"Mingyue, my daughter, it's wonderful you're alive!"
"City Lord! You're back!"
"City Lord!"
...
Just as Mingyue was about to fetch food for Ren Jian, a large group of people in tattered clothes.
Suddenly emerged from the cliff face, surrounding her and Ji Shiyou.
Leading them was He Si, her father in this world.
Everyone looked at her, crying out excitedly, calling her name.
Looking at the familiar faces, Mingyue's heart ached.
The people surrounding her were all ability users from Mingyue Base.
But now they looked like refugees, each with unsteady steps.
There was no trace of their abilities, they were like ordinary people.
Their complexions were sallow, clearly from starvation.
And each of them wore several layers of clothing.
Some even draped blankets over themselves, presumably for warmth.
But the outside temperature was so low, they were still shivering uncontrollably.
"Cough, cough, cough, didn't I tell you not to come out?
Do you still think you're ability users? The temperature outside now.
Could freeze you to death at any moment. If you want to catch up, let's go inside."
Ren Jian, struggling to get up from the ground, said weakly.
Everyone was also too cold to bear it, and they pulled Ji Shiyou and Mingyue.
Into a cave entrance in the rock face. It turned out Ren Jian had been motionless earlier.
Guarding this entrance, preventing ferocious beasts from entering and harming everyone.
The cave was not deep, and they reached the end in about ten minutes.
Inside, it was spacious and dry, with a hint of warmth.
It might be a few degrees below zero, but compared to the outside temperature of minus seventy or eighty degrees.
It was like a greenhouse, at least it wouldn't freeze them to death.
The space inside was vast, tens of thousands of square meters.
Besides the people who had entered with Mingyue, there were about two thousand others.
Many were unfamiliar faces Mingyue had never seen, clearly not from Mingyue Base.
Some of those people were sitting on the ground.
Others lay on the ground, eyes closed, their life or death unknown.
Each of them had a haggard look, emaciated.
It seemed they hadn't eaten for a very long time.
Remembering Ren Jian had just asked her for food, saying he had been hungry for over ten days.
Mingyue took out the food she had stockpiled before the apocalypse from her spatial storage.
It was all bread, biscuits, bottled water, and other non-perishable items.
Upon seeing the food, Ren Jian was the first to rush forward, devouring it ravenously.
The others also began to eat frantically, not stopping even when they choked.
"Ren Jian, why don't I see Wen Qing Tian and the others?"
Mingyue looked around, not seeing anyone from the Mingyue team, and asked.
"Alas! They're all dead!"
Ren Jian swallowed the bread in his mouth and squatted on the ground, looking dejected.
Tears streamed down the cheeks of the nearly two-meter-tall man.
He then downed a bottle of water and began to recount the events.
That day, they had no idea that Xuan Ming had stolen the treasure and kidnapped the baby.
Even less did they know that Mingyue had self-destructed to stop Xuan Ming and destroy the world.
They were still enthusiastically engaged in the work of rebuilding after the apocalypse.
When they suddenly saw Ji Shiyou ascend into the sky and leave abruptly.
Then they heard a deafening roar from the direction Ji Shiyou had gone.
It was as if the world itself was trembling, and they knew something was amiss.
So they stopped their reconstruction work and rushed towards the direction of the explosion.
When they reached that Gobi desert, they only saw a massive crater.
They found nothing else, so they returned to the base in Yunmeng Mountain.
To hear what Mingyue and Ji Shiyou had to say.
But they couldn't find the two, and even the baby was missing.
They waited at the base for two days, but the three did not appear.
Instead, they were met with a torrential downpour, as if the Milky Way had overturned.
Everyone didn't pay much attention, even if the rain was a bit heavier than usual.
It was a natural phenomenon, it would stop eventually.
Who knew that by midnight, the water had risen to the mountainside.
While everyone was asleep, the floodwaters surged like a tide, pouring into the base within the mountain.
Ordinary people were all drowned by the surging floodwaters.
