STG 04
Chapter 4: Survival Day
One week later, at Cangnan City No. 6 High School.
“Hey, is that guy from our school? Why is there a strip of cloth covering his eyes?”
“He’s wearing our school uniform, so he must be.”
“He’s holding a white cane—looks like he’s blind.”
“Strange, I’ve never seen him before.”
“Probably a freshman this year?”
“Honestly, with that black cloth wrapped around his eyes, he looks kinda cool.”
“But how can a blind person attend classes? Our school doesn’t have special education programs, does it?”
“No idea.”
“…”
As expected, the moment Lin Qiye stepped through the school gates, he drew a wave of attention.
But Lin Qiye had experienced this kind of scene too many times before. He walked through the maple-lined path of the school as if no one else existed, heading straight for the classroom building.
Truth be told, Lin Qiye had mentally prepared himself to deal with troublemakers. In many mindless wish-fulfillment stories, this kind of situation would inevitably summon a few idiotic “school bullies” to mock him, setting the stage for his eventual face-slapping comeback…
But no such troublemakers appeared. Instead, many students approached him on their own, asking if he needed help.
For some reason, Lin Qiye felt a little disappointed.
Then again, this was to be expected. These were modern students who had gone through nine years of compulsory education—how many truly unreasonable troublemakers could there be? Even if there were cliques, they still operated on a code of “brotherhood.” Helping friends out and showing off was one thing, but bullying a disabled person? They’d be drowned in public scorn the very next day, their reputations ruined forever.
Lin Qiye climbed the stairs and quickly found his classroom: Class 2, Grade 11. He had already completed his first year of high school at a special education school, so now that he was transferring, he was effectively a transfer student.
According to most TV dramas and novels, transfer students were usually synonymous with neglect, isolation, and misery. After all, by the second year of high school, social circles were already well-established. Without making an active effort, it would be hard to truly integrate into the class.
Lin Qiye knew very well that he wasn’t the type to take the initiative.
Even if he had been with these students since the first year, given his aloof and unapproachable aura, he’d probably still be alone by now.
But being alone wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, Lin Qiye himself enjoyed the solitude—no disturbances, peace of mind, and the ability to focus on his studies…
If someone forced him to actively socialize, he wouldn’t even know where to start.
Standing at the classroom door, Lin Qiye took a deep breath, steadied himself, and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, the noisy chatter came to an abrupt halt. The air grew still…
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Just as Lin Qiye was about to say something, the class erupted!
“You must be Lin Qiye, right? Your seat’s already set up—it’s over there.”
“Lin Qiye, can you see? Let me guide you.”
“Walk slowly, the aisles are a bit cluttered… Hey, you! Move your backpack!”
“…”
Before Lin Qiye could react, several students had already stepped forward, carefully leading him to his seat. One tall boy even took Lin Qiye’s backpack and slung it over his own shoulder.
Surrounded by the group, Lin Qiye was safely escorted to his desk.
Lin Qiye: “…?”
This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go.
“Lin Qiye, I’m Jiang Qian, the class monitor. Let me know if you need anything,” a ponytailed girl said, patting her chest.
“I’m Li Yifei. If you’re going to the cafeteria, just call me—I’ll take you there,” the boy who had carried his bag said with a grin.
“And me! I’m Wang Shao…”
“…”
Dozens of students crowded around him, enthusiastically introducing themselves.
For a moment, Lin Qiye was genuinely bewildered.
Honestly, this was nothing like what he had imagined.
“You… know me?” Lin Qiye asked, his expression odd.
“Our homeroom teacher told us about you,” Monitor Jiang Qian explained. “But what really left an impression was your aunt. The other day, she showed up with a basket of eggs, stood right here, and handed them out one by one, asking us to look out for you…”
A thunderclap seemed to go off in Lin Qiye’s mind. He froze in place.
He didn’t hear anything else the students said after that. He just stared blankly at the classroom, his mind involuntarily conjuring an image of that middle-aged woman with her slightly hunched back, holding a basket of freshly boiled eggs, earnestly pleading with the students.
“Everyone, please, my nephew’s eyes aren’t good, and he’s a bit cold by nature. Take care of him for me, won’t you…?”
“Little girl, you’re so pretty. My nephew’s handsome too—you’d definitely like him…”
“Qiye’s just reserved on the outside but warm on the inside. Once you get to know him, you’ll get along great…”
“…”
At some point, the black silk over his eyes grew slightly damp.
“Auntie…” he murmured.
As the students continued chattering, a female teacher walked in, books tucked under her arm. When she saw Lin Qiye sitting in the front row, she first came over to greet him, gave a brief introduction to the class, and then began the lesson.
“Turn to page 91. Today, we’ll be discussing the modern history and challenges of Daxia…”
Perhaps because of Lin Qiye’s presence, the teacher skipped the usual skimming of the textbook and went straight into the content.
“A hundred years ago, Earth was home to over two hundred nations, spread across seven continents and four oceans, each with its own distinct culture and customs. Even in that era of underdeveloped technology, we could still travel by ship to different countries and experience the clash of cultures…”
“However, on March 9th of that year, an inexplicable fog suddenly appeared over Antarctica and began spreading at an alarming rate. Within just 24 hours, it had engulfed nearly 98% of the planet.”
“Skyscrapers built by mankind, ancient primeval forests, unfathomably deep oceans… everything was swallowed by the fog. Countless nations vanished into the mist, their fates unknown.”
“And yet, just as this unfathomable fog was about to invade the borders of Daxia… it stopped.”
“No one knows why, but it simply… stopped.”
“Over the past century, countless theories and conjectures have been proposed. Some say the fog is actually a living creature that, after consuming 98% of the planet, was finally sated and halted at Daxia’s doorstep. Others claim that Daxia’s unique geomagnetic field repelled the fog’s advance. Still others believe it’s the accumulated legacy of Daxia’s five thousand years of history shielding this land…”
“The composition of this fog defies all human understanding. Whether it’s light, sound, radio waves, or any other form of detection, nothing can penetrate it. No one knows whether the countries swallowed by the fog a century ago still exist beyond it…”
“Experts speculate that their chances of survival are slim, as the fog is lethal whether inhaled or merely touched by bare skin.”
“Over the past hundred years, our nation has sent countless well-equipped exploration teams into the fog. Not a single one has returned.”
“Fifty years ago, our country successfully launched its first satellite. Images transmitted from space showed that the entire planet had turned a dull gray—except for Daxia, the last untouched land.”
“Today, Daxia is like the last island on this planet, and we… may be the final survivors of Earth.”
“Thus, the day the fog appeared—March 9th—is now known as ‘Survival Day.’”
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