EDEH Chapter 83

Even dozens of meters underground, they could faintly hear the dull alarm sounds and the roar from the surface monster invasion.

 

Fortunately, the surrounding bed pillars were all thick, hard steel bars, preventing them from feeling earthquake-like shaking.

 

By the time everything was settled, it was already midnight.

 

This shelter was full of military families, and everyone couldn’t sleep well, very worried about their family members on the front lines. The whispered conversations never stopped.

 

Sang Jue’s hearing was good, so he caught every word, his ears constantly buzzing, quite uncomfortable.

 

Moreover, the bed was a bit too high with no protection – he was afraid of falling.

 

So he used Huo Yanji’s clothes to build himself a nest.

 

Huo Yanji’s clothes were large, two pieces were enough to wrap up the little evil dragon. He curled up inside, took a deep breath, and felt a thick sense of satisfaction.

 

007 said: “District E has been destroyed after bombing.”

 

Sang Jue didn’t understand the meaning of bombing, but fortunately 007 explained in time: “Every district of the main city has explosive points buried underground, just to prevent this kind of irreversible situation.”

 

Sang Jue seemed to understand, whispering: “Sacrifice one district, save one city.”

 

The current battle situation inside and outside the city was very severe. Though the tall, sturdy city walls blocked many antlions, District E had become a breakthrough point, and several surrounding small areas, like District E, hadn’t had steel plates inserted underground yet, making the situation precarious.

 

The mutant antlions were huge and numerous. Under the gunpowder smoke of District E were countless antlion corpses mixed with building debris, but soon, the groups behind them would make a comeback.

 

How long could the isolation wall hold?

 

Everyone fell into deep worry – for individuals, for family members, for the survival of their race.

 

Only the little evil dragon, because of his fear of heights, had no mind to think about other things, not even daring to turn over, afraid of falling.

 

He should have switched beds with someone else if he’d known.

 

But he was an adult dragon who was afraid of heights – truly embarrassing for dragons.

 

He rolled slightly within Huo Yanji’s clothes, letting the scent cover his entire body.

 

After seven or eight days apart, the scent on the clothes had become very faint, no longer as rich as initially, requiring a whole night’s sleep to feel enveloped.

 

His little schemes gradually became active—

 

The city was so chaotic and unsafe. If he secretly went to District 7 to steal… snatch the aircraft, or directly find Huo Yanji, that should be fine, right?

 

Humans always said that couples couldn’t be separated too long, or their feelings would fade, and it was easy for little monsters from different places to take advantage.

 

Oh no, little vixens.

 

Huo Yanji had no partner for so many years, maybe because he didn’t like humans, only liked little monsters.

 

Sang Jue buried himself in the clothes, asking 007 muffledly: “Do you know the route to the underground city?”

 

The underground city’s location wasn’t classified, but most people indeed didn’t know the specific address. Coming from there in their youth, after decades of vastly different life experiences, they had long forgotten the way back.

 

007 replied: “Data loaded.”

 

Sang Jue looked around. This air-raid shelter housed nearly a hundred military family members, but overall it was orderly and organized, not chaotic. There were administrators at the entrance, and though they didn’t wear the old uniforms, Sang Jue still recognized them as former supervisors.

 

Before the new law enforcement department was established, they still stood up at critical moments, fulfilling their due responsibilities.

 

Sang Jue took a deep breath, climbed down tremblingly, and walked to the entrance: “Hello, I want to use the restroom.”

 

The person looked at him: “Go out, turn left, then walk right to the end.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Sang Jue wrote his name and ID number in the registration book before being allowed to pass. Not only did entry and exit require registration, but there were also many former supervisors guarding outside, wearing ordinary black uniforms, guarding all entrances and exits.

 

Food and drinking water would be brought in by someone, and all entrances to the surface had been completely sealed, with heavy steel doors cutting off the path to the ground.

 

It wouldn’t be easy to slip out.

 

Moreover, the underground signal was poor, so no one could be contacted.

 

He returned defeated, having to go back to the bunk beds and look up at the bed that was two times his height, pursing his lips.

 

Yang Chen was lying on the bed reading, absorbed in her book, when she felt someone watching her.

 

She turned her head and found a young man staring straight at her.

 

“Fallen for my beauty?”

 

Sang Jue blinked: “You’re very pretty, but your bed is even prettier.”

 

“?” Yang Chen looked at the bedside, saying honestly: “There’s no room for a second person here.”

 

“…No, I already have a bed partner.” Sang Jue said: “I just want to switch beds with you.”

 

Yang Chen continued reading, refusing: “You’ve slept in that bed, no switching.”

