The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Chapter 12 The Dead City Opens Its Eyes

"Thump!" Yao Dan and the others crashed heavily onto the steep slope.

Yu Qing stumbled a few times before regaining his footing when he landed.

At this time, Yao Dan had entered a deep hibernation state and knew nothing.

Yu Qingchao looked around, but there was nothing unusual.

However, he discovered that the grassland where Yao Dan had prepared to land was actually a trench that had turned into a swamp.

It appears to be a buffer zone separating the forest. It should be safe for now.

He told everyone to lie down and rest on the steep slope until Yao Dan woke up before they could move around together.

Daji and Yan'er sandwiched Yu Qing and Yao Dan in the middle to prevent any unexpected situations.

Yu Qing stared blankly at the woods opposite him. What was the situation like there back then?
An owl with five heads and a rabbit with seven legs? I can't imagine.

He had never been so afraid of the dark, but that night, when he heard the wind, he thought a monster was coming…

In fact, he wasn't just overly suspicious.

There were indeed strange rustling sounds in the woods, and will-o'-the-wisps of firefly light flickered everywhere.

The most terrifying thing was that he discovered that Daji and the others' shoes were covered with glowing ants that they had brought out of the forest!

It was a variety that looked like it was grafted from ants and fireflies. Everything there was a mess.

They spent the whole night doing this, digging several pits and repeatedly rubbing their feet in them.

What kept Yu Qing completely awake was the gurgling sound coming from the isolation trench…

Yu Qing stayed there until dawn. Yao Dan, after a night of recovery, finally awoke.

Her hibernation lasted far longer than the two hours she claimed. Her physical functions were severely depleted.

Seeing that Yao Dan had woken up, Yu Qing was naturally overjoyed and asked, "Can you walk on your own now?"

"Of course I can, my husband. It's just that I can't fly for the time being; my altitude recognition ability is temporarily disabled."

Luckily, I almost landed in those solvents in the trench last night.

"What? That trench isn't filled with mud, but with solvent?"

In other words, if we fall in, we'll turn into a puddle of water, right?

"It's not us, it's you that turns into water. That's specially designed to dissolve animal fur and flesh."

"Who's so vicious? Do they have a grudge against humans?"

"Are you crazy, husband? So many people opposed their recreation of the animals from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, how did they end up building it?"

"I understand. They built this firebreak simply to prove to the world:"

The fact that the replica animals couldn't possibly escape from the open park and cause a spread of disease convinced those who opposed them.

"My husband isn't stupid, is he?"

"Excuse me, I am the reincarnation of the strategist."

Yu Qing suddenly remembered another question: what if they were replicating birds or something similar…

For example, if an animal like a phoenix escapes from the sky, should we just ignore it?
This was clearly impossible. So he looked around, trying to find other protective measures.

"Perhaps there's another line of defense somewhere at the top of the hill, like a net or something," he thought.

So he stood up and walked towards the top of the slope, but as soon as his head appeared, he cried out "Ah!" and squatted down, clutching his head.

Daji and Yan'er immediately ran over to check what was going on, but found nothing.

When Yao Dan arrived, he saw that a piece of Yu Qing's scalp had been burned off. Now he was suffering from a severe headache, and cold sweat was pouring down his forehead.

Daji quickly wrapped his head in her bosom and asked:
"Honey, why do you suddenly have a headache?"

"As soon as I poked my head out, I was pricked by something."

Upon hearing this, Yao Dan exclaimed, "It's over! I forgot there was protection up here. He's been hit by the Yao Particle Gun!"

Upon hearing this, Daji and Yan'er instinctively crouched down, worried that they too would be hit by the Yao Particle Gun.

Yao Dan shouted, "Hey, aren't you guys being incredibly stupid?"

This particle gun was originally designed to prevent flying animals from escaping; it only damages their cells. What are you all hiding for?

Daji realized what was happening and quickly said:

"Yan'er, go carry Furong on your back. Yaodan and I will sandwich our beloved between us. Let's get out of this dangerous place quickly!"

Thus, Yu Qing was surrounded by Yao Dan and Da Ji, and after crossing a wide area of ​​about 500 meters, he finally arrived at an abandoned road.

The road was covered with a thick layer of dust, and there was litter everywhere.

"The road is in such a state that it seems impossible to find public transportation. My husband urgently needs to be taken to the hospital for treatment, and we cannot delay for even a moment."

