Returning to hometown to farm: The apocalypse system arrived ten years earlier?

Chapter 349 Hibernation and Fall: The Beginning of the Beast Era
Dungeon No. 02 is located in the former city of Shanghai.

Eight young men and women "smuggled" themselves to the surface through the ventilation ducts. These were four couples, four men and four women.

The couple at the head of the group were particularly eye-catching. The man had a fluorescent green mohawk, a skull earring in his left ear, and the words "Take life and death lightly" tattooed on his neck in cursive script. The woman had pink and purple highlights in her pigtails, rhinestones on her nose, a lip ring, fishnet stockings, a bunch of jingling keychains hanging from her waist, and studded platform shoes.

The other three couples were all similar in style, with dyed hair, shaved heads, or tattoos. When the flashlight beam swept across them, the unhealed needle marks on their arms and the sweaty smell of cheap perfume were visible.

"The air up here is so fresh, much more breathable than down here."

Each with a powerful flashlight in hand, they arrived at a high-end villa community called "Platinum Palace," a place they had never been allowed to enter before, but now they naturally wanted to go in and have a look around.

The place was already deserted, and the eight people easily climbed over the wall. When the powerful flashlight swept across the Roman columns, the carbon fiber bodies of the Bugatti Veyron and Rolls-Royce Phantom in a garage gleamed coldly under the beam of light.

"Holy crap, this paint job is worth ten of my lives!" Ah Jie kicked open the malfunctioning smart lock on the gate, and the group entered the villa, rummaging through drawers and cabinets to find the crystal keychain.

Xiaolu is taking a selfie straddling the Phantom's steering wheel, while in the background, Dafei is smashing open a wine cellar with a baseball bat, taking out a bottle of red wine that the rich man didn't take with him, and chugging it down his throat: "It's so sweet, it's not as strong as Erguotou!"

With the car stereo turned up to maximum volume and playing "I Will Love You Till I Die," the two luxury cars sped out of the residential area and onto the main road.

"Those cowards are still hiding underground, trembling like rats, while we've already come to the surface to have some fun!" The dreadlocked youth, with a cigar he'd taken from the study dangling from his mouth, increased the car's speed to 280 mph.

The push-back sensation is exhilarating!
The ground was deserted, the road was extremely clear, and you could speed however you wanted.

The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating a large area ahead. Suddenly, the young woman in the passenger seat, with smoky makeup smudged onto her cheekbones and wearing a sequined backless dress, pointed at the sky and screamed—dozens of house-sized black shadows, enveloped in purple flames, fell. The closest one, a heavily armored beast, crashed five meters in front of the car, its multi-legged body causing the Rolls-Royce Phantom to lurch half a meter into the air.

"Holy crap! What the hell?"

"Hey buddy, we're locals!" Ah Jie, trembling with fear and emboldened by the alcohol, waved and greeted the strange beast with a friendly smile, hoping it would spare them. Yes, they'd seen those short videos online of people encountering wild tigers in Northeast China, and that's how they greeted them.

Unbeknownst to them, this was a "Dark Abyss Demon" of the 10th rank, a blind, multi-legged creature that sensed its prey solely through vibrations, and whose carapace could secrete highly toxic mucus.

But then, black mist seeped from the gaps in the creature's carapace, and it suddenly pounced, its six pairs of chelicerae easily overturning the phantom. Behind it, as the Bugatti Veyron attempted to reverse, another "Corrosive Heart-Eating Spider" emerged from the ground, its legs piercing the tires before spraying a corrosive web of venom from its tail…

Throughout the process, the car's dashcam was recording, and the final footage showed a girl wearing a lip ring and fishnet stockings being penetrated by a young monster. Her fishnet stockings were then melted into her skin by the venom.

In the underground city, the owner of this luxury car looked at the footage transmitted from the car's dashcam, turned pale with fright, and dialed 110 in a trembling voice.

In China, things are actually better, since the regulations are strict and there's a grid management system, and over 99% of residents are quite cooperative. But it's much worse abroad, where similar scenarios are much more common.

In the Central Underground City of Colorado, USA, a group of young people passionate about extreme sports climbed to the surface through an abandoned subway tunnel.

