Chapter 58

Right foot stomped on the ground, a dull and powerful boom echoed, and the entire church seemed to tremble. The floor tiles shattered like a spider web, spreading out to a distance of two to three meters.

The bald man was stunned, instinctively loosening his grip on Chu Nan's collar and retreating. He was a second-level Awakened, with no weak physical abilities, but now he was completely frightened, his face turning pale.

Many people around them closed their mouths.

Chu Nan slowly lifted his right foot, and it was clear that the floor tiles he had stomped on were crushed into powder, the cement underneath cracked. The power of this kick, if it had hit a human body, would have had unimaginable consequences.

Seeing that everyone around had closed their mouths, Chu Nan turned to look at the old man with gray temples and said, "Old sir, thank you for your warning."

This old man was also somewhat shocked by Chu Nan's kick. Hearing Chu Nan's words, he smiled gently and said, "It's nothing, I was just making a deduction based on the facts. That kick... was really quite frightening."

Chu Nan also smiled, looking up at Tang Sanli, Su Yao, and the others, and said, "The fog outside should be dispersing soon. Do you want to stay here or find another way to leave?"

Staying in the church might ensure temporary safety, but there was no food, and it was impossible to stay indefinitely. More importantly, he needed to go home to find his parents and relatives. With Jiangtian City becoming so bizarre, he was increasingly worried about his family.

Shen Mo shrugged his nose and said, "We can only hide here temporarily, not forever. Chu Nan, what happened to those two people who were killed? We were all asleep, and when we woke up, we saw you arguing."

Chu Nan said, "I don't know..." He sighed slightly, knowing that under the current circumstances, it was temporarily impossible to find the murderer or uncover the truth.

Although he had suspected the statue of Jesus, cutting off its left arm had no reaction, so the statue was just an ordinary stone statue. Therefore, the real murderer might be hiding among the crowd, or it could be something he didn't know about.

However, under the current circumstances, Chu Nan had no intention of investigating further.

Walking to the church door and looking out, he realized that the fog outside had completely dissipated, the sky was bright, and the distant ruined skyscrapers were still emitting large amounts of smoke.

"The fog has dispersed. Thinking about what happened earlier, it really feels like a dream," Shen Mo said, following behind Chu Nan with a bitter smile.

Nangong Xiong said, "Shen Mo, what should we do now? Following your previous plan to clear the area bit by bit is probably not possible anymore."

Out of the seventy-odd people last night, fewer than ten had managed to survive and escape into the church.

Shen Mo looked into the distance with a slight bitter smile, "We're in the same city, but we can't go home. This short distance might mean life or death..."

Su Yao gently bit her cherry lips, looking at Chu Nan, "My home is in Daxiu District, about five to six kilometers away... I want to go home and check."

Chu Nan read a hint of pleading in her eyes.

With Su Yao's current abilities, going alone to a place five to six kilometers away would be no different from suicide.

So, although she didn't say it outright, her request for help was clear. She hoped he would accompany her.

Only with Chu Nan's help did she have a chance of getting home.

Before Chu Nan could respond, Shen Mo said, "Su Yao's home is only five to six kilometers away? Great, why don't we go to Su Yao's home first?" His face showed some excitement.

Shen Mo's personality was relatively optimistic. Although he had experienced a series of horrors, his words still lightened the oppressive atmosphere.

Su Yao, however, ignored him and just looked at Chu Nan.

Chu Nan hesitated and said, "Five to six kilometers, where exactly is your home?"

Su Yao said, "Changjiang Road, Fuchun Garden."

Chu Nan nodded, as the place Su Yao mentioned was in the direction he was heading to Baiyun District, so it was on the way.

"Alright, let's plan it. Our first stop will be Su Yao's home?" Chu Nan looked at Tang Sanli, Shen Mo, Nangong Xiong, and Tao Zhi.

These people were now gathered at the church door, clearly separated from the other group mostly gathered in front of the statue of Jesus.

Those people were also discussing their next steps, as it was impossible to stay in the church indefinitely.

Some people had rushed into the city from outside to find their families, some were originally in the city but wanted to escape, and others were thinking about the Life Stele, trying to incite everyone to join forces to seize it.

Everyone's goals and intentions were different.

