The wetland park was located in a remote area, and the nearest shopping mall was about ten kilometers away. Relying on her high health pool, Rong Hui did not stop to rest along the way. She only paused twice to use her skill and remove the “fatigue” status attached to her health value.
As the sky darkened, Rong Hui finally arrived at her destination, Xinyue Plaza.
This mall appeared to have been built recently. Its decorations still showed a sense of modern fashion. The building’s exterior used a silver white metallic color scheme, which made it look somewhat better than the Jincheng Department Store she had visited earlier. It did not feel quite as desolate or dilapidated.
In front of the mall stood a tall signboard that had originally displayed advertisements and a panoramic map of the mall. Now it was mostly buried under snow and ice, with only a small red corner visible at the top.
Rong Hui was pressed for time. She took out her shovel and struck the signboard several times, shaking off most of the snow. From the blurred diagram she managed to identify the direction of the underground parking lot. The entrance was located at the far right corner of the building.
Standing at the entrance to the underground parking garage, she was stunned by the chaotic scene before her.
Cars lay scattered across the sloping ramp in every direction. Rear end collisions were the least of the problems. Some vehicles had even piled on top of each other. The wide entrance and exit had been completely blocked.
Rong Hui carefully squeezed through the gaps between the vehicles. Inside the parking lot the situation was even worse. Cars were scattered everywhere, their interiors dark through the windows. It was clear that people had been desperately trying to drive away when the disaster struck, but accidents had blocked the entrance. In the end, they had abandoned their vehicles and fled.
She carefully checked every vehicle that still appeared intact, hoping to find something like an off road vehicle with high clearance and thick tires that could handle the snowy terrain.
Unfortunately, although a few cars had been left unlocked, none of them contained their keys. When the hailstorm first began, people inside the underground parking lot had likely been relatively safe. They would not have panicked enough to abandon their car keys.
However, this was within Rong Hui’s expectations. On the mall directory she had seen that there was a car dealership inside the mall, and such a place would certainly have display vehicles.
She entered the mall through the fire escape stairs leading to the first floor. The interior was completely dark, so dark that she could barely see her own hand in front of her. Rong Hui’s eyes had already adapted to the darkness, so she did not turn on a flashlight. If someone else happened to be hiding here, using a light would only lead to unnecessary explanations.
Fortunately, the first floor of the mall was silent enough to hear a pin drop. There was clearly no one around. Rong Hui quickly crossed the floor and found the car dealership.
Cars were expensive merchandise, so both the interior and exterior entrances to the shop were secured with metal gate locks. However, there was an employee passage with only a wooden door. Rong Hui took out her fire axe and smashed the door lock open after a few strikes.
Once inside, she took out her small oil lamp to illuminate the area. Sure enough, five display vehicles stood lined up in a row. After inspecting them one by one, she found the car keys in a drawer behind the reception desk.
She climbed into one of the high chassis off road vehicles and inserted the key to start the engine. The freezing point of gasoline was usually around minus 70°C. Even in this extreme cold, the engine should still function.
After a dull rumbling vibration, the engine successfully ignited.
Rong Hui excitedly slapped the steering wheel. Her transportation problem had been solved.
However, the fuel gauge had already begun flashing a warning. She would need to find gasoline, preferably a lot of it.
Before leaving, she also collected several items from the dealership, including engine oil, spare tires, and toolkits. If something happened to the vehicle later, she might be able to fix it herself.
After storing the off road vehicle in the System Backpack, Rong Hui headed up to the third floor. According to the mall directory, the third floor contained a children’s playground and a gym.
Inside a small shop that ran a children’s fishing game, she found a useful tool, a manual water pump and a flexible hose. The shop owner had probably used them to clean the fish tanks.
She searched around further but could not find a suitable container. In the end, she carried away a 288 liter sealed fish tank. It was hard to argue that this was not a perfectly good container.
She quickly returned to the underground parking lot and selected a large seven seat business van. After opening the fuel tank cap, she inserted the hose all the way to the bottom of the tank. Then she connected the pump on the other end and began siphoning gasoline.
After repeating the process with several vehicles, the large fish tank was finally full. One tank of fuel would allow the off road vehicle to refill its tank about five or six times.
Finally, she filled the off road vehicle’s tank completely as well.
Rong Hui was utterly exhausted. She opened the system panel and saw that it was already ten at night. Her stamina had dropped below the red line.
She decided not to push herself any further. It was impossible to travel this late. She found an empty parking space in the garage, released the off road vehicle, and planned to sleep inside it for the night.
Only when she relaxed did she notice that both her hands and feet had developed frostbite. While searching for tools and siphoning fuel, she had been completely focused. Now the stinging pain gradually began to spread.
Rong Hui placed the small oil lamp on the passenger seat and activated her skill. Under the gentle light, she slowly felt her body recover.
In such a short period of time she had already suffered frostbite. It was hard to imagine how ordinary people without skills or medicine could survive in these conditions.
Rong Hui realized that she had been very fortunate. Although she had been thrown into this strange apocalyptic instance, she still had many ways to survive comfortably.
After lying down for a while, she took out the seafood porridge she had cooked earlier and continued eating it. Once her personal stats had returned to safe levels, she could no longer stay awake.
Holding a hot water bottle and wrapped in a down quilt, Rong Hui fell into a deep sleep.
…
Before her stretched a barren land.
The air was filled with a pungent smell. Shadows flickered everywhere, and there was no trace of human life for miles.
She walked slowly through the desolate land, holding a crystal clear oil lamp in her hand.
Her heart was filled with anxiety and impatience. She wanted to do something, yet did not know where to begin. Her breathing grew heavier, and her steps became slower and heavier. It felt as if she too would collapse and merge with the barren land.
“Ah!”
Rong Hui woke up suddenly, gasping for breath. She sat upright quickly, her mind in chaos.
So it had only been a dream.
She had never experienced such a vivid dream before. Especially the final moment, the overwhelming despair that felt like she was on the brink of death.
Shaking her head, she pushed the lingering thoughts away. It was probably just the pressure and tension from living inside the instance. What one thought about during the day would naturally appear in dreams at night.
Not wanting to waste time, she saw that it was already eight in the morning. She stored the car again and walked back up to the ground level.
The temperature today had dropped to the terrifying level of minus 60°C.
After taking out her map and confirming the direction, Rong Hui sat inside the off road vehicle and began driving north.
…