About 600 kilometers northwest of Chengtian City lies a boundless primeval forest that the Blue Star people have named the "Weeping Forest".
The trees here are exceptionally tall, averaging over 100 meters. Their massive canopies block out the sun, shattering the golden sunlight into fragments, with only dappled spots managing to reach the ground.
The lower layers of the forest are always dark and damp. The air is filled with the nauseating stench of decaying plants and unknown fungi.
The ecosystem here is filled with undisguised malice towards the humans of Earth.
For the survivors of Earth who inexplicably found themselves in this forest, it was nothing short of a green hell.
In a sheltered mountain hollow, a dozen or so ragged, emaciated people huddled around a bonfire belching black smoke.
They were once impeccably dressed white-collar elites in a first-tier city on Earth. Now, their designer suits and skirts have long since turned into tattered, mud-stained strips of cloth.
“Mr. Zhang…” A former programmer, now with cracked lips and lifeless eyes, stammered to a slightly more presentable middle-aged man by the campfire, “Water… there’s no water. We haven’t found a safe water source for two days.”
The man referred to as "General Manager Zhang" is named Zhang Wei, and he used to be a project director at an internet company.
He adjusted the glasses on his nose, which were tied with vines and had only one lens remaining, and a bitter and helpless expression appeared on his face.
When the "Great Transfer" occurred, they were conducting a crucial closed-door development project within the company.
One second they were arguing heatedly about the KPIs on their PowerPoint presentation, and the next second, the entire 23rd floor of the office building, including them, suddenly appeared in this ghostly forest.
The first few days were a period of utter chaos and collapse.
Some people went mad, rushed into the forest, and never returned. Others, in despair, jumped from the twenty-third floor.
With his years of experience managing teams, Zhang Wei managed to organize the remaining people. He used all his management knowledge in an attempt to establish order in this hellish place.
He formulated the "Temporary Management Regulations for Forest Survivors," established a "Water Source Search Team," a "Food Gathering Team," and a "Safety and Alert Team," and even held several "Project Morning Meetings" in a serious manner, using mind maps to analyze the "pain points" and "core needs" they faced.
However, all of this was in vain.
Faced with absolute hunger, cold, and the threat of death, any business logic and management skills seem like a joke.
They had no tools, only stones and sticks.
They don't recognize any plants, and several people have died tragically from poisoning while trying to identify which ones are edible.
They had no kindling, and only with the half-lighter that a colleague had left in his pocket were they able to light the campfire that sustained them. But the fuel was also running out.
"Just...just a little longer..." Zhang Wei's voice was hoarse, "I...I'll take some more people out to search...we're sure we can find it..."
He himself didn't believe his own words. His project management skills allowed him to manage a team of a hundred people and complete collaborations worth tens of millions.
But here, he couldn't even provide a dozen or so people with a sip of clean water.
A former marketing manager was now hugging her knees, sobbing softly. Her cries were suppressed and desperate, like those of a wounded animal.
"I want to go home...I miss my daughter...she's only five years old..."
The crying seemed contagious, and soon the entire camp was enveloped in a thick, suffocating despair.
Looking at his once proud and capable subordinates, now reduced to mindless zombies, Zhang Wei felt his heart sink into an abyss.
He knew that before long, perhaps tonight, when the campfire died down, they would be torn to pieces by what lurked in the darkness.
At the other end of the forest, in a natural cave surrounded by huge rocks, the situation was slightly better, but the intensity of despair was no less.
Inside the cave, a small fire was burning. A tall woman, whose face still showed stunning beauty, was wrapped in an expensive coat whose original color was no longer recognizable, staring blankly at the firelight.
Her name is Liu Yanxi, and she was the most popular top female star in the Chinese entertainment industry before the "Great Migration".
She has millions of fans, is a darling of countless luxury brands, and her every move can make headlines.
When the "Great Transfer" took place, she was on her private jet, preparing to fly to Europe to attend a fashion week.
On the plane were her agent, assistant, bodyguard, and executives from two luxury brands.
Then, accompanied by a violent jolt and a blinding white light, they were thrown into the air above the forest along with the wreckage of the plane.
The plane crashed. Luckily, or rather unfortunately, Liu Yanxi, along with her agent, an assistant, and a bodyguard, survived.
At first, Liu Yanxi maintained her superstar hysteria. She screamed, cried, and ordered her bodyguards and assistants to find her rescue, food, and a place where she could take a hot bath.
However, when the bodyguard was dragged away by an insect monster with blade-like forelimbs while searching for a way out, leaving only a shrill scream, she finally realized the reality.
