People were pushing and shoving each other.

Every refugee was desperately moving forward, hoping to get closer to that 'door of hope' and be chosen by Li Yu.

Of course, there were also some dangerous individuals who wanted to take advantage of the chaos and infiltrate Zhongzhou.

Such chaos forced Chen Feng to personally go out and maintain order, unleashing his energy to suppress the restless refugees.

"Everyone, stand still!"

His voice was like thunder, instantly silencing the chaos.

While Chen Feng was maintaining order, Li Yu had already quietly stood on the city wall, silently observing the situation below.

Beneath the seemingly chaotic and surging crowd of refugees lies an even more brutal law of the jungle.

A woman with a deathly pale face, emaciated and almost entirely made of bones, looked like a dry stick that could break at any moment.

She held tightly to a similarly thin and barely breathing child, using all her strength to move forward, trying to stand at the front of the crowd.

In the woman's weak eyes burned the last flame of hope, pleading with Li Yu to choose her child. Even if only her child was chosen, she was willing to give everything!

But just as she took half a step forward, several burly figures rudely bumped into her.

The burly man at the head of the group grabbed the woman's arm and ruthlessly yanked her and the child backward! The force was so strong it almost crushed her bones.

"Get to the back! If you push forward again, believe me, I'll throw you all out to feed the fish right now!" the burly man growled viciously.

He kept dragging the woman and child backward as easily as he would two sparrows, then roughly threw them at the back of the crowd, threatening them:

"If you come any closer, I'll kill you!"

Several of the burly man's accomplices behind him also glared menacingly and surrounded him, mocking him:

"Serves you right! If I were you, I'd rather starve than have a child! You've really forgotten you're a refugee!"

Faced with the threat, the woman trembled and held her child tightly.

She knew these people meant what they said; in this lawless land, the death of a helpless refugee was no different from the death of an ant.

Only by entering the Central Plains, where rules and restrictions apply, will the child have any hope of survival in the future.

Although she was driven away, the woman still glanced thankfully at the soldiers from Zhongzhou on the city wall.

If they hadn't been near the Central Plains defense line, and many people hadn't been more discreet in order to enter the Central Plains, they probably would have been silently "dealt with" by this group of villains and died several times over.

Even so, the woman still sensed the unfriendly stares and subtle malice from the many vagrants around her.

In this despairing downpour, weakness itself is a kind of original sin.

The woman was startled and hurriedly tried to move forward again, fearing that if she left the sight of the Zhongzhou soldiers, she would be 'swallowed' to pieces by some of the refugees.

At this time, the best locations near the city wall had already been divided and occupied by several relatively large groups of refugees, led by awakened individuals and fierce thugs.

They drew an invisible line at the front, guarding their "territory" like lords.

Ordinary refugees, especially those as vulnerable and isolated as the woman just now, have no chance of being at the front.

Forcibly approaching will only result in beatings and threats.

Even so, some people are still unwilling to give up their hope of standing at the front and being selected to enter Zhongzhou.

A young man with a stubborn look in his eyes forcefully shoved aside several refugees who were trying to pull him back, and shouted:

"What are you doing?! Everyone is qualified, why can't I stand in front?!"

The young people disapproved of these people's domineering attitude and were very dissatisfied with the forced arrangements made by the migrant force, even attempting to reason with them:

"Lord Li Yu is selecting refugees, but he certainly isn't just choosing tyrants like you!"

Upon discovering this troublemaker, the ruthless group standing in front immediately surrounded him, their eyes filled with murderous intent, and their hands gleaming with a cold light.

"Shuiwa! Stop talking! Come back! We can just move back a bit." An old refugee hurriedly grabbed Shuiwa, his voice trembling as he pleaded.

“Yes, Shuiwa, be patient, back off, don’t be impulsive, staying alive is the most important thing.” Another familiar refugee also looked anxious.

Shuiwa was a strong and righteous young man who often used his own food to help the elderly and weak. He was well-liked among the refugees in this small area, and no one wanted anything to happen to him.

Among the refugees who were surrounded by fierce forces, a tall, thin refugee stepped forward with a sinister smile.

"Hmph! Kid, you're pretty cocky, huh?" He turned and threatened.

"And you old geezers, shut up! If you keep yelling, I'll cripple you all!"

The tall, thin man, nicknamed "Skinny Monkey," is not known for his exceptional talent for stealing, but rather for bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

As he spoke, the skinny monkey suddenly raised his hand and shook a small cloth bag in his hand—the very bag that Shuiwa had always tied around his waist, containing the little bit of life-saving food he had painstakingly saved!

"You! Give it back to me!" Shuiwa's eyes were bloodshot. Gathering outside the border of Zhongzhou and waiting also required energy; that little bit of food was their hope for survival!

Shuiwa tried to rush forward to snatch it, but was held tightly by the old refugee beside him:

"Shuiwa! You can't go! There are too many of them, and there are awakened ones too! You can't beat them!" The old refugee was practically begging.

"Hahaha, you think you can make a name for yourself with such little skill?" Skinny Monkey smugly weighed the grain bag in his hand, looking at Water Boy's face, which was twisted with anger but helpless, and let out bursts of sneer.

"That's right, that's right."

"I really don't know where you got the guts."

The other members of the ruthless gang also joined in the laughter, enjoying the thrill of oppression.

In front of everyone, the skinny monkey raised his hand high, as if he was about to tear the bag to pieces and throw it away.

Then there was a loud "bang".

An object hurtling towards them at high speed smashed into the skinny monkey's face in an instant.

With the sound of bones shattering against hard objects, the arrogant skinny monkey was suddenly sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the group of lackeys behind him, causing a gasp and chaos.

The skinny monkey's cheek swelled up at a visible speed, instantly turning into a purplish-red "pig's head," and his nose seemed to collapse, with blood flowing freely.

He tried several times to get up, but only felt dizzy and fell down one after another.

He was only able to stand up after being helped up by several of his accomplices in a flurry of activity.

However, the skinny monkey was still dizzy and groaning, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

This sudden turn of events silenced the other members of the surrounding factions who had been laughing, their faces filled with astonishment.

All the leading groups of refugees and the awakened ones among them turned their cold gazes toward the source of the attack.

A man wearing half a waterproof cloth, with a somewhat weathered face but a calm gaze, slowly stood up.

He was also holding a...stone?