The Inaccessible Sanctuary

“Another breaking news, a national announcement… the earthquake warning has been raised from magnitude 6.8 to 7.6!”

“It’s not just our S Province—every city across the country, big or small, is being urgently evacuated. This is a world-shaking catastrophe, global in scale…”

“Heavens, is this the end of the world…”

The entrance to the shelter was abuzz with noise.

Liu Yi, her forehead split and bleeding, sat limply on the ground, her face pale as death. Dust clung to her hair and clothes, and bloodstains marred her worn blue-and-white hospital gown. At her side lay an overturned wheelchair, the line between life and death blurred.

For a girl who should have looked utterly down-and-out, her delicate face—no larger than an adult’s palm—made her seem pitiable rather than disheveled.

Her breathing grew rapid, then with a jolt, she awoke.

She looked around in a daze.

Fear and confusion flickered across her features.

The back of her head was cold and aching. When she reached up, her palm came away sticky with blood. She didn’t need to see herself to know how wretched she must look.

People milled all around, yet each one chose to ignore her.

Not far away, lines of vehicles passed through the checkpoint—sedans, jeeps, and large trucks, a dense, unending stream.

Staff in wide-brimmed hats were managing the crowd. They wore no uniforms, only red armbands emblazoned with the character “Di.”

People queued, pulling up ticket screenshots on their phones. When the staff scanned the tickets and recorded their names, ages, and other information, the card machine on the table whirred and quickly spat out a black-and-white card.

The staff handed out the card, now tucked in a blue-lanyard plastic sleeve.

Liu Yi looked up at the large sign reading “Di Corporation Advanced Earthquake Shelter” and shuddered in alarm.

Had she been reborn to the dawn of the apocalypse?

She wasn’t yet lying in a laboratory, skin being sliced off for her cousin.

“Xiao Yi, does it hurt? Where are you injured? I’m sorry, it’s all my fault—I didn’t take care of you.”

The young woman speaking was her cousin, Lu Yunshu.

Youthful and striking, her hair cascaded to her waist. She held a freshly printed shelter card, wore a pale sun jacket and hot pants that accentuated her figure.

“I don’t want your apology. I want my ticket!” Liu Yi’s voice was parched and hoarse.

The technology of today had advanced enough to give ten days’ earthquake warning.

After the government’s announcement, schools closed, malls shut down, factories and hospitals relocated—every effort made to minimize disaster losses.

Before her accident, she had already purchased her own advanced shelter ticket.

An advanced ticket wasn’t something you could buy with money alone. It required high academic qualifications, top health indicators, a national certificate of no criminal record—a comprehensive evaluation before approval.

Then, while she was unconscious, her beautiful and ‘kind-hearted’ cousin exploited the loophole and took her spot.

That was no different from sentencing her to death!

Liu Yi painfully pieced together her memories, coldly fixing her gaze on her cousin.

“You already had a ticket. Why did you give mine to your romantic backup? If you were going to give it away, it should have been yours!”

If not for the government’s mandate that every person on the household register be evacuated, their truck wouldn’t have taken her—the injured one—along to the shelter.

Her cousin not only seized her ticket at the entrance but also “accidentally” toppled her from her wheelchair, tearing open her wounds again.

“Xiao Yi, don’t be upset. You’re hurt—don’t injure yourself further. I’ve already spoken with the shelter; the doctors from the hospital will be out soon to take you in. Not only will you get in for free, but all your medical expenses will be waived, and you’ll receive the best treatment.”

Lu Yunshu was filled with regret.

How could she have forgotten to top up her cousin’s sedative and let her wake up early?

“Don’t change the subject. I’m asking about my ticket—what right did you have to use it!?”

Liu Yi’s lashes fluttered at the mention of the hospital.

Hospital? Nonsense. That was no hospital, but a slaughterhouse for human experimentation.

As long as the subject had value, their skin, organs—every part—could be harvested at will.

Never again would she fall into that trap. The day she re-entered the Di Corporation Shelter would be the day she bathed the laboratory in blood.

She quietly edged closer to her cousin and, in a sudden move, snatched back her backpack, which held her phone, tablet, and all her documents.

Her paperwork bore the red official stamp. By the rule of one ticket per person, not just the Di Corporation Shelter but any legitimate shelter would refuse to admit her.

The family drama finally drew a small crowd of onlookers.

“Free treatment—what’s wrong with that? Is the girl brain-damaged?”

“Right? That’s like two people getting in with one ticket, and she’s refusing free medical care. She must be crazy!”

Lu Yunshu saw the tide of opinion turning her way. She let her lips curl ever so slightly, though tears poured down her cheeks, her voice trembling with misery.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Yi. The doctor said you might be a vegetable for life… If I’d known you’d wake up, I’d never have let my friend use your ticket. It’s all my fault. The doctor promised that as long as you get into the Di Hospital, you’ll have nutritious meals, cool air conditioning, and attentive care—you won’t have to suffer with me. I just wanted what was best for you… sob…”

Hearing how good the hospital’s conditions were, the crowd turned on Liu Yi, glaring and berating her, rallying to Lu Yunshu’s side.

“Girl, don’t be so unreasonable. Spare your cousin some worry!”

“The earthquake will hit at midnight—stop being so childish or you’ll never find a husband. No family will want you.”

“Tsk, spoiled only child—no sense of gratitude at all…”

Lu Yunshu wept pitifully, but her eyes gleamed as she noted the crowd’s support.

Liu Yi watched it all in silence, her expression unreadable.

Every year, Di Hospital offered free treatment slots to poor families, earning a stellar reputation. But with a major earthquake looming, they were no charity—would they remain so benevolent?

