Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Courier Truck

The massive courier truck was almost entirely buried in the soil.

Song Ge didn’t think there would be anything left inside. When people are at their wit’s end, they will exhaust every possible means to take anything useful. For instance, on the road at the very beginning, all they could scavenge from cars were coats and blankets—there wasn’t a drop of water or a crumb of food. A courier truck filled with “supplies” would absolutely be the primary target for looters in a crisis, especially on a stretch of road so far from any town.

Song Ge felt certain it had been ransacked long ago.

Tong Xiangyu, however, was optimistic. “What if it wasn’t looted?”

Song Ge: “Even if it wasn’t, it’s been raining for half a month; everything inside must be soaked and ruined.”

“This is just a landslide area, a good distance from the riverbed, and it was buried by soil immediately. How could it be ruined? I’ve heard the sealing on these trucks is very good; it’s hard for water to leak in.” Having said that, Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge, eager to try. “Song Ge, let’s dig it out, just a little? Please? There’s no harm in trying.”

Song Ge walked over to see how to actually dig it, but replied, “How is there no harm? It’s a pure waste of time and progress.”

“Our progress was delayed long ago.” Tong Xiangyu walked to her side. “Just pretend my allergy hasn’t cleared up yet~”

Song Ge laughed in spite of herself. “You can even ‘pretend’ like that.”

Seeing that Song Ge wasn’t truly angry, Tong Xiangyu knew she had agreed. She happily rolled up her sleeves, full of energy. “Alright, I’m starting!”

“Starting what?” Song Ge pushed her aside. “Go stand over there.”

Tong Xiangyu: “No, I want to dig too!”

“Forget it, look at those hands of yours.”

While the two discussed digging out the truck, only Yue Yao asked, “Yuyu, what about this puppy?”

The filthy little poodle was extremely aggressive, holding an attack stance and emitting threatening growls from its throat. Perhaps because it had been a stray for too long, its voice was hoarse, making every bark sound strange. Furthermore, Yue Yao didn’t know if the dog was sick; its eyes looked cloudy and grey.

Tong Xiangyu said to Yue Yao, “Dig the truck first. If it runs away, so be it. If it doesn’t, we’ll take it with us when we leave~”

Hearing this, Yue Yao gave up her “standoff” with the dog. “Okay, then I’ll help dig too!”

The sun remained absurdly hot, making their heads spin and their bodies drench in sweat. The “truck excavation project” was forced to stop halfway.

The group took shelter in the shade. Tong Xiangyu was covered in sweat, her face flushed red. She shielded her eyes and looked up; the sky was clear for ten thousand miles without a single cloud. She said gloomily, “The overflowing creek water was drained and evaporated so quickly; logically, there should be many clouds.”

Yue Yao didn’t understand. “Maybe the clouds drifted somewhere else?”

“Oh, right,” Tong Xiangyu said. “That’s a possibility.”

They rested until the sun was nearly down and the poisonous temperatures finally began to drop. Song Ge started a fire near the landslide where the truck was buried. The group continued to move mud and rocks.

Strangely, that skeletal little poodle kept hovering near the giant boulder, barking whenever anyone came close. Tong Xiangyu was tired; she stood up, propping her hands on her waist, and watched the hoarsely barking dog from a distance. “Maybe its owner is buried under there,” she guessed.

Song Ge picked up another large stone and tossed it aside, saying casually, “Why don’t you dig for them?”

Yue Yao stifled a laugh.

“I’m not stupid,” Tong Xiangyu wrinkled her nose. “Anyone pressed under that is definitely dead and gone.”

“And if they aren’t dead and gone, Little Bodhisattva?”

Tong Xiangyu pouted and didn’t answer. She squatted back down to dig through the mud with a board. She had wanted to use her bare hands, but after a scolding from Song Ge, she had found this “tool” for digging.

Progress was very, very slow. Despite the pace, by nearly midnight, they had successfully unearthed more than half of the truck. The glass of the driver’s cabin had long since shattered into shards, and the front was filled with mud, making it impossible to see if there were rotting corpses inside. Based on the way the vehicle was buried, the cab was angled upward while the cargo hold was lower.

Song Ge went to the rear. The latch of the cargo hold was tightly locked; for now, she saw no signs of it being opened or pried. Song Ge raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if the young lady’s luck was really that good. But it wasn’t certain yet.

Song Ge studied it for a while, then used her combat knife to unscrew the rusted bolts one by one. She pulled out the iron rod and finally swung open more than half of the courier truck’s door.

When the doors opened, Tong Xiangyu and Yue Yao both unconsciously held their breath in tension. As soon as the cargo hold opened, a flood of cardboard boxes surged out.

“Wow!!!” Tong Xiangyu couldn’t help but hug Yue Yao in excitement; the two of them cheered loudly with joy!

Song Ge didn’t know what expression to make; she was amused by the absurdity. Such ridiculous luck after being at a total dead end.

After cheering, Tong Xiangyu immediately ran to the side, picked up a delivery box, and asked Song Ge for the combat knife. Song Ge casually picked up a stone with a sharp edge and gave it to her. “Since you complained the knife was heavy, use this.”

Tong Xiangyu was puzzled. “How do I open it with this?”

Song Ge picked up a package to demonstrate. She pressed the sharp edge of the stone against the tape, applied a bit of pressure, and sliced; the tape broke. The box in her hand was very light; Song Ge opened it to find several bags of puffed snacks.

Song Ge gave the stone to Tong Xiangyu. At first, she was worried it wouldn’t work well, but then she found it was incredibly easy. With a shing, she sliced through the tape. She opened it excitedly, but it was a pair of men’s sneakers.

