Chapter 61: The Road to Exile, Part Three

The diary contained only fragmented words, with most of its pages filled with hand-drawn map sketches. For instance, lines and blocks indicated paths and buildings surrounding the apartment, with names labeled beside them. Some places were marked with red pen for danger, while others bore words like "medicine," "food," and "water." Rather than a diary, it was more of a survival manual.

Little Lu Li was still asleep. Sleep was the best way to reduce the body’s energy consumption. Due to prolonged hunger, she would often sleep for long stretches. Shi Xianyu found a small stool among the clutter, sat down beside her, and continued reading the diary.

She had plenty of supplies and didn’t need to use the diary’s guidance to scavenge for more, but she hoped to find some clues about Lu Li’s mother. The diary was likely left by Lu Li’s parents.

She read from the first page to the last with great care, discovering that one word appeared frequently: Oasis.

What was the Oasis? Was it simply a desert oasis, or did it mean something else?

Shi Xianyu pondered this, then began searching the house, not minding the filth. She pulled out every book, magazine, newspaper, map, and personal notebook, dusted them off, and began reading with the same diligence she had once shown preparing for college entrance exams.

After more than two hours of effort, she had a rough understanding of this world. Civilization here was similar in development to her own world, but the environment and climate were far harsher. Frequent sandstorms, depleted freshwater resources, and soil laden with toxins made it difficult for plants to grow. Even the crops that could be forced out of the earth contained chronic poisons.

In such a harsh environment, technological progress had ground to a halt. Some plants and animals mutated. Human bodies began to change as well—elderly died young, children were frail and sickly, and most adults lost the ability to bear children. In just a few decades, the population dwindled to less than five percent of its former size.

Here, the Oasis meant a human settlement built around active freshwater resources.

Oases were not permanent. They gradually shrank and eventually disappeared. For example, Lu Li’s city had been an oasis a year ago. But when the water ran dry, the residents had to migrate to other oasis cities.

Shi Xianyu guessed that it was this great migration a year ago that separated Lu Li from her family.

To find Lu Li’s mother, she would first have to find an oasis.

However, none of the materials she’d found gave a clear location for one. Last time, she had seen tire tracks at a crossroads, but now a sandstorm was blowing. By the time it ended, the tracks would be buried.

The clues were still too scant. She could only take Lu Li away from here first, then search for more information about the oases.

Taking advantage of the child’s sleep, Shi Xianyu searched the house from top to bottom but found nothing else useful.

At last, she took the family portrait off the wall, deciding to bring it with her—having a photo might help when asking about someone.

Perhaps the sound of removing the photo woke Lu Li, for when Shi Xianyu turned around, she saw the girl sitting silently on the sofa, staring at her.

This child was always so quiet, suddenly appearing and giving people a start.

Shi Xianyu walked over with the photo, smiling gently. “Let’s take a picture of your mother with us and go find her together, shall we?”

Lu Li glanced at the photo, then at Shi Xianyu, and slowly nodded her head in agreement.

“Good girl,” Shi Xianyu praised, tousling her hair.

Her freshly washed hair was soft and fluffy, giving Shi Xianyu a sense of accomplishment.

Although she was thin to the point of being out of shape now, with proper care, she would surely become a lovely little girl!

“Come, let’s put on some nice new clothes, and then we’ll go look for your mother together!”

She dressed Lu Li in a sunflower-printed short-sleeved T-shirt, white shorts, and bright yellow sweatpants. If it weren’t for the wind and sand outside, she would have put her in a princess dress.

Lastly, Shi Xianyu braided her hair into two plaits, admired her handiwork, and with a satisfied smile, pushed the girl to the mirror in the entryway. “You look beautiful, Little Li!”

Though the mirror was dusty and yellowed, the new clothes stood out vividly against the cluttered background.

Lu Li seemed not to have seen herself in a long time and stood dazed before the mirror, saying nothing for quite a while.

Shi Xianyu grew uneasy at her reaction, wondering if the child had lived alone for so long that she’d developed some kind of phobia and was afraid of her own reflection.

She crouched down, carefully met Lu Li’s gaze, and asked softly, “Little Li, do you not like looking in the mirror? We don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Lu Li slowly came back to herself. Her lips pursed slightly, and she gave Shi Xianyu a shy smile.

She raised her hand and wrote on the mirror: The clothes are pretty.

Shi Xianyu chuckled, touching her thin little cheek. “The clothes are pretty, but Little Li is even prettier.”

Lu Li blushed at the compliment, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. At last, her face was no longer wooden and blank.

