Su Cheng was woken up by a wave of mournful weeping.
The wristband displayed the time: 6:00 AM.
When Su Cheng crawled out of her sleeping bag, Yun Nian was already awake.
Yun Nian’s eyes were swollen like walnuts, looking somewhat embarrassed as she blinked and dodged Su Cheng’s gaze.
Rubbing her arms against the early morning chill, Su Cheng said, “I’m going to go take a look.”
Drowsily yawning, Yun Nian dutifully played shadow to Su Cheng: “I’m going too.”
Quite a few people under the canvas shelters had also been roused by the crying. Some were already accustomed to it, while others shared Su Cheng’s bewildered curiosity, poking their heads out to look.
Scanning the area after stepping outside the shelter zone, Su Cheng spotted workers dressed in protective suits carrying long, plastic-wrapped bundles toward the hospital’s rear courtyard.
The weeping was coming from that very courtyard.
Su Cheng understood instantly. Reaching out to stop Yun Nian, who was about to press forward, she hesitated before speaking the honest truth: “The hospital is probably moving the deceased out to the open grounds for disinfection and identification.”
Yun Nian’s steps faltered. “Is—is that so…”
Su Cheng patted Yun Nian’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
“Before the driver arrives and while it’s still early, let’s head inside the hospital to check. Maybe your parents didn’t register, which is why we couldn’t find their information.”
Gathering her spirits, Yun Nian said, “Okay.”
Su Cheng continued, “You’ll also need to help me ask the staff where the free relief distribution stations are set up… We need food.”
Glancing sideways at Su Cheng, Yun Nian nodded in agreement.
Only one staff member manned the registration desk inside the hospital lobby. It wasn’t the brown-haired woman from yesterday, but a woman with short black hair.
Yun Nian stepped up to inquire about the relief stations.
Translating the conversation back to Su Cheng, Yun Nian said, “She said every hospital has set up a relief station, and free supplies will be distributed uniformly at ten o’clock this morning.”
Su Cheng nodded. As long as there were free supplies to collect, that was fine.
“Let’s split up to look for your parents. We’ll meet back here in half an hour.”
“Got it.”
With the hospital housing multiple ward buildings and limited time, the two headed in opposite directions. Splitting up to search was the most time-efficient method.
Machines beeped rhythmically inside the hospital wards of the early morning, where most patients sat in dazes or slumbered deeply.
Four to five hospital beds occupied each ward, accompanied by exhausted companions dozing beside the frames. Patients lined the corridors, each bed marked with an identification card at the headboard.
Su Cheng checked first whether patients possessed Asian features, then verified the names on the headboard cards.
Pacing the hospital corridors and witnessing a multitude of shocking injuries firsthand, she finally realized how fortunate she truly was by comparison.
A water dispenser room sat at the end of every floor’s corridor, which Su Cheng used as an opportunity to refill her half-empty water bottle.
Sadly, half an hour passed without her finding any Asian faces named Yun Cheng or Li Murou…
Su Cheng reached the lobby first, with Yun Nian arriving right behind her.
Shaking her head in disappointment, Yun Nian voiced her thoughts: “If we still can’t find my mom and dad today… I’m planning to go to the shelter…”
Su Cheng raised no objections. Yun Nian was a resourceful child who didn’t require extra hand-holding.
The two walked over to the truck parking spot, where the blonde woman and the two men were already waiting.
It appeared they hadn’t found their family members at this hospital either.
Before long, the truck driver arrived punctually to pick them up.
The driver handed out momo (steamed buns) to each person.
Though unable to understand his language, Su Cheng could read sincere sympathy written all over his expression.
Nibbling on her bun, Su Cheng found it slightly sweet and salty, but very dry and hard. Fortunately, she still had a bottle of water; washing down the bun with water made it quite manageable to swallow.
By the time the truck reached the next hospital, it was nearly 10:00 AM.
The driver granted them a 1-hour window, stating they would depart for the next location in an hour, and anyone who failed to return would be assumed to have found their family here.
A delivery van stood parked in front of the hospital entrance, surrounded by a long queue. Three or four young men and women in red volunteer uniforms were handing out supplies.
Each person in line collected a single package of supplies before turning away; not a single person tried to claim two.
“Looks like proxy pickups aren’t allowed.”
