Chapter 103: 103, The wall really collapsed

The refugees in the north of Jituan had become utterly chaotic. As Ren Xiaosu climbed onto a rooftop with Wang Fugui and the others before their departure, gazing northward, he beheld a vast, black tide of insects spreading across the sky, engulfing the entire town.

In that scene, Jituan seemed as if dyed suddenly by a splash of ink. The once-colorful town gradually succumbed to the creeping darkness of the insect swarm.

Beasts thundered in the distance, and Ren Xiaosu saw no wolves or experimental subjects—perhaps the human-faced worms were the first creatures to reach the town.

Yet he sensed that a greater crisis would not tarry long.

The refugees fled toward the gates of Bili, crying out beneath the city walls, begging the barriers to open and save them.

"Open the gates!"

"Please, open the gates and save us! Can’t you see those insects!?"

"Please, I beg you—just let my child in!"

The refugees below the walls knelt, but the private guards atop the ramparts merely swept their automatic rifles at the densest parts of the swarm, never intending to open the gates.

Moreover, their bullets were but a drop in the bucket against the tide.

As the swarm neared, the great gates of Bili remained shut. Some refugees began cursing, but they could not shout for long—they had to flee, lest the insects arrive!

Ren Xiaosu had never placed much hope in others, so his first instinct was not to negotiate with Bili, but to leave at once.

He could not concern himself with others’ fates; he could only tend to Yan Liuyuan and the others.

Initially, Ren Xiaosu worried Wang Fugui would carry too many burdens, but he found Wang Fugui and Wang Dalong each bore only a single pack. Though Wang Dalong was burly and rough, he was strong and carried his load without hesitation.

At one moment, Ren Xiaosu even wondered if Wang Dalong was some kind of superhuman. When he lifted the pack, he discovered it was filled with compressed biscuits circulating within Bili, while Wang Fugui’s own pack held medicines.

The medicine boxes had been unpacked and sorted into plastic bottles for easy transport.

As Ren Xiaosu led them fleeing southwest along Bili’s walls, he asked curiously, "I thought you’d bring gold or something."

"I’d like to, but I can’t carry it. If I collapse from exhaustion, I’ll die, won’t I?" Wang Fugui grimaced. "I’ve got some money in my pack, but it’s all Qingshi Bank currency. Exchanging it for Lishi paper money at Bili 109 would probably cost me two-tenths in fees."

Wang Fugui panted heavily; he was too out of shape to escape easily.

Ren Xiaosu glanced at him. "Don’t whine. The medicine you’re carrying is worth a fortune—over a thousand anti-inflammatory pills, each worth 200 yuan."

Moreover, on the run, money was often useless, but medicine was not.

Zhang Jinglin once said gold was hard currency, but he forgot another hard currency: medicine.

In truth, Wang Fugui had made the wisest choice.

…

Not all the refugees of Jituan had foolishly cried out beneath the walls. Some understood from the start that the powers within Bili cared nothing for their lives, so they fled straight into the wilderness.

As Ren Xiaosu’s group departed, their ears were filled with the wails of refugees behind them and the gunfire from the walls. Soon, a more violent rumble arose. Looking back, Ren Xiaosu saw the private soldiers atop the walls hurling grenades and bombs downward!

There were still people alive down there!

The smarter refugees fled into the wilderness in madness; some stumbled and rolled, daring not pause even a second.

Those fleeing southwest were not alone—hundreds more traveled with them.

Because Yan Liuyuan and Xiao Yu could not run fast, Ren Xiaosu had to blend them into the crowd.

Fortunately, all their luggage was borne by Ren Xiaosu, leaving them relatively unburdened.

After a while, they realized the human-faced worms had not pursued them, so they slowed their pace. Everyone else was exhausted, but Ren Xiaosu pressed on.

Someone glanced back. The once-familiar town now resembled a purgatory, its huts ablaze.

"Home is gone," someone murmured.

Those who had just lost kin began to weep. Ren Xiaosu had witnessed people abandoning their young children to run faster.

Yet others clutched their children until death claimed them both, devoured by the worms. The patterns on the worms’ carapaces gleamed whiter, and their chewing sounds would haunt many a nightmare.

By now, their group had reached a relatively safe area. The worms seemed more interested in Bili, so they did not chase those fleeing into the wild.

Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized Bili would draw much attention from the fleeing humans, for its "food" was abundant.

When the Qingshi Consortium’s army joined the fight, wielding their stockpiled weapons and heavy arms within Bili, they could surely hold back the beasts and monsters.

If not for avoiding the Qingshi Consortium, Ren Xiaosu might have lingered in the wilderness until they cleansed the monsters, then returned with Yan Liuyuan and Xiao Yu.

But now, he had to flee the Qingshi-controlled lands.

At that moment, Ren Xiaosu frowned and glanced at the ground. All felt it: "Another earthquake!"

This tremor was fiercer than any before, sending some sprawling.

"Look at that!" someone pointed north.

A massive black line surged southward, originating from the Jingshan direction, plunging into Bili like a blade.

The towering, rounded wall emitted the sound of an iceberg collapsing, and even its sturdy structure began to crack from below.

Ren Xiaosu watched in stunned silence. The fissure did not form an abyss but split Bili into two halves. The western ground suddenly rose ten meters high, as if a staircase had been carved into the plain itself.

Two tectonic plates collided here, and in an instant, over half the wall was destroyed.

The wall had truly collapsed!