Utilizing the main road that had been repaired several times and was not yet completely destroyed, the average speed of the merchant convoy trains reached 40 kilometers per hour. This allowed them to make one or two round trips between Jianghe City and the four recently allied cities within a single day, achieving extremely high efficiency in transporting supplies.
Considering that the threat of the Amethyst Crystal Entity had not yet passed, it was necessary to maximize every bit of transport capacity to minimize risks on the road. When relocating the population, Su Wu no longer retained any services related to comfort. He crammed over 400 people into each snow transport vehicle, which was originally designed to carry only 80 people. This number was undoubtedly excruciating for the passengers inside, who had to stand throughout the journey and could barely move, making it a nightmare. However, it significantly improved the efficiency of population transport.
As a result, within less than three days, fifty merchant convoy trains had relocated the combined population of six to seven million people from the four cities to the Farmhouse Shelter. Moreover, the influx of such a large population no longer had any impact on the current Farmhouse Shelter. Su Wu only needed to adjust the proportion of Standard Dormitories in the newly expanded shelter space over the past two or three days to easily accommodate all the new arrivals.
On March 25th, with the continuous day-and-night operation of the fifty merchant convoy trains, all the population and supplies from the four cities located in the Kuangjiang River Basin had been transported to the Farmhouse Shelter. They were integrated into its vast social system, becoming the foundation and nourishment for its continued progress.
As the last merchant convoy train, carrying the final batch of second-hand equipment dismantled from the local shelter, slowly began its journey, several evolved forms of the Amethyst Crystal Entity braved the snowstorm and quietly appeared on a nearby hill. With eyes that only intelligent beings possess, filled with emotion, they watched as the convoy gradually disappeared into the horizon of the icy plains. Then, they turned their heads in another direction, their eyes gradually revealing a cruel gaze.
Changkai County.
Official Shelter, External Security Room.
Li Xiang yawned and glanced listlessly at the surveillance monitor. He lazily asked his colleague, "Has the second maintenance team, which went out to repair the ventilation ducts, not reported back yet?"
As a dispatcher, although Li Xiang did not enjoy many additional material benefits, sitting in the warm and secure underground security room every day, remotely watching batches of maintenance workers shuttle through the narrow, oil-stained, and debris-filled passages of the shelter, laboring to repair equipment, and occasionally even braving the cold and slight radiation to maintain the external ventilation pipes, gave him a strong sense of psychological superiority. However, after doing this monotonous job for a long time, he still couldn't help but feel somewhat lazy.
Sometimes, watching the maintenance workers in the surveillance footage felt like watching NPCs in a game, with no sense of reality. Their feelings, their lives, didn't even stimulate Li Xiang as much as a cup of hot tea.
In such a situation.
The occasional brief loss of contact with some workers naturally didn't draw much of his attention.
"Not yet."
"Maybe their communicators ran out of battery."
"I remember the only communicator they had hasn't been charged for several days."
Li Xiang's colleague didn't pay much attention either.
The communicators of the maintenance team were considered special equipment. According to the shelter's management rules, they were supposed to be managed by the external security office on a daily basis.
The workers could only obtain the relevant tools from the external security office when they were about to go out for work.
And obviously.
Li Xiang's colleague, who was responsible for managing these tools, didn't fulfill the duty of proper maintenance.
He didn't even charge them properly.
"The surveillance camera at Ventilation Shaft No. 7 on the surface also happened to break down yesterday."
"Otherwise, we could have seen them."
"Speaking of which."
"Repair Team Two also had the task of fixing that camera during this outing."
"They still haven't managed to fix it yet."
"They're really slow."
Li Xiang casually chatted with his colleague.
While clicking to refresh one of the darkened surveillance windows.
He found that there was still no signal.
He couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied with the efficiency of the maintenance team.
After all, according to the regulations, if the maintenance team was out of contact for more than 15 minutes.
He would have to sound the alarm.
At that point, even if there was actually no problem.
