Qi Xia never would have imagined it. He walked along the road for an entire day, all the way until the sun sank below the horizon, and he still hadn't seen the edge of this city.
A normal person could walk at a speed of five kilometers per hour, but Qi Xia estimated that, given his physical condition, he was only moving at about three kilometers per hour. He had already walked for more than seven hours today, covering a distance of over twenty kilometers. Now, he only felt dizzy and his vision was blurry.
Both of his legs were trembling nonstop. The only reason he could keep moving forward was almost entirely due to the momentum of his legs.
"I just hope I can die a little later..."
After another ten minutes or so, Qi Xia truly couldn't walk anymore. He found a dilapidated building and went inside. Night was about to fall, and if he stayed outside, he would run into those bizarre "insects."
Although he didn't yet know what danger those insects posed, he still chose to avoid this unnecessary trouble ahead of time. Qi Xia used Officer Li's lighter to start a fire. Then he took out the map of "Heaven's Gate," flipped it over, and dipped his finger in his own blood to roughly record the route he had taken.
This city was far more massive than he had imagined. He had thought that by following the road, he would at least reach a place like the wilderness, but he never expected the buildings around him to gradually grow taller, as if he were walking from the suburbs toward the city center.
"The diameter of a normal city rarely exceeds fifty kilometers..."
Qi Xia calculated to himself as he drew the map with his own blood.
"Theoretically, I should reach the city's edge before tomorrow afternoon. Everything will be revealed then."
Thinking of this, he moved closer to the fire, found a relatively comfortable position, and lay down. The bloodstains on his body had all dried, emitting a foul, rusty smell. Last night, Lin Qin had used a torch to treat his wound.
Although the bleeding had stopped, the burned area was both painful and itchy, making it difficult for him to sleep the entire night. After daybreak, Qi Xia dragged his nearly broken body up. A night's rest hadn't restored any of his stamina; his entire being was completely overdrawn.
There was no water, no food, and no medicine. Qi Xia even felt a bit envious of Han Yimo, who had died so cleanly. He found a few pieces of relatively clean waste paper in the room, tore them into pieces, and swallowed them.
If his stomach was completely empty, he feared he wouldn't even make it to the city's edge. Facing the morning sun, Qi Xia set out once again. He was already very far from the initial square.
He couldn't hear the "bell chime" here, and he rarely saw any "Zodiacs." But as he ventured deeper, the natives in the city gradually became more numerous. This place was like a real city, except that most of the people on the streets were walking corpses.
They had no expressions, no aggression, and they didn't communicate with others. They just wandered the streets aimlessly. For a moment, Qi Xia felt that he was just like the walking corpses on the street.
Their movements, demeanor, expressions, and even their walking speed were no different. How ironic was that? Could it be that these people had also been stabbed once, and were now heading toward the city's edge with a clear goal in mind?
As the sun climbed higher, Qi Xia felt that something was wrong with his condition. He touched his forehead and neck; it seemed he was starting to run a fever. It looked like using fire to cauterize the wound had been too risky.
Even if it could temporarily stop the bleeding, it couldn't prevent the wound from getting infected and causing a fever. Qi Xia felt his eyelids growing heavier as he walked. He felt like he could collapse to the ground at any moment.
If he fell this time, he was afraid he would never get up again. Nearly half an hour passed, and Qi Xia slowly came to a stop by the side of the road. He couldn't take another step.
At this moment, his hand was resting on an old taxi by the roadside as he gasped for breath.
"What a pity..."
Qi Xia gazed at the road in the distance. There was still a long way to go, but unfortunately, he was going to fall here. It seemed that in the final moments of his life, he still wouldn't get to see the ultimate secret of this place.
Leaning on the old taxi, Qi Xia lowered his head in frustration. Just as he was about to sit down on the spot, he suddenly noticed someone in the car. That person didn't look like a corpse; instead, it was a woman who was blinking.
"A native..."
Qi Xia looked at the hard ground, then at the soft seat in the car, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. If he really had to die here, he would at least choose a soft place.
With that thought, as if guided by some strange force, Qi Xia opened the car door and sat directly in the passenger seat. The car smelled very fragrant, the kind he associated with a woman's car. Whether it was good news or not, at least in his final moments, Qi Xia could escape the stench that permeated the entire city.
"I never thought a car seat could be this comfortable..."
Qi Xia muttered to himself.
"Now I can die in peace."
"Where to?" the woman beside him asked faintly.
"Where to?"
Qi Xia shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Where else can I go now?"
He patted his thigh and slowly recited some lyrics: "Drive, drive to the edge of the city, roll down all the windows, trade some speed for a little thrill..."
"The edge of the city?"
The woman thought for a moment.
"I don't know where that is. You'll have to give me directions."
After speaking, the woman pressed the taxi meter inside the car and then turned the key. Just as Qi Xia had expected, the car made an old sound but did not start. The woman didn't give up.
She turned the key several times in a row, and finally, after forcefully turning the car key for the fifth time, the whole car began to tremble. Qi Xia was stunned. He turned his head and looked at the woman in disbelief.
She really didn't look like a native. At least her complexion was rosy and her figure was well-proportioned. Could she be a "good person"?
A "good person" who had her own car...
"Fasten your seatbelt, we're off."
The woman reached out, shifted into first gear, released the clutch, and hit the gas, all in one smooth motion. Qi Xia, at a loss, fumbled for the seatbelt, only to find an elastic cord with a metal buckle that had rusted away.
He didn't have time to think about it and could only try to strike up a conversation with the woman: "You... you are... a taxi driver?"
"You must be joking, sir."
The woman shook her head, then shifted from second to third gear.
"If I'm not a driver, am I a car thief?"
Seeing that the woman before him could communicate smoothly, answer fluently, and even crack a small joke, Qi Xia was even more confused. A woman this mentally sound was obviously not a native, which meant she should be a "participant." But why would a "participant" be driving a taxi?
"Haven't you noticed... that this place is very abnormal?"
Qi Xia pointed to the scene outside the window, trying to figure out the stance of this plain-looking woman before him.
"Is it?"
The woman glanced out the window after hearing him and said faintly, "It is a bit abnormal. It's gotten cloudy." Qi Xia sighed helplessly.
It seemed the woman before him was still a native, but it was as if she had just turned into one, and her thinking was still relatively clear for now.
"What's your name?"
Qi Xia asked again. The woman didn't speak, but pointed to the spot in front of Qi Xia. Her taxi driver's license was hanging there, with her photo and name on it.
She had a very nice name, called Xu Liuying. Warm Reminder: The website is about to be revamped, which may result in the loss of reading progress. Please save your "Bookshelf" and "Reading History" in a timely manner (it is recommended to save screenshots).
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