 

Sang Jue pursed his lips: “I don’t smell bad.”

 

Yang Chen: “Still no switching.”

 

After a while, Yang Chen looked toward the bedside and found the person still standing there, motionless, with pure black eyes that were surprisingly clear and beautiful beyond words, looking at her pitifully.

 

Like the border collie she had seen in a documentary in the underground city when she was little – small and smart, and though it couldn’t speak human language, whenever something happened, it would stare at others with this irresistible gaze, making people helpless yet extremely cute.

 

“…”

 

Yang Chen sat up, took a deep breath: “Switching is fine, but the bedding has to be switched too.”

 

Sang Jue’s lips curved up: “Thank you.”

 

Yang Chen: “…”

 

This was ridiculous – were there really such… boys in this world?

 

Seeing Sang Jue not moving, she gestured with her chin: “Go up and change the bedding, take your things down.”

 

Sang Jue said quietly: “Could you please help me? I can pay.”

 

“…”

 

So looks really were important.

 

If someone else had communicated like this, she would have already thrown a… book at them.

 

Yang Chen closed her book and nimbly climbed up to the fourth-tier bed, throwing down Sang Jue’s things one by one: “No need to change the bedding.”

 

Sang Jue tilted his head: “But didn’t you say you wouldn’t sleep in a bed someone else had slept in?”

 

Yang Chen glanced down: “Dogs are fine.”

 

“…” Sang Jue didn’t understand, but it seemed like he was being insulted, yet also maybe not.

 

Yang Chen didn’t mean to insult him.

 

For this era, fluffy little pets were beautiful creatures that could be wished for but not obtained.

 

Sang Jue lay on the bottom bed, finally able to toss and turn peacefully.

 

He missed Huo Yanji’s hands a little, wanted him to touch his tail, wanted him to touch the other ‘him’.

 

The scene from that day at the training ground floated in his mind again. Beneath him was hot sand, Huo Yanji holding his shoulder, wrapping his hand while saying in a low, slightly hoarse tone: “Didn’t you ask what to do when you’re about to explode when I’m not here?”

 

“This is what to do.”

 

“Close your eyes, do it yourself, imagine this hand is mine.”

 

But there were many people here, and Ji Ji said those were private matters, not convenient to do or speak of in public.

 

Sang Jue had to open his backpack and take out a black leather belt, which he had secretly brought out.

 

It was the belt Huo Yanji had used to bind his mouth the first time he helped him.

 

Now, the originally smooth, flawless belt had many bite marks, all bitten by Sang Jue these past days. He bit down hard, like a small beast biting its favorite toy, gripping tightly without letting go.

 

Huo Yanji was really awful, completely wicked.

 

Leaving a dragon in spring alone at home and running off to distant places, hmph.

 

…

 

The spider web caught three antlions, slamming them hard against a broken sharp pillar. Under the force of gravity, the antlions’ spines broke directly, their pierced abdomens leaking endless black-green fluid, falling silent.

 

Finally solving the last few antlions in this area, there was a moment to breathe.

 

Wei Lan retracted her web: “All units support District E isolation wall!”

 

“Yes!!”

 

Wei Lan looked toward the side, where she had many soldiers.

 

Her eyes reflected wisps of black smoke, the once-solid main city buildings all collapsed, with only the half-collapsed residential building on the right side surviving.

 

A small section of wall was held up by steel bars, hanging on the broken edge, precarious.

 

Finally, the steel bars couldn’t save this section of wall, which crashed into the ruins raising a cloud of dust with a “rumble”!

 

When the dust settled, a lieutenant covered his arm and stumbled out: “Colonel!”

 

Wei Lan retracted her web, her posture still straight, as calm and composed as always, watching her lieutenant as if she had already anticipated the outcome.

 

The lieutenant covered his arm, breathing harder and harder. He looked at the woman in front of him and said with difficulty: “The Griffin Squad has been completely annihilated… District G can’t hold.”

 

He was also a member of the Griffin Squad, yet though he was still alive, he said they were completely annihilated.

 

Wei Lan looked at his arm, saying calmly: “There are no supervisors anymore.”

 

The lieutenant tried to steady his breathing: “I saved one bullet for myself.”

 

What all soldiers feared most was encountering underground contamination waves – whether ants, worms, or rats, they all had extremely strong contamination properties, were huge, could move freely in the soil, had strong contamination properties, and were thick-skinned and tough, very difficult to kill completely.

 

Guns were meaningless against them, but this time the deviant soldiers all brought guns to the front lines—

 

Because the supervisors were disbanded, no one would give them a painless end when necessary anymore. They could only end themselves, or give a comrade a bullet at crucial moments.