He would still have to write a whole bunch of reports to explain why this situation occurred.
Irritably waiting for the 15 minutes to pass.
Still having received no information from Repair Team Two.
Li Xiang hesitated for a moment, thinking about the various troubles that would follow.
He didn't immediately sound the alarm.
Planning to wait a bit longer.
This wait.
Another seven minutes passed.
The time they were supposed to return had already been exceeded by a full minute.
And it was only then that Li Xiang finally realized that things seemed to have gotten serious.
He didn't dare to delay any longer and forcefully pressed the alarm button.
The sharp alarm sound instantly transmitted to the security hall on the underground first floor of the shelter, which was responsible for managing the shelter's entrances and exits.
According to the previously established procedure.
Upon receiving the alarm, the security hall would immediately dispatch an armed team of 5 to 10 people.
To the location where the maintenance workers had lost contact to investigate the situation.
And they would turn on their body cameras to establish a video link with the external security office.
Recording the entire investigation process.
But in reality, after the alarm was transmitted for 10 seconds, Li Xiang still hadn't received any response.
As if the place had gone offline.
"Something big has happened."
Li Xiang's face turned slightly pale, feeling a deep sense of fear.
The security hall was different from the security office.
There was a permanent security force of over a hundred people stationed there.
The management was considered the strictest in the entire shelter.
It was absolutely impossible for a situation like the security office, where the alarm would be delayed by a few minutes, to occur.
Their lack of response could only mean one thing.
That something had happened there.
Thud! At this moment.
A slight sound came down from the ceiling of the security office.
Like a heavy hammer, striking Li Xiang's heart.
Li Xiang's heart skipped a beat.
Vaguely, a strong sense of unease arose.
He suddenly stood up, staggering to the door of the security office.
With somewhat weak hands, he locked it from the inside.
Then, he weakly leaned against the door.
Facing his colleagues who were looking at him in confusion, he whispered urgently.
"Quick, sound the first-level alarm."
"The security room has been invaded by an unknown enemy and has completely fallen—"
Before his words could fully settle, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
A blade, resembling a mantis's forelimb, pierced through the metal door of the security room.
It went through his chest from front to back, then twisted violently.
Brutally tearing open a huge gap.
That night.
The official shelter in Changkai County was breached by the Amethyst Crystal Entity.
Out of the more than 400,000 people in the shelter who had been fortunate enough to avoid all disasters since the apocalypse.
None were spared.
All became nourishment for the growth and evolution of the Amethyst Crystal Entity.
And this was just the beginning.
Only a few hours later.
The Amethyst Crystal Entity, which had flourished on the corpses of over 400,000 humans.
Split into several groups.
Heading towards the surrounding cities.
Invading one after another.
Until it had swallowed more than a dozen shelters, both large and small.
Only after encountering large-scale aerial bombardment from Su Wu's sixth-generation fighter jets.
Was it gradually contained.
In the underground second floor of the Farmhouse Shelter, within the news department of the comprehensive building.
Several young men and women, looking at the latest video compilation forwarded on their computers.
Felt waves of chill.
"Is this real?"
"It's terrifying."
"Those Amethyst Crystal Entities have mutated into new forms, silently bypassing all monitoring and warning devices."
"Invading the interior of the shelters."
"Those attacked didn't even have time to send out a distress signal."
When the video reached its most horrifying part.
Someone couldn't help but look up at the ceiling, fearing that an Amethyst Crystal Entity might suddenly break through the wall and pounce from there.
But this unease only lasted for a moment.
The total population of the Farmhouse Shelter now was close to 70 million.
Additionally, it housed the most powerful mechanical army in the entire Eastern Continent.
In the past, they had always been able to beat the Amethyst Crystal Entities into submission.
The massive population and absolute military power.
Ensured that the tragedies of other shelters were unlikely to occur here.
Once their emotions settled.
Their professional instincts as journalists quickly helped them grasp the key points of these videos.
They swiftly edited a news piece that combined commentary and visuals.
