Chapter 13
The sun hadn't fully risen above the horizon yet, but people were already moving about on the road.
A long-haired man with tissue paper stuck in his beard drove a campervan, which had been converted from a logistics vehicle, stopping and starting along the highway.
Every ten meters or so, he would take boxes of supplies out of the back door and place them on the road, stacking them neatly and spaced out, with fuel poured between them.
If someone pays a little attention, they will find that every place where the supplies are piled up is right at the critical point where the stone piers bear the weight.
The long-haired man sometimes gets lost in thought and drives past his destination, but when he realizes what's happening, he reverses back and persistently paves the road he's passed by with his belongings.
He continued spreading the supplies until only a small portion remained in the RV. He then divided the remaining supplies into two piles, moving one pile to the top of the RV and placing the other near the rear, stretching across the entire road from left to right.
After arranging everything, he straightened up and looked around, then climbed up the stone steps to check the view from below. Finally, he nodded, very satisfied with the location he had chosen.
Overjoyed, he grinned, first bending forward and backward, laughing silently, as if he was about to fall headfirst several times. When he looked up, his face was already covered in tears.
When his tears dried and his face ached, he let out a long breath and walked down, starting slowly and then getting faster and faster until he was almost running.
He ran back to the front of the car, opened the fuel tank opening, found a straw, sucked hard with his mouth and then released it, sticking one end of the straw into the folding bucket.
As the fuel in the folding bucket slowly rose and soon filled a small bucket, he removed the straw, casually threw it on the ground, and splashed the oil everywhere, not caring that a little bit got on his body.
The straw rolled on the ground, leaving a trail of oil, which quickly mixed with more oil.
Fang Xiaoyu was wondering why there were so many oil drums ahead, and was even thinking that it was a case of "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade" when suddenly there was a loud bang, the car windows shook violently, and thick smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky not far ahead.
It exploded?!
She was so frightened she almost jumped up. She slammed on the brakes, grabbed her binoculars, stepped onto the seat and door, and climbed onto the roof in a few quick steps.
In the footage, a huge crater has been blown into the road, and on the opposite side is a wrecked truck, half of its rear end gone. Standing on the rickety truck bed is a long-haired, unkempt man with a scruffy beard, gesturing wildly as if in a pantomime.
The man was screaming wildly, "Since we can't get out, why struggle? Let's all die together!"
He was already covered in sore skin, but seeing that the road hadn't been blown apart, he struggled to push a few more buckets of oil down, causing an even bigger explosion. The crater was finally blasted open, revealing the surging seawater underneath.
"Ha ha ha ha--"
Fang Xiaoyu couldn't hear any sound, but she saw the other person swinging one arm wildly, behaving erratically, as if insane, before being swallowed by smoke, and was probably beyond saving.
As the highway was blown up, the road surface tilted forward, the truck slid backward and got stuck at the break. The oil drums on the truck lost their balance and rolled down one by one, with explosions continuing.
The telescope was rotated again, and flammable and explosive materials on the roadside and in the middle of the road were clearly visible.
The lid of the oil drum was lifted, half-hidden in the shadow of the soundproof wall.
The flour sack was ripped open.
What's that transparent stuff? Alcohol? It's already started burning.
There was also fuel in mineral water bottles, oil stains on the ground...
She opened her mouth involuntarily, so shocked that she was speechless.
Are you crazy?
The disaster spread rapidly, with the man's pre-arranged supplies bursting into flames and exploding one after another. The chain reaction caused sections of the road to collapse, and the truck disintegrated mid-air.
The disaster was still spreading; the ground was shaking continuously, and even the bridge piers near her were beginning to sway slightly.
As the cross-section approached her, Fang Xiaoyu's heart pounded. She crawled back into the car and started reversing.
Because she was too nervous, she didn't pay attention to controlling the distance, and in a flash, she was back in the same spot.
Grass (a type of plant).
The second time, she carefully reversed the car, and in her horror, she saw that the road a hundred meters ahead had begun to slowly slope down and was about to be torn off and fall.
Time suddenly seemed to slow down.
Below, the green sea of forests had transformed into a bottomless, deep blue sea, its waters roaring and churning with a power that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
The broken stones that fell ahead plummeted high into the air, splashing water droplets invisible to the naked eye.
By this time, he had retreated nearly two hundred meters and could no longer move.
There was nowhere to retreat, nowhere to escape.
This is the closest I've ever been to death.
Before the person even started falling down the road, they were already experiencing visual hallucinations, weightlessness, and dizziness.
She's so young, she hasn't lived enough yet.
She hasn't been able to go home yet; her family doesn't even know she's here.
Is this where my journey ends today, right now?
