The mischievous child was driven away, and Hua Yun, deeply moved, allowed Hua Yu to lead her by the hand, though her expression remained as impassive as ever.
Hua Yu looked up and said, "Brother, why do I feel like Sister is especially happy today?"
Yes, Sister was indeed very happy.
"I told Big Sister we're going to set traps for rabbits."
Hua Yun… Let's catch them first before talking.
Hua Bing nodded her little head. "This time, we mustn't let Second Uncle snatch them away."
"Of course. Grandma has already spoken. If he dares to take them, I'll make sure to give him a beating."
Hua Yun followed them up the mountain. The mountain wasn't far, but she walked in a daze. When the Post-apocalyptic Era began, she was still very young—so young that she had no memory of her parents or family. Naturally, she had no knowledge of the supposedly beautiful world before the apocalypse, though she had seen two-dimensional and three-dimensional preserved images. But having never experienced it firsthand, she felt little connection. Now, walking through these lush green mountains and clear waters, she was overwhelmed by a sense of unreality.
Here, the grass didn't weave into giant nets to devour people, the trees didn't suddenly bend down to swallow someone whole, and the flowers didn't spew fire, water, or poisonous sap. Everything was quiet and still. The ants on the ground busied themselves, so tiny—just as described in books—that a single finger could crush a whole swarm. The birds flying in the sky were different too, startled into flight from afar by people's presence. None of them would swoop down with blood-red eyes to suck out human brains. Everything here was small and fragile in the face of humanity.
Watching Hua Lei casually grab at the air in front of him, catching a few of the tiny flying insects buzzing around them, she saw him open his palm to reveal only a few black specks. Disgusted, he wiped his hand on his clothes.
Suddenly, Hua Yun understood why the Human Alliance had abandoned the Mother Planet. Humanity, the most intelligent species, had once stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid, looking down upon all living beings. Then, one day, everything changed. The carnivores began preying on humans, the herbivores turned to humans for sustenance, and even the plants that needed no nourishment started devouring people. Even the Zombies, once human themselves, opened their mouths wide to feast on their own kind. Everything that moved or didn't move saw humans as a delicacy. The fall from godlike heights to the very bottom of the food chain—how could such a gap be described as merely "worlds apart"? After all, airplanes could ascend from the ground to the sky, but humanity could never reclaim its former supremacy.
So, perhaps that was why the scientists and leaders turned their gaze outward, sparing no expense to search for a new, beautiful homeland rather than saving the Mother Planet. Or perhaps humanity's golden age had already passed, and the Mother Planet was no longer theirs. Thus, the Great Human Migration followed, and she herself had fallen into this Alternate Dimension…
Hua Yun felt a pang of sorrow. Once again, she was alone. Her comrades, her companions, and even him—all were far away. The Black Hole Conduit, built at the cost of countless human and material resources, was something she could never construct even if she lived a hundred lifetimes… She could only pray that everyone was safe and well.
At this moment, Hua Yun gazed devoutly at the clear blue sky she had never seen before, offering a sincere prayer. Her heart ached…
"My heart aches…" A man clutched his chest with one hand while shielding his face with the other, his eyes slightly closed. "I don't believe it, I don't believe it. We promised to stay together forever…"
After a moment, the man straightened up, opened the door, and walked out.
The bright corridor was made entirely of cold metal. People passing by wore solemn and dignified expressions, their white isolation suits insulating even the warmth of their bodies.
The man walked expressionlessly into the central laboratory, took out his ID card, and requested entry. With a beep, the door opened. Inside, a tall, slender man stood in the center, with several electronic screens floating in the air before him. Various data symbols flashed rapidly, casting a green glow on his grayish-white hair.
"I want to go find her. Doctor, please help me."
The man addressed as The Doctor did not turn around.
"Can you go?"
The man clenched his fist. "They can't stop me."
"Oh, then go ahead." The Doctor still did not turn around.
Unable to contain himself, the man circled around to face him. "Uncle, help me."
His tone was both stubborn and aggrieved.
The Doctor snapped his fingers, and the screens vanished into thin air. The vast room fell so silent that the drop of a pin could be heard.
"You need to understand, according to the habits of their hunting squad, Hua Yun would have chosen to self-destruct the moment she was bitten by the Zombie King."
"But—"
The Doctor raised a hand to stop him, his pale face devoid of wrinkles and seemingly emotionless. "Even if she didn’t self-destruct, falling into a Spacetime Black Hole would crush her into dust."
"But—"
"Even if she wasn’t crushed into dust, she would turn into a Zombie!"
"No! Uncle, it’s already been proven—the virus can’t survive in a Spacetime Conduit. She wouldn’t—"
"Oh, I misspoke. If she wasn’t crushed to death, she’d fall to her death. Give up."
The Doctor remained unmoved. "Prepare yourself. The second great migration is on the agenda."
The man’s hands tightened repeatedly. "Uncle, do you remember? Back then, I was carrying the most advanced detector."
