Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland [Complete]

1637: News

With just a bit more money, Xie Feng's situation changed drastically.

Inside Dong Luorong's coin purse, along with several coins, was a bundle of crumpled bills, including a few high-value notes—more than enough to last her at least a week.

Xie Feng hailed a cab, finally spared from walking through the pouring rain. As she sat quietly in the back seat, her fingers traced the outline of Dong Luorong's purse—and the spare hotel key card she'd found inside.

Dong Luorong had to know that Xie Feng returning would put both of them at risk. Yet, she still left her a way back. When the security bureau launched their citywide search, Dong Luorong's place was one of the least likely spots they'd check.

Xie Feng thought back to stories she'd read, especially martial arts novels, where two heroes would meet for the first time and, recognizing their kindred spirits, become sworn brothers for life. Yet she could never recall any female characters sharing that same experience.

Now she knew—it wasn't that it didn't happen. It just hadn't been written about.

"This damn rain won't quit," the cab driver grumbled, watching the wipers struggle to keep the windshield clear. "In all my thirty-odd years, I've never seen rain this heavy go on for so long."

Xie Feng hummed distractedly, already planning her next move. She needed to warn her friends in the group chat before the security forces got to them. The capsule hotel she'd stayed at before likely hadn't drawn the bureau's attention yet. If she could find someone she knew there, she could borrow a phone and send a message.

The driver, indifferent to her silence, kept venting—about his family in the hospital, getting hit by a stray bullet from the security forces, his kid's school being shut down because the curriculum didn't meet imperial standards, and the mounting expenses everywhere. "I'd saved up for ages, hoping to take my kid to see Dawnstar one day. Now the planet's gone, and the money's gone with it."

"I always wanted to visit, too," Xie Feng said, stirred by the memory of a childhood dream. Chatting with the driver almost made it feel like her world hadn't fallen apart—like this was just an ordinary, unlucky day.

"Right? I've only seen those red maple trees on TV, so tall and beautiful," the driver sighed.

The massive red maples, rising straight into the sky as if to touch the stars, were a signature of Dawnstar's landscape. It was said that walking among them could make you feel as if you'd stepped back into prehistoric times.

Suddenly, Xie Feng sat upright.

Wait.

Yes... If there was anything unique to Dawnstar that Noonstar didn't have, it was the red maples.

The trees weren't just a different species; they belonged to a different botanical family altogether. Vast forests of them were so breathtaking that entire cities had been built around them, turning into major tourist destinations. If doomsday was linked to the red maples—if they were the cause of Dawnstar's extinction—of course the empire wouldn't be concerned.

But how could red maples destroy a planet? She had no idea.

And what about the posthumans? Where did they come from? Qiu Chantian didn't seem to be lying—posthumans had appeared on Dawnstar. What connection could they possibly have to the trees?

The thoughts swirled in Xie Feng's mind without resolution as the cab pulled up to her destination. After paying the fare, the driver handed her an umbrella, left behind by another passenger. Shielded from the rain, she made her way to the capsule hotel, almost feeling like she'd stepped back in time.