Chapter 43 Earthquake
"This tree...wasn't this tall when we came here yesterday?"
The next morning, after breakfast, Qiao Yu got out of the car to get some fresh air. He immediately saw Lin Yingjie and Lin Chi whispering to each other around a big tree not far away.
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yu also took a look at the tree. Indeed, it was nearly one meter taller than when he came here yesterday, and the trunk was also much thicker.
A big hand covered her waist. Qiao Yu knew it was Jiang Zhan without even turning her head, and she leaned back gently into his arms.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhan asked in a low voice.
Qiao Yu shook his head and said, "I'm just a little worried about the road ahead."
Out of consideration for Lin Han's hearing, Qiao Yu did not say it explicitly, but Jiang Zhan could understand.
The route they were taking wasn't the one Qiao Yu had taken to City G in his previous life, but rather the most flexible route Qiao Yu and Jiang Zhan had chosen after discussing it. While Qiao Yu's previous route was the shortest, it was fraught with danger. They had encountered waves of aliens no fewer than five times, leaving them with virtually no time to rest. Some aliens had died in waves of aliens simply because they had overdrawn their powers.
You know, at that time, the convoy that Qiao Yu followed was almost entirely made up of second-level mutants, but out of the 52 people who set out, only 8 ultimately made it to City G alive...
Qiao Yu pondered for a long time before deciding to abandon the route she was relatively familiar with and choose this one instead. Although the conditions on this route were unknown and the distance was long, it was relatively sparsely populated before the apocalypse, and there were many forks in the road. If she encountered uncontrollable danger, she could always choose another route and take a detour. At least she wouldn't be forced to return to her original route because a certain place was blocked.
But this route is not perfect. It has a very obvious disadvantage, which is that it needs to pass through a large forest area.
Jiang Zhan lowered his head and kissed Qiao Yu's face, comforting her tenderly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Qiao Yu turned around and smiled at him, then pulled him back to the car. "I'm fine. Let's go. It's time to set off."
The convoy continued on its journey for the next two days.
This route was just as Qiao Yu had imagined. The number of alien species encountered along the way was indeed very small, at most only a few dozen small groups. Qiao Yu and his companions rarely fought, only Luo Zhenzhen always took the initiative to kill alien species with Lin Yingjie and the others, holding a Tang sword.
After vomiting that day, Luo Zhenzhen did feel much better. Her skills in killing aliens became increasingly proficient, and she would eat and drink afterward. It was just like Cheng Sinian said: the first time is new, the second time is familiar.
Lin Yingjie, Lin Chi, and Deng Minglang also showed improvement. Initially, they needed Cheng Sinian's help to kill a dozen alien species, but later, they were able to systematically kill dozens of them. Their abilities had clearly improved significantly.
As expected. Qiao Yu sighed silently in his heart: People can only grow rapidly in adversity.
The trees along the road were growing taller and taller, and even Lin Yingjie and the others noticed that the plants were mutating, and at an increasingly faster rate.
Everyone became increasingly uneasy, and this uneasiness reached its peak when they stopped to eat and rest in the evening.
Today's campsite is a small, abandoned factory. It's obvious no one has been here for a long time. There are many weeds around, some of which have grown as tall as people due to alienation. There are a few maple trees next to the factory, but now the tops of the trees are almost invisible.
Everyone parked the car in an open space in front of the factory gate. After Lin Yingjie and Lin Chi cleaned up a few scattered alien species that followed them, they returned to the car and started eating.
Suddenly, the car shook violently. Lin Yingjie and the others stopped chewing cautiously and immediately picked up the intercom. "Mr. Jiang, Mrs. Jiang, did you feel it? What was that just now? Was it an earthquake?"
The Romantes Shandka RV was heavy and had a relatively stable chassis. Although they felt the vibration just now, it didn't have a big impact on them. Qiao Yu swallowed the beef in his mouth and replied calmly, "Don't panic, everyone. It's a mutation in the plant roots. It will just cause some vibrations and bumps. It's not dangerous."
Lin Yingjie had been having a very strange feeling about Qiao Yu these past few days. Even though she'd said she'd heard so much about the incident from the car radio, they'd been in the car the whole time and had tried to tune in, but all the channels were dead. And even if what she'd said was true, were all the things that had happened since then all told on the car radio?
Putting this information aside, Qiao Yu himself was also quite confusing. He had known Jiang Zhan's personality before the apocalypse: he was apathetic and unsympathetic. Everything he did was driven by profit, and he wouldn't give anyone the chance to play the emotional card. In other words, the Jiang Zhan he knew was devoid of emotion.
But it is such a person whose doting and attention on Qiao Yu is almost outrageous. It can even be said that he follows Qiao Yu everywhere and obeys her every word.
Being pampered by such a wealthy, handsome, and powerful man, any normal girl would have been somewhat proud, if not spoiled. But Qiao Yu was not like that at all. She looked about the same age as his daughter, but her emotions were surprisingly more stable than his, a man who had experienced half a lifetime of ups and downs.
He had looked into Qiao Yu's eyes. Her eyes were lively yet calm, gentle yet distant, and contained a strange emotion that he could not understand.
If he had to find a word to describe this emotion, the most appropriate word might be - vicissitudes of life.
If Jiang Zhan has such a strong mentality at this age because he has been trained and cultivated by Grandpa Jiang since he was a child, and has been in a superior position for a long time and has experienced enough hardships, then why is it that Qiao Yu...
Lin Yingjie has been in the business world for many years and doesn't consider himself a brilliant person, but he's definitely not stupid. The most important quality for an intelligent person isn't good or evil, but knowing when to stop.
Always understand your own identity and position, knowing what you should do in different situations; always remember where others' bottom lines are, and don't cross them. This is called propriety.
As long as Qiao Yu has no ill will towards them, even if she really has some secrets, it is not his business to know.
--
Although Qiao Yu said there was no danger, the violent shaking throughout the night and the feeling of weightlessness as if being lifted by a foreign object inevitably made everyone a little frightened.
So the next morning, everyone got up early. But as soon as they opened the car door, they were all stunned.
Everywhere I looked was a mess.
Thick tree roots emerged from the ground, some of which were entwined and connected with various unknown vines and giant grass roots. They were exposed on the surface, looking like the blue veins of the land, bumpy and uneven.
"Second, second uncle..." Lin Chi stood beside the car, staring at the ruins in front of him in amazement, feeling only relieved in his heart.
When Lin Chi came here yesterday, he saw that the factory buildings, though somewhat old, were at least intact, with even the glass on the windows still intact. So he suggested sleeping in the house at night. After all, the car was cramped and uncomfortable to sleep in, and it was cold at night, so the car's insulation was definitely not as good as a house's.
But just as they were about to move their things, they were stopped by Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu didn't give a reason, only saying that the house was unsafe. Lin Chi thought she was being suspicious, but Second Uncle was willing to listen to her and refused to let him live in the factory. Now it seems...
Lin Yingjie looked at the collapsed house and said nothing. He just glanced in the direction of the RV in front, then patted Lin Chi on the shoulder and whispered, "Hurry up and eat something. We'll be on our way soon."
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