Shen Feng and Xu Xing were standing in the city, preparing to see what the thing in the sky was, whether it was a bird or an insect. Just then, the manhole cover in the distance was opened, and a small figure emerged, waving frantically at the two.
The two looked towards the manhole cover and saw that it was a child, seemingly the one who had given them bread earlier.
Orphans, after receiving help, would always remember their benefactors. Now, they were waving at Shen Feng, their faces etched with anxiety, clearly excited and worried that the two might encounter danger.
"What do we do now?" Xu Xing couldn't help but ask.
Her question was simple: did they fight or flee? Although fighting wasn't difficult, they didn't know what danger they were facing. Since an orphan was kindly warning them, how could they ignore it?
Shen Feng thought for a moment and said, "Although I also want to know what's happening here, it's best to follow this child. We gave them bread before, so they wouldn't harm us now, would they?"
Xu Xing quickly nodded, and then the two walked towards the sewer. Although they couldn't understand what the children were saying, by observing their gestures, they could understand their meaning: they were calling them over, asking them to hide in the sewer with them.
When the two reached the sewer, they saw other people inside. Many adults were also hiding in the sewer, but these adults clearly had no intention of helping Shen Feng. The adults were far more timid than the stray children.
"It's so dirty, do we have to hide in here too?" Xu Xing was stunned by the state of the sewer. The environment inside was simply too filthy. The city was located in a rainforest and by a river, meaning there was always wastewater. The sewer was filled with wastewater that reached their ankles. Xu Xing, being a woman, was always concerned about her appearance. Seeing the condition of the sewer, she immediately felt resistant.
Shen Feng said, "If our bodies get dirty, we can just wash them. Danger is imminent. If we are still picky now, we'll be forced to fight!"
After Shen Feng said this, Xu Xing looked back at the huge dark shadow in the distance. The shadow was growing larger and larger. If they hesitated any longer, they would be attacked by these unknown entities!
So, Xu Xing could only shake her head helplessly and jump down. Shen Feng also jumped down with her. As for the little boy who had warned them, he struggled to close the manhole cover.
Not long after, fierce sounds echoed from outside. Shen Feng was very familiar with this sound. Wasn't this the sound of insects flapping their wings as they flew? This meant that what was flying outside was not birds, but flying insects.
"Could it be that the city was destroyed not by birds, but by insects?" Shen Feng wondered in his heart.
Then, Xu Xing turned on her flashlight in the sewer, finally illuminating the dark space. In the filthy sewer, there was water and mud everywhere, and a foul odor emanated from all directions. This stench was unbearable, drilling into their noses uncontrollably. Xu Xing could faintly smell methane.
"It's so smelly. How can these people hide in such a place for so long? They really have patience!" Xu Xing said to Shen Feng.
"What else can they do if they can't endure it? If they could go out, they would have left long ago!" Shen Feng said helplessly.
If they hadn't hidden in the filthy sewer, these people would likely have been killed by the enemy by now. Only by hiding in a place where they couldn't be found could they survive. Ordinary people were so useless in this world. Once they left their comfort zone, they became utterly helpless. Therefore, humans could only live together in groups.
"Two ability users, you're finally back. It's a pity, we couldn't keep the glider safe!" At this moment, someone from the crowd in the sewer stood up. When illuminated by a flashlight, it turned out to be Frankie.
Upon seeing this person, Shen Feng realized that he could now communicate with the people here. With a translator, it became easier to inquire about what had happened in the city.
"Come here quickly, I have something I want to ask you. Answer me carefully!" Shen Feng said urgently.
"I don't know what you want to know, but I will tell you everything I know!" Frankie replied quickly.
"Right now, I just want to know why your city has become like this. It shouldn't have been destroyed!" Shen Feng posed his question, wanting an answer.
"Actually, we never expected this. When the disaster struck, we were completely stunned. Some soldiers took up their guns and went to the city walls to resist, while others fled in all directions. Very few survived. We were fortunate enough to hide in the sewer and thus escaped the disaster. However, we dare not go out every day, because once we go out, we might be targeted by monsters," Frankie said with great pain.
It turned out that five days ago, Manaus had encountered a crisis of destruction. At that time, giant insects suddenly appeared in the sky. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that these insects in the sky were all giant dragonflies. With their wings spread, they were three meters long and made a terrifying sound when they flapped. These insects could carry humans into the sky, their strength being immense.
If there were only insects in the sky, the city's inhabitants wouldn't have been too worried. After all, as long as they stayed at home and kept their doors and windows tightly shut, these insects couldn't snatch them out of their rooms. However, at this moment, many giant centipedes appeared in the forest. These centipedes were even larger than the dragonflies in the sky.
