Chapter 41 Unexpected Warmth
Life in the fortress, in its daily routine, had cultivated an almost luxurious tranquility. The persistent high temperatures brought by the extreme heat, thanks to the powerful temperature control system and the two's gradually adapted daily routines, seemed to have become a manageable part of their daily lives.
The afternoon is the best time of day to do some relatively static maintenance work—avoiding the midday sun and having more time to complete the work than in the morning.
That afternoon, Su Ran conducted his monthly inspection of the ventilation and airtightness system as usual. This work was tedious but crucial, ensuring the clean circulation and absolute isolation of the air inside the fortress. Dressed in light work clothes and carrying a backpack containing various testing tools and small parts, he skillfully climbed a telescopic ladder along the crisscrossing maintenance passages inside the fortress and opened an inspection port located on the ceiling at the edge of the living area.
The passageway was dimly lit, with only the intermittently placed emergency indicator lights on the walls emitting a faint green glow. A faint hum of air currents was the dominant sound. Su Ran turned on her headlamp; the beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the dust-covered passageway strewn with neatly arranged cables.
He worked skillfully, first using a portable detector to check the air pressure and airflow data at several key points, and then using a flashlight to carefully observe whether the sealing strips at the ventilation duct connections were intact and whether the filters needed to be replaced.
Running your fingers across the cold metal tube walls, you can feel the extremely slight vibrations transmitted from the system running stably. All of this indicates that the fortress's "breathing" system is healthy.
He walked along the passageway to a relatively secluded area. This was one of the backup ventilation system nodes near the mountainside, rarely used except in cases of main system failure or when extreme airtightness was required. Therefore, the inspection here needed to be more thorough. Su Ran crouched down, preparing to remove the inner inspection cover to check the condition of the outer protective fence.
Just as his fingers touched the clips on the edge of the inspection cover, his movement stopped.
He held his breath and listened intently.
Aside from the inherent low white noise of the ventilation system, there seems to be... something else.
Thump...thump thump...
Very faint, almost drowned out by the sound of the system running, blocked by the thick metal inspection cover and the outer rock wall. But the rhythm... didn't sound like the abnormal noise of mechanical failure, nor like the random sound of wind blowing away debris. It was very light, with a strange... regularity? Or rather, a helpless, similarly spaced tapping.
Su Ran frowned, wondering if he had misheard. He remained still, concentrating even more intently.
A few seconds later, the sound came again.
Thump...thump thump...
This time, it seemed a little clearer. And following the rhythmic tapping was a faint, almost imperceptible, almost illusory sound…
Ugh...
It sounded like a sob. A suppressed, painful sob from a young animal.
Su Ran's heart skipped a beat. A living thing? Outside the fortress, near this hidden ventilation shaft? He immediately straightened up, but his movements were even more subtle, trying to avoid making any noise. He pressed himself close to the access cover again, his ear pressed tightly against the cold metal, trying to filter out the background noise.
The wait felt exceptionally long. The dry, cool air from the ventilation duct brushed against his cheek. Just as he was about to doubt whether he had been hallucinating—
Thump...woo...
The sound reappeared, more distinct than the previous two. Though faint, the whimper carried a pain on the verge of collapse and... a plea?
Su Ran no longer hesitated. He immediately took two steps back, retrieved the encrypted walkie-talkie from his waist, pressed the call button, and spoke in a very low but clear and urgent voice:
"Brother Yu, can you hear me? It's me, Su Ran."
After a brief silence, Wen Yu's steady voice came through, carrying a barely perceptible hint of inquiry: "Received. Location?"
"Northeast corner, maintenance access road for backup ventilation vent number three. There's an anomaly." Su Ran spoke quickly but clearly. "I heard a rhythmic knocking sound outside, accompanied by what sounds like a cub whimpering. Repeat, rhythmic knocking plus a cub whimpering. The sound source is near the protective fence outside the ventilation vent. Over."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie. Wen Yu was clearly processing the information and assessing the risks quickly. In the apocalypse, any unusual sound, especially signs of life, could mean trouble—attracting predators, revealing their location, or setting a trap.
"Stay put, remain concealed, and continue listening but do not respond to any sounds. I'll be there soon." Wen Yu's instructions were concise and forceful. "Do not open any passages without authorization. Repeat, do not open."
"Understood. Stay hidden, keep listening, and don't open the passage. I'll wait for you." Su Ran repeated in a low voice, then turned off his headlamp, completely blending himself into the darkness of the maintenance passage, only his ears still keenly picking up every sound from the outside. His heart was beating a little fast, not from fear, but from a complex emotion mixed with vigilance, curiosity, and a faint worry. That sobbing sound... it was so pitiful.
