Chapter Four

Inanna stood on high ground, staring blankly at the desolate and rugged landscape before her for a long while, her heart quietly growing anxious. She wondered if she could truly leave this strange and wondrous land. At this moment, she was not prepared to deal with either savages or extraterrestrials.

Only when she noticed the sun still hanging in the sky—though waning toward the west without any sign of altering its path—did her mind settle somewhat. Since the sun’s trajectory remained unchanged, the chances that she was still on Earth were fairly high. But what if Earth had already been taken over by aliens?

Holding her breath, she crossed the valley and climbed over peaks until her throat was parched and burning. At the foot of the mountain, she saw a shallow and wide canyon with some greenery below. She resolved to quicken her pace and reach that place before nightfall; otherwise, unless she turned back the way she came, she would either perish from exhaustion or thirst.

Descending was much easier, but the natural slopes, untouched by human footsteps, were extremely steep. Her big toes kept painfully pressing against the front of her sneakers. Whenever she encountered slippery, unstable rocks, she would awkwardly sit down and slide, her posture ungainly.

Though dangerous, this method was efficient. While there was still a faint glow from the setting sun on the horizon, Inanna had already reached the canyon’s entrance.

Bathed in the orange light of the evening glow, Inanna was disappointed to find no signs of life in the canyon. Aside from the uniquely shaped and some particularly grotesque rock pillars, the valley was not barren and infertile like the plains outside but lush with vegetation.

This made the terrain even harder to traverse than the dirt paths outside. Inanna carefully avoided tangled wild grasses as she pressed deeper.

She kept moving forward until she found a small stream trickling beside a crevice in the rocks, where she finally stopped. Water meant she wouldn’t die of thirst today, but she dared not drink too much—the modern digestive system could hardly handle untreated wild water.

Squatting by the stream, Inanna cautiously cupped some water and took a few sips, wiping her face and scanning for a place to spend the night. Suddenly, she noticed a hole in a nearby rock pillar, but at dusk, it was hard to tell if it was man-made.

Even so, she was overjoyed.

Her hunger forgotten for a moment, she felt a surge of energy, quickly climbing the not-too-steep slope to the rock pillar’s summit, crouching low to slip into the cave.

The sunlight was too dim to illuminate the cave’s interior, yet Inanna could still make out signs of human handiwork. The cave was simply arranged—two hollowed-out chambers connected by a hole in the wall that served as an entrance and exit, with a rudimentary set of steps carved beside the opening for climbing. On the chamber’s wall where she was, a long stone slab remained, shaped like a bench.

On the ground were three flat-bottomed pits, blackened inside, which Inanna recognized as fire pits.

Her spirits lifted instantly. If someone lived here, encountering them was only a matter of time. She just needed to endure until she could find help.

Resolute, she searched back and forth through the two rooms and found a small nook piled with pine branches, thin twigs, and dry leaves.

Gathering these, she returned to the entrance chamber, placing some in the pit and setting aside the rest for later. Then, racking her brain on how to start a fire, she first picked up two sharp-edged stones and struck them together. Despite pounding until her hands ached and blood nearly bubbled from her skin, no spark appeared.

Frustrated, Inanna pulled out the Swiss Army knife she carried, using its steel blade to strike the rock. Sparks flew, but rarely landed where needed; they flashed briefly before vanishing.

Determined, she pressed closer, gritting her teeth against the pain, trying again and again until finally, a small flame flickered to life.

Fearing the night wind would snuff out the precious fire, she quickly sat at the windward side to shield the flames, continuously feeding dry twigs and leaves into the fire.

This forsaken place had an extreme temperature difference between day and night. Earlier, Inanna had put on every piece of clothing she had but still shivered. Now, with the fire burning, she felt slightly warmer. Yet her stomach ached unbearably, as if thunderous drums pounded within. Fighting the urge to grab the withered leaves, she managed to throw another handful into the fire rather than her mouth.

At dawn, she woke shivering, the fire long extinguished for lack of fuel. Curled on the cold, hard ground, her hunger dulled her senses, and her throat was dry again.

Empty and dizzy, Inanna had to steady herself by leaning on the wall to sit up. After a brief rest to clear her mind, she told herself that every moment spent searching for signs of life was another chance to survive.

With this resolve, she finally rose on her own two legs and slowly descended from the humble “inn” to the ground.

