Chapter 245 Land Sinking (Exclusive Published on Jinjiang Literature City)
The capital city.
Illuminated by countless strings of lights and camping lamps, the towering city walls saw numerous garrison soldiers attacking the large herds of beasts gathered outside the city. Arrows rained down, eliciting angry howls.
In addition to ordinary arrows, other methods such as spraying hot oil to launch rockets and using rolling stone carts were used one after another, each of which caused considerable casualties to the beast horde.
But the herd of beasts below continued to grow relentlessly, seemingly without end.
The soldiers on the city wall, using the light from their camping lamps and the blood moon, looked down and cursed under their breath, "These bastards are never going to stop!"
"We hardly encountered any beast attacks last year, but this year is really strange."
"Last year, the cracks in the ground blocked the path of wild animals, so there weren't many. But this year, the two sides have been reconnected, and there are countless wild animals in the wild. It's not surprising that many will come."
Since the introduction of hover buses and skateboards in Beijing, several wooden bridges, and even iron chain bridges, have been built on both sides of the ground fissure to facilitate people's travel to and from the city in search of supplies.
In the past few months, people took advantage of the time when the natural disasters were not so severe to sneak out and indeed reaped considerable benefits.
Unexpectedly, after the polar night, these bridges that reconnected them to the outside world became the paths for the invasion of wild beasts.
One soldier said, "We should have told the higher-ups to cut down those bridges first. We can always rebuild them after the beast horde is over."
One of the generals shook his head and said, "There's no need for that much trouble. We've replaced the walls with enough magical artifacts, and the city walls can withstand most wild beasts. If necessary, we can just use the magical artifacts to blow them up; the mortal bodies of wild beasts simply can't withstand that."
In the end, these seemingly ferocious beasts will only be there to provide them with meat.
He heard from his superiors that the amount of meat and aquatic products supplied by Yunxianhou and Yunlu Village had decreased significantly recently. Although their camp was still receiving a stable supply, the butcher shops in the city were experiencing shortages.
These wild beasts arrived at just the right time.
The general shouted to the other soldiers, "Alright, enough talk! Keep fighting! Change to tranquilizer grenades and hypnosis grenades! Tell the men guarding the area to be ready to go out and retrieve the beast carcasses at any time."
Soon, the arrow attack stopped, and countless tranquilizer and hypnotic bullets were fired downwards, causing large swathes of the howling beasts to fall.
Before long, the city gates quietly opened, and a group of soldiers quickly ran out and carried away the unconscious wild boars, along with the other wolves and jackals that had been shot dead.
By the time new hordes of beasts arrived and tried to rush in, the city gates had already been closed again, and a new round of attacks began.
...
Besides the defenses on the city walls, fierce fighting was also taking place around the greenhouses outside the city.
Today, the total scale of greenhouses in Beijing has exceeded 100,000 mu, covering a huge area.
The greenhouses were far less sturdy than the city walls, but the grain grown inside was the staple food for the people of the capital, and even for many other towns and cities across the country suffering from disasters; their loss was not an option.
Therefore, the new emperor sent half of his guards to ensure the safety of the greenhouse.
In addition to the guards, superhumans who were willing to participate in the battle were also brought here.
Low-level ability users have limited attack range and cannot exert their full power on the city walls. Since the city gates cannot be opened at will by a few ability users, the greenhouse becomes the best place for them to fight.
After a whole rainy season, the number of superhumans in the capital city has increased by several. Apart from those with enhanced senses, which are not very helpful in combat, even those with physical enhancement have participated in the battle without hesitation.
As the only special-type ability user in the city, Bai Xuefeng was equally determined.
Furthermore, because his rebound ability requires close combat to be effective, while everyone else uses ranged attacks, Bai Xuefeng can only engage in close combat with wild beasts in order to improve his ability.
To ensure the beasts have the ability to attack, most weapons cannot be used for self-defense; one can only wear protective suits, use superpowers, and play a 'tug-of-war' game with the beasts.
The low-level superpower couldn't deflect all the attacks. While deflecting some of the impact force back, sending the wild boar/wolf howling and flying backward, Bai Xuefeng himself was also bruised and battered by the aftershocks, with tears streaming down his face.
He then wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth, stood up again, and continued to crash, bounce, and fly away. He got up, grabbed his weapon, and took the opportunity to cut down the injured beast, repeating the previous steps.
As the remaining balance increased, the bruises on his face became more and more severe, creating a scene that was both tragic and comical.
Not only did the guards standing around twitch at the sight, but even Bai's father, who had come specifically to help with logistics because he was worried about his son, felt both sorry for him and amused.
Just as Bai Xuefeng finally exhausted his supernatural power and temporarily handed over the defensive range to the guards to absorb the crystal core to recover, Bai's father leaned over and whispered to him, "Our family doesn't need you to work so hard."
Even if Bai Xuefeng's protective suit can protect him from the jackals' claws or bites, the pain itself cannot be eliminated.
