Countless cracks spread across the broken ground, and black smoke obscured the light of the setting sun. Countless people struggled to walk on the muddy road, their faces filled with despair and fear. Occasionally, someone would fall into a crack, and the sound of crying never stopped.
Tens of thousands of people were lined up in a long line. On both sides of the line, there was a strong warrior protecting them at set intervals. These people were called evolvers.
Evolvers had appeared one after another after the cataclysm on Earth half a year ago.
At the back of the line, Lu Yin looked up into the distance and heard a scalp-numbing chewing sound. With a growl, a two-meter-long mutant dog with scarlet eyes rushed out from behind a burning tree. Blood dripped from the corner of its mouth as it snarled and charged towards the line.
Many of the survivors in the line screamed in horror at the sight. Lu Yin's gaze turned cold as he pulled out a strange weapon from his waist. It looked like an iron rod, but one side was sharpened like a blade.
Lu Yin jumped up and chopped down with one hand, easily beheading the mutant dog. Blood sprayed onto the ground and dyed the grass red.
Seeing the mutant dog die, the line quieted down and continued forward in fear.
Lu Yin pulled back his iron rod and looked at it. There were a few cracks on it, "Looks like this won't last long."
As the sun set and the earth fell into darkness, all of the evolvers lit fires and spread them along the line. They tried to use this method to drive away the mutant beasts, but the line stopped moving.
Going to an unfamiliar place in the dark was suicide.
The hoarse sound of electricity rang out as a voice came from the walkie-talkie at Lu Yin's waist, "Evolvers ending with number three are looking for food. Range one kilometer."
Lu Yin's evolver code was 103. He looked up at the dead mutant dog and threw it in front of the line, "Eat it."
There was a clamor from the line, and a few men stepped forward to deal with it. They were already used to it, even though the mutant dog still had human bones in its mouth.
One mutant dog was only enough for about twenty people. Lu Yin walked out of the fire, gripping his iron rod tightly as he walked into the distance.
The chewing sounds never stopped, and in the darkness, pairs of glowing green eyes stared at Lu Yin. These were mutant rats. Although they looked ugly, their meat was edible.
Lu Yin swung his iron rod and killed more than ten of them before throwing them to the line. He had enough on his side.
Suddenly, there was a scream. Lu Yin didn't need to look to know that it was an evolver who had died, but he didn't plan to save them. Who knew what attacked them? Perhaps it was a poisonous snake, a blood-sucking mosquito, or a mutant rat that could crush steel. These creatures were not difficult to encounter in the wild.
The team was very quiet. Everyone hid behind the flames, as if the thin layer of flames could really protect them.
Lu Yin looked at them with pity before looking up at the sky. The sky was bright and resplendent, and the polluted air had been completely restored half a year ago. Along with it, countless creatures had mutated, including humans themselves.
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............ The changes weren't drastic, but they could become stronger by consuming the crystals of mutant creatures...
......................... The blood-stained newspaper rustled under the weight of rocks.
Lu Yin picked it up and read the headline. 'February 3rd, 2200. A date that will go down in history. On that day, China's Skyward Five landed on Neptune. Bai Qian became the first astronaut on Earth to explore Neptune. Neptune was a gaseous planet. That day …' Lu Yin tossed the newspaper aside, and a little girl carefully handed him a roasted beast leg.
He took it and smiled, "Thank you."
The little girl smiled shyly and ran back to the line.
The beast leg tasted disgusting. Although it had been seasoned, it still tasted awful. But Lu Yin was satisfied with it; he only had strength when he was full.
The flames suddenly flickered, and Lu Yin took out his iron rod and smashed it down viciously, killing a mutant mantis that had passed through the flames. This type of mantis would cause a lot of casualties if it charged into the group. Its blades reflected a red light, not inferior to Lu Yin's iron rod.
Lu Yin only rested for two hours throughout the night, and during that time he killed more than ten mutant creatures that had tried to attack the group.
There weren't many casualties on his side, but it was a different story in the other areas. Dozens of survivors and cultivators had been slaughtered by a giant mutant boar. The beast could shoot out its tough mane, and a single round of attack could take away many lives. If not for the help of a few stronger cultivators, the casualties would have been even greater.
As the sun rose, the group continued south. They were heading to Jinling, the largest gathering place in the Su Province. There was an army there, many cultivators, and Zhou Shan, known as China's Executioner.
The apocalyptic cataclysm that lasted for half a year had given birth to many evolvers, including the peerless powerhouses known as the Seven Sages.
Although information was not flowing smoothly, they could still communicate with each other. Not long ago, evolvers had been clearly divided into levels. They were divided into ordinary evolvers who had just swallowed a crystal, human-level powerhouses who had the power to crush ordinary evolvers, and above them were those who had the power to destroy cities. They were called earth-shaking powerhouses, or earth-level powerhouses.
At the very top were Skyshakers. As the name implied, they could fly, and were known as Skyshakers. The Seven Sages of China were seven Skyshakers.
Half a year after the apocalypse, it could only be divided like this. Perhaps after a period of time, there would be a more systematic division. However, as long as those seven experts who could fly in the sky didn't die, they would forever stand at the top. This was also the origin of the word 'Saint'. Perhaps it was also because countless survivors hoped for their protection, so they were called 'Saints'.
The Jinlin colony had a Saint, the Executioner Zhou Shan.
