Following Engineer Yang’s instructions, they dug to the left. But the cave’s stone walls were unyielding, making progress agonizingly slow.
By the afternoon, their shovels were already curling at the edges, and they had managed to excavate only a few cubic meters of rock.
Tao Nanfeng kept her composure, digging while trying to decipher the patterns in the mysterious lines that had appeared in her vision.
Could the white line be marking the optimal route?
Under the flickering beam of her flashlight, Nanfeng thought for a moment, then swung her shovel in the direction the white line pointed—rightward.
Schwick!
When the shovel struck rock, the sound was a harsh, grating *clink*. But this sound was different. This wasn’t the clash of metal on stone.
It was dirt.
A surge of relief washed over Nanfeng. She kept digging, quickly clearing another foot of the tunnel.
Xiao Aiyun, working beside her, had started to warn her for deviating from the path. But the distinctive schwick-schwick of earth being turned stopped her in her tracks.
Intrigued, she swept her flashlight over to Nanfeng’s section.
The beam illuminated a deep pit on the right side of the cave, revealing a vast expanse of hard earth interspersed with only a few yellowish-brown stones.
Even the hardest earth was easier to dig than rock.
Xiao Aiyun cried out in surprise, “Look! It’s dirt on the right! There’s hardly any rock!”
Her voice echoed through the deep cave, booming with startling volume.
The other educated youth stopped their work, turning toward Tao Nanfeng’s section as the light swept over it.
Now certain that the white line indicated the correct direction, Tao Nanfeng addressed the engineer. “Engineer Yang, we should dig to the right. This area is mostly hard earth with very few stones. It’ll be much easier than the left side.”
Engineer Yang walked over to inspect the site and nodded. “The cave walls are different on each side. I can’t believe I missed it.”
The cave was a sea of darkness, its walls a jumbled mess of rock and soil. Near the entrance, there was no discernible difference, but the change became apparent only as they ventured deeper inside.
Without proper instruments to take core samples, Engineer Yang had relied on his experience—and the fact that the cave mouth skewed slightly to the right—to judge that digging left was the best course of action.
As a technical leader, he didn’t feel his authority challenged by Tao Nanfeng’s unilateral change of plans. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh that echoed through the cavern, the sound vibrating painfully in their ears.
“Excellent! Tao Nanfeng, you’ve made a tremendous contribution. Comrades, we’re changing the digging route. Move everyone to the right side!”
With the shift in direction, the road construction team’s progress quickened noticeably.
After a long day, Tao Nanfeng returned to the Zhiqing Settlement and lay on her bed, replaying the day’s events in her mind.
It had all started with that dream—a rat biting her. Then she had discovered this new skill: the ability to dig holes. It came with a few rat-like instincts too: an insatiable craving for snacks and the pure joy of digging.
As she tossed and turned, the night grew deeper. On the large common bunk, the other three girls slept soundly, their breathing steady and even.
Tao Nanfeng turned her head slightly on her pillow, facing Xiao Aiyun’s darkened features. The girl had a round, apple-like face, thin eyebrows and eyes, and a few playful freckles scattered across her nose. Her fine, soft, yellowish hair spilled across the pillow.
Her lips were slightly parted, and she smacked them quietly, as if dreaming of something delicious.
The room is pitch black, Tao Nanfeng realized. Not a sliver of moonlight. So why is everything so clear?
Then it clicked. Besides a love for food and digging, rats were nocturnal. They could see in the dark.
Rubbing her eyes, Tao Nanfeng let out a wry laugh.
No wonder I’m getting more energized as the night goes on instead of sleepy, she thought.
It’s the rat instincts acting up.
A wave of warmth washed over her neck, a silent reminder of something hidden there. She reached up with her left hand and gently pulled out the red cord from beneath her collar, revealing a vibrant green jade buckle dangling from it.
Lifting the jade to her eyes, she found it smooth and warm to the touch. Its surface was as clear and serene as a deep pool, radiating a gentle, inner glow of lush greenery.
She recalled her dreams—the thatched cottage collapsed by a storm, the apocalypse overrun by zombies and mutated rats.
Those nightmares had left their mark on her, and she suspected they had all been triggered by the same habit: clutching this jade buckle in the dead of night, lost in longing for her mother.
Is this her protection?
Her mother, Xu Xiqin, had been the daughter of a wealthy family, educated in the classics, music, and art. Every garment she wore had been the height of refinement. Most of her belongings had been kept at home, but when the “Destroy the Four Olds” campaign struck, her father had been forced to surrender them.
He had managed to hide this single jade buckle in a secret compartment in his study, preserving it as a keepsake.
