Chapter 13 – Rainy Night in Hua City (5)

◎You’re an ability user?◎

When the zombies rushed towards them, Zhang Qi’s muscles bulged as he exerted his arms’ strength, using several punches to send them flying.

His subordinates behind him weren’t as lucky. Song Ke had aimed shrewdly, and the headless zombies pounced right onto them, exposing their bloody necks. Each one screamed as if their hearts were being torn apart, unaware that those zombies had been long dead.

“You’re an ability user,” Zhang Qi kicked away the obstructing zombies and fixed his gaze on Song Ke, confirming word by word.

Song Ke remained silent. Her slender waistline generated force in her forearm as she swung the massive hammer, lifting it with a single hand as if it were a toy. The hammerhead slammed heavily into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that swept towards Zhang Qi. His shoulders felt as if they were carrying a thousand pounds, and his feet involuntarily sank into the ground. Gritting his teeth, he used all his might to withstand this immense energy.

She was intimidating him. She actually dared to! How could she dare?!

Zhang Qi was an ability user himself, so he knew just how terrifying the pressure Song Ke was emanating was. He couldn’t even move a finger right now. Her supernatural ability was definitely at a much higher level than his. It appeared that Song Ke wasn’t just an ability user; she had awakened the same power-based ability as his. That’s why she could completely suppress him. He regretted trying to deal with her earlier; it was simply laughable!

Everyone in the group were high school students, and even though they were bold, the consecutive crises had left them somewhat pale with fear.

Song Ke slowly emerged, dragging the massive hammer, and helped Zhang Hao up from the corner where he had fallen. Zhang Qi had held back when he attacked, leaving only minor injuries on Zhang Hao’s back, scraping off a layer of skin, and causing some minor abrasions on his limbs. However, his movements were unaffected. Zhang Hao’s face didn’t look good, though. He spoke urgently as he tried to steady himself, “There’s too much commotion here. It’ll definitely attract zombies. Let’s leave quickly.”

Although Zhang Qi was impulsive, he wasn’t entirely foolish. After being reminded, he immediately realized the peril they were in. This wasn’t the time to argue with Song Ke, moreover… moreover, he couldn’t win against her. So, with a grim expression, he ordered, “Retreat.”

After hastily tidying up, they quickly left the commercial street.

As they increased their pace on the road, Zhang Hao’s movements noticeably became more laborious. Sweat beads continuously formed on his forehead. Song Ke glanced at his ankle and reached out to support him, but Zhang Hao instinctively declined, “I’m fine, just twisted it a bit.”

“Oh.” Since he didn’t need help, Song Ke calmly withdrew her hand.

Zhang Hao: “…” He had just been trying to be polite, why did this person take it seriously?

He had to find something to say, so he muttered, “Jiang Rui was going to come on his own, but I suggested I’d come instead. I didn’t expect you to be an ability user too.”

Zhang Hao’s emotions were complicated. He had volunteered to come out because he had witnessed Song Ke’s strength and figured that nothing major would happen. He had intended to just stand by and receive a favor from Jiang Rui in return. He never expected Zhang Qi to go berserk and provoke Song Ke. Furthermore, he didn’t anticipate that she was also an ability user. He ended up getting hurt in the process, making the situation worse for himself. It was just asking for trouble.

“Why did you come out? I could have handled it on my own.”

As expected, after listening, Song Ke didn’t show the slightest bit of gratitude. Instead, her face was full of disapproval, accompanied by a good dose of disdain.

Zhang Hao’s ankle throbbed even more.

Song Ke’s decision to expose her identity as an ability user was, of course, deliberate. Firstly, she felt that Xu Liren had long figured something out. If she didn’t come clean, he would likely keep manipulating her. Secondly, she didn’t want to keep attracting trouble. People like Zhang Qi, once they knew her abilities, would seek attention, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. After this whole journey, he had stopped taunting her as if he’d been struck mute.

The group continued on their way in silence, occasionally stopping to search for supplies along the route. By the afternoon, they arrived near the Starport. Finally, a bespectacled boy couldn’t help but ask, his voice trembling, “Have any of you felt that something’s off?”

