Epoch of Twilight

"I wonder how the giant lizard and King Kong are doing." Luo Yuan was clearly worried. "I hope they survive." He thought to himself.

After breakfast, Luo Yuan took his Zhanmadao and pulled it out from its sheath. He felt as though his skin was being poked by needles. Perhaps, it was because he has been influencing it with his will and it could also be because he turned his saber into a weapon which is as powerful as a beast. Usually, it was difficult for insects to go near to it but now even dust would not fall on it as well.

Wu Xiaoxiao looked at it for a second and felt scared. Since the incident from yesterday, she tended to keep a safe distance from Luo Yuan and that made Sun Youde feel relieved. Luo Yuan wiped the blade with his palm and then inserted it back into its sheath again. He felt calmer now.

Right before noon, the environment in the shelter became panic-stricken as many of the soldiers retreated from the front line and returned to the refuge. Many of the medical crew members were deployed under the announcement from the authorities through the speakers. The situation outside the shelter was getting worse - a second and third batch of injured soldiers were sent back. The severity of the injuries was getting worse as well. Basement one was soon fully occupied and by that evening, basement two was cleared and converted into a military ward.

The atmosphere was filled with the smell of antiseptic and there were many people wearing protective suits spraying antibacterial solution at every single corner of the ward including the blankets and tableware.

The guarding soldiers of Desert City felt as though they were being attacked by huge armies. Many of them were on duty near the hospital and were fully armored. They could constantly hear firing sounds along with screaming and moaning from the victims.

The powers of these mutated beasts were strange and some were very poisonous which could infect genes and spread viruses. It would certainly not be a minor injury if you get hurt. Parasite infections, mutations, and infections were very common among wounded soldiers and fortunately, the rehabilitation base has learned its lesson from previous encounters and now have a better management system.

Luo Yuan could not stand the strong smell of antiseptic so he walked out of his room. Unfortunately, the corridor area was now almost as bad as the inside of his room which did not make things better. Suddenly, the door from the opposite room was opened and a well-built man who was about two meters tall walked out from the room.

Luo Yuan naturally looked at him and the guy smiled and took out a packet of cigarettes. He was offering one to Luo Yuan but he proceeded to only light one cigarette and smoked alone after learning that Luo Yuan was not keen to accept. Based on Luo Yuan’s general observations, this man must have been an addict before and had not smoked for a long time as the entire cigarette was puffed away in just a matter of seconds.

Luo Yuan’s nose was sensitive enough to pick up his foul odor which could not be covered by the smell of antiseptic. He could not control his eyes and looked at the man again. It was apparent that the muscular man had not bathed for a very long time as he could see thick layers of dirt accumulated on his skin. Besides that, the clean clothes he was wearing could not really fit his body. Luo Yuan pondered and asked, "Hey friend! When did you move here?"

"This afternoon. I came with the soldiers!" The buff man smiled and said.

Luo Yuan felt something was wrong as the residents of Desert City should have moved in yesterday. He did not say anything but asked, "This afternoon? I’m just curious... are you a soldier?"

"You don’t think I look like a soldier, do you?" The buff man asked.

"Those who came here are injured but I don’t see any signs of injuries on you. And... yeah, you really don’t look like one." Luo Yuan smiled and said.

Luo Yuan got a little pissed off as there was hardly anyone who dared to be so cocky in front of him lately. Suddenly, a guy with a pair of spectacles came out from next door and glared at the buff man. He said in an unsatisfying tone, "What are you doing outside, Lao Xie? Come in!"

He then smiled to Luo Yuan and said, "I’m sorry, my buddy is very rude. Hope you don’t mind."

"Oh, it’s alright. It was nice to talk." Luo Yuan smiled and said.

Luo Yuan stopped smiling as he saw the two of them enter the room. Those people were up to no good and they both looked familiar to Luo Yuan. He must have seen them somewhere before.

...

"Lao Xie, you’re too careless! I’ve told you to be more careful. None of them are ordinary people here. Luckily, I let Peng Hui go out to find you, otherwise, the soldiers would have come." Su Yu said with an upset expression.

"I didn’t do anything, I was only trying to scare him." Lao Xie lowered his chin and muttered. He did not argue as he knew the scary power of that young chap, Su Yu. He was nothing compared to Su Yu, even though he had the strength of a giant.

"Threatened him? Damn it! Do you know what you are doing? You should know better that this is not the forest anymore. This is a rehabilitation base! We are yet to have the authority to do anything we want. Are you expecting Sister Mo to settle all our problems? Su Yu said sarcastically. An electrostatic field suddenly formed in the room as he got agitated. Sparks could be seen and heard from the room.

"I’m wrong, brother. I won’t repeat it again." Lao Xie quickly apologized as he could feel the pain of his hair being pulled due to the electrostatic force.

"Alright, alright. He did not mean it, Xiao Yu." Mo Qiwen said weakly. Her face was pale and her skin looked white as she just fell sick.

"Since Sister Mo helped you, I’ll let you go. But please don’t repeat the same mistake." The young guy felt sad for Sister Mo and became calmer.

Those people were actually the wanderers who were seen by Luo Yuan earlier. After entering the refuge, they realized it was very difficult for them to control the entire Desert City.

"I’ve walked around just now. The office of the municipal government was sealed tightly with a high level of security. There must be many evolved men inside. I was blocked before I could get any closer. It will be very difficult to enter unless we attack them." A guy who looked ordinary but had sharp eyes said.

"They are challenging us. The soldiers on guard duty would not ignore us and by the time the rehabilitation base is able to fight, Desert City might have already collapsed." Su Yu said with a very serious expression but then sighed. Based on his level of power, he could easily rule Desert City. He did not have to act so carefully or make any plans in fact.

"I can try again tomorrow. I think I’ll be fine tomorrow after resting." Mo Qiwen said.

"What you should do now is to rest and get well soon. We will see how things go. It’s not necessary to rush as we have time." Su Yu said. He would not let Sister Mo take the risk even if they are going to fail.

Although her hypnotization power is very effective, there were limits and restrictions to it. It would consume a lot of her energy to hypnotize someone or something. Moreover, the stronger the Will of that person, the more energy it would consume.

All the while, she has been hypnotizing seven or eight people simultaneously which has consumed almost all her energy. She was near to death but luckily for her, she managed to recover just before passing out.

Su Yu did not say anything but he was worried. Although they finally entered basement two after a few trial and errors, their illegal identity would be exposed in no time. By that time, he would have no choice but to get Mo Qiwen to use her powers.

He raised his chin but sighed in his heart. He wondered why ordinary people could not understand the fact that they were going to be extinct if they were against development and could not evolve or adapt. Although the current strategy did not sound morally right, he felt that it would lead to a brighter future later.