14. Together
The night, like thick ink, slowly soaked the desert sky. Only a small bonfire, tucked away in the lee of the dry riverbed, flickered tenaciously in the endless darkness, dispelling the chill that penetrated deep into the bones and bringing a faint but precious sense of security. Dead branches crackled softly in the flames, sending up a few sparks that quickly vanished into the surrounding darkness. The orange-red flames reflected on Su Lin's slightly tired yet still soft profile, casting two flickering points of light in his clear eyes.
A faint, painful groan came from beside him. The young man who was rescued from the zombie swarm by Su Lin fluttered his eyelashes a few times, and finally slowly opened his eyes. After the high fever subsided, his eyes were no longer dull. Although he was still weak, like a seedling ravaged by a storm, he finally regained some clarity. He blinked blankly at first, his eyes focused on the leaping flames, as if he couldn't understand where he was for a moment. Then, memories flooded into his mind like a tide - the hideous zombies, the desperate running, the heavy fall, and the figure that came like a god and blocked his way...
He suddenly shuddered and struggled to sit up, but immediately pulled the wound on his left arm that had just healed mostly. A tearing pain came, making him gasp in pain, and fine cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
"Don't move. The wound has just been treated, and it needs time to stabilize." Su Lin's gentle and timely voice sounded, like a spring flowing over gravel, with a strange soothing power. He reached out and gently pressed on the boy's uninjured right shoulder, stopping him from moving too violently.
The young man finally came to his senses, his gaze turning to Su Lin beside the fire. Memory and reality overlapped. It was this person, truly this person, who had saved him. He subconsciously glanced down at his left arm. The once hideous, festering, infected wound was now neatly bandaged with clean white gauze. Although he could still feel a dull pain through the fabric, the searing, agonizing pain and swelling that seemed to engulf his arm had subsided, and his body was no longer burning with despair. He could even sense a strange, warm force flowing gently through the wound, promoting its healing.
"You saved me?" The boy's voice was still hoarse, like the turning of an old door hinge, but it finally had a hint of life in it. He looked at Su Lin, his eyes filled with disbelief and a humble, overwhelming gratitude for having survived a disaster. His voice trembled slightly, "My injuries...how could I..."
"Yeah, I cleaned it up and applied some medicine," Su Lin said casually, deliberately avoiding the details of the healing ability. In the end times, revealing one's possession of such a rare and precious ability was tantamount to courting disaster. He simply handed over the little water left in a metal lunch box and said in a calm voice, "Drink some water and talk slowly. Don't rush."
The young man, Xingchen, took the seemingly clean kettle as he was told, and could feel a hint of warmth in his hands. He drank eagerly in small sips, and the cool liquid slid down his throat, which was as dry as cracked earth, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort that almost made him groan. He secretly raised his eyelids and looked at his savior across the campfire. In the firelight, Su Lin did not look very old, with fair skin, clean and delicate eyebrows and eyes. He was different from all the people he had seen struggling to survive in the mire of the apocalypse, whose eyes were either numb or fierce. He seemed to be surrounded by a soft halo, which was incompatible with this dirty and desperate world, as if... as if he had walked out of the broken scroll of the old world and should not exist in this world.
"Thank you... Thank you..." Xingchen put down the kettle, wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and thanked him again solemnly. His voice seemed unstable due to excitement and a little choking. "If it weren't for you, I would have... been killed by them..." He couldn't finish the rest of the sentence, but just pursed his pale lips tightly, and his body trembled almost imperceptibly, as if he felt the coldness shrouded by the shadow of death again.
"We met by chance." Su Lin smiled, a light smile, yet it carried warmth like a spring breeze across the ice. He handed over a small, dry-looking compressed biscuit wrapped in oil paper. "Eat something to replenish your energy. What's your name? Why are you here alone, and so badly injured?"