By some strange impulse, Tao Nanfeng had taken it before leaving for the countryside, tucking it under her collar and telling no one.
Superhuman strength, the ability to dig—these skills from her dreams were invaluable for adapting to farm life. But the visions themselves—the apocalyptic wasteland, the hordes of zombies and mutated beasts, the famine and the collapse of human morality—were utterly horrific.
Reluctantly, Tao Nanfeng pressed the jade buckle to her lips. She untied the red cord, rose from her bed, and stashed the piece deep within her wicker trunk, too afraid to wear it again.
She crept across the room, desperate not to wake her roommate. But Xiao Aiyun, a light sleeper, stirred. She blinked her eyes open, groggy and disoriented. “Tao Nanfeng? What are you doing?”
Tao Nanfeng threw a jacket over her shoulders. “Just going to the bathroom.”
Xiao Aiyun rolled in her blankets, then sat up and fumbled a flashlight from beside her pillow. “I’ll go with you.”
The mud-brick house’s restroom was located indoors, accessible via a back door from the main hall. The farm lacked municipal water and electricity, much less flushing toilets.
They were forced to use a pit latrine—a deep earthen hole covered by two wooden planks. A single misstep into the pit would be a true disaster. Because of this, the educated youth had a pact: no one went to the restroom alone at night.
Tao Nanfeng had only meant to excuse herself, not to drag Xiao Aiyun out of bed. She felt a twinge of guilt.
But Xiao Aiyun was used to communal living; going to the restroom with a roommate was a routine matter.
She simply slipped on her shoes and said, “Let’s hold hands on the way. It’s pitch-black tonight—not even a sliver of moon.”
A warmth spread through Tao Nanfeng’s chest. She had an older half-sister, yet she had never known this kind of sisterly affection. Perhaps the darkness had loosened her inhibitions. For the first time, she initiated physical contact, gently taking Xiao Aiyun’s hand.
The smaller hand was soft and warm, with the smooth skin of a young girl.
Xiao Aiyun was pleasantly surprised. After living with Tao Nanfeng for so long, she knew the other girl was reserved and disliked intimacy.
“Come on, don’t be afraid,” Xiao Aiyun grinned in the dark, the flashlight beam cutting a path forward. “I’m with you.”
Their friendship deepened in the quiet intimacy of such shared moments.
The next day, the educated youth gathered at the farm headquarters to collect their tools—iron hoes, picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows—before assembling at the cave.
Xiang Bei had been promoted to Deputy Farm Director, now overseeing the farm’s infrastructure projects.
It was easier to get things done when you had connections at the top.
Luo Xuan watched the road construction team arrive, taking charge with a level of authority that left no room for complaint. They demanded money, tools, and grain—and received them all without a single murmur of protest.
The cafeteria even dispatched a dedicated staff to deliver meals directly to the site, ensuring hearty portions with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables.
The educated youth had never experienced such treatment. Now, they were bursting with motivation.
The construction crew worked in unison, their rhythmic chants echoing against the cave walls. Cart after cart of mud and rubble was hauled out of the mountain and dumped by the roadside.
“Working hard… yah-meh-huo-hei!”
“Boosting production… yah-meh-huo-hei!”
“The road crew gives their all—”
“Build a road for the trucks… yah-meh-huo-hei!”
The song reverberated through the cavern, a stirring beat that seemed to fuel the workers. Like they’d been shot full of adrenaline, they swung their iron tools, gradually widening the mountain pass.
Though Engineer Yang was now the Head of the Infrastructure Department, he refused to stay cooped up in an office.
He delegated the paperwork to Old Huang and kept himself stationed at the construction site. Hearing the chants from within the cave, he smiled and chatted idly with Xiang Bei.
“No wonder you hold these Jiangcheng youth in such high regard,” Yang remarked. “They’re a good lot—hard-working and eager.”
Xiang Bei nodded. “They’re passionate, genuine, and sincere. They deserve better.”
The two men shared a knowing smile.
Engineer Yang patted Xiang Bei’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’ve come to see it. This world isn’t fair—good people often get nothing, while the corrupt live a thousand years. But someone still needs to stand up for the good ones, to back them up. Power… power is a good thing.”
Xiang Bei nodded, his eyes narrowing in thought.
Yang glanced at the cave, his voice brightening. “If we break through, we can connect the North and South Slopes.
“The villagers over there won’t have to trek over ten li of mountain paths just to get to town, and the kids won’t have to rise at the break of dawn, traveling under the stars just to get to school.”
Mount Xiufeng was more than just the farm; it was home to several villages divided into the North Slope and South Slope Brigades, encompassing seven smaller units. The farm sat on the south slope, and its villagers lived relatively well, finding odd jobs there and selling camellia oleifera seeds.
