The morning of their departure was so cold that the air felt like it was cracking. Lin Feng Yi stood on the surface of the parking garage and looked out over a world that had been erased. The snow was a flat and blinding sheet of white that hid the rubble and the bones of the old city. The wind had died down but the silence that replaced it was worse. It was the kind of silence that made you feel like the earth was holding its breath.
He adjusted the straps of his heavy pack. He had spent the last two days preparing for this move. They had stripped the bunker of everything useful. They had packed the industrial Jade crystals into reinforced crates and lashed them to makeshift sleds made from the doors of old lockers. They had enough water and dried rations for a week if they were careful. But the mountains were far and the ruins between here and there were a maze of ice.
Geng and Hao came up the ladder first. They were wrapped in layers of wool and plastic and their faces were covered with scrap cloth to protect them from the frost. They looked at the endless white and then at each other.
It is a long way Xiao Lin Geng said. His voice was muffled by his mask. If we get caught in another storm out here there is no hatch to hide in.
I know Geng Lin Feng Yi said. He looked at the compass he had scavenged from the bunker. We stay off the main roads. The snow is too deep there and the Hesperian patrols will be looking for tracks on the highways. We move through the residential blocks. The buildings will give us cover and break the wind.
Mei and Uncle Chen followed them up. Chen was leaning heavily on his cane and his breathing was a series of thin whistles in the cold air. Lin Feng Yi felt a pang of guilt. He was pushing an old man and a child into a frozen wasteland. But he knew that staying in the bunker was a slow death sentence. The red dots on the map had proven that.
The group began to move. They pulled the sleds behind them and the metal runners hissed against the frozen crust of the snow. Lin Feng Yi walked at the front his iron strut in one hand and his compass in the other. He used his vision to scan the path. The golden script was steady now providing him with data on the thickness of the ice and the temperature of the air.
Survival Pillar Progress Eighteen Percent. Condition Frostbite Risk High. Digestion Status Thirty Percent.
The potion was working hard to keep his core temperature up. He could feel a strange heat radiating from his spine flowing into his limbs. It was the only reason his fingers were not already numb. He was a furnace in a world of ice but he knew he could not maintain this forever. He needed to find a place to rest before the sun went down.
By midday the ruins of the city center began to give way to the suburbs. The buildings here were smaller and more spread out. Many of them had collapsed under the weight of the snow and the remains of wooden houses looked like jagged ribs sticking out of the white drifts. It was a desolate landscape but it was quieter.
They stopped in the ruins of a small grocery store to rest. The roof had caved in but the back walls were still standing providing a break from the biting wind. Geng and Hao collapsed onto the floor their chests heaving.
My legs feel like they are made of lead Hao groaned. How much further?
We have covered five miles Lin Feng Yi said. We need to do five more before we stop for the night.
Five miles Geng laughed a dry and bitter sound. In this weather? We will be frozen solid before we hit the city limits.
We move or we die Geng Lin Feng Yi said. He was tired of the complaining but he understood it. These were people who had never walked more than a mile in their lives. They were used to hiding and waiting. This was a new kind of survival.
He walked to the back of the store and looked through a cracked window. The mountains were visible in the distance a jagged purple line against the grey sky. They looked impossibly far away.
Suddenly he saw a movement in the street. It was small and fast a flash of grey against the white. He narrowed his eyes and the golden script zoomed in.
Scout Drone Identified Hesperian Mark Four.
He dropped to the floor. Get down! Quiet!
The scavengers froze. They had learned to trust his warnings. They stayed perfectly still as a small mechanical hum grew louder. The drone flew over the ruins of the store its red camera lens scanning the ground. It was looking for heat signatures. It was looking for tracks.
Lin Feng Yi held his breath. He had covered their tracks as best he could but the sleds left deep grooves in the snow. He watched the drone through the window. It hovered for a moment near the entrance and then turned and flew off toward the north.
They are widening the search Lin Feng Yi whispered. The explosion at the bunker must have spooked them. They know someone is out here with high energy Jade.
We have to go Geng said his voice shaking. If that thing comes back with a squad we are finished.
We stay put for ten minutes Lin Feng Yi said. Let it get out of range. If we move now the movement will catch its sensors.
They waited in the freezing silence. Mei huddled next to Uncle Chen her small hands tucked into his coat. Lin Feng Yi watched the clock in his mind. He felt the tension in the room. It was the tension of a trapped animal. He realized that he was the only thing keeping them from breaking. If he showed any fear the group would fall apart.
When the time was up they moved out again. The snow was getting deeper and the wind was picking up. Every step was a battle. Lin Feng Yi pushed his body harder than he ever had in his old life. He was not just a strategist anymore. He was a pack mule. He took the lead rope from Hao and helped pull the heaviest sled.
The afternoon was a blur of white and pain. The sun began to dip toward the horizon and the sky turned a bruised shade of orange. The cold became an aggressive force clawing at their faces and hands.
We need to find a place for the night Lin Feng Yi said.
He scanned the area and saw the remains of a school. It was a long low building made of brick and concrete. One wing had collapsed but the gymnasium looked mostly intact. It was far enough from the main road to be hidden but close enough to give them a clear view of the surrounding area.
Inside the gymnasium the air was still and freezing. The floor was covered in dust and old gym mats. It was a depressing place but it was dry.
Geng and Hao started a small fire in a metal trash can using broken chairs for fuel. The smoke rose up toward the high ceiling and vanished into the shadows. They huddled around the flames their faces illuminated by the flickering orange light.
Lin Feng Yi did not sit down. He walked the perimeter of the gym checking the doors and windows. He set up a few simple alarms using the wire he had left. He felt the exhaustion pulling at him like an anchor. He wanted to sleep for a week. But he knew he had to keep watch.
