Epoch of Twilight

The first floor of the shelter was like a refugee camp. There were many tents in the big lobby, and the whole place was occupied by strange smells. It was very noisy, as people were talking, and children were crying and shouting, which was very annoying.

While the second floor was not that good either, it was slightly better than the basement, and it was like heaven compared to the first floor. There was a group of people sitting on the floor, some meditating and others talking softly. It was Huang Jiahui and her friends, all looking anxious and insecure.

To explain why they were there, one would need to go back six days. Huang Jiahui had not seen Luo Yuan ever since he’d gone out with the government servant, but she’d received some shocking news the next morning. Apparently, several evolved men had disobeyed military orders and had been arrested.

Huang Jiahui had been shocked and worried, and Wang Shishi had almost cried and rushed out of the room. It had been impossible for them to bring her back.

Wang Shishi had not taken any direct action, but she had found Huo Dong and asked him about the location of the prison.

It had been a really shocking incident. Even Huo Dong had been in panic after hearing the news. He had told Wang Shishi everything he knew, and she had immediately rushed to the prison in anger, trying to rescue Luo Yuan. Surprisingly, she had found Su Yu overlooking the situation in the prison.

She had been stopped after walking only for a few seconds.

Both of them could attack from a distance, but Wang Shishi had been defeated because she lacked experience. Luckily, she could fly, and Su Yu had been protected by the soldiers, so he had not been able to move much. In the end, he had just let her go.

That same afternoon, Wang Shishi had visited the prison again. However, security had become stricter by then. She had missed her chance. They all discussed it and thought it was not safe to stay there anymore. They had left their room at night with the help of Huo Dong and escaped to the first floor, where they had met up with Wang Xiaoguang.

...

Suddenly, there was chaos. A guy in a simple outfit squeezed through the crowd, looking extremely alert as he scanned the area around him. After a while, he came to a stop in front of a group of people.

"This is all the food and water for today. The inspections are getting stricter."

Huo Dong put down a small parcel and sighed before he whispered, "This afternoon, there will be lots of guards departing. I’ve checked and there were a few soldiers at the passage earlier, but I’ll find a solution."

"Thank you so much! Any news?" Huang Jiahui asked. Her lips were dry and cracked, and she looked exhausted.

"Not really. I heard that someone escaped from the prison and caused big chaos though. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many soldiers there," Huo Dong said as he looked at Huang Jiahui. He looked exhausted as well. He had not been sleeping well lately.

"It must be Brother Luo!" Wang Shishi said, suddenly getting agitated. "I knew he wouldn’t die that easily! He can kill giant mutated beasts after all!"

"Great minds think alike! I’ll keep an eye on things, and keep you updated," Huo Dong said as he got up from the floor. "I can’t stay for too long, I need to go."

Huang Jiahui nodded gratefully. After Huo Dong had left, she opened the parcel. There were buns and a bottle of water inside. The buns were enough for everyone, so each of them could have one. They finally had enough food, combined with what Wang Xiaguang had gotten earlier.

Huang Jiahui looked at the food and packed it again. It was already 9 pm, so dinner time was over. It was too obvious for them to leave now.

The management and security might have looked messy, but they were very strict. There were always military policemen checking around, and some of them were even undercover. That was why the place had remained peaceful until now. Even though people fought every once in a while, the police always managed to stop them.

The food supply was fixed, so it always had to be the exact same amount. Everyone needed to put up with the hunger except Wang Xiaguang, but they were able to eat something at midnight.

"Xiaguang, I’m sorry to trouble you these past few days," Huang Jiahui apologized.

"That’s what friends are for. I would have already died without your help. This is nothing compared to when we first met," Wang Xiaguang said as she looked down.

...

It was finally 9.30 p.m. and the lights in the lobby were off. All noises slowly faded, and the sound of snoring got stronger. They could finally eat their first meal of the day.

Sun Youde quickly took a bun and bit on it. It was very dry, but he felt extremely hungry.

He regretted following them there to escape. He had no special bond with these people after all. They were not his friends, so he would not have gotten into trouble if one of them had gotten captured.

Sun Youde felt upset as he looked at them. They had all thought it was Luo Yuan when they’d heard that someone had escaped from prison. "Who do they think Luo Yuan is? Do they really think it’s that easy for someone to turn against the machine?"

"Perhaps he might be able to survive longer, but he would definitely die if he tried to escape."

Sun Youde felt pain whenever he thought about his current situation. He had been a senior researcher, yet now he was suffering.

He did not understand why he would follow them. He should have been enjoying the finer things in life, not suffer and starve with them!

He looked at Wu Xiaoxiao, who was sitting right beside him. She looked older and exhausted, even though it had just been a few days. "Things can’t continue this way!"

Sun Youde’s eyes looked shiny in the dark.

...

It was midnight, and the sound of snores was loud.

Someone got up silently in the dark and slowly walked out with the aid of the dim light on the wall. There were a few security guards on duty, keeping one eye open while they rested the other. They were exhausted after half a night of duty and they did not take any action, even when they saw someone pass by.

The toilet was at the end of the corridor, so it was normal for people to pass on their way to use it. "Another one going to the toilet," one of them thought silently with a sigh.

However, he did not realize that a human shadow had flown past him while he had his eyes closed.

Sun Youde had wanted to report everything to the security guards in the first place, but he had felt that it was not safe. Although most of the people with him were women, none of them were kind, especially not the little girl, who made him feel really uncomfortable.

There were limited security guards, so once he reported them and caused chaos, they would know right away. By that time, he might be able to escape though. He decided to leave and go to the first floor to ensure his safety.

It was really quiet along the long corridor, but the light kept flashing with a subtle sound. There was no one in the passage. Only the sound of his footsteps could be heard. Sun Youde’s heart was beating very fast, and half his urge to escape was gone.

He did not know why, but he kept feeling a cold sensation against his back. He could sense someone watching him, and he began to imagine things. He quickly got himself under control and started walking faster.

He had no idea how long he had been walking when he finally reached the passage of the second floor. There were many soldiers there, which made him happy.

"Officer Huo Dong was not lying. This place is closely guarded."

"Who is it?" a soldier shouted, lifting his rifle right away.

Sun Youde was an average person, so he was naturally frightened to have so many people pointing their rifles at him.

"I..."

Just as he was about to explain, a strong force rushed towards him. He tried to struggle, but he could not move at all.

He felt like he was being tied as he walked towards the soldiers. He looked furious, but he tried to ignore his fear and fight.

"Stay there and wait for inspection, or we’ll fire!"

"I repeat..."

...

The officer looking at him thought that he was strange. He suddenly waved and shouted, "Fire!"

The sound of gunfire crept into his ears as Sun Youde shook in fear and hopelessness.

His lips were moving as if he wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he vomited black blood. Then he closed his eyes and slumped down on the floor.

"Paging Emergency Defense Center, paging Emergency Defense Center! We found a suspect patient... He is dead, please move the corpse away!"

In just a few seconds, several people in white protective suits had quickly wrapped the corpse in a layer of plastic and left. The passage returned to its initial silence. Wang Shishi was watching from the air silently with a pair of cold eyes. She was like the Grim Reaper.