HLLY Chapter 16

On the morning of the third day, just before departure, the lieutenant muttered that it might rain today. In the post-apocalyptic world, weather conditions are completely unpredictable; clear skies and rain depend entirely on the mood of the heavens. There have been countless instances of sudden weather changes, and it seemed the lieutenant had jinxed it. Just past ten in the morning, a torrential downpour suddenly began.

The rain, contaminated by radiation after the apocalypse, is nothing like the acid rain from before; to exaggerate a bit, what drips down isn’t water, but concentrated hydrochloric acid. Even armored vehicles retrofitted with the best materials cannot brave the heavy rain for long. The convoy had no choice but to take a detour to avoid the rain, waiting for it to stop before continuing their journey.

Two vehicles parked side by side under an abandoned bridge, the lieutenant holding an umbrella and fully armed in a raincoat and rain boots, approached Vehicle 1. He discussed the itinerary face-to-face with Jiang Huan, while Shen Shanwu sat by the window, gazing at the transparent curtain of rain outside the bridge. The longer he looked, the more he yearned to rush out and take a refreshing shower.

“Looking at this rain, it doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon. I estimate we won’t reach the planned rest stop tonight.”

“Are there any private shelters nearby?”

The lieutenant shook his head. “If there were, would I be making this face right now?”

Shen Shanwu turned to glance at the lieutenant, whose face resembled a vivid expression of a bitter melon. Jiang Huan took a sip of hot tea and pointed at the map with his finger. “This area is low-lying. If the rain hasn’t stopped by 1 PM, we need to move immediately.”

“I don’t think it’s going to stop,” the lieutenant said, taking another sip of tea.

As it turned out, the lieutenant’s words were even more ominous than a jinx. By half-past one, the rain showed no signs of letting up; the sky was as dark as midnight, devoid of any light, oppressive and eerie as if it were about to collapse.

When the lieutenant got out of the vehicle again, the water had already risen to ankle height, and in the midday gloom, they had to hold up a lamp, braving the howling cold wind as he returned to Vehicle 2.

Before this, an additional waterproof membrane had been affixed to the top of the armored vehicle, and the windows and shell had received meticulous protection. The tires were also coated with a layer of anti-corrosive oil.

Everything was ready. At the captain’s command, the off-road vehicle set off again, with the destination being a nearby high-ground villa marked on the map. They could only hope that the quality of the rich people’s houses wasn’t too poor, or they might find themselves overwhelmed by the rain before they even reached the roof.

Under the onslaught of the torrential wind and rain, the road became increasingly rugged and muddy, and even the air inside the vehicle began to feel damp. The trees along the roadside swayed helplessly in the fierce wind, countless yellow-green leaves swirling in the air. Several small trees, as thick as a bowl, were uprooted and nearly crashed onto the off-road vehicle.

The windshield wipers worked tirelessly, but the glass remained blurry, as if the entire vehicle had been plunged directly into a lake.

Continuing to drive like this was extremely dangerous, but they had no other choice.

Suddenly, an urgent shout of “Captain!” came from the driver’s seat. At the same time, Vehicle 1 slammed on the brakes, and Jiang Huan quickly walked to the front of the vehicle. Through the waterfall-like curtain of rain on the windshield, he saw a massive fallen tree, its lush branches and leaves blocking the path ahead, leaving no room to pass.

Jiang Huan opened the map and quickly made a decision. “Notify everyone in Vehicle 2 to get out and move the fallen tree!”

They had no time to take a detour. When Xiaowen opened the door to get out, the water on the ground had already risen above their calves. If it weren’t for the high chassis of the off-road vehicle, it probably would have stalled by now.

Shen Shanwu had just changed into his rain boots and was about to jump out of the vehicle when Jiang Huan suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pushed him back into his seat, fastening the seatbelt tightly. “Stay in the car and don’t move around.”

“I can—”

“You can’t.” With that, Jiang Huan put on his hood, tightened the drawstring to cover most of his face securely, and forcefully slammed the door shut from the outside.

“…” Shen Shanwu, speechless, unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed into the passenger seat. A rough estimate told him that the fallen tree weighed at least 800 kilograms; he honestly felt that the strength of this group alone might not be enough to handle it.

The team members first used their umbrellas as makeshift weapons to chop away the smaller branches of the fallen tree. Xiaowen and Zhong Yin moved back and forth, clearing the cut branches, while the remaining men lined up in an orderly fashion, using all their strength to push the tree to the side.

“Captain, it’s stuck! We’ll have to lift it!” The lieutenant’s voice was carried by the howling wind and rain to everyone’s ears. They all looked towards Jiang Huan, who replied succinctly, “Then let’s lift it.”

Shen Shanwu sat patiently for a moment, watching the water continue to rise outside while their progress was painfully slow. With a sigh, he disregarded Jiang Huan’s orders, opened the car door, and jumped out.

The rainwater had already risen to his thighs as Shen Shanwu waded through it. Before he could reach his position, he heard Jiang Huan’s angry voice: “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay in the car?”

Yao Wuque, who was naturally impatient, became even more irritated upon seeing Shen Shanwu swaying in the rain. “Get back! Don’t come here and make things worse!”

Without saying a word, Shen Shanwu found a spot, crouched down, and reached for the base of the tree branch. The water level rose and submerged his shoulders. Jiang Huan’s pupils contracted as he watched him, but with the situation urgent, he couldn’t afford to get caught up in another argument. The lieutenant, seeing the captain remain silent and bend down again, took a deep breath and called out:

“One, two!”

