Chapter 1 Sunlight
Sunlight pierced the riddled atmosphere, yet failed to penetrate the dust-laden, all-encompassing dark clouds.
The all-encompassing dark clouds could block sunlight, but not ultraviolet rays and solar flare radiation.
Everywhere the eye could see was yellow sand. The climate, which should have been unbearably hot, was instead extremely cold.
The biting wind blew against people like sharp knives.
Disaster had created this extreme climate.
"It's too cold. How can it be so cold in the desert? This wasn't originally a desert."
Wan Lei, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, leaned against Karen, walking forward step by step, his hand holding Fang Xiaoyu, who was similarly bundled up.
"Six months of dust blocked the sunlight, causing global temperatures to drop. I told you before. Now, the average temperature is at least twenty degrees lower than normal. If it weren't necessary to explore the outside world, I'd really want to stay in the shelter."
"This yellow sand must be dust kicked up by the celestial body impact."
"That's right. It was originally soil, but after prolonged baking and low-temperature freezing, the soil dehydrated and turned into sand. This place is close to the mountains, and the airflow doesn't bring moisture, so sand forms.
"Three or four hundred *li* to the west is the sea. The airflow brings water vapor, so the land there won't be as severely desertified, but it will form permafrost. There might even be heavy snow.
"The coastal area should have more survivors. The climate there is relatively suitable for living."
"Tidal waves caused by the celestial body falling into the sea would have wiped them out several times over. I guess the entire coast has been completely frozen."
"No, the coast isn't a beach. The coastline here is several hundred meters high. No matter how high the tsunami, even if it crashes in, it will recede.
"Later, when the sea surface freezes, tsunamis won't be able to rise at all."
(The terrain here is based on the west coast of Europe)
"The temperature isn't at its lowest yet, is it? After all, it's only been half a year since the sunlight was blocked."
"It's not as terrifying as I imagined. The disaster is over. Now is the lowest temperature. When the dust in the sky settles and sunlight can directly reach the ground, the globe will thaw rapidly, and in a few years, it will be the era of intense heat.
"Wrap your hands well. Ultraviolet radiation is no joke."
"Okay."
Along the way, they walked west, stepping on the frozen yellow sand.
At noon, they found an abandoned village. Most of the buildings here had collapsed, but some could barely provide shelter from the sun.
After entering the dilapidated village, they saw people who had starved to death. Some were emaciated, mouths agape, staring blankly at the sky.
Some had no flesh on their bodies. Everyone knew where the flesh had gone.
They dragged the corpses out of a house and threw them away. Fortunately, the temperature was low, and the corpses hadn't rotted or stunk yet.
Suppressing the nausea in their stomachs, they took out dry rations and ate them with cold water.
The dry rations were dry and hard to swallow, but they had a long shelf life. They had helped Zhuo Jiu make these dry rations in the past few days.
"Zhuo Jiu, can't you freaking improve the recipe? This dry ration is so hard, even dogs won't eat it."
Karen glared at Zhuo Jiu, who was vigorously fighting with a pancake, and pointed at the little yellow dog gnawing on a dry ration.
"If we had baking powder or meat tenderizer, we could try adding it, but the problem is we don't have any. I know exactly what seasonings are in the warehouse."
After half a year together, everyone was familiar with each other, and they didn't speak as cautiously as before.
"Then go rob some. Fuck, this is too much suffering."
"They have to have it first. I'll add some white sugar next time, so it'll be easier to swallow."
After eating the dry rations, the group rested for half an hour and set off again.
They walked for two full days without seeing any sign of civilization. The once-prosperous cities had all turned into ruins.
But in the ruins, they made an unexpected discovery.
"See? There are signs of being disturbed here, and there's less dust, which means someone has been here recently."
In a store that hadn't collapsed, Karen touched the dust on the shelves.
"Be careful. Someone might be living here."
Yang Lazi put the iron rod behind his back and picked up the repeating crossbow from his waist.
The others immediately took out their repeating crossbows, bent over, spread out, and searched for suspicious figures.
They entered the city from the east and were now slowly exploring west.
"This place is about a hundred *li* from the coast. It's not a coastal city, so there isn't too much permafrost or snowfall. Plus, there are supplies in the abandoned city, so there's a high possibility of a human survivor gathering."
Karen held the repeating crossbow and cautiously looked around.
"Why did you specifically add the word 'human'?"
"Because there might also be a gathering of fierce beasts. The city used to be the domain of humans, but after the great chaos following the disappearance of the power of merit and sin, and the great disaster of the celestial body impact, countless humans died. More than half of the humans on this planet are dead. The fierce beasts living in the wild will enter the city to find food.
"Human granaries, meat stores, and even human survivors will be their food."
As Karen spoke, he suddenly heard a heart-wrenching scream in the distance ahead.
Everyone immediately hid behind the ruins and rubble, looking forward.
They saw a window on the top of a castle ahead, a building that was still relatively intact overall, being pushed open forcefully.
Two men were grinning and holding a woman, throwing her out of the window, which was more than ten meters high.
"Ah!!!"
Bang!!!
Even from a distance, they could clearly see the blood and brains beneath the woman who had fallen to the ground.
"Damn it!!!"
Wan Lei gnashed his teeth as he watched, and the others were also filled with righteous indignation.
"That woman is so pitiful."
Fang Xiaoyu frowned, her beautiful eyes, the only part of her face exposed, filled with anger.
"I'm going to kill them."
Yang Lazi picked up the repeating crossbow in his hand and was about to rush over, but Karen grabbed him.
"Wait, we don't know the number of enemies or what defensive facilities they have. Let's scout first before we act."
"Then I'll scout."
"No, you're too big of a target and easily exposed. Let the scout dog go.
"Gouzi, go."
Gouzi: "I may not be human, but you're really a dog. What if I get exposed?"
"It's okay, you're small and fast. Just go in and scout the situation and come back quickly."
Indeed, Gouzi, who was agile and could speak human language, was indeed the best choice for a scout... the best dog choice.