Chapter 188

In a disaster like an earthquake, earth-type users were probably the hardest to kill.

Zhang Lesi leapt after Zhao Yi.

At last, their hands clasped. Zhao Yi pulled Zhang Lesi into his arms.

He stretched out his other hand. The collapsed floor slabs and shattered concrete surged and grew wildly, chasing the two of them as they plunged downward. The concrete reached diagonally beneath them.

Zhao Yi slapped his hand against it.

All superpowers could be used at a distance, but activating them through direct contact caused almost no loss of energy and was the most efficient method.

They were falling too fast! The concrete chased after them in a frenzy!

It caught their shoulders.

Then their backs.

Then their waists.

Then their legs.

Changing the angle! Slowing their descent!

The concrete slide Zhao Yi created with all his strength finally brought the two of them safely to the ground.

But it immediately broke apart and came crashing down on top of them.

Zhao Yi was horrified. Acting on instinct, he pulled Zhang Lesi tightly into his arms.

A hand reached out.

The enormous building debris vanished into thin air.

Zhao Yi opened his eyes.

Jiang Cheng yanked Zhang Lesi away and shouted at Zhao Yi, “Go save people!”

They desperately needed an earth-type user now.

Zhao Yi roared, “Keep an eye on her!”

Then he turned and ran.

Buildings collapsed. Debris fell. Dust billowed everywhere.

Jiang Cheng screamed with all her might, “Get over here! Get over here!”

She raised both hands above her head. A black dot quickly expanded into a disk, then, in the next instant, erupted into a gigantic black disk dozens of meters across.

People could see the “black” because it was suspended high overhead, where it could be viewed in its entirety from below.

It was a bottomless blackness.

The surrounding night was already dark, yet this blackness was so stark and distinct.

But if someone could look at it from the side, at the same height, they would see nothing at all.

Its thickness was zero.

The enormous wreckage of the collapsing buildings thundered downward and vanished into the black disk.

It looked like an invisible bottomless pit.

And it truly was a bottomless pit, because this was the visible manifestation of the entrance to Jiang Cheng’s extradimensional space.

Everyone knew that Jiang Cheng was a space-type superhuman with a higher-dimensional storage space.

Normally, that space needed no “entrance.” Whenever Jiang Cheng wanted to store something, it vanished inside in an instant.

But now, in front of everyone, Jiang Cheng had opened the entrance to her extradimensional space. With a diameter of dozens of meters, it was large enough to shelter many people.

Shattered concrete and twisted steel bars came crashing down, all of them swallowed up.

It was like a black hole.

The people hid beneath it and were finally safe.

At that moment, white light lit up on the other side of the courtyard.

A holy protective barrier rose into place, equally enormous, sheltering the survivors.

Some people ran toward the light. Others ran toward the black hole.

Those who were too slow were crushed to death beneath falling concrete.

Two buildings collapsed completely. Four others were reduced to half-buildings, swaying precariously.

People cried and screamed as they hung from the ruins or plunged downward, convinced they were going to die.

A huge slide made of packed earth rose from the ground.

Those who landed on its slope were in excruciating pain, but they survived, sliding all the way down to the ground.

Thick vines burst from the soil as if they had come alive, writhing like monstrous serpents. Countless tendrils stretched out and wrapped around one person after another, rescuing those clinging to broken walls and on the verge of falling.

Water was drawn out of the muddy wetlands formed by the melting snow. It gathered into a watery dragon, spiraling upward like a tornado.

Those who fell were swept into the water dragon. Spinning rapidly, their downward momentum was canceled, and they landed safely.

“Over there! Go over there—” Li Jiangbing bellowed.

Those who landed safely scrambled away, either running toward Su Yu or Jiang Cheng to seek shelter.

Metal rods thrust up from the ground one after another, piercing into buildings that were about to collapse.

The survivors slid down the rods one by one.

Mo Li had already transformed into a giant cat.

