The enormous shadow was not a safe haven, but the crumbling ruins of a dilapidated building. Ning Yu couldn't dodge in time, barely avoiding a piece of rusty sheet metal falling from above, his heart pounding. The roars of the mutated creature grew closer, and he dared not linger, gritting his teeth as he plunged into the dilapidated building.
The building was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the broken windows, illuminating the dust and rubble on the floor. A stench of decay and mold filled the air, making one want to vomit. Ning Yu covered his mouth and nose, enduring the discomfort, and carefully made his way through the ruins. The path beneath his feet could collapse at any moment; he had to remain constantly vigilant and avoid making any noise in order to survive in this perilous environment.
After walking for about ten minutes, a faint light appeared ahead. A glimmer of hope ignited in Ning Yu's heart, and he quickened his pace. Passing through a narrow corridor, the view suddenly opened up before him.
It was a relatively intact room, with some faded murals still remaining on the walls, vaguely revealing the once warm and inviting scenes. In the center of the room, a metal cabinet was half-open, seemingly containing something.
Food? Water? Medicine?
Ning Yu's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked towards the metal cabinet. He hadn't had a proper meal in a long time. However, when he reached the cabinet, he found a hunched figure with his back to him, seemingly rummaging through something.
It was an old man, dressed in tattered clothes, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles. He didn't seem to notice Ning Yu's arrival, still focused on rummaging through the things in the cabinet.
"Hello, sir..." Ning Yu tentatively greeted him.
Hearing the voice, the old man turned around abruptly, a hint of wariness and hostility flashing in his cloudy eyes. He clutched a tattered cloth bag tightly in his hands and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Ning Yu then saw clearly that the tattered cloth bag tightly clutched in the old man's hand contained only a few shriveled potatoes and a small bottle of murky water.
"I just want to find some food and water..." Ning Yu was interrupted rudely by the old man before he could finish speaking.
"This is my territory! Get out!" The old man pointed at Ning Yu's nose and said fiercely. "Old man, you misunderstand. I just wanted to find something to eat, I meant no harm," Ning Yu explained patiently. He knew that in this era of scarce resources, survival was the most important thing for everyone, so the old man's vigilance was understandable.
"Don't try to get close to me! Everything here is mine, don't even think about taking it!" the old man said, clutching the tattered bundle in his hands even tighter, his cloudy eyes filled with vigilance and hostility.
Ning Yu sighed helplessly. He knew that at this moment, any explanation would seem pale and powerless. He looked around and pointed to the empty room, saying, "Old man, look here. There are only a few walls and some broken pieces. What else is there? I just want to find some food and drink. I won't take it from you."
"Hmph, who knows what you're up to? Maybe you're waiting for me to let my guard down so you can kill me and steal my goods!" The old man didn't listen to Ning Yu's explanation at all, and instead became even more vigilant.
Ning Yu gave a bitter smile. He never imagined that trust between people would become so fragile in this apocalyptic world. Just as he was about to try to communicate again, suddenly, the surrounding buildings began to shake violently, and a sickeningly loud creaking sound of steel bars twisting came from above.
"Oh no, this building is about to collapse!" Ning Yu's expression changed drastically. Years of survival experience told him that this dangerous building was on the verge of collapse and could collapse completely at any moment.
"Huh?!" The old man was clearly startled by the sudden turn of events. He tried to stand up shakily, but due to his unsteady legs, he fell to the ground.
"Grandpa, hurry up!" Ning Yu didn't have time to think and rushed forward to help the old man up.
"Don't worry about me! Go! Cough cough..." The old man coughed violently, desperately pushing Ning Yu away, a look of resignation flashing in his cloudy eyes. "Young man, go quickly, don't worry about this old man..."
Ning Yu was shocked. He knew what the old man meant. He wanted him to escape on his own and not die in vain for the sake of this frail old man.
"It's too late, let's go together!" Ning Yu said, grabbing the old man and running towards another exit of the room.
However, at that moment, Ning Yu's gaze was suddenly drawn to something in the corner of the room. It was a half-open metal box, and through the gaps, he could vaguely see that it seemed to contain some canned goods and bottled water.
Food! Water!
Ning Yu's eyes lit up immediately. At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to survive!
"Grandpa, you go first, I'll be right back!" Ning Yu abruptly shook off the old man's hand and rushed towards the metal box without regard for anything else...
"Are you crazy! Come back!" Grandpa Sun's hoarse shouts were drowned out by the deafening sound of the collapse, but Ning Yu seemed not to hear it and rushed towards the metal box without hesitation.
Dust billowed, stones fell from the ceiling, and the room shrank rapidly before Ning Yu's eyes. Without thinking, he flung open the half-closed metal box, his heart pounding—it was indeed crammed full of things! He didn't have time to examine it closely, grabbed a few items haphazardly, stuffed them into his backpack, and rushed out.
With a deafening roar, the wall behind him collapsed, and Ning Yu was thrown to the ground by the blast wave, his ears filled with a sharp whistling sound. He struggled to his feet, only to find that the path he had come from was blocked by rubble.
"It's over..." A desperate thought flashed through his mind. Just then, he saw a crack appear in the wall not far away, and a faint light shone through the crack.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