Xingchen took the piece of food, so precious to him, and held it carefully in his hands, as if it were a fragile treasure. He nibbled at it, and when he heard Su Lin's question, his eyes dimmed instantly, like a star shrouded by dark clouds. He lowered his head, avoiding Su Lin's gentle gaze. His voice was low, filled with barely concealed humiliation and fear: "My name is Xingchen. I... I was with a search team. They said they were going to the northern base. I... I don't have any special powers, so they initially thought I was a burden and refused to take me. I begged them for a long time, promising to give them all the food I found, before they reluctantly agreed to let me come..."
He paused, swallowed hard the dry biscuits in his mouth, his throat rolled with difficulty, and continued in that suppressed tone: "A few days ago, we encountered a group of zombies, there were a lot of them... When they rushed over... they, they pushed me... out, blocked it for a while... and drove away by themselves..." His voice became lower and lower, and in the end it was almost inaudible. His thin shoulders shrugged slightly, as if he had returned to that desperate moment of betrayal and abandonment.
His story is simple yet brutal, and in just a few words, it outlines the most naked and cold law of survival in the apocalypse. Worthless burdens are easily discarded like garbage when danger strikes, sacrificing the lives of others in exchange for a moment of respite.
Su Lin listened in silence, his heart heavy, a sense of suffocation and pain. He thought of his teammates, Lei Qing, A Yan, Mu Lin... They had never looked down on him for his support-type healing and spatial abilities. Instead, they had repeatedly protected him in the safest position, even at the risk of their own lives. In contrast, Xingchen's fate was even more heartbreaking and infuriating. This world could truly break people's hearts to such an extent.
"Northern Base?" Su Lin caught the message in his words, temporarily suppressed his emotions, and asked softly, "Do you want to go there too?"
Xingchen nodded, raised the back of his hand and rubbed the corners of his red eyes vigorously. A faint hope, like a candle in the wind, ignited in his eyes again: "I heard... I heard that it's very powerful there, with high walls and an army, and can protect ordinary people... Although, although life may not be easy, being ordered around and having to work, but... but it's better than being eaten by zombies outside, or being... thrown away like garbage..." He paused, as if mustering all the courage in his life, raised his head and looked at Su Lin, with cautious, almost non-existent expectations in his eyes, and said in a weak and mosquito-like voice, "Are you... are you going to the northern base too?"
Su Lin looked at the boy's eyes, which lit up slightly at the mention of hope, yet were filled with anxiety, and his heart softened. He nodded, not hiding anything: "Yes, my teammates and I were originally headed to the Northern Base."
"Teammate?" Xingchen was stunned. The word was unfamiliar to him, yet it held a certain warmth that made him yearn for it. He subconsciously looked around. Apart from the flickering bonfire and the endless darkness, there was no one else.
"Well, we got separated." Su Lin's voice couldn't help but drop. A trace of worry and longing that was hard to conceal flashed in his eyes. His gaze seemed to penetrate the darkness before him and looked into the unknown distance. "I'm looking for them."
Xingchen watched Su Lin's expression darken instantly, his eyes filled with worry, and wisely chose not to ask further questions. He lowered his head, staring at the half-eaten compressed biscuit in his hand, and remained silent for a moment. The campfire crackled, and the night wind blew across the riverbed, carrying the distant howls of unknown mutant creatures and making the surroundings even more eerie. He seemed to be making a great decision, his fingers twisting the tattered corners of his clothes, his knuckles turning white from the effort.
Then, he suddenly raised his head, mustering all the courage in his chest. Although his voice was still weak, it was clear and firm with a desperate attitude: "Then...then can I go with you?"
He seemed to be afraid that Su Lin would refuse immediately, so he spoke faster and pleaded urgently: "I know I'm useless. I don't have any special abilities, I can't run fast, and I don't have much strength. I will slow you down and waste your food and water... but!" He raised his voice, with an almost paranoid light in his eyes, "But I can do anything! I can help you keep watch, help you carry things, and help you find water and edible plants! I eat very little, really! A little bit a day, no, two days is enough! Please... don't leave me alone... I promise I won't cause you any trouble..."
His voice was filled with humble pleading, and his body was trembling slightly with tension and fear, like a homeless cub drenched by the rain, shivering in the cold wind, afraid of being rejected and abandoned again, facing this world full of death and despair alone.
