The night before leaving, after nightfall, Wen Qian packed up everything from every room in her home. She had already removed some items previously for the sake of tidiness.
Now that she was leaving, she naturally packed away everything she could, even fitting two of the three bed frames into the space.
By the time Wen Qian went to bed, everything was gone except for the spot where she slept and the backpack and toothbrush she would need the next day, leaving the place spotless.
Lying in bed, Wen Qian couldn't sleep. She stared at the wooden ceiling.
From hearing the sound of wind in her dream last year, she decided to resign.
Although the dream wasn't very clear, once she heard the same wind sound from the dream, she was convinced the disaster had arrived. She abandoned both buying a house and her job.
From then on, she set off on an unknown path.
Now in July, she was leaving after nearly a year in her hometown. She had saved up quite a bit, but if she had stayed in An City, she would have saved up even more money by now.
However, that wind sound made her like a startled bird, desperate to leave the heavily populated city.
She had heard from former colleagues that her previous company had reduced their salary plan once again after the initial reduction. The elderly boss was also feeling weighed down by his age and underlying illnesses, so he had started looking for a professional manager.
The current trend was not to dare resign out of fear of not being able to find another job later on.
While keeping an eye on global disaster information, Wen Qian had already noticed some economic problems in the news.
The global economy was sluggish. After the pandemic from the previous few years, the economy had yet to recover before being hit by various extreme weather events, further compounding the already poor situation.
When Wen Qian started to give up on buying a house and instead hoarded supplies, her goal had already shifted far away from the city. She no longer cared about people's incomes. Her goal for herself was simply to meet her basic living needs, just to survive.
She didn't even dare dream of living comfortably, and even if she had the means, Wen Qian had never imagined she could live a carefree life of luxury.
She wouldn't give up her daily labor either, as being inactive for too long made her not want to move at all.
Similarly, if she didn't exercise for a long time, when the social system collapsed, she would be among the weakest of the weak.
Wen Qian knew she was weak, and that her spatial ability was a huge advantage, but she couldn't pin all her hopes on that ability.
She should stay vigilant at all times and mentally prepare for crises early on.
She wasn't a lion or tiger, or even an agile little squirrel or hamster. She was just a frail human who happened to hear the warning of disaster in advance.
The past year might have just seemed like an exacerbation of abnormal weather compared to previous years to many people, but to Wen Qian, it was merely the prelude.
While things appeared calm for now, her choice to leave her comfort zone was also to force herself to remain vigilant, wasn't it?
It was only when she truly had to leave that Wen Qian realized she had been avoiding complacency, or rather, forcing herself to stop harboring illusions.
After tossing and turning half the night, Wen Qian finally fell asleep to the lively sounds of frogs and insects outside the house.
Her ticket was for noon the next day. Wen Qian had plenty of time to get from her hometown to the Lu City high-speed rail station, stay overnight in An City, and then head to the airport early the next morning.
Her scheduled landing time was around 11am, with the first stop being the administrative center of Xia Province.
Although Wen Qian had slept late, she woke up early. After washing up in the morning, she packed up the last of her belongings, turned off the main power switch, took one final look around the house, locked the door, and put the key away in her spatial ability.
Carrying the same backpack and luggage from when she returned home initially, she bid farewell to Auntie Chen and her family on her way out.
When Wen Qian truly left home, her steps were resolute.
She had arranged to meet Chen Lin at the threshing ground and soon reached the street.
After eating breakfast on the street, Wen Qian boarded the bus to Lu City, dozing off on the bus until they arrived.
Afterward, she waited at the high-speed rail station to take the train to An City, where she would need to find a place to rest for the night.
Overall, she had plenty of time, as Wen Qian had not planned an overly packed schedule for herself.
She could choose to rest or wander around during her free time.
The weather was nice for traveling. While waiting for her train, Wen Qian felt drowsy, so she set an alarm on her phone in advance to avoid missing her ride.
The weather in both An City and her hometown was pleasant at this time, so the high-speed rail arrived on time.
The high-speed rail would deliver her to An City in forty minutes.
During this time, Wen Qian listened to music with her headphones, effectively creating a barrier between her and her surroundings - a "do not disturb" mode commonly used by young people.
As she boarded the high-speed rail again, Wen Qian admired the scenery outside the window, appreciating the speed and convenience of public transportation.
Although she still lived in a civilized world, she had already started imagining the difficult circumstances people would face after the collapse of civilization.
She didn't know when she might have her last chance to ride a high-speed rail or plane.
Even at the moment of booking her ticket, Wen Qian would momentarily imagine the plane she was boarding falling from the sky, ending her life.
Of course, this was an image many people would think of.
Sitting under a ceiling fan, one might imagine the blades spinning off in a bloody scene. On a plane, one might envision it crashing down. While soaking one's feet and playing with a phone, one might picture the phone falling into the water.
Wen Qian reassured herself that these were just routine fantasies.
Fortunately, the high-speed rail soon brought Wen Qian to An City, stopping her from further imagining.
Following the flow of people out of the station and into the bright sunlight of the large plaza outside, Wen Qian shielded her eyes with her hand.
Having to spend one night in An City, she felt like she was just passing through and had no intention of sightseeing.
She turned down an alley behind the station, walked for over thirty minutes, and found an inexpensive inn where she planned to stay the night to conveniently take the subway to the airport early the next morning.
In the simple but cheap inn room, Wen Qian changed the bedsheets and covers to her own, ate lunch in her room, and then began researching information about Xia Province.
The area was rich in resources. Wen Qian had previously looked into the types of plants, wild animals, and grain varieties here.
Not only did she need to avoid people, but also the activity ranges of more dangerous wild animals.
The plane would land at an altitude of around 2,000 meters, while the average altitude of Xia Province was 3,000 meters. Wen Qian planned to take it slow to gradually acclimate herself.
She gave herself timelines of one month, three months, and six months but didn't have a precise daily plan. So after landing, she would take a few days to rest before starting to scout the area.
She had never been to Xia Province before.
While the rest of the country sweltered in heat, the high-altitude areas remained cool, attracting many tourists seeking to escape the summer.
Wen Qian had never been on a vacation before.
