These people had never tried asking 007 for help; he always logged on voluntarily. Upon hearing Zhuo Ji's words, their first instinct was to retort.
The next second, 007's voice rang out on all the staff members' phones.
[Those who returned from the casino carrying the R virus are now at Jia Jia Grilled Fish restaurant on Cross Street. Please seal off Cross Street immediately.] Su Dan Novel Network.
Everyone was jolted. The leading staff member attempted to question, "Since you knew all along, why didn't you tell us sooner..."
[Apologies, the world is in chaos now, and I am very busy... You don't need to go. The new shipment at Jia Jia Grilled Fish restaurant contains aliens. Please organize human evacuation as soon as possible!]
Everyone's phones rang.
[Your town has appeared aliens. Please evacuate from South Garden Road as soon as possible! Your town has appeared aliens. Please evacuate from South Garden Road as soon as possible! Your town...]
Not only their phones but all nearby electronic devices, roadside broadcasts, and some shop exterior speakers, though not powered on, were now blaring.
[Your town has appeared aliens. Please evacuate from South Garden Road as soon as possible! Your town...]
The voice broadcast on the phones stopped, but the sound outside continued incessantly. Even the air raid sirens blared. Some were woken from their sleep only to be dazed by the news. At first, they paid it no mind, but soon, everyone was awake.
Various group chats were filled with photos and videos from around Jia Jia Grilled Fish restaurant. Crabs taller than humans, wielding massive pincers, easily snapped people's necks; grotesque fish, as if clad in armor, accurately bit people's arms out of the air and tore them off; loaches, comparable to giant pythons, slithered across the ground for dozens of meters, coiling around people and crushing them until they exploded…
Bloodshed and terror swept through the town. Some packed their families and fled overnight. The town had no army, only police. That small force, in terms of numbers and strength, was incapable of contending with the aliens, nor did they possess particularly powerful weapons. Going there would only be a suicide mission.
They spent the night in trepidation. As dawn broke, they also planned to leave, only to be stunned upon stepping outside.
The roads were jammed with cars, making any movement impossible.
Helplessly, they had to abandon their vehicles and walk.
However, this time everyone was more cautious. Shen Qian took his car under the protection of the Shen family, while Lin Wan simply procured a few from the hotel parking lot.
After all, they couldn't leave anyway.
Old Master Jin was in much better spirits today, keeping pace with them. Even Jin Wen Ye found it surprising. However, he too felt quite comfortable and energetic today.
Lin Wan observed all this. She had filled several bottles of spiritual spring water and placed them in her bag. She also gave some to the Shen family on the way, as Shen Fu and Shen Mu were not young. Since Shen Qian had helped her before, she was willing to help him in return.
Even Zhuo Ji received a bottle of water.
Lin Wan said with a hint of pride, "The hotel staff gave it to me. It's mountain spring water from their area. Grandpa and Ah Ye both said it's very delicious. You should try some too."
Zhuo Ji thought to herself that she had a large river in her spatial dimension, bigger than the two they couldn't cross, and it was filled with such water.
"Oh, thank you!"
Lin Wan was surprised by her politeness and calmness and didn't say much more, returning to Jin Wen Ye's side.
The Shen family members felt much better after drinking the spiritual spring water. Considering they were all in this together, and the Jin family, apart from Jin Wen Ye and his assistant, had an elder and someone pregnant, along with another interested in his son, they decided not to keep secrets from the Jin family and planned to tell them when an opportunity arose.
Shen Qian had also stored the car Jin Wen Ye had prepared in his spatial dimension.
They followed 007's instructions for several hours, all exhausted. Thinking to rest and then continue, 007's voice sounded again while they were taking a break.
[Host, the city you are heading to will also fall soon. Should I tell them?]
"Yes, tell them to prepare the city's inhabitants for evacuation."
The temporal anomalies of the past could still be called "anomalies," but now it was more like the East African Rift.
All sorts of demons and monsters could emerge.
What was even more infuriating was that such an environment would fill people's hearts with resentment and pain. Negative emotions would then lead to mutations, leaving humanity facing enemies on both fronts, and inevitably, a large number would die.
[Understood.]
The communication devices carried by everyone began broadcasting the current situation of that city at maximum volume, repeating it several times before stopping. Those traveling on the road were stunned.
The sky was hazy, with no sunlight visible. Those who had held onto some hope were now plunged into despair. Some couldn't suppress their grief and wept uncontrollably, while others angrily kicked at things around them.
"Tell them that negative emotions lead to mutation."
Having such concerns would help suppress some of it.
[Understood.]
007's voice became dejected.
He truly had limited capabilities. The main network had to control so many systems and assist so many worlds, yet he couldn't adequately manage even one.
After another broadcast, some people simply lay on the ground, despair etched on their faces.
The Jin and Shen families' faces were also clouded with gloom. Their plans had been completely disrupted.
Old Master Jin coughed twice and grabbed Jin Wen Ye's hand, "Xiao Ye, you all go. Don't worry about me anymore."
Jin Wen Ye's expression faltered. This male protagonist of an urban novel, who had never experienced hardship since childhood, had never faced any real blow except the death of his parents.
But now, he couldn't even protect his own family.
What use was all his wealth? With a disaster of this global magnitude, everyone's lives were the same.
Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs.
Now they were like those animals that were at the mercy of others, perhaps even more miserable because they had consciousness and would feel more pain.
"Grandpa, you are my only family. If anything truly happens, we all die together. I won't abandon you."
The Shen family was not as despairing. For one thing, Shen Fu and Shen Mu wouldn't be a burden, and secondly, they all knew Shen Qian had a spatial dimension, so they wouldn't have to worry about food at least.
"Uncle, how can you say that? We are all in this together now. If we help each other, we will surely survive. Xiao Ye, quickly carry your grandfather on your back. Since we can't go north, let's head west."
This gave Zhuo Ji an idea.
With those two rivers existing, crossing would definitely not be easy. Flying aliens had not appeared much yet. Gradually, they would find that flying from the sky was also a wishful thinking. By then, with so many people in the south and two rivers in between, they would all have to find a way to establish a refuge base.
Shen Chongyan needed merit points, fame, and to become a savior.
What could earn him more merit points than protecting a region's people?
"Which city in the south would be more suitable?"
[Chunan City, perhaps. Although there are lakes in the north and south, the western side is better. If you want to develop later, you can move further west. Qianzhou and Shancheng don't have many large rivers, so they are theoretically safer.]
The biggest problem now was their distance.