Xiao Lin come eat something Mei said. She was holding a small bowl of warm mush.
He sat down next to her and took the bowl. The food was tasteless but it was warm. He felt the energy flowing back into his limbs. He looked at the group. They were exhausted and scared but they were alive.
You did well today Geng he said.
Geng looked up from the fire. I just didn't want to freeze to death kid. Don't make it a thing.
It is a thing Lin Feng Yi said. You survived the Dead Zones. Most people never even see them.
They sat in silence for a while listening to the wind howl against the brick walls. It was a lonely sound. It reminded Lin Feng Yi of how much they had lost.
Xiao Lin Uncle Chen said his voice weak. Do you think there are other people in the mountains? Or are we just walking into a different kind of grave?
I don't know Uncle Chen Lin Feng Yi said. But the signal from the bunker showed activity there. If there is a chance for a new start it is in the east. The city is dead. It is just a playground for the Hesperians and the beasts.
As the others drifted off to sleep Lin Feng Yi stayed awake. He sat by the fire his iron strut across his lap. He opened the Scholar Stone again and looked at the data.
The Jade Network was still active but it was fragmented. He could see the nodes flickering like dying stars. He realized that the network was not just for communication. It was a power grid. If he could reach the mountains he could tap into a primary node. He could turn the lights back on for the whole region.
But he also saw something else. A new signal had appeared on the map. It was moving toward them. It was not a drone and it was not a beast. It was a high energy signature.
A Hesperian Knight.
Lin Feng Yi felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. A Knight was a different level of threat. These were the elite warriors of the Dominion. They were heavily grafted and their armor was powered by refined Jade. They were faster than the prowlers and smarter than the scouts.
He looked at the map. The Knight was three miles away and closing. At the current speed they would be here by dawn.
He stood up and walked to the window. The moon was out now casting a silver glow over the snow. The world looked peaceful but he knew it was a lie. He had to decide. Do they run now into the dark or do they stay and fight?
If they ran they would be easy to track in the moonlit snow. If they stayed they had the advantage of the building. But a Knight would tear through these brick walls like they were paper.
He looked at Geng and Hao. They were sleeping soundly for the first time in days. He couldn't wake them up and tell them they were being hunted by a god of brass.
He had to set a trap. A big one.
He walked to the maintenance closet of the gym. He found what he was looking for: a series of old gas lines that had once been used to heat the building. They were rusted but he could smell the faint scent of sulfur. There was still gas in the tanks.
He spent the next three hours working in the dark. He didn't use his light. He used his vision. He rerouted the lines so they leaked into the main entrance of the gym. He created a series of spark gaps using old batteries and copper wire.
He was building a bomb.
It was a desperate plan. If it didn't work he would be dead. If it did work he might bring the whole building down on their heads. But he didn't have a choice. Harmony required sacrifice.
By the time he was finished the sky was beginning to turn grey. The sun was coming up.
He woke Geng and Hao. Get the sleds ready. We are leaving.
What? Now? It is barely light Geng grumbled.
Move! Lin Feng Yi hissed.
They saw the urgency in his face and they didn't argue. They moved the sleds to the back exit of the gym. Lin Feng Yi stayed by the main doors. He held the trigger for the spark gaps in his hand.
He heard the sound first. It was a deep heavy thud. Not a steam piston. A hydraulic hiss. A sound of high technology.
The doors of the gymnasium exploded inward.
A figure stepped through the dust. It was seven feet tall encased in polished white armor that glowed with a soft blue light. A long blade made of vibrating Jade was attached to its right arm. The Knight's helmet was a smooth featureless visor that reflected the fire in the trash can.
Found you little ghost the Knight said. The voice was deep and resonant coming from a speaker in the helmet. The Dominion does not like it when people steal their Jade.
Lin Feng Yi didn't say a word. He looked the Knight in the eye or where he thought the eyes were.
The Knight raised his blade. You are the one who killed the scouts? A child? How embarrassing for them. I will make your death quick out of respect for your cleverness.
The Knight stepped forward into the center of the gym. He was standing right over the leaking gas pipes.
Lin Feng Yi smiled. It was a cold and hard expression.
I am not a child he said. I am a strategist.
He pressed the trigger.
The explosion was not a bang. It was a roar of orange flame that filled the entire entrance of the gym. The pressure wave knocked Lin Feng Yi back through the rear doors and into the snow. The Knight was engulfed in a fireball that reached the ceiling.
The building groaned as the roof of the entrance collapsed. A massive cloud of smoke and dust billowed out into the morning air.
Lin Feng Yi scrambled to his feet. He saw Geng and Hao staring at the fire their mouths open.
Go! Run! he yelled.
They didn't wait. They pulled the sleds and ran into the residential blocks. Lin Feng Yi looked back at the fire. He saw a shape moving in the flames. The Knight was still standing. His white armor was scorched and black but he was not dead. The blue light of his Jade blade was flickering.
The Knight stepped out of the fire his movements jerky and slow. He looked at Lin Feng Yi with a cold and silent fury.
Lin Feng Yi didn't wait to see more. He turned and ran after the scavengers. He knew the Knight would be coming. He knew the explosion had only bought them a few minutes.
But as he ran he felt the golden script in his vision pulsing.
Martial Pillar Progress Twenty Percent. Enemy Damaged Hesperian Knight Level Fifteen. Digestion Status Thirty-Two Percent.
He was alive. He had fought a god and lived.
The mountains were still far away but for the first time Lin Feng Yi felt like they were getting closer. He pushed himself harder his feet pounding on the frozen ground.
The hunt was on. And he was the one leading the way.