Chapter 94 of 100
Chapter 94: Unknown Monster
6 min read1,471 wordsMature
Chu Yunsheng merely thought to himself, "It's best not to get involved in the mutual affection between the 'Witch' and her believers; these people have always been the most fanatical groups throughout history."
Old Cui's people, after receiving food, were full of energy and their spirits soared. They quickly repaired the car, proving that human potential is indeed boundless. Despair and hope can create miracles in the blink of an eye.
The night was silent, as if even the wind had stopped.
Chu Yunsheng practiced for a while. The realm of the Second Heaven is the complete construction of the Fusion Body, which needs to be built in five stages. He had barely completed the first stage. He didn't know how much his strength would increase after completing the second stage. He was now almost entirely exploring on his own, knowing only that the more he practiced, the stronger he would become.
In fact, it wasn't just him. The other awakened warriors in the same car, except for the 'Witch' who firmly stayed with her believers in the back car, the other five people, who couldn't sleep, were all trying various methods to increase their abilities. This was their only life-saving skill, given by heaven, and they cherished it immensely.
These five people, however, had their own thoughts. Since Chu Yunsheng solved the food crisis, Huang Renkuan was the first to firmly stand by Zhao Shanhe's side, followed by the 'Witch' and Tian Weidai, who also defected. The silent cook continued to be silent. In just a moment, the isolated Zhao Shanhe had become Li Yue.
Seeing that Chu Yunsheng was awake, Tian Weidai rustled over, took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his inner pocket, carefully picked out a half-smoked cigarette, and borrowed Chu Yunsheng's lighter to light it. He took a deep puff and then offered it to Chu Yunsheng, who shook his head and didn't take it.
"Brother Chu, do you think there's an afterlife when people die?" Tian Weidai asked out of the blue.
"Maybe!" Chu Yunsheng replied casually. This question often comes up when people are bored or troubled. He had speculated about it before, but it always remained unresolved.
"I grew up without parents and joined the army at eighteen. My squad leader always took good care of me, treating me like a younger brother," Tian Weidai's hollow eyes flashed with a glimmer of light, but it quickly faded. He continued in a dejected tone, "During the Shanghai Defense Battle, our entire company was more than half wiped out. The higher-ups said the civilians hadn't been evacuated yet, so we weren't allowed to retreat. We had to hold our ground to the death!
Those days, people were dying every day. I was scared and cowardly. I tried to escape during the chaos but was caught by the patrol team. The next day, in front of the entire regiment, all the deserters were lined up, and the regiment commander personally executed them. The company commander stood in front of the regiment commander, using his head to block the gun, vouching for us and giving us a chance to atone for our sins."
Tian Weidai spoke as if to himself, rambling on:
"That day, I was immediately sent to the front line to fight the bugs and atone for my sins. Everyone was crazy, fighting the bugs in close combat. Later, the bugs finally retreated, and I was still alive.
That night, I awakened. It was too late to report it. The squad leader said that in our entire company, only I had such good luck and awakened. He told me to be a man and fight alongside my comrades, never retreating!
The next day, an even larger group of bugs came. They charged through the intense artillery fire, overwhelming us. My comrades fell one by one. In the end, when almost everyone was dead, the company commander, the squad leader, and the remaining comrades tied bombs to their bodies, agreeing to be comrades in the next life, and died with the bugs. At that moment, I was cowardly again. I secretly threw away the bomb and hid under the bodies of my comrades, escaping..."
Tian Weidai's voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible. His expression was blank, and he didn't even notice when the cigarette burned his fingers.
Hearing this, Chu Yunsheng suddenly remembered the soldiers he had seen on the farmhouse roof, who had detonated their bombs and died with the bugs. Such a resolute and tragic act required immense courage.
Chu Yunsheng gradually understood the inner pain that tormented Tian Weidai. He hoped for an afterlife where he could meet his comrades, who were like family to him, but he also feared being despised as a deserter.
Thus, he often shouted in his dreams: "I'm not a deserter!"
In fact, the timid and cowardly Tian Weidai had never told Zhao Shanhe that he was a deserter. However, every time he woke up from a nightmare, he would shout this, and soon everyone knew he had been a deserter.
After a while, the driver changed shifts, and the car continued to move forward, swaying.
Tian Weidai, having spoken his mind, seemed to fall into a deep sleep. Chu Yunsheng also gradually drifted into a daze, while only Hu Zai, with his ears perked up, remained alert.
Not long after, Chu Yunsheng felt Hu Zai's body tense up in his arms, becoming restless. He shivered and immediately woke up.
Hu Zai's alertness to danger, without being able to determine its source, usually made him this tense.
With his mysterious wind attribute and the natural alertness of a beast, Chu Yunsheng never took Hu Zai's judgment lightly.
"Stop the car!" Chu Yunsheng suddenly shouted, his voice like a thunderclap in the quiet cabin.
"Stop the car!" Chu Yunsheng stood up nervously, ignoring the startled people, and shouted again.
The car screeched to a halt, and the two buses following behind also stopped urgently. Everyone became tense.
"What's going on?" Huang Renkuan asked anxiously.
"Turn off the engine! Turn off the lights!" Chu Yunsheng didn't have time to explain, bending down and walking behind the driver, he urged.
"What's happening?" Zhao Shanhe, who was on lookout on the roof, jumped down and opened the door, puzzled.
Chu Yunsheng took out his gun, checked the bullets, and said softly, "There's a monster nearby!"
"What kind of monster?" Huang Renkuan asked nervously.
"I don't know!" Through the windshield, Chu Yunsheng stared intently outside, where it was pitch black. The engines and lights of the cars behind had also been turned off.
"Which direction?" Li Yue asked quickly.
"I don't know!" Chu Yunsheng gave the same answer. He truly didn't know where the danger was coming from; he hadn't felt any fluctuations in the elemental energy.
"How do you know there's a monster?"
"Xiao Chu, are you joking?" Zhao Shanhe and Huang Renkuan almost spoke at the same time.
Chu Yunsheng ignored their chatter, mobilizing his elemental energy and entering a state of extreme alertness.
The tense atmosphere infected everyone, who lowered their breathing and stopped talking, staring vigilantly out the windows.
After a while, nothing happened.
If it weren't for Hu Zai's consistently accurate alertness, Chu Yunsheng would have had his doubts.
"Mr. Chu, are you overreacting a bit?" Li Yue broke the silence with a sarcastic tone. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Chu Yunsheng helping Zhao Shanhe, but Chu Yunsheng's food had indeed helped them through the crisis, so he couldn't say much at the time.
"Yeah, that's too scary," Huang Renkuan relaxed, leaning back in his seat and nodding.
"Look, what's that!" Tian Weidai, sitting at the back of the car, let out a cry of alarm.
Chu Yunsheng moved incredibly fast, dashing to the back of the car. In the darkness, no one could see his figure, but they could feel the sharp wind created by his rapid movement, which made everyone's hearts race.
In the darkness on the right rear, three green, glowing lights appeared, about two meters off the ground, swaying, and it was unclear what they were.
"There are some here too!" Huang Renkuan's voice trembled in the darkness.
"Director Huang and the Witch protect the buses at the back. Everyone else, prepare for battle," Zhao Shanhe decided immediately.
More and more green glowing points appeared, some high and some low, completely surrounding Chu Yunsheng and the others!
Previously, Chu Yunsheng would extinguish all light and hide his presence before the red-armored bugs passed by, avoiding danger.
But these unknown monsters, which emitted green light, seemed to have a much stronger perception ability and had quietly surrounded Chu Yunsheng and the others.
Hiding now was useless; it was better to be in the open.
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(End of Chapter 94)