Everyone stopped and carefully thought back on their journey. They all shared the same feeling. They couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was wrong, but something seemed strange.

Zhang Hao had an idea, “Is it too quiet?”

Indeed, it was too quiet. When they had ventured out a few days ago, most of Hua City’s basic infrastructure was functioning normally. They had seen autonomous buses, traffic-guiding robots, and the vibrant nighttime scenery. On the night when Song Ke had spent the night at the water tower, she had even witnessed a fountain show at the Hua City Theater.

However, today as they walked, the broadcasts in the malls, the music in the amusement parks, and the large projections on screens had all disappeared.

The boy with glasses turned pale, hastily taking out his phone. “My phone has no signal. How about yours?”

“No signal.”

“…mine too.”

They finally realized what was wrong. The hydraulic power, electricity, and the network—everything symbolizing modernization had ceased to work.

…

In the 7th day after the solar eruption in the 46th year of the New Calendar, the city system completely malfunctioned. At this point, Hua City had turned into a dead city.

The true doomsday had arrived.

Amid the deathly silence, Zhang Qi spat, “Let’s go to the Starport.”

“Right! And there’s the rescue team. They said it’s less than 80 kilometers away. The Alliance won’t abandon us!” Grasping onto this final straw of hope, Zhang Qi’s group hurriedly headed toward the Starport.

The design of Hua City’s Starport was inspired by a lotus flower. The entire building had a soft, silvery-white appearance. The blooming flower bud at the top served as the control center and boarding platform. The petals scattered throughout the middle were departure runways. However, at this moment, when they looked around, only a few starships were docked on the petals. A nearly eerie silence enveloped the entire harbor.

Zhang Qi’s group didn’t enter the Starport; instead, they found an observation platform outside. The view was expansive, and there were no zombies around.

“Someone’s there.” Song Ke crouched atop the rangefinder equipment and softly alerted them, “Southeast, and also north, both directions… there are people.”

“Are they together?” Zhang Hao asked.

“No, they’re scattered. It’s chaotic.”

“It should be survivors, like us, coming to gather information,” Zhang Hao analyzed calmly. When the Alliance made their rescue declaration public, no one could stay put. Survivors in Hua City would be lurking nearby, waiting for opportunities. It made sense.

Several boys were anxious yet excited, unable to resist whispering to each other.

“There are very few starships here. Have they already been reassigned by the Alliance?”

“Probably. The rescue team should be coming in soon. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

As they waited, the sun started to dip, and soon, numerous black dots appeared in the distant sky.

“Look over there, it’s the rescue team!” A sharp-eyed boy exclaimed, immediately raising his arms and shouting. Others who had been pointed out by Song Ke in various directions excitedly stood up, taking off their clothes or hats, waving them vigorously at the sky.

The group of black dots rapidly approached them, growing in number. They filled the sky densely, akin to a migrating flock of birds. Strangely, a few seemed to fall behind halfway, plummeting from the high altitude to the ground, one after another.

Song Ke initially thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and rubbed them.

It wasn’t until someone nearby shouted in terror, “Something’s wrong! It looks like… they’re falling!!”

The closest black dots were already distinguishable, their silvery metal shells reflecting an eerie coldness. They were indeed starships. However, these starships seemed to have lost their propulsion mid-air. Their trajectories were crooked and skewed. After persisting for a few seconds, they suddenly nosedived—straight down. They crashed into the crowd that had been cheering moments ago.

“Boom, boom, boom—”

Like falling meteors, the out-of-control starships hit the ground, causing intense explosions. The deafening roar of the explosions rendered them momentarily deaf. In the midst of the fiery glow, Song Ke saw Zhang Qi’s face contorted, roaring silently, “Run—!!”

The blossom-like structure of the Starport and its petals were struck by the falling debris. Soon, black smoke billowed and flames ignited. The deafening explosions continued in succession. A staggering number of starships whizzed overhead, their overwhelming shadows blotting out everyone’s retinas. Song Ke looked up, and in her pupils, she saw clear silhouettes. Several starships were getting closer to them. They were about to crash!

