Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 236 Giant Tree and Shadow

The atmosphere in the security zone of Haiqu City was slightly tense that day.

This doesn't originate from sea monsters. In fact, the location of the safe zone was never directly adjacent to the sea from the beginning. Now, not only has the city wall been built into a truly tall city wall, but several strategic locations on the periphery have also been heavily fortified.

As the front line of coastal defense, Haiqu is now more and more like a large fortress, which can be described as impregnable.

However, early this morning, Division Commander Song Lin personally led his most elite troops away from here, and they didn't head towards the sea.

In its early days, the Corps was not just a military organization. The division-level commanders in the local area were not simply military officers. Since the Haizhou Campaign, the citizens of Haiqu had not seen their division commanders personally commanding battles for a long time.

Before leaving, the division command did not issue any specific mission announcements, but simply told the citizens to remain calm and not panic no matter what they saw.

"What happened?"

"They've headed north... Surely it's not like Commander Song is going to lead his men to attack Xinfu?"

"That can't be..."

Everyone knew it was a joke, of course. It was common knowledge that their division commander, Song Lin, had a very good relationship with the commander-in-chief, but the uncertainty of future developments made people uneasy, which was also evident to the naked eye.

Haiqu Hospital.

He Xiaoyu was already a very qualified nurse. She skillfully changed the dressings for the injured in the ward and then rested briefly on a bench in the corridor.

In just a short while, she heard a familiar footstep approaching.

"Xiaoyu, are you worried about your husband again?"

He Xiaoyu sighed softly and looked at Song Miaomiao with some helplessness: "How many times have you asked me this?"

"I...I was just worried about you..."

He Xiaoyu clicked her tongue and said with a mischievous smile, "I think they're not concerned about me, they're just coming here to seek validation."

"Okay... alright, I am a little worried about my dad."

"Only him? I'm afraid not."

Song Miaomiao's face flushed red, and she stammered, unable to speak.

He Xiaoyu smiled and tapped the other person's head, then suddenly asked, "Didn't your dad tell you what he was going to do this time before he left?"

"He said he didn't know."

"Don't know? Is it a secret?"

“No, I feel like he really didn’t know.” Song Miaomiao shook her head, her little face slightly troubled: “Before he left, he only said that it was an order from the commander-in-chief. I wanted to go with him, but he disagreed and told me to stay at home.”

"Hmm..." He Xiaoyu didn't know how to comfort her for a moment, so she reached out and touched her head.

"If the commander-in-chief is here, there shouldn't be so much to worry about, right? They'll be fine."

"I'm not worried at all, you chauvinist, huh—"

Seeing the little girl pouting and stubbornly refusing to listen, He Xiaoyu felt both helpless and amused. She reached out and pinched the girl's nose, which annoyed Song Miaomiao.

After a brief playful tussle, the two had calmed down somewhat, but just then, they heard gasps of surprise coming from all over the hospital.

"what happened?"

"Om-"

Before the two could react, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook slightly, and the glass in the window next to them trembled as well.

"Is this...an earthquake?"

The geology of Haiqu is generally considered stable, and the two of them had never experienced a real earthquake before, so they were stunned for a moment before they reacted.

Song Miaomiao was still a little at a loss when He Xiaoyu jumped up and said, "Quick, Miaomiao, we have to help evacuate the wounded!"

Before Song Miaomiao could speak, she took the other's hand and prepared to enter the ward. But when the two looked out the window at the distant sky, they both froze in place.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Langya.

Han Zhong plans to establish a higher-level headquarters for the Hunter Association in Xinfu, but this does not mean that the many previous camps will be abandoned.

Especially in Langya, a small rural town, where he had recruited Zhao Laoda's gang, it was a small place far from Langya city. According to the administrative divisions before the Great Cataclysm, it was located on the border between Langya and Haiqu.

After all, Han Zhong didn't dare to take the route through the city where there were so many zombies.

However, nowadays, this place has become a transportation hub, a major center for logistics transfer and resource trading, and is basically under the complete control of the Hunter Association, making it their headquarters.

Zhao Laoda is quite capable and manages this place very well. Of course, the secret support of the military corps is also indispensable in this process.

