SWDnovel Chapter 160 Salt Market
Chapter 160 Salt Market
The convoy restarted its engines, and this time, everyone's eyes changed.
It was no longer weariness and confusion, no longer fear and helplessness, but a complex radiance mixed with hope, determination and vigilance.
The tires rolled over the slippery mud road and soon found themselves on a wide, old-fashioned road.
The convoy began to drive towards the silent 'giant skeleton'.
The incessant rain washed away everyone's confusion.
Under the gray sky, the city's outline gradually became grotesque, and much of it could still be seen even through the rain.
Everyone tried their best to compare their memories with what they had in mind.
No one spoke!
They were all afraid that if they opened their mouths, they would shatter the hopes of others.
What I fear even more is the shattering of my hopes.
The wheels rolled over the cracked asphalt road, splashing up murky water.
The closer you get, the clearer the city's outline becomes, and the more unsettling it becomes.
The wreckage of various abandoned vehicles began to appear on the roads; they were the kind that wouldn't even get a second glance at a car junkyard.
However, the "Salt J" license plate, washed clean by the rain, shattered the hopes of most people.
"Salt Market? This is actually Salt Market?" Fu Xiaojian had never been here before, and neither had Xu Si.
He was a country bumpkin who never left the county town when he was a child. When he grew up, he wandered to Shenzhen and never even had the chance to see the world.
盐市
It's not Yinshi, not Hangzhou, not Jiangcheng, and not Xijing.
But at this moment, it doesn't seem to matter that much anymore.
This is a city, a city where real humans once lived.
Someone on the bus covered their mouth and their shoulders heaved violently, but no sound came out.
"My home is in Tongshi, my house is right next to yours!"
Inside the bus, a young man wearing glasses was crying like a child, silently arguing with the others on the bus.
If Xu Si were here, he would definitely recognize that the Kawasaki was contributed by this kid named Yang Fan.
"I've been here before when I watched football games, I've been here before when I watched football games, the drunken mud snails here are really delicious!" another person exclaimed excitedly.
"I've never been here, but I have a colleague who's from Yanshi, and he brings us rice wine every year! I can still remember the taste!"
……
Everyone was trying hard to recall their impressions of Yanshi, and they did their utmost to protect it, as if they regarded it as their second hometown.
The convoy continued on its way, not stopping at the occasional wrecked vehicles along the road, as they seemed to have almost no value for use.
The convoy slowly came to a stop on the highway on the edge of the city, like a group of ants that had strayed into a giant's tomb.
The appearance of the salt market became clearer at this time.
Countless towering buildings are not intact; many exterior walls are covered with huge cracks, as if scratched by a giant beast, or pits eroded by some kind of corrosive substance.
Many buildings were broken in half, with exposed steel bars resembling broken ribs, twisting and piercing the leaden sky.
The streets were littered with more completely rusted car wrecks, overturned bus stop signs, shattered glass curtain walls, and other debris that was difficult to identify.
The rain washed everything away, but it couldn't wash away the heavy, deathly silence.
The entire city seems to exist in a two-dimensional space.
Seeing this scene, many people couldn't help but cover their faces and weep.
This place was once brightly lit, bustling with people, and a paradise that carried the happy lives of countless people.
The rain in the city was much lighter than in the wilderness, as if to welcome the sudden arrival of guests, or perhaps as a kind of harbinger.
"Communication test. All vehicles, report in sequence." Fu Xiaojian's voice came through the walkie-talkie, deeper than before.
"Pikachu received."
"Big Dog received."
"The public has received it."
"The bus has been received."
"Ambulance received."
"...The conqueror has received this."
The responses on the channel came one after another, brief and dry.
"Maintain the current formation, keep a distance of 20 meters, and advance at a constant speed."
"Target: Shopping malls, supermarkets, gas stations, and any other place where supplies can be collected."
"No team member is allowed to leave the convoy without permission. Everyone must remain vigilant."
Fu Xiaojian issued one command after another, clear and calm like a commander on the battlefield.
Xu Si leaned back in the driver's seat, his scarlet star-like eyes slowly scanning the silent, dark buildings on both sides of the street ahead.
His "star trail" was not severely suppressed here, and he did not feel any discomfort from Yi Yi's malicious perception.
The convoy began to move, officially entering the city.
The tires made a sticky sound as they rolled over the puddle.
Along the streets, broken shop windows resemble gaping mouths, their interiors dark and empty, occasionally revealing overturned shelves and merchandise long since turned to grime.
The excessive moisture caused most of the goods to rot or turn into mud, making it completely unnecessary to stop and collect supplies.
The little girl was somewhat disappointed that no moss had grown on the damaged car wreckage, which had been exposed to this environment for a long time.
Dead silence.
Apart from the sound of rain and the engines of the convoy, there was nothing else.
This absolute silence is more suffocating than the howling of the sandstorms in the Gobi Desert.
"My God..."
On the walkie-talkie, someone murmured unconsciously, then immediately fell silent.
Jiao Jiao drove carefully while observing the city.
Her big eyes stared unblinkingly at the passing scenery outside.
She had fantasized countless times about returning to the city, to that world with bubble tea shops, arcades, and schools.
But this one in front of me... isn't it.
This place shattered all her beautiful memories, leaving behind a gruesome mess.
"Does anyone know where there's a large supermarket around here?" Fu Xiaojian asked over the walkie-talkie.
He pinned his hopes on someone who could give him directions, even if they only knew the general situation; it was better than them searching aimlessly.
All eyes on the bus were on the man who had been to Yanshi before, hoping he could provide a suitable coordinate.
"I've only come to watch one game. If it were near the stadium, I might... know someone!" Hearing this, everyone's hopes were dashed.
The convoy had no choice but to continue along the main road deeper into the city center.
There was silence on the walkie-talkie, broken only by the hissing of the electrical current and the incessant sound of rain outside the car window.
The man who claimed to have "been there" was unable to provide any further useful information.
Clearly, a brief trip to the stadium wouldn't allow him to fully grasp the city's character, and there must have been changes over the long period of time.
He dared not provide any information.
In such situations, a single miscommunication could lead the convoy to utter ruin.
The convoy had no choice but to continue along the wide but dilapidated main road, heading deeper into the city.
The buildings on both sides grew denser, and the shadows grew thicker, as if countless silent giants were looking down at the beetles that had strayed into their nest.