Lin Qun chose to set out at dusk.
Heavy dark clouds were gathering over Modu, the massive space rift flickering faintly in and out of view, and along with it, the Bakatan people's giant "sailing ships" grew hazy as well.
The war had lasted an entire day. The confrontation between them and Modu's main force seemed to be shifting from fierce clashes into its next stage, with the Bakatan main force gathering to the west of the Central City District.
This was good news for Lin Qun.
That direction was far from the eastern< urban area where he was.</p>But the city was still crawling with Bakatan people everywhere.
During the day, there were still shrieking Bakatan people darting through the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
However, the number of Bakatan people entering through the rift had begun to decrease. At this stage, the Bakatan people crossing the space rift no longer scattered in all directions, but were instead converging densely toward the Bakatan main force in District XC.
Their armies and main force were converging, yet the number of Bakatan people roaming through Modu's various urban districts was still not small — most were Bakatan desperadoes under their "Everyone is a Soldier" policy.
Still, this was good news for Lin Qun. In a large-scale combat operation like this, the deaths of a dozen or so Bakatan people at the edge of the battlefield wouldn't be enough to draw the attention of the Bakatan people's top figures, avoiding any further strikes that might come his way.
Lin Qun couldn't see the specifics of what was happening over there, but he sensed that a great war was likely about to erupt in that location.
It was a day that passed with a scare but no real danger.
In Building 5, Li Xinghe stayed shut in without coming out, while the survivors scattered about, all sorts of news flying everywhere.
When Lin Qun went downstairs to hunt Bakatan people, he'd listened in for a while each time, and he'd gained something from it.
There was a middle-aged man who reportedly had once worked at the Federation's National Security Bureau. He analyzed with great certainty, "This is an early landing. The countdown in our eyes still has over ten hours left. By all reason, if only our Modu in this area had been attacked, nearby troops should have already come to reinforce us. Even without reinforcements, with a saturation strike, no matter how many of the Bakatan people's air force there are, it'd be more than enough to give them a taste of their own medicine — the army should have already spread across the whole city by now.
"The fact that the situation is still deadlocked like this — my guess is that the army can't get in... Do you all remember that line about a regional blockade, right before the Bakatan Civilization's early landing?
"I'm afraid this place has already been designated as a regional battlefield. Reinforcements from outside can't get in, and we can't get out either!"
This statement caused a stir.
Among the survivors banding together for warmth here, how many were actually capable? They were mostly just ordinary people, anxious and uneasy, and hearing this analysis only made them more panicked.
"Then what are we supposed to do? My family's food is almost gone — is there even going to be a rescue?"
"Our Modu only has that much Garrison Troops, and they're an entire civilization!"
"Everyone, there's no need to panic. The Bakatan people, as Individuals, are stronger than us, but their technology clearly isn't that far ahead. Look at our leaderboard — so many of our Soldiers are fighting hard too, massacring Bakatan people as well. That guy in first place, Qi Zhichuan, isn't he already past two hundred Contribution Points? We can win! We can win!"
A chorus of voices rose from the crowd — some panicked, some inexplicably confident, and some quietly making trades on the side.
Lin Qun happened to see it.
A man pulled aside a young mother hiding in a corner, holding her child, and held out a bag of Chocolate, his eyes sweeping over and over across the young mother's shapely figure.
That young mother was from another building, with nothing to her name. Her milk seemed to have already dried up, and she was already starving, her stomach growling — and her child was crying without stop.
Looking at that bag of Chocolate, she stayed silent for a long while before finally, wordlessly, giving a small nod.
She didn't dare take her child and leave this building to go find anything herself.
At this moment, in this building, situations like this were common.
Many people had fled here from other buildings. Though Fan Wenchuan didn't stop these people from "putting down roots" in the empty rooms and hallways of Building 5, he also no longer "took in" any new people, only keeping the ones already around him gathered close, holding tightly onto Li Xinghe as his "big shot Resources."
They were the most comfortable group here.
For anyone else who wanted Li Xinghe's direct protection, they'd need to pay a large sum of Supplies, or else possess some special, useful ability.
Fan Wenchuan's group had, in effect, become the minor overlords of this building, with a gap between them and everyone else that was impossible to ignore.
Those Ordinary Survivors dreamed of becoming one of their group, but had no way in, and could only watch enviously, consumed with envy and jealousy.
Lin Qun watched coldly from the side, then slowly left Building 5.