Time ticked by. The only sounds in the passageway were the constant low hum of the ventilation system and his own soft breathing. The knocking and whimpering outside seemed to have stopped; perhaps the little guy had exhausted his strength. Su Ran's heart tightened slightly.
About five minutes later, a very slight, almost imperceptible sound came from behind. Su Ran didn't turn around, but her tense body relaxed slightly—it was Wen Yu. Only he could approach so silently.
Wen Yu approached him, also turning off his own light source. In the darkness, Su Ran could feel the reassuring aura and warmth emanating from his presence. Wen Yu gently patted his shoulder, signaling him to relax, then pressed himself against the inspection cover, listening intently.
The two waited silently in the darkness. About a minute later, just when Su Ran thought the sound wouldn't reappear—
Thump...thump...
Faint, but definitely present.
Wen Yu's body tensed almost imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed. He stepped back slightly and gave Su Ran a few simple sign words: living creature, single, small, weak. Then, he pointed to the inspection cover, then to himself, and then towards the entrance of the passage—meaning that he would be responsible for opening the cover and keeping watch, while Su Ran would retreat to a safe distance, ready to provide support or evacuate at any time.
Su Ran understood what he meant. Although she was worried, she nodded and took a few steps back, leaning against the cold wall of the passage. She placed her hand on the pliers at her waist and stared intently at Wen Yu and the inspection cover.
Wen Yu took out a special noise-reducing disassembly tool from his tool bag and began to slowly and gently rotate the fixing bolts around the inspection cover.
He controlled every movement to a minimum, striving not to make any sound that might disturb any living creature. The bolts were removed one by one and placed on a small tray lined with soft cloth, without making a single clanging sound.
The last bolt was removed. Wen Yu gently attached the suction cup to the surface of the inspection cover and slowly pulled it open a crack. Instead of opening it completely immediately, he first carefully extended a probe with a miniature camera through the crack, adjusting the angle to observe the external situation.
Su Ran held her breath, watching the live feed displayed on a small screen on the side of Wen Yu's helmet. The image was somewhat blurry, with a greenish tint from night vision mode, showing the narrow gap outside the vent, covered by thick camouflage netting and the shadow of the mountain. The light was dim, and dust floated in the air.
Wen Yu slowly moved and focused the camera. Suddenly, the image froze.
Deep within a crevice piled with withered leaves and dust, nestled against cold rocks and close to the fortress's sturdy alloy protective fence, huddled a dusty, almost indistinguishable mass, almost blending into its surroundings. The creature trembled slightly in the image.
Wen Yu zoomed in with the camera.
A small face, so dirty it was unrecognizable, appeared on the screen. The most striking feature was its eyes. Even in the blurry night vision, those round eyes shone brightly, like two dusty blue glass beads, now fixed on the camera with an indescribable terror, despair, and… a faint, almost extinguished plea. The area around the eyes was smeared with dirt and what appeared to be dried tear stains.
It's a dog. A small puppy, but its skeleton vaguely suggests it belongs to a large breed.
It was horribly thin, its ribs clearly visible through its mud-covered, matted fur. One of its forelegs was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly injured. There were also many dark stains on other parts of its body, possibly blood, or something worse.
It huddled between the cold rocks and metal, shivering incessantly from the cold, each tiny tremor seeming to exhaust its last strength. Yet, even so, it seemed not to give up, using its head and its still relatively intact front paw to weakly, intermittently, ram against the cold metal fence right next to its nose.
Thump...thump thump...
That faint tapping, almost drowned out by the wind, was coming from there. Each impact was accompanied by a broken whimper escaping its throat. It had little strength left, but the instinct for survival, or some vague memory of "humanity" or "sanctuary" imprinted deep in its genes, drove it to make this final, futile attempt.
How did it get here? In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, enduring freezing temperatures, extreme heat, food scarcity, the threat of zombies, and other predators, how did this wounded puppy, completely defenseless, manage to overcome so many obstacles and find this hidden ventilation shaft in the mountain? Did it get separated from its mother? Was it abandoned and miraculously escaped? Or was it some incredible stroke of luck that led it to stumble and crawl to this place where it could sense the faint airflow and "artificial" atmosphere of the fortress? Whatever the reason, it's nothing short of a miracle.
It is a heartbreaking miracle of life bursting forth in the harshest of environments.
Looking through the screen at those pleading blue eyes and that tiny, struggling body, Su Ran felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, causing a sharp, aching pain. He could almost imagine the fear, hunger, pain, and loneliness that the little creature had endured outside. He instinctively looked at Wen Yu.
