parentshiftbook Chapter 62 Lamp
Chapter 62 Lamp
Time flowed quietly under the eternal night, and for Xu Mo, who lived alone in Qingsongling Town, these days had been relatively comfortable.
Since the night they dealt with the attacking mutated wolf pack using traps and firearms, the anticipated attacks did not occur. The area around the shelter returned to its chilling stillness, with no movement except for the occasional howl of the cold wind and the sounds of their own activity.
After several days of peace, Xu Mo gradually realized that there might really be no decent wild animals threatening the town anymore.
Xu Mo's conclusion was not based on mere conjecture. During his daily practice of the Thirteen Bodyguards' External Cultivation, he consciously extended his time spent in absolute darkness. On one hand, this was to continue honing his will and resisting mental erosion; on the other hand, it was also a form of "fishing"—placing himself in a lightless environment to test whether he would still attract those predators corrupted by darkness.
As a result, apart from the ever-present, oppressive darkness that required him to circulate his qi and blood to resist, which constantly tried to erode his mind, none of the anticipated threats materialized. It was as if the wolf pack from that night was the last large-scale, threatening dark creature in this area, and their annihilation created a safe zone for Xu Mo.
"It seems that the previous zombie horde, coupled with the drastic environmental changes after the arrival of the eternal night, and the possibility of cannibalism, have reduced the biodiversity in the town and surrounding areas to an extremely low level," Xu Mo analyzed to himself.
This situation is undoubtedly good news for Xu Mo. It means he can focus more on his own cultivation without having to constantly guard against external physical threats, at least for the time being.
However, the eternal night did not bring only harm and challenges. In the midst of this daily cultivation and meditation, Xu Mo accidentally discovered a subtle change within himself.
It was after finishing a standing meditation session in the dark that Xu Mo didn't immediately turn on the light, but instead habitually looked around. Suddenly, Xu Mo discovered that he could roughly make out the outlines of objects in the room.
The surroundings were no longer the pitch-black darkness from which one could not see one's hand in front of one's face, a pure deprivation of all senses. Instead, a faint, hazy light and shadow shrouded everything. The indistinct shapes of the tables and chairs, the outlines of the weapon racks, and even the texture of the wood on the floorboards could be barely discerned. Although it was far less clear than when there was light, and the colors were completely lost, it was indeed "seeing," rather than pure darkness.
"Is this night vision?" Xu Mo was both surprised and delighted.
He tried to move in the dark, avoid obstacles, and even pick up a small object to examine it, all of which were much smoother than before when he relied entirely on memory and touch.
After careful consideration, Xu Mo came up with a relatively reasonable guess regarding this change: "The Thirteen Bodyguards' External Training is an external martial art that strengthens muscles, bones, and skin, emphasizing the comprehensive improvement of physical functions. Strength, defense, reaction speed, recovery ability, and even the five senses should all be within the scope of enhancement. Perhaps my eyesight has been slowly improving with the advancement of my cultivation level, but previously, being in an environment with day and night alternations, the progress of this 'low-light vision' or 'dark adaptation ability' was not obvious. The extreme environment of eternal night is like a catalyst, forcing my visual system to complete some kind of adaptive evolution or potential activation under these continuous low-light conditions."
In other words, it wasn't the Eternal Night that gave Xu Mo night vision, but rather that his body, honed by the cultivation techniques, already possessed stronger visual potential. The extreme environment of the Eternal Night simply brought out this potential earlier and to a greater extent.
This discovery thrilled Xu Mo. In a perpetually dark environment, possessing excellent night vision is of paramount importance. It means his ability to move in the dark, his reaction speed, and even his chances of survival will be significantly enhanced—undoubtedly a major step forward in his individual evolution.
And so, several more days passed in relative peace and steady self-improvement.
That day, Xu Mo did some stretching exercises on the rooftop as usual, and habitually looked into the distance to observe the desolate, snow-covered ruins and the dark horizon further away.
