The broken earth extended with countless cracks, black smoke veiling the remaining sunlight. On the muddy roads, numerous people struggled to walk, their faces filled with despair and fear. Occasionally, someone would fall into a crack, and the cries never ceased.
A procession of tens of thousands formed a long dragon, with reinforced warriors called "evolvers" protecting at intervals on both sides. Evolvers began appearing on Earth since the sudden disaster six months ago.
In the rear of the procession, Lu Yin looked into the distance. Chewing sounds that sent shivers down the spine reached his ears. With a roar, a mutated dog with crimson eyes and a length of two meters charged towards the procession from behind a burning tree. Its mouth dripping with blood, it howled as it approached.
Many survivors in the procession screamed in terror at the sight. Lu Yin's gaze sharpened as he drew a peculiar weapon from his waist – a seemingly iron rod with one side sharpened like a blade.
Lu Yin jumped and, with a single-handed swing, effortlessly severed the mutated dog's head. Blood sprayed onto the ground, staining the grass red.
Seeing the mutated dog dead, the procession quieted down, and the fearful journey continued.
Lu Yin retracted his weapon, inspecting it and noticing some cracks. "Looks like it won't last much longer."
As the sun set, the land plunged into darkness. Evolvers ignited flames, spreading along the procession in an attempt to drive away mutated beasts. The procession halted its advance; going into unfamiliar places in the dark meant risking one's life.
A hoarse electric sound echoed, and Lu Yin's communicator crackled, "Evolvers with ID ending in three, search for food in a one-kilometer radius."
Lu Yin's evolver code was 103. He looked at the beheaded mutated dog, lifted it, and tossed it in front of the procession. "Eat."
Commotion arose within the procession, and several men approached to deal with the carcass. It had bone fragments still attached to its mouth.
One mutated dog was only enough for twenty-something people to eat. Lu Yin walked away from the fire, clutching the iron rod, heading towards a distant area.
Chewing sounds never ceased. In the darkness, pairs of glowing green eyes stared at Lu Yin. These were mutated rats, ugly in appearance but edible.
Lu Yin swung the iron rod, smashing over a dozen mutated rats. He carried them and threw them towards the procession, enough for his needs.
Suddenly, a scream. Lu Yin knew without looking that an evolver had died, and he had no intention of saving them. Who knew what had attacked the evolver – perhaps a venomous snake, blood-sucking mosquitoes, or a powerful mutated rat capable of crushing steel. Such creatures were common in the wild.
The procession fell silent; everyone hid behind the flames, as if a thin layer of fire could protect them.
Lu Yin looked at these people with pity, then raised his head to the sky. The starry night was bright and clear. The air, once polluted, had completely recovered six months ago, accompanied by countless biological mutations, including humans themselves.
No one knew the cause of the mutation that occurred overnight, turning creatures into terrifying beings. Many people turned into mindless zombies, devouring living beings everywhere, and these people were referred to as zombies.
The remaining survivors had become somewhat stronger. Although the change was not significant, swallowing the crystals inside mutated organisms could make them stronger – these were the evolvers.
It seemed as if Earth had returned to ancient times overnight – survival of the fittest. The vast arsenal that once dominated the Earth had almost been destroyed. Lu Yin witnessed the explosion of the weapons depot in his city, as if modern weapons were not suitable for the current era.
A gust of wind blew, and the ground, stained newspapers, rustled beneath the weight of rocks, making a hissing sound.
Lu Yin picked up a newspaper, reading the headline: "February 3, 2200, a day for the history books. On that day, Huaxia Sky Five entered Neptune. Bai Qian became the first astronaut to explore Neptune, a gas giant. That day..."
Lu Yin discarded the newspaper, and a little girl cautiously handed him a roasted beast leg.
Lu Yin took the meat and thanked her. "Thank you."
The little girl shyly smiled and ran back into the procession.
The meat was not delicious, despite the added seasoning. Still, Lu Yin ate contentedly, knowing that being full gave him strength.
Suddenly, the flames flickered. Lu Yin swiftly drew the iron rod and smashed a mutated mantis that had penetrated the flames. These mantises could cause significant casualties if they entered the procession, and their blades reflected red light, no less sharp than Lu Yin's iron rod.
In just one night, Lu Yin rested for only two hours. In that time, he killed over a dozen mutated creatures attempting to attack the procession.
His section had minimal casualties, but other sections suffered differently. In one segment, dozens of survivors along with evolvers were killed by a giant mutated boar that could shoot sharp bristles. A single attack took away many lives, and if not for a few powerful evolvers, the casualties would have been even greater.
As the sun rose, the procession continued southward. They aimed for Jinling, the largest gathering place within the boundaries of Su Province, where there were military forces, many evolvers, and Zhou Shan, known as the Huaxia Executioner.
In the half-year of the apocalyptic disaster, numerous evolvers emerged, and the Seven Saints, the pinnacle of strength, were born.
Although communication was not smooth, they could still contact each other. Recently, evolvers had been clearly divided into levels: ordinary evolvers who had just swallowed crystals, people-level powerhouses with strength surpassing ordinary evolvers, and those with city-destroying power, called Earth-level powerhouses or shakers.