“All right, we’ll set out as soon as the sandstorm passes,” Shi Xianyu said, handing her the washbasin they’d used earlier. “See if there’s anything you want to take with you. Put it in the basin and I’ll carry it to the car.”

Lu Li nodded, obediently returning to her room to pack. Her braids swayed adorably as she went.

Shi Xianyu expected her to dawdle, but Lu Li soon returned, carrying the washbasin.

Inside were only three things: a gold necklace, a dirty cloth doll, and a mousetrap.

Shi Xianyu stared at the bloodstained mousetrap, feeling complicated.

When she looked up, the little girl was watching her anxiously, as if afraid she wouldn’t be allowed to bring these things.

The mousetrap, which Shi Xianyu found repulsive, was a survival tool for the girl. Without it, she would feel unsafe.

Thinking of this, Shi Xianyu felt a pang of sympathy, even though she truly did want to throw that mousetrap away.

“How about this,” she suggested, crouching down to discuss it with Lu Li. “Look, this doll and mousetrap are both dirty, covered in germs. Let’s wash them first, then take them to the car. All right?”

Lu Li’s eyes curved into two crescents and she nodded happily.

“You wash the doll, I’ll clean the mousetrap. As for this necklace…” Shi Xianyu picked it up. It was a delicate chain with a teardrop-shaped pearl, probably a memento from Lu Li’s mother.

She put the necklace around Lu Li’s neck, smiling. “There, go wash your doll.”

Lu Li hugged the basin and skipped to the bathroom.

Shi Xianyu filled it with water, set out a bottle of laundry detergent, a bag of washing powder, and a bar of soap. She didn’t expect the child to get things truly clean—this was mainly for fun, to make her happy.

As for herself, she took the mousetrap to the kitchen, put on rubber gloves, took out a steel wool pad and disinfectant, and scrubbed and soaked it thoroughly.

Outside, the sandstorm raged. In the kitchen, Shi Xianyu worked hard, unaware that at that very moment, someone was searching for them anxiously…

…

“Gave me a fright! What an ugly sight!”

The team member snatched his hand back and moved closer to the captain.

“I’ve never seen anyone so ugly!”

“Ugly? Let me see.” Ye Liuyun crouched down, lifting the man’s chin with a gloved hand. She grinned, “What’s ugly about him? I think he’s quite handsome.”

“Handsome?” The team member looked as if he might vomit. “Boss, his face looks half-rotten. How can you say he’s handsome?”

Ye Liuyun raised an eyebrow, then flipped the man over completely.

The team members all took a step back.

Half the man’s face was striking and handsome; the other half was pitted with scars, as though burned.

“I’ve seen injuries like this,” Ye Liuyun dusted her gloves and stood up, calm. “This happens when you’re corroded by a Bramble Python’s venom. A pity. If he faced a Bramble Python head-on, he must have been capable. If he were still alive, he’d make a good addition to our squad.”

Nearby, a team member slung his gun over his shoulder, glancing around nervously. “If he died here, could the Bramble Python still be nearby?”

Ye Liuyun scoffed. “If it was nearby, would his body still be intact? That thing eats everything—its stomach’s like a trash bin. My guess is this man came to hunt the Bramble Python, but his teammates were all swallowed. He managed to escape here, but died from lack of food and water.”

“What a shame. If he’d found us sooner, he might have survived.” The team member sighed, searching the body.

“Hurry up, the sandstorm’s almost here!” another teammate called from the car.

Ye Liuyun climbed aboard, lips curling in a smile. “Radish wants to scavenge a bit more; let him.”

The driver, a man with a dense black beard, rolled his eyes. “The sandstorm’s almost upon us. If he keeps this up, we’ll all be buried!”

Suddenly, Radish leaped up with a yell.

“What’s your problem, yelling like that?” the bearded man scolded.

“He moved!” Radish shrieked. “He’s alive—like a corpse coming back to life!”

Ye Liuyun paused, turning back. “Alive? Impossible… He had no pulse just now.”

She was about to check when, before she could get close, the man who had shown no sign of life suddenly sat up, holding his forehead as he looked at them. “Who are you?”

Ye Liuyun produced her credentials. “Longyan Oasis Team 017, Captain Ye Liuyun. And you? Which team?”

“I…” The man slowly stood, pressing his brow. “I am…”

His mind was a blank, except for the blurry image of a little girl who told him he needed to help her find her mother.

But who was this little girl? And who was he?

Deep in his consciousness, a voice echoed: “We met here by chance; the name Lin Yuan suits the occasion, don’t you think?”

“I am… Lin… Yuan?”