But life isn't always so peaceful. Just as everyone was drifting off to sleep, the animals in the night began to stir.

"There seem to be quite a few animals here. It's quite lively, judging from the sounds." Wu Tianxiang looked into the distance, then at the wall. There was no reaction from inside, so it seemed they were used to it.

“Where there are people, there will be no shortage of water, and animals will like to gather in such places.” Wu Tiancheng was not surprised at all. Since the drought, these animals seem to have a grudge against humans, always liking to move around human settlements, and even starting to attack humans.

“We often have to clean up over there, and accidents still happen all the time. The situation here is much more serious.” Wu Tianxiang stirred the fire to make it burn brighter.

"Is it because of this that they have so much more fertile land here?" Wu Tianxi asked with some concern.

Wu Tianxiang said, "We can't rule out that. Our area has been in turmoil for so long. Although the impact of the beast plague wasn't huge, there were still a lot of conflicts and the population decreased a lot, but it shouldn't have caused all the fertile land to be vacated."

With the original urban population plus the first batch of people who sought refuge in the city, land was still very scarce; otherwise, these refugees wouldn't have wanted to return to their hometowns and not settle down there.

Liu Xinwei glanced worriedly at the wall behind him. "But if they don't resolve the issue and resist, this won't last long. And if this continues, the scattered villages will be in even greater danger."

Wu Tianxiang said, "There's nothing we can do about this. They're not without weapons, but we don't know why they haven't cleared them out. We just hope they can find a solution as soon as possible, otherwise, at this rate of reproduction, human living space will become increasingly scarce."

Si Cheng then walked over and said, "Don't be so pessimistic. The ecosystem is recovering everywhere. Once these animals find new places to live, they will stay away from humans who pose the same threat to them."

Si Cheng's words were not baseless; rather, he believed that once the ecological balance was restored, these animals would return to the deep mountains, and what awaited everyone then would be vast stretches of forest, at which point the true law of the jungle would arrive.

"Brother Cheng, it looks like tonight won't be peaceful again," Liu Xinwei said with some concern. This was the loudest noise they had heard on their way here.

Wu Tianxiang: "That's not necessarily true. You can see how calm they are. It means they've encountered this situation many times and are used to it."

“But today is different. With so many of us staying outside, we’re practically a piece of fat meat in their mouths. What if they have a change of heart and offer us meat?” Sun Shaofeng, who hadn’t been able to sleep, said this with a tone full of anticipation as several other villagers gathered around.

His words immediately garnered some support. Since they knew there might be little prey ahead, people were less averse to the attacks by these animals and even somewhat looked forward to them.

Other refugees reacted differently; many even got up to find firewood nearby and lit a fire for Gyawan, hoping to bolster their courage.

They even glanced over here from time to time, trying to see what their plans were.

Who knew that they only saw a group of people laughing and joking, without even a hint of tension. Those who knew them immediately calmed down, while some who were unaware of the situation felt that their behavior was irresponsible and harbored some resentment.

Ning Zhiyuan, inside the city walls, was also somewhat worried. "With so many people gathered outside, won't that attract the animals? Should we open the city gates and let them in to take shelter?"

Gao Duowei said, "Why are you worrying so much? If they have the ability to send people back to their hometowns, they must have all the necessary equipment. Letting them fight it out will relieve some pressure on us."

Ning Zhiyuan hadn't expected his companion to have such thoughts. "Those are all precious lives, and there are many elderly people and children among them. They have no power to resist."

Gao Duowei, however, didn't take it seriously. "The world has changed. If everyone only cared about the elderly and children, then no one else would have a chance to live. Besides, they only left behind a dozen or so families this time, mostly elderly people and children. They need to be taught a lesson and see how difficult the journey back is."

Gao Duowei was very dissatisfied with the dozen or so families that had stayed behind, most of whom were elderly, weak, sick, or disabled and had only stayed because they did not want to suffer the hardship of traveling back and forth.

Although he was dissatisfied, he couldn't refuse to accept it because he didn't want to offend the neighboring base, as he might have to deal with them in the future. So he gritted his teeth and accepted it.

Ning Zhiyuan is still worried about the people outside the city, but in his view, this is actually an opportunity for them. If they are attacked by wild beasts, it will make many people realize the dangers of the journey and change their minds to stay. Then it will be his turn to be picky.

When they can no longer withstand the pressure, our side will then take action, which can be considered as doing a favor for the neighboring base.

Gao Duowei wouldn't let Ning Zhiyuan ruin this multi-benefit plan.

Ning Zhiyuan suddenly stood up. "No, even if we can't let them in, we have to warn them, at least so they're on guard."

Watching Ning Zhiyuan walk towards the wall, Gao Dongwei didn't stop him. He felt that Ning Zhiyuan was thinking too simply. With such noise, it was impossible for the people outside to fall asleep. They might already be on guard or thinking of knocking on the door for help. There was no point in reminding them at this point.

As the noise grew louder, people who had gone to bed early got up and gathered in small groups, crowding together under the wall.

“There’s no defense at all. If an animal comes down, there are so few of them who can’t possibly stop it. Why don’t we ask the people inside the wall for help and ask them to let us in to take shelter?” Liu Yike, who had caused trouble earlier, changed her arrogant attitude and said tremblingly, holding her brother’s hand in fear.

"I'll go talk to Captain Xiao and ask him to talk to them. I'm sure they won't be so heartless as to prevent us from going in to seek refuge." Hearing his sister so scared, the loving older brother immediately stepped forward.

The people taking refuge together looked at them with disdain. They had been shouting at Village Chief Si before, but now the sounds of some animals had forced them to reveal their true colors. Their ugly behavior of being all bark and no bite was truly something to be said.