The two looked at each other.

"I've seen you on the live broadcast." The driver surrendered first, took off his gloves, revealed the bracelet on his wrist, and took the initiative to introduce himself, "He Weiyou."

Shi Yu said nothing.

"As for calling you... well, it was just a reflex because I didn't react at first."

Shi Yu was silent.

Who's conditioned reflex is to whistle at people when seeing them on a street full of monsters?

The other party really couldn't tell whether he was angry or not, because he had this expression most of the time, so he could only bow his head and admit his mistake: "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Shi Yu looked at him and said, "Why are you apologizing to me?"

He Weiyou also reacted: That's right, why is he apologizing? Not to mention that he is still someone's savior, even if he just called her beautiful woman in normal times, how can it be considered an unforgivable sin?

Shi Yu stepped on the snow with her soles and changed the subject: "Where did you get to that street?"

"Mountain bike racing track." He Weiyou pointed at the motorcycle, "This is my ride."

No wonder the opponent was able to perform so many drifting moves just now. Most of the motorcycles that can be used for competitions have been modified, and their performance is definitely not comparable to that of ordinary cars.

Shi Yu continued, "How long have you been here?"

"I didn't notice, maybe three or four hours?" He Weiyou said, "Anyway, when I came here, there was a lunch box in front of me."

Just as he was saying this he remembered that it was getting dark.

The days are short in winter, and it was almost dusk when the hospital broadcast was made. Now, after all this trouble, the last bit of daylight is almost gone, and the street lights are turned on on both sides of the sidewalk.

It is definitely impossible for the two of them to sleep on the overpass all night. Not to mention the temperature issue. Even if there are no monsters here now, it would be a disaster if the monsters suddenly give up the streets and come up at night.

He Weiyou got back on the bike and stepped on the accelerator: "Where are we going now?"

Shi Yu: "Let's find a place to stay first."

He Wei responded reflexively: "Hotel?"

"The corridors and rooms are too densely packed and easy to hide people. It's basically impossible to clear out all the monsters in there with just two people unless we set fire to them."

"Then the supermarket?"

"There are too many people, so there will be more monsters than on the streets. The entrance and exit are electronic doors, which cannot prevent outsiders."

"Then the shop?"

“The space is small and closed on all sides, making it difficult to receive information from the outside world. The geographical location is easy to attack but difficult to defend.”

"Then school?"

"There are few such landmark buildings in the city, and it is difficult to find them rashly."

"Then the bomb shelter?"

“Most of them have become underground parking lots and underground shopping malls.”

"Then just find an empty apartment or villa?"

"You have the key?"

"...So where are you going?"

The motorcycle drove down the river bridge and entered the city. The monsters that had disappeared for nearly half an hour reappeared in the two people's sight. Attracted by the huge engine sound, they rushed towards this side and chased wildly.

Fortunately, a motorcycle traveling at high speed is not something that a human can catch up with on foot, so the scene of thousands of troops and horses galloping on the streets as before did not occur. Basically, every monster that was caught up for a while would be left far behind and then give up and stop to wander around on its own.

Shi Yu sat in the back and watched for a while, then suddenly asked, "Which direction are you driving?"

He Weiyou was stunned: "Just walk in a straight line. I don't know where any road here leads to..."

Shi Yu looked up at another sign that was getting closer and closer: "It looks like we are heading towards the mountains ahead."

He Weiyou: “…”

He Weiyou: "Wait a minute, I'll turn at the next bend..."

Shi Yu: “No need to turn.”

"?"

“It’s nice to go up the mountain.”

"???"

Ten minutes later.

The motorcycle roared, rolling up the weeds on both sides and rushed into the forest at lightning speed.

He Weiyou slowed down, and even after all the monsters behind him were out of sight, he was still not at ease, so he continued to drive forward for a long distance before turning off the engine and getting out of the car.

The mountain roads are naturally not as good as the streets. There are no special sanitation workers to sweep the snow regularly. The cement roads, flowers, trees, and the rolling mountains in the distance are all white as far as the eye can see.

The snow beneath my feet had almost frozen into frost, and the surroundings were extremely quiet.

"Now I know why we have to go up the mountain." He Weiyou pushed the cart forward, "This is all mountain roads, no one will go up here, and there are only cars that want to go over the top of the mountain. As long as we get rid of those who are following us in the city, we won't have to worry about being suddenly attacked when we get inside."

Shi Yu didn't respond and concentrated on climbing the mountain.

"The safety issue has been resolved, but what about eating?"

"It's hidden in the soil."

"What about drinking water?"

