Live Broadcasting In The Apocalypse

The sky was a churning sea of gray and ash. Dark eyes looked at the thick, oppressive clouds swirling sluggishly. No sunlight pierced the murky veil; the dim light that filtered through was cold and lifeless, casting everything in the shade of desolation that mirrored the look in that pair of dark eyes.

The world was silent.

The world had gone silent for three years now.

The air was so silent that Li Hani could even hear the sound of her own heartbeat clearly. Three years into the apocalypse, silence was the only companion of those who survived like Li Hani. No birds sang, no insects buzzed, and even the hum of never-stopping machines had long been missing.

The only sound that surrounded her was the sound of her own breath. Her tattered clothes clung to her thin frame, and it seemed like she was nothing more than flesh and bones. Dirt, blood, and grime covered her face. There were criss-cross cuts on her face that ruined her appearance beyond recognition.

The air around her was thick with a stench of decay and death. Occasionally, faint streaks of lightning flashed in the distance, their light illuminating the skeletal remains of the buildings, their silhouette jagged and broken against the smothering sky. Lightning was another one of the disasters that humans had to fight. It was a misfortune for everyone but Li Hani considered it a blessing.

If not for the lightning striking that place and burning it to the ground, how else would she be able to escape from the captivity back then? That's why even if there was a fear of lightning coming down at any time and anywhere, she had long stopped being afraid of it. 

Thin fingers tightened their grasp around the crude makeshift weapon, which was nothing more than a sharpened pipe. Her hand trembled terribly, but it was difficult to tell whether it was because of the bone-chilling cold or fear of the unknown that lay in front of her. 

She bit into her cracked lips just to keep her teeth from clattering because of the cold. Her eyes though sunken were sharp like a predator's. To survive in this time where humanity was at the losing end, everyone had to become a predator if they didn't want to end up as prey instead.

Hani's lost eyes scanned the desolate street ahead. It was empty or so it seemed. The gnawing hunger in her stomach was a constant ache but it was the bitter cold that made her knees wobble as she moved.

'Can't die here. Can't die here.'

The same mantra kept playing in Li Hani's head and she gritted her teeth to persist through this hard time. She had to get out of there before being caught by those beasts again. She did not want to go through the inhuman torture ever again. She had to go and find her brothers, her family, and her... Ah Ning.

They must be waiting for her. Even in this world of peril, they must be looking for her. She couldn't let them down. She had to do whatever it took to get back to them. She missed everyone so much. It had been three years. Three years of inhuman torture. She didn't even know how she survived until now. Those who accompanied her through this sadistic torture died one after another when they couldn't bear the pain of this torture but she still persisted with her sheer willpower.

It was unknown if her desire to live was strong or if was it her desire to see her family again was stronger. She believed it was her desire to see her family safe that made her survive until now. A light shone into her dark eyes and softened her emotions as she thought about her family.

Li Hani moved cautiously, her steps light and deliberate. There wasn't a faint crunch under her feet since she had been barefoot all along. The skeletal buildings offered little shelter but they concealed her well enough for now.

Her sharp eyes darted to the shadows. She knew better than to trust the silence, it was always the precursor to something wrong. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She tightened her grip on the pipe as she pressed forward. Each step closer to finding her way back home.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her ankle tightly, stopping her from continuing. Li Hani looked down to see an arm stretching out from a hole in the wall. 

"Help me! I'm hungry!"

The feeble voice of plea could move someone's heart to tears but Li Hani didn't even blink. She had seen worse than this, so how could she be moved by this scene? Each on their own. She didn't even have the ability to help herself, how could she take on the burden of others? Without any hesitation, she lifted the pipe and struck it on the arm that held her back. 

And as soon as that hand let go of her, she walked past it without any care. If it had been three years ago, she might have helped at her own expense but she was no longer the kind-hearted and spirited young lady. Her heart had long been chilled by the cold wind. This cold wind had frozen the world, it was easier to freeze people's hearts.

"Hani?"

A soft voice made Li Hani halt in her steps. She turned her head to look at the person who called her and the familiar face in front of her made her eyes widen in surprise. 

"Yuanyuan?" called out Li Hani in a sharp and unpleasant voice. Her grip on the pipe relaxed when she came across an old friend whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Ji Yuanyuan was her childhood friend and she was one of the closest people to Li Hani. Seeing how Ji Yuanyuan was clad in clean clothes and looked as bright and beautiful as she did before the apocalypse came, Li Hani felt happy.

She wasn't one to feel jealous seeing that her good friend was doing better than her. Although her face was ruined, her body had varying degrees of wounds and scars, her voice was ugly, however, none of that made her feel inferior standing in front of her old friend. 

She only felt relaxation wash over her knowing that her friend was doing well even in these difficult times. This also gave her hope that her family would also be safe and sound right now.

Ji Yuanyuan hurriedly walked to Li Hani's side and held her hand saying, "I finally found you. You have no idea how worried I had been for you."