46 Chapter 46
Like Z City, W City is also located by the sea. The modified wooden boat moved quite fast, and Tong Shu and Wang Jie silently made their way at full speed, soon arriving at the seaside that Boss Wen had mentioned.
Because of what happened at noon, and the time wasted selling goods at Boss Wen's place, by the time the three siblings arrived at the seaside, it was already dark. The ice surface of the city and the sea surface were connected, and the frozen sea surface had no undulating waves, looking dark and somewhat eerie.
"I can't go on anymore, I need to rest for a bit, I'm so hungry I have no energy left," Wang Jie called out to Tong Shu, panting heavily.
Tong Shu also felt a sharp pain in both arms. Since noon, none of them had eaten or drunk anything, and they had only managed to get here by sheer willpower.
"Okay, pull over for a bit, have some water and something to eat."
The two moored their boat on the seawall, took out water and bread from their backpacks, and quickly stuffed them into their stomachs.
Qin Xiaoxiao seemed to have recovered a little. Although her gaze was still unfocused and wandering, she knew she was thirsty and was taking small sips of water from her bottle.
"Brother Jie, is my sister Xiaoxiao alright?" Tong Shu swallowed the bread in her mouth and asked Wang Jie.
“It depends on her own psychological capacity to accept it,” Wang Jie said in a heavy tone and hoarse voice. “She has seen too little. In a time when everyone is trying every means to survive, she has been living the same way as before. She has hardly ever seen a dead person. Now that she has killed someone with her own hands, it will probably take her a long time to recover.”
Tong Shu understood; if it were her, she would probably have done the same as Qin Xiaoxiao.
"...I need to use the restroom." Qin Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, making a sound as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Tong Shu and Wang Jie didn't hear her clearly and had to ask her several times before they understood what she was saying.
"Going to the toilet..." Tong Shu looked around. Apart from a camping lamp hanging on the bow of their boat, there was no other light. Tong Shu hesitated for a moment and asked, "How about we hold it in? We'll be home soon, in about an hour."
Qin Xiaoxiao was unwilling, her face showing anxiety as she frowned and repeatedly said, "I need to go to the toilet..."
"...Alright then." Tong Shu had no choice but to take a flashlight out of her bag and say to Wang Jie, "I'll go with Sister Xiaoxiao to the restroom. You stay on the boat and keep watch."
Wang Jie nodded: "Be careful, don't go too far."
"I know, it's right next door."
Tong Shu helped Qin Xiaoxiao off the boat. Both of their shoes had thick ropes tied to them, making it easy to walk on the ice. Tong Shu, leaning on a ski pole, led Qin Xiaoxiao to the nearby houses. The houses here were all built relatively low, with only one or two stories visible on the ice.
Stepping over the window frame into the stairwell, and after confirming that no one inside would get frostbite, Tong Shu pointed to the corner of the wall.
"You stay here, call me when you're done." Tong Shu turned her back, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings. She was uneasy, feeling as if someone would jump out of the house at any moment.
There was a rustling sound behind her; Qin Xiaoxiao had already straightened her clothes.
"Alright? Let's go back then." Tong Shu stepped out of the house first, reaching behind her to take Qin Xiaoxiao's hand. Just then, the tightly closed door on one side of the stairwell suddenly opened, and before Tong Shu could react, Qin Xiaoxiao had already been pulled inside.
"Sister Xiao!!" Tong Shu was startled and stepped forward to grab the door. The next second, the flashlight beam fell on a man's face. The man had a sinister smile on his face, and a long, eerie scar on his face was both strange and ferocious. He reached out to Tong Shu, preparing to drag her into the house.
Tong Shu reacted quickly, swinging her ski pole horizontally at the man. The sharp tip struck the man's arm hard, and the scarred man cried out in pain, pulling his hand back abruptly. He mumbled a few words into the room, and then Qin Xiaoxiao's screams and hurried footsteps came from inside. Tong Shu sensed something was wrong; there was more than one person in the house. She immediately retreated from the room.
"Shushu! What's going on!" Wang Jie had obviously heard Tong Shu's shouts earlier. He ran over from the beach with his camping lamp, only to see Tong Shu running away from a house in a panic, followed closely by several dark figures, all of whom were adult men.
"Run! Sister Xiaoxiao has been kidnapped by these people! Find her! Let's go find her!" Tong Shu's voice was sharp and piercing. Wang Jie saw a man's hand about to touch Tong Shu's clothes. Before he could think, he quickly threw the camping lamp and smashed it hard on the man's forehead.
The man suddenly fell to the ground, tripping a group of people. Wang Jie estimated there were about seven or eight people. Thinking of Qin Xiaoxiao, whose condition was unknown, he immediately stepped forward and pulled Tong Shu over. While the group was still slipping on the ice, the two quickly got into the boat and paddled desperately towards Z City with their ski poles.
