The Great Cataclysm (Seeking Recommendations)

"Go for it!"

Aaron followed behind the two children; because he could not interfere with this world, he could only silently cheer them on.

The passage was not long, and soon, the two children emerged, clutching their bread.

This must have been the back of a bakery, but in their excitement, their movements became a bit too large, and they kicked a small wooden board, making a faint sound.

In an instant, the expressions of the little boy and the little girl turned deathly pale.

The little boy let out a howl—likely meaning something like "run"—and gave the girl a shove.

Behind them, that terrifying monster was already pursuing them madly, its tentacle-like arms growing wildly and piercing directly through the wooden boards.

Terror was breaking through the wall!

Aaron wanted to do something, but he had no way to act.

These two children alone could never survive under the hands of such a horrific monster!

Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from the side!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Accompanied by the thunderous sound, several flying stones smashed into the monster, drawing away its attention.

A female scavenger with a nimble figure, much like a female leopard, had already approached rapidly, pulled up the two children, and retreated at high speed.

Clearly, the loud noise nearby was merely a decoy.

"Very good... It seems the people of this world are not all insane, and biologically, they do not seem to be much different from humans..."

Aaron followed behind the woman, carefully observing her.

The woman was very young, likely only in her twenties, wearing sturdy, durable clothing that was somewhat dirty on the surface, much like any other scavenger.

She had Germanic-style blonde hair and blue eyes, a tall stature, and a robust physique; her bronze-toned facial contours were filled with a resolute expression as she ran without saying a word.

In her movements and leaps, her footsteps were very light, making almost no sound, as if she had undergone specialized training.

Although she was grabbing a large and a small child, her expression showed no sign of strain, and she soon ran out of the city and arrived at a human encampment.

This was a mill built by a river, now completely transformed through militarization, featuring thorny iron fences with dark, fleshy remains still clinging to the railings.

Inside the structure, several people emerged, weapons in hand and faces full of vigilance, only breaking into smiles when they saw the woman.

"Very good, a gathering point."

Aaron followed them into the building and found that it was not large, housing only about twenty people, but the supply reserves were quite abundant, so he immediately decided to stay and slowly learn their language and writing.

In any case, for them, the addition of an invisible ghost did not matter at all.

Soon, Aaron saw the woman arguing with her companions on behalf of the two children.

After all, in this apocalyptic world, adding two burdens was no easy matter.

Fortunately, the outcome was good, and the two children were eventually accepted.

The scavenger woman from earlier took a can—which appeared to be canned meat—handed it to the two children, and said something in a soft voice.

After the two children finished eating, she even took out a book and began pointing at the contents, reading them slowly.

To Aaron's pleasant surprise, the woman had not forgotten about education even under these circumstances; she was likely teaching the two children how to read!

How fast can one learn a language?

Aaron knew that some geniuses who defied common sense might be able to self-teach a local lingua franca just by sitting on a plane before landing.

And he, effectively a genius with controllable hyperthymesia, took ten days!

This was not due to a lack of learning ability, but entirely because he could only obtain knowledge passively, which dragged down his speed of progress.

Relying on his eidetic memory, the conversations of the people at the gathering point, and most importantly, the lessons of the two children, Aaron was finally able to understand the language of this other world and generally read their writing.

At the same time, he also learned the name of the scavenger woman—Xiu!

As for the two children, the older one was called Aike, and the younger one was Lin.

The technology of this world was clearly more advanced than the Green Forest; at the very least, Aaron had seen flintlock guns used for defense.

And during these days, the word Aaron heard most often was—"The Cataclysm"!

This was the term used by the humans of this other world for the solar disaster and the series of consequences it brought.

On this day.

Outside the perimeter of the mill, the sound of trap bells ringing echoed.

The group hurriedly grabbed their firelocks, aiming them in the direction where the trap had been triggered.

Even Aike gripped a small knife in his hand, firmly shielding his sister behind him.

From the direction of the bells, a figure quickly emerged.

"Auntie Xiu!"

Lin cheered, and Aike also lowered his weapon, but his expression changed the next moment, because there was a wound on Xiu's arm that was continuously oozing blood.

"She's injured, she needs treatment!"

A woman in her forties among the survivors shouted.

"No... Xiu! You can't come any closer."

A man raised his gun: "Heaven knows if your wound will get infected, or if you'll turn into one of those monsters? A normal hunter wouldn't trigger their own traps! Yet you let those bells ring... have you already lost control of yourself?"

Xiu stopped outside the mill, a helpless smile appearing on her face: "My mind is still clear enough; I shouldn't go insane immediately. To be safe, I will stay outside the mill!"

After she finished speaking, she stopped and sat down against the wall of the mill to rest: "Sorry... I ran into a very dangerous monster and didn't bring back any food."

Aike remained silent, then suddenly stepped forward and took out bandages to dress Xiu's wounds.

Xiu wore a smile on her face as she pinched Lin's cheek.

"How could they be like this?" Aike felt saddened for Xiu, knowing that most of the food in the shelter had been obtained by her.

"Don't blame them. Ever since the Great Cataclysm, everyone has gone mad!"

Xiu lit a filterless cigarette and took a slow drag, her tone heavy: "Yes... actually, we are all madmen too, just potential ones. Everyone's level of madness is different. The maddest ones mutated into monsters right from the start, while the less mad ones become cruel, bloodthirsty, cold, indifferent, and insane... A small portion of survivors are better off, only suffering from increased anxiety, compulsions, tension, and paranoia... But we still have the potential to fall into the abyss and transform into monsters—whenever we are injured, infected, or emotionally overwhelmed. Therefore, caution and care will be your rules for survival from now on... Also, don't trust others easily!"

She was imparting her experience for surviving the apocalypse, her voice growing lower and lower.

Aike's eyes were filled with tears, but he held them back, refusing to let them fall.

Over the next few days, Xiu's condition remained decent; at the very least, she did not turn into a monster, nor did her wound become infected.

But at the same time, there was bad news: the monsters in the nearby Saro Port had become stronger and more agile.

After Xiu, several more waves of scavengers met with misfortune, and one team didn't even make it back at all!

Heavy, dark clouds pressed down upon the heads of every survivor.