CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: LONELINESS AND HOPE

2100/5/2

I hid the radio in that sanctuary. There are too many Decadents outside, and if I carry the radio around, I’m afraid it might get snatched away by them one day.

Still, I hope I won’t encounter any raiders. Who knows if some of them have completely lost their minds and turned into cannibals?

My insistence is correct; I should be with the Reconstruction Faction, not the Joyful Gang, the Decadents, or the Adaptors.

However, I haven’t actually seen what the Joyful Gang or the Adaptors are like; I’ve only seen the Decadents.

They live in this world like walking corpses, without goals or hope, alone or in groups, only knowing to plunder and barely survive.

The radio is right; they can no longer be called humans. Only the Reconstruction Faction is the hope of humanity.

But I haven’t seen the Reconstruction Faction either, only heard about them on the radio. One day I will set out to find them, but not now.

If I leave now, I’ll die on the road.

...

The voice message ended, and Lu Xi’an couldn’t help but frown, turning to ask Yao Wei, "Have you heard of these Reconstruction Faction, Decadents, Adaptors, and Joyful Gang?"

Yao Wei shook her head, "No, I haven’t."

Lu Xi’an looked at the time displayed at the bottom right corner of the computer, showing 2097/12/17, earlier than the timestamp on the recording.

This should mean that the computer’s time is not updating online and has reverted to factory settings.

So, on December 17, 2097, the world might still have been in good shape, without the apocalyptic disaster?

Then...

"What year is it now, do you know?"

Lu Xi’an asked Yao Wei.

Yao Wei shook her head again, saying, "I don’t know. But when I was little, my mom told me the world has been like this for a long time, so long that it’s unclear how many decades it’s been."

Decades...

Decades in this ever-changing world can already be described as a Vast Sea; Yao Wei not knowing the situation decades ago is very normal.

These words used to classify people might have been buried in time long ago.

Lu Xi’an continued to focus on the next timestamp and listened further.

2100/5/3

There’s still no news today. I waited in the sanctuary all day, but there was nothing on the radio.

I checked, the radio isn’t broken, and the channel is correct. It was the 78 frequency band that previously had the voice of the Reconstruction Faction.

I was afraid of forgetting, so I deliberately wrote this channel number down on paper.

The paper is stored in the sanctuary, and I’ve double-checked, there are no issues.

Could something have happened to the Reconstruction Faction?

...

"Sigh..."

After listening to the recording dated May 3, 2100, Lu Xi’an couldn’t help but sigh.

That so-called Reconstruction Faction had already become the only hope for the owner of this sanctuary.

Taking an organization that they had never seen, only heard about in voices, as hope, how lonely must the owner of this sanctuary be...

Lu Xi’an dared not to think, what if the so-called "Reconstruction Faction" was just a telecommunications fraud, what would happen to this person?

He continued to listen—

2100/5/4

The weather turned cold again.

I’ve long forgotten when it started, it seemed like the endless winter finally passed, and I barely pulled through, thinking the world was finally going to get better.

But who would have thought that cold waves would still come around occasionally. It’s deadly!

Today it’s too cold to go out, so I can only wrap myself in a blanket and hide here. I really don’t know how I made it through back then.

The radio should be fine.

The sanctuary is on a cliff outside Qiuming Road, generally unnoticed. Those Decadents just roam around scavenging for food, how could they possibly run to such remote places?

Even if they did, they wouldn’t find it.

Sigh... it seems like the heavens really do watch over me. Before the cataclysm, I somehow whimsically decided to dig a wilderness shelter there for fun?

Now it’s good, the shelter has turned into a sanctuary.

Unfortunately, it’s still too rudimentary to stay in for long.

But, fortunately, I have such a hobby. Otherwise, if I hadn’t built this sanctuary back then, I’d fear I’d become one of the Decadents too.

...

It turns out this sanctuary was constructed out of interest by the owner of the two-story building before the apocalypse.

Was the person here a doomsday survival enthusiast?

Upon finishing this segment, Lu Xi’an thought indeed, this person was just so lucky, their former interests became the guarantee for survival.

Unfortunately, this place is ultimately too small, not as large as the one beneath Jiang Yu Reservoir specifically constructed for doomsday preparedness.

2100/5/5

It’s still cold today, and the toilet is unbearable to sit on, freezing my butt.

I really don’t know how I made it through back then.

I hope this cold wave doesn’t last too long.

...

This is the second time the person said they don’t know how they managed to get through back then.

2100/5/6

The cold wave has passed. I went to that sanctuary, and the radio received new information from the Reconstruction Faction.

They actually revealed their location on the broadcast!

I can imagine they must have a lot of people, their organization must be strong! Otherwise, how could they dare to so easily expose their location?

I hide in this basement every day, cautiously, with deliberate disguises on the iron door, and I have to be careful entering and exiting.

I won’t reveal the location in the recording—although this recording is stored in this computer and extremely secure. But I still decide not to say.

If one day I decide to leave, the recorded message on the computer would be useless.

I’ve already committed the location to memory, I absolutely won’t forget.

...

This segment ends.

Lu Xi’an placed the mouse over the timestamp of the final segment of recording, unable to resist wondering, what would this last segment contain?

After which, there were no more recordings, either the person had set out on a journey to find the Reconstruction Faction, or something unfortunate had happened?

"Click—"

The mouse was clicked, and the final recording opened.

2100/5/7

No choice, I can’t wait another moment, I must leave now!

I’ve packed all my things, food, clothes, and a lot of books that I secretly collected from the library, they should all be helpful for post-apocalyptic reconstruction.

This was when I deliberately went; the library hadn’t yet been seized by the Decadents.

The Decadents wouldn’t care if books are useful, only I thought of it.

So I was born to be with the Reconstruction Faction, I should join the Reconstruction Faction, find them!

The radio can’t be taken. A group of Decadents has already taken the middle of the route, and I can’t bypass them.

But it’s fine, just leave it in that sanctuary. After all, the Reconstruction Faction has already broadcasted their location so openly, they’re not afraid of being exposed.

Maybe someone else will accidentally enter that sanctuary, hear the broadcast on the radio, and also awaken to become part of the Reconstruction Faction?

Actually, that’s a good thing too.

Alright, this recording ends here.

Today is May 7, 2100, the third year after the apocalypse. I, Fang Shuxin of the Reconstruction Faction, set off now to the Reconstruction Faction’s base!