Suddenly, Xu Mo's gaze stopped in the distance, and he narrowed his eyes.
At the seemingly unchanging edge of the pitch-black horizon, a string of moving points of light appeared.
The points of light were pale yellow, stable and faint, slowly wriggling in the boundless darkness. This string of points of light formed a long, not-quite-order but clearly directional dragon, stretching resolutely forward along a snow-covered path, possibly a former highway.
"This is... a convoy? A convoy of survivors?" Xu Mo's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time since he transmigrated to the apocalypse that he had witnessed signs of large-scale human activity!
Standing on the edge of the rooftop, Xu Mo observed carefully. The "dragon of light" formed by car headlights did not turn towards Qingsongling Town, but instead followed its predetermined trajectory, passing straight through a place several kilometers away from the edge of the town, heading in a clear direction—the approximate location of Jiangcheng Shelter.
The convoy was quite large; judging by sight, it consisted of at least thirty or forty vehicles, perhaps even more. They maintained a safe distance from each other, and their lights not only illuminated the road ahead in the darkness but also served as a signal of communication and reassurance.
"It seems that some small shelters or survivor groups have made up their minds to relocate to the Jiangcheng Shelter." Xu Mo understood immediately; he guessed the reason that prompted them to make this difficult decision almost instantly.
On one hand, there was the earlier plea for help from the Rock Shelter and Jiangcheng's swift and forceful response, dispatching a bomber squadron. This undoubtedly sent a strong signal to all survivors who received the message: Jiangcheng possesses powerful defenses and the ability to maintain order, and can provide effective shelter in times of crisis, a stark contrast to the vulnerability exposed by Rock during the crisis.
On the other hand, there was the "Always Bright Plan" subsequently announced by Jiangcheng Shelter, which provided 24-hour lighting free of charge—an unimaginable luxury and temptation in the post-apocalyptic world. It not only meant light, but also represented Jiangcheng Shelter's stable order, strong resource reserves, and technological strength, representing a call to something akin to "civilization."
This temptation is fatally attractive to small groups struggling in the eternal darkness, constantly fearing their spirits will be eroded.
Weighing the risks and rewards, it is clear that a considerable number of survivors believe that the risks of the long migration are worth the effort to gain access to the "Fortress of Light".
Gazing at the "dragon of light" stubbornly moving forward in the endless darkness, Xu Mo's long-dormant heart couldn't help but ripple.
His strategy had always been to remain aloof, quietly accumulating power in these ruins using his special abilities and cultivation techniques. But now, witnessing the other survivors migrating en masse towards a large human settlement, a thought involuntarily sprouted in Xu Mo's mind:
"In the future, I might be able to visit the Jiangcheng Shelter."
This idea was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Xu Mo did not intend to abandon his long-established shelter to live under someone else's roof. Xu Mo's idea was more inclined towards "limited contact" and "information gathering".
Since his transmigration, Xu Mo has been surviving alone, and knows very little about the broader state of human society, technological development, power distribution, and even deeper research on the eternal night and mutated creatures in the post-apocalyptic world. The information provided by the radio is limited and filtered; going to human settlements in person and communicating with different people would undoubtedly broaden his horizons greatly and allow him to obtain more accurate and in-depth intelligence.
Moreover, Xu Mo wanted to see with his own eyes what human civilization had developed into after the apocalypse, under the protection of Jiangcheng's powerful forces. What was their order like? What was their level of technology like? What were the living conditions of ordinary survivors like? This would help him to more accurately position himself in this world and judge the future trends.
"I don't necessarily have to settle down in Jiangcheng, but it's always good to go and see it." Xu Mo watched the taillights of the convoy gradually recede into the darkness, and in his mind, "going to the Jiangcheng shelter" had already been listed as a future alternative plan.
Of course, not now. He needs greater strength, more thorough preparation, and a more opportune moment.