The top tier was the Sky-level powerhouse, who could fly and were also known as Sky-level or Heavenly-level powerhouses. The Seven Saints of Huaxia were seven Sky-level powerhouses.
In this post-apocalyptic era, this classification sufficed. Perhaps in the future, a more systematic division would be established, but as long as the Sky-level powerhouses remained alive, they would always stand at the top. This was also the origin of the term "saint," and perhaps it was the hope of countless survivors for their protection, hence the term "saint."
Jinling Gathering Place had one saint – Zhou Shan, the Executioner.
The procession continued forward, about a hundred kilometers away from Jinling. In peacetime, this distance would take a few hours, but in the current circumstances, it would take several days.
Several kilometers away on both sides of the procession, numerous wandering zombies slowly approached, as if they had smelled the scent of living beings.
Evolvers on both sides were tense and alert. Many evolvers looked fearful; although these zombies were not fast, they were strong. Their blood was highly toxic, and even evolvers' skin would corrode upon contact, eventually losing consciousness and becoming like them – the most terrifying outcome.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, gripping the iron rod. Fighting against zombies was not difficult; they remained the same forever, unlike evolvers who could become stronger. Many survivors were grateful for this; if zombies could become stronger, there would be no way out for them.
Currently, the biggest enemy of survivors was mutated beasts.
Just as Lu Yin and others prepared to battle the horde of zombies, those zombies suddenly stopped and turned to leave. Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat, sensing something ominous.
The ground vibrated suddenly, and in front of the procession, a massive vine rose from the ground, capturing many survivors with branches that seemed to have a life of their own. With desperate cries, all captured survivors were crushed into blood, watering the roots of the vine.
Survivors fled in terror, even many evolvers.
Lu Yin's eyes squinted, and he held the iron rod tighter. This mutated vine had undoubtedly reached Earth-level strength, far beyond what ordinary evolvers could match, even some people-level powerhouses in the procession.
Evolvers in the procession had no intention of confronting it head-on; they all retreated to avoid the vine's range.
After a while, the vine seemed satisfied, retracting back into the ground.
Countless survivors wept and cried out in despair. Many would experience mental breakdowns in such an environment, even some evolvers.
Soon, a hoarse electric sound came, and Lu Yin's communicator crackled, "Rest in place; the Executioner will personally come to meet us."
Hearing this news, countless people cheered. For today's survivors, a Sky-level powerhouse was like a god, as if everything could be solved when a Sky-level powerhouse appeared.
Lu Yin revealed a mocking expression. A saint? He covered his left arm with one hand; even now, half of his body still hurt like hell, a piercing pain that forever reminded him of that night.
An entire city was abandoned; all remaining explosive weapons were unleashed within the city. The wails filled the air, and his own half-body was burnt. When he turned back, he saw those eyes and the dazzling golden light.
Liu Shaoge, he could never forget that man known as the Light Saint, one of the Seven Saints. He made Lu Yin experience extreme pain, and Lu Yin vowed to repay that pain tenfold.
As the flames rose, the sky darkened. Lu Yin was about to rest when screams and cries erupted nearby.
Lu Yin frowned, turning to look. A hundred meters away, several girls were surrounded by over ten evolvers who were lecherously taunting them. Some girls had almost no clothes left.
This scene was not unfamiliar. In the post-apocalyptic disaster, human nature degraded, and this was normal. Lu Yin had witnessed it many times. In this environment, if one wanted protection, it was impossible without paying a price.
Lu Yin closed his eyes, slowing down his mental state.
In the distance, a girl screamed as she was slapped to the ground. "Damn it, I'm risking my life to protect you. What's wrong with having some fun? Don't give face, huh? A few days ago, even a little star begged me to play. Now, I won't play even if they beg."
Several girls ran to Lu Yin's side, wanting to say something. Lu Yin kept his eyes closed, ignoring them. They could only look at Lu Yin gratefully and sat down cautiously.
After a while, a beautifully-dressed young woman with revealing clothes approached Lu Yin. She glanced sharply at the girls, who immediately stepped back in fear.
Satisfied, the woman sat next to Lu Yin, blowing air into his ear with a sharp gaze.
Lu Yin raised his hand and grabbed her neck, opening his eyes, and spoke coldly, "Leave."
The surrounding area fell silent, and only the crying of the girls could be heard.
The evolver who was threatened by Lu Yin wore an extremely ugly expression. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Lu, this has nothing to do with you. I am responsible for protecting them."
"You disturb me," Lu Yin said calmly. He pressed the sharp side of the iron rod against the evolver's neck, causing the evolver's skin to crack and blood to flow along the iron rod.
The evolver was horrified. "Alright, alright, you're ruthless. They're yours; I won't touch them again."
Lu Yin retracted the iron rod, staring indifferently at the woman, "What is it?"
The woman rubbed her neck, gave Lu Yin a scornful look, and reluctantly revealed a wry smile. "You're still so heartless."
Lu Yin let go, coldly watching her. "What do you want?"
The woman continued, "Zhang Tong and the others are conspiring against you. They have over ten evolvers; you're alone, and you won't be able to deal with them. Be careful."
"Thanks," Lu Yin replied casually.