The group continued forward. They were still more than a hundred kilometers away from Jinling, a journey that would have taken several hours in peacetime would now take several days.
Several kilometers away from the long line, countless wandering zombies slowly approached, as if they had caught the scent of living creatures.
The evolvers on both sides of the team were on high alert. Many of them had fear in their eyes. Although these zombies were not fast, they were very strong. Their blood contained a deadly poison, and if they came into contact with it, even the evolvers' skin would fester until they lost their consciousness. That was the most terrifying thing.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his iron rod. Fighting these zombies wasn't difficult; they would always be the same, unlike cultivators who could grow stronger. This was something the survivors were thankful for; if zombies could grow stronger as well, then they really wouldn't be able to survive.
Right now, the survivors' greatest enemy was the mutated beasts.
Just as Lu Yin and the rest were about to engage the horde, the zombies suddenly stopped and turned to leave. Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat as a bad premonition welled up in him.
The ground suddenly shook. In front of the team, a huge vine rose up from the ground. The branches and leaves seemed to have a mind of their own as they caught many survivors. Along with the screams of despair, all the survivors who were caught were crushed into a pool of blood and poured into the ground where the vine had taken root.
All of the survivors fled in fear, including many of the cultivators.
Lu Yin's eyelids twitched; this mutated vine was definitely at the Realm of Earth. It wasn't something a normal cultivator could contend with, even if they had a Human-Level powerhouse in their group.
The cultivators in the group didn't plan on fighting it head-on, so they all fled to the back to avoid the vine's range.
After a while, the vine seemed to have eaten its fill and retreated back into the ground.
Countless survivors cried out in despair. Many of them had a mental breakdown in such an environment, and even some of the cultivators were no exception.
Soon, the hoarse sound of static could be heard from the walkie-talkie at his waist, "Rest here. The Executioner will personally come to pick us up."
Many cheered at the news; to the survivors, a Realm of Sky powerhouse was like a god. It was as if anything could be resolved with the appearance of a Realm of Sky powerhouse.
Lu Yin sneered; a Saint?
He held his left arm with one hand; half of his body was still in pain, a bone-piercing pain that would forever remind him of what had happened that night.
An entire city had been abandoned, and all of the undestroyed firearms had been unleashed upon the city. Wails of agony could be heard everywhere as half of his body was burned away. When he looked back, he saw a pair of lofty eyes and a piercing golden light.
Liu Shaoge would never forget the man known as the Light Saint, one of the Seven Sages. He had made him experience extreme pain, and Lu Yin swore to repay this pain tenfold.
As the flames rose, the sky darkened. Just as Lu Yin was about to rest, he heard screams and cries nearby.
Lu Yin frowned and turned around to see a few girls surrounded by a dozen cultivators a hundred meters away. They were teasing them wantonly, and a few of them were barely clothed as tears streamed down their cheeks.
This scene wasn't unfamiliar to Lu Yin; it was normal for people to fall into depravity after the apocalypse. Lu Yin had seen it many times before, and it was impossible to be protected in such an environment without paying a price.
Lu Yin closed his eyes and relaxed his mind.
In the distance, a girl screamed as she was slapped to the ground, "Damn it, I'm risking my life to protect you. What's wrong with playing around? Don't be so shameless. I played with a small celebrity two days ago, and now I won't play with her even if she begs me. Get up!"
The girl glared angrily at the cultivator, her eyes red.
The cultivators around them grinned; they loved this era where they could play without restraint and no one could control them.
A gust of wind blew past, and another person appeared in front of the cultivator. It was Lu Yin, and he had his iron rod pressed against the cultivator's neck. "Scram," he said indifferently.
The surroundings were silent, and only the girls' silent cries could be heard.
The cultivator's expression turned ugly, and he gritted his teeth, "Lu, this has nothing to do with you. They're under my protection."
"You're disturbing me," Lu Yin said indifferently, pressing down with the sharp side of the rod. The cultivator's skin immediately split open, and blood flowed down the rod.
The cultivator was aghast, "Fine, fine, you're ruthless. They're yours, I won't touch them."
Lu Yin put away the rod and walked back to his original spot. Many people in the group watched this scene quietly, already used to it. Even when the girls had been killed, no one had helped. Lu Yin seemed very strange to them.
The cultivators glared at each other angrily, but they didn't act rashly. They knew that Lu Yin was very strong.
The girls ran behind Lu Yin, wanting to say something, but he closed his eyes and ignored them. They could only look at him gratefully and carefully sit down.
Not long after, a beautiful young woman in revealing clothes smiled as she walked over to Lu Yin's side. Her sharp gaze swept past the girls, scaring them into backing away and lowering their heads in fear.
Only then was the beautiful woman satisfied. She sat down beside Lu Yin and blew into his ear.
Lu Yin grabbed her neck, opened his eyes, and said coldly, "If there's a next time, you'll die."
The girl's gaze was cold, but she forced a charming smile, "You're still so heartless."
Lu Yin let go and stared at her coldly, "What's the matter?"
She rubbed her neck and rolled her eyes, "You've offended someone, don't you know?"
Lu Yin didn't reply.
She continued, "Zhang Tong and the others are plotting against you. There are more than ten of them, and you're alone. Be careful."
"Thank you," Lu Yin replied indifferently.
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The Starstep Art had been released, and an even more magnificent picture of the starry sky was about to unfold!
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