He was huge, yet still agile. He leapt into the air and caught a falling person in his jaws, then set them down after landing.

Then he charged toward the shattered walls and rubble. In the blink of an eye, he climbed more than a dozen stories, carrying survivors down in a blur.

Everyone with the ability to help was rescuing people.

Aunt Pan and Zhao Yi, both earth-types, Song Jingshuo, a wood-type, Cui Haiyang, a metal-type, and Li Jiangbing, a water-type, all gave everything they had. Even Mo Li was doing his part.

The fire-types lit fireballs to illuminate the darkness.

They continued until the sun rose, and the morning light stabbed into Jiang Cheng’s eyes.

The night receded.

All six buildings had collapsed. The high-rises that had once stood tall had become enormous heaps of rubble, and there was no longer any danger raining down from above.

Jiang Cheng withdrew her spatial portal. Su Yu withdrew her protective barrier.

Both of them collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Lesi examined the two of them and healed the bruises they had sustained from falling and colliding with things. “They’re fine. They’re just exhausted.”

She was exhausted too.

Everyone formed a line and waited for her treatment. Many people had broken bones and could not move, so they lay in the mud and waited for her.

Those who had already been healed stood barefoot in the mud and among the broken pieces of concrete, staring around blankly. Everywhere they looked, the high-rises were gone.

The Youth Apartments, Jixiang Jiayuan, Yujing Xiangyuan—even Mai Duoduo Supermarket.

And the overpass in the distance.

Everything had become ruins.

Zhou Wang also sat on the rubble, staring blankly.

Mr. Xu had survived. After searching for a long time, he found only Wu Yan.

Everyone else was dead.

Death had taken Tao Xiaoxiao once. Then it had taken Tao Xiaoxiao a second time. This time, it had finally taken her away for good.

Everyone was lost.

That feeling of numb bewilderment was shared by all.

Jiang Cheng was the first to wake up.

Mo Li had already returned to human form, and Li Jiangbing had found him some clothes.

His human form was certainly less effective in battle than his cat form, but when it came to taking care of Jiang Cheng, a human was obviously better than a cat.

Jiang Cheng swallowed the ball of water Li Jiangbing tossed her. Her first question was, “How is Su Yu?”

Li Jiangbing said, “She’s fine. She passed out from exhaustion, just like you.”

The impact of the collapsing building had been tremendous. In fact, every bone in Su Yu’s body had been fractured.

Zhang Lesi had healed her. Now they were simply waiting for her to wake up.

Jiang Cheng nodded and, leaning on Mo Li, stood up.

Her bare feet were covered in mud. She stepped on steel bars and concrete, climbed to a slightly higher position, and looked as far as she could in every direction.

Everyone who was still alive looked at her.

Their eyes had lost all their spirit.

In the distance, Jiang Cheng could even see people from Jixiang Jiayuan looking in their direction.

With the high-rises gone, the world seemed to have suddenly opened up, vast and boundless.

From one place to another, everything looked so far away.

Someone approached and asked, “Jiang Cheng, what are we supposed to do now?”

Jiang Cheng looked into those lifeless eyes.

Her companions had once been so passionate, so optimistic, so full of vitality.

She wanted to say something impassioned and inspiring to encourage everyone.

But what could she say?

Should she tell them, “The misfortune you suffered today was all caused by my existence”?

Jiang Cheng closed her eyes.

“First, we survive,” she said.

When she opened her eyes again, they were calm and utterly still.

“Water.”

“Food.”

“Shelter.”

“Warmth.”

“In that order,” she said.

When people were lost and bewildered, being given instructions made them begin to move mechanically.

Cui Haiyang was still alive. He began building water tanks.

Li Jiangbing was still alive. He drew pure water from the mud and the moisture in the air.

Song Jingshuo was still alive. He walked barefoot through the muddy ground, stopping every so often. Each time he did, a plant pushed its way out of the soil beside his feet.

One plant found. Then another.

