Chapter 70: Things like this
Translator: Letty / Editor: DarkGem / Jello
Everyone ran as fast as their legs could carry them — they all knew the consequence of being left behind.
However, even a fast runner like Chang couldn’t completely get rid of rustle sound that followed him all along.
The millipedes were extremely fast. Although their stout figure could easily fool other animals to a.s.sume that they were slow and clumsy, they were actually quick in action. Chang breathed through his mouth to get as much air as he could, but the millipedes still showed their figures through the gaps in between the leaves above his head.
“Separate! We should go separately!” Even though Qing Shui wasn’t as good as Chang in strength, his ability of observation alarmed him to the danger above them. He shouted as he hastened “Go in different directions! If we were to be caged by these millipedes, no one can escape then.”
“But…”Chang was about to argue, half of the body of the millipede hung down from the tree in front of him, it was almost horrified to react as the blinding secretion ejected from the sharp mouthpiece of the millipede, was directed toward Chang’s face.
“F*ck!” Chang made a 90 degree turn without hesitation, the turn brought him to the other side of the jungle.
As it was very close to Zhengzhou already, Chang was not worried about getting lost. As long as he was heading to the direction where Zhengzhou was, he could get out of the jungle easily. He chose to run on places where the shrubs were denser and lower compare to where it was on the Zheng Kai Avenue. As soon as he noticed the rustle sound slowly disappeared, he made another 90 degree turn to get back on track.
Chang trotted through the shrubs with caution and he gradually went far away from the millipedes.
Until the rustle sound was completely gone, he sped up again toward the east where Zhengzhou was.
From west to the east, the Zheng Kai Avenue was 80 kilometers in length. He had finally reached the exit of the avenue in his heavy breathing.
The scene changed tremendously as he went away from the jungle. All the tall trees, slippery mosses, and fungi became less visible. The branches and leaves that blocked out the sky rapidly moved backward. The plants became smaller and smaller as he ran through an area where there was a mix of gra.s.s and shrubs. Running full speed for another 20 minutes, the shrubs became even more spa.r.s.e. The moment he bolted out from the jungle, the world no longer seemed threatening to him. The air was clear and fresh, making him more lighthearted.
The highway and overpa.s.s were cracked as if wrinkles had grown on their surface. Ten meters away on his left-hand side was the exit of the Zheng Kai Avenue.
Chang stopped, his breaths were the loudest sound at the moment.
He walked to the exit with uncontrollable excitement, under the billboard where it said, “Welcome to Zhengzhou.” He stared at the cracked path that he could barely see in the jungle, he suddenly had a feeling that it was as if a century had pa.s.sed.
The countless tribulations and hards.h.i.+ps were about to end, the journey began from “Welcome to Kaifeng” and ended at “Welcome to Zhengzhou.” Many tortured and died on this long march, the remaining were scarred. Yet, it was only one hour away by car before the red fog.
Chang and Jing rested for two minutes, and then walked around to look for other people. Five minutes after his search, he found Ming Yi, who was also seeking to reunite with the group.
“Ming Yi!” Chang hastened to shout as he saw Ming Yi by far.
“You got out!” Ming Yi’s excitement was written all over his face. They didn’t come out together because they took a different route.
“Yes I got out…” Chang held Jing tightly, but he sat on the ground dejected, “It wasn’t easy, did you see anyone else?”
“No, it has been 10 minutes since I got out.” Ming Yi lowered his head with shame, “I feel so bad, as a soldier, I should have made ensuring your safety my priority, but I ran away.”
“Come on, nothing should be your priority in that situation except for protecting yourself! It is already honorable to me that you even thought of that under the pressure of death.” Chang patted Ming Yi’s shoulder and forced a wry smile “Don’t think about it, we’ll let Qing Shui take care of the duty of thinking, we just need to run for our lives. Let’s look for others for now.”
“It is difficult because everyone spread out. Hopefully they were all on the same direction to here, if so, they shouldn’t be far away.”
“Alright.” Ming Yi nodded, “We’ll go separately and we’ll meet under this billboard every ten minutes, what do you think?”
“Absolutely!” Chang agreed, as he held Jing with both his arms and went to the opposite direction of Ming Yi.
Ten minutes later, he found Qing Shui, who had just ran out of the jungle. Twenty minutes after, Ming Yi brought over another soldier, and that was the last person they found in the subsequent 40 minutes.
“Is Pangzi okay? I can’t find him.” Chang returned to the billboard worried.
“I don’t know, it was chaotic in there, I couldn’t see what happened back there.” Qing Shui shook his head helplessly. Even Qing Shui cannot pay attention to everything.
“I was pretty slow, and I heard several screams from a distance, but I am not sure if Pangzi was one of them.” The survived soldier was clearly traumatized. “I didn’t dare to look back when I was in there, I couldn’t think of anything else but run, and…” His voice became lower and lower.
“I know this can be hard to hear but it is very likely that they have lost their lives in the jungle.” Ming Yi sighed heavily, “There were 27 of us when we left Kaifeng, and now, the five of us may be the only remainders. I simply don’t think they could get out.”
“It is a certain fact, we weren’t very far away from here when the millipedes came around, it has been an hour, if they can’t get out, then death is doomed to be their fate.” The soldiers voice drifted in the dim red fog “Let’s go, please, the sun is nowhere to be seen now, and it’ll only get more dangerous if we stay here, we just need to find a shelter.”
“He is right.” Ming Yi pulled Chang’s forearm, showing that he agreed with the soldier.
“I was thinking…” Chang stood still as if he was not affected by Ming Yi and the soldier’s reasoning, he looked at Qing Shui’s eyes, and spoke with consideration. “I was thinking about going back into the jungle. Although he may be dead, I just want to confirm that. What if he is still alive but just trapped?”
“I thought so too.” Qing Shui nodded and smiled.
“What? Did you just agree? This is out of my expectation!” As he saw Qing Shui agreeing on his proposal, Chang was deeply surprised. “Using your reason… you wouldn’t do anything that has no benefit at all, to be honest, my suggestion can even kill us all.”
“But things like this don’t need to be beneficial for me to act.” Qing Shui raised his fist in front of Chang, “And you thought I will let go of our friend so easily?”
“You are right.” Chang made a fist b.u.mp with Qing Shui, and smiled with trust.