Epoch of Twilight

“Brother Luo, its coming!” Wang Shishi screamed, as her face turned pale.

“Hold on tightly to my hand!” Luo Yuan said intently, he too was anxious as he watched the approaching beast, while pushing his way towards the front of the crowd. He could not do anything regardless of his strong powers in such a crowded place.

Desperation had surrounded the people and outcries rang loud in their ears.

The crowd stood motionless for a moment as if possessed by another higher energy before the struggle of pushes came from the front and the back. Some people who were trapped in the middle puked blood from the sheer force on them. Hopeless curses came faintly from the front.

The worst had happened.

“They’ve opened fire, how can they open fire?” Huang Jiahui’s pale face was a mixture of fright and disbelief.

“What about us?” Wang Shishi asked in a worried voice.

Luo Yuan was completely upset, spitting out the words, “We can’t go there anymore, let’s go back. Leave your luggage, we need to go towards the buildings from the side.”

“No! All our money is here, what would we do if we lost it all?” Huang Jiahui said unwillingly.

“All our clothes are here as well!” Wang Shishi too followed.

“We can find clothes again, and with regards to money, you probably can’t find a place to spend it anymore in the future,” Luo Yuan said.

Huang Jiahui was traumatized as her hands let go of the luggage.

Three of them forced their way to the side but after a few steps, the beast was already approaching them. Its gigantic body was rolling down the hill, brushing people aside.

Without waiting for Luo Yuan’s order, Huang Jiahui had already retrieved her gun and pulled the trigger.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A few white bullets flew out from the gun’s muzzle. This was probably a light blue level beast as it could not withstand the attacks of the synthesized bullets. The bullets went through its body swiftly, leaving only bullet holes behind.

One of the bullets went right into its eyes, bringing it to its death.

Due to its momentum, it still moved a few steps before finally collapsing onto the ground.

Shock flashed through Huang Jiahui’s face as she subconsciously counted the number of bullets left in her pocket.

“Quick!” Luo Yuan pulled a dazed Huang Jiahui along.

A few minutes later, Luo Yuan squeezed them into a nearby building. It used to be a supermarket as racks were placed neatly inside but they were completely empty. The supermarket was shut down a long time ago by the looks of it.

People poured inside, with more and more starting to come through the door.

Even if it was not safe here, it was still better than being outside.

Luo Yuan moved to the inner most corners and sat Wang Shishi down. He felt his pocket and took out a squashed packet of cigarettes. He lit one up.

“Can I have one?” A fair-skinned middle-aged man beside them asked as he saw Luo Yuan smoking.

Luo Yuan nodded and tossed over a cigarette.

“Sorry, I don’t have a lighter too,” he said awkwardly.

Luo Yuan tossed the lighter over as well.

The middle-aged man lighted his cigarette with his trembling hands, taking in a deep breath, followed by violent coughs- an obvious sign that he is not a smoker. Yet he kept on smoking like an addict who had been long deprived and started sobbing.

He cried for a while before wiping his tears off his face and said grimly, “Thanks for your cigarette!”

“You’re welcome,” Luo Yuan said gently.

“I’m embarrassed but I don’t care anymore. My son just died from the stampede just now. I saw his ribs shattered as it was stepped on. Blood poured out from his mouth as he was shouting “Dad, it hurts, save me!” But I could only watch helplessly. I couldn’t have done anything by then.

He sobbed again as his lips quivered, “I...I couldn’t even bring his body along as people were already pushing me to the side...He’s only six... He’s a very good boy who didn’t throw any fits even when he was starving,” The man said brokenly, pausing continuously in between his words.

Luo Yuan sighed but remained quiet.

“I heard from some people that a large dugout was built here so I rushed over. Who knew that in the process of looking for a safer place...it had killed him and he died...It’s good too, since he no longer needs to suffer through this pain anymore. And I’ll be there with him soon so he won’t be lonely down there!” He laughed humorlessly, “I should go now, otherwise my child won’t be able to find me later.”

Luo Yuan turned, shocked, “You?”

“Thank you for listening to me. Don’t persuade me. I’m not crazy, this world has gone crazy. I’m helpless, I can’t survive. Death will free me. Rather than starving to death or becoming the food for the mutated beasts, I can die an easy death now.” He shook his head, with hopelessness all over his face.

As he spoke, he took a dagger out and stabbed it into his heart. He frowned, as his face was filled with pain as he gritted his teeth and pulled the dagger out. Blood gushed out from his wound.

Wang Shishi covered her mouth in horror.

Luo Yuan sighed in remorse. He could have stopped him from committing suicide but he did not because just like the man had said, death would be freeing him under such circumstances.

“I feel like my body is floating... It’s so light. It’s great. Taotao, wait for me.” His eyes closed as he finished talking, and his body fell against the wall softly with a smile on his face.

“Hopefully we won’t end up like this one day!” Huang Jiahui said hoarsely, the man’s suicide shocked her to her core.

Luo Yuan pulled Huang Jiahui into his embrace, hugging her tightly and spoke softly in her ear, “Such a day won’t come.”

The walls of the supermarket began to quake and crumble; a mutated beast was emerging from the gravels and the people began to move back out of fear.

Luo Yuan stood up, “Let’s go, we should leave and find another place.”

He stabbed his machete into the wall and carved a circle. He then kicked it apart, forming a hole in the wall around a meter wide. He lowered his body and squeezed through it. Wang Shishi and Huang Jiahui followed him closely from behind.

A few people around them trailed behind to observe the scene.

The back of the supermarket had a wide road that was not crowded. A black python with a girth about the size of a bucket’s circumference was meandering forward several dozen meters in front, scaring everyone on the street.

Even though the swarm of people made it more difficult to escape, they provided a good distraction for the mutated beasts. As the python swallowed one of the passersby, Luo Yuan and his girls crossed the street swiftly and managed to move into the office tower. He did not hesitate and quickly made another hole with his machete in order to enter the tower.

Perhaps it was the confidence in how they moved which steered people to continuously tag along the way. Unfortunately, some were left behind as they could not keep up. Half an hour later, about ten people were left tailing Luo Yuan. Maybe the crowd gathering at the underground base had attracted the mutated beast’s attention and slowly declined in number as the group of people following Luo Yuan got further away from the underground base.

He stopped for a breather as they ran into a hotel basement parking seeing that the coast was clear.

“Friend, where are you guys going?” A tall and skinny man had asked after catching his breath.

Luo Yuan realized that he had nowhere to go other than returning to the mansion but the passage towards the mansion required him to pass the underground base which was currently infested with mutated beasts. Now would certainly not be the right time to return, so he said, “Wherever that is safe, any good suggestions?”

The man let his disappointment show, “I am not from here and have not stayed here long either. I don’t know where would be safer. Hedong City has a dugout though. I guess we will be safe as long as we manage to find the dugout nearby.”

“I know where it is!” A woman whose face was bloodied suddenly spoke.