Chapter 182: 182, Go upstream

Wang Fugui and the others stood silently at the Barrier's entrance, watching Ren Xiaosu return to that dangerous place. Sometimes Wang Fugui thought Ren Xiaosu was truly bold, daring to go back where others dared not.

He had to admit, Wang Fugui believed that following Ren Xiaosu's lead, along with Wang Dalong, was the best decision of his life. If he hadn't followed Ren Xiaosu, even if he had survived the disaster at Barrier 113, he might have perished in another sudden catastrophe.

The world today was too dangerous.

In the past two days, while purchasing supplies for their escape, Ren Xiaosu and Wang Fugui were often questioned by shopkeepers, making Wang Fugui sometimes think that without natural disasters like earthquakes, the Barrier wouldn't be in trouble.

But ultimately, Ren Xiaosu was proven right.

At this moment, Yan Liyuan stared blankly at the direction Ren Xiaosu had left, and Xiao Yu sighed, 'Liu Yuan, are you worried about your brother?'

Everyone knew the two brothers were the closest, and Yan Liyuan's concern for Ren Xiaosu was understandable. Yet Yan Liyuan suddenly shook his head, 'I was just wondering if I should go remind him—he's still carrying a bicycle...'

Xiao Yu: '???'

At that moment, everyone's faces were shocked—they realized, indeed, Ren Xiaosu had been carrying a bicycle when he turned back!

It was just that the situation had been too urgent, and Ren Xiaosu's decision had shocked them so much that they had overlooked this detail!

Wang Fugui suddenly felt that the strong image Ren Xiaosu had just established in everyone's mind had vanished like smoke...

Yan Liyuan mounted his bicycle and said, 'Let's go, my brother must have his reasons for returning. We head north!'

Chen Wudi gazed worriedly into the Barrier, 'Master, it seems you'll have to flee with the King of Daughter Kingdom. How will we ever reach the Western Paradise now?'

Yan Liyuan comforted, 'It's okay, we'll take the King of Daughter Kingdom with us.'

Chen Wudi hesitated for a long time and reluctantly said, 'Alright.'

……

Yang Xiaojin's building was only about a kilometer from the Barrier's gate. Ren Xiaosu glanced at it, sighed, and placed the bicycle by the roadside. He had been careless, forgetting to entrust it to Yan Liyuan and the others.

The storage space inside had already filled all 15 cubic meters with supplies. He could have taken some out to fit the bicycle, but it was too late now.

Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu saw countless refugees fleeing toward the Barrier's gate, pursued by several experimental subjects.

The terrifying experimental subjects had frightened the Barrier's residents to tears. Some had lost their shoes while running, others wore thin sleepwear in the harsh winter, clearly having just escaped their homes.

These people, who once discussed music festivals and fashion trends, finally understood what the world beyond the Barrier was truly like.

When Ren Xiaosu first entered the Barrier, he felt that everything outside was rapidly changing, yet within, it remained static. These people hid behind the Barrier, enjoying a false prosperity, but the walls that seemed to protect them had also shackled their progress.

Ren Xiaosu looked up at Yang Xiaojin's building, where an experimental subject had already climbed to the top. But as it reached the summit, it was met with a dark, massive gun barrel.

The experimental subjects were not afraid of bullets; even automatic rifle rounds within fifty meters would be instantly sealed into their surface by their resilient muscles.

However, their fearlessness did not extend to sniper rifles.

Yang Xiaojin's strength was so great that she could wield the heavy sniper rifle like a close-range cannon. After a thunderous bang, the first experimental subject to reach the roof was decapitated!

The sniper rifle's recoil was immense; an ordinary person holding it level would likely be knocked over by the force.

Yet Yang Xiaojin acted as if nothing had happened, immediately firing a second shot at another experimental subject!

For some reason, Ren Xiaosu always felt a stark contradiction between Yang Xiaojin's slender frame and the sniper rifle.

Yet this contradiction was like a unique aesthetic of violence.

……

Originally, Ren Xiaosu had worried he wouldn't make it in time. He knew that without support, Yang Xiaojin would eventually be overwhelmed, as there were too many experimental subjects.

But now he felt a bit more at ease—after all, he still had time!

Or perhaps this was the time Yang Xiaojin had bought for herself!

Ren Xiaosu suddenly quickened his pace, but everyone else was fleeing toward the Barrier's gate, while he was swimming against the current.

As the crowd passed Ren Xiaosu, even in the face of life and death, they couldn't help but glance at him in surprise. Was there really someone heading back toward the experimental subjects? They hadn't even had time to hide yet.

At this moment, the entire city was filled with fleeing people driven by the experimental subjects toward the Barrier's gate, while only one person remained walking against the flow on the streets.

Yang Xiaojin, from her distant building, glimpsed this scene. Seeing Ren Xiaosu walking against the current, she suddenly felt that today's 109 Barrier wasn't so terrifying after all.

At that moment, an old man recognized Ren Xiaosu. 'Isn't this the young man who bought a lot of food at my grocery store?'

The old man was the grocery store owner who had mocked Ren Xiaosu for his paranoia the day before. Now, he realized how foolish he had been.

Why had this young man known the danger was coming in advance?

And since he knew of the danger, shouldn't he have prepared to flee earlier? Why was he going back now?

These two questions swirled in the old man's mind as he ran forward, conflicted. But not long after passing Ren Xiaosu, the front of the refugee group suddenly erupted in screams!

At the end of the long street, several experimental subjects burst from the left side of a crossroads, surrounding them!

At that moment, only Ren Xiaosu, walking against the flow, was unharmed, for he knew from experience that the experimental subjects never left a survivor—that was their combat style!

If they weren't fully prepared, they wouldn't have had the patience to lie in wait underground for so long!

The intelligence behind these experimental subjects harbored even greater ambitions!