Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 485 A Gale Rises

The campsite was located on a slightly raised earthen slope.

But now, amidst this overwhelming wind, this "best option" is turning into a "fatal flaw."

High means no shelter, and it also means having to endure the onslaught of winds from all directions all by yourself, with nothing to help you even in the slightest.

Her mind was racing. They were currently on a plain with no natural barriers, and the tallest thing within a radius of dozens of miles was probably themselves.

If the wind continues to pick up, their tents will definitely be blown away. Those tents, supported by only a few aluminum poles, are like paper lanterns in the face of such wind.

People can be blown off balance, especially the elderly and children, whose weight is simply not enough to withstand this level of wind.

"Get up!" She bent down and grabbed Lan Yue's arm, her voice much louder than usual, almost shouting.

"Pack your things! We need to find shelter from the wind!"

Blue Moon jolted awake, fully waking up.

She rolled over and got up, and the two of them squatted down at the same time, starting to pack their things as quickly as possible.

Every pocket in the backpack was zipped up, all the way to the end, and even the small hole at the zipper pull was checked.

Fasten all the straps tightly, and tuck any excess straps into the side pockets to prevent the wind from finding any gaps where it can take things out.

I pulled the windbreaker out from the bottom of my backpack, put it on, and zipped it all the way up, with the zipper pull just touching my chin.

The hat was pulled up on his head, the drawstring of the brim pulled tightest, leaving only his eyes visible on his face. Even his nose was mostly hidden by the shadow of the hat brim and the high collar of his windbreaker.

When you breathe, hot air comes out of your nose and condenses into a thin layer of mist on the inside of the brim of your hat.

As they did these things, the wind woke tens of thousands of people in the entire camp. Some shouted in the darkness, and some asked, "What's going on?" but no one answered.

Many people's tents were blown about by the wind, and some of the weaker ones were overturned within seconds.

Some tent poles slipped out of their covers, rolled a few times on the ground, and were blown away by the wind to who knows where.

Some people's backpacks were blown apart, and clothes, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, compressed biscuits, water bottles, tissues, and other items flew out of the torn backpacks.

Some people were shouting for people to assemble, to squat down, and to hold hands.

The voices came from the soldiers in the ranks, who were trying to reorganize the out-of-control crowd in the strong wind.

But the wind was so strong that their voices could only be heard at a very short distance; any further away, they were just some indistinct syllables.

Xu Xiaoyan and Lan Yue had already packed everything up.

They crouched behind the small mound, using it as a temporary haven.

The mound is small, only about a meter high, but it provides a sheltered side from the wind.

The wind bypasses the top and sides of the mound, creating a relatively calm area on the leeward side.

Although the sand and dust were still flying, at least their bodies were no longer being pushed to one side by the wind.

But Xu Xiaoyan knew that this was only temporary.

The mound is too low and short, and when the wind blows over it, it creates a small vortex on the leeward side, but this vortex can only protect them for a very short distance.

If the wind continues to pick up or the wind direction changes, this small, fragile barrier will lose all its effectiveness in an instant.

They need a sturdier, more durable shelter that can help them get through the night.

But where is such a place on a flat plain as flat as a tabletop?

"Find something and grab it!" A voice came from further away, indistinct but clearly belonging to a soldier.

Xu Xiaoyan grabbed Lan Yue's hand, and the two of them bent over, crawling almost touching the ground.

The wind was blowing from the side, and each step required two or three times more effort than usual.

You need to push your legs firmly against the ground and lean your body forward to an angle almost parallel to the ground to maintain your balance and avoid falling.

The sand hits your face, hands, and any exposed skin. It doesn't hurt, but it makes you numb, so numb that you want to hide but there's nowhere to hide.

"Where are you going?" Lan Yue called out behind her, her voice carried away by the wind, but Xu Xiaoyan heard the question.

She didn't know where to go. There was nothing on the plains, so where could she find shelter from the wind?

But her eyes searched desperately in the darkness, looking for anything that might offer even the slightest bit of cover.

The undulations of the terrain, the depressions in the ground, even just a small pit or a small ditch.

If it can block half of the wind, no, block a third, that's enough.

Then she saw it, about two or three hundred meters southeast of the camp.

There is a terrain that is about one meter lower than the surrounding ground, resembling a dried-up riverbed.

It's not a riverbed, but rather the remnants of a ravine. It's not deep or wide, but its direction is almost perpendicular to the wind direction.

This means that if you can get down to the bottom of that ravine, the wind will blow over your head.

What you'll be facing is only a small portion of the wind that's been greatly weakened and is coming in from both sides.

"Over there!" She grabbed Lan Yue and ran in that direction.

Behind them, more and more people gathered, and some bumped into each other in the darkness, making a muffled thud and a string of curses.

In the chaos, someone stepped on a securing rope used by someone else to set up a tent, tripped, and fell to the ground with a groan.

Someone shouted, "My bag!" It was probably blown away by the wind, and then the sound disappeared into the wind and was never heard again.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't turn around, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't.

There was no other thought in her mind but one: go, go into that ravine, go to a place where the wind is less intense, go to a safe place.

Lan Yue's hand was sore from being gripped so tightly, but she didn't struggle.

The distance of two or three hundred meters, which usually only takes two or three minutes to walk, took them nearly ten minutes today.

When you take a step forward, the wind pushes you back half a step; when you take two steps, it pushes you one step.

Then, they finally arrived.

The ditch was shallower than Xu Xiaoyan had seen from a distance, probably less than a meter deep, with soft sand at the bottom that would cause you to sink a little bit if you stepped on it.

But as she judged, the ravine was almost perpendicular to the wind direction.

As she sat down along the ditch wall, pressing her back against the vertical surface made of sand and gravel.

Xu Xiaoyan felt the wind rushing past her head, but the wind force she felt was only a third of that at ground level, or even less.