The Doctor glanced at him. Of course he remembered. If it weren’t for Hua Yun’s death, he would have demanded it back long ago. If it hadn’t been for the man’s relentless pestering, why would he have given him the most advanced, most precise, and still experimental detector?
"The data inside…"
The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. "Bring it here!"
"Help me!"
"…Let me see it first."
The man flicked his wrist, and a tiny chip floated in the air. The Doctor, familiar with the process, tapped and swiped. A moment later.
"Truly incredible. Although the data from that instant is incomplete, it clearly indicates a planet with signs of advanced life…"
"Uncle, she must still be alive. I have to go find her!"
The Doctor frowned. "For a woman, is it worth it?"
This was his favorite nephew. How could he bear to watch him seek death?
"Uncle, why haven’t you returned home for so many years?"
The Doctor fell silent. "If you insist on this, then help me prepare for the second great migration. However, that black hole rift was created by the Zombie Kings’ full-force attack. I can’t guarantee you’ll find the same location, let alone what will happen once you enter. You need to understand—the chance of her being alive is less than one in ten thousand, and the chance of you finding her is practically zero."
"I know. Didn’t they also say that human migration to outer space was impossible? Yet we’ve already sent a group of people out, haven’t we?"
The Doctor chuckled softly. "Yes, nothing is impossible in this world."
Yet there are still impossible things in this world. For example, this fruit can’t turn into meat.
Hua Yun stared blankly at a tree full of fuzzy fruits, drooling uncontrollably.
"Sis, stop looking. These fuzzy peaches are still green. It’ll be another month or so before they’re edible. They’re too sour to eat."
Hua Yun stood motionless.
Hua Lei went to pick a few, wiping them on the edge of his clothes. "Big sis, take them to play with. Don’t eat them."
Hua Yun stuffed them into her mouth.
Hua Lei: "…"
After chewing a few times, she even swallowed the still-tender pit, staring eagerly at Hua Lei.
Unable to withstand the intense gaze, Hua Lei had no choice but to go pick some more. Hua Yun ate them all, watching as Hua Yu and Hua Bing covered their cheeks, mouths agape, drooling with sourness.
"Sis, you can't eat any more, or your teeth won't be able to bite anything."
Hua Yun licked her lips and gave the wild peach tree a reluctant glance. Her teeth were indeed about to ache from the sourness, but she was hungry! No matter how unpalatable the wild peaches were, once in her stomach, they could still provide a bit of strength. Otherwise, she wouldn't have wanted to come up the mountain.
Upon reaching the mountain, Hua Lei carefully examined the traces left by small animals on the ground, searching for a good spot to set traps. Hua Yu led Hua Bing, using tree branches to beat the grass, saying it would scare away snakes.
Hua Yun really wanted to say that snakes were edible too.
Flap, flap—a colorful pheasant flew past. Hua Yun swallowed her saliva.
The three of them watched the pheasant fly away with regretful eyes.
"Ah, if only we had a bow and arrows, we could catch a chicken for you to eat."
Even the most basic bow and arrows were made from rare, sturdy hardwood, with bowstrings crafted from ox tendons. Arrows were easier to make, but even they were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Hua Lei sighed regretfully, "If only I had apprenticed under Old Hunter."
Hua Yu jumped up: "No way! How did Old Hunter lose an eye? How did he injure his leg? And isn't he still farming now? Brother, don't even think about it. If something happened to you, wouldn't we be bullied to death by those people?"
Hua Yu's eyes reddened.
Hua Yun thought that although the animals here were "weak," so were the people. If they had Augmentations and Special Abilities like in her world, wouldn't they have eaten all the animals to extinction?
Hua Lei quickly comforted her: "I was just saying. Alright, alright, you take Big Sis and Little Brother to dig for wild vegetables over here. I'll go to the other side. There are more wild animals there, and no paths. I'll set a few traps and come right back. Don't wander off."
After Hua Lei left, Hua Yun was led by Hua Yu and Hua Bing to sit on a large rock. They told her not to move and to call out if anything happened. The two of them searched for wild vegetables about ten meters away.
Bored, Hua Yun looked up at the sky. Was this the daily life of children? They really treated this Hua Yun like a treasure. She couldn't help but think of her own companions, then of him, and her heart ached, inexplicably wanting to cry.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Hua Yun opened them again with her signature silly, simple expression. Suddenly, she seemed to hear something, then sniffed the air…
Such a fragrant… scent of blood…
Hua Yun tilted her head, listened carefully for a while, and glanced at the younger siblings, who were digging energetically with their backs to her. She quietly stood up and stealthily slipped into the forest behind her.
The noise seemed to be moving farther away. Hua Yun walked for a while, and the scenery before her changed, becoming silent and devoid of human voices.
With a few rustling sounds, Hua Yun crouched and hid in a patch of wild grass. Pushing aside the branches and leaves, she fixed her gaze and her eyes lit up.
A pig!
A pig with meat on it!
A pig with meat and blood flowing from it!