Seeing his son, who had never suffered hardship since childhood, covered in sweat and looking disheveled, with bruises all over his face, the father felt terrible.
Bai Xuefeng shook his head and said, "Since I have been fortunate enough to obtain special abilities, I can't just do nothing."
His Majesty has granted him the title of viscount, so he must at least produce some results worthy of this title so that people will not think that he is just a figurehead.
Moreover, he was indeed scared and in a lot of pain at the beginning of the battle, but after enduring the initial torment, it was nothing more than that.
Perhaps every man has a hero's dream deep down, and a longing for battle.
It certainly hurts when you get beaten, but once you win, the sense of accomplishment is something you've never felt before.
Therefore, once his superpowers were restored, Bai Xuefeng regrouped. While sending his father back to the rear, he returned to the front line with high morale and began a new round of 'rebound-knock-kill'.
Seeing this, Bai's father, though still worried about him having an accident, couldn't help feeling proud of Bai Xuefeng.
In other settlements, Bai Xuefeng was not the only one who fought hard because he had obtained a title.
Chen Bing, Ye Feiluan, and others who had been trained by Lu Xuan were far more ferocious in battle than the later-awakened superhumans.
Furthermore, the number of ability users in various regions has increased over the past few months, including the emergence of lightning-type ability users, which are the rarest among the conventional ability users, thus increasing the opportunities for teamwork.
The wind fuels the fire, and the water can freeze, saving energy for ice-type ability users. In addition, water conducts electricity. The combination of these two factors results in combat power and battle conditions that are in no way inferior to those brought by firearms.
Those who couldn't coordinate, like Zhou Qing, the beast-like ability user who followed Huo Tiankuo to support the small base, were like humanoid wild boars, charging recklessly and rampaging forward.
Wherever it goes, not a single beast survives.
To reduce casualties, many people even used hoverboards for high-altitude combat.
No matter how fiercely the beasts roared, they couldn't hit them. They could only endure the multiple attacks falling from the sky, and then one by one they fell down unwillingly.
However, the skateboard is most useful when battling flocks of birds.
Luochuan City.
Countless ferocious sparrows and hundreds of different species of eagles and falcons constantly circled over the city, occasionally swooping down to try and attack people on the ground.
"Don't let them rush down! Fire!" Chu Ming stood on the hoverboard, hurling fireballs from his hands at the dense flock of sparrows, while simultaneously calling on the other soldiers around him to throw hypnotic grenades.
As countless tear gas canisters filled the air, the soldiers wearing gas masks were unaffected, but the eagles with red eyes and ferocious combat power rained down in waves.
At this moment, the city's soldiers who had been waiting below rushed over to finish off the attackers.
Because Prefect Liu had said in advance that any wild animals killed by the civilians who helped in the herd would belong to them, in addition to the soldiers, there were quite a few young men who volunteered to help in the fight, including many women who brought kitchen knives or axes from their homes.
Those with insufficient combat strength, such as Liu Ziming and Zhang Tongzhi, were responsible for treating those who were injured in battle and brought in.
With the dual protection of the medical pod and treatment equipment, unless someone is extremely unlucky and dies on the spot, everyone else is guaranteed to be safe.
In stark contrast to the few casualties, the government offices were piled high with meat that they couldn't even store in their storage space.
The people in the city saw all this, and the entire process, from initial panic and worry to a joyous celebration like it was New Year's Day, took only two days.
When the beast attacks ceased, butcher shops along the streets of the city began selling large quantities of wild boar meat, mutton, venison, and even beef.
This is beef that was hard to come by even before the cataclysm. And it's not old beef that died of old age and whose meat isn't very tasty, but rather wild beef with firm muscles!
The people were ecstatic.
Some even hoped the beast attacks would last longer, giving them a chance to get more meat.
Of course, the premise is that the meat that comes is edible.
Attacks by rats or even swarms of insects are not very appealing.
On the fifth day after the appearance of the blood moon and the start of the beast attacks, Yunlu Village was once again attacked by snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
But unlike last year's terrifying scene of being attacked when the door was opened, the people on watch now use drones and surveillance equipment placed all around the village to monitor the surroundings and discover the presence of the insect swarm immediately.
Upon receiving the message, Lu Xuan quickly activated the city's protective shield, keeping all the insects and ants attempting to invade outside the shield.
After that, it was just mechanical cleaning.
The fire and wind ability users coordinated to set off large areas of fire, while the others used other heat weapons to sweep through the area.
Chen Rong still harbored resentment about being tricked by a venomous snake last year. Despite not being a combatant, the snake attacked him exceptionally fiercely, throwing bullets around like they were free.
He kept laughing and shouting, "Burn you all, burn you all, hahahaha—!"
Viewers in the live stream: This person's mental state is a bit crazy.
but……
Listening to the swarm of insects buzzing under the influence of superpowers and [unclear], and smelling the aroma wafting into their noses through shared olfactory senses, many viewers couldn't help but swallow their saliva frantically.
