Chapter 591 - Broken Memories: Yangfang Town, Hometown
Chapter 591 – Broken Memories: Yangfang Town, Hometown
-Several hours earlier, while the various teams of survivors worked in different areas specially selected and divided to optimize every second of work.
As the sun had not yet risen high in the sky and there was barely a trace of its presence in the form of a glimmer of orange light that was slowly growing and occupying the place that the night blanket had occupied during the previous hours, the temperature was considerably low and the winds blowing from the forests now more than three times wider and ampler than in the past were especially strong.
A level 12 zombie was eating the corpse of a recently born mutant weasel. Its emotionless face was stained with patches of blood in different shades of red as proof that they did not belong to the same victim, its fingernails were as long as claws and its entire body was swollen to the point that it looked more like a bear than a zombie.
Suddenly, the zombie seemed to realize something so it automatically stopped its meal and instead raised its head suddenly to look to its right.
Boom!
The level 12 zombie didn’t even have time to see whatever was approaching as its head took a blow that crushed every bone in its skull and pulverized its brain before the entire head exploded into a bloody pile of pulp that flew everywhere.
The lifeless zombie’s body fell on its side with a thud and dark blood slowly began to ooze out of its neck until it formed a pool of thick liquid, joining the corpse of the newborn weasel baby.
Two silhouettes running at monstrous speeds raised clouds of dust that were soon swept away by the strong pressure generated by the wind that the two silhouettes raised as they moved at such high speeds. Their bodies were like shadows in the middle of the night and it did not matter whether it was mutant beast or zombie that crossed their paths as not only did they fail to stop the charge of these two silhouettes but they were all torn apart and slaughtered so easily that the encounter between the two parties could not be called a battle.
Following the path of the now shattered road as a result of the expansion of the world, the two silhouettes soon left the giant shadows that rose into the sky as if they wanted to touch the clouds and their appearances were revealed as the light of the stars growing dimmer and dimmer under the impending presence of the sun fell upon them.
The man was handsome enough to make women blush.
The woman was beautiful enough to take any man’s breath away with a single glance.
Of course, these two were Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue, who were aiming for Yangfang Town; the place where Bai Zemin was born and grew up with his loved ones.
To reach Yangfang Town from Cuicun Town it was necessary to travel about 2-3 hours in a car depending on many factors. However, this was only in the past, when the Earth had not yet expanded in size. Therefore, it was not crazy to assume that if one wanted to reach Yangfang Town from Cuicun Town via vehicle at this moment it would probably take about half a day’s time.
Fortunately, both Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue were soul evolvers whose stats could not be represented by their levels. Furthermore, while Bai Zemin’s Soul Power was purer than Shangguan Bing Xue’s, she had been adding at least half of her stat points in Agility since day 1 when the apocalypse broke out and she leveled up for the first time, unlike Bai Zemin who used his stat points depending on his needs in times of crisis.
At speeds ranging from 500 to 600 kilometers per hour, the two would soon reach the destination they aspired to no matter how much the Earth may have expanded.
The first minute was pristine silence and with Bai Zemin leading the way Shangguan Bing Xue just watched his movements in silence; anything that appeared in his path was crushed regardless of race, level, Order, features, etc. Every step he took forward was heavy despite his firmness, exposing how fluctuating his heart was.
Of course, Shangguan Bing Xue understood. After all, she would surely be the same once they conquered Changping District and reached Haidian District located to the south, where her mother lived.
However, she was also worried about him; especially his mental health.
After another minute of silence, Shangguan Bing Xue finally could not bear it and in the middle of the night where the winds were howling loudly, her beautiful voice traveled forward.
“I just want to be sure you know but…. You are aware that Yangfang Town shouldn’t be much different from Cuicun Town in terms of situation, right?”
The voice of Shangguan Bing Xue was quite careful and gentle considering that usually, her tone of voice was mainly devoid of emotions. After all, this was a rather delicate matter and she was really worried about how he would react to the inevitable reality.
“Don’t worry, Bing Xue.” Bai Zemin looked over his shoulder at her with a slight smile and nodded as he continued to charge forward, “I know better than anyone that Yangfang Town was definitely destroyed when the Earth began to expand. I’m not going there to find my loved ones, I just want to make sure of a few matters. That’s all.”
“I see…” Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and a glint of confusion flashed in her eyes, but she said nothing and simply followed him silently.
Shangguan Bing Xue’s confusion stemmed from the fact that if Bai Zemin just wanted to make sure of a few matters, then why on earth did he tell his housekeeper Qin Ming that at the very least he would be gone all day? After all, Yangfang Town was not a place too far away for people such as them who could get there in a matter of minutes.