These centipedes had very thick waists, each at least fifty to sixty centimeters thick. As they crawled in from outside the city, they made chirping sounds, appearing terrifying. On both sides of their bodies were numerous legs, which scraped against the floor, making a piercing sound.
Thus, the appearance of the centipedes instilled fear in everyone. However, at this point, it was not enough to destroy the city. The most terrifying thing was that these centipedes could spray acid. This acid could corrode walls, causing the foundations of sturdy buildings to collapse. People no longer dared to hide in their rooms and instead chose to flee to distant places.
When people fled their homes, it was already too late for them to leave the city. This was because giant dragonflies in the sky were constantly snatching people. These dragonflies were carnivorous, and although they had previously fed on small insects, after their bodies became giant, they began to eat humans. After all, humans were pure food in their eyes. On the ground, giant centipedes were also constantly crawling, and as soon as they encountered humans, they would spray acid, which could directly corrode human flesh.
Under these circumstances, the people in the city were trying to escape, but very few managed to escape the mortal world. Most of them were killed by the dragonflies that suddenly appeared in the sky. These dragonflies had enormous bodies and were extremely cruel.
Some people remained hidden in their homes, only to die when their houses collapsed. After all, when the foundations of various houses were corroded by acid, these houses could no longer stand and would collapse with a bang. Centipedes loved to burrow into cracks in rocks. When houses collapsed, the ones searching for these humans were not rescue teams, but giant centipedes.
Humans hiding in houses were inevitably eaten by centipedes. Therefore, during these few days, dragonflies and centipedes appeared in the city's sky every day, devouring humans. What was once a decent city had now become a ruin. Most of the survivors in the city had hidden in the sewers.
"So, so much has happened. I hadn't heard of such giant insects when I was elsewhere. And now there are giant insects in the Amazon region. What does this mean? Could it be that insects are also experiencing a phenomenon of atavism?" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
In ancient times, there was a period when the Earth's oxygen concentration was very high, due to a high prevalence of cyanobacteria blooms in the oceans. At that time, the Earth's oxygen concentration was much higher than it is now. With sufficient oxygen, insects began to develop, and many insects evolved towards having larger bodies.
When insect bodies enlarged, their predatory capabilities became stronger, with some insects even capable of preying on small mammals like rats and rabbits. At that time, these mammals were food for insects.
Fortunately, later, changes occurred on Earth, and the oxygen concentration dropped rapidly. As a result, insects had to shrink their bodies to survive and reduce oxygen consumption, as they would suffocate without oxygen. This allowed mammals to develop.
However, in the doomsday, due to the appearance of many mutated cyanobacteria in the Earth's oceans, these cyanobacteria could produce more oxygen, which directly led to the enlargement of various animals. The most affected were insects, which were unable to achieve giant sizes due to oxygen concentration limitations. Now that they could easily obtain oxygen, their sizes instantly increased.
As their bodies grew larger, these insects began to prey on humans, and in the Amazon region, they could easily destroy a city, which was quite terrifying.
"Brother Shen Feng, what should we do next? Should we go and kill these insects?" Xu Xing couldn't help but ask Shen Feng.
"We've been out for almost three and a half months. I don't know how things are in China. Let's find an opportunity to leave as soon as possible. As for the Amazon region, we don't need to worry about it, as this is other people's territory," Shen Feng told Xu Xing his intention.
"But there are so many people trapped in the sewer here. If we don't take them with us, they will all suffer heavy casualties in the end, and perhaps not a single one will survive. We can't just stand by and do nothing!" Xu Xing said earnestly to Shen Feng.
"Stop meddling. Whether these people survive or not has nothing to do with us. Are we going to lend a helping hand to everyone we meet who needs help in the future? If that's the case, there are people needing help everywhere in the world, and we don't have the energy to take care of them!" Shen Feng explained to Xu Xing.
"The Buddhist scriptures say that saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Therefore, saving people is accumulating virtue and doing good deeds. Moreover, humans are social animals. By saving others, we also contribute to the better development of society, don't we?" Xu Xing said to Shen Feng.
"You don't seem to mind the trouble. If you want to take them, then take them. However, I won't protect them. If you want to protect them, you'll have to do it yourself. I'm afraid you won't be able to manage it," Shen Feng shrugged.
Shen Feng had originally wanted to fly away with Xu Xing directly. He couldn't carry too many people, but if he only took Xu Xing, he was very confident. But now, it seemed he had to escape through the forest with everyone. The Amazon rainforest was full of dangers, not to mention wild beasts and poisonous insects, but also the dragonflies that could appear at any time in the sky, posing a great threat. Escaping the city with hundreds of people would eventually be a burden.