Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Speculation

Song Ge soon found a multi-speed bicycle with tires that were fully aired up.

Tong Xiangyu, draped in her sun-protection jacket and wearing sunglasses, came sprinting out of a public restroom while pinching her nose. Although she was glad she’d brought the bag, she didn’t stop running until she was a good distance away. Gasping for air with a look of pained conflict, she told Song Ge, “You cannot imagine how bad it stinks in there…”

Song Ge replied, “You should thank heaven and earth that there were no monsters inside.”

Tong Xiangyu hummed, then began a logical speculation: “From what I can see, I think people really felt they couldn’t survive in this terrible situation on their own. That’s why they went to Zeus, and why they don’t run away even though they know he’s problematic. The situation here is much worse than in Kecheng.”

Although Kecheng had many, many monsters, at least the supermarkets and convenience stores still had plenty of supplies. Unlike here, where almost everything useful had been carted away by Zeus’s organization.

Song Ge spoke rationally: “That’s because a long time has passed.” She continued, “If people want to live, they have to find a way to get supplies once their reserves run out. No matter where they are, the survivors in Kecheng are the same; it’s just that they might not be as ‘well-trained’ as Zeus’s ‘team’.”

Tong Xiangyu thought this made sense and nodded. Then she asked, “Song Ge, has your period still not come?”

“No.”

“Is it delayed too?”

“Mhm,” Song Ge replied casually, stepping onto the bicycle pedal. “It’s never been regular; I don’t care.”

Tong Xiangyu sighed. “Sigh! If I’d known, I would have brought the motherwort medicine out too.”

“So that we can both fight monsters and mutated animals while in a ‘blood-loss’ state?”

“…Then maybe you should hold off for now.”

On the road, Tong Xiangyu spotted a shop selling hats. The rolling shutter had been completely destroyed and was covered in dried blood. There were several rotting corpses and crawling insects on the ground, but many of the hats inside were still in good condition.

Tong Xiangyu took a beige fisherman’s hat to cover her ruined hair, put on her sun jacket, and then began picking a baseball cap for Song Ge. Song Ge was still wearing those heart-shaped sunglasses and was now having hat after hat tried on her head by the young lady.

Song Ge said, “We are fleeing for our lives. Can you have a little sense of urgency?”

“No matter how urgent we are, we won’t make it out of Taiyun today,” Tong Xiangyu said philosophically. “It’s so hot outside, we have to take precautions. Sunscreen is useless in this intensity; only a hat can actually block the sun.”

Song Ge couldn’t argue with her, so she let her be. She watched as Tong Xiangyu excitedly picked through the hats, her small face flushed red and dripping with sweat, yet her eyes remained bright and beautiful. Song Ge felt a strange sensation in her heart.

She had expected this pampered young lady to be depressed, or even blame everyone and everything after leaving a base with all the amenities and being betrayed by her trusted friend Yue Yao. After all, she had witnessed the various dark sides of human nature.

But she wasn’t like that at all. She found joy in the midst of hardship and remained positive and optimistic. Currently, there wasn’t even a shadow of a rescue, and things might be getting even more severe. It was uncertain if her parents could be found, or if the two of them could even leave this unfamiliar city alive, but Tong Xiangyu didn’t seem to worry about that at all. She was adapting remarkably well.

Still… Song Ge walked out of the shop and thought that having a hat did make the sun feel less oppressive.

Setting off again, Tong Xiangyu hugged Song Ge’s waist, watching the street scenery recede at a steady pace—even though the sight of such devastation and horror wasn’t much to look at.

Tong Xiangyu sighed, “If only we hadn’t met Zeus and the others. We might have left Taiyun by now.”

“Are you sure?” Song Ge asked.

“Of course.” Tong Xiangyu thought there was nothing to be unsure about.

But Song Ge said, “Based on our habits—resting during the day and traveling at night—we might have run right into the hordes of monsters out for their nightly feed. We would have been surrounded and bitten to death.”

“Impossible,” Tong Xiangyu said with confidence. “You’re always so cautious in a strange place. How could you just rush out like that? You would definitely hide somewhere and observe first.”

Song Ge raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.

Tong Xiangyu leaned against Song Ge’s back. After a while, she said, “Song Ge, I think people need to look forward. No matter what happens, you have to be full of hope and not let your spirits sink. Don’t you think?”

“Are my spirits sinking?” Song Ge asked.

“No, I was talking about myself.” Tong Xiangyu shut her mouth after saying that; if she kept talking, she’d get thirsty again. Since they hadn’t seen a drop of water along the way, they had to be frugal.

Song Ge understood. This young lady wasn’t naturally optimistic; she had gone through a real internal struggle before deciding to face things positively. Ultimately, she just hadn’t experienced enough.

Song Ge thought: Perhaps she needs more tragic experiences to realize that things aren’t as good as she imagines—to understand the hardships of the world. But then, Song Ge changed her mind. She didn’t actually want such cruel things to happen to Tong Xiangyu.

Taiyun wasn’t as big as Kecheng, but it was still a city. Trying to ride out on a bicycle was difficult. The heat was scorching, and the air was distorted. The entire deserted ghost town felt like a flaming mountain; eventually, even breathing felt like inhaling sparks.