The crowd may have been swayed by her cousin’s performance, but perhaps some saw through the charade.

So be it; the matter did not concern them.

Sometimes, turning personal interests into public ones was the only way to get what you wanted.

She wiped her eyes and began her own performance.

Her legs ached; she shifted to a more comfortable position and climbed back into the wheelchair, her grubby hand clutching her cousin’s smooth, white thigh.

“Cousin, I was too hasty and misunderstood you. But now I’m awake, Di Hospital may not take me in. I know you spent hundreds of thousands stockpiling a whole truckload of supplies. If you can’t eat it all, it’ll go to waste. Could you give me a little?”

“What are you talking about… If I had that kind of pull, I’d have been welcomed into the shelter already!” Lu Yunshu sneered inwardly, though she outwardly protested.

She tried to step away, but Liu Yi clung so tightly to her calf she couldn’t budge.

How could a just-awakened patient have such strength?

Desperation, perhaps—a dying struggle…

Suddenly, she felt a cold, wet patch on her leg.

Snot and tears had been wiped all over her well-cared-for skin!

She almost broke character, face twisting with disgust, but quickly masked it with a show of kindness.

“Get up. Even if you’re awake, Di Hospital will take you. They’ve already admitted over a thousand free patients; they won’t quibble over one more. Someone will come for you—they’re probably just delayed.”

“Ow, cousin, don’t kick me…” Liu Yi, anticipating this, feigned a stumble as she stood, pitifully begging for mercy.

Her frail body toppled with the push, and she instinctively reached for the nearest object—a truck’s iron door.

The doors were unlocked for inspection.

With a crash, the door swung wide, and the supplies, packed to the brim and shifted by the bumpy ride, spilled out in a torrent.

Boxes of compressed biscuits, canned goods, ham, preserved meats, white and brown rice, grains, flour, oil, salt, sugar, noodles, instant meals, self-heating hotpots, mountain and sea delicacies…

And medicine!

Painkillers, cough tablets, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, vitamins, heart pills, herbal remedies, cold cures, blood pressure and diabetes medications.

Generators, lighters, solar panels…

The crowd eyed the loot hungrily but were blocked by the shelter staff, forced to look on with longing.

As the supplies tumbled, Liu Yi took the chance to duck behind the door, narrowly escaping.

She was ravenous for these goods, but with her current status as a frail little waif, she couldn’t hope to keep any for herself.

For now, everyone still had supplies, but as time wore on, resources would become scarcer, and human nature’s darker side would be laid bare.

She was eager to see how her cousin would maintain her tranquil façade then.

At present, she lacked the power to take revenge, but she would seize every opportunity to cause trouble.

Lu Yunshu clearly sensed the icy edge now lurking in her once docile cousin’s eyes—a chilling surprise.

But as soon as she hesitated, Liu Yi began her act of poverty, and the supplies poured out.

The crowd, forgetting their righteous indignation, joined the scramble for goods.

In an instant, chaos erupted; even the staff couldn’t hold them back.

“These are mine! Stop!” her cousin cried helplessly to no avail.

Liu Yi, looking half-starved, found a corner, tore open a loaf of bread and devoured it in great bites, washing it down with canned milk.

Though her actions seemed bold, her pallor only made her look more pitiful.

Once she’d eaten her fill, she burped softly.

Alas, her appetite had shrunk.

Coma had left her stomach weakened.

But Liu Yi’s actions weren’t just cathartic—they were a diversion.

She snatched up a box of lighters from the ground, leaned against the truck for support, and forced herself to stand, eyes brimming with desperate resolve.

“Cousin, I’m not a child anymore. At a time like this, do you really think there’s such a thing as a free lunch?

Maybe you sold me to the hospital for experiments, didn’t you?

I thought we were family, but you eat and drink in comfort while you steal my life-saving ticket—how ruthless you are!”

With a click, she lit a few lighters, setting fire to several boxes of supplies and, in the confusion, to her cousin’s sun jacket.

In the sweltering heat, flames caught instantly.

Lu Yunshu never expected her to go so far, and could only dodge clumsily.

A moment ago, her hair flowed behind her; in a blink, it was singed to her shoulders.

Stunned, she didn’t notice the jade pendant’s cord around her neck burning through.

The not-so-thick string snapped in an instant.

“So you won’t let me live, is that it? Bullying me, is that it?” Liu Yi wailed and launched herself at them, flailing wildly.

Hidden from view, she stealthily slipped the jade pendant into her pocket.

Her life would be her own—it was not for others to control.

“Mom, Dad, where are you? I miss you so much! Woe is me, a motherless child is like a blade of grass…”

With the spiritual jade now in hand, Liu Yi had no intention of lingering. She withdrew from the crowd, still sobbing, sneaking some medicine and compressed biscuits into her backpack.

When times truly grew desperate, the shelter—being the only refuge—would stratify people into classes. For those at the bottom, survival would be mere existence.

To avoid running into people from Di Hospital, she needed to find a safer place to hide, and quickly.

“Clear out, all of you! If you want into the shelter, get moving—there are plenty more waiting behind you!” The staff, fearing a bigger commotion, hurriedly dispersed the crowd.

The onlookers left, grinning with satisfaction at their windfall.

Yet some found their suspicions aroused by Liu Yi’s outcry.

Was Di Hospital truly so altruistic?

Lu Yunshu, distracted by the pain of her burns, didn’t notice the jade pendant was missing.

She asked the staff to reload the remaining supplies onto the truck, then, after thanking them, donned her shelter card. But when she looked back, Liu Yi was gone.

A hollow sense of loss crept in, as though she had missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

On her slender white legs, black smudges remained—the imprint of those little dirty hands…