Chapter 39: Leaving the City

A famous comedian from the Sunny Era once said a classic line: "When I'm hungry and see someone holding a meat bun, he is happier than me; when I'm cold and see someone wearing a thick down jacket, he is happier than me; when I need to use the toilet and there's only one stall, and you're in it, you are happier than me."

Now, Chu Yunsheng faced this very problem. When the chaotic crowd not far away lured away the strange tentacle monster downstairs, he suddenly felt happier than that group of people.

Faced with the chaotic scene outside, Chu Yunsheng immediately decided not to move to another place. The three red-armored bugs and the tentacle monster might not return here for a while, or perhaps never. It was too chaotic outside.

In such a large mall, it wasn't difficult to find a single room to use as a talisman-making place. Chu Yunsheng left Yu Xiaohai and Lin Shuiyao outside the room and, alone inside, carefully inscribed a Qi Absorption Talisman under the light of his flashlight. He was already very familiar with the process and didn't waste much time.

After absorbing the essence from exactly six red-armored bugs, Chu Yunsheng inventoried the Storage Talisman, which now contained about fifteen dead bugs.

The battle armor needed new shells to repair, so he immediately started separating the shells from the red-armored bugs. Using the Battle Armor Talisman, he refined each shell until the damaged parts were fully restored.

The new Qi Absorption Talisman, now filled with six flame patterns, could replenish about twelve units of essence. Six of these units would be used to make new Qi Absorption Talismans, leaving him with only six units to kill bugs.

Chu Yunsheng was secretly anxious. At this rate of consumption, he would never be able to accumulate extra Qi Absorption Talismans as a backup. For now, he could only rely on his own cultivation to help restore his essence. Additionally, Yu Xiaohai could kill three red-armored bugs, but his energy recovery speed was probably even slower than his.

When would he reach the Second Essence Heaven realm? Chu Yunsheng often dreamed of reaching the Second Essence Heaven realm, where he could make a Qi Absorption Talisman with just two units of essence, or spend more essence to create a third-stage reusable Qi Absorption Talisman.

In the First Essence Heaven realm, he had to waste six units of essence each time to make a one-time-use Qi Absorption Talisman, which always pained him!

He needed to focus on his cultivation!

Cultivation required strengthening his body and fully absorbing and releasing essence. Therefore, he had to first use the Qi Absorption Talisman to replenish his essence, then spend six units to inscribe a talisman, and finally absorb the remaining one and a half flame patterns of essence into his body. Although the process was tedious, he had become accustomed to it.

After methodically completing these tasks, he opened the door and heard Yu Xiaohai quietly asking Lin Shuiyao about her gossip. He inquired about whether she had a relationship with a certain male celebrity and whether she had dated the son of a wealthy businessman from Taiwan. Chu Yunsheng wondered where he got so much gossip!

Seeing Chu Yunsheng come out, Yu Xiaohai looked at his fully restored battle armor in amazement and exclaimed, "Brother Chu is Brother Chu, always turning the mundane into the miraculous!"

Chu Yunsheng knew he was talkative and ignored his flattery, saying directly, "I'll explain my plan. You two have the right to voice your opinions, but not to make decisions."

Yu Xiaohai didn't mind, adopting a "whatever you say, I'll do" attitude.

Chu Yunsheng didn't care about Lin Shuiyao's calm expression and quickly said, "There are less than fifty hours until the military's final evacuation. We must leave the city with the main group. Xiaohai will drive the motorcycle, I'll be in the middle, and Lin Shuiyao will be at the back! All actions will be under my command."

Yu Xiaohai had no objections, but Lin Shuiyao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, thinking, "This big man actually has the nerve to make a girl sit at the back while he takes the safest middle position."

She didn't know that Chu Yunsheng sitting in the middle would at least allow him to rely on Yu Xiaohai to stabilize his position and use any available time to recover his essence.

