Falling from the Sky

"Mill, how long has it been?"

"Miss, it will take about two days."

In the flickering firelight of the mine, Vivian was talking to Mill.

These past two days have not been the period after they were trapped underground following the earthquake.

Rather, it was the time when they most recently escaped their attackers!

The soldiers of the Forest City and the local residents of the mine have been in the dark underground for a long time.

Food supplies are almost exhausted.

They weren't without ideas of how to survive.

But after blocking the road that day, the monster in the darkness did not give up its pursuit of the people. Instead, it continued to search for and hunt them down in the mine tunnels.

The two sides are vastly different in strength.

Vivian tried to carve a path through the weak Mine 2.

But each time they couldn't dig very deep, the monsters would quickly arrive, ending their self-rescue efforts and driving them away to other places.

The two sides continued their chase.

In the darkness, the will of the mind gradually approaches its limit, and the sense of time becomes blurred.

On the contrary, the food prepared at the beginning became their yardstick for calculating time under extreme conditions.

Two days.

"Last time we dug down about half a meter in the mine tunnel, it should be... it should be..."

Vivian wanted to organize her thoughts.

Even in dire straits, she still did not intend to give up.

So these past few days, besides using the terrain to deal with those monsters, she would return to Mine Tunnel No. 2 whenever she had time, and dig outwards from the weak points, gradually shortening the distance between them and the outside world.

But by this point, her young body was no longer able to sustain such a workload.

I only thought about it briefly before I started to feel drowsy.

"Miss Vivian, why don't you rest for a while?"

At this moment, Mill, who cared most about Vivian, spoke up.

Seeing the child's appearance, he felt extremely sorry for him and began to offer his advice directly:

"We all know how to handle the events during this period, but you've really been working too hard!"

In the past, Vivian would have definitely refused outright.

But after this period of torment underground, her spirit had become completely numb.

When Mill spoke, it was as if a club had hit her on the back of the head.

The girl leaned forward, and before falling into a deep sleep, or rather, a coma, she could only murmur:

"Mill, you must, you absolutely must protect everyone."

"We need to go out."

"..."

Mill held the limp Vivian in his arms.

He and Red Stone exchanged a glance, their emotions clearly conveyed.

One of them was an awakened member of the team, and the other was an elite member trusted by Vivian. Their shared escape through life and death had long since fostered a tacit understanding between them.

They then looked at the nearby lines.

The long ordeal has made it impossible for people to distinguish one another.

Excluding the wounded, Forest City and the Mine City residents have lost about one-third of their population, resulting in devastating losses.

Red Stone sighed:

"Now it's up to us."

Mill also said with a bitter smile:

"Let's stick to the old way."

"But speaking of which, what exactly are those monsters?"

"We've been making the most of every minute, but it seems like they never need a break, and they manage to catch up with us every so often?"

Red Stone replied with a bitter smile:

"If I had known about this kind of thing, I would never have chosen to live here!"

"..."

"..."

Vivian awoke from her long coma.

When she woke up, she felt thirsty and hungry.

At the same time, some long-forgotten memories also resurfaced in my mind.

Those were memories from after the attack on the Yarrow Camp, when her life was constantly drained by the Awakened's techniques, and then she was pinned underground, left only to face darkness and despair.

But then, a figure began to emerge, pushing aside the ruins and letting the sunlight shine on her face again.

"..."

"No, we must not give up hope."

Vivian struggled to open her eyes.

The torchlight illuminated her surroundings, making her realize where she was.

This is the Mine 2, the closest to the surface, and also where they dig.

It's just different from what I remember.

The people nearby were drowsy, and only from the direction of the tunnel excavation could one hear a few intermittent knocking sounds.

"Well..."

Vivian struggled to get up.

As she was about to speak, her gaze turned to the darkness in the distance.

The young girl's hair stood on end, and the cold sweat brought her fully awake.

Because in the pitch-black tunnel, unnoticed by anyone, twisted figures were approaching from within.

It's those monsters!

Due to excessive fatigue, no one is reacting at the moment.

Instead, the monster in the darkness remained patient and did not attack immediately, but gradually surrounded them.

At this point, the escape route dug behind them became the only way out for them to die!

"..."

"Everyone, wake up! The enemy! The enemy is coming!"

Vivian called out to the people in a hoarse voice.

Red Stone and Mill's elite forces arrived immediately and went into battle.

But for most people, the only expression on their faces was despair, or even a sense of relief.

Most people choose to silently accept their fate.

"You..."

Vivian looked around, wanting to encourage people, but unsure how to awaken their will to live from despair.

Or even if they are awakened, where can they escape to now?

Click—

At this final, desperate moment.

The tunnel, which they hadn't been able to penetrate, suddenly had a section of its roof collapse.

Moreover, the way the road opens up is different; a perfectly square block extends down from the wall above.

"..."

The light from the outside world illuminates the darkness.

People who had become accustomed to the light of torches were so stimulated by the sunlight that they couldn't even open their eyes for a moment.

But the soldiers from the Banyan Forest still understood the current situation through this scene.

That's a phenomenon caused by the tools bestowed upon us by the Lord.

At the most desperate moment, reinforcements from the outside world arrived!

The square cave expanded rapidly in the next second.

But instead of the human reinforcements they had expected, they were met with some terrifying, grotesque insect monsters!

"Mutated Sheath Blade Insect!"

Vivian recognized the other person at a glance.

Looking at her other nervous companions, the girl quickly spoke up:

"Don't panic! These are members of the Insectoid Tribe, our allies!"

Amidst the girl's screams.

More Mutated Sheath Blade Insect continued to fall from the sky through the newly opened cave, directly blocking Vivian's path between her and her enemies.

The Mutated Sheath Blade Insect under the control of the Insect Nest are cold and ruthless.

Faced with the distorted monsters, they pounced without thinking. With their peak strength at the Third Stage, they would often shred their enemies to pieces with mantis-like hand strikes.

A few breaths.

These Mutated Sheath Blade Insect drove back the monsters, even chasing them into the darkness.

"..."

The leap from despair to hope was so sudden.

Even after regaining their sight, many people temporarily lost their ability to speak.

Just then, a human voice rang out from above the cave:

"Hey, how are you guys doing?"

"What's going on with these things? Someone must need treatment, right?"

As the shouts rang out, Linsey descended from the sky.

As he inquired about the situation with concern, he stepped on the corpse of one of the monsters, and his appraisal skill began to work.

[Corpse: The Invaders]

[The corpse of a monstrous creature, completely infected by the Corruption Poison, thus mutating.]

[Inedible, toxic, rotten flesh; almost no value.]