Su Cheng and Yun Nian had no choice but to join the queue together, collecting their supplies before resuming their search.
The supplies were pre-packaged and bundled, allowing the line to move swiftly. After waiting for just over ten minutes, Su Cheng reached the front.
Everyone collecting supplies had to fill out basic info like name, gender, and nationality.
Once Su Cheng finished filling hers out, a volunteer handed her a bag of supplies.
Stepping aside to unwrap it, she found a white robe, four breads, a carton of milk, and two bottles of water.
The white robe functioned both as modest clothing and sun protection, so Su Cheng immediately draped it over her shoulders.
She also unwrapped a bread and the milk. Though she had eaten the bun earlier, she still felt hungry; her appetite seemed to have increased compared to before.
Su Cheng formed a hypothesis: could the body require extra energy to repair tissue damage during self-healing…?
Once Yun Nian collected her supplies, the two resumed their divided search.
Su Cheng headed into the ward building first, while Yun Nian checked the lobby registration desk.
After finishing her second bread and the milk in a corner, Su Cheng packed the remaining food back into her storage slots.
The layout of each hospital remained largely identical, differing only in interior decoration styles. As she moved briskly, Su Cheng suddenly realized that her lower abdomen hadn’t ached in a long time.
Pulling up her shirt, she saw the bruise had faded significantly.
“Looks like it’s almost healed.”
Ticking off points on her fingers, Su Cheng recalled that her self-healing ability could fully mend superficial bleeding wounds in under 3 hours.
More severe injuries, such as internal organ damage or heavy bleeding, took a day or two.
Thinking of her perpetually ravenous appetite, Su Cheng wondered: “Could the speed of self-healing also be linked to the food we consume? If we ingest enough energy through food, maybe the repair speed gets even faster?”
That hypothesis would have to wait for future practical testing.
Su Cheng recalled that the mechanical voice broadcast had mentioned a key phrase: Tier-1 gene lock.
That was a crucial piece of information.
Yan Yu hadn’t mentioned it to her previously, likely because Yan Yu herself had never heard of or unlocked a gene lock.
Since a Tier-1 gene lock existed, Tier-2 and Tier-3 surely followed.
She wondered what kind of changes Tier-2 and Tier-3 gene locks might bring…
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Su Cheng searched the hospital, but sadly found no trace of Yun Nian’s parents’ names.
Sighing and checking the time to find their hour was nearly up, Su Cheng returned to the lobby to wait for Yun Nian.
Yet over ten minutes passed without a sign of Yun Nian.
That was highly abnormal.
Furrowing her brows, Su Cheng wondered if Yun Nian had run into trouble.
Checking her watch, she decided she needed to go look for her—only to turn around and see Yun Nian walking right toward her.
This time, Yun Nian wasn’t returning in disappointment; she was holding hands with a man.
Her face beamed with a brilliant smile. The man shared a 40% facial resemblance with Yun Nian; he was clearly none other than Yun Cheng, the father they had worked so hard to find.
“Sister! I found my dad!”
Dragging her father along, Yun Nian trotted over excitedly.
Yun Cheng had already heard all about Su Cheng from Yun Nian along the way. Looking at Su Cheng with eyes brimming with gratitude, he leaned forward slightly and extended his hand:
“Nian has told me everything about these past few days. Thank you so much, Miss Su, for helping my daughter!”
Su Cheng shook his hand in return. “Nian helped me a lot too.”
Yun Cheng continued, “When I found Yun Nian’s mother, she was severely injured in the tsunami. Medical resources here are strained, so I could only contact my younger brother back home to come and take her back to China for treatment.”
“I stayed behind to keep looking for Nian. Outside of the hospital, I’ve been running around the disaster zones… Fortunately, every member of our family survived.”
Though Yun Cheng’s face appeared haggard and exhausted, his gaze softened with the tenderness of recovering something lost when he looked at Yun Nian.
“So, I truly thank you, Miss Su!”
“You’re a benefactor to our family. I hope you’ll leave this place with us.”
Looking up, Yun Nian pleaded, “Sister, just come with us!”
Meeting the father and daughter’s expectant gazes, Su Cheng shook her head anyway. “Thank you, but I don’t plan to leave just yet.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go; rather, she was an outsider to this world, effectively an undocumented person. Lacking identity documents, she couldn’t board transport like airplanes.
