After we found by chance an old gas station that works manually and without electronics and there was even diesel in one of the gas pumps, we could make our trip to the place that was known to us as the last known whereabouts of our parents.

We were honestly surprised when we first arrived in this small town and found none, really none destruction there. Yes, there was no electricity or water, but otherwise ALL the buildings were intact. That was at least for us a very good sign. But of course we also knew that we had not yet reached our goal.

We managed to find the bunker where we first thought or hoped our parents were. However, we were not there for long. We talked to some of the people in charge there, let them show us around and Yibo asked them all his critical questions about the lack of drinking water, the lack of diesel and I don't know what all, explaining his curiosity and confusion with the fact that the city itself seems never to have been attacked and everything should still be there in plenty.

However, Yibo did not get a real answer that could be believed. One excuse after the other and therefore Yibo gave it up fast to investigate further. In my eyes, they were all nothing more than a disorganized bunch of people who were just scared and didn't dare come out of the bunker.

The bunker, as was explained to us earlier by Haikuan and Cheng, is indeed completely overcrowded. And again, there is no destruction or evidence of attacks on the city and yet all the residents of the city, have been in this bunker for about 16 months! Many have also left the city and sought shelter elsewhere.

In the bunker itself there was a census only a week before our arrival there. This revealed that in the bunker, which is large enough for 5000 people, there are 12033 people! They have no privacy, lie, stand and sit close together. We were really surprised that they still had food and water.

Yibo and I talked to some of the people living there and asked them why they don't go back to their apartments and houses when their city seems to have been spared? The answer was mostly the same. "We are afraid. There is no electricity and no water." When Yibo wanted to know from them what they would do if in less than 2 weeks, they ran out of diesel, food and water, most just shrugged their shoulders.

Shaking his head, Yibo whispered in my ear, "Let's get out of here. I think all those who live here like this don't want it any other way." And we left again. There was nothing more to say about the bunker and the people living there. Oh yes, and they actually had only one question for us. Namely, how we managed not to fall into one of the sinkholes.

Yibo was really angry about this question. He said, "We have a map and all the sinkholes marked on it that eyewitnesses have told us about. And besides, you can see these holes very well. After all, they are very deep and the snow just falls down. The holes are open and easy to see." Which is somehow also logical and made this question of the inhabitants of the bunker pointless.

With the snow plow we continued until we were at the edge of a cliff. The sun was rising and we could see down into the valley. And it is a really large valley completely covered by snow.

We immediately wondered how we were going to find a handful of people there. Far and wide there were not even houses to be seen. Everything was just white. Moreover, we didn't even see where there were paths or a road. We didn't even know how to get down from this cliff and into the valley. At that moment we were just standing at the cliff and didn't know what to do.

Since we couldn't get any further with our snowplow and Yibo found a narrow path by simply pushing the snow aside with his shoes until he found the way, we grabbed our backpacks and walked as carefully as possible down this narrow steep path into the valley. And in the process, there were several critical situations where we started to slide and almost fell.

At the bottom we were still as perplexed as we were at the top of the cliff. We looked around again and simply didn't know in which direction we should go. Unfortunately, at that time there was also no more precise information from our parents as to where they might be in this valley. Just a little was clear. There were no creatures there, everything was totally confusing despite the wide view and somewhere in this vast day there must be some kind of ranch where our parents are.

And to decide which way we go, Yibo flipped a coin and said, "Heads, we go right. Tails, we go left." And I just wondered, where did he suddenly get this coin and why is straight ahead actually out of the question? Well, tails won and we went left. Or rather stumbled. Because there was no real walking to speak of.

We must have been stumbling around for two or three hours when I stopped and refused to go any further. We had been awake for 24 hours and had a long night behind us. I just couldn't go on. Yibo would have liked to go on, but he saw that it would be useless if we were completely exhausted and then couldn't go on later.

So we stayed where we were. Yibo and I hurriedly set up the tent we got from those in the crowded bunker after they found out where we were going. They knew exactly what was coming and urged us to take the tent with us. How fortunate they were to have done so.

It is a four season tent, which is also well suited for the weather conditions we are experiencing and is quick to set up. We rolled out our sleeping bags in the tent, first ate some soup from a can that had been warmed up with the camping stove, and then went to sleep. We were both really exhausted and Yibo even fell asleep before me. And I have to say, we didn't feel anything of the cold that was outside in the tent.

Seven hours later we were already on our way again. This incredible darkness in which we were wrapped, felt very intense and eerie. As if it was darker and creepier there than in the cities with the many destroyed buildings and the constant feeling of being watched. Why did we feel so different in the valley? So much more fearful? And that even though there are no creatures there at all!