Su Lin looked at the young man before him, so thin he looked like he could break at a touch, covered in scars, yet his eyes burned with an intense desire to survive. He felt as if he saw a microcosm of the countless ordinary people struggling to survive in the apocalypse. His heart was deeply moved. He had just experienced the deep loneliness and helplessness of being separated from his teammates, and he knew only too well how difficult and hopeless it was to be alone in this dangerous wasteland.
Although bringing stardust would undoubtedly mean a heavier burden, slower travel speed, and the need to divert some of the precious food and water, this is undoubtedly an extremely unwise choice.
But when he looked at Xingchen's eyes that were filled with "Please don't abandon me" and listened to her tearful pleading, he couldn't say no no matter what.
Kindness is sometimes a burden, or even a sin. But at this moment, Su Lin chose to bear it.
"Okay." Su Lin nodded. His voice was gentle but carried an unquestionable firmness that echoed clearly in the silent night sky. "Let's go together. I need a companion, too."
These words, like heavenly music, instantly struck Stardust. He jerked his head up, his eyes gleaming with disbelief and surprise. Tears instantly welled up in his eyes, streaming down his grimy cheeks, leaving two distinct streaks. He was so excited that he stammered incoherently, practically kneeling down and kowtowed. "Really...really? Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll definitely work hard! I won't cause you any trouble! I swear! I..."
Seeing him almost fainting from excitement, Su Lin felt a pang of sadness in his heart, yet also wanted to laugh. He reached out and rubbed Xingchen's hair, which had become dry and limp due to lack of nutrition. He said gently, "Rest well first and heal your wounds. It doesn't matter if it's troublesome or not, staying alive is the most important thing." He took out some food and more water from the space and gave it to Xingchen, "Eat slowly, don't choke."
With Su Lin's promise and material support, Xingchen's spirits noticeably improved, as if he had been revitalized. He even tried to gently move his injured arm and found that while it still hurt, the excruciating pain that felt like the bone was rotting had truly subsided, and he could move much more freely. His gratitude and dependence on Su Lin instantly reached a peak, almost viewing him as a god who had saved him from danger.
Starting the next day, the two officially traveled together. Su Lin deliberately slowed his pace, no longer rushing to get going as before, but instead focused on taking care of Xingchen's injuries and physical strength. He still left marks along the way that only his teammates could understand, but at the same time, he also began to patiently teach Xingchen some basic survival skills—how to use the sun and stars to determine direction, how to observe the distribution of vegetation to find underground water sources, how to move more quietly in complex terrain to avoid unnecessary trouble, and how to identify several of the most common and non-toxic wild vegetables and tubers.
Xingchen studied very diligently, his eyes always following Su Lin, filled with complete trust and a dazzling, almost worshipful light. He rushed to do everything within his power, striving to prove that he wasn't a burden. When Su Lin was searching for a marked point, he would take the initiative to help carry the appropriate stones; when Su Lin stopped to rest, he would immediately go looking for dry firewood; when Su Lin needed to explore the situation ahead, he would obediently stay where he was, vigilantly observing the surroundings.
Su Lin watched the young man striving to keep up with him and prove his worth, and a sense of warmth and responsibility grew within him. The lonely journey was no longer filled with silence, worry, and the tension of a race against death. The occasional brief conversation, the simple support given to each other, the quiet moments spent sharing food, were like rays of sunshine, dispelling much of the lingering haze.
They headed north, carefully traversing the desolate plains and skirting the silent, dangerous ruins of small towns. Su Lin's spatial abilities ensured their basic survival supplies, while his caution and gradually recovering combat prowess mitigated most avoidable risks. Xingchen's injuries healed rapidly thanks to Su Lin's continuous, subtle psychic healing and relatively peaceful rest. His reliance on Su Lin grew stronger, as if he were the only warm, solid light he could cling to in this hopeless wasteland.
The road ahead was still long and filled with unknown dangers, but at least it was no longer a suffocating journey alone. Two figures, one large and one small, leaned on each other, leaving behind a trail of shallow footprints stretching northward across the desolate landscape of post-apocalyptic times.
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