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They looked up.
The sun hung high.
Not far from the territory stood a small village, where a few young people were gasping, faces full of fear.
"Just now... it was so dangerous, I could even smell the foul stench of that demonized wolf, feeling like I was about to meet my end there any second!" A young man with glasses still had a lingering fear.
A young girl next to him had already collapsed onto the ground, "You're lucky, I almost got pounced on by that smelly wolf."
The girl had freckles on her face, and her looks were just average, disheveled and grimy, yet as she gasped for air, her chest heaving, she had a certain allure.
"We really have to thank Brother Xiaopeng, as expected from an Awakener."
"Of course!" Lu Xiaopeng brushed his messy hair and struck a boxing pose, "I'm an innate Awakener, naturally more rare and powerful than those Awakeners who rely on auxiliary devices! How could ordinary demonized beasts be my match..."
"But Brother Xiaopeng didn't defeat that demonized wolf..." the freckled girl suddenly said weakly.
Lu Xiaopeng's face fell immediately.
When he had just awakened, he was high-spirited, fantasizing about punching demonized wolves, kicking demonized tigers, stepping towards the peak of Awakeners, yet reality gave him a direct blow.
Thinking of the demonized wolf they had just encountered on the road, it didn't seem that strong, yet he simply couldn't beat it.
He could clearly follow the speed of the demonized wolf with his eyes, but he just couldn't dodge, even with the strong physique of an Awakener, he still got injured in multiple places. If not, the group wouldn't have had to flee in such a sorry state.
Fortunately, they managed to lose the demonized wolf after some time and hadn't encountered any other demonized beasts for the moment.
After resting for a while, they began to assess their surroundings.
It was a village, very quiet, and it didn't look like there had been any demonized beast activity nearby, making them all breathe a sigh of relief.
"Where should we go next?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned blank; someone sighed, "Yeah, we used to just follow the main group. But now, after getting separated, we've not only lost our direction, but our safety isn't guaranteed. If it weren't for Brother Xiaopeng's awakening, we would probably still be hiding in that dark place."
Their food was running low, continuing to hide would only delay death. But to reach a sanctuary, only by truly stepping out of their hiding place did they understand the outside dangers. Not to mention they didn't even know how to reach Lindong, just that few dozen kilometers were enough to fill them with despair.
"Wait, look over there!"
The glasses-wearing student suddenly pointed towards the distance. The group looked up—it was a regular bungalow, not different from the other dilapidated houses here.
"There's nothing..." Lu Xiaopeng's indifferent gaze suddenly froze. He widened his eyes, staring at the large characters painted in black oil paint on the bungalow wall.
"Green Shade Sanctuary, located 3.5 kilometers to the northwest. It offers abundant food and a safe living environment; survivors are welcome."
Green Shade, the name of a former resort.
After the apocalypse, most sanctuaries retained their original location names. For instance, Lindong Sanctuary was established on the foundation of Lindong County.
Tang Yu, having no knack for naming, naturally just kept the sanctuary's original name.
Names weren't important; what mattered was attracting survivors. Compared to sanctuaries named "Hot Pot City," "Third Subway Entrance," or "Fafa (Supermarket)," "Green Shade" wasn't too bad...
Lu Xiaopeng read these words aloud, and the others exchanged looks.
"Green Shade Sanctuary? Is there a sanctuary nearby?"
"But why would the sanctuary's... sign be written in such a place? It gives off a strong sense of unreliability?!"
"The handwriting is a bit ugly, but it should be real. Green Shade... I've heard it somewhere before. Oh right! There's a Green Shade Resort nearby; it should be the sanctuary the sign refers to."
After discussing, they decided to check out this supposed Green Shade Sanctuary.
With no food and no strength, they wouldn't make it to Lindong Sanctuary in this lifetime anyway, so they could only see what this Green Shade Sanctuary had to offer.
The village wasn't far from the sanctuary, and they encountered few demonized beasts along the way.
Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates relied on their rich experience in evading demonized beasts, journeying with some scares but no danger, finally arriving at the entrance of a resort.
Several large characters painted in oil stood here as well: "Green Shade Sanctuary welcomes you!"
However.
As they looked at the resort, half of the gate had collapsed, and the surrounding walls looked as though they had been trampled by fierce beasts, almost unrecognizable.
"Is this supposed to be a sanctuary?!"
Lu Xiaopeng shouted, feeling deceived.
"No," the glasses-wearing student noticed something else, "Look over there, there are barbed wires and damaged firearms; maybe there really was a sanctuary here."
The others caught the undertone in their classmate's voice; there had been one, meaning now there wasn't. Combined with the current miserable state before them, they all envisioned a scene: the sanctuary being breached by demonized beasts, that kind of tragic imagery.
"So do we still go in?" The freckled girl was a bit scared; she felt that deep within the resort might lurk terrifying demonized beasts.
Ultimately, it was Lu Xiaopeng who made the decision, "Let's go in and have a look. I don't think there's much likelihood of a terrifying demonized beast here. Don't you think that the number of demonized beasts we've seen along the way has decreased?"
These classmates were mere ordinary people, not particularly brave, getting scared whenever they saw a demonized beast from afar, almost stopping their heartbeats without even counting how many they had met.
Lu Xiaopeng was different, being an Awakener, even if he couldn't defeat a demonized wolf, he had some strength in him, naturally more composed. Although he hadn't counted how many demonized beasts they had encountered, he noticed their frequency had indeed lessened.
The glasses-wearing student thought for a while and said, "I agree with going in to take a look. Even if the sanctuary doesn't exist anymore, we might still find some food."
The group stepped into the resort.
The outer part of the resort just had demonized beasts cleared out; most places remained in their original state—collapsed buildings, congealed blood, and some limbs not yet cleared away.
Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates were pale, but fortunately, it wasn't their first time seeing such a sight, so they felt... okay!
Someone noticed something unusual.
"Look, there are tracks, and over there is a demonized beast's corpse, with some parts taken away; there are survivors here!"
"Also over there, signs of cleanup; it seems this sanctuary endured a crisis but survived. Yet, seeing the surroundings, the sanctuary suffered great losses, so it might not be very safe."
Their primary reason for seeking a sanctuary was to find a place safe enough.
However, being nearly destroyed, even if survivors were alive, could it still be called a sanctuary? Clearly, it had encountered a demon tide, suggesting a chance of another inevitable future demon tide!
In an instant, they all had such thoughts.
But since they were already there and there were survivors, whatever their choice, they decided to assess the situation first.
The group moved forward, as the deeper they went into the resort, the more traces of human activity they noticed. By now, it was apparent the area had been cleared, with no demonized beasts or human corpses to be seen.
Still, they found it odd not to see a single soul.
"Listen, there's a sound!" Lu Xiaopeng said quietly, pointing to a corner not far away.
Indeed, strange sounds sporadically came from somewhere out of sight ahead.
Were they survivors, or demonized beasts?
They cautiously advanced, finally peeking around a corner, witnessing a scene in the distance.
There were two unknown "species," their bodies covered in black iron armor, torsos rotund like balls, arms much larger than a regular person's, appearing immensely powerful.
The Iron Skin Monsters were wielding a longsword, swinging it with force. A massive stone was split in two, crashing to the ground with a thud. Yet, the Iron Skin Monster didn't stop, continuing to wield the longsword, cutting the massive stone into pieces of manageable size.
The entire process was crisp and neat!
That seemingly ordinary longsword was like a divine weapon, slicing through stone as if without resistance. Lu Xiaopeng could even see clearly where the stone was cut—it was as smooth as a mirror!
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