Monsters Tonight

After his buddy left.

Meng Chao leaned against the rooftop railing alone, watching the sunset.

The alien world's star was larger and more vibrant than Earth's sun.

Clouds billowed, and the sky and city transformed into a red ocean.

Standing in the center of the red sea was a majestic tower.

The alloy, mixed with rare alien metals, greatly enhanced the building materials' ductility and compressive strength. The tower surpassed the limits of Earth's skyscrapers, as if piercing the firmament and reaching directly into the universe.

Countless glittering small points of light surrounded the tower, spiraling and flying, like bees swarming in and out of a hive.

Those were all Superhumans.

This towering building that stood out from the crowd was called "Superhuman Tower," the headquarters of the Superhuman Association.

Around the Superhuman Tower, buildings resembling a combination of pyramids and fortresses stood in rows.

All were as solid as gravity dams, capable of withstanding the impact of the most powerful monsters.

Between the tall buildings, countless small black dots were scaling walls and leaping over roofs.

They were all ordinary citizens just getting off work.

Due to scarce resources and tight space, Dragon City in this era had very few private cars and taxis.

Ordinary citizens were physically strong and agile, and running long distances wasn't much slower than taking the bus stop by stop.

There were also "Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gears" that mimicked monster limbs, manufactured using bionic principles.

When worn, they were extremely elastic and could also spray gas, allowing one to jump a dozen or twenty meters with a light leap, reaching speeds of forty or fifty kilometers per hour.

In the distance, there were "Giant Sandworms" domesticated by humans, arching and undulating, spewing rocks like tunnel boring machines, constructing Subway Line No. 12.

Further away, the edge of the city was shrouded in mist.

Like a towering gray wall blocking out the sky and sun, it completely blocked everything from the outside world.

In the past, Meng Chao didn't like the mist.

He felt that the mist sealed Dragon City, preventing earthlings from expanding outward and wreaking havoc.

He also didn't quite like the city before him.

Dragon City's buildings were too dense, the streets too crowded, the pressure to cultivate was too great, and he couldn't see real mountains and seas, which always made him feel a little stifled.

Like all teenagers, he had secretly read too many books and watched too many movies about Earth.

His dreams were filled with that world of blue skies and white clouds, fresh air, tranquility, and carefree people.

Everything on Earth.

Mountains, oceans, farmland, great rivers.

Middle school students only had two physical education classes per week, but dozens of language and mathematics classes.

The adults only need to work eight hours a day, five days a week, to earn big money, live in big houses, often go on vacation, and eat pure natural, green, pollution-free, and non-GMO delicacies.

It's as wonderful as paradise.

Until, in a nightmare, he saw the real Other World after the mist dissipated.

Saw the Superhuman Tower and the entire city reduced to ashes in the blossoming of meteor fire.

Only then did Meng Chao realize how lovely everything before him was.

His eyes unconsciously grew hot.

Earth is the homeland he can't return to.

The nightmare is the tomorrow that hasn't arrived yet.

What's before him is the only home.

Facing the unclear future and the impending crisis, he was nervous, excited, impulsive, and also a little confused.

Just then—

[The Wild Bull Technique is spreading among ordinary citizens, the overall combat power of Dragon City has been improved, Contribution Points +1, +3, +2...]

The strange fire in front of him flickered, and a series of Contribution Points made him surprised and delighted.

"It's Fatty Xiong, who is hosting a study group.

"It seems that even if I don't personally guide them, but it spreads indirectly, it still contributes to me.

"Although the Contribution Points are much less than personally guiding them, but little by little, as more and more citizens become stronger, I will continue to become stronger, and we will definitely be able to survive in the Other World."

In an instant.

Meng Chao felt that his back didn't ache, his legs didn't hurt, his memory became clearer, and his vision and hearing had slightly improved.

Even the bright red school badge on his chest became more vivid.

Contribution Points rose to 39.

"It feels so good to contribute!" Meng Chao thought happily.

At this moment, the roar of propellers came from the sky.

Dozens of armored airships tore through the sea of clouds, like a majestic fleet, splitting waves and surging down.

Lacking aviation fuel, and crystal engines being too bulky, coupled with Dragon City being shrouded in mist, the cruising altitude and range are quite limited, and supersonic fighters have long been sealed in underground armories.

Now Dragon City's aerial power is mainly clumsy, slow, but fiercely armed armored airships.

Crystal stones are crushed, and Spirit Energy surges, driving three rows of six propellers to rotate at high speed.

The released Spirit Energy happens to fill the huge airbags, maintaining the buoyancy of these behemoths.

There is also Spirit Energy leaking from the gaps in the airbags, making a "hissing" sound, making the armored airships look like steel gods and demons riding the clouds.

