so much."
"Hey, silly kid, how many times has Mom told you not to speak Chinese using the reverse word order of Japanese? Why can't this problem be corrected?"
Hua Zi also rolled his eyes at Ms. Liang Qiuru and said: "Compared with your stubborn temper, this little problem of mine is nothing. Anyway, I just say one thing, you come with me, I will leave. If you don't leave,
, I’m not leaving either.”
With this determined tone and demeanor, Liang Qiuru sighed deeply: "Hey, you girl...who are you following?"
Seeing that Liang Qiuru was showing signs of relenting, Hua Zi immediately smiled and said, "Hehe, of course it's up to you! You are the reincarnation of the unworthy Hua Mulan, so I have to be someone who has some of your character, right?"
Liang Qiuru chuckled, then turned to look at Xia Mu and said, "What about you? Your Uncle Haoming will definitely not leave with you. Are you planning to stay too?"
After Natsume and Yan Haoming glanced at each other, Natsume asked: "Senior, I admire your generosity and the big guys in the camp, but this mark is not a virus. Even if you are not sure what it will bring, you don't
Should we just give up on the idea of survival? If this mark doesn’t disappear, you won’t leave here for a day?”
Before Liang Qiuru expressed his position, Yan Haoming nodded and said: "Yes, we have agreed. Anyway, the sun has not risen yet. It will be different where we go, so we won't cause trouble to others."
The words were spoken bluntly but with a hint of bitterness.
Natsume's heart trembled, and she wanted to say something...but she couldn't find any reason to refute Yan Haoming.
Yan Haoming is right. In this era of disaster, everyone is in danger. Even if Colonel Fang Xiaodong and others agree to bring everyone in the camp back to Xiongan, I'm afraid Xiongan will not be willing to accept these people in the camp.
Even if you accept it... the result may not be much better than now...
Since the future can be predicted and staying is actually a good choice, then... it is not surprising that Liang Qiuru, Yan Haoming and others would choose to stay.
After thinking about this, Natsume knew that there were "no" survivors in Vault 03...
Then it doesn't matter whether he goes or stays.
"Hanako, please stay here with Auntie." Natsume said and stood up.
Hanako was stunned for a moment, then panicked: "Natsume?! Are you planning to go back?"
Natsume nodded: "I still have work to do in Xiongan. Although I am missing, there are others, but... it might be better to go back."
Hanako's heart trembled when she heard this. She held Natsume's hand, tears welling up in her eyes. For more than half a month, she had not noticed that if Natsume hadn't been by her side, she might have collapsed long ago.
Now that she was shocked to realize that the two of them might have to part ways, Hanako's heart felt as if it had been pierced.
Liang Qiuru and Yan Haoming didn't say anything. They chose in perfect agreement.
He quietly stood up and left, leaving enough space for the couple.
Seeing Hanako's tearful eyes, although she didn't ask to stay, Natsume had already received her feelings.
But……
"I'm leaving...take good care of yourself. When the sun rises and the flowers bloom, let's go out to the sea and bask in the sun together." Natsume smiled and raised his hand to comb Hanako's hair. This was the first time he was so gentle.
looked at Hanako.
At that moment, Hanako really wanted to lean up and kiss him on the lips, and then tell him not to leave!
But in the end...
Those three words were not spoken.
"Okay..." Hanako burst into tears and smiled. Her hands were shaking and her lips were shaking, but she said with a smile: "You also have to take care of yourself. The three of us have agreed! When the sun rises, we will surely
Let’s meet again!”
"Um."
"Hook!"
"Hook!"
…
"Bang" the camp gate fell.
Yan Haoming patted Xia Mu on the back and said, "Okay, let's go. If you delay for a while, I think Colonel Fang will leave you behind."
Natsume calmed down, clenched the rifle in his hand and said, "Well, let's go."
…
The sound of the door falling was like a gunshot in her ears. It wasn't until the moment Natsume really left that she realized that she might never see the person she loved again.
She hurriedly said: "Open! Open! I want to have a word with him."
The guard responsible for guarding the door said: "The raw materials for the purification process are very rare, and you can't use them however you want." She walked away after saying that.
The meaning is very clear, why didn't you finish just now?
Hanako was heartbroken by these words, and she was filled with regret.
Liang Qiuru felt sorry for her daughter. She walked over and hugged her and said, "Okay, my dear, don't be sad. Natsume is a tough guy. You will definitely meet again, but don't be as stubborn as you are now, otherwise you will suffer."
It’s still you.”
Hanako cried like a tearful person. Liang Qiuru was right. When you strive for strength in a relationship, you will always suffer the loss.
…
"How's it going? Still haven't found the two of them?" Fang Xiaodong frowned.
Although the deputy hoped that he was wrong, judging from the feedback results, there was indeed no news about Natsume and Hanako.
"No."
"Damn... can two big people be lost? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on them?" Fang Xiaodong couldn't help but cursed. He was really annoyed now that it cost so much to open 03
No. 1 shelter, not even a single survivor was found, but two more were lost.
The key point is that the two missing people are none other than the "connected households" whom Qingshui Rang had trusted with and especially warned to bring them back safely.
Although it is unclear what the relationship between Momosawa Hanako and Natsume is with the Shimizu family, Fang Xiaodong does not want to make the Shimizu family, who has made great contributions to Xiongan, angry because of his mistakes... But... Fang Xiaodong is also mentally prepared.
The responsibility on our shoulders is huge, and we cannot sacrifice more people just because of two people.
So Fang Xiaodong said: "Look again! Look carefully! If you still can't find it this time, withdraw all rescue personnel and close Shelter 03."
"yes!"
…
At the entrance to the passage to the upper area, Yan Haoming pulled out the dagger from the monster's corpse on the ground and said, "Okay, I'll send you here. After you enter the passage, don't look back. Just keep climbing forward and you can get out!"
Natsume, whose face was still stained with blood, looked at the lifeless Zhengxing self-defense team member and said, "Can you do it alone?"
Yan Haoming also looked back, and then said with a smile: "When you learned how to shoot, I had already won three military medals. Do you think I can do it?"
Natsume nodded. After calming his heartbeat, he wiped the blood from his face, handed the rifle to Yan Haoming and said, "Then I'm leaving. Take care."
Yan Haoming took the gun, patted Natsume's arm and said, "You too, I'm still waiting to drink your and Hanako's wedding wine, so you better be nice."
Natsume was startled, then smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Haoming, what are you talking about? Hanako and I..."
"Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense and hurry up." Yan Haoming urged Natsume to climb up without letting him finish.
Natsume didn't say any more.
After entering the passage, Natsume smiled at Yan Haoming, and then began to climb towards the end of the passage.
After Yan Haoming heard the voice go away, he leaned down and pulled off the "dog tag" from the neck of the self-defense team member, and said: "I'm sorry, brother." Then he raised his gun and touched the heart and forehead of the corpse.
Shot twice.
…
"Captain, there's none here either!"
The leading team has turned Area E upside down, and now only Area R is sealed off, but they still haven't found Natsume and the others.
Now there is only one possibility, and that is that the two of them will definitely find a way down.
"Come back." The captain thought for a moment but had no intention of sending anyone to find the way to Area R.
The team members came back one after another after receiving the signal.
One of them came back late, and he said excitedly: "Captain, we found an entrance over there that seems to lead to Area R. Should we send someone down to have a look?"
The captain's expression changed, he frowned and said, "What did you say?"
The team member was stunned and repeated: "I...I found an entrance...it seems to lead to..."
"Is there an R-area here?" The captain's words were not a question.