Chapter 70: Rescued?

What in this world is the most beautiful?

If you had asked Shen Lie before, he certainly would have hesitated and wavered, arguing that there were too many beautiful things to choose just one. But now, he would say without a second thought that the thing before his eyes was the absolute peak of beauty. No cliché about fish sinking or geese falling, or moons hiding and flowers blushing, could describe even a ten-thousandth of it. It was earth-shatteringly beautiful, a beauty so profound it stole the breath from his lungs.

Shen Lie stood rooted to the spot, his mind filled with praise, his eyes vacant. He allowed those iridescent rays of light to envelop him, a contented smile lingering on his face.

Loyal ministers die to serve their monarchs; devotees perish to return to the kingdom of God. For what was Shen Lie doing this? He did not know, and he did not care to know. He only felt that being able to wander through this beautiful world, even for a fleeting moment, made any sacrifice worthwhile.

Shen Lie’s body began to stretch, growing thin and elongated, yet he felt not a hint of pain. His smile remained, devoid of any instinct to resist.

His body stretched longer and longer; his head had already entered the thin tube atop the cluster of light, being swallowed bit by bit. In the next instant, Shen Lie would become nourishment for this light-entity, leaving not even a bone behind!

Just at this critical juncture, an arrow suddenly shot out from the fields to the side, flying toward the light-entity devouring Shen Lie. Whether due to the archer’s poor aim or sheer misfortune, the shot went slightly wide, grazing the outer edge of the entity and landing on the other side of the highway.

Yet, at that very moment, the strange mark on Shen Lie’s arm suddenly emitted a faint glow. As if the light-entity had swallowed something indigestible, it shuddered violently and then began to spit Shen Lie back out, bit by bit!

Neither Shen Lie nor the archer noticed the glowing mark. From the side, it truly appeared as if the arrow had simply startled the entity, saving Shen Lie’s life.

The moment he was spat out, Shen Lie’s senses returned. Without hesitation, he channeled his star power. The black spear flashed with a halo of light and plunged straight into the entity.

The power of his star power remained as fierce as ever. The entity, which had previously been impossible to deal with, turned flickering and unstable upon being struck. After holding on for a mere two or three seconds, it burst with a loud bang, dissolving into a scattering of light particles amidst a piercing shriek!

Having scored a hit, Shen Lie pressed his attack. He wielded the black spear like a flying sword, guiding it with his mind as it wove through the sea of light-entities. In one breath, he shattered over twenty of them, terrifying the remaining entities into screeching and scattering in a trembling frenzy.

With nearly a third of his star power exhausted, Shen Lie finally ceased his assault. He stowed the spear and steered his motorcycle off the highway. Although his black spear could suppress these entities, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Moreover, the memory of being bewitched by the peacock-like display of light left him shaken; he dared not force his way through again.

"Hey, what is wrong with you? I saved your life, and you just walk away without a word?"

As Shen Lie rode his motorcycle into the fields, he had overshot a bit before coming to a stop. No sooner had he stood up than he heard a hostile demand from behind.

Shen Lie hadn't known what had brought him back to his senses. He had assumed he had naturally broken free from the trance, but it seemed he had actually been saved by someone.

Understanding the principle of repaying kindness, Shen Lie turned around immediately, keeping a wary eye on the distant, lingering entities while searching for the source of the voice.

"What are you looking at? Over here!"

Shen Lie scanned the area but saw no one. Finally, he heard the voice coming from beneath some lush, tall crops.

"Ah, you... are you injured?" Shen Lie walked over and saw a woman lying half-reclined on the ground. One of her legs seemed to have a dislocated joint, twisted awkwardly to the side. Her face was pale, and she was clutching a bow in one hand.

But none of this was what shocked Shen Lie. What startled him was that the woman was left with nothing but a pair of panties; everything else was gone. Even the panties had slipped down, faintly revealing the wild grass underneath.

"Cough, cough. Is there anything I can help you with?" The situation was slightly awkward, but Shen Lie was no naive boy. He had no intention of averting his eyes, and his gaze remained fixed on her.

This wasn't because Shen Lie was lecherous, but because in this apocalyptic world, there was no such thing as trust. He couldn't guarantee that if he turned his head, she wouldn't put an arrow through him.

"My clothes are over there," the woman said, showing no shyness at his observation. She pulled up her panties naturally and tossed the bow aside.

Shen Lie looked where she indicated and found a ragged dress bundled into a ball in the grass. He walked over, picked it up, and threw it to her. Once she had put it on, she struggled twice before finally standing up, though she still dared not put much weight on her injured leg, standing unsteadily.

"Can you walk?" Since she had saved his life, Shen Lie could not abandon her. If he left, those light-entities would surely return, and she would certainly die.

"What do you think?" The woman gave him an annoyed glare.

"Get on the bike. This place isn't safe." Shen Lie scanned the surroundings again. It was bright daylight now, and the entities were less radiant, though they could still be seen flickering in the distance.

Shen Lie let the woman sit in front of him on the motorcycle and began to navigate through the wild fields. He took only small, winding paths; though it was a detour, he was still moving in the direction of Yang City. He planned to find a small town, drop the woman off, and then proceed to Yang City to assess the situation.

"Hey, hey, where are you going? We're going the wrong way!?" As they traveled, the woman suddenly felt something was wrong. It seemed this was the very path she had taken while fleeing; why were they heading back?

"No, this is the right direction," Shen Lie said, ignoring her skepticism. He had already bypassed three or four miles; a little further, and he would be past the cluster of light-monsters.

"Are you feverish? This is the road to Yang City! Don't you know it's full of monsters there? Did you not just escape from Yang City yourself?"

"What? You escaped here from Yang City?" Shen Lie slammed on the brakes and pulled the motorcycle over to the edge of a small grove, his expression intense.

"Wh-what? What are you doing?" Seeing his expression, the woman grew fearful and struggled to get off the bike.

"Tell me the situation. What is it like in Yang City now?" Upon learning she was a survivor who had fled from Yang City, Shen Lie was no longer in a rush. He let her off the bike and began to converse with her.

Through their exchange, Shen Lie finally gained some clarity. The woman had indeed escaped from Yang City, and only after the city had fallen.

According to her, after the city fell, the government had organized four large evacuation groups to break out in four directions. Because she lived in the northern part of the city, and the interior was in total chaos, she had no choice but to join the weakest group, which was attempting to break out to the north.

After Yang City was established as a survival base, the internal layout had been completely reorganized. Whether it was housing or survival supplies, everything was taken over by the military. Several survival zones were formed: the south was the most upscale, inhabited by leaders and military personnel, with wealthy merchants and prominent figures settling there after paying a price.

The worst was the north, where the lowest class of civilians lived. Only a handful of "Awakened" lived there, mostly those who chose not to leave because they wanted to lord over the commoners. Neither the security nor the living supplies could compare to the other districts.

Logically, in such a situation, the northern evacuation group should have suffered the most casualties. However, for some reason, after the flight began, most of the monsters were drawn toward the south, allowing their group to break out successfully. Although nearly half of them died, they were not entirely wiped out.