CHAPTER 247: CHAPTER 247: FOUND THEM

For two consecutive days, Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi wandered around various parts of the city, mingling with passersby.

But the images she "saw" were all the same.

Just like Lin Feng described, those infected by the mysterious virus experienced a continuous rise in temperature that wouldn’t subside.

Eventually, it became incurable, and the body suffered dehydration from persistent high temperatures, muscle atrophy, and ultimately turned into a dry corpse.

Xuan Shiyi and his team also had no progress; they were now headed southwest.

Lin Feng’s mentor couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.

Due to the passage of time, that place might have disappeared.

Moreover, after a century, the relatives from that village had passed away; who could still remember them?

For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.

But they couldn’t bear to watch these people die.

Lin Xiaoyan finished her dinner and grabbed Nan Xi to head out again, planning to meet more people.

"Why don’t we go to the airport? Or the station, the train station?"

Lin Xiaoyan’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Sure, there will be more people in those places!"

The two took a taxi straight to the train station.

Upon arrival, Lin Xiaoyan headed into the crowd.

In between, whenever Lin Xiaoyan "saw" certain images, she needed to find clues within those images.

They circled the train station for almost an hour but still found nothing.

Lin Xiaoyan sat powerlessly on a bench, watching the travelers, expressionless.

At a loss, her hand suddenly grew scorching hot.

"Ouch..."

Lin Xiaoyan snapped back, her hand burning more intensely, clutching her right hand, she warily scanned the surroundings.

"What’s wrong?" Nan Xi noticed Lin Xiaoyan’s abnormal reaction and immediately asked in a low voice.

Lin Xiaoyan whispered, "My hand is burning hot."

Nan Xi understood immediately.

She discreetly surveyed the surroundings.

After scanning around, Nan Xi locked onto a target.

"Two seats ahead on the left, there are two people," Nan Xi said through ventriloquism.

Upon hearing Nan Xi, Lin Xiaoyan looked over.

She saw two men, an elder and a young man, directly facing their direction.

Though dressed like everyone else, their bodies were different.

They were extremely frail!

Frail to the point of being skeletal-like.

Yet their eyes were very bright, constantly scanning others as if searching for someone...

Lin Xiaoyan stood up, "I’ll check over there."

Nan Xi quickly pulled Lin Xiaoyan back, "Don’t go, what if it’s dangerous..."

"Don’t worry, if something’s off, I’ll leave immediately."

"I’ll go with you." Nan Xi stood up, holding Lin Xiaoyan tight.

Seeing Sister Nan’s resolve, Lin Xiaoyan consented.

They slowly approached those two men.

The closer they got, the hotter Lin Xiaoyan’s hand became.

When they were next to the two men, Lin Xiaoyan’s pain made her whole body tremble.

"Let’s go..." Lin Xiaoyan whispered.

Nan Xi immediately led Lin Xiaoyan away.

"Grandpa, look at that person!"

The young man’s peripheral vision caught Lin Xiaoyan already reaching the door, his eyes lit up, and he quickly called out to his grandfather.

The old man followed the gaze, only seeing the backs of two people.

"Grandpa, I saw that girl had Merit Power all over her!"

"What!" The old man was shocked, looked to the door again, but saw no one.

"Are you sure? Who now has Merit?" The old man doubted.

The young man insisted, "Really, I truly saw it!"

The old man doubted but looked at the suitcase by his leg, stood up, "Let’s go, see if we can find that girl."

"Okay!"

The two hurriedly headed for the exit, but Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi were already in a car, quickly leaving the train station.

Only after moving far away did Lin Xiaoyan’s hand gradually cool down; she let out a breath.

Nan Xi carefully wiped the sweat off Lin Xiaoyan’s forehead with a tissue.

Lin Xiaoyan took out her phone and called Xuan Shiyi.

"Xiaoyan, what’s up?"

"I just found someone at the train station."

Just one short sentence, Xuan Shiyi understood.

"Where are you now?"

"On the way to the hotel, my hand was sweating from the heat." Lin Xiaoyan looked at her intact hand, not red or swollen, yet it hurt so much!

The pain nearly made her roll on the ground, not a physical pain, but a skin-burning pain!

Xuan Shiyi’s face turned serious upon hearing this, "After you return to the hotel, don’t leave, stay inside. We’re coming back now."

Lin Xiaoyan: "Okay."

Back at the hotel, Lin Xiaoyan took a shower and lay on the bed, staring at the back of her right hand.

"How could it hurt so much?"

Nan Xi walked over, touched Lin Xiaoyan’s hand, "Does it hurt now?"

"No more."

Nan Xi: "Get some sleep, we’ll talk when Xuan Shiyi and the others return."

"Alright."

Lin Xiaoyan fell asleep drowsily.

But her sleep was far from peaceful; she dreamed many dreams.

She dreamed that the entire world was invaded by a virus, zombies emerged...

Dreamed of natural disasters, extreme heat, drought, making her unbearably thirsty.

Dreamed of floods, submerging herself entirely.

She dreamed of fleeing with her family...

Dreamed of various ghosts entering the world, people fleeing en masse, the world descending into chaos...

In short, she dreamed many disaster-filled dreams.

When she opened her eyes again, Lin Xiaoyan felt aching and weak all over.

Looking at the sky outside, still dark, Lin Xiaoyan picked up her phone to check the time, 4:03.

But when she checked the date, her heart skipped a beat — how had an entire day disappeared?

Lin Xiaoyan sat up, staring at the time on her phone; wasn’t it the 9th when she slept? How had it become the 11th!

"Oh my god..."

She checked the messages from He Qi’an, furrowing her brows.

He Qi’an asked where she was, about the situation there, when she could return.

Furthermore, He Qi’an called her many times yesterday, and she hadn’t heard any of them.

Lin Xiaoyan felt odd; was she drugged or what? Sleeping so soundly!

Also, He Qi’an said the city was being examined and could not leave freely?

Lin Xiaoyan quickly searched the news, looking for clues.

Sure enough, she saw many videos discussing this issue.

Outsiders couldn’t come in, insiders couldn’t go out.

In one stroke, this city felt like a trapped fortress, no exit or entry.

Most were excited and ecstatic, as they could skip work, classes.

Finally, they had time to stay home and rest.

Yet some were unhappy, unwilling to stop, for stopping meant losses.