Night of the Apocalypse

At this moment, Shen Qiu felt like he could die.

How long has it been? Did she already finish eating them?

Shen Qiu couldn’t help but look up and down at Yun Xiaoxi’s small and slender frame, which really didn’t seem like it could hold that much.

At that moment, Yun Xiaoxi also wore an innocent expression and blinked at Shen Qiu.

Seeing her harmless look, Shen Qiu felt a bit relieved. After all, she had been hungry for so long, so it wasn’t unreasonable for her to eat a bit more.

“Sigh~ It’s fine, let’s move quickly.”

Shen Qiu said with a helpless sigh.

“Okay!”

Yun Xiaoxi happily took the lead and walked ahead.

As time passed quickly, the night grew deeper.

The mist in the air became heavier.

Visibility continued to decrease.

In the central area of the fog city, Shen Qiu and Yun Xiaoxi emerged from a corner.

At a glance, the spire-like buildings here were almost entirely constructed from natural boulders, with even the windows made of glass. Compared to the buildings on the outskirts, it gave a more solemn and majestic feeling.

Shen Qiu didn’t know why, but after arriving here, he felt that his breathing had become even more labored.

“Do you feel like the air quality here is worse?” Shen Qiu said in a low voice to Yun Xiaoxi.

“Yes, the fog is denser here!”

“Do you think breathing this air for a long time could cause respiratory diseases?”

“It probably would.” Yun Xiaoxi thought for a moment before responding.

A thought suddenly popped into Shen Qiu’s mind: could it be that people here had become half-human, half-ghost due to air pollution, constantly falling ill?

And then, in their desperation for treatment, they ended up in this monstrous state?

“Where should we go next?”

Yun Xiaoxi carefully observed her surroundings, confirming there were no enemies before quietly asking Shen Qiu.

“Let me take a look… huh?”

Shen Qiu squinted and gazed around, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t figure out which building was the laboratory.

“What’s wrong?”

Yun Xiaoxi asked curiously.

“Which building is the laboratory?”

Shen Qiu was a bit confused himself.

“That one!”

Yun Xiaoxi immediately pointed to the center, at a towering Gothic-style cathedral that covered at least tens of thousands of square feet. Through the hazy gray mist, one could see the cathedral’s exterior walls intricately carved with various reliefs and stained glass windows adorned with colorful flowers.

Inside the cathedral stood a tall tower, topped with an ancient clock.

“Isn’t that a church?” Shen Qiu asked, slightly taken aback and confused.

“The laboratory is inside the church.” Yun Xiaoxi explained.

“Is there some monster guarding the church?” Shen Qiu pondered and asked.

“Yes, all the major entrances to the church are sealed off, and there are many followers guarding the interior. Many of those followers possess supernatural abilities, which makes them very dangerous. It’s nearly impossible to force our way in.”

Yun Xiaoxi explained to Shen Qiu.

“I understand. Follow me! I know where the Gray Scorpions entered.”

Shen Qiu said as he maneuvered toward the west side of the cathedral.

Yun Xiaoxi didn’t ask Shen Qiu how he knew about the entrance; she just silently followed him.

On the west side of the cathedral, there was a vintage street.

Shen Qiu and Yun Xiaoxi leaned against the edge of a window in a residential building, observing what lay ahead.

In the middle of the spacious street, there was a collapsed statue of a kind mother holding a child, with shattered stone fragments scattered all over the ground.

This statue was the marker that Kaon mentioned. To the right of the collapsed statue, there was a damaged drainage pipe, which originated from an underground sewage outlet.

Shen Qiu and Yun Xiaoxi continuously observed their surroundings; this was already their third observation point.

“Are you sure that underground sewage outlet is the entrance?”

Yun Xiaoxi asked Shen Qiu again.

“It should be correct.”

Shen Qiu carefully examined the area and believed it was indeed what Kaon referred to.

“It’s strange, I can’t see any Gray Scorpions around. Did they not send anyone to guard it?”

Yun Xiaoxi looked left and right but couldn’t find anyone hiding.

“It’s possible that it’s too dangerous outside, so they didn’t place any sentries. Let’s go in.”

“Okay!”

“Let’s go!”

Shen Qiu wasn’t one to hesitate; the two of them immediately left the room.

Before long, they reached the sewage outlet. Peering inside, they found it quite dim and couldn’t see the end.

As they entered the sewage tunnel, a foul odor hit them, and just smelling it made Shen Qiu feel a bit nauseous.

He instinctively turned to glance at Yun Xiaoxi, but she showed no reaction and didn’t complain at all.

“Shen Qiu, let me go first,” Yun Xiaoxi suddenly said.

“Sure.”

Shen Qiu didn’t say much. Although he was pretty responsive, Yun Xiaoxi was a professional combatant after all.

The further they went in, the lower the visibility became. They were practically feeling their way along the sticky stone walls.

Just as they reached a corner, Shen Qiu suddenly noticed a faint yellow light.

He quickly grabbed Yun Xiaoxi’s arm, pulled her back, and signaled her to be quiet.

Yun Xiaoxi immediately understood and nodded slightly.

Then, Shen Qiu and Yun Xiaoxi carefully peeked their heads around the corner to look ahead.

After turning the corner, they saw a straight sewage passage that was over thirty meters long. At the end of the passage, several kerosene lamps were hanging on the wall.

Through the light of the kerosene lamps, they could see five members of the Gray Scorpion wearing combat uniforms. Behind them, there was a heavy iron gate.

Shen Qiu and Yun Xiaoxi exchanged glances and tacitly retreated.

After backing up a certain distance, Shen Qiu frowned and said quietly, “This is bad. It’s the Gray Scorpion. I didn’t expect them to be guarding this spot. The passage behind the corner is straight, with no cover in between.”

“Can we take advantage of their inattention and rush past?” Yun Xiaoxi suggested after thinking for a moment.

“Are you kidding? I estimated the distance, and it’s about thirty meters from the corner to those guys. They clearly have two submachine guns, and I’m not sure how many handguns. Thirty meters isn’t too long or too short—it’s enough for them to react and spray us with bullets. Unless you can deflect the bullets?”

“I could block one or two, but those are submachine guns. They fire in bursts; there’s no way to block them all.”

“So a direct assault definitely won’t work,” Shen Qiu said, feeling a headache coming on.

At that moment, Yun Xiaoxi suddenly extended a blade from her thumb.

“Wait, wait! What are you going to do?” Shen Qiu asked, looking bewildered at Yun Xiaoxi.

“I’m not doing anything. Since a direct assault won’t work, we should make some noise to draw them over and take them out,” Yun Xiaoxi explained to Shen Qiu with a serious expression.

“Didn’t you see that iron gate behind them? If something unusual happens, their first reaction will probably not be to come investigate, but to retreat behind that gate and shut it. After all, there are monsters everywhere in this city, and they’ll prioritize their own safety,” Shen Qiu replied, rubbing his forehead.