Zhang Qi ripped off the protective netting and hoisted a steel frame over ten meters long, roaring as he raised it to block. The steel frame hit the starship, momentarily halting its descent before it veered several inches sideways, brushing past the edge of the platform. The team members hurriedly ran in the opposite direction.

The recoil force from this strike was equally terrifying. Zhang Qi nearly exhausted all his strength in an instant. His left arm dislocated upon impact, and he staggered for a couple of steps. After struggling to regain his balance, he looked up only to see another starship hurtling rapidly towards the path where the others were running.

“No! Come back!! Don’t run there!”

The massive starship plummeted straight down, creating a deep crater in the platform, instantly engulfing the few individuals at the forefront in flames.

Zhang Qi’s eyes turned bloodshot, and his knees gave in, causing him to kneel down.

However, the crisis was far from over. After the main group had passed, two starships trailing behind lost control and fell from directly above them.

“You all, all take cover together!” Song Ke managed to push Zhang Hao just in time before she charged toward the descending starship.

Suppressing the pain in his ankle, Zhang Hao helped up his teammate who had been knocked aside by the shockwave. They quickly moved closer to Zhang Qi.

Song Ke jumped onto the platform’s top and swung her massive hammer to intercept. The deep blue hammerhead staunchly held up the metallic starship, draining her energy almost instantaneously. Following that, the hammer shattered, and the starship, influenced by the force, rotated and veered off course, colliding with another starship. Both starships overloaded and exploded in mid-air, blooming into huge black fireworks.

The intense shockwave sent Song Ke tumbling outwards, and she rolled off the platform, swallowed by the thick smoke and debris.

“Song Ke!” Zhang Hao urgently shouted, rushing down the platform to dig through the rubble.

As they dug, two more individuals emerged beside them: Zhang Qi, whose arm was hanging limply, and another boy who had come to assist.

After about five minutes of digging, the pile of debris finally shifted, and Song Ke crawled out, her face covered in ash. She looked severely injured, with one arm badly burnt, blood dripping from her forehead down, and with a cough she said, “Let’s… let’s get out of here first.”

Supporting each other, Zhang Qi, Zhang Hao, and the other boy limped out of the explosion zone. Behind them, the Lotus Port was ablaze, while ahead, a massive fleet of starships swept across Hua City, bombing a path from north to southeast. Starships continued to fall along the way, explosions and flames erupting in a continuous cycle.

“How could this be, how is this possible! Those are… the Lu Family starships.”

A survivor with an ashen face muttered in disbelief as he lay on the ground.

Lu Family starships were known not for their metallic shells made from the rare element Rhenium (Re), or their highly advanced artificial intelligence, but for their propulsion, powered by the cutting-edge Alliance technology known as “Yiyu.” This new energy source allowed these starships, weighing tens of tons, to hover in the sky without any external force and achieved self-circulation, self-cleaning, and self-recycling. Since their introduction, Lu Family starships had boasted of being “absolutely safe,” claiming to be the “blue bird that never falls”. Over the decades of operation, they had never experienced a single accident.

These were Lu Family starships, the pride of the Alliance!

However, in this moment at the Hua City Starport, over a hundred starships collectively crashed, like a meteor shower of shattered beliefs.

After leaving the Starport, Zhang Qi and the others could no longer hold on, collapsing from exhaustion on the ground.

The survivor who had narrowly escaped death couldn’t stop sobbing. “What do we do? Starships are gone, the rescue team is gone. What do we do now?”

“Let’s head back to the safe zone,” Zhang Hao suggested.

“No signal. How do we contact Liu Zixuan? How do we get inside?” The boy’s expression turned desperate.

Zhang Qi hadn’t said a word since coming out. His arm was broken, and his face occasionally contorted in agonizing pain.

Glancing at his phone, Zhang Hao saw that it was almost 6 PM. He thought for a moment and said, “I’ve kept a record before. Our two teams usually return between 5 PM and 7 PM. The earliest was at 4:50 PM, and the latest was at 6:40 PM. Professor Xu and the others definitely know there’s no signal now. Therefore, I speculate that Liu Zixuan will open the gate at 7 PM.”

“So, before that, we must get back.”