Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes

Beside the newsstand, as space twisted and rippled violently like water, a purple-black vortex roughly twenty meters in diameter suddenly appeared out of thin air, and a chaotic, bloodthirsty Aura instantly permeated the area!

"Awoo!!!"

Accompanied by a low, hoarse roar, a black shadow shot out from the vortex like an arrow released from a bow.

It was a hideous monster that looked somewhat like a wolf, but it was twice the size and possessed dark green scales and an exposed bony tail.

The moment it appeared, its murky, dark red eyes locked onto several passersby near the newsstand who had been frozen by the pressure just now.

Without the slightest hesitation, it kicked off the ground with its thick hind legs, transforming into a dark green blur of death as it lunged straight at a young girl who had just exited the convenience store next to Hongfu Tower, a drink still in her hand.

"Ah!!"

The shrill, desperate scream was cut off halfway.

Squelch! Crack!

As sharp claws tore through flesh and a giant maw snapped bones, blood gushed out like a fountain.

The girl's body was torn apart like a rag doll, and the thick stench of blood instantly exploded across the street.

"Ah!! What is that thing?"

"A monster! There's a monster!"

"Run!"

Screams, cries, and the frantic blaring of car horns instantly shattered the brief calm, and the street descended into chaos.

A second monster had already rushed out of the Miniature Nest by this time. The moment it landed, it lunged at a Middle-aged Man who had collapsed to the ground in terror, its sharp claws, still dripping with green slime, carrying a foul wind as they slashed viciously toward the man's neck.

People near the windows in the Banquet Hall stared blankly at this scene, only reacting at this very moment with terrified screams.

"Monster, there's a monster outside!"

"It's eating people!"

"Call the police! Hurry and call the police!"

In an instant, panic spread like a plague, and the once festive Banquet Hall erupted into total pandemonium!

"Roar!"

"Awoo!"

More terrifying monsters poured out of the purple-black hole like a breached dam, lunging at the pedestrians and vehicles on the street.

Screams and cries instantly pierced the sky, and the sound of glass shattering and heart-wrenching, chaotic screams drifted up from the First Floor Hall of Hongfu Tower.

Clearly, monsters had smashed through the main entrance and charged inside.

Lin Yi stared fixedly at the hellish scene outside the window.

He knew what these monsters were.

Corrosive Abyss Wolf.

A type of low-level Abyssal Beast, the most basic unit of a Miniature Nest; in the future, they would be nothing more than cannon fodder, but in the early days of the apocalypse, they were the primary culprits behind the most casualties.

Among the friends and family he had specifically gathered, nearly half had been killed by Abyss Wolves in his previous life.

Lin Yi turned his head abruptly, looking at his panicked relatives and parents behind him, his gaze finally locking onto the direction of the Banquet Hall doors.

From there, the sounds of Abyss Wolves roaring and humans screaming in their death throes were already faintly audible, and they were getting closer.

"Xiaomeng! Xiaomeng is still outside!"

A scream laced with sobbing suddenly tore through the chaos of the Banquet Hall.

Lin Yi whipped his head around to see his Aunt, her face as pale as paper, trembling as she pointed toward the closed Banquet Hall doors. "She... she said she was going to the restroom just now, and she hasn't come back yet!"

Xiaomeng!

Lin Yi's heart sank.

He remembered that just before the Staff Techniques performance began, he had indeed caught a glimpse of his cousin Zhou Mengmeng slipping out the door on tiptoe.

But he had been about to go on stage to speak and couldn't call out to stop her.

He had thought that at Xiaomeng's age, if his Aunt let her go out alone, it was ninety-nine percent certain she was going to the restroom, and since the restroom was at the end of the hall, there was plenty of time.

But she still hadn't returned.

Only now did Lin Yi realize he had fallen into a cognitive trap, ignoring the differences between men and women; in this regard, it was naturally less convenient for women, and he had forgotten that during the peak lunch hour at such a hotel, the women's restroom was prone to queues.

In his previous life, Xiaomeng had returned to the countryside for the holidays and luckily escaped this initial slaughterhouse, but today... could it be that because of this "Graduation Banquet" he held to protect everyone, he had instead pushed her into the abyss?

No!

He had to act immediately!

Lin Yi forcibly suppressed his churning emotions; he knew this was not the time for regret.

In his original plan, he had intended to pose as a hot-blooded youth to save people, so going to save his own cousin now was perfectly reasonable.

But before he could make a move, he saw his Uncle grab a chair, his eyes bloodshot, about to charge toward the door.

"Uncle!!!"

Lin Yi saw this and let out a sharp shout! He immediately jumped off the stage, rushed in front of his Uncle Zhou Jianjun, and blocked him firmly.

"Uncle, I'll go!"

Lin Yi didn't give his uncle a chance to speak, saying in quick succession:

"Those aren't wild beasts, they're monsters! You have no weapons and no protection; rushing out there is just suicide!"

Zhou Jianjun was slightly stunned at these words, but his fists were clenched so tightly they creaked, and he still struggled to push forward.

"I have armor! I have a club!"

"There's no time to waste!"

Lin Yi practically growled the words, and the increasingly clear roars of monsters and the screams of the dying from downstairs provided the most direct annotation for every word he spoke.

"Guard this place! Uncle!"

"Block the main entrance, seal it tight! Only leave the side door open, and wait for me to return."

Lin Yi emphasized the words "guard this place" with heavy weight.

"Guard this place..."

Zhou Jianjun repeated the phrase subconsciously. His bloodshot eyes were fixed firmly on the door that separated them from hell, and though the veins on the back of his hand gripping the chair bulged, his strength faltered.

He took a few heavy breaths, as if finally recognizing the cruel reality, and nodded with difficulty at Lin Yi, squeezing a single word from his throat: "Okay!"

This was not cowardice; with the insight of a veteran, Zhou Jianjun knew very well that a human with weapons and protection and one without were practically two different species.

Given the power those monsters had displayed, rushing out without protection meant that even if he managed to reach his daughter, the chances of dying on the way back if they encountered a monster were absolute.

Staying here to secure a safe retreat and letting the stronger person go to save his daughter was a cold choice, but it was the superior one.

Suppressing his uncle had taken less than half a minute, but to Lin Yi, it felt incredibly long.

His gaze swept across the room like lightning. His parents were huddled together, their faces deathly pale; his mother's hand was gripping his father's arm tightly, her lips trembling as if she wanted to stop her son from taking the risk, but his father pressed down firmly on her shoulder.

His Aunt was slumped in a chair nearby, tears streaming down her face as she looked at him, her mouth moving as if whispering something.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu and a few other classmates who were barely keeping their composure were still shouting futilely into their phones, "There are monsters killing people, help! At Hongfu Tower... hurry, come quickly!"

Most of the other relatives and guests had already lost their wits, and most were frantically dialing their phones.

Calling the police was the only way to seek help from the outside world at this moment.

Lin Yi took a deep breath. The air, thick with the scent of blood, brought him no calm; instead, it scorched his lungs.

Then, he turned abruptly, his brand-new Alloy Combat Boots landing heavily on the smooth floor, and without a second thought, he pulled open the doors of Fujin Hall and charged out.