Chapter Eighteen: The Layout of the Small Town

Shen Lie’s words only deepened the tattooed youth’s conviction that Shen Lie was a survivor who had been living across the river all along—perhaps even one of the fortunate few who had awakened supernatural abilities. The idea grew stronger in his mind, and he spoke without reservation: “The medicinal herb base to the north of town is shrouded in red mist; you can’t get close. This mushroom field might be on the edge, but for some reason, a flock of mutated crows has appeared there. They don’t bother ordinary people much, but if an awakened approaches, the crows attack like mad. Two awakened have already died there. The rest are too scared to risk it themselves, but they monopolize supplies and force us ordinary folks to take all the risks.” He ground his teeth in anger as he spoke of the monopoly, evidently having suffered no small amount of exploitation at the hands of those so-called awakened. The others wore similar expressions, and Shen Lie could easily imagine the state of the town.

“Tell me about what’s happening in town,” Shen Lie said, picking up the discarded pistol. He didn’t touch the box of mushrooms; after three months of life-and-death struggles, caution was etched into his bones. Unknown items were best left alone.

The tattooed youth didn’t react to Shen Lie’s caution. He set the box on the ground, took out a mushroom to sniff, then put it back before beginning to recount the town’s situation.

Half an hour later, Shen Lie emerged from the woods along the riverbank, his backpack slung over his shoulders and a group of ten following him, including the tattooed youth—whose right pinky finger was now missing its tip, blood dripping unbandaged.

In the end, Shen Lie hadn’t harmed any of them. After learning about the town’s circumstances, he realized it would be difficult to survive alone. Besides, the entire area was encircled by red mist from the herb fields, making escape nearly impossible for the time being. So when the tattooed youth and the others proposed that he, as an awakened, become their leader and form a temporary group, he accepted without resistance.

The tattooed youth was decisive—after yielding his position as group leader, he immediately chopped off a segment of his pinky with a kitchen knife as an apology for his earlier rudeness. Shen Lie only smiled, saying little, but his wariness of the youth deepened; anyone so ruthless to himself would surely be even harsher to others.

Through their half-hour exchange, Shen Lie finally pieced together the town’s current state. There were four so-called awakened in the town—people who had mutated after the apocalypse began. At first, there had been six, two of whom were soldiers sent by the military to aid in evacuation. These two, upon discovering the power of the phantom mushrooms, had recklessly tried to harvest them from the herb fields, only to be killed by the mutated crows.

Humanity never forgets its lust for power—it’s in our nature.

After the initial panic of the apocalypse faded, with order collapsed and minds twisted by trauma, those with some measure of power began to bully the weak, seeking perverse satisfaction in their newfound dominance. Especially after discovering that the town was ringed by red mist and the monstrous spiders couldn’t cross the “Red River,” the worst aspects of human nature exploded forth.

Robbery, rape, murder—crimes once rare became everyday occurrences, with no enforcers left to suppress them. The town’s only police station was on the far side of the bridge; when disaster struck, the spiders attacked first, wiping out all the police. Only a single auxiliary officer escaped, his whereabouts now unknown.

Because evacuation here was late, nearly everyone from the town was trapped inside except for a handful who left early—the rest were penned in by the red mist outside.

Dongfeng Town was a large settlement. According to the tattooed youth, there had originally been over ten thousand survivors. When the spiders arrived, tragedy struck: over a thousand people were killed in a single day, feeding a dozen spiders for several days.

Fortunately, a squad of military district soldiers was present to organize the retreat. Armed and supported by some brave locals, they held off the monsters briefly. After losing half the soldiers and countless young men, they discovered the spiders came from the south side of the bridge—and also found the “Red River.” Everyone fled north, blew the bridge with explosives, and—after more deaths—managed to kill the two spiders that made it across, stabilizing the situation.

Even with the soldiers’ help, survival should have been impossible for so many. But in the panic, four people suddenly mutated, awakening supernatural powers and playing a critical role in the battle. Two were from the soldiers—a lieutenant and a private; the other two were ordinary townsfolk. After the survivors gathered north of the bridge, the lieutenant remained in charge, and order was tenuously preserved.

But after the two awakened officers died in the herb field’s mist, everything changed. The two civilian awakened refused to accept control from “ordinary people.” They seized command from the remaining soldiers and began to rule over the survivors as tyrants.

Soon, the two split over self-interest, forming rival factions. When two more people awakened, the situation became even more complex: each of the four awakened gathered close friends and family to their banner, forming four “armed groups.” The remaining soldiers, relying on their firearms, rallied unaffiliated residents to form the only group without an awakened member. Incredibly, after three months of chaos and adjustment, the northern half of the town had split into five competing factions.

A fragile balance emerged. Thanks to the Red River barrier, no new spider monsters appeared in the north, so despite the growing food shortage, life remained relatively stable for two months. Apart from the bullying of those in power, people managed to avoid starvation.

But everything changed a month ago.

Although Dongfeng Town specialized in medicinal crops, there were also some cornfields and a grain storage facility. Not large, but it held a substantial amount of food and was conveniently located in the north, making it the main source of rations for the survivors and the linchpin of the town’s fragile peace.

Then, a month ago, for unknown reasons, every last grain in the granary suddenly turned moldy and rotten overnight—hundreds of tons of corn rendered worthless.

The news plunged the entire town into despair. With six or seven thousand survivors remaining, daily consumption was enormous. While the granary lasted, people coped. But once it was gone, what would feed all those mouths?

No food meant theft and murder, meant hunger and death. That’s exactly what happened—the day after the granary spoiled, the five factions erupted into a brutal scramble for whatever edible goods remained in the north, emptying it in a frenzy. The survivor count plummeted by one or two thousand overnight.

The incident had another effect: each faction’s leaders began strictly rationing supplies. To eat, one had to make contributions—like gathering phantom mushrooms, which could enhance the abilities of the awakened.

The choice was starvation or risking one’s life. Women could even sell themselves—provided they were young and pretty enough, and someone wanted them. In this precarious world, the old, the young, and women were the most vulnerable. Dongfeng Town was a microcosm of the world at large; Shen Lie was sure other places were much the same.

Shen Lie now understood why the tattooed youth had switched from arrogance to deference the moment he saw Shen Lie’s golden hands. Power was one reason; the other was the youth’s desire to ride Shen Lie’s coattails to a better life. An awakened meant a new faction—and as a founding member, he’d never have to risk his life for scraps again.

To that end, the youth had even presented the phantom mushroom as a gift, and the others hadn’t objected. Shen Lie respected the youth’s decisiveness and leadership abilities.

But Shen Lie had no intention of ruling a corner of this place. He knew all too well the terror of those otherworldly monsters. There weren’t just spiders in the rift—there was that monstrous white worm, too, which had appeared in this very area.

If that creature emerged, a tiny Red River, or even the combined might of the whole town, would be nothing against a single breath from it.

Even if the worm never appeared, the spider numbers were growing. Who could say if the Red River would always hold them back? At the very least, the white spider might have its own way across.

And now that a mutated black cat had appeared, there was no guarantee other creatures hadn’t changed as well. If a flying beast evolved, every defense would be meaningless. Staying here and waiting for death was no option; once he had learned enough, he would have to leave for a bigger settlement like Yang City.

“Li Cheng, let’s stop by your place first before we decide our next move,” Shen Lie said, his pace steady as he issued orders to the tattooed youth.