The North Slope villagers, however, were tucked deep in the mountains. To leave, they had to traverse ten li of rugged terrain to reach the South Slope, then follow a smaller path down to Quping Town.
Their lives were a constant struggle, made worse by the isolation.
High mountains and dense forests separated the two slopes. If this cave could be hollowed out, the North Slope villagers could pass directly through the tunnel to the farm.
As the sounds of the workers’ chants and the rhythmic clang of iron against stone echoed from the cave, a smile touched Xiang Bei’s lips.
“Yes,” he agreed. “If we can finish this road…”
Before the words had even left her lips, a strange sound echoed from the cave.
“Go! Get out! Everyone, out!” Tao Nanfeng’s voice was thick with terror.
Something’s wrong.
Xiang Bei’s heart hammered. Tao Nanfeng was always the steady one; she would never scream like this unless it was a catastrophe. He turned and bolted toward the cave.
Inside, Tao Nanfeng’s heart pounded against her ribs.
Just a moment ago—barely thirty seconds ago—the crew had been working as usual. The men swung shovels and picks against the rock face. Tao Nanfeng herself had been using a chisel and hammer to pry loose stones from the earth.
The excavated dirt and rubble were being loaded into carts and hauled away.
Then, a strange bip-bip-bop sound filled her ears.
She looked up sharply. Ten meters ahead, a web of intersecting red lines materialized in mid-air.
Wei Min, Chen Zhilu, and Qiao Yadong stood in a row, hoes raised high, ready to strike the earth.
One red dot appeared. Then two. Then three. They began to merge, forming a crimson zone that enveloped the three men. The red was so intense it looked as if it were bleeding.
Oh no.
Tao Nanfeng’s mind raced. Until now, she had only ever seen white lines, which marked the planned route for the tunnel. What did these red lines mean?
A warning?
It had to be. A sudden chill swept over her, and Tao Nanfeng felt her scalp prickle. The inexplicable sense of dread left no room for hesitation.
“Go! Run! Get out!” she screamed.
Xiao Aiyun, standing right beside her, jumped at the sound.
She turned, startled. “What’s wrong?”
Dirt began to crumble from the ceiling above Wei Min. He’d been so thrown by Tao Nanfeng’s outburst that he stood paralyzed, only noticing the falling debris as he instinctively reached up to touch his head.
Dirt? Where is this coming from?
Tao Nanfeng had earned immense respect from the educated youth after leading them through the construction of their brick-and-tile houses. Hearing her shout like this for the first time, the entire crew froze, tools lowered, as they held their breath.
Her eyes ever so sharp, Tao Nanfeng dropped her chisel. She grabbed Xiao Aiyun, who was still bent over a pile of stones, and yanked her to her feet. As she bolted for the exit, she screamed again, “The cave is collapsing! Get out!”
Now they understood.
The cave is collapsing? This was a matter of life and death.
Even Wei Min, the bravest among them, was swept up in the panic. He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his companions, and fled toward the entrance.
The veteran road crew worked a dozen meters ahead of the educated youth, their backs turned to the commotion. At the sound of the shouting, Mao Peng, the current team captain, paused and turned toward the cave entrance.
Tao Nanfeng’s voice echoed through the tunnel, a piercing shriek that made his ears ache. Seeing her drag her companions toward the exit, Mao Peng froze, his mind blank as he struggled to process the scene.
A wave of sheer terror washed over him. His throat constricted, and his heart hammered against his ribs. He tried to speak, but no sound came out; he tried to move, but his feet felt nailed to the spot.
Just then, Xiang Bei charged into the cave, his voice booming. “All teams, double time! Get out—now!”
His command was loud, clear, and resolute, cutting through the panic with an air of absolute authority.
As if finding a lifeline, Mao Peng and the rest of the crew dropped their tools and bolted for the exit.
In the red zone, dirt began to rain from the ceiling. The *thud-thud-thud* of falling debris grew more frequent. Then, a massive section of the cave roof gave way, collapsing in a torrent of earth.
Seeing the collapse, Xiang Bei’s adrenaline surged. He clenched his fists and braced himself, grabbing the fleeing workers one by one and shoving them toward the exit. “Run!” he roared, his voice hoarse. “Run!”
If anything happens, he thought desperately, I’ll never be able to live with the guilt.
The roar behind Xiao Aiyun and the tremor beneath her feet sent a jolt of pure terror through her. She stumbled, falling hard to the ground.
Dirt poured from the ceiling, and a heavy weight crushed her lower leg.
“Ahhh!”
A heart-wrenching scream tore from her throat.