Here, her beauty, fame, and wealth are worthless.
Her agent, a once powerful woman who could wield immense influence in the financial world, is now just a haggard woman who would fight with her assistant over half a piece of unknown fruit.
They've barely survived on the few remaining bottled water and airplane meals found in the wreckage. But their food and water supplies have long since run out.
"Sister Yanxi... I'm so hungry..." The youngest assistant said weakly, huddled to the side.
Liu Yanxi didn't answer. She was hungry too, so hungry that it felt like countless worms were gnawing at her stomach.
She even began to miss the days when her manager strictly controlled her diet to maintain her figure. The hunger she felt then was a blessing compared to now.
She touched her cheek; her once smooth and delicate skin was now rough, cracked, and swollen from mosquito bites. Her once-proud figure was now emaciated.
“The mirror…” she suddenly remembered something and said to her agent in a hoarse voice, “My makeup bag… is the mirror still there?”
The agent paused for a moment, then rummaged through a pile of odds and ends and pulled out the surviving designer makeup bag studded with rhinestones.
With trembling hands, Liu Yanxi opened the box and took out the small makeup mirror.
When she saw her pale, haggard, and filthy face in the mirror, her pupils contracted sharply.
"ah!"
A piercing scream shattered the cave's tranquility. As if she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world, she smashed the mirror to the ground.
The mirror shattered, reflecting her countless broken and desperate faces.
She broke down.
The once dazzling and radiant Liu Yanxi died tragically in this unknown forest. All that remained was an ordinary woman, filled with utter despair about her appearance and her future.
"It's no use...it's all useless..." she murmured to herself, tears mingling with the dirt on her face, leaving two black streaks.
Compared to the first two groups, Lao Li and his coworkers are in a much better situation.
Old Li, whose real name is Li Jianguo, is a construction site foreman with thirty years of experience.
During the "Great Relocation," he was leading a dozen or so workers in construction work inside a newly built subway tunnel.
Therefore, they were fortunate enough to preserve a number of valuable tools: hard hats, steel bar crowbars, construction hammers, cutting machines (although the power source was gone), and most importantly—several large barrels of diesel fuel and a small diesel generator.
With these tools and their extensive wilderness survival experience, they established a fairly decent camp in the forest.
They used woodcutters and crowbars to cut down trees and build sturdy wooden huts. Diesel generators provided nighttime lighting and security. They even used the terrain to dig traps, capturing several small, boar-like alien creatures.
However, even they had reached a dead end.
"Brother Li, the diesel... there's only half a barrel left." A dark-skinned young man said to Old Li, who was reinforcing the fence of the wooden house.
Old Li stopped what he was doing, his dark face deeply lined with wrinkles, filled with solemnity.
Diesel fuel is the lifeline of their small group. Without it, the generator can't work, and they can't maintain lighting and the power grid at night.
The nights in this forest belong to those terrifying predators. They have witnessed firsthand a giant spider, the size of a truck, easily dragging away a rhinoceros-like creature weighing several hundred kilograms.
Without electricity, their defenses were no different from paper in the face of that monster.
"Our tools are almost worn out too." Another coworker sighed, raising his machete, whose blade was already dulled. "If this continues, we'll even have trouble chopping firewood."
Even more seriously, some of them fell ill. The dampness in the forest and the unknown germs caused several people to vomit, have diarrhea, and suffer from persistent high fevers.
Without antibiotics or other medications, they could only watch helplessly as their companion's health deteriorated day by day.
“We can’t wait any longer.” After a long silence, Old Li finally spoke, his voice hoarse but firm. “We must take the initiative and find a way out.”
"A way out?" The group looked at each other in confusion. "Brother Li, which way? This godforsaken place is so confusing, we can't even tell which way to go."
Old Li climbed the watchtower of the wooden house and looked into the distance. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but an endless sea of green trees.
He also felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Their skills allow them to build skyscrapers in any harsh environment. But here, they can't even guarantee their own lives.
They were like insects trapped in a giant spider web, struggling but only slowly waiting for death to come.
These three groups of survivors are just a small fraction of the countless tragic microcosms scattered throughout the "Weeping Forest".
They came from different social classes and had different pasts, but at this moment, they shared the same fate—despair, hunger, fear, and an endless longing for a slim chance of survival.
They were praying to all the gods they knew from memory.
Unbeknownst to them, a true "god" had heard their cries and sent his "sheepdogs" to find his lost lambs.
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