Chapter Seventy: Rescued?

What is the most beautiful thing in this world?

If asked this in the past, Shen Lie would have hesitated and felt conflicted, thinking that there were too many beautiful things to choose the absolute best. But now, he would say without a moment's hesitation that what was right before his eyes was the ultimate beauty. No metaphors like fish sinking and geese descending, or the moon hiding and flowers blushing out of shame, could capture even a ten-thousandth of it. It was a beauty so earth-shattering that it left one breathless.

Shen Lie stood frozen in place, his mind filled with words of praise, his eyes hollow. He allowed those colorful rays of light to envelop him, a contented smile still lingering on his face.

A loyal subject dies willingly to repay his sovereign; a devout follower embraces destruction to return to the divine kingdom. What was Shen Lie doing this for at this moment? He did not know, nor did he care to find out. He simply felt that being able to drift through this magnificent world, even if only for a fleeting second, made sacrificing everything entirely worthwhile.

Shen Lie’s body was gradually being stretched into a slender shape, yet he felt not a shred of pain. A smile remained on his face, entirely devoid of any intent to resist.

His body grew longer and longer, and his head had already entered the thin tube at the very top of the glowing cluster, being swallowed up bit by bit.

The next moment, Shen Lie would become fodder for this luminous entity, leaving not even a skeleton behind!

At this critical, life-or-death juncture, an arrow suddenly shot out from the fields on the side, piercing through the air toward the glowing cluster that was consuming Shen Lie. However, whether due to poor marksmanship or otherwise, the shot was somewhat off target. It grazed the outer edge of the glowing cluster and landed on the far side of the highway.

Yet at that exact instant, the strange pattern on Shen Lie's arm suddenly emitted a faint glow. It was as if the glowing cluster had swallowed something exceedingly difficult to digest; it convulsed violently, and then proceeded to spit Shen Lie back out bit by bit!

Neither Shen Lie nor the archer noticed the glowing pattern. From an outside perspective, it truly seemed as though that single arrow had jarred the luminous entity and saved Shen Lie's life.

The moment he was spat out by the glowing cluster, Shen Lie regained his consciousness. Without a moment's hesitation, he channeled his stellar energy. The dark spear gleamed with a halo and plunged straight into the cluster.

The might of stellar energy remained as formidable as ever. The glowing cluster, which had previously seemed completely impervious to any attack, flickered unstably when pierced by the dark spear. It managed to hold on for barely two or three seconds before bursting apart with a loud bang, transforming into a scatter of glittering light fragments accompanied by a piercing scream!

Having succeeded with his first strike, Shen Lie launched consecutive attacks. He used the dark spear like a flying sword, guiding it with his mental will as it darted back and forth through the ocean of glowing clusters. In one breath, he shattered over twenty of them, terrifying the remaining clusters into shrieking shrilly and scattering in all directions while trembling with fear.

Having consumed nearly a third of his stellar energy, Shen Lie finally ceased his attacks. He stowed the dark spear, righted his motorcycle, and charged down the highway. Even though his stellar energy could suppress these glowing clusters, their sheer numbers were overwhelming! Moreover, the previous experience of being ensnared by the peacock-like light screen still left lingering fear in his heart, and nothing could induce him to brazenly force his way through again.

"Hey, what is wrong with you? Someone saves your life and you just walk away without a word?" Shen Lie rode his motorcycle down into the fields, momentarily unable to brake in time and overshooting a bit. As soon as he came to a halt, he heard an unfriendly query from behind.

Shen Lie had no idea what had snapped him back to his senses. He had initially thought he had broken free from the hypnosis on his own, but it now appeared he had actually been rescued by someone?

Shen Lie understood the principle of repaying kindness with gratitude. Hearing the voice, he immediately turned around, keeping a wary eye on the glowing clusters that still lingered in the distance while searching for the source of the voice.

"What are you looking at? Down here!" Shen Lie scanned the surroundings and saw no one, finally hearing the voice originate from beneath a patch of lush crop seedlings.

