They had walked for about five minutes when the light began to brighten.
Suddenly, a spring the size of a motorhome appeared before her, crystal clear, the stream like a mirror.
Many children were squatting by the spring, laughing and playing, seemingly without a care in the world.
Several small caves were nestled in the rock face, and from the outside, vague figures could be seen lying on the ground.
After the others had dispersed, Xie Yayun pulled Xu Qian to a stone table off to the side.
"Xiao Qian, what do you think of this place?"
Xu Qian pursed her lips and smiled, "It's very nice. Beautiful mountains and clear water, a good place."
Xie Yayun sighed helplessly, "It's hardly a good place. If we weren't driven to desperation, who would want to live here?"
She paused and continued, "We women are all survivors clinging to life."
"Abandoned by husbands, humiliated by men. They say we eat too much and do too little, that we're useless."
"Fortunately, I'm resilient enough to have survived this long. I've rescued many abandoned women and children. We share the same belief: to live on and raise our children."
Xu Qian lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes obscuring the emotion in her eyes.
"You're a good person."
And one of the few good people willing to take in the weak and infirm. To this day, only the kind old man Ye Yunzhou had managed such a feat.
Xie Yayun gave a bitter smile, "I'm hardly a good person. Come with me."
Xu Qian followed her into a dark mountain cave, where only a dim light shone, making it impossible to see anything.
Xie Yayun lit the candles on the wall one by one, illuminating the scene within.
The room was covered with straw mats, and women lay motionless on the floor, their eyes open, as if detached from everything around them.
If not for the occasional blink of their eyes, Xu Qian would have thought they were dead.
Xie Yayun managed a sorrowful smile.
"They are all unfortunate souls. Caught by people from the Xingchang base during the escape, and then...
No woman could endure it. I rescued them, and they went mad, screamed, and eventually ended up like this. Some little girls, only seven or eight years old, were... it was truly inhumane."
Xu Qian felt little emotion. Such things were commonplace in the apocalypse. Perverts would only become more rampant, and normal people would become even more twisted. This was the human psyche.
Xie Yayun glanced at Xu Qian.
"Xiao Qian, I see you're a space ability user, and you're so skilled at fighting zombies. I don't have anything here that you would covet. I'd like to ask, why do you want to join our team?"
Xu Qian narrowed her eyes slightly, a flash of light passing through them.
"I want to help you."
"Help us?"
"Yes." She raised her eyes to gaze at Xie Yayun's sallow face.
"I want to help you establish a female-only base, the only one in the country."
Xie Yayun froze, then broke into a simple smile.
"Xiao Qian, are you joking? We only have women and children here. Talking about establishing a base..."
"As long as you are willing, I will do everything in my power to help you."
Xie Yayun hesitated, "Women already have no status in the apocalypse..."
"Sister Yayun."
"Ah?"
Why did she feel so overwhelmed?
"What's the difference between women and men? Men are merely stronger. We women can also forge a new path. Once our base becomes powerful, what is Xingchang base to us?"
As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the women lying on the floor like corpses.
"However, weak women won't do."