The sky was still dim, and the night wind stirred the wild grass and leaves with eerie rustling, but Inanna had no time to be frightened. The path ahead beyond the canyon was unknown, and she dreaded repeating the ordeal of trekking parched as she did yesterday. Since she found no container in the cave, she hesitated but then pulled several foil packets from her pocket.

Setting aside the floating, ribbed, and glow-in-the-dark ones, she reluctantly chose a strawberry-flavored packet. Tearing it open, she rinsed off the sticky lubricant in the creek, then filled it with a full liter of water, tying it tightly to make a makeshift water pouch, which she carried as she set off.

Though such items seemed oddly out of place among the grotesque rock formations, in the wilderness, they could serve many other practical purposes.

Inanna’s bitterness toward Gu Beikun eased somewhat, but recalling that he was the root cause of her predicament, she could not help but spit out two harsh curses at this villain whose fate was still unknown.

Her luck improved the next day. As she ventured deeper into the canyon, more and more hollowed-out rock pillars appeared. She even came across a relatively large “prehistoric villa” with multiple carved caves, which strengthened her determination to find local inhabitants.

After noon, the oppressive heat became unbearable. Severely dehydrated and with blood sugar so low she staggered and saw blurry shapes, Inanna spotted a few crooked grape arbors.

The grapes had long been harvested, but some rotten ones remained on the vines, cracked and spotted, sun-dried and almost devoid of moisture. Standing on tiptoe, she picked all the shriveled, spoiled grapes she could reach. Ignoring their pungent, sour stench, she briefly rinsed them with water from her pouch and swallowed them with closed eyes.

Desperately hungry, she had never eaten moldy, spoiled food before in modern society. To avoid gagging and vomiting, she swallowed without chewing.

This plateau was once known for its juicy, sweet, and crisp fruits and vegetables, but Inanna’s current misfortune denied her such luxuries.

Once she had eaten her fill, the rotten grapes were gone. She began planning where to spend the night. She had spent the entire day moving deeper into the canyon, yet found no signs of life, as if she were the only living person in this vast, boundless land. This feeling sent chills down her spine, even under the blazing midday sun.

Praying to any gods—east, west, or anywhere—that she might soon encounter someone, she surveyed the “inn” where she would rest tonight.

Because rock pillars with holes were increasingly common, Inanna had more options. She chose the one closest to the mountainside, the easiest to climb.

The occupants seemed to have a strong sense of home care: the sloping path at the entrance was well maintained, with occasional anti-slip pits. Besides the simple rooms and fire pits she had seen before, she noticed many holes carved into the walls for storing items.

Inanna curled her lips—did this household really need shelves for rice, oil, and various jars? Yet everywhere she had explored, from the beginning, she had hoped to scavenge something, but each cave was bare, clean as if washed away by a flood.

Could this family be middle class?

It was still early, and before the sun’s strength waned, she thoroughly searched the cave. There were two rooms, and at the back of the inner one a natural hollow led outside, where she found a ledge facing the canyon wall.

But this rock face was unlike the others. It had been carved extremely smoothly, with numerous square holes and grooves resembling a honeycomb.

Inanna found this odd but could not discern any practical use for the honeycomb-like wall. Her priority now was to start a fire to survive her second night.

Thinking this, her stomach growled again. She doubted she could find rotten grapes tomorrow as she had today. Though her stomach churned with acid, if another bunch appeared, it would be a rare delicacy for the battered and bedraggled Inanna.

She looked at the spartan “inn,” almost empty, but managed to find a ceramic pot in a corner. Having not washed properly for days and wanting some boiled water to drink on a cold night, she decided to try lighting a fire again.

Slowly pouring the water from her “water pouch” into the pot, she was about to repeat her fire-starting ritual before nightfall when she heard a clear ringing bell and animal hoofbeats below, mingled with indistinct voices.

Inanna leaned the pot against the wall and moved to step from the inner chamber to the cave entrance to investigate. Suddenly, she caught the sound of swift footsteps climbing up.

At that moment, many thoughts raced through her mind. Seeing the approaching footsteps, she knew these strangers had come for the shelter she had chosen for the night. With the sun nearly set and no clue who they were, Inanna bit her lip, grabbed her knife, and slipped back into the inner chamber. She pressed against the natural hollow at the back, hiding on the small ledge.

Voices grew louder below, accompanied by numerous animal cries and heavy thuds. The unwelcome guests had entered the cave—and there was more than one.

Clutching her knife tightly, Inanna dared not move an inch.

She did not know what awaited her—perhaps something alien?

God help her, she hoped to be a warrior of iron will.