“It’s hanging on a tree.”

"What about external communications?"

“There are usually houses purchased on the mountain.”

"Just walk there?"

Shi Yu stopped.

"What's wrong?" He Weiyou followed his gaze and then opened his mouth little by little.

There is a house located on an open space about ten meters above me, with black tiles and white walls that are very old, aqua blue diamond-shaped window panes, and a large area of cement in front of the door.

Not far away, someone had enclosed a muddy field with a bamboo fence. Through the gaps, one could vaguely see the vegetables planted there.

He Weiyou was shocked.

In reality, he had climbed mountains and seen quite a few mountain houses, but he would always turn around and continue on his way after taking a look at them. Occasionally, he would stop for a few seconds to let his thoughts wander, but the result was always an old corpse in the mountain village, and in the end he would just run away.

But this is probably the first time that I have looked at it with such appreciation and even felt that it is a "paradise on earth".

Shi Yu glanced at it for a few seconds and then looked away: "Let's go."

He Weiyou pushed his motorcycle to catch up, and walked the last two meters with a breeze under his feet, staring at the vermilion lacquered door in front of him with burning eyes: "Did I knock?"

“Knock knock knock—”

No one responded.

“Knock knock knock—”

A voice inside shouted, "Here we come."

There were light and slow footsteps in the house, and then the door was opened, and the anti-theft metal chain between the two wooden doors was stretched straight.

The one who opened the door was an old woman wearing a flowery jacket and a knitted hat. Her temples were half silver and half white. The moonlight painted a layer of pale frost on her face, but the shadows cut the wrinkles into clear silhouettes. She looked at him in a gloomy manner: "Who is it?"

He Weiyu's mind suddenly flashed back to the old corpse in the mountain village that was in his past thoughts.

"Aunt."

The old man shifted his gaze from him to the person next to him.

Shi Yu said, "The road is blocked by heavy snow and it's dark. Can I borrow a place from you?"

The old woman laughed, her voice rough and hoarse: "Young man, Auntie is no longer Auntie. At your age, you should call her Grandma."

Shi Yu listened and said, "I'm not that young either."

The old man seemed to be curious: "How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-four."

"You're still young. If my son gets married normally, my grandson will be about your age now." The night wind was blowing, and the old man stood by the door and made way, "It's cold outside, come in first."

"Thanks."

Shi Yu walked over the threshold.

He Wei was confused for a moment, then quickly chased after him.

The old man closed the door and asked directly: "Are you still studying?"

Shi Yu said: "Graduated."

The old man opened a drawer in front of the cupboard, and in the darkness, there was the sound of someone rummaging through something: "Graduated, what job do you do?"

"Gatekeeper."

"That's good too. I'll have a fixed salary and won't have to run around all day."

The two asked and answered each other, and their voices fell into the dark, empty, and cold hall.

He Weiyu started to break out in a cold sweat after the door was closed, until he suddenly heard a rustling sound by his ear.

Before he could yell out reflexively, a light came on in the room.

The old man dug a candle out of the cupboard, lit it with a match, turned around holding the candlestick, and raised his hand in the scattered light.

He Weiyou's heart jumped into his throat: "Wait——"

Shi Yu stood beside her, slightly bent over as she spoke to the old woman, and looked at her at eye level.

The old man's dry hands fell on his hair, and he said in a tone of reproach: "Your hair is wet."

She said, "Wait a minute, I'll find you a towel. There's hot water in the backyard."

Shi Yu nodded: "Thank you."

The old man's attention shifted to He Weiyou: "By the way, what did you just shout?"

He Weiyou: “…”

He thought quickly: "Wait - my motorcycle will run out of power soon."

The old man squatted down again and took out a cable from the cabinet: "This is what my son left here before. He forgot to take it away. He always loses things every day."

When he mentioned the word "son", a smile appeared in the old man's cloudy eyes, and he seemed extremely proud.

He Weiyu stammered his thanks and took the phone tremblingly.

There were no light bulbs in the backyard, so the old man gave them the candle and told them to be careful.

When Shi Yu came out with a towel on her head and wet hair, she saw the moldy mushrooms squatting outside the door.

He Weiyou said: "Beauty - no, boss - no, big brother."

"…You can call by name."

"Shi Yu." He Weiyou finally pronounced the name correctly, "Shall we go back to the room now?"

"Yeah." Shi Yu picked up the candlestick and walked back.

The backyard was about four or five meters away from the main house. The moon had been covered by clouds at some point, and the light was so dim that without a candle one could hit the wall directly.