“Aw,” Tong Xiangyu said. “Not very useful…”

She casually set the shoes aside and went for the next box. Yue Yao, however, picked up the sneakers and measured them against her feet. She took off her filthy, mud-caked shoes and put on the new sneakers. They were a bit big, but once she laced them up and tightened them, they seemed just right!

Tong Xiangyu was incredibly excited, experiencing the joy of opening “blind boxes.” There were many packages. It was clear they couldn’t finish opening them all in one night.

Song Ge looked at the growing pile of boxes and bags on the ground, then at the young lady who was still tirelessly at it. Propping up her face, she said, “That’s enough. Open the rest tomorrow. Eat something and go to sleep; it’s late.”

“It’s fine, I’m not sleepy at all!” Tong Xiangyu was in high spirits; how could she be sleepy? She even said, “I think we should sleep during the day and travel at night. That’s how we’ll maximize efficiency. Anyway, there are no monsters on the road.”

Song Ge froze for a moment.

Tong Xiangyu had just said it offhandedly. She tore open another package; it was a white printed T-shirt. It wasn’t a brand-name item, but the quality was quite good. She handed it to Song Ge: “Wear this~”

Song Ge took it. Her own T-shirt was sour with days of sweat. She turned around, pulled it off, ripped the tag off the new one, and pulled it on.

Tong Xiangyu picked up a pink dress and held it against herself, her eyes curving into smiles. “And I’ll wear this~~”

Song Ge glanced at her. “If you aren’t afraid of mosquitoes biting you.”

“Not afraid, not afraid.” Hearing her mention mosquitoes, Tong Xiangyu quickly picked up a bottle of repellent she had found and sprayed several times into the air. Song Ge began to sneeze repeatedly; Tong Xiangyu stopped quickly and said, “With this, no mosquitoes~!”

There were also oranges in the packages. Navel oranges as big as fists, looking perfectly intact without any rot. Song Ge broke one in half, took a bite, and handed the other half to Tong Xiangyu.

Tong Xiangyu peeled the skin bit by bit and ate a segment. It was fragrant and sweet. She couldn’t help but look moved, murmuring quietly, “Ah~ I really missed this taste!”

Song Ge picked up two more oranges to peel. “Any seasonings?”

“Ah! Yes, yes. I saw some.” Tong Xiangyu rummaged through the opened boxes and bags and pulled out several bags of salt, chicken essence, cumin powder, chili flakes, and hotpot base.

Tong Xiangyu said, “I just saw spicy chicken and popcorn chicken. Can we eat that tomorrow?”

Song Ge: “Look for a pot.”

“Yes, yes. Is the inner liner of an electric rice cooker okay?”

“It’ll work.”

“I also found water.” Tong Xiangyu used all her strength to pull out a large jug of water and set it aside. She gripped the cap and twisted hard, but failed.

Song Ge watched the young lady, who had been as excited as a busy little ant all night. She handed the peeled orange to Tong Xiangyu and twisted the cap of the large mineral water bottle open. “Want a drink?”

Tong Xiangyu shook her head. Song Ge lifted it and took a few gulps herself.

With so many supplies, there was naturally no hurry to travel. Yue Yao had opened a few packages before becoming exhausted and falling asleep. When she woke up the next day, she found that the “world had changed.”

Tong Xiangyu was still sleeping. But beneath her wasn’t the swaddling blanket, but a large, soft-looking cashmere bedsheet. She was clutching a pink plush pig in her arms, and a massive sun umbrella was propped over her head. There was even some incense burning nearby. No wonder she could sleep so sweetly…

Looking at Song Ge, she was also sitting under the umbrella, eating beef jerky while tending to the fire. The fire was surrounded on three sides by stones acting as a “stove,” with a steaming pot on top. One could already smell the faint aroma of a cooked meal.

Yue Yao’s stomach growled with hunger. Hearing it, Song Ge told her there were snacks over there she could take; the meal would be ready in a bit. Yue Yao walked over and found that there weren’t just “some” snacks—they were more varied and abundant than a supermarket!

Yue Yao took a box of biscuits and a bottle of soda. Sitting back under the umbrella, she couldn’t help but sigh in a daze, “It feels like camping…” Just then, a green-bottle fly buzzed past. Yue Yao frowned and shooed it away, then followed the fly’s path with her eyes to see a rotting corpse in the distance. Her breath hitched, and she looked away.

Song Ge didn’t respond, she was just studying the pre-packaged meal kits in her hand. Beside her were the semi-finished products Tong Xiangyu said she wanted to eat last night: popcorn chicken, spicy chicken, and chicken fillets.

Tong Xiangyu woke up from the soft princess bed in her bedroom, starting a beautiful day. Her driver dropped her at the school gate. As she stepped out of the car, she saw Song Ge with her backpack not far away. Tong Xiangyu smiled and called out, “Song Ge~!”

Song Ge turned back to look at her. The young lady was smiling in her sleep; holding the pink pig, she slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the jagged rocks and the wilderness as they became clear, she was stunned for a moment before remembering the cruel reality. She sat up, her expression a bit lost.

Song Ge handed her a piece of beef jerky. “What were you dreaming about?”

“A very real dream.” Tong Xiangyu looked at the jerky; she reached out to take it but then remembered something and stopped. She reached over to the side and took out the toothbrush, toothpaste, cup, and towel she had unpacked in the middle of the night.

Song Ge: “…”

Song Ge stuffed that piece of beef jerky directly into her own mouth.

Tong Xiangyu said, “I dreamed the monster virus never broke out. We met at the school gate, and I called out to you.”

Song Ge: “That sounds unrealistic.”

“Why?”

“In reality, you would never have called out to me.”

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