Chapter 86: The Giant Pillar

The situation had changed. Although the building was sturdy and the spider monsters outside could not break through it in the short term, they must not forget about the many green spiders capable of flight! By now, the glass below the seventh floor was mostly shattered, and even the concrete of the walls was pitted and eroded by the venom the creatures spat out. The structure could hold for a little while, but it certainly would not last long.

More importantly, those green spiders merely preferred low-altitude flight; it was not that they were incapable of reaching the height of this ninth-floor building. Catalyzed by the red gas, two of them had already darted to a higher elevation and were launching a fierce assault on another section of the main structure.

Elder Long clearly lost his composure as well. In truth, everyone present had assumed these spider monsters would not linger in one place for very long, because monsters needed to eat too. What on earth could so many monsters feed on here? Once hunger set in, they would naturally disperse elsewhere.

Therefore, everyone, including Elder Long, had been harboring the idea of defending their ground and waiting for the arachnid monsters to leave on their own.

The earlier talk of holding out for two days before breaking through was merely based on the assumption that the monsters would only stay for a day or two; nobody had ever genuinely intended to fight their way out. How could charging through a swarm of so many monsters and surviving possibly be something a human being could accomplish? Among everyone present, Shen Lie was perhaps the only one who truly entertained such a thought.

Yet now, before the two days had even fully elapsed, such a situation had arisen. Deciding whether to leave or stay became an agonizing dilemma. Although their food supplies could barely sustain them for another day or two, these frenzied monsters would not grant them the luxury of time. Now that these creatures had lost all reason, would they retreat anytime soon?

"Everyone, prepare to head downstairs. We begin our breakthrough."

Elder Long felt there was no alternative other than breaking out; at the very least, they absolutely could not linger in this building any longer. Perhaps finding a basement would buy them another two days.

However, before Elder Long could even finish his sentence, everyone felt the entire ground suddenly begin to tremor, causing even their building to sway slightly, accompanied by a low, humming noise.

"What is this situation? An earthquake?" a survivor muttered powerlessly. The world was becoming increasingly unfamiliar; did they truly still have a chance at survival?

"Ah! Look, what is that?"

An awakened one keeping watch near a window on the other side suddenly let out an incredible gasp of shock. Then, everyone saw that in the direction of Yangcheng, a pitch-black, exaggeratedly massive pillar shot straight up into the heavens!

This pillar was so immense that it could be seen even from their distant vantage point, so vast that it pierced through the clouds and reached straight into the firmament.

Gazing at this pillar, everyone was struck with overwhelming shock, temporarily forgetting the terror of being devoured by the spider monsters. They stared at this incomprehensible phenomenon with looks of absolute adoration.

"Th-This is what?"

"Is this still the Earth we know?"

"Ah, everyone look, look at those monsters!"

Amidst a daze of stunned murmurs, someone suddenly uttered a cry of startled joy. Then, everyone followed the cue and looked downstairs, only to see that the spider monsters below had unexpectedly ceased their chaotic acts of destruction. Instead, they surged out of the town like a tide, shrieking as they rushed directly toward the direction of the towering pillar!

"Look, look! Those monsters are retreating! Those monsters are retreating! We're saved! We're finally saved!"

"Heaven truly has eyes! We've actually survived!"

"Oh God, amen!"

Seeing the spider monsters departing in wave after wave, everyone upstairs wept tears of joy. The ordinary people in particular knelt continuously on the ground, expressing their gratitude to every deity imaginable.

Ten-odd minutes passed, and the pitch-black horde of monsters had completely vanished, leaving not a single one behind. If not for the bloody ordeal of the past two days vividly etched in their minds, everyone might have thought it was nothing more than a dream.

"Move!"

Opportunities must not be missed. Elder Long decisively issued the order to evacuate. If they did not leave now, and those monsters happened to return, they would not be granted a second chance.

Upon reaching the eighth floor, Shen Lie called out to Xia Ke, who was still bewildered, and followed the crowd as they rushed down the stairs, sprinting furiously in the direction opposite to the giant pillar.

Not a single intact vehicle could now be found throughout Zhenshan. Everyone had to proceed on foot, and every once in a while, they had to use binoculars to survey their surroundings to guard against monsters charging in from even farther away.

No one knew how vast a radius the influence of that towering pillar could exert over the spider monsters, so the group did not dare to halt for even a moment along the way. If anyone fell behind, no one would bother with them. At this juncture, running a little further ahead increased one's safety slightly, and no one was willing to jeopardize their own life for the sake of a stranger.

"Ah! I've sprained my ankle! Someone help me! Ah, don't leave me behind! Can someone take me with them? I'm willing to give everything I have to you!"

"No, I can't... I really can't run anymore! I'm done for. D-Don't leave me behind! Kangzi, carry me for a bit, will you? Kangzi? Kangzi! You heartless bastard, fuck your mother! You wouldn't have survived until now without me!"

"Liu Qiang, I accept your pursuit! I'll agree to anything you want, anything at all! Are you willing to carry me on your back for a while?"

More and more people fell behind. Although falling behind here did not necessarily guarantee certain death, the hope of survival was infinitely close to zero. Each person left behind emitted desperate, tearful pleas, yet not a single person was willing to stop for them. Left behind for them were only merciless and indifferent retreating backs.

The physical stamina of the awakened ones had grown immensely through evolution, so even running at super-high intensity was not too difficult for them, making it all the more grueling for the ordinary survivors to keep pace.

There was only one exception: Elder Long. The old man had only run for a short while at the very beginning before being carried on the backs of his subordinate awakened ones in turns. This showed that the elder possessed extraordinary status and prestige alike.

"Look! There's an intact motorcycle over there!" After running seven or eight miles, someone finally cried out in surprise upon spotting a relatively well-preserved motorcycle parked by the roadside.

Their group was running along the highway heading toward Beijing. In truth, they had encountered quite a few abandoned vehicles, but all of them were severely damaged. Forget lacking gasoline; even if there was fuel, the vehicles were completely inoperable. This was the first piece of transportation they encountered that actually looked usable.

Shen Lie had also spotted that motorcycle. Although it was a small scooter, it was still better than nothing at the moment. More importantly, there was gasoline inside his spatial gourd, but since the yellow-garbed awakened one from Elder Long's faction had already sprinted over ahead of him, he did not make a move.

In fact, the moment he left the town, he had intended to split from the group and travel alone. However, when he found a concealed spot to retrieve his off-road motorcycle, he discovered that it was broken. No matter what he tried, it refused to start, and since he did not know how to repair it, he could only drain the gasoline into a bottle and rejoin the group.

If they were going to run anyway, there was no need to break away from the group. Once danger struck, having more people around offered a greater degree of safety.

The motorcycle apparently lacked fuel, and the yellow-garbed awakened one pushed it back. However, just as Shen Lie expected the man to abandon the vehicle once more, one of Elder Long's subordinates actually pulled a small bottle of gasoline right out of his backpack!

Although it was only a small bottle, a scooter did not consume much fuel, and this amount was enough to run for over a dozen kilometers. Shen Lie could not help but sigh inwardly; he had actually been planning to sneak back and scavenge it after the others abandoned it.

Once the scooter was started, it was given to the sole female ordinary survivor among Elder Long's faction. Elder Long sat in the passenger seat behind her, instantly reducing the burden on Elder Long's group significantly.

Yet no one raised any objections to this outcome. In terms of both status and strength, Elder Long's group was the strongest in the party, and furthermore, it was their gasoline that had been used, making ownership indisputable. The others could only watch with burning eyes of envy.