But she believed that her doubts would be cleared up by accompanying him, so she didn’t ask. At the end of the day, the main reason why Shangguan Bing Xue decided to follow Bai Zemin was due to the fact that she was worried about him getting out of control or becoming heartbroken when he found something uncomfortable.
‘I hope they are all right….’ She sighed in her heart and prayed silently.
Shangguan Bing Xue knew perfectly well that death was like the bread and butter in this world. Therefore, she could only pray that Bai Zemin’s family would be all right as the last thing she wanted was to see was him broken.
Not long after, as the two remained silent and with the wind accompanied by the occasional roars of some creatures that resided deep in the woods, Yangfang Town appeared in Bai Zemin’s and Shangguan Bing Xue’s range of vision.
No, this place could no longer be called Yangfang Town. It would perhaps be more correct to call this place as the place where Yangfang Town had once existed.
Bai Zemin’s charge gradually stopped as he forcefully planted both feet on the ground and Shangguan Bing Xue imitated his movements with agility, practically stopping both of them at the same time.
Bai Zemin silently observed the place that was still about 200-300 meters ahead before he began to slowly walk over there.
Shangguan Bing Xue stared at the large blocks of rubble and the cracked foundations of what had once been buildings before her eyes shifted to focus on Bai Zemin’s back as he slowly walked away step by step. Then, with a determined expression on her face, she took a step forward followed by another, and then another, and then another….
Following him silently from far enough away to give him his space but close enough for him not to feel alone.
Slowly, the distance was closed and before Bai Zemin knew it he was walking on what were once perfectly paved streets but were now destroyed beyond salvation.
Occasionally, a large concrete block would appear in his path so he had no choice but to move or jump over it to continue on his way. Nor were there rare moments when the sound of glass crunching after being stepped on would break the natural silence of the area.
Like the areas where cement was being prepared to begin construction, the smell of dust with a tinge of cement scent had become the favorite fragrance of the area. The invisible cloud of gloom was so heavy that it even seemed to be too much for the beasts of the nearest forest as there were no living creatures in sight.
Except, of course, for the two souls that walked like spirits aimlessly through the streets; one in front and the other following step by step from behind.
About 10 minutes later, Bai Zemin’s footsteps stopped. He stood staring to his right with a blank stare as if his spirit had traveled back in time to try to relive memories that may not have been important then but were important now; unfortunately, the place where those memories were created was no longer standing to be able to relive them.
Shangguan Bing Xue, curious, walked without making any noise and stopped a couple of steps away from what seemed to have been a large entrance.
She looked up and noticed that there was a large clearing of at least three or four blocks. In the center of the site was once a large building, possibly two or three stories high, but now, it was nothing more than a pile of collapsed rubble scattered haphazardly on the ground.
“Yangfang Spring.” Bai Zemin said out of nowhere. Although his voice was low, it sounded too loud amidst the total silence that reigned in the area, “This is where I studied when I was just a kid.”
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him when she heard his voice, but she realized that while Bai Zemin was looking up at the collapsed building, his eyes seemed to see a completely different view; it was as if in his eyes, he could still glimpse children playing, having fun, while the teachers watched from the high windows with joyful smiles.
After a moment, Bai Zemin looked ahead and continued to advance step by step.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at the fallen building again and noticed that under the rubble there were some crushed limbs along with a lot of dried blood. The dried blood was probably the result of a battle that may have broken out at the beginning of the apocalypse or perhaps later. As for the limbs… Most were too small to belong to an adult.
A glint of sadness flashed briefly in the eyes of the woman known as ice princess for her indifference before she began to follow in the footsteps of the young man who even in the midst of all this destruction seemed to know every intersection like the back of his hand.
What happened before was repeated on several more occasions.
Sometimes, Bai Zemin would stop and stand silently staring at a particular spot for several minutes as if trying to remember or as if trying to relive the former appearance of what was nothing more than rubble. Then, he would comment briefly and concisely on the experiences he once had with that building in some way or another before shaking his head and moving on.
Ice cream store where he used to go with his elementary school classmates during the hot summer days.
Convenience store run by an old woman who always gave him candy and bragged about her past beauty for the amusement of the children.
Playroom where he went with his friends on several occasions to have fun or clear his mind after an exhausting day of tests.
…
One by one, Bai Zemin told Shangguan Bing Xue parts of his past that, small or not, were part of who he was today…. Unfortunately, those places that carried so many small but important parts of his past, were now completely broken.
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