"I have no objections, let's go to Su Yao's home first," Tao Zhi also spoke, as his home was in Puxian District, and he needed to pass through Daxiu District first.

"Going home... is not easy," the old man with gray temples suddenly spoke, looking at Chu Nan and Su Yao.

"Old sir, I haven't asked your name yet," Chu Nan still had a good impression of the old man. From his appearance, he looked to be over sixty, but his body was quite robust, possibly due to his Awakened state.

The old man smiled, "My name is Jiang Weishu, you can call me Old Jiang. Your homes are probably scattered throughout Jiangtian City, and you came from outside the city, so you want to go home first?"

"Yes, Old Jiang," Chu Nan also introduced himself and the others, "Old Jiang, what about you?"

He felt that Old Jiang had extraordinary knowledge and showed great respect.

Old Jiang shook his head, "When the earthquake happened, I was in the city. In an instant, everything was destroyed..."

At this point, his whole body trembled slightly, as if he was thinking about the terrifying scene from a few days ago.

However, this emotion lasted only a moment. Old Jiang shook his head and said, "After the earthquake, the Gaia Stele appeared from the depths of the earth. It's ordinary during the day, but at night, it emits light."

"In the light of the Gaia Stele, even the most severe injuries are healed, and even the most terrifying monsters cannot attack. Most importantly, the Gaia Stele continuously narrates the Life Stele."

Clearly, because Old Jiang had been in the city from the beginning, he had experienced the Gaia Stele's magic every night and had more knowledge than Chu Nan and the others.

"I also sensed the Life Stele. The Gaia Stele seems to be guiding us, and only by finding the Life Stele can we understand the true meaning of life."

Old Jiang sighed, "Yes, this city, no matter which district, is cursed. You can enter, but you cannot leave. The whole city is cursed, and the earthquake was not an ordinary natural disaster. There is only one way to escape this city."

Old Jiang looked at everyone and said solemnly, "Find the Life Stele and break the curse."

Everyone was slightly shocked.

"Old Jiang, do you know what the fog, the skeletons, and the ghost ship are?"

Chu Nan thought for a moment and asked, feeling that Old Jiang knew more than they did.

Old Jiang said, "I can't say for sure, but they are all related to the Gaia Stele, the Life Stele, and the cursed city. You must have noticed that those skeletons have been dead for a long time, not just ordinary corpses that came back to life after the earthquake. The specific connection, I can't say for sure."

"I know a professor who believes that this earthquake was triggered by the Earth's Gaia consciousness. The Gaia gene's domino effect means that the entire world may not escape this disaster."

The professor Chu Nan mentioned was Chen Mo, who was killed by a large spider in the ancient ruins.

"Whether it's to stimulate species evolution or a new reshuffling of all Earth's creatures, our most important task now is to find the Life Stele and escape this city," Old Jiang looked at everyone and said slowly, "This city is beyond saving. The curse will only become more terrifying and more frightening. No one can survive alone; only by uniting can we have hope."

Shen Mo said, "Old Jiang is right. I thought the same before. We originally gathered seventy people, but unfortunately, they were all destroyed in one night."

"Gathering people is not about quantity but quality. You have all awakened, and you should understand that the higher the level of awakening, the more powerful the strength. I think this is probably the last hope left by the Earth's consciousness in the Pandora's box, a hope for humanity."

Old Jiang's words made everyone fall into deep thought.

Nangong Xiong said, "That's right. A powerful Awakened is more useful than ten useless people. If we had a few more people like Chu Nan, our chances of survival would be much greater."

Chu Nan said, "You will all become stronger, as long as you can absorb enough primal energy."

After some discussion, everyone decided to go to Su Yao's home first. The Life Stele was deep in Jiangtian City, and they all had a vague sense that it was at least twenty kilometers away.

Although Jiangtian City was not a first-tier city, the four districts combined had a population of over a million, and the urban area was quite large.

Their current location was only on the outskirts of Daxiu District, not deep in the main urban area.

After the events of last night and Old Jiang's reminder, everyone now deeply understood that the more people gathered in the city, the worse it was.

The more people, the more obvious the target, and the easier it was to attract monsters.

This time, only Chu Nan, Su Yao, Tao Zhi, Tang Sanli, Shen Mo, Nangong Xiong, Old Jiang, and a man named Zhang Xiang, who was around thirty, left the church together.