parentshiftbook Chapter 69 Dawn
Chapter 69 Dawn
Located on the very edge of Qingsongling Town, near an abandoned industrial park close to a former main road, Xu Mo stopped in front of a rusty iron gate. This was the perfect spot he'd found to put up a sign for a large warehouse; today, he was going to get his assault boat from here.
"This is it."
Xu Mo looked up at the factory gate, which was over four meters high and appeared quite heavy.
"Hopefully nothing will go wrong," Xu Mo muttered, then put down the backpack containing signs and other tools. The snow almost completely covered the gate; he needed to clear it until it was wide enough to open.
Xu Mo took out his entrenching tool, took a deep breath, and swung it with incredible speed, quickly shoveling away large chunks of snow and tossing them behind him. The snow was hardened by the low temperature, but for Xu Mo, whose strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, it was more like a warm-up exercise. Even so, it took Xu Mo quite a bit of time to clear the snow, which was several meters deep and waist-deep, from the front of the door.
When the bottom of the gate finally came into view, Xu Mo wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and took out a pre-prepared sign from his bag. It was a sign made of relatively thick plastic, with the words "[Water Rescue Equipment Depot]" written on it in bold red marker.
Xu Mo carefully affixed the sign to the gate and then pressed it down to ensure it was firmly attached.
With everything ready, Xu Mo pushed open the door.
A familiar, faint vibration wafted in, followed by a stench of rubber, fuel, and a faint musty smell, causing Xu Mo to frown. The scene behind the door was completely different from the warehouse Xu Mo had opened before.
What comes into view is a spacious but not particularly large interior space. The ceiling is high, with several explosion-proof lights hanging from it. The walls are painted a simple white, and the most striking feature is the several boats neatly moored in the center of the space.
Near the entrance were three bright orange inflatable boats, folded up and placed on a trailer. Further inside were rows of more robust and streamlined assault boats. They were about four or five meters long, with hulls made of sturdy fiberglass or high-molecular-weight polyethylene, mostly in striking white or orange, and equipped with powerful outboard motors at the stern. On a shelf in a corner, boxes of unopened life jackets, life rings, ropes, paddles, signal lights, and other equipment were neatly stacked. Against the wall were piles of blue plastic buckets labeled "fuel."
The 60-second countdown has begun.
Xu Mo's gaze swept across the area, quickly locking onto his target. He strode towards one of the newest and best-maintained orange assault boats. The boat was about four and a half meters long, with sleek lines. He tried to grab the handrail on the side of the boat and lifted it up with force.
"Hmm, not light!"
Xu Mo estimated that the assault boat, along with the outboard motor fixed to the stern, probably weighed close to two hundred kilograms. In his previous life, he definitely wouldn't have been able to move it alone. But for Xu Mo, who had already reached the "Awesome Realm," this was no problem.
Xu Mo gave a low shout and used his waist and abdomen strength to hoist the assault boat onto his shoulder.
He carried the assault boat, strode to the door, and placed it in the post-apocalyptic world outside.
Without pausing, Xu Mo immediately turned back and rushed inside, heading straight for the pile of fuel drums. These were all sealed fuel drums labeled 25 liters each.
Xu Mo grabbed two buckets in each hand and charged towards the door again. Sensing that the countdown in his mind still had some time left, Xu Mo made another trip.
When he took the fuel out of the gate for the second time and put it down, the 60 seconds had just run out.
The gate behind them was restored to its original state, as if nothing had happened. Only the sign on the gate that read "Water Rescue Equipment Depot" and the conspicuous speedboat and eight barrels of fuel on the open ground outside proved what had just happened.
Looking at his harvest, Xu Mo let out a long sigh of relief, a satisfied expression on his face. Although the process had taken some effort, the result was perfect.
Xu Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief after safely transporting the assault boat and supplies back to the shelter and properly concealing them. With this means of water transportation to deal with potential floods, he felt more at ease.
"Preparations are almost complete." Xu Mo gazed at the still-dark sky, his heart filled with anticipation.
Next, we must wait patiently for the prophesied dawn.
Time slipped by quietly amidst cultivation, vigilance, and occasional observation. The mechanical watch hands on Xu Mo's wrist tirelessly spun more than ten times.
Finally, as Xu Mo went up to the rooftop as usual to conduct his daily observations and stance training, he keenly noticed that the ever-unchanging eastern sky seemed to have changed slightly.
In the far distance where heaven and earth meet, the inky black background was tinged with an extremely faint yet incredibly resolute dark red halo. That red halo was so subtle, as if it might be swallowed back by the surrounding darkness at any moment, yet it stubbornly persisted, slowly expanding at a rate imperceptible to the naked eye. The red halo rendered the surrounding deep black into a profound dark red, then transitioned into indigo and bluish-purple.
Xu Mo held his breath, his heart pounding uncontrollably. He stood on the rooftop, motionless, gazing eastward like a statue.
As time passed, the red blush grew wider and brighter, as if some enormous creature was gathering boundless power behind the darkness.
Suddenly, at the base of that vast expanse of magnificent sunrise, an incomparably dazzling and warm golden arc leaped out of the horizon.
sun!
That was the sun that had been absent for so long.
Although it was only a small arc of gold, the light it emitted pierced through the eternal darkness like a sharp sword. Warm, bright, and vibrant golden sunlight once again bathed this land that had long been ruled by ice and death.
Xu Mo subconsciously squinted. The long-awaited light was slightly dazzling, but more than that, it brought an indescribable excitement and joy stemming from his very life force. He felt a warmth on his face, dispelling the lingering chill. Under the sunlight, the snow-covered ruins seemed to be edged with gold, and the once lifeless world instantly came alive.
"Finally back!" Xu Mo murmured to himself, a radiant smile spreading across his face. He opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the light he had lost and regained.
After the initial excitement, Xu Mo quickly regained his composure. He knew that this moment of dawn breaking and the rising sun was the perfect time to practice "qi gathering."
Xu Mo immediately stood still, facing the rising sun in the east, which was becoming more and more complete. He clasped his hands in front of his abdomen, his palms slightly concave, as if to embrace the first ray of life that was born between heaven and earth.
Adjusting his breathing to make it deep and long, Xu Mo's mind followed his breath, sinking into his dantian and guiding the circulation of qi and blood within his body. At the same time, he focused his mind on visualizing that every pore of his body was opening up, greedily absorbing the morning sun's light, which contained boundless vitality and pure yang energy.
As Xu Mo visualized and breathed, the sunlight shining on him was no longer just light and heat in a physical sense, but carried a unique "energy" that could resonate with his own blood and qi.
The warmth seeped through his skin and into Xu Mo's muscles, mingling with his circulating blood and qi, making his already surging blood and qi even more lively, pure, and full of vitality.
Xu Mo felt a long-lost, incredibly comfortable warmth flow through his entire body. The slight stagnation in his cultivation that had existed before due to the interruption of his "Qi Gathering" during the Eternal Night quietly vanished under the illumination and stimulation of the morning sun. Xu Mo felt that his Bullhide Realm cultivation had become more stable under the baptism of the morning sun, and even showed a slight improvement.
Golden sunlight bathed his entire body, reflecting a faint glow on Xu Mo's skin, which glowed with a pale yellow light, making him look like a Vajra statue in a temple bathed in the morning light, exuding a sense of power.
The eternal night has ended, and dawn has arrived.