Chapter 193: Don’t Turn
Jingwei placed his finger on the road before Zeyu could mark the map.
"Here," Jingwei said. "This was the last junction we reached before changing routes. Everything beyond it needs checking."
Zeyu drew a small circle around the junction. "The hotel’s service road connects farther north."
"It does on the map," Jingwei replied. He followed the thin line through the wooded slope. "We don’t know what’s fallen across it."
Shichen moved his plate aside to make room. "The mobile base could use that road before the fire. I checked the width when we were arranging deliveries."
Jingwei glanced at the date printed beneath the survey.
It belonged to a world in which somebody would clear a fallen tree and repair a damaged shoulder.
But, since this wasn’t that world anymore, he had spent the last three weeks looking at the same stretch of entrance road, watching ash settle over the marks left by the military vehicles.
"We’ll find out what our own road looks like first," Hanchuan said. "A short test tomorrow evening. Luming stays on the list."
Zhiyi nodded and drew the map toward herself. She wrote beside the circle rather than adding another route. Jingwei could read the words upside down: Last confirmed access.
"Bring back what you can actually see," Zhiyi told him. "Then we can change this."
Jingwei folded the map after she finished. "Zeyu drives. I’ll go with him."
Shichen looked up. "I should be there if something shifts under load."
"You can watch the readings from here," Zeyu replied. "If something feels wrong, I’m stopping. I’m not fixing it beside the road."
Jingwei watched Hanchuan consider the arrangement. His gaze rested briefly on each of them before he nodded. There was no argument about who could be spared, and nobody suggested taking Zhiyi out before Qinghe agreed she was ready.
The conversation continued over the cleared table until they had a route short enough to reverse if necessary and a place to turn around.
The following evening, Jingwei found Zeyu sitting behind the wheel long before they were due to leave.
The cabin lights were on, illuminating a folded towel, two water bottles, and the checklist clipped beside the dashboard. Zeyu had changed into a clean shirt. His sleeves were already pushed up, and one hand rested on the wheel while he studied the view through the windshield.
"Ready?" Jingwei asked, climbing into the passenger seat.
Zeyu looked over. "I’ve been ready for an hour."
Jingwei fastened his seat belt. "Then you can wait another five minutes."
Zeyu gave him a familiar look of irritation, which was preferable to the restless silence he had carried around the shelter lately. He returned his attention to the controls while Jingwei checked their connection to the communications room.
Shichen answered first. Hanchuan’s voice followed, confirming that the approach was clear.
Through the windshield, Jingwei saw Qinghe bringing Zhiyi to the protected side of the garage doorway. She had insisted on seeing them leave. Hanchuan stood beside her chair with one hand against its back.
Zeyu lifted his hand. Zhiyi returned the gesture, then pointed toward the dashboard.
"The list," Zeyu muttered, looking at the clipped paper. "Yes, I have the list."
Jingwei pressed the radio control. "We have it."
Hanchuan leaned down to hear something Zhiyi said. His expression changed, and he kissed her before straightening. Jingwei looked away, giving his attention to the opening ahead.
The sight stayed with him anyway. He had spent years avoiding the expectations that came with letting someone close enough to touch him. Hanchuan bent toward Zhiyi as though there was nowhere else he would rather be.
Beside him, Zeyu started moving.
The mobile base rolled through the garage opening at walking speed. Jingwei watched the clearance while Zeyu followed the line they had marked on the floor. The newly fitted entrance frame passed above them, followed by the last section of sheltered approach.
Then the windshield filled with evening light.
Jingwei narrowed his eyes despite the tinted glass. The sky was pale and hazy, with none of the softness he remembered at that hour. Beyond the road, leaves hung brown against branches that had been green when they arrived.
Zeyu eased off the accelerator.
Jingwei glanced at him. "Something wrong?"
"No," Zeyu answered. He swallowed and looked ahead. "It’s brighter than I expected."
The cooling fans changed pitch as they left the shelter behind. Jingwei could hear the effort without feeling any immediate warmth. He checked the cabin reading, then turned his attention back to the road.
On the entrance feed, the ruined outer gate had looked like a repair waiting to happen.
From here, the twisted metal stacked beside the wall looked like the remains of something much larger. Beyond it lay dark tire marks, scattered debris, and a stretch of earth crushed flat by heavy vehicles.
Zeyu drove past without speaking.
They followed the private road downhill.
The engine’s steady sound filled a silence Jingwei hadn’t anticipated. There were no birds moving between the trees and no other vehicles approaching the junction below.
He realized he was listening for both.
"Cabin temperature is holding," Shichen reported through the radio. "How does it feel?"
Zeyu flexed his hands against the wheel. "Normal so far. The door isn’t making any noise."
Jingwei watched the road shoulder crumble into dry fragments beneath a leaning post. "We’re reducing speed at the bend."
The turning area lay beyond it, a broad patch once used by delivery vehicles waiting to enter the archive. Jingwei had studied the old image before they left. It should have given Zeyu enough room to bring the mobile base around without backing down the access road.
From the bend, it appeared empty.
Zeyu began positioning the vehicle, then stopped before leaving the roadway. His hands became still on the wheel.
Jingwei followed his gaze. Across the turning area, a dark line divided the pale surface. At first it resembled a shadow. Then he saw the difference in height on either side.
The outer section had settled toward the slope, carrying the posts with it.
"Don’t turn," Jingwei said, although Zeyu had already stopped.
"I’m not," Zeyu replied. His eyes moved to the mirrors.
Hanchuan’s voice came through the speaker. "What are you seeing?"
Jingwei described the damaged ground while Zeyu studied the narrow road behind them. The last bend had disappeared beyond the length of the vehicle.
"We’ll have to reverse," Zeyu said. He looked toward Jingwei, then at the rear camera display. "Enlarge that."
Jingwei brought the image onto the larger screen.
A long crack followed the edge of the road behind their rear wheels, and fresh dust was trickling down into it.