"Are you really talking about weeds?" Jiang Ling asked in the channel.

"Yes, they are weeds. They can grow hundreds of meters a year, but they grow downwards," the mole replied. "These days, many creatures like to burrow underground!"

This is perhaps the fundamental difference between wild animals and humans. Their instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm compels them to flee to suitable habitats, while humans place their hopes on the harsh surface—those living underground dream of returning to the surface. Human history is a history of struggle, and now we are back in a cycle of struggle with nature.

The mole's path ran along the edge of the Green Zone, which had many advantages. Those assigned to develop the zone had built a number of low walls along the edge, ensuring they wouldn't get lost. These walls also provided some protection from the wind and snow. They needed to find an elevated highway that would lead to the junction station.

Walking in the dark is difficult, especially when one knows monsters lurk within. The three men waded through the snow, their footprints rapidly obscured by the drifting snow. If they hadn't been so well-equipped, they might have vanished from the face of the earth after a night of silence.

With no reference points, they didn't know how long it had been before they suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet become flat. Jiang Ling, who had become drowsy during the journey, suddenly realized it and shouted, "Stop! I think we're there!"

The rope around her waist suddenly stretched to a taut, then slackened. A long moment passed before the two large men approached Jiang Ling, their flashlights blinding her. The Mole, as if realizing something, hurriedly tried to remove the flashlight, but the frozen machinery refused to respond, and it fell to the ground. In the distance, they spotted a road sign creaking in the wind—they had indeed arrived.

"How much time has passed?" the Mole asked, and he tapped the exoskeleton with his free hand, shaking off a lot of broken ice.

"In five hours, we've only walked seven kilometers! It's not even four in the morning now." The flying squirrel replied, his voice a little tired.

"Speed ​​up. We've only walked two-thirds of the way." The Mole bent down to pick up the flashlight that had fallen on the snow. Jiang Ling saw that his exoskeleton was covered with icicles.

"Did it rain just now?" she asked.

"No, it's the exoskeleton's cooling system that melts some of the snowflakes, which are then frozen by the cold wind." The flying squirrel answered the question immediately. It seems that this kind of question is very common.

The journey from then on was relatively easy. The road was well-maintained, looking like an intercity highway still maintained before the war. Aside from the howling wind and the snow on the ground, the group encountered no trouble. Well, the blizzard along the way was enough to make them suffer. On the contrary, if there had been some unexpected incident, it might have been a minor incident. Unfortunately, nothing happened. The harsh conditions alone were enough to end their lives.

At six in the morning, the sky was still dark. In the past, the sunrise would have been visible in the southeast. After a long journey, before replacing the last pair of filters, the group finally spotted a low, black building in the distance. It must be one of the surface entrances to the junction station. They soon saw lights emanating from the building.

The surface radiation level here was significantly lower. After entering the decontamination process, they quickly emerged from the isolation chamber. However, the site's condition was dire. There was clearly a problem with the site's power supply system. Only a few areas within the station were still lit, and the rest of the site was practically without power.

The closer the three of them got to the lit areas, the worse their mood grew. Their electricity was largely dependent on temporary power trucks, and the roar of their gasoline engines was so loud in the underground space that there was no one around them.

"You guys go ahead and do your work! I'll go ask some people about something." Jiang Ling said to the other two, "Just call me on the channel when you evacuate."

Three people became one, and Jiang Ling gained a brief moment of freedom.

Most of the people at the station lived in the distribution center's garage, where boxes and supplies piled up. Some people were queuing up to receive some kind of food. Jiang Ling watched from a distance; their food looked rather moist. She approached a brazier where a group of people were gathered, burning some empty wooden boxes.

"...I went downstairs to check. The acid has already flooded the second basement. Luckily, I brought everything up here. Many people left without their belongings. Now it's such a hard time. Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Jiang Ling overheard the people warming themselves by the fire chatting. She took off her helmet and hung it on her backpack. She didn't take off her protective suit, as many people here were wearing one.

"I heard that the Countermeasures Bureau has sent people here, but I don't know how many people they have sent." A woman was sitting on an oil drum, mending something.

"They usually send very few people abroad. I just hope there are fewer of them," said a fierce man with a scar on his face, who was making some kind of cigarette by the fire.

"Yes, the fewer people there are, the safer it is." A thin man next to him interrupted.

Jiang Ling noticed that this station didn't resemble a strictly military one; instead, the people here had a casual, undisciplined air. After observing for a while, she asked, "Have you seen a group called the 'Three Yang Caravan'? They have three...?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!