Chapter 89: Strange Natives

Qi Xia never imagined that he had walked along the road for an entire day, right up until the sun had sunk below the horizon, and he still hadn't seen the edge of this city.

A normal person's walking speed could reach five kilometers per hour, but Qi Xia calculated that, given his physical condition, his progress was only around three kilometers per hour.

He had already walked for over seven hours that day, covering roughly more than twenty kilometers.

Now, he felt dizzy and lightheaded, with his legs shaking uncontrollably, barely able to keep moving forward through sheer momentum.

"Only hope I can die a little later..."

After another ten or so minutes, Qi Xia truly couldn't go on. He entered an old, rundown building, as night was falling. Staying outside would mean encountering those strange Chong Zi, and although he didn't know exactly what dangers they posed, he decided to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

Qi Xia used Li Jingguan's lighter to start a fire, then took out the map of Tian Tang Kou, flipped it over, and used his finger dipped in his own blood to roughly record the route he had traveled.

This city was far larger than he had imagined.

He had thought that following the road would at least lead him to an area like the wilderness, but instead, the buildings around him had gradually grown taller, as if he were heading from the suburbs toward the city center.

"Most ordinary cities have a diameter of less than fifty kilometers..." Qi Xia murmured while drawing the map with his fresh blood, pondering his next steps. "Theoretically, I should reach the city edge by tomorrow afternoon, and then everything will become clear."

With that thought, he moved closer to the fire, lay down in a somewhat comfortable position, and closed his eyes. The bloodstains on his body had all dried, emitting a foul, rusty odor.

The previous night, Lin Jin had used a torch to treat his wounds. Although the bleeding had stopped, the burned areas were both painful and itchy, keeping him awake all night.

As dawn broke, Qi Xia dragged his nearly exhausted body to his feet.

A night's rest hadn't restored any of his strength; he was completely spent.

There was no water, no food, and no medicine.

Qi Xia even felt a bit envious of Han Yi Mo, who had died so quickly and cleanly.

He found a few relatively clean pieces of scrap paper in the room, tore them into shreds, and swallowed them.

If his stomach was completely empty, he probably wouldn't make it to the city edge.

Greeting the sunrise, Qi Xia set out once more.

He was now far from the initial square, where he could no longer hear the Zhong Sheng, and Sheng Xiao were rarely seen.

However, as he delved deeper, the city's original inhabitants gradually increased.

It was as if this place were a real city, except that the people on the streets were mostly like walking corpses. They had no expressions, no aggression, and didn't interact with others; they just wandered aimlessly.

For a moment, Qi Xia felt as if he were no different from these street wanderers.

Their movements, demeanor, expressions, and even walking speed were indistinguishable.

How ironic was that?

Had these people also been stabbed and then set off with a clear goal toward the city edge?

As the sun rose higher, Qi Xia sensed something was wrong with his condition.

He touched his forehead and neck; they seemed to be getting hot.

It appeared that cauterizing the wound with fire had been too risky. Even if it stopped the bleeding temporarily, it couldn't prevent infection and fever.

Qi Xia felt his eyelids growing heavier with each step, as if he might collapse at any moment. If he fell this time, he probably wouldn't get up again.

After nearly half an hour more, Qi Xia slowly came to a stop by the roadside.

He couldn't take another step.

Leaning on an old taxi parked there, he gasped for breath.

"What a shame..." Qi Xia gazed down the distant road; there was still a long way to go, but he was going to collapse here. It seemed that even in his final moments, he wouldn't uncover the ultimate secret of this place.

As Qi Xia leaned on the old taxi and bent his head in frustration, about to sit down, he suddenly noticed someone inside the car.

It wasn't a corpse; it was a woman who was blinking.

"A Yuan Zhu Min?" he wondered.

Qi Xia glanced at the hard ground, then at the soft seat in the car, and managed a bitter smile.

If he was really going to die here, he at least wanted a softer spot.

With that in mind, almost on impulse, Qi Xia opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

The car smelled pleasant, like a woman's scent.

Perhaps it was good news that, in his last moments, Qi Xia could escape the pervasive stench that blanketed 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, please?" the woman beside him asked flatly.

"Where to?" Qi Xia shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Where can I go now?"

He patted his thigh and slowly recited some lyrics:"Drive, head to the city edge, roll down all the windows, trade speed for a bit of thrill..."

"The city edge?" The woman thought for a moment. "I don't know where that is. Could you give me directions?"

With that, she pressed the meter display and turned the key.

As Qi Xia had expected, the car made an old, creaky sound and didn't start.

The woman didn't give up; she turned the key several times, and finally, on the fifth forceful try, the whole car shuddered to life.

Qi Xia stared in disbelief, turning to look at the woman. She didn't seem like a Yuan Zhu Min at all—her face was flushed and healthy, her build well-proportioned. Could she be a Liang Ren?

A Liang Ren with her own car...

"Please fasten your seatbelt; we're off." The woman reached over, put the car in gear, released the clutch, and accelerated smoothly.

Qi Xia fumbled for the seatbelt in confusion, only to find a loose strap with a rusted metal buckle.

He didn't have time to think about it and tried to strike up a conversation:"You... you're a taxi driver?"

"You're joking, sir." The woman shook her head and shifted from second to third gear. "If I'm not the driver, am I a car thief?"

Seeing how smoothly she communicated and even made a little joke, Qi Xia was even more puzzled.

This woman, with such a normal mindset, clearly wasn't a Yuan Zhu Min. So, she must be a Can Yu Zhe, but why would a participant be driving a taxi?

"Haven't you noticed... that this place is really abnormal?" Qi Xia pointed to the scene outside the window, trying to figure out this ordinary-looking woman's stance.

"Is it?" The woman glanced out the window and said lightly, "It is a bit abnormal; it's turned overcast."

Qi Xia sighed in resignation. It seemed this woman was still a Yuan Zhu Min, but perhaps she had only recently become one, with her thoughts still relatively clear.

"What's your name?" Qi Xia asked.

The woman didn't speak; instead, she pointed to the spot in front of Qi Xia, where her driver's license was hanging. It had her photo and name on it.

She had a nice name: Xu Liu Nian.