 

Only when truly taking on this responsibility themselves did they know how much their hands shook when pulling the trigger.

 

Wei Lan extended her hand.

 

The lieutenant opened his mouth and exhaled: “Thank you.”

 

Wei Lan took the gun, and the moment the lieutenant turned to face the ruins, she pulled the trigger.

 

“Bang—!”

 

The upright figure swayed and fell to the ground, blood seeping into the earth, staining the military uniform red.

 

His face turned to one side, gazing at the distant ruins, his eyes reflecting thick smoke and the flocks of crows circling in the sky waiting to feed on corpses.

 

Wei Lan took out a tube of fiery red ‘magma’, staring at it for two seconds.

 

These hands had once been beautiful, slender and delicate, with a uniquely feminine grace. But after becoming a soldier, constantly training or hovering on the edge of life and death, by the age of thirty these hands were already covered with calluses, the knuckles broad, the skin rough.

 

Her fingers opened one by one, the glass tube made of special material shattered, smashing onto the lieutenant’s body, causing towering flames.

 

Wei Lan turned around, walking against the light, saying coldly: “Full speed to District E isolation wall!”

 

“Yes!”

 

The lieutenant’s fingertips moved slightly.

 

The broken ruins in his vision were bathed in a fiery red light… as if dawn’s glow was within reach, close enough to touch.

 

Military command room.

 

“When it rains, it pours.” The old general said hoarsely. “It had to be now, when Huo Jiangmian isn’t here, and General Huo has taken troops to the underground city…”

 

Tang Bai, who had rushed over, shouted: “Why aren’t we recruiting mercenary teams yet?!”

 

The old general said: “The Dawn Plan has been revealed. Do you think they’ll still be willing to come up and die?”

 

“Fuck!!” Tang Bai laughed angrily. “You know the result without trying? Don’t fucking act all high and mighty like you see through everyone!”

 

Tang Bai had already violated discipline, speaking disrespectfully to an old general nearing retirement.

 

But he couldn’t control himself. His soldiers, his comrades, were all fighting desperately outside—

 

Yet death wasn’t the most terrifying thing. Most terrifying was that the mountains of corpses would be meaningless, having failed to defend anything.

 

The battle line retreated again and again. A third of the middle districts had already fallen.

 

After a long while, the old general made up his mind, taking a deep breath: “Go to all shelters to recruit mercenaries… no coercion.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Soldiers quickly reached the shelters.

 

The old general used a bit of strategy, specifically sending deviant soldiers who had just been through front-line combat to recruit, making success more likely.

 

“Does anyone volunteer to go to the surface to participate in battle?”

 

In the shelter, everyone was silent.

 

The recruiting captain took a deep breath: “I won’t hide it from you all—the main city is in dire straits. The city we’ve lived in for decades… may be about to fall. Monsters are turning it into ruins, stepping over our compatriots’ corpses, inch by inch violating our last homeland. So I beg you all to stand up…”

 

His eyes were red, and when he reached this point, the veins at his temple throbbed violently twice.

 

He couldn’t continue, turning to leave.

 

He was a soldier. He could control himself to forgive the Dawn Plan, but he couldn’t command the people to also let go of their grudges and resentment.

 

Suddenly a rough voice came from behind: “If you don’t mind the small number, count us in.”

 

The captain turned around, looking at the deviant who had risen from his bed, taking a long breath. The other was a fairly famous mercenary whose name he’d heard—Bao Cang.

 

Bao Cang’s sturdy shoulders shrugged slightly: “We never planned to hide down here anyway. The patrol battalion forced us down.”

 

Even more surprising, a deviant who had been leading the troublemaking couldn’t save face, slowly standing up and snorting: “Listening to the bombing sounds above, I can’t sleep at night. Might as well go up for a stroll.”

 

“Count me in. Which district?”

 

With someone taking the lead, things became simple.

 

In the vast shelter, people kept standing up, one after another, gradually filling the captain’s vision. The deviants willing to join the battle were far more numerous than the higher-ups had imagined.

 

Some didn’t speak, but their step forward already showed their attitude.

 

With the city walls breached and their former homeland about to be destroyed, how could they sit still?!

 

“I’m going too!”

 

“I still haven’t seen my brother enter the shelter. I’ve been wanting to go up and find that bastard! Hurry up, don’t dawdle!”

 

…

 

The captain looked up, wanting to say some comforting or inspiring oath, but after opening his mouth for a long time, he only managed to utter one heavy sentence: “Thank you all for your generosity.

 

“—May we all live to see tomorrow.”

 

In countless shelters, countless people stood up.

 

They calmly and firmly stepped onto the path to death.

 

**

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