I can't fly now, and I don't have gliding boots, so I can't walk very fast.

My suggestion is this: Daji, carry your husband on your back, and Yan'er, carry Furong on your back. The two of you should glide to the hospital in Wengshan as fast as you can.

I'll come back to find you all after I've fully recovered.

Daji asked, "Are you sure that if we go this way, we'll reach Wengshan and a hospital?"

Yao Dan said impatiently, "Of course I'm sure. Do you see that tower over there?"

Every time I came to Wengshan to deliver supplies to Dr. Lu, I had to pass under that tower.

The hospital in Wengshan is located on the side of the road we are entering the city from; we can see it from a distance.

It was a hospital shared by humanoids and humans.

It was also invested in by our Shengtian Company, and it seems to have a history of nearly 160 years.

Daji asked, "Yaodan, don't be reckless. Are you sure you'll be alright staying here alone?"

"Aren't you annoying me? My husband's injury can't be delayed!"

Daji and the others then abandoned Yaodan and headed straight for Wengshan.

Yu Qing, enduring the pain, turned around and called out, "My darling, you must be alright..."

Daji and the others used all their strength to glide at high speed, but even so, Yu Qing still felt it was too slow.

So he kept asking along the way, "Honey, how much further?"

"It's getting closer, my dear."

After countless rounds of this question-and-answer session, Daji finally told Yu Qing clearly:
"We're about to enter the city."

Yu Qing slightly raised his drooping head, gave a wry smile, and said:

"Ah, that's great. But you're wrong, it's not right now, it's going into town on my dear's back."

But before Daji could respond, she suddenly stopped.

"Why did you stop? Did you go to the hospital?"

"No, darling, there's a metal sign standing right in the middle of the road. What does it say..."

“Read it to me carefully.”

The swallow glided past quickly and said, "I'll read it!"

"Read it. You talk too much nonsense."

"It reads: To that future loved one..."

"Keep reading."

"As the last resident of Wengshan, I felt a deep sadness as I left the place where my ancestors had lived for generations."

Today, it is you, my esteemed relative who has come from afar, who has filled me with joy once again!
Welcome to Wengshan! Dear friends!

This city, which once had a population of 70, has repeatedly achieved great success over the past two centuries.

Who would have thought that in just thirty years, the place would be deserted, with only the lonely moon to admire!
But today, my dear ones! Because of your arrival, I see hope for its rebirth. In this joyous moment, let me tell you even more surprising news:
Although Wengshan was deserted, all its facilities were still functioning normally when I left, without any abnormalities.

Most of its facilities will likely remain in good working order for another one to two hundred years.

I hope you won't be too late.

Best wishes to you, newly crowned King of Wengshan.

Written on a lonely, rainy morning, January 1, 2B20 AD.

When I came, the evening rain was falling softly. Now that I am leaving, the daytime rain is falling softly.

After hearing the message, Yu Qing sighed, "It's another deserted place. How can a hospital even open here!"

Yan'er said happily, "Honey, didn't he say that all the facilities are still operating normally?"
Let's hurry up and go."

The amazing thing is that when they walked around the sign to enter Wengshan, the sign automatically retracted and disappeared underground.

"This shows that everything here was arranged in perfect order when that person left..."

They hadn't walked far when Daji jumped up like a child, almost throwing Yu Qing off her back. Yu Qing said:

"Honey, don't you think my head is hurting enough already?"

"I'm sorry, darling, I'm so sorry."

My database matched the characteristics of the site, and I finally knew my exact location.

That hospital is 700 meters away!

"Then hurry up..."

Just then, a loud singing voice came from ahead.

Yu Qing looked up and saw someone singing on the top of the tower in front of him. The song was plaintive and sorrowful.

It was a humanoid beauty, seemingly floating in the air, who sensed the arrival of humans and awoke.

This dead city struggled to rise again because of the arrival of one person.

Most stunningly, the entire tower was also illuminated, shimmering with a red glow like the sunset.

Countless colorful fireworks burst forth in space in an instant.

Even more amazingly, the fireworks formed two lines of text in the sky:

"Throughout these long days, I have been playing the soft strings in solitude."
Welcoming the first returnee from that long century.

At that moment, windows on every floor of the tower opened, and beautiful women in long sleeves stood in front of the windows and danced gracefully.

He couldn't help but ask Daji to pause and watch.