Wen Yu's gaze was also fixed on the screen, his face expressionless, but his jawline was taut. He was assessing the risks: the germs and parasites the puppy might carry; the extra food, water, and space required to raise a large dog; the potential noise and odor problems; and whether it was a wise decision given the limited resources of the post-apocalyptic world. He was always rational, accustomed to weighing the pros and cons, placing survival and the safety of the fortress as his highest priority.
but...
His gaze involuntarily drifted to Su Ran beside him. Even in the dim light, he could clearly see the undisguised, almost overflowing pity and heartache in Su Ran's eyes, as well as a silent, intense plea.
Those eyes were crystal clear, devoid of calculation, filled only with the purest compassion for another suffering life and a yearning to lend a helping hand. Wen Yu had seen that look in Su Ran many times—when he looked at the seedlings in the sunroom, at the injured chicks, and even at himself. It was part of Su Ran's nature, a gentleness and radiance that had never been extinguished even in the apocalypse.
And this light is precisely what Wen Yu cherishes most and wants to protect in his cold world.
Reason still whispered a warning of the risks. But a softer spot in her heart was gently touched by the tenacious flame of life on the screen and the genuine concern in Su Ran's eyes. Perhaps... perhaps it was worth taking a risk? For the light in Su Ran's eyes, and for... this incredible miracle of life itself?
Wen Yu withdrew his gaze and looked back at the dying puppy on the screen, remaining silent for a few seconds. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Su Ran.
Finally, Wen Yu sighed almost inaudibly, the sigh so faint it nearly dissipated into the hum of the ventilation ducts. He turned off the camera on the probe, fully opened the inspection cover, and then gestured to Su Ran: Prepare to provide backup, be careful, slow down.
Su Ran's eyes lit up instantly. He nodded vigorously, immediately pulled a clean, soft cloth from his backpack, and held it up to the vent.
Wen Yu then took out another set of tools and began to dismantle the sturdy alloy protective fence with the same precise and gentle movements. This time, his movements were a little faster than before, but he remained cautious to avoid making any loud noise. The fence was carefully removed.
With the last barrier gone, the relatively warm, clean air inside the fortress, carrying the scent of food and life, flowed more clearly into that narrow crevice.
The puppy seemed to sense the completely different atmosphere. It stopped knocking, its little nose twitched violently a few times, and the fear in its blue eyes seemed to be replaced by a bewildered longing. It struggled to lift its head and look in the direction of the light, but because of its weakness, it could only let out a weaker whimper.
Su Ran's heart melted. He immediately reached out his hand, but his movements were extremely gentle and slow, as if afraid of frightening the poor little thing. He carefully spread his palm out as wide as possible with a soft cloth and slowly reached out towards the puppy.
The puppy seemed to flinch, but perhaps it had truly exhausted all its strength and alertness, or perhaps it sensed harmlessness from Su Ran's movements and aura. It did not flinch, but simply stared blankly at Su Ran's approaching hand with its wet blue eyes.
When Su Ran's warm fingertips gently touched the puppy's cold, trembling, and dirty fur through the soft cloth, the puppy's body shuddered violently. Su Ran immediately stopped and soothed it in an extremely gentle whisper, "It's okay, don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
Perhaps it was the gentle voice that worked, because the puppy stopped trembling so violently. Su Ran took a deep breath, and using a soft cloth as a pad, with extremely gentle and steady movements, lifted that tiny body, so light it made his heart ache, out of the cold, dirty crevice.
It felt lighter than it looked. The bones were hard to the touch, and there was hardly any flesh under the fur. The puppy stiffened for a moment in Su Ran's arms, its blue eyes staring straight at Su Ran's face so close to its own, as if trying to confirm something.
Then, perhaps it was the warmth of Su Ran's embrace, perhaps it was his clean and pleasant scent, perhaps it was his gentle gaze and voice, that completely broke down its last defenses. It let out a long, soft whimper from deep in its throat, as if it were being released, its little head tilted in Su Ran's arms, its tense body completely relaxed, and it fainted.
"It's fainted!" Su Ran exclaimed in a low voice, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Don't panic, it's just exhaustion and stress. Let's get out of here and back to the isolation room." Wen Yu had already quickly restored the protective fence and inspection cover to their original state, his movements swift and efficient. "Let's go!"
Su Ran immediately wrapped the puppy carefully in a soft cloth, held it to her chest, and followed behind Wen Yu, quickly and quietly leaving the ventilation duct area. Wen Yu led the way cautiously ahead, while simultaneously informing the control room via internal communication of the order to temporarily shut down the ventilation in the area and carry out targeted disinfection.
Their figures quickly disappeared into the intricate passageways inside the fortress, leaving the ventilation shaft where the small miracle had just occurred back to silence and shadow.
And within the fortress, an unexpected new member is about to arrive, along with a brand new chapter filled with the unknown and warmth.