After a very long time…

Shen Mo sighed lightly, somewhat helplessly.

He walked to the bed to help Bai Youwei pack those clothes, the jar for drinking water on the table, the folding crutches leaning in the corner of the bed… Putting them away one by one, then reached out to push her.

Bai Youwei grabbed his wrist, lifting her small face to look at him, clear black pupils carrying an inquiring expression.

Shen Mo didn’t speak.

Her fingers slid lightly downward, sliding into his palm—broad and warm. She restlessly scratched the slightly rough calluses on his fingertips.

“Hey, say something.” She smiled with a look of innocence, wickedness playfully hidden in that innocence. “Do you need me to give you another chance?”

Shen Mo pulled his hand free, ignoring her provocations (madness), steadily gripping the wheelchair to push her out—

This time, the pampered Bai Youwei didn’t lose her temper again. She only snorted coldly.

Later, Shen Mo lifted her into the passenger seat. Probably because she really was tired, the SUV hadn’t been driving long before she fell asleep.

Tan Xiao and Teacher Cheng sat together in the back seat.

Further back, the trunk was crammed full of luggage and food, plus two buckets filled to the brim with tap water. That flashy motorcycle was reluctantly left at the toll station by Tan Xiao.

Like this, the group set out on the road again.

…

Going from Zhenjiang to Yangzhou required crossing the Runyang Bridge. The entire journey was only about thirty minutes, but Shen Mo’s car drove slower and slower.

Because along this entire route, they hadn’t seen half a human figure.

Too quiet…

As if all living beings had evaporated into thin air.

Cities shouldn’t be like this.

The Yangtze River water rolled and flowed. No boats could be seen on the river surface, and on the bridge there was only the sound of wind.

The car continued forward. Occasionally they could see a few cars by the roadside, but inside there were no people, and no dolls either.

The scorching sun blazed overhead, the earth baked by fierce sunlight. Yet everyone’s hearts felt like they’d been soaked in ice water, giving off waves of chill.

No one knew where the people in the city had gone.

Shen Mo driving became increasingly cautious, observing the surroundings while traveling along the streets. Even the usually boisterous Tan Xiao stared out the car window, not daring to breathe loudly.

According to the original plan, they were to first send Teacher Cheng to Jiangyang Middle Road.

However, when nearing the destination, they encountered thick fog.

That’s right—the kind of fog most common in autumn and winter.

White, dense, a vast hazy expanse, appearing inappropriately on a sunny day, enveloping all the streets and buildings, making it impossible for them to see the road ahead clearly.

This fog was too suspicious. Shen Mo didn’t approach, changing routes instead, slowly driving forward along the edge of the white fog.

They circled more than half of Yangzhou City yet didn’t see a single person! Streets, shops, plazas, parks, hospitals… All places—not one person!

Where were the people?

Had they all hidden?

Hidden in the fog?

Should they also go in?

Would there be danger in the fog? How did this fog appear?

No answers.

Teacher Cheng thought of his seventy-year-old father and mother, hands tightly wringing together, expression grave.

For the first time, Tan Xiao’s heart felt panicked. He asked: “What do we do?”

Shen Mo gripped the steering wheel, turning ahead, saying in a low voice: “Go to the supermarket first.”

Tan Xiao was even more confused: “To find food? But the trunk is already full…”

“To find people.” Bai Youwei had her eyes closed, calmly leaning against the seat back. “Yangzhou is one of the rumored safe cities. Not only must it settle local residents, it also has to accept a large number of refugees from outside. Logically it should be overcrowded, and food would correspondingly become scarce. Supermarkets are places people would most frequently need to visit. Going there to look, there might be clues.”

“Right, we should go to the supermarket…” Teacher Cheng wiped the corner of his eye, forcefully nodding. “I know of a large supermarket, right up ahead not far away.”