The Desolate City and Hallucinations

The post-apocalyptic city was cold, silent, and completely lifeless, entirely lacking the vibrant, competitive energy of a few years ago.

“Hah…”

Having just climbed over a car blocking the road, I panted, barely keeping up with the four cyborgs ahead.

Green moss could be seen on the tall buildings, probably one of the few spots of green in this expanse of white.

Admirable vitality.

“Miss Qin Yue, you should hurry up.”

Ahead, Su Yanlan urged me on.

“Mhm…”

I just nodded slowly and quickened my pace, jogging to catch up with Su Yanlan.

Su Yanlan was still at the end of the group of four, and I was behind her, truly the one bringing up the rear.

The heavy radiation zone seemed different from what I had imagined; at least so far, I hadn’t seen any mutants.

Yet, we had encountered a mutant cluster in the medium radiation zone earlier.

It wasn’t that I was looking forward to a mutant attack; in fact, I was just slightly curious.

It was better if there were no mutants.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Panting heavily, I caught up to Su Yanlan and gently held her hand.

She turned to glance at me but said nothing.

I don’t know if it was my imagination, but whenever Qin Dai was present, Su Yanlan’s attitude towards me seemed to change subtly.

It made sense; Qin Dai and I had bad blood, so it was understandable that she wouldn’t be too intimate with me in front of her.

After all, what reason did Su Yanlan have to offend a fellow cyborg over an irrelevant enemy?

There was no need.

I didn’t intend to say anything either. I just followed them, my gaze drifting into the distance, where I could faintly see the backs of the soldiers on the other side of the road.

They had already walked quite far.

“Tsk.”

Seeing my pathetic panting, Qin Dai at the very front clicked her tongue in disdain again, and I could only silently ignore it.

My physical stamina was indeed not good. Carrying a gun and two magazines, I started to feel exhausted after walking just a short distance.

But I wasn’t so tired that I would collapse yet. Gritting my teeth, I could still push through.

I let go of Su Yanlan’s hand, rolled up one sleeve, and exposed my pale skin to the cold air. It quickly turned slightly pink and began to sting.

I took the medicine bottle out of my pocket and took another pill.

Enduring the side effects of spasms, pain, and nausea that reappeared in my body, I held Su Yanlan’s hand again, following behind her, letting her pull me forward.

The squad continued to advance, only I was looking more pathetic.

…

As time passed, we slowly moved deeper into the city, and the surrounding scenery began to change.

The temperature was rising. The closer we got to the city center, the warmer it became. The snow had disappeared, and the vegetation in the planter boxes along the road grew luxuriantly. The roots of those bushes broke through the iron boxes and stretched out into the air.

And the trees lining the street, which should have withered, were still alive and well. It was just that without workers to prune them, the shapes of their branches and leaves were very haphazard.

On the crowns of the trees, pale blue fruits could occasionally be seen, emitting a strange blue light.

Why? Can plants glow?

I blinked my eyes. The trees were still trees, but they were long-dead, rotting wood, without leaves or so-called fruits.

The buildings on both sides of the street had collapsed. Some high-rises broke in the middle and leaned diagonally against the buildings on the other side of the street.

Debris like concrete blocks and bricks scattered on the ground, forming a small, gentle slope shrouded in shadow.

In a daze, I felt like I could see some monster hiding in that shadow, but in the blink of an eye, that strange feeling vanished.

“Miss Yanlan? Don’t you feel something is wrong here? Why is the temperature getting higher and higher?”

I asked softly. As we got closer to the gentle slope in the shadow, my heart beat faster, and I started to feel a bit hot.

The side effects of the medicine hadn’t passed yet, and I was even sweating cold sweat on my forehead. Maybe there was something wrong with my mind…

“Really? Miss Qin Yue?”

She didn’t seem to feel the heat, which undoubtedly meant my mind was playing tricks on me.

Su Yanlan had no reason to lie to me.

She suspiciously touched my forehead, then quickly let go.

“You have a slight fever, so it’s not surprising.”

She said that, but I didn’t think it was because of the fever. I had a fever before, and I didn’t feel this hot at all.

I even wanted to take off my padded coat…

As time went by, the squad arrived in front of the gentle slope, about to enter the shadow.

It was only then that the side effects of the anti-radiation medicine on me slowly faded. The spasms and nausea that had tormented me for a long time quietly departed.

I turned around, and the world revealed its true appearance to me…

The snow hadn’t melted; it still covered almost everywhere. In those planter boxes that should have been full of lush plants, there were only some dry, small wooden sticks.

Rat skeletons were stuck among those sticks, which was a bit eerie.

From the snow piles on both sides of the street, one or two sallow skeletal hands occasionally stuck out. Their owners had been dead for years, and who knows what pain they had endured before dying.

The cars on the road were all twisted and crashed into each other, mixed with displaced or overturned planter boxes, and there was no shortage of crushed bones under their tires.

The world had returned to its desolate state.

So, whether it was the scenery I had just seen or the heat my body had felt, it was all due to hallucinations.

What caused the hallucinations? Undoubtedly, it was the bottle of anti-radiation medicine the Leader had given me.

More and more side effects of this medicine were showing up, making my heart feel heavy.

“Miss Qin Yue? Miss Qin Yue?”

Su Yanlan patted my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts.

In my line of sight, Qin Dai and the other two had already climbed to the top of the gentle slope and were looking down from the highest point.

Su Yanlan stood waiting for me. She didn’t choose to forcefully drag me along while I was spaced out. If she had, I would definitely have fallen into a pile of construction debris, with a high risk of disfigurement.

“Hah… sorry…”

I apologized softly, composed myself, and slowly walked with Su Yanlan toward Qin Dai at the top of the slope.

Having lost the false perception brought by the hallucinations, my body felt the chill again. Although it was uncomfortable, it was much better than the heat.

I didn’t tell Su Yanlan about my hallucinations. Many things are best kept to oneself.

The other cyborgs weren’t easy to deal with, and walls have ears. If those guys found out that a dead weight like me had become even more useless, I would probably be abandoned.

Su Yanlan’s abilities and influence as an individual were limited; she couldn’t overrule everyone every time.