Earth Era

Part 53

The world was filled with swirling dust, as far as the eye could see.

Once bustling cities lay in ruins, reduced to rubble. The rivers that once flowed were now dried up, turned into mere channels. The once verdant mountains and hillsides had become barren graves...

How many memories were buried beneath this vast expanse of sand and wind?

Qin Feng and Xiao Ya walked along the streets, shielding their faces from the blowing dust. They had no masks, squinting as they moved forward.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sky gradually lightened, although the sun was nowhere to be seen.

Qin Feng pointed to a nearby rock and said, "Let's take shelter there."

Unable to open her eyes fully, Xiao Ya allowed him to lead her.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"About two miles ahead, we should be near the bridge," Qin Feng replied. Just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and was instantly alarmed!

It was a raider!

He quickly gestured for Xiao Ya to be silent. "Shh!"

At the same time, they both heard heavy footsteps approaching from a distance.

"Hiss... Are those raiders?!" she asked, wide-eyed.

Qin Feng nodded, "Shh!"

The footsteps drew closer, and both of them were too frightened to even breathe. They had no weapons; a few loaves of bread and a bottle of water wouldn't be enough to fend off the raiders. They couldn't outrun them either.

With each approaching footstep, their hearts trembled uncontrollably, nerves stretched to the breaking point.

The raider passed by one side of the rock, while they quietly skirted around the other side, perfectly avoiding its line of sight.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Feng cautiously peeked out, then quickly withdrew.

"Did you see them? How many? Have they gone far?" Xiao Ya asked.

"Too fast, couldn't see clearly..."

"Uh..."

"But judging from the footsteps, it should be a defensive type, and it's gone far away. What should we do next?"

"Speak as little as possible, avoid making noise to attract unnecessary trouble, and keep moving," Qin Feng replied. After scanning the surroundings, all he could see was sand; a little further out, everything became blurry.

"Let's go. Stop looking," Xiao Ya patted his shoulder and they continued on.

"Hey!" Qin Feng wanted to stop her, but he was a step too late and ended up following her. "Be careful, it's always better to be cautious."

Twenty minutes later, they indeed saw the collapsed bridge, which had not been buried by the blowing sand. They could spot it from quite a distance away.

Feeling relieved, Qin Feng remained vigilant, observing the surroundings for any signs of danger. Although the sandstorm provided cover for them, it also made it easier for raiders to hide.

Even though their size was massive, you wouldn't notice them unless they were right in front of you.

Not sensing any danger, the two quickly ran towards the bridge.

The fallen structure provided some shelter from the blowing sand, making it a temporary refuge for them.

"Which way should we go?" Xiao Ya asked.

"No rush, let's rest for a moment," Qin Feng replied, sitting down on the ground.

After the exhausting journey, they looked like two mud-covered figures, with sand covering their entire bodies except for their mouths, which looked quite comical.

"Let's think about where to go next."

"I've figured it out," Qin Feng waved his hand, pointing in a direction.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Xiao Ya asked, puzzled.

"Not sure, just going with my gut feeling," Qin Feng shrugged.

After a brief rest, they followed their instincts and set off.

Although there was no sandstorm under the collapsed bridge, visibility remained low due to the scattered debris and large boulders, posing obstacles for them.

They had to detour around some of the larger rocks.

Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any raiders all day, only hearing the constant sound of gunfire from above and occasionally seeing wreckage or raider corpses falling from the sky.

Initially, they would cautiously approach the fallen bodies to check if they were dead. Later, they just ignored them, as most were already dead or would make only symbolic struggles before going still.

They just needed to watch out and make sure they didn't get hit.

As night fell, they hadn't even covered half of the distance. A gust of wind sent shivers down their spines.

"It's getting colder at night," Xiao Ya remarked.

Qin Feng took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Finding a relatively safe spot, he said, "Let's spend the night here and continue tomorrow."

She nodded. "We don't have much choice."

Qin Feng then moved some large rocks from the surroundings to build a makeshift wall, surrounding them in the middle to make it less likely for raiders to spot them.

"Do you have a lighter?" Qin Feng asked.

"I don't smoke, where would I have a lighter?" Xiao Ya replied.

Rolling his eyes, Qin Feng said, "Just check, I remember having one in my pocket."

She rummaged through her pocket and found a lighter. "Why would you carry a lighter if you don't smoke?"

"Don't you know? Just in case. It comes in handy now, doesn't it?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Start a fire. What if we attract raiders?"

"Don't worry, it's fine. The whole world is on fire now, and raiders aren't interested in fire."

Soon, he had a fire going. They sat by the campfire to keep warm, taking out their last three loaves of bread and a bottle of water. It was their final bit of food.