Aunt Pan and Zhao Yi were still alive. They quietly discussed where they should build houses.

The entire residential compound was filled with ruins—broken walls and shattered remnants of buildings several stories high.

Most importantly, the ground had split open. The depths of the fissures were pitch-black and seemed unfathomably deep. A massive crack cut diagonally through the entire residential complex, extending all the way to Jixiang Jiayuan.

“Let’s take a look at the road,” Jiang Cheng said.

They exited through the east gate and headed north along Jixiang West Street, toward the road directly opposite the entrance to the Maiduo Supermarket.

The government of the High-Tech New District had spared no expense, so the road was exceptionally wide.

Of course, the east gate was gone now, and so was the supermarket.

After the metal-type superpowered individuals yanked out all the railings dividing the middle of the road, the broad avenue, now without its barriers, looked more like a plaza.

Aunt Pan and Zhao Yi went over to inspect it. Although the road was covered in cracks and large sections of asphalt had buckled upward, there were nowhere near as many collapsed walls and ruins as inside the residential complex, where the debris had piled up like mountains.

It was considerably flatter, all things considered.

Aunt Pan and Zhao Yi called Cui Haiyang over to build a shelter.

Nothing elaborate—just four walls and a roof would do.

Everyone else searched through the ruins for food, clothing, or survivors.

It was unlikely that there were any survivors left.

But everyone clung to that last sliver of hope.

Suddenly, someone called Jiang Cheng’s name. “Jiang Cheng—Jiang Cheng—come listen to this!”

Jiang Cheng stood up, her hands and legs going weak.

Mo Li carried her on his back and bounded across the ruins, reaching the spot where the voice had come from in just a few leaps.

The person there said, “Listen—”

Everyone who had followed them held their breath and dared not make a sound.

Gradually, they all heard it.

That familiar voice, buried beneath the ruins.

【Run—】

【End—】

Jiang Cheng stared at the rubble and told Mo Li, “Bring Aunt Pan over.”

Mo Li hurried off, then hurried back with Aunt Pan slung over his shoulder.

Zhao Yi and Cui Haiyang followed behind, panting. “What happened?”

Once they arrived, they understood what they needed to do.

Aunt Pan crouched down and listened carefully. After confirming the location, she placed her hand on the ground.

The rubble and chunks of concrete parted to either side until one corner of a room was exposed.

It was, at least, one corner that had remained intact.

A shortwave radio lay in the triangular space, crackling with static.

【It isn’t over yet.】

【You must escape.】

The mysterious person repeated the same words again and again:

【I told you to run. Why aren’t you running? It isn’t over yet. You have to get away—quickly. If you don’t run, you’ll die. You’ll die.】

Everyone stood at different heights amid the ruins, their faces expressionless as they listened to the mysterious voice.

Were they afraid?

Fear had its limits, and theirs had probably already been exhausted.

So they could no longer feel fear. All that remained was numbness.

Jiang Cheng stared at the shortwave radio and suddenly called out, “Gao Yuxuan.”

Gao Yuxuan was lost in thought and started when he heard his name. He stepped forward. “Jiang Cheng?”

Jiang Cheng asked, “Can this thing still make noise without power?”

“Of course not. We specially modified it to run on a car battery...” Gao Yuxuan’s voice trailed off.

They had modified the shortwave radio to use a car battery as its power source.

But now the wires were severed, and the battery was nowhere to be found.

Yet the radio continued to operate.

The mysterious person kept repeating:

【I told you to run. Why aren’t you running?】

So you’re dropping the act now, huh?

Jiang Cheng laughed.

“Who are you?” she asked.

Of course, one couldn’t actually speak to a radio like that.

It was a radio, not a phone on speaker mode.

This was a simplex radio. One party had to finish speaking before the other could respond.

Someone had to press the button.

Gao Yuxuan’s lips moved slightly.

The mysterious voice answered through the radio:

【Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that if you don’t leave now, you’ll all die. Get out of here.】