“When we get home, I’ll go find him. Wen Shaocheng, you go home and stay here. Don’t let anyone from your family come out.” Tong Shu’s mask was pulled down below her chin. She kept inhaling the cold air as she faced the wind, and her throat felt like it was being cut by a knife. She could only grit her teeth and say each word to Wang Jie.
Wang Jie was also extremely anxious. He shouted "Okay!" into the wind and desperately tried to remember the blurry road signs in the darkness so that he could tell Tong Shu to follow the signs to rescue him when he got home.
The two paddled forward with all their might. When they reached the territory of Z City, they saw a faint light and quickened their pace again. Before long, they returned to their neighborhood.
“Otherwise, I’ll go find someone, and you can go home,” Wang Jie said to Tong Shu, panting, each word distinct.
“No.” Tong Shu refused, swallowing the metallic taste in her mouth. “I’m safer than you. You go and reassure your family, especially your second aunt and the others.”
Wang Jie said no more, jumped off the boat and ran home. The wooden boat was parked not far from the supply boat. Tong Shu also jumped off the boat. Maintaining the same position for an hour had made her legs numb. She knelt down on the ice. After a while, her legs were tingling and itchy. Tong Shu bit her lower lip, and blood immediately seeped out from under the teeth marks.
Thinking of Qin Xiaoxiao, whose fate was unknown, Tong Shu gritted her teeth. Unable to muster any strength in her legs, she used both hands to grip the ice and dragged herself forward, shouting for help at the supply ship as she crawled.
Liu Wanqi happened to be patrolling nearby when he heard the sound and rushed over. He saw Tong Shu lying on the ground and quickly helped her up.
"What happened?! How did it get like this?"
"Jinying Road, W City, my sister, my sister has been kidnapped!" Tong Shu's suppressed emotions finally burst forth upon seeing the group of soldiers, and tears streamed down her face.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Liu Wanqi handed Tong Shu over to the soldiers behind him and hurried up to the boat to find Wen Shaocheng.
Wen Shaocheng arrived quickly. He was slightly out of breath after running. He took the unsteady Tong Shu from his hands and felt the body under his palm trembling violently.
When did this happen? How many people were on the other side?
"About an hour ago, my brother saw seven or eight people. He doesn't know if there are any left in the house. Quick, quick, save my sister! People in W City eat people..." Tong Shu grabbed the person in front of her in a panic. Her face was numb from the biting wind, and she couldn't make any more expressions. Only hot tears kept flowing from her two big eyes, which then froze on her face.
Wen Shaocheng didn't know what she meant by "cannibalism," but time was of the essence, so he decided to ask her in detail on the way. Fortunately, he knew the approximate number of people on the other side, so he selected ten soldiers to set off with him. Influenced by the Tong Shu family, the supply ship also had a modified wooden boat. With the addition of the Tong Shu family's ship, the twelve people sat on three boats and rowed rapidly towards W City.
The soldiers in the army have trained for many years and their physical strength is unmatched by ordinary people. The supply ships speed across the ice, and the wind blowing from them is several degrees colder than when they returned.
Tong Shu seemed oblivious, gripping the edge of the boat with both hands, trying her best to open her eyes and discern the road signs rushing past her.
"Going to W City to sell things?" Wen Shaocheng pulled the mask that was hanging on Tong Shu's chin back down.
"Hmm." The direction was right. Tong Shu prayed a few times in her heart, suppressing her panic, and told Wen Shaocheng everything she could think of.
"...My sister acted in self-defense and accidentally stabbed that man to death. She was not in a good mental state until the way home."
"...We ran into the clothing factory owner we knew before in the city. He said the area where we were attacked has been in chaos since the floods, and the people living there even eat people." Tong Shu blinked her dry eyes and said with difficulty, "They really do eat people."
"We were so tired, we were going to rest for a while and have something to eat. My sister wanted to use the restroom, but it was too cold outside, so I took her inside the house. Turns out there was a group of people hiding there. They dragged my sister into the room and even rushed out to grab me." Tong Shu recalled the scene, her body trembling violently again. Wen Shaocheng hesitated for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on her arm, gently squeezing it.
As Tong Shu was speaking, she suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, when that person was talking into the room, he mumbled a few words in some foreign language. I didn't hear them clearly, but he was definitely not a native speaker!"
Upon hearing this, Wen Shaocheng's expression turned serious. He recalled the group of people who had appeared in Z City before.
"Wen, Wen Shaocheng, you must rescue my sister..." Tong Shu burst into tears again. She had never been this scared before she died. Watching her loved ones being kidnapped by strangers, facing a group of vicious people, powerless to fight back, she cursed herself countless times in her heart on her way home to seek help, and uncontrollably rehearsed countless terrifying endings in her mind.
Her lips trembled, as if she were being repeatedly fried in a vat of oil.
Wen Shaocheng reached out and turned Tong Shu's head to the right side, preventing the terrifying darkness from entering her eyes again.
"Yes, I will." His dark eyes reflected a panicked face.
His voice was deep and reassuring as he assured her.
"I will definitely rescue your sister."
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