For a large organization like this, moving its headquarters to a different location is not a simple matter.

In addition, in order to expand its influence as quickly as possible, the association's development had been somewhat unregulated, which led to various problems. Han Zhong's recent travels between the two places were also intended to take this opportunity to make the association's overall structure more standardized.

This resulted in a huge workload, and although he had many people sent by the Corps to help him, he still couldn't stay idle.

After finally finishing reading another document, even as a fourth-tier, near-fifth-tier superhuman with enhanced physical abilities, he still felt his head throbbing and his neck stiff.

After moving around a bit, he looked up to the side and realized that he wasn't alone in his office.

"Xiaoyun, how are you feeling?"

Chi Xiaoyun's face was very pale. She was sitting in a wheelchair with her eyelids drooping and her expression slightly blank. Only when she heard Han Zhong's words did she move and manage to give a smile.

"Fortunately."

Seeing her like this, Han Zhong sighed helplessly.

For Chi Xiaoyun, the world had suddenly turned into this state, which was a huge blow to her. Moreover, the battle she had with Su Xun while she was parasitized had caused irreparable damage to her body.

It was a miracle she survived. It took Han Zhong so long to finally help her rediscover herself. Bringing her to Langya was also a way of hoping that these places they had been together in the past would awaken some of her memories.

In retrospect, the results have been minimal.

Thinking of the zombie king who had disappeared without a trace, Han Zhong secretly clenched his fist.

At this moment, Boss Zhao—or more accurately, Zhao Feng, the president of the Langya branch—pushed open the door to the office, glanced at Chi Xiaoyun, and then handed another document to Han Zhong.

"President, the major groups in the relevant areas have already reported back on the matter you arranged last time."

"We have examined the sighting records of fourth-order sea monsters during this period and can roughly confirm that there are at least seventeen unique individuals, four of which are suspected to have reached the fifth-order level."

"As for the extraordinary mutated beasts of the third rank and below, there has indeed been a significant increase. These sea beasts are mostly gathered in the fishing grounds outside Haizhou, which can be basically confirmed as a large cluster of mutated beasts that are interconnected."

Han Zhong took the document, glanced at it briefly, and looked somewhat solemn. He had noticed that the activity level of the sea beasts had been unusual recently, and had even discussed it with Su Xun. This was the first time he had received a detailed record. The document marked the location of each sighting of a high-level sea beast, which clearly indicated that the situation was developing in an unusual way.

"Has the intelligence been shared with the military corps?"

"The synchronization has been completed. In fact, some of the data in this intelligence report was provided by them, and they should be more aware of the relevant situation now."

"That's good."

After putting down the documents, Han Zhong looked at Zhao Feng again.

He had already suspected this, and at this point he could only confirm it. After making some simple arrangements, he talked to Zhao Feng about another matter.

"The guild needs to take this opportunity to make changes. Our mission is to establish basic order outside the safe zone, instead of harboring filth and providing shelter for those who can't stay in the safe zone. Old Zhao, you go and take charge of this matter personally."

"You should be punished for your mistakes. I will handle it well." Zhao Feng lowered his head. Of those who left the safe zone earlier, how many were well-behaved? Even though they were generally law-abiding, some people still did a lot of outrageous things.

Now it's time for another reckoning.

In reality, Zhao Feng's own old subordinates weren't exactly clean either, so letting him handle this matter personally was already giving him a chance.

Han Zhong was fairly satisfied with Zhao Feng's statement and was about to respond when he suddenly seemed to hear something, abruptly turning his head to look in a certain direction.

"What?" Zhao Feng was startled by his action and turned his head as well, but could only see the wall.

"Gather everyone!" Han Zhong didn't answer, only said this, and then instantly disappeared from the spot.

Zhao Feng was face to face with him, but he didn't notice how he left at all, let alone Chi Xiaoyun, who was still sitting in a wheelchair. The two of them only belatedly heard a loud bang from the door.

Knowing something was wrong, Zhao Feng hurriedly followed her outside. Chi Xiaoyun stood there for a moment, then pushed her wheelchair to the door with some difficulty, and then stood there dumbfounded.

