The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 8 The Alloy Coffin

When Yu Qing woke up, he found himself in complete darkness. He whispered, "Yan'er, are you still there?"

There was no reply. He reached out with both hands and found that he seemed to be buried in the tunnel, with only a small opening on the side.

His first reaction was: The humanoid girls buried me here and left me alone. They ran away on their own. Their loyalty was just an output of the emotional algorithm, and calculating that output now wasn't worthwhile.

He regretted being so easily fooled.

He tried to crawl out of the tunnel, only to find that there was a large rock blocking the way outside.

The tunnel was stuffy and hot, even in the morning. He tried his best to remove the soil around the large rock to increase air circulation with the outside.

It was already broad daylight outside. He heard what sounded like fighting coming from outside the pit.

"Please." That was Daji's voice, followed by a wolf-like howl.

"Please." That was Yan'er's voice, followed by a wolf-like howl.

"Please." That was Furong's voice, followed by a wolf-like howl.

Yu Qing inwardly groaned, "It's over, the three of them are fighting amongst themselves."

They are all very tenacious; it seems that none of them have actually collapsed after more than half an hour.

But why did they argue and then bury themselves?

Was it that one or two of them wanted to bury themselves, and the remaining one vehemently opposed it...?

Just as he was lost in thought, Daji's smiling face came closer from beside the rock and said:

"Honey, now it's all right, I'll move the stone away!"

Yu Qing asked in a trembling voice, "You...killed them all?"

Daji was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Kill them all."

"You shouldn't do this..."

At this moment, Yan'er's face appeared, and she laughed, "Baby, who did you kill?"

Hibiscus leaned over and said, "We just killed wolves all night..."

Yu Qing immediately realized he had made a huge mistake, and said with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement:

"Quickly move the stones away, let me see if they are the wolves that saved me a while ago."

As Yan'er helped Daji carry the stones away, she asked:

"You mean these wolves saved you? That's impossible. They probably came last night because they smelled your flesh."

"I mean, objectively they saved me, but subjectively they definitely wanted to tear me to shreds!"

Yu Qing walked out of the tunnel and saw that the ground was covered with the corpses of the large wolves he had encountered that day, probably one or two hundred.

They were probably also fleeing the wildfires and encountered them by chance.

Yu Qing was about to praise them when he saw that their clothes were torn to shreds and hanging from their bodies, and their faces were covered in blood or some kind of black grime. He couldn't help but laugh:
"Where did these three beggars come from...?"

Daji then noticed her tattered clothes and stamped her foot, saying:
"Oh no, we've violated the appropriateness of conduct rule!"

Upon hearing this, Furong's expression changed drastically.

Yan'er, however, calmly replied, "Have you forgotten that being completely naked in front of your precious darling is not considered inappropriate behavior?"

Yu Qing also said, "It's okay, it's okay! To hell with the idea of ​​appropriate behavior, I just love how innocent and carefree you all are right now!"
However, I'd like to ask, from which direction did those wolves come last night?

"They caught up with us from behind."

"This means that the wolf also wants to go in the direction we are going."

So, I think we might have taken the wrong path and gone in the wrong direction.

"Hmm? Darling, what makes you say that? Is there any reason?"

"The logic is simple. Although these wolves are also fleeing the wildfires, they certainly won't run towards towns. Instead, they'll go to other forests where there's food, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That direction might be a wolf den. We're not afraid of them, but our baby could be in danger."

"It's a pity I left my Particle Gun at that hotel, otherwise I would have dealt with them."

"Even with particle guns, it's dangerous, but they're plentiful and satisfying!"

"I almost forgot I was full. Could you guys grill a Sekiro for me to eat?"

Daji and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, because this area had already been burned, and there was really nothing left to burn.

Yan'er blurted out, "Eat it raw!"

Daji and Furong looked at him and nodded.

Yu Qing raised his hand and said, "Never mind, let's talk about which direction we should go next."

I think we should ignore Wengshan and Guanshan and just follow the road. We'll definitely reach a town.

Once we arrive in any town, we can always figure out where we are. If we get lost, it just means we have to take a longer route.

If you venture into the wilderness and encounter some monster, it could be fatal.

My father told me that after the year 2B00, some humans went mad and created a lot of monsters.