Yibo said it was probably because of the uncertainty. "There's nothing here to really guide us. And now at night anyway, there isn't. We know there don't seem to be any creatures here, but that doesn't mean there aren't other animals that could be dangerous. And it is also uncertain whether we are in the right valley and have taken the right path. All this uncertainty scares us." He explained.

"Mhhh, I think you are right about that." I said. Still, we didn't go any further and decided to spend the night in our tent and take advantage of the day and the daylight. So we set up our tent again and went to sleep. Again we did not freeze and even sweated.

Then in the morning when I woke up I sat up and suddenly felt dizzy. I felt that my chest and my throat hurt. And I was really incredibly cold. I carefully turned my head to Yibo, who was looking at me with bright red cheeks, glassy eyes and a hoarse voice asking, "How are you? I think I'm sick."

Then when I said, "I'm sick too." my voice not only sounded hoarse. But just trying to speak, felt like someone or something had tried to slit my throat from the inside with a sharp object.

That we both got sick at the same time was just crap. With fevers and suffering from chills, we packed everything up. We had to find a house and somehow provide warmth. We couldn't continue to stay in the tent. We absolutely had to get out of this cold. And on shaky legs, we set off again. Neither of us was hungry, but we made sure to drink at least enough.

In fact, after three or four hours of feeling worse and worse, we found an old hunting cabin. Only one room, but a stove that is heated with wood that was lying on a pile next to the stove. We immediately fired up the stove and in less than 20 minutes the cabin was nice and warm. On a shelf were herbs, as well as various teas that are just good for colds. In addition, there was a medicine cabinet in which there were still fever-reducing medicines, cough syrup and cold ointments.

There was also a bed and in a narrow cupboard we found two thick comforters with goose down feathers. They came just in time for us. We made tea, took medicine, cleaned ourselves, rubbed with the ointment and put on clean clothes to sleep. Then we got into bed and spent the next 3 days mostly asleep in bed.

After three days we were slowly feeling better. But not yet so good again that we could move on. We still needed rest. Rest that we had not allowed ourselves for a very long time. We often pushed our bodies to the limit, we were often so exhausted that we could hardly keep on our feet and finally, because of the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, we also had a poor diet. This all took its toll and at some point our bodies just had to give in.

When we felt better, we took a closer look at the hunting cabin. Yes well, except for the one room and a small bathroom there was not much to discover. But in the cupboards there was. So we found rice that was still good, a few packages of pasta, tomato sauces in a jar and some jars with preserved fruits and vegetables. So we could finally eat a little more varied and healthy.

After a week in the hunting cabin we were healthy again. Still a little weak, but fit enough to set out again. And much to our delight, there was a map of the valley in the hunting cabin, where the individual houses were listed.

Once again we packed our backpacks and set off with renewed hope of finding our parents. The map was a really good help, because we could finally plan our route more precisely. We found the right way quite soon and already one hour later the first house on the map. But nobody lived there anymore, everything was abandoned and it didn't look like anybody had been there in the past years.

The same was true for the following 2 houses. And as we made our way to house number 4 on the map, we were amazed to find that not too long ago a car had driven along the very path we had to walk. This was a very good sign. A sign that motivated us to keep going and not to give up our hopes.

We followed the tire tracks and actually ended up in front of house number 4, the "Jing House" as it was written on the map. We stood in front of a big high gate and the two houses on the property, were enclosed by high fences. There was no doorbell, at least none that we knew of. Instead, there was a pendulum hanging above the mailbox that you had to pull. The pendulum was attached to a string and if you pulled it, you could hear a kind of cowbell on the property near the two houses. Whereby one was not a house but a barn.

It took a moment, but then an already elderly man came out of the house carrying a loaded double-barreled shotgun. "Who are you and what do you want?" He asked in a rough hard voice.

"We are looking for our parents. We don't want to cause any trouble." Yibo shouted back at him.

The old man turned around for a moment, shouted something that we couldn't understand to the house and shortly after a few people came out of the house.

The next moment we heard a woman yelling, "My son! That's my son!" It was my mom! She came running to the gate. With her, my dad and Yibo's parents. My mom yanked open the gate, wrapped her arms around me in bone crushing fashion, and then my dad. I was so happy that I was completely speechless and just hugged my parents.

Yibo was also in the arms of his parents, his mom was sobbing and asking him if we were okay. My mom, well, she took my hand and said, "Come on, come inside the house so I can cut your hair." Um yeah. I had already forgotten how she can be. And before I could even answer, she dragged me into the house, introduced me to some other people who lived there, and while I was eating something, my mom cut my hair. "I can't let my son look like a hippie." She said when I commented that there are worse things than long hair after all.

Yibo grinned, but his grin faded when my mom started messing with his hair too. Since everyone was very excited and everyone wanted to give us something to eat first and show us around the house, we didn't really talk. But that will come in time. But first we all need to calm down and want to enjoy having each other back.