Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The man adjusted his glasses and did not deny it.

"I really have no ill intentions. My name is Wang Yuming, and I work at the Jinshi Geological Research Institute. I may be slightly better at judging terrain than the average person. We can share information," he tried to demonstrate his value.

Xu Xiaoyan remained silent, quickly weighing the pros and cons.

This guy named Wang Yuming looks to be of average build and doesn't seem to pose much of a threat. Moreover, if he's telling the truth, his expertise might actually come in handy in the current situation of frequent geological disasters.

However, bringing along a stranger also means adding uncertainty and requiring constant vigilance.

Her gaze swept over Wang Yuming's slightly pale face and mud-covered trouser legs, finally settling on his still relatively clear eyes.

"You can follow along," Xu Xiaoyan finally spoke, her tone devoid of any warmth, carrying a clear boundary:

"But keep a distance of more than five meters. If something happens, each of you will be responsible. Once you find a relatively safe place, you can go your separate ways. If you agree, follow along. If you don't agree, you can go your own way now."

Wang Yuming visibly relaxed and nodded quickly, "Okay, no problem, thank you."

Xu Xiaoyan said no more, chose a direction and continued forward. Wang Yuming kept his distance and followed behind her. The two walked silently through the muddy mountain forest, one in front of the other.

She still steered the route, sometimes stopping to observe the terrain and determine the direction.

Wang Yuming would occasionally offer a warning on sections of road that he deemed dangerous.

For example, he would point out that there might be a risk of secondary landslides on a certain slope and suggest taking a detour. His judgments were mostly very professional and did indeed avoid several potential problems.

Although Xu Xiaoyan did not respond, she would silently adjust her route. This silent and fragile temporary relationship formed a delicate balance.

Before it got completely dark, Xu Xiaoyan and Wang Yuming finally arrived at Qingshui Manor.

However, the sight before them plunged their hearts into despair. Where was the manor now?

The original buildings have vanished without a trace, replaced by a huge and shocking alluvial fan formed by mudslides.

Fresh soil, gravel, and broken tree debris mingled together, forming a vast and jagged slope that stretched down into the dark valley below.

Only a few broken edges of the concrete foundation and a tattered sign half-buried in the mud, bearing blurred lettering, can barely prove that this place was once a place of human activity.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, stunned. Her last hope was extinguished at that moment.

She still held onto a sliver of hope: perhaps the damage to the villa wasn't too severe, perhaps the troops would establish a temporary base there, perhaps she would encounter Wang Qingshan or other survivors...

But now, there's nothing left but mud, gravel, and deathly silence.

Wang Yuming was also clearly shocked by the devastating scene.

His lips moved, but he didn't say anything in the end. He just sighed deeply, his face filled with solemnity and a hint of barely perceptible despair.

Finally, as if she had used up all her strength, Xu Xiaoyan spoke in a dry voice, asking the question that concerned her most:

"Wang Yuming, when you were on the mountain, did you hear any news about where the troops moved to? Or any news about other survivor gathering points?"

Wang Yuming shook his head helplessly, his voice filled with weariness and apology, "No, I really don't know."

He pointed to the distant, indistinct, towering mountain peak and explained:

"When the mudslide broke out, I felt something was wrong, so I came out of the cave and ran up the mountain. Then I found a place with higher terrain and a more stable rock structure."

During those days, I didn't dare to go down the mountain easily. I hid under a few big trees. I had no idea what was going on here. I could only hear a constant rumbling sound.

He paused, as if recalling the horrific scene:

"I hid until the noise basically stopped before I dared to slowly walk down. The path down was almost completely destroyed. I wandered around for a long time before I finally encountered those four people."

As for the troops, or the other large number of survivors, I really haven't seen a single one. Maybe...maybe they were moved to a safer place in time, or maybe..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: in the face of a natural disaster of this scale, large-scale evacuation of people is extremely difficult, and the outcome is unpredictable.

Xu Xiaoyan stared blankly at the completely destroyed land before her.

"We can't stay here any longer," Wang Yuming broke the silence first.

His voice was somewhat muffled in the cold wind, but his emotions had returned: "This alluvial fan is still unstable. If any excess flows down, we'll be waiting to die if we stand here."

Xu Xiaoyan forced herself to pull herself out of her low mood.

She looked around; besides the mud and darkness, there was indeed nowhere to take shelter. "It's already dark; which way should we go?"

Her voice carried an undeniable weariness; it had taken her a whole day to come down from the mountain, and her legs felt like lead.

Wang Yuming raised his head, looked at the pitch-black mountains, and shook his head:

"Climbing back up the mountain is unrealistic. Not only is it extremely dangerous because it's dark and the road is slippery, but we also don't have the physical strength to climb it again."

This suggestion was clearly unfeasible, and both of them saw rejection in each other's eyes.

Silence descended once more. Staying where you are meant to die, while returning to the mountain is tantamount to suicide. Should you really just wander aimlessly through the night?

Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath, trying hard to recall the fragments of information she had received before the disaster:

"I remember the disaster warning mentioned that this was a global extreme weather event, with coastal areas experiencing a super tsunami and storm surge, while the inland areas, especially the highlands in the northwest, might be less affected."

Wang Yuming nodded and added, "From a geological and meteorological perspective, this judgment is reasonable."

Coastal and low-lying areas are now the hardest hit, and there may be secondary disasters in the future. Heading northwest is indeed the option with a higher probability of survival in theory at present.

He paused, then said with a hint of bitter irony, "At least, if we head that way, the risk of a landslide will be lower if we dig a temporary shelter ourselves."

This joke isn't funny at all, but it highlights a reality.

They needed to find a relatively safe place where they could temporarily escape the wind and rain and recover their strength, and the northwest direction seemed to be the only feasible option at the moment.

"Then let's head northwest," Xu Xiaoyan made up her mind. Although the road ahead was unknown, it was better than waiting to die.

"We traveled through the night, trying to get as far away from this unstable mountainous area as possible, keeping an eye out for any signs of military activity along the way. Without official forces to maintain order, it would be difficult for the two of us to survive in this environment for long."