"That's right, those big wolves are probably just an appetizer."

My materials also mention a dinosaur weighing several hundred tons that was brought to life.

There are about 1,200 whales…

Daji quickly said, "Let's not get sidetracked, it'll get hot again if we don't leave soon!"

Yan'er retorted, "Won't it get hot once we're halfway up the mountain?"

Furong said timidly, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work?"

Yu Qing asked, "Baby, tell me."

"Skin a few wolves, find some sticks that haven't been completely burned, and use them to make a big umbrella. Wouldn't that block out the sun?"

"Great idea! Let me give you a kiss as a reward, baby!"

Before long, a large square umbrella made of four wolf skins was erected.

However, they're missing someone to hold the umbrella.

Daji and Yan'er believed that since Furong was the one who came up with the idea, she should be the one to hold up both poles with both hands.

If they didn't set off soon, they would be too late. Before leaving, Yu Qing couldn't resist cutting off a few pieces of raw wolf meat with his dagger and eating them.

During the day, the view is wide open. Standing on high ground and looking around, Daji could only vaguely see a dusty Class C road about ten miles away in the direction she came from.

Yu Qing said, "How about we just walk down that road until it's completely dark?"

Yan'er laughed and said, "Darling, 'going down a dead end' seems to be a common saying that criticizes someone for being stubborn."

Successful people often don't care about gains or losses from the very beginning.

You are all too good at calculating, and in the end, you often achieve nothing.

Do you know why?

“That doesn’t make sense,” Yan’er argued.

"Success sometimes has nothing to do with logic, but is a chance change in circumstances."

"Honey, shall we discuss this here before we leave, or should we set off immediately?"

"go!"

As Yu Qing was leaving, he had just taken one step when a tree stump tore a hole in his underwear.

He walked ahead, looking at the people around him, all dressed in tattered clothes, and laughed:

"I heard there was a gang three hundred years ago called the Beggars' Gang. Would we be considered one of them?"

Daji said, "I don't want to be a beggar, I want to be a god, so I can fly in the sky."

Yu Qing sighed, "When I came out, I actually had an umbrella that could fly over the Tianshan Mountains, but unfortunately I destroyed it, otherwise there wouldn't have been so much trouble."

Yan'er blurted out, "Shengtian Company sells these kinds of paragliders..."

Furong called out, "Honey, she said those two words, shouldn't she carry the things now? I still need to hold the umbrella with both hands later."

Yu Qing patted Yan'er's head and said, "There's no other way, you can carry me." Daji thought Yu Qing was walking too slowly, so she simply carried him on her back again.

It took the four of them about an hour to get to the road.

To their delight, they were able to slide while shoveling embers along the road.

If you encounter a thicker piece of debris that you can't slide over, you can slide a little further after walking a few steps.

This speed is significantly faster.

By noon, they had been traveling for about four hours.

But the road seems to have no end in sight.

Daji sifted through the stalks of Yu Qing on her back and said, "You were right, you're going to go down this path to the bitter end."

However, this is definitely not the direction to Wengshan; there's a Class B road about 40 kilometers down that road.

"Judging from the map, where are we headed?"

Daji tossed out the holographic map and said, "We've gone back to another part of the First Paradise's perimeter wall."

"You mean, we're actually heading towards the First Paradise?"

Furong said, "Then let's go to the First Paradise. Why go to the Second Paradise...?"

"Nonsense, isn't First Paradise already deserted? Besides, even if you managed to get out by luck, don't even dream of going back in."

Yan'er asked, "Baby, if that's the case, even if we get to the Second Paradise, we still won't be able to get in!"

Yu Qing was taken aback, and somewhat bewildered. However, he still said absentmindedly:

Even if I can't get in, I can still check from the outside to see if anyone is still inside!

"What if the people inside can't see you?"

Daji patted Yu Qing's bottom and said, "There's always a way out. We'll go with you, my dear."

Yu Qing twisted his body and said, "Put me down for a moment."

"What's wrong, darling?"

"I need to...go to the toilet..."

As soon as Daji put Yu Qing down, he quickly ran to a hollow and squatted down.

Yan'er said, "I bet the baby will want to eat again when he comes back."

Furong quickly pulled out a piece of meat and said, "I cut this off the wolf when I left..."

