Chapter 6 – Rapid Rescue

Cheng Yang naturally heard the voice again. It was the second time he’d heard it, so he wasn’t surprised at all.

His gaze was fixed on the suddenly flattened land. All the trees within a kilometer radius had been blown away, yet strangely, there were no craters on the ground.

About a hundred meters away, a complete altar had appeared, identical to the one in the photos. Surrounding it were four three-meter-tall statues, perfectly matching the profession statues from his memories.

“Follow me!” Cheng Yang shouted, his voice no longer needing to compete with the hurricane winds. He was the first to charge forward.

By the time Cheng Yang had run ten meters, Yu Kai and the others finally reacted and followed suit.

Boss Li and his group realized that Cheng Yang was the decision-maker among them, someone who seemed to know things others didn’t. Seeing Yu Kai and the others charging forward, they followed as well.

Cheng Yang reached the altar in mere seconds. He instantly brought up the altar’s property panel and selected “Build Wall.”

In that moment, part of the dozen truckloads of timber by the river seemed to dissolve into thin air. Simultaneously, a three-meter-tall wooden wall appeared around the altar, completely enclosing a kilometer radius within seconds. Even the small river was spanned by wooden walls, now flowing through the encampment.

Yu Kai and the others arrived at the altar, their jaws dropping at the sight. In all their years, they’d never seen anything so bizarre.

“Yangzi, what’s going on?” Boss Li, being the oldest and most composed, immediately asked Cheng Yang.

“Now’s not the time for explanations. We’re short on time. Think of it this way – we’re in a game world now. These four statues represent profession choices: Warrior, Archer, Mage, and Summoner. We need to choose our professions quickly.”

Even veteran gamers like Liu Hao were stunned. He’d fantasized about the real world becoming a game, but seeing it actually happen felt surreal and absurd.

Yet the appearance of the wall made it clear this couldn’t be explained by science.

Though shocked, they knew they had to make decisions.

“Yangzi, can we change professions too?” Liu Hao asked eagerly.

“Of course,” Cheng Yang replied, holding his staff. “But not now. Changing professions requires spiritual energy. First, I need to rescue Niu Bing.”

After much hesitation, Boss Li approached Cheng Yang. “Young man, can we change professions too?”

Cheng Yang was relieved. He didn’t need to invite them; they came willingly. This was good.

He needed people urgently. “Of course, but I’ll be upfront. This encampment belongs to me. To use its resources, you’ll need to follow my rules. Don’t worry, they won’t be harsh – just enough to help us survive in this cruel world.”

Perhaps the recent events had shaken them, or maybe Cheng Yang’s foresight gave them a sense of security, but no one objected to his claim of ownership.

They didn’t know that even if they objected, it wouldn’t matter. Cheng Yang truly owned the encampment. If he didn’t want someone to change professions at the statues, they couldn’t. He even had the power to strip abilities from those who had changed professions.

Of course, Cheng Yang wouldn’t reveal this yet.

“Yangzi, what should we do next? Should we help you rescue Niu Bing?” Liu Hao asked nervously, looking at the darkening sky and the drastically changed landscape.

Not just Yu Kai, everyone was anxious. The sudden changes had completely disrupted their mindsets, especially after hearing from Cheng Yang that the whole world was experiencing the same disaster.

The world had changed. What should they do next?

Cheng Yang didn’t hesitate. “No, I’ll go alone. You haven’t changed professions; your abilities are too weak. In about seven or eight minutes, demonized beasts will appear. We need to find Old Niu before then, or his life will be in danger. He’s probably already on his way; it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Without further explanation, Cheng Yang dashed out of the encampment.

As he reached the north gate, the tall wooden door opened instantly under his control, and he shot out like an arrow. The door closed automatically behind him. As the lord of Luofeng Village, Cheng Yang could control any construct within his territory.

Cheng Yang ran desperately, praying that Niu Bing was safe.

His speed was twice that of a normal person, but as a mage, his stamina couldn’t match a warrior’s, so he couldn’t maintain full speed for long. Even so, he was slightly faster than his previous 100-meter dash.

In just over three minutes, he’d covered nearly two kilometers – a world record in the old world.

Finally, he saw a taxi tilted on the roadside, with three people standing confused in the middle of the road. One of them was Niu Bing.

“Yangzi, why are you here? Where were you during the earthquake?” Niu Bing asked as he saw Cheng Yang approaching.

Cheng Yang didn’t explain. “If you don’t want to die here, come with me. No time to explain.”

He grabbed Niu Bing and started running towards Luofeng Village.

“Wait! Pang Shan, I need to bring her too,” Niu Bing struggled and said quickly.

Cheng Yang noticed the girl beside Niu Bing. She was about their age, with above-average looks. This must be the girlfriend Yu Kai mentioned. She and Niu Bing looked well-matched.

“Come with us. Hope you can keep up,” Cheng Yang said quickly.

Pang Shan wanted to say something, but Niu Bing shook his head. “Don’t ask. Yangzi knows what he’s doing.”

Niu Bing had a bad feeling that this earthquake wasn’t so simple.

Cheng Yang charged forward, and Niu Bing and Pang Shan followed closely behind.

The taxi driver left behind was dumbfounded. He hadn’t figured out what was happening, but he’d heard Cheng Yang’s words about it being a matter of life and death.

Humans are social creatures. Without a sense of security, they naturally gravitate towards groups. Like the driver, who followed Cheng Yang and the others. Later, he would think his decision was brilliant.

…

At this moment, Xiangcheng City was desolate. Not a single building remained standing. Everywhere was in ruins.

The earthquake had stopped, and the hurricane had vanished without a trace. Survivors were about to search for their loved ones when the voice from the sky brought even greater shock. If one person heard it, it could be a hallucination, but when everyone heard it, the meaning was completely different.

This was no ordinary natural disaster – that was everyone’s thought.

But what should they do next? No one knew.

The voice said life needed to grow through slaughter, but how? Just fight each other? That was ridiculous. If that were the case, boxers would be the strongest in the world.

Without any leads, they temporarily set the matter aside and began searching for lost loved ones, while planning their next steps. Should they wait for government rescue or fend for themselves?

The Xiangcheng government had already started mobilizing, but all communication devices were down, limiting their capabilities. However, they gathered armed police and prepared to stabilize the situation, radiating out from the city center.

Meanwhile, they sent specialized teams to explore post-disaster Xiangcheng. These people thought more deeply than ordinary citizens. They felt this wasn’t as simple as it seemed. The voice mentioned evolution through slaughter, and the keyword “evolution” caught their attention.

How to evolve? In what direction? What’s the catalyst? These were the questions government leaders most wanted answered.

Of course, it wasn’t just government leaders concerned about this. Some powerful families also planned to seek answers about evolution once things stabilized.

At this moment, no one believed this was just a disaster affecting Xiangcheng. In today’s world, there was no way to completely disable all electronic devices, making them unable to even turn on. The strange voice further overturned humanity’s long-held faith in science. The only explanation was that Earth had undergone some special change, entering a new orbit.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…