However, Lin Shuiyao didn't say anything. She knew that the right to voice opinions without decision-making power was essentially a formality. Since she had no real ability, it was better to be compliant.

But she still smiled and resisted a little, saying, "Please don't call me an actress; I'm actually a model."

Chu Yunsheng waved his hand and said indifferently, "To us common folk, it's all the same."

Before Lin Shuiyao could argue, Chu Yunsheng magically produced a lot of food, leaving her speechless.

Yu Xiaohai had seen this before and showed no reaction, instead thinking Lin Shuiyao was overreacting.

The escape was about to begin, and the three needed to replenish their energy, especially Chu Yunsheng, who had a huge battle load and an astonishing consumption rate.

Three sausages, a can of tuna, three slices of bread, two boxes of Danone biscuits, and even a few vacuum-packed boiled eggs!

Chu Yunsheng gave Yu Xiaohai and himself a bottle of Red Bull each to stay alert, estimating they might travel continuously.

Except in special circumstances, Chu Yunsheng usually ate normally. Food was relatively stable for him, but for Yu Xiaohai and Lin Shuiyao, it was a completely different experience.

While eating, he was also thinking, so by the time he had eaten half a slice of bread, he "angrily" discovered that Yu Xiaohai and Lin Shuiyao had already divided up the tuna he liked.

Chu Yunsheng could only inwardly curse, "They're all foodies!"

Joining the crowd wasn't difficult. Every so often, a group would rush by, all heading west toward the city exit.

When Chu Yunsheng fetched the motorcycle, Lin Shuiyao restrained her surprise and maintained a calm demeanor, while Yu Xiaohai whispered, "Brother Chu, wasn't our motorcycle broken? Did you fix it?"

"This is a new one," Chu Yunsheng explained.

Yu Xiaohai gave a thumbs-up and sighed, "Brother Chu, if only I had listened to you and spent all my money preparing supplies, it would have been so much better!"

This was the second time Lin Shuiyao had heard Yu Xiaohai mention Chu Yunsheng's foresight. Her eyes lit up, and she perked up her ears.

Chu Yunsheng, however, didn't continue the topic. He patted Yu Xiaohai's shoulder and said, "Regret is useless. Spend more time thinking about your useless ability; maybe it will come in handy someday."

Yu Xiaohai blushed and quickly shut his mouth.

Chu Yunsheng cautiously peeked out of the mall's main door. A large number of people were continuously passing by the street ahead. He waved his hand, and the three got on the motorcycle, quickly joining the nearest group.

This was a strange group, with many people divided into batches, all young.

Chu Yunsheng was secretly puzzled, but Yu Xiaohai, following the group, quickly struck up a conversation with a girl.

It turned out they were students from Dongshen University. The school term hadn't ended on December 23rd, so the students hadn't gone on break. After the continuous disappearance of the sun, the world plunged into darkness by the 28th, and most out-of-town students were trapped on campus. Now, upon receiving notification, the entire school had decided to prepare for a large-scale evacuation to Jinling City.

The students' actions were very organized. Under the school's arrangement, teachers and their families formed two groups, while students were organized by department into smaller teams. They were protected by tanks sent by the military and several self-awakened students.

Dongshen University was one of the largest universities in Shencheng, with over 30,000 out-of-town students. According to the girl, many had died in attacks by red-armored bugs, and many had become separated. Now, about 20,000 people were leaving the city together.

Chu Yunsheng thought, no wonder this group stretched endlessly, both in front and behind, in a grand procession.

The sky often had a hazy glow, somewhat better during what used to be midday, but pitch black during what used to be night.

Large numbers of scattered people emerged from buildings, joining this massive group. The number of people kept increasing. Military and school representatives stood in the chaotic crowd, continuously calling out to recruit awakened humans to join the guard.

They encountered a few small-scale attacks by red-armored bugs along the way, but they were all repelled by the military and the self-awakened students. Of course, deaths were inevitable.