Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 397 Wounded

A beam of white light pierced the darkness, drawing a bright circular mark on the ground a dozen meters ahead.

She raised the flashlight higher to let the beam shine further, and then continued walking.

Wang Ling exclaimed in amazement, "Xiao Yan, you're amazing! You've prepared everything so thoroughly!" Her voice was filled with sincere and undisguised admiration.

Raindrops pattered on her face. She squinted, staring at the flashlight in Xu Xiaoyan's hand, her eyes filled with a sense of wonder that "so this is how it can be done."

Xu Xiaoyan replied speechlessly, "Isn't this a must-have?"

Without turning her head, the beam of her flashlight steadily illuminated the road ahead, and her steps did not falter because of Wang Ling's exclamation.

"You probably had military protection along the way, and then you encountered a mudslide unexpectedly, so you weren't prepared at all. But once you've been through a few times, you'll know you need to bring a flashlight."

Wang Ling listened and did not refute. Instead, she nodded, her expression changing from amazement to thoughtful silence.

Chen Wenshan added, "Yeah, back in the base we didn't have to worry about anything. We could get food and drink by working."

"If you work hard, you can accumulate anything." Her voice was very low, mostly drowned out by the sound of rain.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't reply, but simply tilted her head slightly to indicate that she was listening.

Wang Ling continued to ramble on, saying that when they were in Huaxing Underground City, all they did every day was eat, sleep, and work. Although life was monotonous, they never had any worries.

Later, the troops organized a transfer, saying that the ground was safe and they could leave, so they followed the main force.

Along the way, some people led the way, some brought up the rear, some distributed food, and some distributed water. All they had to do was walk forward.

Chen Wenshan said that they never knew what preparation meant because they didn't need to at all.

Wu Yue didn't speak, but her silence itself was a response.

"Now that I'm out of the military, I feel like I can't get anywhere," Wang Ling said with regret.

She lowered her head, staring at her shoes, which were covered in mud and whose original color was no longer recognizable, and her steps were a little unsteady.

Chen Wenshan reached out and helped her up from behind, placing her hand on Wang Ling's shoulder without saying a word.

Xu Xiaoyan walked at the front, remaining silent.

They finally realized that being too protected is not necessarily a good thing.

When the protective umbrella suddenly disappeared, they didn't even know the most basic things; they couldn't tell which way was which, nor could they prepare supplies.

But Xu Xiaoyan didn't say these things out loud. Some things you can't learn by being taught, but you can learn by doing.

After walking for about two more hours, the rain suddenly intensified.

The path beneath their feet could no longer be described as a "path"; it was a slow-flowing, yellowish-brown river of mud.

With each step, your foot sinks at least ten centimeters into the mud, and it takes a lot of effort to pull it out.

Xu Xiaoyan walked at the front because she had a flashlight and didn't need to adjust to other people's pace or rhythm, so she walked quite steadily.

She glanced down at her watch every now and then; the blue path was just ahead. At her current pace, she could catch up in about half an hour.

The three people behind them couldn't manage. They shared a tarpaulin, a blue and white striped waterproof sheet spread out above their heads. It covered a considerable area, but with the three of them huddled together, it was difficult for them to keep in sync.

Wang Ling walked at the front, holding up one corner of the waterproof tarpaulin; Chen Wenshan held up the other corner in the middle; and Wu Yue was at the back, holding up the back edge of the tarpaulin with both hands.

The cloth blocked most of the person's view, so they could only look down at the heels of the people in front of them as they walked.

The three of them were dragging each other down, and since they had no lights, they could only barely see the road ahead by the faint light from Xu Xiaoyan's flashlight.

In some places, the light from a flashlight can't reach, so you have to feel your way around with your feet, stepping on whatever you find.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and visibility was getting worse.

Xu Xiaoyan's flashlight beam shone on the muddy ground in front of her, revealing a thin layer of mist formed by raindrops bouncing off the ground.

She was about to turn around and warn the people behind her to watch their step when she heard a scream from behind her. Chen Wenshan had stepped into a puddle.

The puddle wasn't large, but it was much deeper than the surrounding ground. Its surface was glistening from the rain, making it look no different from ordinary puddles.

When Chen Wenshan stepped in with her right foot, she leaned forward and shifted her center of gravity forward sharply.

She instinctively tried to steady herself, waving her hands wildly in the air, tearing the tarpaulin to one side, and then she and the other two fell down together.

Wang Ling was to Chen Wenshan's left front, with a corner of the waterproof cloth still wrapped around her wrist.

When Chen Wenshan fell, she pulled hard, and Wang Ling was pulled by that force, causing her to slip and fall backward, landing on her back and splashing mud everywhere.

Wu Yue was at the very back and couldn't see the road clearly to begin with. When the two people in front of her suddenly fell down, she didn't have time to react.

I felt a chaotic mass of figures rushing towards me, and then I was knocked down into the mud.

The three of them fell into a heap, and the tarpaulin slipped off their heads and was blown several meters away by the wind. Three screams rang out almost simultaneously, mixed with the sound of rain, creating a very chaotic scene.

Xu Xiaoyan suddenly turned around, and the beam of her flashlight swept over, shining on the three people lying in the mud.

Her first reaction was not to rush over, but to stand still and quickly scan her surroundings to make sure there was no other danger, that she had just fallen, before she hurried back.

Chen Wenshan cried out in pain as she lay on her side in the mud, her right leg curled up and her left leg straight.

He held his right ankle with both hands, his fingers clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Her face was buried in the mud and water, rain was hitting the back of her head, her hair was soaked and stuck to her scalp, and she was shivering slightly.

"Her legs...her legs..." Wang Ling scrambled up from the mud, her knees still in the mud, and hurriedly crawled to Chen Wenshan's side.

His voice changed completely as he asked, "Wenshan, how are you? Where does it hurt? Say something!"

Wu Yue also crawled over, her forehead covered in mud, whether from a fall or from a splash, it was hard to tell.

She didn't even bother to wipe it off; she just squatted down next to Chen Wenshan, reaching out her hand and then pulling it back, unsure of where to touch it. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't speak.

Chen Wenshan gritted her teeth, her voice broken and trembling with tears, "My feet... my ankles... they were a little sore after stepping in the puddle..."

"Then you guys pressed down on me... my whole weight was on this foot... it hurts... it hurts so much..."

Her tears finally fell, mingling with rainwater and mud, streaming down her cheeks.

Wang Ling turned her head, rain streaming down her cheeks, her eyes filled with anxiety and panic.