Simultaneous Journey: Starting from Holy Terra

Inside the underground city.

when!when!when!

The sound of hammers striking iron blocks echoed continuously; this was a blacksmith's shop in the city, or perhaps a more accurate description would be an armory.

All the artisans in the entire city have been gathered here, working day and night to produce some special weapons and equipment.

"when!"

Another hammer blow rang out, and a man who looked to be in his forties, exhausted, raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel.

Just as he was about to continue swinging the hammer, he lost the strength to lift the heavy iron hammer, his vision went black, and he fell backward helplessly.

boom--

Dust rose, and the muffled sound was not noticeable in the red-hot workshop.

But when the man fell, the blacksmiths around him stopped.

One of them cautiously stepped forward and checked the man's pulse—

"He, he's dead! Old Abbott is dead!"

The young man screamed in panic, and then the crowd began to panic.

"Make way!" A man stepped out from the crowd. He was shirtless, but his voice silenced everyone around him.

His name is Cherson, a trader in this hive city world. He was conscripted because he was strong and is now the worker representative, responsible for handing over duties to the lord's people.

He walked up to old Abbott, bent down and reached out to check his breath and pulse. After a long while, he sighed and stood up.

"It's hopeless."

Those around fell silent upon hearing this; such incidents had been occurring frequently in recent days.

They inevitably feel a sense of shared sorrow, but the long-standing oppression has left them unsure how to cope or resist.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Cherson couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.

"Hey! Who gave you permission to gather here! Get out of here! Go back to work!"

Just as Chersen was about to say something, the overseers saw what was happening and walked over, wearing gas masks and leather jackets and carrying whips.

Without distinguishing right from wrong, they lashed a young man with a whip.

With one lash, the young man's skin was torn and bleeding!

"what!"

The young man screamed in pain. If Cherson hadn't caught him quickly, he might have fallen headfirst into the furnace in front of him!

"What are you doing!" Cherson shouted angrily. "Someone here has died! He died from exhaustion!"

"We've been working non-stop for five days! And this is physically demanding work; we don't have enough food and water. If this continues, they'll all die!"

"Let everyone take a break!"

"A break?" the foreman sneered. "I don't care. If you delay the project, you're all dead!"

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

After the foreman finished speaking, he waved his whip in the air and then led his team away.

Cherson watched their retreating figures, his teeth practically grinding to powder. He pressed his right hand tightly against his back, hiding his already clenched fist.

Because dozens of machine guns were mounted above them...

"Gentlemen, let's get to work."

Cherson seemed deflated, but quickly rallied, comforted everyone, and then led the men to collect old Abbot's body.

However, those around Cherson didn't react much to his dejection...

……

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

"No! Please, please give me some food!"

"Get out, you lowly wretch!"

boom!

Gunshots rang out, and the woman at the front, holding a baby, fell into a pool of blood.

Gunfire continued throughout the hive city, ruled by the Hermonteri family, who were currently carrying out orders from their patriarch.

Their goal was simple: to suppress the starving refugees in the city and drive them out to Chong Yeming's army camp.

The primary targets of these expulsions were the ordinary farmers throughout the entire city.

These people are even lower than craftsmen in the city of Nest, since Nest is the city with no shortage of people, and anyone can become a farmer and cultivate a few acres of arid land.

With food supplies cut off, these lowest of the low become objects of abandonment.

Countless civilians were driven away, and thousands of gun barrels were pointed at the people they had once protected. These troops were under tremendous pressure.

The situation of the civilians who were driven away was different from that of the artisans who were unable to resist.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, they unleashed astonishing power.

"Everyone! The lord and his lackeys want us dead! Even the God-Emperor never abandoned us, yet they want to drive us from our homeland and slaughter us like trash!"

"Can you tolerate this?!"

The young man, dressed like a thug, shouted that his name was Salman and that he was originally a guard in this city of Nest City. He had a happy family and as long as he worked hard, his family would have no problem making ends meet.

But as the Great Rift unfolded and the light of the Imperial Star Torch went out, everything changed!

The lords did nothing, and even drove them away!

Under the multiple pressures of unemployment, lack of food, and being evicted, his wife and children died, and he became a homeless man, spending his days fighting with a group of people for a meager amount of garbage to survive.

Under the multiple pressures of unemployment, lack of food, and being evicted, his wife and children died, and he became a homeless man, spending his days fighting with a group of people for a meager amount of garbage to survive.

He could no longer tolerate this kind of life, and now that his only hope of survival had been shattered, he decided to give up and try to incite everyone to fight to the death!

The men around him heard his shouts, looked at their families, and then at the armed troops.

Their already limited courage was extinguished at this moment.

Salman gritted his teeth, grabbed his dagger, and wanted to kill one of the lord's henchmen, cause chaos, and then take the opportunity to lead his men in a counterattack.

Don't blame him for being radical.

Ahead lies the territory of the lord's family, the still-wealthy noble district!

From here on out, it will be a dirty, chaotic, and chaotic place, full of corpses and plague, exhaust fumes and garbage in the lower city!

Everyone knows how to choose!

But just as Salman was about to make his move, the crowd that had been driven away came up in front of him. They ignored his shouts and fled in panic.

They crowded together, pulling Salman, who was standing facing them, backward.

Salman pushed forward desperately, trying to push these guys aside and get closer to the lord's army that was getting further and further away.

But he failed. The surging refugees carried him back to the lower city, where the light disappeared once more, replaced by the stench and dampness of the lower city's passageways.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Salman stood in the corner, angrily stomping on puddles to vent his frustration.

He wanted to fight like a man and avenge his wife and children!

But reality dealt him another heavy blow. Too many people were just like him before he made up his mind: cowardly, timid, complacent, and afraid to fight!

Salman turned his head and saw those people huddled in the corner, trembling, gazing at the faint light in the sky, yet trapped beneath those two high walls and that massive iron gate...

They clearly had a chance just now!

Salman's lips twitched; he wanted to cry, but he had already run out of tears when his wife died.

"uncle."

Just as Salman was angrily pounding the wall, a young voice rang out. Salman looked over and saw a little girl.

This nest city has not yet descended into madness; people are merely hungry, and have not yet completely lost their morals and bottom line.

So Salman didn't find anything strange about a little girl.

Seeing that Salman was looking at her, the little girl suddenly reached out and grabbed a piece of trash with half a bag of food still on it at Salman's feet, then excitedly ran to the two adults on the other side.

Then, the girl's cheerful voice came—

"Mom and Dad! I found a bag of bread that hasn't gone bad yet! It's bread, right?"

"ha--"

Salman opened his mouth, staring blankly at the little girl's retreating figure.

He opened his mouth, wanting to make a sound, but was surprised to find that he didn't know what to say or how to express himself.

For a fleeting moment, he vaguely saw his girl, and the beautiful home he once knew—

Tears streamed down Salman's face as he collapsed to his knees, covering his face with his hands and pounding his fists in anguish.

"Why, why?!"

"Why do people suffer so much? Humans shouldn't be like this..."