"Most of these incidents happened around the Kuangjiang River basin."
"Many people in our shelter relocated from there."
"They should be very interested."
"We can try to broadcast it as a special report."
"In the form of a news flash."
The news department of the comprehensive building.
Was responsible for assisting Chen Xin in managing the Jianghe City Television Station.
Ordinary news and programs were first screened and produced here, then reviewed by Chen Xin before being broadcast.
The work wasn't overly burdensome, but it was quite important.
Because at least tens of millions of people regarded the news they produced as the only reliable source of information.
After discussing among themselves.
This news piece was uploaded to the Artificial Intelligence database.
After preliminary review by the Artificial Intelligence, it was sent to Chen Xin.
And soon, it went through all the necessary procedures.
The scene appeared on the public screens of the underground shelter at the farmhouse courtyard, as well as other subsidiary shelters that were still inhabited.
It was pushed in front of tens of millions of people.
Underground level 5 of the farmhouse courtyard.
Shi Lei, who had just finished a thrilling basketball game, took a shower in the players' lounge.
Carrying his changed jersey, he waved goodbye to his friends.
He left the activity center.
At this moment.
On the streets outside.
The public screen that was originally hanging across from the activity center, playing soft music and natural scenery.
Suddenly, after a flicker.
Turned into a news broadcast.
A few familiar words immediately caught Shi Lei's attention.
He couldn't help but stop and watch the news carefully.
"Changkai County—"
Shi Lei was from Changkai County.
Back then, when the apocalypse came, Shi Lei was supposed to move into the official shelter of Changkai County.
But because a certain official clerk responsible for reviewing residents had a conflict with his family.
He deliberately blocked their family's application with fabricated charges.
Forcing them to choose a small private shelter instead.
Later, because Jianghe City began to incorporate private shelters along the Kuangjiang River basin.
His family was also transferred to Jianghe City.
They went through a lot of hardships in between.
Shi Lei himself once participated in many voluntary labor activities organized by Jianghe City.
But overall, the quality of life was slightly better than the small private shelter they initially stayed in.
It was a blessing in disguise.
But Shi Lei still harbored resentment for his family being unjustly driven out of the official shelter in Changkai County.
He dreamed of one day returning to take revenge on the clerk who framed his family.
But now, that dream had obviously become meaningless.
"Everyone is dead."
"Not a single survivor."
Looking at the bloody numbers listed on the news, Shi Lei felt a bit dazed.
It wasn't until several minutes later.
Long after the news had ended, that he came back to his senses.
If it weren't for the unexpected caused by that clerk.
His family would have definitely become one of those numbers.
It just goes to show how unpredictable life is, and in the end, they were lucky to escape.
Shaking his head.
Shi Lei withdrew his gaze and walked into the shade cast by the lush oak trees by the street.
The artificial simulated sunlight.
Penetrated the dense foliage of the oak trees, turning into a string of fine light spots, projecting onto him.
Making him feel strands of warmth.
Just like that afternoon during a summer vacation when he played basketball with his classmates.
A similar environment, the same carefree feeling, without the need to worry about external dangers.
Suddenly, Shi Lei had a vague realization.
Being able to spend a lifetime here.
Perhaps it was the best destination for ordinary people like him in this era.
Farmhouse courtyard.
Core area of the underground level, control center.
Su Wu got firsthand frontline intelligence several hours earlier than ordinary people.
In just half a day.
The data of more than a dozen shelters falling and millions of deaths.
Made him feel a bit shocked.
The number of casualties.
Exceeded the total number of casualties caused by all
the disasters Jianghe City had experienced since the apocalypse began.
It even surpassed the cumulative death toll of any other supercity in the Eastern Continent, including Steel City, which had endured prolonged turmoil in the past.
"Just a few mutated Amethyst Crystal Entities capable of blocking radio signals and dissolving concrete."
"Resulted in such astonishing casualties."
"It seems we've underestimated the threat posed by individual mutations."
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