Female NovelMaja stumbled backward, feeling the ground tremble beneath her once more. Nana reached out to steady her, her expressionetched with concern."It's an aftershock. No telling how long it'll last. From the looks of it, the entire mountain's been decimated. See those brokenbricks over there? Those must be from the research base, just blasted apart by some immense force."In the face of nature's might, human innovation seemed insignificant.Maja and Nana stood there for an hour, waiting for the tremors to subside before they began to navigate the rocky path that leddeeper into the chaos.Among the stones, twisted pieces of modern machinery lay scattered - the remnants of the research base's equipment.Sweat beaded on Maja’'s anxious forehead as she thought of Dylan, who was also inside. Her pace quickened, and she nearlytripped over a jutting rock, almost tumbling down.Nana caught her, and together they glimpsed the horror below: a mass grave in the crevice, bodies piled upon each other,distorted beyond recognition.Maja couldn't hold back any longer, bending over to retch beside a tree.The dead were unidentifiable, their features twisted, causing a sourness to rise in Maja's stomach. She vomited for a full minute,her eyes reddening before she rinsed her mouth with bottled water.Even Nana, hardened by countless assassinations and her own dark deeds, felt a twist in her gut at the sight.The fissure was deep, snaking down for miles, filled with the dead. It was too much to bear, and she supported Maja's arminstead."We should keep moving. There's a long crack here. The base must have been underground and got heaved up by some force.That's good, in a way. It means not everyone inside got buried deep. But who knows how many are still alive.”Maja was at a loss for words, simply trudging forward in a daze.The bodies became more numerous as they walked on, apparent victims of the base's disaster. Some were still breathing,pinned under massive boulders, staring blankly at the sky as if pain was an alien concept, murmuring to themselves."The sky, the blue sky, it's been so long since I've seen it.""No, it's been years since I've seen the blue sky.""Ha, | can actually see the sky, the trees, the green. | can hear water flowing. It must be a dream; | must be dreaming."These researchers had been trapped underground for at least a decade, with no plants, strict control, and no permission to stepoutside. They looked at the sky with an obsessive fervor that belied their pain.The first survivor Maja found was in this state. She and Nana hurried over."Where's the base? What on earth happened?”But no matter how much Maja questioned, the man just stared at the sky, entranced. A leaf drifted down, and as he reached forit, tears filled his eyes. It was as if he was breathing purely on instinct, his soul long gone.Maja frowned, realizing she wouldn't get any answers, and they moved on.The devastated area was vast and endless; even though half tress had been devastated, there were still many fallen treesobscuring their view. Weary, Maja found a rock to sit on. Nana joined her, both looking worse.The living were scarce; so far, they could count the barely alive on one hand, and it felt more like death's brief respite thansurvival.
As dusk approached, staying putbecame increasingly danger:Nana pointed 1 arsiéivaly flat spotnod fof off, "Let's rough it there forthe night and continue searchingtomorrow." Please read the originalcontent at NovelDrama.Org.Maja nodded, nibbling on a granola bar.
Nana crafted a makeshift shelterfrom the tall grass to Ele Seprotectio from thewiin OAftersEing lp, she sat down and took afew bites of the rest of snacks.Please read the original content atNovelDrama.Org.
Maja's gaze landed on the jade beadaround Nana's wrist, per wae (1rpreienie’ ng on ared@ i evidently cherished formany years. Please read the originalcontent at NovelDrama.Org."What will you do if you find your brother?"Nana smiled, her hand instinctively caressing the bead, "I'l take him to Mom's grave first. She must have missed him a lot."After a pause, she suddenly looked up at the darkening sky, "It's all my fault.”She would always say that whenever the topic arose.novelbin