If it weren't for his terrible headache, he would have loved to go inside the tower and interact with the tower.

It seems that all of this was arranged by the person who was the last to leave this place.

Doing all this requires immense patience and the ability to endure profound loneliness.

He heard the humanoid beauty sing: "Who sent the immortals back to their homeland, the spring breeze lingering over Wengshan..."

Yu Qing couldn't help but shed tears. We are all lonely souls in this world, why should we need to have known each other before?

He seemed to see that familiar face of the complete stranger.

No matter how prosperous it may be, in the end, it is the endless desolation of those who draw the curtains.

But that person certainly can't feel their own loneliness.

He still held a sliver of hope, but he knew that in the paradise behind him, he could no longer expect anyone to come.
But thinking about it all won't help; the most important thing now is to treat the injury.

He sighed and said, "Let's... go to the hospital."

"Okay." Daji listened and then quickly glided to the hospital entrance in a few minutes.

To their surprise, the hospital was spotless inside and out, not at all like it was deserted.

Daji carried Yu Qing to the camera and stared at it for a moment.

Just after the automatic identity recognition was completed, eight humanoid figures suddenly appeared.

They carried a large bed adorned with flowers and knelt down in front of them.

Two more humanoid beauties came and gently lifted Yu Qing off Daji's back and placed him in the flower bed.

Then they unfurled an exaggerated, large, golden square umbrella and stood on either side of Yu Qing.

The eight humanoid figures slowly rose and carried Yu Qing inside.

Yu Qing was somewhat at a loss. He turned around to look for Daji and the others, only to see Daji being carried by two humanoid men, closely following behind the flower bed.

Yan'er and the others were ushered away in another direction and glided away.

Yu Qing sat half-sitting, half-lying on the flower bed, feeling a little dizzy again, thinking:
"Am I really going to become the King of Wengshan? This is a game that only existed hundreds of years ago..."

But he still felt a little uneasy, thinking it couldn't be real. So he kept waving to Daji behind him, signaling her to come over.

Daji was talking to the humanoid man next to her when she saw Yu Qing beckoning to her, so she immediately got down and went over to him.

Soon, Daji was lifted onto the flower bed by the humanoid man.

Daji hugged Yu Qing's head from behind and asked, "Darling, this is the VIP ward in the back. It'll be there in five minutes."

Normally, it would only take a minute to go to a regular ward, but they insisted on welcoming you with the most solemn ceremony.

You probably don't know this, do you? Although this hospital used to see 20,000 to 30,000 patients a day at its peak, you are their first patient in the last 44 years.

If no one comes for another six years, the hospital will automatically and permanently close.

"No one has come for 44 years, why didn't they close it down sooner? Ridiculous!"

"Darling, you don't know that due to the sharp decline in population, a large number of service facilities have been forced to close."

This will lead to irreversible deterioration of infrastructure in the future.

Therefore, the government has enacted relevant laws stipulating that public facilities must not be closed for 50 years, even if no one uses them.

Otherwise, the owner will be charged an abandonment tax equal to five times the cost of the facility.

"Good heavens, so I'm going to make them work for another 50 years? Shouldn't they hate me?"

"What does this have to do with them? They're just following the rules; the profits and losses aren't theirs."

Moreover, if this place is truly abandoned, they will be part of it.

They can deduce that your arrival will be beneficial to them.

Yu Qing didn't reply, squinted his eyes, and slapped his head, seemingly in even more pain.

He only wants to get better now; anything else is just empty talk.

Seeing that he couldn't hold on any longer, Daji shouted and urged him on from above.

The flower bed was carried directly to the hospital lobby, where it instantly caused a stir.

The entire group surged toward him like a tidal wave, smiling and greeting him.

Yu Qing felt as if the entire hospital was revolving around him, with the sounds of people coming and going all around him.

Look at those doctors and nurses, they all look so ethereal, they're clearly the Jade Emperor's harem!

"Is this a hospital? So many beautiful women... I'll get sick and play around with it when I have nothing else to do..." he thought.

He felt his head wasn't hurting as much anymore; it was itchy...

Not long after, he was pushed into a room by two humanoid girls.

A faint fragrance wafted from the room, and a fairy-like figure walked out from inside.

He seemed to say "darling..." and that person was even prettier than Yao Dan.

She gently waved her hand in front of his eyes, and he knew nothing more.

(End of this chapter)