Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

The wasteland outside the window was so gray that it seemed to stretch on forever.

The sky was gloomy, like a gray iron plate pressing down on our heads.

Occasionally, a few black birds would fly by in the distance, their wings flapping very slowly, as if struggling in the cold air.

Li Su didn't turn on any music or look at her phone.

Her entire attention was focused on the road and the distant horizon.

Although this road is remote, the presence of tire tracks indicates that it has been used by people.

Wherever people go, there are villages, gas stations, and checkpoints.

She has to make a decision before she gets to the next populated area.

Should we continue driving or abandon the car and walk?

Li Su parked the car behind a small, sheltered earthen slope.

She turned on the offline navigation device she had brought from the Black Falcon base.

This navigation device is a tactical device used exclusively by Black Falcon members, and it contains a detailed topographical map of southern Kitahara.

Since there is no internet connection, location can only be determined using offline data.

The signal is weak, but thankfully it still works.

Li Su placed the GPS device on her lap, zoomed in on the map, and traced names on the screen with her finger.

She is currently located on the northern slope of Mount Baiwei, nearly 100 kilometers away from the nearest town.

The town is called "Shiquan Town". It is located next to a narrow-gauge railway running from north to south and is the only supply point within hundreds of kilometers.

Further north from Shiquan Town, there is a highway built along the river valley that bypasses several large checkpoints, but the road conditions are very poor and it is often closed in winter.

Li Su zoomed in and out of the map, looking at it repeatedly.

She finally decided on a route.

First, go to the outskirts of Shiquan Town to observe the situation in the town.

If there were troops or checkpoints in town, she would leave her car outside and walk north along the railway line.

If there's not much commotion in town, she'll find a secluded household on the outskirts of town, get identification and enough supplies, and then try to find a more reliable car.

She turned off the GPS and put it in her backpack.

Outside the car, the sun had already risen.

The grayish-white sunlight pierced through the thin clouds and shone on the snow, so bright it was almost blinding.

Li Su took out a pair of sunglasses from the Black Falcon base from her backpack and put them on her nose.

The sunglasses are a bit big, and the nose pads are loose, but I can still wear them.

She restarted the car, slowly drove around the earthen slope, and headed towards Shiquan Town.

The further north you go, the less snow there is.

The snow on the wasteland was no longer so thick, revealing large areas of gray-brown withered grass.

In some sections of the road, snowplows had cleared the surface, leaving it dry and the asphalt texture still faintly visible.

Li Su increased the car's speed slightly, and the wheels made a soft rustling sound as they rolled over the gravel on the road.

Less than an hour later, several low wooden houses appeared by the roadside ahead.

The house was old, the walls were blackened by wind and snow, and the windows were dark, so you couldn't see anyone.

Li Su did not stop.

These houses are too close to the road and the surrounding area is too quiet; approaching them rashly would only expose yourself.

She maintained her speed and drove past the house.

Twenty minutes later, the outline of Shiquan Town came into view.

It was a small town, built beside a shallow river valley.

Gray roofs and dark red brick walls are sparsely distributed on both sides of the road.

In the center of the town stands a small church with a pointed roof and several tin chimneys belching white smoke.

Li Su parked the car behind a patch of low bushes two kilometers outside the town.

She turned off the engine and got out of the car.

The air outside was dry and cold, with almost no wind.

She bent down and used dry branches and snow to cover the front and rear of the car.

This car is parked here and will not be noticed for a long time unless someone specifically looks into the bushes.

Then she stood up, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked toward Shiquan Town.

She walked slowly, but each step was steady.

Instead of walking on the road, she followed the grassy ditch beside it, slightly hunching over and hiding herself in the shadows of withered grass and lingering snow.

She stopped when she was about a kilometer from the town.

She crouched down on a raised earthen embankment, slowly spreading out her mental energy towards the town.

The town is small, but the population density is quite high.

She sensed at least three or four hundred heartbeats.

These heartbeats vary in strength and speed.

Old people, children, women, men, and a few dogs.

Her spiritual power probed further forward, reaching a military tent area on the south side of the town.

There were only three tents, but all of them had antennas mounted on them.

There were about twenty soldiers walking around.

Li Su frowned slightly.

This troop presence is clearly not a temporary checkpoint.

It seems more like the North Plains military deployed outposts near various settlements in advance after the border post was attacked.

They knew she had crossed the border.

The news spread faster than she had expected.

Li Su did not move.

She crouched behind the earthen embankment, using her mental power to observe the soldiers' activities bit by bit.

The three tents are arranged in a triangular pattern.

Outside the middle tent, there was a folding table, and two soldiers were sitting at the table looking at a map.

Two military jeeps were parked in the southeast corner of the tent, with communication antennas mounted on their roofs.

To the west of the tent was an open area enclosed by wooden stakes, where two dark brown military horses were tethered.

The soldiers were dressed very warmly.

They wore gray-white winter hats, heavy wool coats, and wool gloves.

But their movements were very sluggish.

Some people were smoking, some were adding coal to the stove, and some were dozing off by the tent.

They don't seem to be too worried about the "border crossers".

Perhaps they simply didn't believe anyone could cross Baiwei Mountain alive.

Perhaps they were just following orders and were simply keeping watch here, treating the mission as something to be done.

Li Su observed for another ten minutes.

She discovered that the soldiers' patrol areas were very fixed.

Walk around the road on the south side of the town, then crawl into the tent to warm up for a while, and then come out for another walk.

The cycle takes about fifteen minutes.

The patrol routes and intervals are very regular.

A plan quickly formed in Li Su's mind.

She could bypass the town without alerting anyone.

But she also needs supplies.

From this wasteland to the capital of the northern plains, there are still thousands of kilometers to go.

If the weather continues like this, it will be difficult for her to reach her destination before she runs out of energy, relying only on her two legs and a few compressed biscuits.

She needs a car that can travel long distances.

She needs some money.

She needs a set of identification documents that will allow her to move freely throughout this land.

Military outposts may contain all three of these items.

Military vehicles have military license plates, making it much easier for them to pass through checkpoints than civilian vehicles.

The soldier had identification and cash on him.

The tent contains communication equipment and military supplies.

Li Su squatted behind the earthen embankment and withdrew her mental energy.

She closed her eyes and began to calculate the time and distance.