He Weiyu followed closely behind until the tip of his shoe suddenly hit something. He jumped three feet high on the spot and rushed forward!

...and then came up empty-handed.

Shi Yu dodged when he heard his footsteps, and when he saw him almost hit the wall, he reached out and pulled him back in time: "Watch where you're walking."

He Wei's voice was shaking: "I, I just kicked something! Is there, is there something here..."

Shi Yu took a candle and shone it on the ground: "It's a tree root."

There is a tree in the yard, and no one knows how old it is. The roots of the tree are twisted and make the land uneven.

He Wei's voice was still trembling: "But..."

Seeing that he had been saying "but" for a long time but still had no further words to say, Shi Yu turned around with the candle in his hand and said, "Let's go."

It was only a few steps away and the two of them quickly entered the kitchen.

There was no light on in the room, and it was still cold, but fortunately the wind didn't blow, so I didn't feel the chill on my spine all the time. He Wei's voice finally stopped shaking: "Um, do you think it's scary here?"

Shi Yu walked behind him and closed the kitchen door before entering the living room: "I don't think so."

He Weiyou was about to continue saying something, but as soon as he turned the corner and looked up, he saw a sea of scarlet blood!

A hand fell on his arm at the same time. He jumped up instantly and swung his arm fiercely: "Ah——!!!"

"What are you shouting?"

He Weiyou widened his eyes: "You...in front..."

"It's just an altar for the deceased's portrait. Red candles will be lit at night." Shi Yu took his hand back. "What are you afraid of?"

He Wei was speechless for a moment.

Was it because of the moonless night? Was it because of the ferocious forest outside? Was it because of the old man who lived alone in the mountain? Was it because this house was too peaceful and unusual compared to the bloody monsters that chased him all the way? Or was it simply because he had watched too many horror movies in the past and was severely tortured?

He pondered: "Don't you think there's something wrong with that guy just now? If this house had appeared when we first arrived, wouldn't it be the standard background environment for a supernatural dungeon?"

Shi Yu walked up the stairs: "You also said if I just arrived."

He Weiyou: "But..."

Just after the staircase turned the corner, someone was standing on the top step, looking down from above. His features were all in shadow, and from this angle, his eyes were almost entirely lifeless whites.

“Aaaaaaaaa——!!!”

Shi Yu grabbed his coat collar to prevent him from falling down the stairs, then turned around and said, "Auntie."

The old man said "Hey" with a kind face: "I told you to call me grandma."

Shi Yu changed her words: "Grandma."

The wrinkles on the old man's face seemed to relax: "Be good, it's so late, go to bed."

Shi Yu pulled He Weiyou by the collar and went upstairs. He let go and before closing the door, the other party had already come out of his dazed state and slipped through the crack of the door.

The old man arranged the same room for them, which had three beds placed side by side with quilts on them. When they leaned over, they could smell the dust from the cotton wool between the mattresses.

It remained like this for many years.

Shi Yu blew out the candle, picked the bed closest to him, and lifted the quilt. Dust flew in the air under the light, choking him and causing him to cough twice. There was a faint burning sensation in his throat.

He Weiyou chose the one closest to him without a second thought. He didn't care about the strange smell of the quilt at all and rolled into the bed, wrapping himself tightly below the neck. He closed his eyes and found that his teeth were chattering.

The curtains in the room were drawn, and without the candlelight it was pitch dark.

He lay in bed for a long while, unable to fall asleep. He dared not move, and could only whisper, "Shi Yu."

“…”

"Shi Yu."

"What?"

He Wei could hear the sleepiness in his voice and asked in surprise, "So you haven't slept either?"

He thought he was the only one who was scared and couldn't sleep.

"Can you say a few words to me?"

Shi Yu really didn't want to talk about her life ideals with him so late at night, so she simply pulled the quilt beside her over her head, clearly showing her refusal to communicate.

Unfortunately, He Weiyou didn't even dare to turn his head since he lay on the bed, and didn't see his rejection at all: "You really don't think she is scary?"

Shi Yu buried his head in the quilt and coughed twice in a muffled voice. He did not open his eyes, nor did he argue with him about "what's so scary about it". He said directly: "You are sleeping in someone else's house now."

“…”

"No matter who she is, if you are willing to take her in, it's a favor, and if you are unwilling, it's your duty. Put your own identity in the right place first."

“…”

"If you want to camp on the mountain, you can go out now."

“…”

He Weiyou closed his eyes in shame and fell silent.

It snowed again during the night.

A beam of light suddenly shone in from the window of the room, passed through the room, stopped, remained silent for a while, and then suddenly went out.