At the call to action, everyone’s muscles bulged beneath their protective suits, trembling from the immense effort. It was hard to tell if it was the sight of a child, who was barely capable of lifting a feather, joining in that inspired them, but this time, amid the shouts and encouragement, they actually managed to lift the giant log.

The astonishing weight left deep footprints in the ground with each step they took. After three strenuous steps, they finally maneuvered the log out of the terrain that had trapped it. With a loud splash, the log fell into the water, and buoyed by the water’s lift, they rolled it to the side of the road.

Although they had solved the obstacle problem, the situation remained dire. Shen Shanwu waved his hand; the previous conditions required him to exert force, but he couldn’t use too much strength. It was exhausting to precisely control his effort. Just as he turned to look back, he suddenly felt lighter. Jiang Huan had lifted him from behind, holding him at the waist like a water bucket, and in just a few steps, he brought Shen Shanwu back to the vehicle.

As soon as the car door closed, everyone quickly removed their clothes, and Zhang Xiaowen was no exception. Although she was the only woman present, she couldn’t care less about modesty at that moment. She efficiently stripped off all her clothing and tossed her garments, soaked by the radioactive rain, into the disinfection box.

Shen Shanwu still had no awareness of the radiation threat and was a beat slow to react. It wasn’t until Jiang Huan crouched down to grab his collar that he awkwardly said he could do it himself.

Jiang Huan nodded, stood back up, and swiftly removed his shirt. Behind Shen Shanwu was Sister Xiaowen, who was changing clothes, while in front of him were the two team members, the driver and the co-driver, who were also taking off their tactical gear. He felt his eyes burn as he glanced sideways; Jiang Huan was adjusting his upper body and had bent his head down to unzip his pants.

There was no mistake about it; Jiang Huan’s chest muscles were indeed well-developed, full and firm. One could imagine the soft yet resilient texture, and the clearly defined abdominal muscles below were also an eye-catching highlight, accentuated by two prominent V-lines that led to thoughts that were hard to resist…

Shen Shanwu quickly forced himself to look up, refusing to let his gaze wander to things he shouldn’t be seeing.

A flash of light caught his attention on Jiang Huan’s neck, where two metal plates reflected a dazzling gleam. Shen Shanwu looked closer in confusion and discovered that it was a fine chain with two metal tags hanging from it.

This was something every regular mercenary in a combat squad would have. When they formally joined, the squad would issue weapons and name tags to the members. The front of the name tag displayed their name, while the back showed their date of birth.

The material of the name tags was exceptionally durable, and mercenaries typically wore them without ever taking them off, as the battlefield was merciless. Often, the name tag represented their ashes, buried in place of their bodies.

Shen Shanwu had a name tag back in the day, but later… later he lost it to another mutant in a card game. This mutant had become a zombie right after the explosion of a super planet, having never come into contact with a human sanctuary, and was extremely interested in these combat squads.

At that time, he had specifically requested the name tag, and Shen Shanwu thought that given his current circumstances, he had no need for it, so he generously gave it to him.

Now, Jiang Huan was actually wearing two name tags around his neck—one must belong to him, while the other… perhaps belonged to someone very important to him?

Since the two of them lost contact four years ago, Jiang Huan must have gone through many experiences during that time—some joyful, some painful. He had gained a lot, but he must have also lost much. Yet, Shen Shanwu knew nothing of it all.

The name tags only appeared in Shen Shanwu’s line of sight for a second before Jiang Huan quickly covered them with a clean piece of clothing. Shen Shanwu sat down and lifted his foot to put on new socks. After changing, Xiaowen rushed over with disinfectant, spraying it wildly at everyone while squatting beside them and chattering like an old lady. “You really don’t listen, do you? Do we need your little bit of strength?”

You actually do…

“The child’s immune system is weak and prone to mutations. Jiang Tong, double the dosage of medicine for today,” Xiaowen said, slamming two medicine bottles down on the table along with a cup of warm water.

“That’s not necessary…”

Jiang Huan shot a sideways glance at Shen Shanwu, who immediately complied and drank the medicine obediently.

The rain still hadn’t stopped, and the speed of the off-road vehicle was decreasing more and more. The engine hummed ominously, and it could stall at any moment. The lieutenant‘s anxious voice came through the communicator: “Captain, we can’t go any further. We need to find a place to stop immediately.”

“…Tell everyone to be ready to get out at any time,” Jiang Huan ordered calmly.

Suddenly, a team member in the passenger seat called out, pointing to the right. “There seems to be a high platform over there that can shelter us from the rain!”

Xiaowen immediately leaned out of the right window to look. “…Yes! But there are steps, so the vehicle can’t get up there.”

“As long as the people can get up, that’s fine,” came the lieutenant‘s voice through the communicator.

The off-road vehicle slowly made its way toward the high ground. In front of the steps was a large slope, with half of the vehicle completely submerged in water and the other half having a small portion of the tires submerged as well. The people inside the vehicle certainly felt very uncomfortable.

Once the vehicle stopped, a scout from the second vehicle jumped out. He quickly ran back and jumped into the first vehicle. “Captain, there’s a small temple up there. There are no zombies around, and it’s relatively clean inside, enough to accommodate all of us. The only issue is that there are a lot of climbing vines around the temple, and I’m worried that the walls may have been corroded, posing a risk of collapse.”

“…Currently, we don’t have any better options. Inform everyone to get out of the vehicle. Before getting out, take food, weapons, and warm items with you, and prepare for a stay of several days. The last people to get out must lock all the windows and doors of the vehicle.”

“Understood!”

 

 

 

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