They stopped at a commercial street. It was a bit shadier here, but the scene as far as the eye could see was tragic. Aside from the stench, the entire street was either burned out from explosions or collapsed into ruins. Rotting flesh and shredded corpses were piled up like trash all over the walkway. One look was enough to imagine what a living hell this place—once a high-traffic area—must have been when the monster tide broke out.

Song Ge first checked the safety of the area. Confirming no signs of monster activity, she moved the bicycle into the shade. When they were looking for hats earlier, the bike had been left in the sun, which resulted in the young lady burning her backside and scolding Song Ge relentlessly, even claiming that if she got diarrhea later, it would be Song Ge’s fault. A wise man learns from his mistakes; Song Ge wouldn’t make that one again.

“Not a single monster, not even one,” Tong Xiangyu said as she browsed through a clothing store and a shoe store, her rolling pin tapping idly against things. “Not only are there no monsters, there isn’t a single cat or dog either.”

There were only countless corpses in varying states of decay, showing all sorts of cruel ways to die. Tong Xiangyu had gone from being nauseous and wanting to vomit to now being able to frown and look away, pretending she didn’t see.

Song Ge said, “Maybe they really only appear at night.”

“What time is it?” Tong Xiangyu asked.

Song Ge looked at her watch and immediately frowned. She turned her head to look at the sky outside. Not hearing a response, Tong Xiangyu looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“5:30 PM.” Song Ge said, “But the sky still looks very early.” To be sure, she walked out and looked up. While it wasn’t late for being before 6:00 PM—usually, it wouldn’t get dark until 7:00 PM—the sun today showed no sign of setting in the west. It was still hanging high in the sky.

Tong Xiangyu didn’t think much of it. “Weren’t the days long and the nights short before? It’s past five, no wonder I’m a bit hungry. Let’s eat something quickly~”

She took some snacks out of the bag. Seeing this, Song Ge temporarily set aside her doubts and entered the shop. They couldn’t travel any further today; they had sweated too much without replenishing their fluids, and it was easy to get dehydrated.

Tong Xiangyu unwrapped a chocolate bar. She rested her chin on her hand and looked outside. Curious, she took off her sunglasses for a second before putting them right back on; without the sunglasses, the horror level of the street increased exponentially.

The street was silent, with only the occasional sound of a rat foraging. Tong Xiangyu muttered to herself, “So where did all the monsters go…”

Song Ge speculated, “They probably hid. In cool places, like underground parking lots or something similar.”

Tong Xiangyu said, “Back in Kecheng, you also said the monsters might be afraid of the heat. But facts proved that even though they hid in the shade or in shops during the day, they would still chase us if they saw us, and the intensity of the sunlight didn’t affect their speed.” She continued, “If that’s the case, why don’t they come out during the day here?”

Song Ge ate some beef jerky to replenish her energy and didn’t speak.

After thinking for a moment, Tong Xiangyu suddenly said, “Song Ge, do you think there’s a possibility that over these many months, the monsters have died of natural causes, and Zeus and the others are just lying to everyone?”

“Mhm. And then?” Song Ge replied.

Seeing Song Ge engage with her, Tong Xiangyu immediately got excited and analyzed seriously: “The monsters are dead, but Zeus is still lying to everyone that it’s dangerous outside. His goal is to establish authority, control people mentally, and gather more and more people to oppose the government.”

“Mhm.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes lit up. She looked at Song Ge. “You think it’s possible too, don’t you?!”

Song Ge didn’t actually think it was possible. She said, “According to your theory, if the monsters died of natural causes, why haven’t the survivors noticed? When they leave their hiding spots and see there’s no danger, shouldn’t they all leave Taiyun together?”

Tong Xiangyu froze.

Song Ge continued, “And if the monsters were dead, the country would likely react immediately—for example, by sending the military to support various regions. At the very least, they would repair the power facilities and the network first to stabilize people’s hearts, right?”

Tong Xiangyu felt Song Ge’s point made sense, but sticking to her own perspective, she proposed another hypothesis: “Then maybe the time the monsters appeared is different? For example, they appeared in Kecheng earlier than in Taiyun, and other places might be even later. In that case, the monsters here might be dead while those in other places aren’t…”

Song Ge felt this was a possibility, so she didn’t refute it.

Tong Xiangyu continued her deep analysis: “Zeus’s safety base has been established for so long and has so many supplies. They must have established several strong, professional, and mature scavenging teams. They would be very alert when they go out on missions. So why would they still get bitten? Unless they believed there were no more monsters in the city and let their guard down, only to be caught off guard by the sudden appearance of mutated animals!”

Song Ge said, “But they might have let their guard down because they were certain the monsters simply wouldn’t come out during the day.”

“Right. But your scenario is possible, and mine is too.” Seeing that Song Ge didn’t deny her again, Tong Xiangyu felt a faint excitement. “The first thing they did when they saw us was stop us from crossing Taiyun. Maybe they were afraid we’d discover the truth?!”

“And so?” Song Ge asked.

Tong Xiangyu said excitedly, “We should find a telescope shop, get some tools, and then at night, we can observe from a high vantage point!”

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