Daji laughed and said, "You seem quite concerned."

Yan'er, let's set up the wolfskin umbrella by the roadside too.

I guess my dear will be taking another rest. Luckily, the sunlight today seems much gentler than yesterday.

When Yu Qing returned, he forced himself to eat some raw wolf meat through Fu Rong's hand, despite feeling nauseous.

He sat under the umbrella, panting heavily, still feeling hot. After a short while, he said, "Forget it, let's not rest anymore, let's keep going!"

Daji continued to carry Yuqing on her back. Yan'er and Furong followed on either side.

He knew that his plan to go down a dead-end road was somewhat reckless.

But staying halfway up the mountain and lingering there would be certain death, because there is no water source or stable food supply there.

Since humans built these roads back then, it's impossible that there was no water or food along the way.

Suddenly, a transparent curtain wall several hundred meters high appeared in the distance.

Sure enough, they ran back to the other side of the First Paradise!

He tried his best to hide his disappointment so that they wouldn't notice.

Less than a hundred meters outside the curtain wall, a grove of trees appeared.

The wildfire burned all the plants here, and finally stopped when we got there.

Where there are trees, you will find two bowls of water.

As for food, wild fruits and insects can be dealt with for now.

Furong and the others also saw the grove of trees and pointed ahead, saying, "Look there!"

Daji stopped and looked closely, saying, "Those are power-generating trees. I can see the glassy luster on their leaves!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing exclaimed, "Really? The presence of electricity means there might be people there."

At least the ruins they left behind should yield some useful items, and ideally, even synthetic food.

So Yu Qing and his group of four hurriedly went forward.

"It would be best if we could find some clothes we could wear, and also find a place to take a bath."

Yan'er, carrying her gear, ran the fastest, leaving Yu Qing and the others far behind.

But as they approached the woods, Yan'er suddenly stopped. She turned back and called out, "Look!"

Yu Qing and his group hurried over and looked ahead:
In the middle of the forest stood a white, square box over ten meters tall, with a humanoid figure standing motionless in front of it!
Daji blurted out, "It's hopeless, it's just a big white tomb!"

This white grave is probably an alloy coffin.

Yu Qing's heart sank: it seemed he had made a wasted trip and wouldn't get any supplies.

Everyone stood there, unsure of what to do.

Yu Qing climbed off Daji's back and said, "Now that we're here, let's see whose tomb it is first."

As they approached the cemetery, Yu Qing and his companions couldn't help but stop.

The humanoid beauty in front of the tomb was so beautiful that Yu Qing could almost mistake her for a real person.

Daji and the others were also stunned; his natural aura gave them a sense of oppression.

However, Yu Qing was soon drawn to the twenty-odd bright red characters on the tombstone.

The large characters read: "He saw what the Creator did not want mankind to see, so he was called away early."

Strangely, the tombstone did not bear the name or any information of the deceased.

The tombs that Daji and the others knew about were described in the records, and were completely different from what they saw here.

Now that they were there in person, their curiosity about learning was piqued, and they started circling around the coffin.

Suddenly, Yan'er shouted, "There are words on my back!"

Upon hearing Yan'er's chirping, Yu Qing hurried over to investigate.

As he passed by the humanoid beauty, he couldn't help but bow to her.

Although he knew that her fidelity might just be a procedural agreement.

He went around to the back of the coffin, and the words Yan'er spoke were actually a brief biography of the deceased.

The characters are small and placed behind the tomb, indicating that the tomb owner did not want to tell passersby who came here for a cursory look.

The introduction reads: "Lu Qizhen, a great microphysicist."

Born in 2B84, died in 2C16.

He found what the Creator had prevented humanity from knowing.

Xu Zi is the true mastermind hiding in all things and manipulating their state.

The last person to know its secret died, and there will never be a second one in the world.

"Does anyone know what this means?" Yu Qing asked.

Daji said, "How would we know anything about the period between 2B84 and 2C16?"

Daji's words reminded Yu Qing that the humanoid Shu mentioned earlier knew about the events between 2B84 and 2C16.
This was very useful for him to understand in detail what exactly happened on Earth during those years.

The information in the time capsule left to him by his father was, after all, just fragments of information.

He planned to find a way to take the humanoid beauty from the tomb.

(End of this chapter)