In Luoyang City, all the reporters of Hope Media were sitting quietly in the headquarters and waiting for a call. One of their reporters had been assigned to follow Luo Lan to Stronghold 61. And coincidentally, this reporter was fortunate enough to have survived the creeper vine attack and informed Hope Media about it over the satellite phone.
Then the reporter had to end the call in a hurry as he was fleeing for his life. Meanwhile, everyone at Hope Media was left speechless by the developments. Humanity had just experienced an invasion by the Experimentals, and now, they were facing yet another disaster.
The chief editor, Jiang Xu, lamented at how bad news had been coming nonstop since the previous year.
All of a sudden, Jiang Xu caught sight of the advertisement published on the fifth page of their newspaper beside him.
“Don’t let the sorrows of our era become your sorrow as well.
“61.”
Jiang Xu had also been thinking about this matter quite a bit. What exactly did “61” mean? At that time, although he graciously promised Ren Xiaosu he would publish the advertisement for him, Jiang Xu was actually hoping the newspaper would remain impartial so it would not become a tool for others to convey their messages.
However, he liked those words too much that he couldn’t agree to not publish them.
But now that he saw the “61” again, it gave him a slightly different feeling this time. Could the young man have hinted that Stronghold 61 would face a disaster such as the one that was happening? But how could that young man possibly predict this?
Did that young man plant the creeper vine?
Jiang Xu felt it was highly unlikely, yet he couldn’t help associating “61” with the ongoing situation. However, he just could not figure out exactly what this was all about.
That young man suddenly became very mysterious to Jiang Xu.
At this moment, the call everyone was waiting for suddenly arrived. Everyone looked at Jiang Xu as the phone’s ringing pulled him out of his thoughts. He picked up the phone and said, “This is Jiang Xu.”
“Chief Editor! It’s Zhou Tao! I’m currently at the center of Stronghold 61.”
Jiang Xu immediately asked, “Are you injured? Have you found a place to seek shelter?”
Jiang Xu did not directly ask about what was happening in Stronghold 61 at this moment and started worrying about Zhou Tao’s safety instead. However, Zhou Tao interrupted Jiang Xu, “Chief Editor, let me give you a brief update on the situation first. Otherwise, it might be too late.”
“Go ahead.” Jiang Xu pressed the speakerphone button. At the side, a stenographer had already prepared a stenotype to record the details.
It was Jiang Xu’s responsibility as the chief editor to be concerned about his subordinates.
However, Zhou Tao, who was field reporting, also had his duties and pride as a Hope Media reporter.
“Yesterday, half of the stronghold was suddenly invaded by creeper vines. But for some reason, it suddenly stopped moving later and that left the center of the stronghold temporarily safe. But after 24 hours, it started spreading and continued its invasion. However, the area that was attacked this time was not that big. Six hours later, which was just a while ago, it started to slowly spread towards the center of the stronghold again. Right now, there’s only an area of a few thousand square meters left in the center of the stronghold where the residents can take shelter in. However, the frequency of its attacks has gotten higher and higher. I don’t know when it’ll again start threatening the lives of everyone here,” Zhou Tao said anxiously.
Jiang Xu fell silent. A few thousand square meters did not sound like it was a small area, but in the context of the entire stronghold, this area was basically a drop in the ocean.
Even in such a large stronghold, there were actually not that many places where humans could hide.
Jiang Xu said, “I’ve already received news that the Wang Consortium troops have set off for Stronghold 61 and will probably arrive there by this afternoon. As for whether they have a way to deal with the creeper vines, that’s still unknown….”
Zhou Tao said on the other end of the line, “Please tell my parents that I love them. I might have argued with them often when I was young, but I realized the sacrifices they made for me after I grew up. Also, please tell Zhang Liangyue not to wait for my return.”
Jiang Xu understood from these words that resembled a person’s last words that Zhou Tao knew his situation. Before the Wang Consortium troops could arrive at Stronghold 61, the creeper vines would definitely get to all of them. It was too late!
“Do you regret being a reporter?” Jiang Xu sighed.
Noisy screaming came from the other end of the line. Zhou Tao said anxiously, “The creeper vines have started moving again. I’m now heading towards a store with Luo Lan and the others…”
Beep beep beep. Only the busy signal came through on the call. Meanwhile, the editorial department at Hope Media had fallen silent. Many of the female staff members were crying so hard they could no longer speak. It was very rare for them to experience a forever parting.
…
“Hurry up and run!” Zhou Qi carried Luo Lan on his back and took off with loping strides. Meanwhile, the Qing Consortium soldiers continued guarding him, ready to defend against any creeper vines that might get near them at any moment.
There were not many places where they could hide anymore. The creeper vines behind them were a huge wave approaching, and a mishmash of screams and cries of the stronghold residents reverberated around them.
Luo Lan broke into laughter while on Zhou Qi’s back. Zhou Qi frowned and said, “Everyone is fleeing for their lives, so what are you laughing about back there!”
“I remembered something.” Luo Lan said, “Do you remember when we were young and hanging out on the streets, a group of Qing Consortium kids would follow me and Qing Zhen around to pick fights with gangsters?”
Zhou Qi also laughed. “How can I forget? Qing Zhen was still quite timid at that time, but he was always the most ruthless with his attacks. And when we were piggyback jousting, that bitch, Qing Zhen, would always go for cheap shots while riding on our backs.”
Although they were fleeing for their lives, the two of them were bantering about unrelated matters and reminiscing about the past. It almost felt like they were doing so because it would be too late if they did not reminisce now.
“Whenever I got into a fight at that time, I would always get beaten up by my old man after I returned home.” Luo Lan said with a laugh, “Qing Zhen would just stand by the side with an innocent look on his face like I was the one who led him astray. Thinking about it now, that period was actually the happiest time for me. You had not officially joined the Qing Consortium at that time, and Qing Zhen was also not the Qing Consortium’s Shadow yet.”
But those wonderful times flew by. A huge turning point during that period cut off the happy times from Luo Lan, Qing Zhen, and others.
“Do you think we can escape from here?” Zhou Qi suddenly asked.
“Probably not, unless a miracle happens,” Luo Lan said calmly.
“What will happen to Qing Zhen if we die here?” Zhou Qi asked again.
“He’s already the Qing Consortium’s leader. We should probably think about what we should be doing instead, right?” Luo Lan asked.
While they were talking, their group of over a dozen people arrived at the entrance of a midsize supermarket. Zhou Qi ran inside while shouting, “Pull down the roller shutter!”
Facing the creeper vines closing in on them aggressively, a few of the Qing Consortium soldiers pulled down the roller shutter without any fear on their faces. Right when the roller door was halfway down, the creeper vines reached them. What was even more unfortunate was that the door got jammed as well.
A platoon commander of the Qing Consortium soldiers shouted, “No one is allowed to retreat! We must get the roller shutter down no matter what!”
At the very last moment, the roller shutter finally budged and locked everyone inside the midsize supermarket!
