Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 471 Tunnel Exit

The sight before her made her stand there stunned for several seconds.

That wasn't the ground she remembered.

In her memory, the world above the bunker was a relatively complete world, dilapidated but at least with clear outlines.

There are mountains, roads, dead trees, and traces of human activity.

But the outline of the world before her eyes had completely changed, to the point that she could hardly recognize it.

Half of the mountain collapsed, and huge rocks and soil mixed together, resembling a solidified, gray river.

It cascaded down from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, completely burying what should have been a road.

She had only ever heard the phrase "mud and rocks falling together" in the news before.

But now, it was right in front of her, occupying her entire field of vision with an undeniable, enormous, and overwhelming presence.

The path she thought she would walk on was buried deep beneath the mud, mixed with boulders and broken logs, that had washed down from the mountain.

The surface of the mud had dried, revealing cracks resembling tortoise shells, with the mud still partially dried inside the cracks.

A muffled thud came from behind her. Xu Xiaoyan turned around and saw the middle-aged woman who had fallen in the tunnel.

She still had her backpack on, but she was already kneeling on the gravel ground.

She braced herself on the ground in front of her knees, her palms pressed against the gravel, the sharp edges of which must have pierced her palms.

But she didn't pull her hand away, or even react at all.

Her head was bowed, her chin almost touching her chest, and her shoulders trembled with each shrug.

She didn't cry out loud, but that silent weeping was more heartbreaking than any loud wailing.

"Living is so hard..." she sobbed. "Living...it's so hard, I can't take it anymore..."

Everyone at the scene, just like her, had the same thought when they saw the land swallowed by the mudslide: Is this world still worth living in?

Xu Xiaoyan stood at the tunnel exit, looked up at the sky, and saw that the clouds were thick and the sun was not visible.

Team Leader Gu's gaze swept over the middle-aged woman kneeling on the ground, then he picked up the walkie-talkie. "Team 12 has reached the ground exit, location E-7. All personnel are safe, one person is injured, no casualties."

The reply from the walkie-talkie came quickly: "Received. Please rest where you are and await further instructions. Remain vigilant."

As soon as the word "rest" was uttered, everyone started looking for a place to rest.

Some people sat directly on the gravel ground, not caring whether the sharp edges of the gravel would hurt their butts, and once they sat down, they could not stand up again.

Someone found a slightly flatter, larger rock, sat down, and let out a long sigh of relief, carrying away all the fatigue and stress accumulated during the eight-hour tunnel journey.

Some people leaned against the stone wall, legs stretched out, eyes closed, resting.

Blue Moon leaned against a rock, its surface covered with a layer of dried mud, which had cracked into a net-like pattern.

The two huddled together in a small, sheltered spot, their backpacks at their feet, neither of them having the strength to do anything more.

It got dark faster than she expected. Xu Xiaoyan pulled the backpack to her side, unzipped the main compartment, and reached inside to take out a compressed biscuit.

She lowered her head, took a bite, and crumbs fell from the broken surface onto her clothes.

Seeing this, Lan Yue also took out some cookies and started eating.

The wind picked up and blew in from the valley, carrying a damp, rotten smell that was truly unpleasant.

Xu Xiaoyan pulled her windbreaker up, turning up the collar to cover her chin and half her face.

She then held the backpack upright to one side of her face. The backpack's fabric blocked the wind blowing from the left. Although it couldn't completely block it, it at least prevented the wind from directly entering her collar.

Blue Moon had already wrapped the scarf around her face again, leaving only her eyes visible.

Someone was speaking softly in the darkness.

"My feet are covered in blisters... I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow..." It was a man's voice, hoarse and tired.

"My kettle seems to be leaking. Does anyone have a spare bottle?" It was a woman's voice, sounding very anxious.

"Does anyone have anything to eat? My child has been hungry all day..."

Children? She hadn't noticed there were children in the group before.

During the eight-hour journey through the tunnel, she never heard the child make a sound. Perhaps the child was very well-behaved, so well-behaved that he didn't cry or make a fuss.

She turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound, but couldn't see anything in the darkness.

But she heard a soft voice say, "Mommy, I'm hungry," followed by the mother's reply, "Sweetie, Mommy will look, Mommy will look..."

Then came the rustling sound of rummaging through a bag, the zipper being opened and closed again, items being taken out and put back, followed by a very soft sigh.

The walkie-talkie rang again at some point.

It was very short, as if only a few words were spoken. Xu Xiaoyan didn't hear the content clearly, but she heard Captain Gu's calm response.

He was not far from them, about ten meters away. Xu Xiaoyan could hear the sound of his military boots scraping against gravel as he moved occasionally in the darkness.

The night grew deeper, and the temperature dropped little by little.

Xu Xiaoyan turned up the collar of her windbreaker and put her hands in her pockets. The fleece lining of the pockets pressed against the backs of her hands, providing a little warmth that was better than nothing.

Her toes curled up inside her shoes, trying to generate some heat through muscle movement, but the effort was to little avail, and her toes remained icy cold.

Lan Yue had completely leaned against her, her head resting on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder. Her weight was considerable, causing Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder to sag slightly.

But she didn't move; she even deliberately adjusted her posture to make Lan Yue's head rest more steadily.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't know when she fell asleep. When she woke up, she found that it was already getting a little brighter.

The light was bright enough for her to see her surroundings clearly; they were in an open area that had been carved out by a mudslide.

In some areas where the mud was thinner, the black of the asphalt and the gray of the gravel peeked out from the cracks in the mud.

The surrounding mountains were eroded by mudslides, revealing large swaths of vegetation with tree roots pointing skyward.

In the distance, people were still emerging from the tunnel exit.

When those people came out of the tunnel, everyone's reaction was pretty much the same.

Seeing this land destroyed by the mudslide, the expression on their faces changed from joy at "finally out".

It started with confusion, then turned into despair, like "Where am I?" and then into hopelessness, like "How could this happen?"

After their leader came out of the cave, the first thing he did was to count the number of people, confirm safety, and then report via walkie-talkie.