Darkness, the world had become complete darkness.
Xiaojun felt like his body was moving but wasn't really sure, his injuries too deep for him to be sure. All he knew was that someone was holding his hand the entire time, gently caressing his knuckles as he zoned in and out of consciousness.
"Chunhua." Xiaojun mumbled, wondering if the girl knew that he was alive.
"Shh." Xiaojun heard a soft voice whisper to him, rubbing his head softly. "Just sleep, Dejun."
Xiaojun wanted to reply, ask who the person was, but he was too exhausted, falling back asleep.
...
"Is he going to be alright?" Chunhua asked as she gently held Xiaojun's hand.
"He'll be fine." The male beside her replied, tapping Xiaojun's head one more time before glancing at the panel that lead to the driver's seat. "Chenle, how much longer until we arrive at the border?"
"A few more hours, stop being so impatient." Chenle mumbled but that only angered his friend.
"Yah, who's the older one here?" Renjun replied, making Chunhua sigh as the two began to bicker.
Ten had helped her find Winwin, who helped her shut down the arena and pull Xiaojun out. Unfortunately though, Xiaojun was already badly beaten by then, but at least he wasn't dead.
Winwin had a feeling that something like this would happen so he had made arrangements with a few connections who lived outside of Central. Chunhua wasn't exactly eager to trust a bunch of strangers, but with her and Xiaojun going missing, she knew it would be better for the others to stay back and do their best to prevent the officials from chasing her and Xiaojun.
Renjun and Chenle both seemed very nice and helpful, but they also bickered a lot. Chunhua wouldn't have minded but sitting alone with them in a truck for hours was beginning to make her head pound.
Renjun seemed to notice her discomfort, quickly closing the panel and ending his argument with Chenle. "Are you alright?"
"Should I be alright?" Chunhua asked back, adjusting her position. "He looks terrible."
"He'll heal." Renjun reassured her. "There are many good healers outside of Central, you'll see."
"If you say so." Chunhua mumbled, gently running her fingers over Xiaojun's features. "I didn't do all this for him to die for me."
"Dejun's a strong one." Renjun said, making Chunhua look up.
"Why do you call him that?" Chunhua asked, staring into Renjun's eyes. The male simply shrugged, passing her a blanket.
"I'll tell you another time but for now, you should rest up. There's still a few more hours until we reach the border." Renjun told her.
As much as Chunhua wanted to argue, a yawn escaped her lips. She lied down beside Xiaojun, carefully placing the blanket over them before gently holding his hand between hers.
...
Chunhua woke up to Renjun shaking her, and realized the truck had stopped. "Where are we?"
"Outside of the border." Chenle answered, glaring at her from outside the truck, which Chunhua realized was opened. She watched as he stepped in, moving towards where the others are.
"We need to switch vehicles." Renjun told her. "This one is a Central one, so it's being tracked."
"Their bracelets too." Chenle added, motioning to the silver bands her and Xiaojun wore. "I can only keep the trackers off for so long."
"This?" Chunhua exclaimed, holding onto her bracelet. "If you take it off, I'll die!"
"That's a myth." Renjun said as Chenle passed her a small tool. She watched as he stuck out his own arm, sticking the tool into a space on the band.
"Wait, what are you-"
Chunhua was shocked as she watched the bracelet, snap off Renjun's arm, the male casually catching it. She waited for him to explode, as the legends would say, but he didn't, passing the band to Chenle.
"Your turn." Renjun said, passing Chunhua the tool. She hesitantly took it, not really sure if she was ready to do something that could get her in so much trouble.
Chunhua could feel the eyes of the others on her though, so she quickly stuck the tool in as Renjun did, letting her bracelet fall off. Surprisingly, nothing happened, so she bent down, picking the device up before passing it to Chenle.
"Xiaojun's." Chenle said, motioning to the cyborg lying down but Chunhua shook her head.
"He's a cyborg, it doesn't matter." Chunhua told them. "They have a tracker lodged in his brain."
"Which is going to be the first thing we remove when we arrive." Renjun told her. "Chenle disabled it for the next few days though, so we're good until then."
Chunhua wasn't sure but at this point, she didn't really have much of a choice but to be cooperative as she stepped back, letting the boys move Xiaojun out of the truck. There, she saw a carriage waiting for them, along with two horses.
While the boys placed Xiaojun in the carriage, Chunhua took a moment to take in her surroundings.
They were outside of Central, surrounded by trees and grass. There was no bit of technology around her, only greens and browns. There was a huge lake behind them, the truck parjed towards it. It was shocking to Chunhua, never knowing that Edra contained a place like this.
In the distance, she could see the high walls that surrounded Central, the high buildings peeking out from beyond it. There seemed to a layer surrounding Central, something transparent but Chunhua could make out the edges of it.
"Forcefield." Renjun said, approaching her. "Central is surround by a forcefield so the citizens inside will never know what it looks like beyond the walls."
Chunhua nodded her head, slowly taking in the information. She flinched as she heard the sound of running, only to see a small animal appearing before sipping water from the lake.
"Is this Edra?" Chunhua asked, unable to believe that this really was the country she had lived in her entire life. "Surely, this can't be it."
"It is." Chenle responded, arms crossed over his chest. "Central is the only nice part of it. Beyond it, it's horrifying."
Renjun nodded in agreement. "Chunhua, you've been in Central your entire life. Unknown to you, living in Central is a life full of luxury and comfort, even if you're a servant. Outside of the border though, life is much different. It's a life full of hardships and torture, people that could only dream of living within those walls."
Chunhua noticed Chenle mouthing the same words, making faces as Renjun spoke. She could tell that Renjun was holding in the urge to smack him. Renjun rolled his eyes as Chenle flashed him a wide grin, motioning to the truck.
"Chunhua, can you help us with the truck?" Chenle asked. "We need to bury it in the lake to cover our tracks."
Chunhua nodded, following the two of them to the back of the truck.
Despite the fact that the glossy white surface of the vehicle was covered in specks of dirt, it was clear that it didn't fit in with the rest of it's surroundings. If what Renjun said was true, then this truck must have cost a fortune to build.
"We can do this or they can find us." Renjun said, reading her mind as they placed their hands on the truck, getting ready to push. "We don't really have choice."
Chunhua nodded, understanding the motive as she helped them push the truck into the lake. They patiently waited for it to start sinking, confirming that they had done what they needed to.
"Well." Chenle said, clapping his hands together. "Better get to the Underground City before the sun is up again."
———————————————————————————
Renle has entered the chat
Zhong Chenle
- Friends with Winwin
- Likes annoying Renjun
- From the Underground City
- Good with technology and gadgets
Huang Renjun
- Friends with Winwin
- Treats Chenle like a younger brother
- From the Underground City
- Deep thinker