The ability users, using their powers, rushed out of the base entrance and escaped to the mountaintop.
He Si stayed in Dr. You Hen's laboratory that night.
When the floodwaters came in, he, along with Dr. You Hen and the researchers.
Entered their developed escape pod, thus avoiding disaster.
After reuniting with everyone on the mountaintop, they looked down to see the floodwaters had risen to their feet.
Judging by the situation, this world had become a vast expanse of water, completely submerged.
With Mingyue and Ji Shiyou absent, Wen Qing Tian temporarily took charge.
Deciding to move to higher ground, gathering all metal and wood element ability users.
They conjured an ark out of thin air, carrying everyone towards Tianzhu Peak.
However, the ark had only sailed for two days in the floodwaters when the previously calm waters.
For some unknown reason, began to churn with monstrous waves.
Dr. You Hen's escape pod collided with a mountain peak submerged by the floodwaters.
Shi Henian sent He Si to the ark using his mental power.
By the time he tried to save others, he was swallowed by the giant waves.
Perishing in the floodwaters along with Dr. You Hen and his team.
To protect everyone and ensure their safe arrival at Tianzhu Peak for refuge.
Wen Qing Tian joined forces with Bu Zhi to fight the wind and waves. By the time they reached Tianzhu Peak.
Both men were lifeless, having died from exhaustion.
Tian Shang also sacrificed her life by transferring her abilities to the two.
The Mingyue team lost four members for the sake of everyone.
Fortunately, Tianzhu Peak was not submerged by the floodwaters.
Everyone thought they could take refuge here.
And wait for the floodwaters to recede before descending the mountain to start anew.
Little did they know, the day after they reached Tianzhu Peak.
The temperature plummeted, and the endless floodwaters turned into solid ice.
The entire Tianlong Star transformed into a world of glass. The sudden drop in temperature froze half of the survivors to death.
To prevent the remaining people from freezing to death.
Jin Xi and other fire element ability users unleashed flames to provide warmth.
And Gong Que and all the earth element ability users carved out this cave as a place of refuge from the cold.
Subsequently, the survivors of this world gradually gathered here.
Tianzhu Peak became the only remaining human settlement in this world.
No one knew why this had happened.
But the suffering was not over. A month later, unknown ferocious beasts appeared.
They would harass them from time to time. These beasts were very strange.
Much like the zombies and mutated animals from the previous apocalypse.
They were species never before seen in this world.
They were highly intelligent and cruel in nature.
Most terrifyingly, they seemed to be energy beings.
After being killed, they would revive after a period of time, making them inexhaustible.
Everyone gave them a name: Chaos Beasts.
But they were all ability users, and by working together, they could still protect themselves.
However, a month ago, while they were battling the Chaos Beasts.
The sky and earth suddenly changed color, the five elements became chaotic and violent, triggering spatial storms.
All their abilities vanished. Facing the Chaos Beasts and the elemental storms.
Half of the survivors died, including Jin Xi and Gong Que.
After that incident, fewer than two thousand people remained alive.
And all of them had lost their abilities, becoming ordinary people.
Only Ren Jian was an exception.
Although his fire element ability had disappeared, his beast transformation ability remained.
Thus, the responsibility of fighting the Chaos Beasts and protecting everyone fell upon his shoulders.
But the most serious problem was not the Chaos Beasts that harassed them from time to time.
Nor was it the rampant elemental storms, but the lack of food.
They had been on Tianzhu Peak for two months.
The floodwaters had come suddenly, and everyone hadn't had time to prepare much food.
Whatever edible they had, they had eaten.
Next, they would either be eaten by the Chaos Beasts or starve to death.
Listening to Ren Jian's choked narration, Mingyue's heart ached.
Wen Qing Tian, Jin Xi, Bu Zhi, Tian Shang, Gong Que, Shi Henian.
These people who had fought alongside her through the apocalypse were all dead.
"What about Ba Jiu?"
Mingyue suddenly asked.