Beside the newsstand, space rippled and twisted violently like water. A purple-black vortex about twenty meters across suddenly appeared out of thin air, and a chaotic, bloodthirsty aura instantly spread through the area!
"Awwooo!!!"
With a low, hoarse growl, a dark shape shot out of the vortex like an arrow loosed from a bow.
It was a vicious monster that looked somewhat like a wolf, but was twice as large, with dark green scales and an exposed bony tail.
The moment it appeared, its murky, dark red eyes fixed on several passersby near the newsstand, who had also been frozen by the pressure just moments before.
Without pausing, it slammed its powerful hind legs into the ground and became a dark green blur of death, pouncing on a young woman who had just come out of the convenience store beside Hongfu Tower, a drink still in her hand.
"Ah!!"
Her despairing scream cut off after half a cry.
Squelch! Crack!
Its claws tore through flesh, its jaws snapped bone, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
The young woman's body was ripped apart like a rag doll, and the stench of blood exploded across the street.
"Ah!! What is that?"
"A monster! There's a monster!"
"Run!"
Screams and cries mingled with the blaring of car horns, shattering the brief calm. The street descended into chaos.
A second monster had already charged out of the nest. The moment it landed, it lunged at a middle-aged man who had collapsed in terror. Its sharp claws, dripping with green slime, came at the man's neck in a gust of foul air.
The people near the windows in the Banquet Hall stared blankly at the scene. Only now did they react, letting out terrified screams.
"Monsters! There are monsters outside!"
"They're eating people!"
"Call the police! Hurry!"
Panic spread like a plague, and the once-festive banquet hall erupted into chaos!
"Roar!"
"Awwooo!"
More terrifying monsters poured endlessly from the black-purple opening like floodwaters bursting through a dam, attacking pedestrians and vehicles on the street.
Screams and sobs echoed through the sky. From the First Floor Hall of Hongfu Tower came the sickening crash of shattering glass and screams of utter chaos.
It was obvious that a monster had smashed through the entrance and charged inside.
Lin Yi stared fixedly out the window at the hellish scene.
He knew what those monsters were.
Corrosive Abyss Wolves.
A type of low-level Abyssal Beast, they were the most basic units in a Miniature Nest. Later on, they would be utterly unremarkable cannon fodder, but in the early days of the apocalypse, they were responsible for the greatest number of deaths.
Nearly half of the friends and relatives he had specially invited had been killed by Abyssal Wolves in his previous life.
Lin Yi whipped around and looked at his parents and relatives, who were in disarray behind him. At last, his gaze locked onto the banquet hall's entrance.
From that direction, he could already hear the Abyssal Wolves' howls and the dying screams of people downstairs. The sounds were drawing closer.
"Xiao Meng! Xiao Meng is still outside!"
A scream choked with tears tore through the chaos in the banquet hall.
Lin Yi abruptly turned his head. His aunt-in-law was deathly pale, pointing with a trembling finger at the closed doors. "She... she said she was going to the restroom. She hasn't come back!"
Xiao Meng!
Lin Yi's heart sank.
He remembered that, just before the Staff Techniques demonstration began, he had indeed caught sight of his cousin Zhou Mengmeng quietly slipping out the door from the corner of his eye.
But he had been about to go onstage and give a speech, so he couldn't stop her.
He had figured that, given Xiao Meng's age, his aunt-in-law would only let her go out alone if she were heading to the restroom. The restroom was at the end of the corridor, so there should have been plenty of time.
But she still hadn't come back.
Only now did Lin Yi realize that he had fallen into a blind spot in his thinking. He had overlooked the fact that women had it less convenient in this regard. Worse, he had forgotten that the women's restroom was likely to have a line during the lunchtime rush at a hotel.
In his previous life, Xiao Meng had been back in the countryside for the holidays and had been lucky enough to escape the slaughter at the start. But today... Could his "graduation banquet," which he had planned to keep everyone safe, have pushed her straight into the abyss instead?
No!
He had to act at once!
Lin Yi forced down his churning emotions. He knew there was no time for regret.
His original plan had been to go out and save people, posing as a hot-blooded young man. Going to rescue his own cousin was even more reasonable.
But before he could move, he saw his uncle grab a chair. Eyes bloodshot, he was about to charge toward the door.
"Uncle!!!"
Lin Yi immediately shouted. He jumped off the stage and rushed over to Zhou Jianjun, stopping him in his tracks.
"Uncle, I'll go!"
Lin Yi didn't give his uncle a chance to speak and hurriedly continued:
"Those aren't wild animals. They're monsters! You don't have a weapon or any protection. If you charge out, you'll be throwing your life away!"
Zhou Jianjun paused at his words, but his fists clenched with a crackle, and he still struggled to push forward.
"I have armor! And a staff!"
"There's no time to waste!"
Lin Yi practically growled the words. The increasingly clear roars of monsters and dying screams from downstairs made every word ring true.
"Keep everyone safe here, Uncle!"
"Block the main entrance. Seal it completely! Leave only the side door open, and wait for me to come back."
Lin Yi put heavy emphasis on the words "keep everyone safe here."
"Keep everyone safe here..."
Zhou Jianjun repeated the words unconsciously. His bloodshot eyes stayed fixed on the door separating them from hell. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gripped the chair, but his hold began to loosen.
He took several heavy breaths, as though he had finally faced the cruel reality. Then he gave Lin Yi a strained nod and forced out a single word: "All right!"
This wasn't cowardice. As a veteran, Zhou Jianjun knew all too well that an armed and protected person was practically a different species from someone without weapons or protection.
Judging by the monsters' demonstrated power, charging out without protection meant certain death. Even if he reached his daughter, one monster on the way back would be enough to kill them both.
Staying here, securing a safe fallback point, and letting someone stronger go rescue his daughter was a cold choice, but the better one.
It took less than half a minute to restrain his uncle, but to Lin Yi, it felt immeasurably long.
His gaze swept across the room like lightning. His parents stood huddled together, faces deathly pale. His mother clutched his father's arm, her lips moving as if she wanted to stop her son from taking the risk, but his father held her firmly by the shoulder.
His aunt-in-law had slumped into a chair nearby, watching him through tear-filled eyes and mumbling something he couldn't make out.
Chen Yu and a few other classmates who were still more or less composed were shouting helplessly into their phones. "There are monsters killing people! Help! We're at Hongfu Tower... Hurry!"
Most of the other relatives and guests had already lost their heads, frantically dialing their phones.
Calling the police was the only way to seek help from outside.
Lin Yi took a deep breath. The air reeked so strongly of blood that he could almost taste it. It brought him no calm; instead, it seared his lungs.
Then he spun around. His brand-new Alloy Combat Boots thudded heavily against the smooth floor as he resolutely pulled open the doors to Fujin Hall and rushed out.
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