After walking for more than an hour, they finally saw a highway. Occasionally, a steam-powered vehicle would pass by.
After being trapped for more than a month, they finally saw people. Both of them were a little excited. Luo Kai stopped a long bus. It was a steam-powered bus. The huge front of the bus spewed out black smoke and dragged a long body. The windows of the body were all welded shut by steel rods.
After asking the dark and fierce driver, they found out that they were already in the territory of Changyuan County. This bus was heading to Changyuan City from a nearby county.
Right now, they urgently needed to find a restaurant to have a big meal before taking a bath and changing their clothes. Lu Qing took out a small purse and paid the money to board the bus. Although the two of them were dressed strangely, the man was handsome and the woman was beautiful. As soon as they boarded the bus, they attracted everyone's attention.
Lu Qing was already used to such gazes. However, Luo Kai was a little unnatural. He walked to the empty seat in the last row and sat down.
The steam-powered bus rumbled and started again. Next to them sat a young man and woman. They seemed to be a couple. The woman was crying softly while the man was comforting her softly.
Luo Kai noticed that their window was smashed. There were still feathers and bloodstains left behind. He was a little puzzled and asked the young man, "What happened?"
The young man looked at him and explained, "Just now, a large group of seabirds came. I don't know why they suddenly rushed to the bus and smashed the window. Fortunately, the windows were welded with steel rods. Otherwise, they would have definitely rushed into the bus."
Changyuan County was located at the southernmost part of Seongma Province. It was also the southernmost part of the human territory in the Eastern Continent. Similarly, the population wasn't big. The industry and agriculture weren't developed. The scenery outside the window slowly passed by. Most of it was wilderness. There were very few villages.
After traveling for more than two hours, they finally arrived at Changyuan City. Like Longyang City, the entire city was shrouded in black soot. The rumbling sounds of various steam engines could be heard incessantly. Luo Kai couldn't help but feel agitated. He was even more reluctant to part with the peaceful life of the past month.
After getting off the car, they looked around for a place to eat and stay. Lu Qing loved cleanliness and had a kind of bourgeois sentiment. She didn't even look at the restaurants on the street. Instead, she pulled Luo Kai, who was starving, towards a more high-end hotel in the city center. In her words, this was a celebration of new life, so they definitely couldn't treat it casually.
In the end, they entered a six-story building called Ming Tai Hotel. First, they ate and drank. Then, they asked for a room. The moment they closed the door, their eyes met …
"Wait a minute, I want to take a shower first." Lu Qing pushed him away and ran to the bathroom.
"Let's take a shower together." Luo Kai shamelessly followed.
After a long time, the two of them hugged each other as they laid on the hotel bed. Lu Qing said faintly, "What do you think we should do next?"
Luo Kai understood what she meant. He hesitated and said, "I still have something to do. I need to make a trip to Higashimogami Province."
Lu Qing excitedly stood up and said, "I'll go with you."
Luo Kai shook his head and sighed, "No, there will probably be people coming to catch me. I don't think I can beat them now."
Lu Qing angrily bit his shoulder and didn't say anything else.
Early the next morning, the two of them were woken up by the loudspeakers outside.
"Dear citizens, there might be a large number of mutated locusts invading Changyuan County. From today onwards, Changyuan City will enter a state of lockdown. Every street will have a joint defense team. Please stock up your supplies, lock your doors and windows, and don't go out of your homes. If you encounter an emergency, you can request assistance from the joint defense team.
In order to ensure the safety of the people, the City Lord has ordered the opening of the granary. Everyone can buy food for three days from the supply point in the street …
Luo Kai's expression tensed up. He stood up and walked to the window. A large number of people were crowding around a steam-powered truck full of soldiers. They were all fighting to ask questions.
However, the soldiers didn't have time to care about them. They were holding the loudspeakers and shouting over and over again.
"What are mutated locusts? If this place is going to be locked down, doesn't that mean we can't go back today?" Lu Qing turned pale with fright.
Luo Kai had never heard of mutated locusts. In his previous life, there was a locust plague, but it only affected the food production. It didn't affect the safety of people. However, it was different in this world. Any creature with the word "mutated" in front of it would become different. Although it couldn't be compared to Berserk Beasts, it could still threaten the safety of people.