"Ah, are you... injured?" Shen Lie walked over and discovered a woman half-lying on the ground. One of her legs seemed to have a dislocated joint, twisted awkwardly to the side. Her face was pale, and one hand still clutched a bow.

However, none of this was what shocked Shen Lie. What stunned him was that the woman was clad in nothing more than a pair of bikini bottoms, with every other part of her body completely bare. Even the underwear had slipped down slightly, faintly revealing the lush vegetation within.

"Cough, cough. Is there anything I can help with?" This situation made Shen Lie somewhat awkward. But he was no pure, naive youth, and he had no intention of averting his gaze; his eyes remained fixed upon her.

This was not because Shen Lie was lustful, but because in the apocalyptic wasteland, trust simply did not exist. He could not guarantee whether the woman would shoot an arrow at him the moment he turned his back.

"My clothes are over there." The woman showed no sign of shyness at Shen Lie's prolonged inspection. She pulled up her underwear with practiced naturalness, tossed the bow aside, and spoke.

Following her gaze, Shen Lie indeed spotted a tattered dress rolled into a ball and tossed into the grass. He walked over, picked up the dress, and tossed it to her. After putting it on, the woman struggled for a moment and finally managed to stand up from the ground. However, she still dared not put full weight on one leg, standing unsteadily and swaying.

"Can you walk?" Since she had saved his life, Shen Lie could not possibly abandon this woman. Once he left, those glowing clusters would surely return, and she would undoubtedly die.

"What do you think?" The woman gave Shen Lie an exasperated, reproachful glare.

"Get on the bike. This place isn't safe." Shen Lie surveyed the surroundings once more. The sky had grown fully bright, and while the glowing clusters were less radiant now, they could still be seen swaying in the distance.

Shen Lie seated the woman in front of him on the motorcycle, positioned himself behind her, and began moving through the fields. He took only back roads; although it was a detour, he was still heading in the direction of Yang City. His plan was to drop the woman off at a small town and then continue toward Yang City to investigate the situation.

"Hey, hey, where are you going? We're going the wrong way!?" As they traveled, the woman suddenly felt something was amiss. This direction seemed to be the very route she had taken while fleeing—why were they heading back?

"That's right, this is the exact direction." Ignoring the woman's doubts, Shen Lie rode onward. He had already detoured three or four li, and a little further ahead, he would be able to circle completely around the swarm of glowing cluster monsters.

"Are you out of your mind? This is the road to Yang City! Don't you know it's crawling with monsters over there? Weren't you fleeing away from Yang City?"

"What? You fled here from Yang City?" Slamming on the brakes, Shen Lie brought the motorcycle to a halt at the edge of a small grove, his expression intensely agitated.

"W-What? What are you trying to do?" Seeing Shen Lie's expression, the woman grew fearful and struggled to dismount.

"Tell me the situation. What is happening over there in Yang City?" Upon learning that the woman was a survivor who had escaped from Yang City, Shen Lie abandoned his rush. After helping her off the motorcycle, he immediately began questioning her.

Through their conversation, Shen Lie finally gleaned some information. This woman truly had escaped from Yang City, and moreover, she had done so right after the city's defenses fell.

According to the woman, after Yang City fell, the government had organized four large-scale fleeing groups to break out in four different directions. Because she lived in the northern part of the city where total chaos reigned and evacuation was impossible, she had no choice but to join the weakest breakout group heading north.

After Yang City was designated as a survival base, the internal layout of the city had been completely reallocated. Housing and survival supplies were entirely taken over by the military, and several distinct survival zones were established within the city. The southern district was the most high-end, populated exclusively by leaders, military personnel, wealthy merchants, and celebrities who had settled there at a heavy cost.

The worst by far was the northern district. This area was inhabited solely by the lowest-class commoners, along with a small handful of Awakened individuals who stayed purely because they enjoyed lording over ordinary people. Neither public security nor living supplies could compare to the other districts.

Logically speaking, under such circumstances, the northern evacuation group should have suffered the most catastrophic casualties. Yet for reasons unknown, once the escape began, the vast majority of the monsters were lured toward the southern district, allowing their group to break through successfully. Although nearly half of their people still perished, they at least managed to avoid total annihilation.