The armored airships lowered their loudspeakers and announced to the entire city:

"Attention all citizens, the latest news from the Municipal Meteorological Bureau, mist will strike tonight, and monsters will break into the urban area.

"Monster's main area of appearance is predicted to be around the steel factory in the north of the city.

"The Survival Committee has issued Order No. 93 of the New Era 55, ordering Dragon Steel Group to immediately enter Level 1 combat readiness, Nine Sands District and Riverfront District to enter Level 2 combat readiness, and the remaining areas to enter Level 3 combat readiness. All citizens are requested to strictly abide by the regulations, be vigilant, and prepare to defend against the enemy.

"Always remember, we are the Earth's expeditionary force, the Earth is with us, Dragon City will win!"

The weather forecast is an order.

Immediately, whether inside or outside the campus, or on the streets, the pace of students, workers, and white-collar workers accelerated.

"Monsters attacking the city tonight?" Meng Chao's heart shuddered.

He hurriedly slung his schoolbag behind him, took three steps in two, whirled downstairs, left the school gate, and rushed to the bus stop.

Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear is too fast and jumps too high, making it easy for accidents to happen. Purchasing and wearing it requires certification.

Meng Chao is still two months away from being eighteen years old and is not qualified to take the "Three-Dimensional Traffic License", so he can only honestly take the bus.

With the monster attack, the city's operating efficiency has increased a lot in an instant, and the bus arrived quickly.

The buses of this era are also Spirit Energy-driven, carrying a huge crystal engine on their backs, like a hunchback, and are also called "Turtle Cars".

It also "woo woo" sprays Spirit Energy, like an ancient steam train entering the station.

The fuel for the bus is the worst low-grade crystal stone, which is rich in impurities and does not react sufficiently. The sprayed Spirit Energy has a garlic smell and is a bit spicy to the eyes.

The passengers on the platform all coughed.

"Dad, Mom, little sister!"

Meng Chao rubbed his eyes and couldn't wait to squeeze onto the bus.

Tianfu Garden is a public rental housing community commonly seen in the old city.

The monster war has been fought for thirty years, and a large number of buildings that crossed over from Earth have been destroyed.

The Survival Committee, imitating war fortresses, built a large number of indestructible new residences.

The most important thing is defense, and as a trade-off, comfort is second.

The main apartment type in Tianfu Garden is a two-bedroom and one-living room of sixty square meters, which sounds okay, but in this era, residential and office buildings must reserve a lot of space to set up machine guns, anti-aircraft artillery positions, and shelters.

The thickness of the walls is also three times that of the past, and every wall is a load-bearing wall.

Therefore, the shared area has reached more than twice that of the Earth era.

The usable area is at most thirty square meters, and each room is as small as a sparrow cage.

In order to protect the city and develop the alien world, the Survival Committee encourages childbirth. While the population has exploded, the community facilities have aged, illegal buildings have appeared one after another, and the environment has become even worse.

Sewage flows, stench overflows, long-term disrepair of the pipeline leaks, Spirit Energy "squeaks", like installing a hundred steam whistles.

Residents are also reluctant to buy high-grade crystal stones as household fuel, and they all use cheap goods of the same grade as buses, with too many impurities and too much smell. The entire community is immersed in colorful Spirit Energy all day long, like a barbecue street.

In addition, the armor on the outer walls of the residential buildings has been mottled by monster acid, making it even more cluttered and bizarre.

The residents here want to move out of Tianfu Garden all the time.

The adults, when they had nothing better to do, liked to lecture their own children: "Why aren't you cultivating properly? All you do all day is memorize Tang poems and Song lyrics. What good is that stuff? When will you ever get into an Undergraduate program, become a Superhuman, and live in a 120-square-meter apartment complex? Our family's ancestral grave back on Earth will be smoking with pride!"

Meng Chao stood at the entrance of the vegetable market next to the residential area, without a hint of complaint, only warm memories.

"Finally, I'm home!"

He heard familiar and friendly voices coming from the vegetable market:

"Sand Snail Meat, freshly caught from the river, look, it's still biting!"

"Fresh Sword Halberd Demon Pig Liver, buy some for your child, and they'll get 100 on every exam, and every punch will kill a monster. Uncle, won't you take a piece?"

"Why is the Ironclad Rhino Beef still so expensive today? Little Si, don't you try to fool me. The news said that the army just raided an Ironclad Rhino den and took down at least several thousand tons of beef. It should be cheaper!"

"Jade Fruit, a newly cultivated Jade Fruit from the gene farm, even tastier than the peaches back on Earth, juicy and sweet with every bite, no charge if it's not ripe or sweet!"

Hustle and bustle, the essence of human life.

Meng Chao smiled.

He greedily inhaled the aroma wafting from the cooked food stalls, passed through the vegetable market, and walked into Tianfu Garden.