"I loved the outdoors. My wife did too. That's how we met, at an outdoor sport club," the man said. "After we got married, we agreed not to have kids. We wanted to explore the world together. "We traveled while making online content to earn money. It was hard work," he went on, "but we were happy. "We saw the northern lights. We stood by a narrow sea passage and felt the wind where two oceans meet. We even spent some time volunteering in war zones with international aid groups." As he spoke, his eyes grew brighter. "We were soulmates. My only regret was that there were still so many places in our own country we never got to see. "So we planned to hike across the whole country before we got too old. But then, she was gone. "I promised my wife I would live well for her. I promised to use my eyes to see our country for both of us. After that, I just..." His story jumped around, messy and scattered. Still, Natalie pieced it together. In short, after his wife passed away, he set out to hike across the country alone. When the apocalypse began, he wasn't in his hometown, so he lost contact with his family. He didn't stop walking. He kept going through the apocalypse, this time heading home. Over the radio, he learned that an official base had been built in his hometown, Yloria. Honestly, he was impressive. The man kept talking. "When you get older, you start missing home. With the apocalypse this bad, I figured I probably wouldn't live much longer. That's fine. Everyone dies someday. But before I die, I have to see my family again. "Otherwise, when I meet my wife again and she asks about them, I won't be able to answer. She'd be upset."He gave an awkward smile. "And, well, I'll admit it. I have a selfish reason too. I've suffered a lot these past few years. I really want to go home and enjoy a few peaceful days. Then I could die without regrets." He finished his first cigarette and pulled out a second one out of habit. After hesitating for a few seconds, he put it back into his pocket. "So," he said, finally getting to the point, "I stopped you for no other reason. Since you're heading to Yloria anyway, could you take me with you?" The three of them met outside Ubling, deep in the mountains. At the time, Natalie had just finished testing the upgraded storage space. With one hour left before midnight, she was kicked out of it. The result made her grin from ear to ear. The time limit had increased from eight hours to eleven. She was thrilled and couldn't help praising Cassian's collection-grade emeralds. They worked really well, and the upgrade was wonderful. It was already late at night. Natalie, Cassian, and the pets decided not to keep traveling. They planned to sleep in and leave after sunrise. Still, with no idea what dangers the next day might bring, Natalie chose to save the remaining storage time. She didn't go back inside. The mountains were full of caves that blocked the wind. They only needed a small one, about the size of an RV. Light a fire inside, take out the RV, and turn the heater up high, and the night would be warm and safe. But just as they found a suitable cave, they realized someone was already there. It was the same guy standing in front of them now. His survival skills were impressive. No one knew how he managed it, but inside that small cave, he had lit four separate fires. The whole space glowed bright and warm. He wore more than ten layers of clothing. Wool, down jackets, and even rough animal-hide coats. The fur was thick and heavy, clearly from some animal, and the stitching was crude. It was obviously homemade. On top of that, he was wrapped in a sleeping bag. Over everything, he had carefully covered himself with a polyester emergency blanket. It was called a blanket, but it was really just a thin metallic sheet. Still, it was a lifesaver outdoors. It kept body heat in so well that it worked better than a forty-pound quilt. When Natalie and Cassian first saw him, he was boiling instant noodles with melted snow. He ate calmly and happily, clearly someone used to long-term outdoor survival. They asked him about the base for one simple reason. When he saw the three animals, there wasn't a trace of greed in his eyes. That was rare. After three years of the apocalypse, people had been hungry for far too long. When they saw animals, desire and hunger usually showed right away. But judging by how he casually cooked and ate two packs of noodles at once, he probably hadn't starved much. He had spent most of his life on the road. His survival skills were far beyond average. He was even cheerful when he saw them, laughing and saying Lucky looked just like his Dynamite. Dynamite was a chubby hippo he and his wife had adopted overseas. And the man also had a good impression of Cassian and Natalie. They were clean, generous with supplies, and able to keep pets alive. Anyone could tell they weren't ordinary survivors.