A beam of azure light, stretching to the heavens and connecting with the earth, was now reflected in her eyes.

No, that's not light.

A tremor came from the depths of the earth, which even Chi Xiaoyun could feel. At this moment, the halo-like thing was constantly stretching its body, spreading towards the higher sky.

That was the branch of a plant!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At the Lanqiao position, after Su Xun captured two fourth-tier mutated gun shrimp, Xue Hui stayed there, mainly to keep an eye on the two mutated beasts. Even though they had suffered injuries, they were still fourth-tier after all.

Standing by the sea, he looked up at the sky. The enormous creature that could hardly be considered a plant was growing at an extremely fast speed. Its trunk pierced through the gale, its canopy spread in all directions, and its whole body radiated a bluish-green light and a huge fluctuation of spiritual power.

Its height quickly reached tens of kilometers, a level of existence far beyond human imagination. Its canopy blocked out the sun, and it was only a matter of time before it reached its head!
What kind of giant tree is this? The largest alien species that Xue Hui had ever seen was nothing more than a mayfly in front of it! The enormous spiritual power in the gale layer was disturbed by it, which then formed countless dazzling colorful ripples. Soon, the entire sky seemed to be on fire!

Beneath such a magnificent and wondrous sight, even though he had already reached the threshold of the fifth rank, Xue Hui still felt as insignificant as a drop in the ocean. The last time he felt something similar was during the Battle of Haizhou, when mushroom clouds exploded everywhere.

The presence before us, which can perhaps still be called life, exerts an even greater sense of oppression.

In the distance, a soldier was running towards them, and Xue Hui turned to look at him.

"Report! The order from headquarters is to remain vigilant and stand by!"

"I see."

As a high-ranking superhuman in the legion, he has a high status in the current system thanks to the reforms of the previous summit. He has heard about what Su Xun has been doing in the area north of Haiqu these days, and he also knows that the other party has a peach pit containing seventh-level spiritual power.

But he didn't expect it to cause such a big commotion; perhaps no one did.

A massive surge of spiritual energy roared overhead, producing a muffled, thunderous sound. Xue Hui knew that each of the burning-like fluctuations within the gale layer contained energy far exceeding that of a thousand bolts of lightning.

He took a deep breath and thought to himself, no wonder Su Xun once said that a seventh-order life form could already withstand a nuclear attack.

That enormous canopy was like a mountain suspended in the sky. What kind of method could possibly defeat such an existence? For him, it was almost unimaginable!
After a long while, he finally managed to calm himself down, looked at the many soldiers who were staring in the distance, and shouted, "Be on guard!"

The soldiers came to their senses. Although they still had countless doubts and worries in their hearts, they still devoted their energy to their tasks because of the military orders.

No matter what upheavals happen behind the scenes, it's none of their business; their mission is to hold the ground in front of them.

However, the sea was unusually calm today. In the past, this river channel was a key area for the mutated beasts to break through, but now the dark sea was without waves, only reflecting the glow of the sky.

Perhaps even the mutated sea beasts were stunned by this strange phenomenon.

Xue Hui stepped to the edge of the position, where there was a mudflat wetland. After Su Xun captured the two pistol shrimp, this place became their new nest.

When he arrived, the pair of shrimp were curled up in their nest, as if they were greatly frightened and dared not come out.

"So afraid?"

Xue Hui looked up at the sky. After he came to terms with it, he found the scene quite spectacular and not at all frightening.

He tried to soothe the two pistol shrimp, but to little avail. Instead, the two shrimp retreated even deeper into their nest, their newly grown giant claws trembling as they pointed towards the sea. A slightly chaotic fluctuation of spiritual energy detached from the water, seemingly trying to convey some kind of message to Xue Hui, though it was still somewhat vague.

But Xue Hui had already realized something was wrong. He stood up abruptly, his eyes fixed on the sea.

Indeed, no matter how significant the changes above were, they didn't yet pose any real danger, and shouldn't have frightened two fourth-tier mutated beasts like this.

Beneath the calm sea, several enormous shadows seemed to sway, lurking in the magnificent reflections on the water's surface, as if they too were observing this rare and spectacular sight.

(End of this chapter)