Looking up at the hazy sky, a sense of crisis rose in his heart. This swarm of locusts must be very scary. He said, "Qing, I'll go down and ask. You stay in the room and don't go out."
"I'll go with you." Lu Qing didn't want to leave Luo Kai for even a moment. She hurriedly put on her clothes.
The lobby of the hotel was also a bit chaotic. Most of the guests who stayed here were not locals. They were all here to do business. Once the city was locked down, it meant that they couldn't leave.
The hotel's head of security said loudly, "Everyone, please don't panic. As long as you stay in this hotel, we will definitely guarantee your safety. Now you all know the situation outside. Because the store doesn't have much food in reserve, please go and buy food for three days."
Luo Kai pulled Lu Qing outside. The streets outside were crowded with people. A large number of people were rushing towards the direction of the market. Teams of fully armed soldiers were maintaining order.
"Luo Kai, what should we do?" Feeling the tense atmosphere, Lu Qing also became nervous.
Noticing that the tall concrete walls surrounding the main city had been completely sealed, Luo Kai frowned. For the time being, they couldn't leave. Now they could only cope with the changes by sticking to the status quo. He said, "Let's go and get some food first."
A row of large trucks were parked at the supply point. They could see piles and piles of food inside. Rows of fully armed soldiers shouted for the people to line up.
Each person was limited to three jin of rice and a can of pickled vegetables. This amount of food was not enough for Luo Kai's meal. However, he could eat for ten days to half a month.
When they returned to the hotel, the guests in the lobby had already dispersed. It seemed that they had resigned themselves to their fate and went out to buy food. The head of security was directing people to close the doors and windows. When he saw Luo Kai come in, he shouted, "Mister, there are some wooden planks here. Go back and seal the windows."
The head of security was a black man. He was tall and strong. The name tag on his chest read Xiao En. Changyuan County was very close to the Southern Sea Islands, so there were many black skinned people.
Luo Kai walked over and took a few wooden planks and nails. Then he followed Lu Qing back to the room. He didn't completely seal the windows. Instead, he left a small hole for easier observation.
With his current strength, he believed that he could even fight against vicious beasts. Naturally, he wouldn't be afraid of these mutated locusts. However, locusts were definitely a group of creatures. They were bound to be in a large group.
A day passed. There was no one on the streets outside. However, there were no traces of locusts. Lu Qing sighed in relief and said, "Is there a mistake in the information? I've never heard of any mutated locusts in Seongma Province."
Luo Kai's expression became more and more serious. He had already felt an invisible pressure. His mysterious sixth sense was warning him that something terrible was about to appear.
When it was close to evening, dark clouds floated in the sky. The thick dark clouds covered the sun and then began to spread. They completely shrouded the city below. The whole city fell into darkness. An invisible pressure shrouded everyone's heart. It felt like the end of the world.
Luo Kai's eyes lit up. He clearly saw that it wasn't a dark cloud at all. It was a dense swarm of insects. They had completely broken away from their original appearance of locusts. Each of them was the size of a fist. They had sharp teeth on their upper and lower jaws, and their lower limbs were like two barbed knives. As their wings flapped, invisible sound waves swept towards the city below.
The people in the city first felt dizzy, then nausea and vomiting. The weaker ones directly foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, as if they were suffering from epilepsy.
Lu Qing's pretty face paled. She couldn't help but squat on the ground and retch.
Luo Kai also felt that the sound waves were disturbing the circulation of his body. With a gloomy face, he returned to Lu Qing's side. His psychic power came out of his body and formed an invisible barrier to block the sound waves. Lu Qing's face became better. She said in horror, "So scary. Are the insects coming?"
"They're coming."
Luo Kai walked back to the window and looked at the swarm of insects in the sky. These mutated locusts had evolved a terrifying infrasound ability. Infrasound was a low-frequency sound wave. Humans couldn't hear it, but the body could feel it and be affected. The high-intensity infrasound could even interfere with the operation of the human organs and nervous system. It could cause organ rupture and even cause mental disorder. It could even cause death!
No wonder even with the advanced military technology of mankind, it was difficult to deal with it. The mutated creatures were already so powerful. Wouldn't the Direbeasts be even more terrifying?