Just as Fang Xiaoyu's mind went blank and she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, a miracle happened.
The highway was suddenly restored with a single click.
The ground stopped shaking, the broken rocks and seawater disappeared, and even the explosion dust and the fishy smell of the seawater in the air vanished along with the traces left by the explosion.
Fang Xiaoyu blinked, took a moment to react, her limbs went weak, and she climbed onto the roof of the car again to look out.
The road surface was flat all the way, stretching far to the horizon, with no trace of the previous ruins.
She climbed up the soundproof wall and looked into the distance.
The rows of stone piers are neat and uniform, without any missing stones or roots. The "dragon" of the highway is in good condition, and below it, as far as the eye can see, is the vast and unfathomable sea.
What was that just now?!
Why did it suddenly disappear again?
Is it the same as other people's sudden appearance and sudden disappearance?
Those are definitely not hallucinations.
Recalling the danger just now, the shock of facing life and death in that instant, Fang Xiaoyu's slightly reddened eyes seemed to be dyed with the morning glow once again.
However, the scorching sun quickly brought her back to reality. She climbed down from the wall and decided to rest on the spot, have some breakfast, rest for a while, and set off later.
While the rice cooker was working, Fang Xiaoyu was reflecting on herself.
The daily driving time and mileage should be further reduced to no more than six hours and no more than 400 kilometers.
The progress of the ladder rope needs to be accelerated; if possible, find a teammate with the same goal.
With extended time for studying, exercising, resting, and having fun, we must avoid excessive internal conflict and maintain an optimistic outlook.
The care packages should still be distributed. Fuel can be less but it cannot be omitted. It is a necessity for most people, and he is just an exception.
In the future, when you encounter someone alone, give them a smile and don't become the straw that breaks the camel's back.
...
Fang Xiaoyu drank two mouthfuls of thin porridge, but her discomfort made her lose her appetite.
She plans to watch a variety show to change her mood and awaken her normal appetite.
I randomly clicked on one of the videos, and it was a boy band dancing. One of the dancers had long hair, looked young and energetic, and exuded strength and beauty.
I used to just do it for fun, but now when I look at it, I only think about that person.
The same long hair, the same slender figure.
Thinking of the charred, bloody skin on that person's body, she turned off her phone, clutched her stomach, and decided to take advantage of the fact that the shadow of the soundproof wall was still there, enough to cover most of the car, and drive a little further, preferably away from this place, so as not to have any more thoughts about it.
The engine roared, the car body trembled, and the little white car roared onto the road.
As time went by, the shadows on the ground grew narrower and narrower, gradually receding to the base of the wall, no longer able to shield travelers from the scorching sun.
The temperature rose steadily, and the car windows were already down. The strong wind generated by the high speed blew away the heat and sweat inside the car.
Tire noise and wind noise masked the music, so Fang Xiaoyu had to turn the music up really loud, making a racket as she drove by. With the special modifications to the car body, unsuspecting passing cars would only glance at the sound from afar before avoiding it.
Because Fang Xiaoyu didn't feel hungry and turned off her alarm clock reminding her to eat three meals a day halfway through, she unknowingly walked a long way.
I drove until the steering wheel went from hot to cool down, until the shadows on the ground moved from the base of the wall to the middle of the road, and then to the other end, covering the entire road again, until the streetlights along the way lit up one by one, and until I saw the sign for a new service area, before I suddenly felt my body protesting.
It was already 10 p.m.
She drove into the service area, which contained only a small gas station without bottled oil, a small convenience store of less than ten square meters, and a public restroom with a shower stall, two toilets, and a sink.
This was the smallest service area she encountered, so let's call it a micro service area. Following this pattern, the service areas she encountered earlier were further subdivided: one called a small service area, and the other a medium-sized service area.
The mini service area was brightly lit, but it was empty, though the shelves were full of goods.
Fang Xiaoyu was very satisfied with this.
The car had enough supplies, so she filled the gas tank, prepared more water and small, convenient snacks, and routinely prepared a bunch of care packages to place by the roadside.
That's all for today, I can start resting now.
After finishing her dinner and taking a shower, she returned to her car, rolled down the window halfway, reclined the seat, soaked her feet, and watched a TV series projected onto the LCD screen with her eyes half-open.
Soaking my feet in hot water felt wonderful, making me feel lazy all over. Listening to familiar plot dialogues, my consciousness gradually became hazy.
"Knock knock knock," a knocking sound suddenly appeared on the window, dispelling the sleepiness that Fang Xiaoyu had finally managed to cultivate.
The water beneath her feet had grown cold, and a chill ran through her: How could they be so careless, not hearing a single sound?
Looking up at the window, she saw a refined and handsome young man flashing her a bright smile.
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