The Supplies in his own home weren't much either, but they'd at least last half a month, and he had the ability to protect himself — the troubles plaguing these survivors were not a problem for him at all.
Fan Wenchuan's group, which was gradually taking on a different flavor, held no use for Lin Qun either.
Because he himself was the "big shot"!
Why would he need to join their group?
Most people hid at home, in their buildings, too terrified to come out — but Lin Qun took the initiative to step out, ready to go hunt Bakatan people!
His Energy had already recovered to full.
It had reached 18:00.
Dusk was falling into night, Dark Clouds spreading, the whole world dim and gray...
This was the best time to Hunt.
For caution's sake, Lin Qun had waited until now to set out.
Although his Physique and various Attributes had greatly improved, he'd only just barely surpassed an ordinary person — he had no intention of facing a Bakatan head-on.
As Lin Qun saw it...
Whether or not a head-on clash could defeat the enemy, stabbing them in the back was clearly a better option than the former.
Because stabbing someone from behind carried the least risk!
Better safe than sorry!
However, over the course of this one day, Lin Qun's ranking had dropped once again, falling all the way to seventh.
Because of this, he needed to take the initiative and launch a proactive attack, to secure fourth place.
The first ranking settlement would take place in the early morning today — as long as he could hold a high rank before then, he'd earn an extra Contribution Points Buff!
Lin Qun's eyes flickered — this was his true target.
The Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area was somewhat quiet.
Corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the ground. The once beautifully scenic gated community had long since turned into Hell.
Some had already begun to give off a smell, mixing with the stench of blood, sharp and pungent.
Lin Qun advanced along the Shadow between the buildings.
He did spot some faint, shadowy figures moving cautiously between the buildings.
At a time like this, everyone had their own goal driving their actions.
But they all seemed to be searching for people or for something, none daring to stray too far from their buildings, and few daring to leave the Residential Community at all.
Only Lin Qun was the exception.
He advanced step by step.
There were no more Bakatan people left within the Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area, so he slowly moved toward its edge, heading out.
Building 5 was left behind him.
His Residential Community wasn't small in size — walking from Building 5 to the entrance took at least seven or eight minutes.
Just as he neared the area, Lin Qun heard sounds coming from the direction of the supermarket near the community's entrance.
That supermarket was across from the one where Lin Qun had first gone shopping. It hadn't been selling off its Supplies, its doors kept tightly shut the whole time — there should still be things inside.
So he instinctively judged that someone was scavenging Supplies from inside the supermarket, and moved closer to observe cautiously.
It was a group of survivors trapped inside the supermarket!
Two figures, clearly not Bakatan Soldiers, wearing homemade Cyber-painted colorful Armor, stood at the supermarket entrance amid a Sea of fire, Weapons in hand, toying with and massacring the survivors inside!
Inside the supermarket, the shelves had collapsed, huge amounts of Supplies turning to ash in the roaring flames. The dozen or so survivors inside seemed to have originally come to gather Supplies, but now, in this moment, they fled in a frenzied panic. Amid the screaming and desperate escape, the two Bakatan people behind them moved without hurry, holding what looked like Bakatan Shotguns, dropping one survivor per shot.
Just when the survivors thought they might get away, they were shot dead on the spot.
A scream rang out.
Behind the panicking survivors, a young girl had fallen. Her lovely face twisted in terror, and as she watched the Bakatan people closing in step by step, she let out a high-pitched scream.
And just at that moment, from among the fleeing survivors, another figure suddenly ran out.
That person, Lin Qun actually recognized.
It was the greedy shopkeeper who had once sold Supplies at sky-high prices!
It seemed to be heaven's punishment upon him — he'd sold off every last bit of his Supplies, and now that the Apocalypse had truly arrived, all that money had become nothing but worthless paper, and here he was, forced to run out and search for Supplies himself!
And the girl who had fallen seemed to be his daughter. He rushed toward her without a second thought, desperate to get her out of there.
At that moment, the Bakatan person at the very front had already closed in on them to an almost unbearable distance, yet didn't fire, deliberately building up an atmosphere of terror, advancing step by step.
"Sweetheart, go, run, we have to run..."
And yet, in that very instant, the daughter he had risked everything to save instinctively raised her hand and shoved her own father — pushing him straight toward the monster — while she herself... ran desperately backward, away.
It was the most pitiful and instinctive choice imaginable.
Her father had run back to save her.
And she, mercilessly, shoved her own father out as a shield, and fled without ever looking back.
……
……