An Moxue drove out of town and arrived at the edge of a lush forest. After looking around to make sure no one was there, she parked the car and headed to the place the two had agreed upon.

The first spot was deserted and unmarked, so An Moxue moved on to the next location, which was now in the woods. She could occasionally hear faint sounds of searching, which she avoided at a distance.

She walked further and further, but still found nothing at the second spot. She changed direction and went to the third spot, where she finally saw a mark. She drew two more marks on it and followed the direction of the mark.

Finally, the mark was found under the canopy of a tall tree.

She climbed the tree and saw him, tired but not badly hurt, and a weight lifted from her heart. Their eyes met, and their first words were, "Are you alright?"

"No."

"Minor injury."

An Moxue noticed that the wound on his arm had already been bandaged. She sat down on the treetop next to him and whispered, "The area is being searched, and the nearest town is also being searched very strictly."

"Hmm. Where is Mr. Kong?"

"It has been handed over to Fu Shanyue. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to cross the border now."

"So fast?"

"A car was brought in along."

He looked at her, remembering her high-speed driving, and asked worriedly, "Did it smoke?"

An Moxue glared at him and teased, "You've really made the research institute a mess. I heard the corpses were blown into the sky, and the crater is so big you could raise fish in it. The whole town is buzzing about it."

Wu Sicheng's eyes widened in disbelief; he hadn't expected the rumors to be so exaggerated over such a short distance.

"No, I just blew up the bungalows and threw in a few corpses to mislead people. There's just a bit of chaos, no craters at all. Is there anything to eat?"

“Yes.” An Moxue said, taking out a sausage and a piece of bread from her backpack and handing over the water bottle.

While eating, Wu Sicheng said, "You shouldn't have come back. You should have gone straight back to Puda Prefecture. It was too risky."

"I'm worried about you. I can't rest easy until I come back and see you." Leaving is acceptable to save lives, but abandoning comrades is unacceptable.

Wu Sicheng glanced at her, then said nothing more, lowered his head, and started eating.

"Do you have any plans?" An Moxue saw that he was hiding in the big tree with a calm expression, and she knew that he must have made preparations.

"We'll conserve our energy and move out after dark. I've observed it; this tree is inconspicuous, not noticeable in the vast forest, and the visibility is good. Thankfully, there are no wolves or dogs in this research institute; otherwise, we'd be running for our lives! We wouldn't dare rest at all."

After Wu Sicheng finished speaking, he looked at her exhausted face and bloodshot eyes. She must have had no time to rest after sending the person out and rushing back to find him in such a short time. His tone softened even more, "You rest, I'll guard. I'll call you when it's time. Just come with me tonight."

An Moxue softly replied with an "Mmm," and then closed her eyes.

As the sun sets, its afterglow falls on the two figures in the tree. They appear calm and reserved, making it hard to imagine that they are on the run.

Wu Sicheng opened his eyes, took out the map in his hand, looked down at it, and made plans.

When An Moxue woke up, she saw him looking at the map intently.

"You're awake." Wu Sicheng didn't even look up. Sensing the change in the other person's aura, he pushed the map between them and said, "Look, we're in this position now. If we keep walking from here, and then to here, there's a railway line. We can find a way to get on it and we'll be safe. What do you think? Climbing onto the train after dark is also safe; no one will see us."

"That's a good idea, let's go now."

"Eat something to ensure you have enough energy so we can go all out later."

"good."

After they finished talking, Wu Sicheng put away the map, and the two of them started eating.

After finishing their meal and erasing all traces, the two quickly left the area.

Not long after they left, reinforcements arrived and passed through the area.

This was the first time in a long time that the two of them had run together with such intensity; from behind, they could only see two afterimages passing by.

An Moxue was secretly shocked. She hadn't expected Wu Sicheng to improve so quickly. She ran at full speed, but he didn't fall behind and seemed to be doing very well.

Wu Sicheng was also surprised by An Moxue's martial arts skills, as he could feel that she was improving every time.

They encountered wave after wave of search parties along the way, but they managed to evade them all.

The two of them ran at full speed for more than three hours and finally saw the railway tracks at the edge of the forest.

The two looked at each other and saw the smile in each other's eyes.

The light from a train shone brightly in the distance. The two ran towards the railway with all their might, took cover, and watched as the speeding train roared past. They climbed onto the last carriage, a freight train loaded with wood.

The two got into the car, found a spot on the roof, lay back on the wood, and felt indescribably relaxed.

An Moxue put her bag under her head, looked up at the starry sky, and said, "Oh no, I'm going to get scolded by the old man again when I get back. I'd better ask for two more days off."

When Wu Sicheng heard him say that, she remembered how she was welcomed by the elderly in the north; she seemed to be particularly popular with older people.

"There are so many stars in the sky! Do you think the moon is rounder here, or the moon at home?"

Aren't they all just one moon?

Wu Sicheng was puzzled. What was the difference?

But what he blurted out was: "I saw that the sky was beautiful tonight, the stars were bright and there were so many. It's the first time I've ever seen stars from the top of a train! It feels really good to have survived this ordeal!"

"This is my first time seeing the stars like this. The air is filled with the fragrance of trees. Where shall we get off?"

"I'll keep an eye on the bus stop signs in Uzbekistan."

An Moxue immediately understood why it was there.

The town is small, but it's a transportation hub with a large flow of people, so it wouldn't attract much attention, which is perfect.

Once you get off the train, you can go whichever way you want.

The train roared past, and the wind it stirred up was still a bit chilly.

An Moxue looked at the stars in the sky and fell asleep without realizing it.

Wu Sicheng, however, did not sleep, constantly paying attention to the changes in the outside world.

He heard her even breathing beside him and knew she was asleep. He took off his long-sleeved coat and covered her with it, then hung the sleeves on the wood to keep it from being blown away by the wind.

An Moxue vaguely sensed someone approaching and heard Wu Sicheng say, "Keep sleeping, I'll cover you with a coat."

She didn't open her eyes, but felt a little warmer and went back to sleep.

Wu Sicheng covered her with clothes and lay back down in his original position.

Listening to the rumble of the train, the mountain breeze it brought, and the starry sky, he felt completely content and even wished time would stand still.

Perhaps the most beautiful thing in this world is that I am alive, and you are alive too!

And we're even under the same starry sky!