Chapter 6: Landslide on Garbage Hill
Some time later, Su Nian met a gray-haired old woman in a remote corner of the garbage dump. The old woman was curled up, sitting on a dilapidated stone, her body hunched, as if the burden of life had bent her back. Su Nian's eyes fell on the old woman's face. This was the first woman she had seen on this planet.
The old woman's face was full of deep wrinkles, each of which was like a mark left by the years, telling of the vicissitudes she had gone through. Her skin was rough and dark, like the bark of a tree that had been eroded by wind and sand for many years, losing its original luster and elasticity. Her eyes were deeply sunken in her eye sockets, revealing a kind of fatigue and helplessness, but in the depths of that gloom, there was still a trace of tenacity and indomitable spirit towards life. Her lips were chapped, without a trace of blood, and trembling slightly, as if telling of those unspeakable sufferings. She was wearing a shabby dress with patches on top of patches, and the corners of her clothes swayed gently in the wind, looking so thin and helpless.
"Child, it's really not easy to see you working so hard every day." The old woman took the initiative to speak, her voice hoarse and low, as if it came from the distant past, carrying endless vicissitudes and emotion.
Su Nian replied with a wry smile: "There is no other way. If I want to leave this place, I have to work hard to save money." Her eyes were determined, but she could not hide her fatigue.
The old woman sighed softly, and the sigh sounded like an autumn wind blowing across the barren fields: "When I was young, I was just like you, with the dream of leaving, but until now I haven't been able to leave." She raised her head and looked at the gray sky of the Garbage Planet, her eyes full of memories and regrets.
Su Nian looked at her in surprise, with an indescribable sympathy in his heart: "Why?"
The old woman shook her head helplessly, her white hair flying in the wind: "There are too many accidents on this garbage planet. Sometimes I save some money with great difficulty, but either I get a serious illness and spend it all, or I encounter bandits and have the money robbed. Once, I picked up a lot of valuable things, and I was so happy that I could finally leave this damn place, but I met a group of bandits on the way. They robbed all my things and beat me all over." As the old woman spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing the old scars on her arms.
Su Nian's heart tightened, and he asked worriedly, "Do you still want to leave now?"
The old woman was silent for a moment and looked into the distance. There was an endless mountain of garbage in the distance: "I want to, of course I want to, but with my old bones, there is no hope. But you are still young and there is still a chance. Child, you must be careful, there are too many potholes on this road." There was a slight tremor in her voice, as if the recall of those painful experiences made her feel scared.
At this time, a young man came over. He was thin, but his eyes showed a cleverness. "Sister, I heard that someone found a precious antique in the garbage mountain, made a fortune, and left here." The young man's voice was full of envy and yearning.
Su Nian's eyes lit up, as if she saw a ray of light in the darkness: "Really? How lucky that is."
The young man shrugged, showing a helpless smile on his face: "That's right, but not everyone can have such a good thing. It's better for us to honestly pick up garbage. Sometimes, luck is something that we really can't control."
The old woman nodded, stretched out her dry hand and gently patted Su Nian's shoulder: "Child, no matter what, you must pay attention to safety. There are still many unknown dangers hidden in this garbage planet. Those abandoned machines sometimes explode suddenly, and there are also those mutated creatures. If you are not careful, they will take your life."
Su Nian said gratefully: "Thank you for your reminder, I will be careful." Her eyes became more determined, as if she secretly swore in her heart that she would overcome these difficulties no matter what.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard someone shouting, "Oh no! The garbage mountain is collapsing!" The voice echoed in the empty garbage dump, carrying with it endless fear.
Everyone was immediately panicked, and the originally peaceful scene suddenly became chaotic. The shouts of people, the sound of footsteps, and the roar of falling garbage intertwined together, forming a terrifying din.
Su Nian's heart instantly rose to her throat, her mind went blank, and she instinctively started running desperately with the crowd. The ground under her feet was shaking, and behind her was a rolling torrent of garbage that seemed to swallow everything.
She saw that the faces of the people around her were filled with fear and despair. Some were tripped and fell to the ground, and were ruthlessly trampled by the people behind them; some were hit by the rolling garbage and disappeared in the chaos in an instant.
Su Nian rushed forward desperately, her breathing was rapid, her heart was beating like a drum. The wind was whistling in her ears, and it hurt her face. But she didn't dare to stop, and she had only one thought in her mind: I must survive!
In this chaotic escape, Su Nian felt her strength being drained away bit by bit, but she gritted her teeth and insisted on continuing to run. She didn't know how long she ran until she felt the danger behind her gradually faded away, and finally collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, her eyes full of relief for surviving the disaster and confusion about the future.
Su Nian collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, and when she calmed down a little, she remembered the old woman. She stood up in panic and looked around for the old woman.
"Old lady! Where are you, old lady?" Su Nian shouted loudly, his voice full of anxiety and fear.
However, the only response she got was dead silence and the sighs of the people around her.
"Don't look for her, sister. She's probably been buried down there." said a young boy named Lin Xiaofei, who looked only about 12 years old.
"Landslides are common in this garbage mountain, and more than one or two people have been buried. Alas..." Another person shook his head helplessly.
Tears welled up in Su Nian's eyes. She couldn't accept that the old woman who had just been talking to her had disappeared under this ruthless mountain of garbage, her life or death unknown.
"How could this happen? How could this happen..." Su Nian muttered to himself, his body trembling with grief and anger.
She looked at the mountains of garbage, her heart filled with powerlessness and hatred for this cruel world.
In the following days, Su Nian was immersed in sadness. Every time she walked to the garbage dump, she would think of the old woman's face and her words full of helplessness and vicissitudes.
"I must leave this damn place!" Su Nian swore secretly, his determination in his heart stronger than ever.
However, fate did not seem to let her off easily. One day, while picking up trash, Su Nian accidentally got her arm pierced by a sharp piece of metal, and the wound bled profusely.
"What should I do?" Su Nian looked at the blood staining his sleeves and felt panic in his heart.
Just when she felt helpless, Lin Xiaofei appeared.
"Sister, let me help you!" Lin Xiaofei quickly took out a piece of clean cloth from his backpack and bandaged Su Nian's wound.
"Thank you." Su Nian said gratefully.
"You're welcome. It's not easy for us on this garbage planet. We have to help each other." Lin Xiaofei showed an honest smile on his face.
After this accident, Su Nian and Lin Xiaofei became closer. They picked up garbage together, took care of each other, and faced the difficulties on the garbage planet together.
But Su Nian never forgot her goal. She still worked hard to pick up trash every day, persisting for the distant dream of leaving...