You know what, it smells surprisingly good.
Although insect meat doesn't have as much meat as beef, lamb, pork, or venison, it's concentrated and delicious—slurp...it's incredibly fragrant!
[It not only smells delicious, but it tastes even better! Cheers! So satisfying!]
[Crispy and fragrant, bursting with juice with every bite; even better with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.]
【you--! ! ! 】
The rate at which the comments refreshed slowed down significantly, as everyone was busy picking up any unburnt bugs to eat before the swarm was completely burned away.
Some even shamelessly asked Lu Xuan to help them sprinkle salt or slow down the process of killing them.
Lu Xuan: You might all die.
·
When the beast attacks first began, Lu Xuan did not participate in the battle. It was only later, when the number of wild beasts attacking the village increased daily, that he took action.
A level seven ability user could easily subdue a group of primitive beasts without the aid of weapons. He simply used his conventional abilities in turn and then applied pressure with his gravity ability.
Headshots, dismemberment, burning, lightning strikes, freezing, crushing into a pulp... the beast horde was wiped out with extraordinary speed and in a series of bizarre ways.
The battle was one-sided, and the scenes were so bloody and violent that while some viewers cheered with satisfaction, others couldn't help but manually turn off the censorship.
Just like last year, the beast attacks lasted for almost a whole month, starting from the appearance of the blood moon.
During this period, heavy snow continued to fall, and the temperature gradually dropped to below minus forty degrees Celsius.
Fighting in the freezing cold was no easy task, but in order to survive and to provide the disaster victims with more meat, they could not stop.
We can only keep fighting, fighting, fighting!
Midway through, Lu Xuan and the hunting team split up to replenish weapons and crystal cores in various towns to ensure that other places would not run out of supplies.
Thanks to the united and persistent fighting, Lu Xuan managed to survive the beast attack without causing large-scale damage, after consuming more than half of the low-level crystal cores he had saved.
Compared to other towns, Yunlu Village has the smallest population, with fewer than a hundred people capable of fighting. However, the attacks they face are relentless, and the intensity of each battle is extremely high.
This also prompted the rapid progress of those with superpowers who constantly pushed their potential to their limits, with a large majority of combat-type users successfully seizing the opportunity for advancement at the end of the beast attack.
There are two types of crystal nuclei: mutated plant and animal crystal nuclei and zombie crystal nuclei.
The former has a gentler energy, while the latter is more violent and will cause a stinging sensation when absorbed.
Normally, people mainly absorb the latter because there is a sufficient quantity, which can also serve as a form of training.
However, at this crucial juncture of upgrading, on Lu Xuan's advice, everyone switched to using plant crystal cores to upgrade, minimizing losses and avoiding accidents.
With rich combat experience and sufficient accumulation, and with gentle energy replenishment, Lei Yan, Zhang Chengming, Xiong Mao, and others successively broke through and successfully became the strongest superhumans besides Lu Xuan.
The village celebrated this event for several days.
At the same time, good news also came from other towns. Many of the people who had first awakened their abilities had advanced to level two and had undergone a complete transformation in body and mind after being tempered by numerous battles.
·
With the beast attack over, the sun, which had been absent for more than a month, reappeared in the sky and never set again.
This should be a phenomenon of polar day that everyone is already familiar with, so there's nothing surprising about it.
The abnormal thing is that, with the appearance of the polar day, the heavy snow had not yet stopped, and then the heavy rain followed, with the amount of rainfall exceeding that of the rainy season.
The rain and snow made the disaster victims in various towns feel uneasy.
Their unease was soon confirmed.
The leaders of the settlement soon announced to the public the disaster that they were about to face.
After a year and a half, a major earthquake, second only to the one before, is about to strike.
According to the information provided by Lu Xuan, as expected, multiple underground fissures will appear in various towns.
With the ground cracked, the houses were naturally difficult to save.
As a result, before the effects of the beast attacks had completely subsided, many settlements were forced to begin relocation.
But these are not actually the biggest problems.
The biggest disaster during this period occurred at the seaside.
Multiple underwater volcanoes erupted almost simultaneously, resulting in earthquakes of magnitude 8 or higher in several sea areas, a continuous rise in sea levels, and an unprecedented tsunami in coastal regions.
Its impact was so widespread that it was unprecedented.
The continuous heavy rains preceding the earthquake, and the even more snowmelt brought by the melting rains, amplified the danger posed by the tsunami.
What should have been a tsunami that turned coastal areas into a vast ocean turned into a devastating disaster, completely unexpected by Lu Xuandu, destroying countless towns and even flooding the greenhouses that had given the disaster victims a glimmer of hope.
At this point, more than 80% of the landmass of the Central Plains had fallen.
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Author's Note: Only one volume left to finish the main text! It's been so difficult! [crying emoji]
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