Even if Yun Cheng tried helping her arrange a temporary ID, it couldn’t be completed overnight. She couldn’t very well drag Yun Cheng’s family down when they were trying to reunite.
Besides, her time to exit the dungeon was only two days away.
Reluctantly, Yun Nian grabbed Su Cheng’s hand. “Sister…”
Yun Cheng looked thoughtful. “Miss Su, are you facing any concerns? You can share them so we can solve them together.”
Su Cheng stroked Yun Nian’s hair. “Thank you, but I have my own plans; you don’t need to worry.”
Sensing Su Cheng’s resolute attitude, Yun Nian’s father dropped the subject, sighing softly. “You probably don’t have a place to stay right now. Why not stay at the inn I booked for these past few days?”
Knowing Yun Cheng wanted to do something to repay her help for Yun Nian, Su Cheng didn’t refuse his kind offer.
Taking Yun Nian by the hand, Yun Cheng led Su Cheng to the slightly weathered compact car he had specially rented while searching for Yun Nian.
“Sister, are you really not leaving with us?”
Instead of sitting in the front passenger seat, Yun Nian stayed in the back with Su Cheng, clutching her hem with a look of reluctance in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, you can leave your address with me, and I’ll come visit you if I get the chance.”
Nodding vigorously, Yun Nian borrowed a pen from Yun Cheng and scrawled her home address onto the slip of paper carrying their names.
“Sister, I’ll be waiting for you!”
Pockets safely storing the slip of paper, Su Cheng offered a faint smile. “Alright.”
Yun Cheng parked the car in front of a two-story inn in town. The building was modest in scale, sporting a modern English-style aesthetic.
As Yun Cheng stepped inside, the female innkeeper with brown wavy hair gasped in pleasant surprise upon seeing the two figures following behind him, stepping forward to embrace Su Cheng and Yun Nian warmly. “Oh, my god! You have found them!”
Yun Cheng responded with a smiling, lengthy sentence in English that Su Cheng couldn’t comprehend.
The innkeeper looked over Yun Nian and Su Cheng, offering a gentle, friendly smile as she conversed with Yun Cheng.
Yun Nian whispered translation: “The boss thought we were both dad’s daughters just now. Dad’s planning to book a room here for you.”
Hearing that, Su Cheng quickly told Yun Cheng, “I’ll probably only be staying here for about three days at most.”
Nodding, Yun Cheng accepted a key from the innkeeper.
Handing the key over to Su Cheng, Yun Cheng said, “This is for you. Second floor, second room on the left. When checking out, just hand the key back to the boss.”
“And please, I hope you’ll accept this.”
Yun Cheng placed a wallet into Su Cheng’s hand. Fearing she might refuse, he added hastily, “Though it’s not much, it’s a token of my appreciation. I originally planned to properly host you once we returned to China… In any case, I hope Miss Su won’t turn this down!”
Su Cheng nodded with a gentle smile. “Thank you, I actually really need this right now!”
Seeing her accept, Yun Nian’s father exhaled in relief. “My contact info is inside the wallet. You are welcome to contact me anytime, no matter the hour.”
“Yun Nian mentioned you don’t speak English. There are a few kids running shops on the left side of the inn; you can pay them a small fee to act as guides, as they know some Chinese.”
Su Cheng smiled, admitting inwardly that Yun Cheng was indeed a very meticulous person. “Thank you.”
Yun Cheng shook his head. “I should be the one saying thank you. If Nian hadn’t been able to return to Murou and me, we would have suffered a lifetime of agony. I hope one day you’ll come visit the Yun family; Nian’s mother is very eager to meet Miss Su as well.”
Glancing at Yun Nian, who was already wiping away tears over their impending parting, Su Cheng offered a well-intentioned white lie: “Alright, I will.”
“Then goodbye.”
Pouncing forward, Yun Nian squeezed Su Cheng in a tight hug. “Sister, goodbye, I’ll wait for you to come find me!”
Su Cheng patted her back. “Okay.”
The father and daughter climbed back into the car.
Waving goodbye, Su Cheng called out, “Goodbye.”
Watching their vehicle recede into the distance, Su Cheng understood clearly that this chapter of connection had closed, and they likely wouldn’t cross paths ever again.