They are live-streaming their "apocalyptic adventure" on their phones, claiming they want to "record humanity's last blue sky."

After escaping, the group felt extremely excited and thrilled.

As the black fog enveloped them, they persisted in their exploration. Suddenly, a 25-step "Blazing Sky Vulture" fell from the sky. The camera shook violently, capturing only the burning wings as they passed by, and the live broadcast signal was abruptly cut off.

Afterwards, the military found half of a charred GoPro at the tunnel entrance, with agonizing screams and the sound of bones cracking remaining on the memory card.

In Tijuana, Mexico, thousands of homeless people denied access to the underground city gathered in a church square to pray. From the black mist descended hundreds of "Carrion Spiders," ranked 6th to 12th tier, whose silk rapidly corroded flesh after entangling the victims. Survivors recalled that the poisoned individuals, despite their festering skin, moved mechanically, like puppets controlled by the spider swarm, ultimately falling en masse into the spider's lair and becoming nourishment. The church itself became a nest for the "Carrion Spiders."

In Paris, France, a group of wealthy young men, who called themselves "apocalyptic revelers," drove a modified off-road vehicle out of the outer defenses of the underground city. They mistook a Tier 15 "Eclipse Star Beast" for a "glowing meteorite" and took pictures of it, only to be instantly vaporized by the eerie blue energy beams sprayed by the beast horde.

The next day, Eileen created an alchemical golem, a small bird that was only the size of a palm but had an extremely long endurance. It went out to scout out enemy positions and only managed to retrieve a half-melted diamond necklace and a Van Cleef & Arpels watch from beside the wreckage of a vehicle.

On the edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa, a nomadic tribe refused to relocate to an underground city, firmly believing that their ancestral spirits could dispel the darkness. As the mother beast "Garuda Nether Phoenix," with a wingspan exceeding 100 kilometers, swept across, countless blood-red beastly eyes opened amidst the sandstorm. The entire oasis was uprooted, tents and livestock were torn to shreds in mid-air, and the yellow sand was stained dark red.

A large number of "suicide pilgrims" appeared on an inland road in Australia, shouting that they wanted to "face the judgment of the gods." As a result, they were dragged into a crevice by a level 14 "Earthly Fiend Abyss Demon".

On the banks of the Ganges in India, hundreds of ascetics refused to enter the underground city, instead chanting in the black mist. Then a level 19 "Void Soul-Eating Leech" appeared, draining the ascetics of their brains, leaving only withered corpses sitting in a prayer-like posture...

……

A black fog enveloped the land, and across the entire Earth, countless strange beasts plummeted from the sky.

Their curled-up bodies ignited with eerie blue tail flames from friction, like a burning paratrooper swarm precisely landing on various continents. The Statue of Liberty in New York was severed in half by the tail fin of the 12th-tier "Eclipse Star Beast"; the "Garuda Nether Phoenix" hovering over the Sahara Desert stirred up a sandstorm tornado; and on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean—the "Abyssal Titan" with a diameter of over two hundred kilometers was crashing towards the Shikoku Islands of Japan, carrying lava and tsunamis.

Shikoku Island was instantly reduced to dust upon contact with the beast's body, the shockwave spreading in a ring. Fukuoka Tower along the Kyushu coast snapped like a matchstick, and the earth's crust in the Kinki region was ripped into the stratosphere. Seawater rapidly evaporated and condensed, forming turbid waves thousands of meters high. The outer walls of the Osaka Underground City shattered like an eggshell, and tens of thousands of residents who couldn't evacuate in time were swept into the vortex along with the reinforced concrete. The Self-Defense Forces' air defense array deployed in the Seto Inland Sea merely caused ripples on the beast's surface before being completely destroyed by the magnitude 9.8 earthquake triggered when it burrowed into the mantle.

More than 300 kilometers away, Mount Fuji roared like thunder. Inside the base inside the mountain, Chiba Yukio, dressed in white like a goddess descending to earth, plunged the Kusanagi Sword into the lava lake. The boiling silicate fluid formed a protective matrix along the sword's patterns.

"Mom, Lake Biwa has disappeared from the radar!" Chiba Asahi shouted, clutching the violently shaking instrument.

Chiba Yukio stepped into the void, her hunting robes fluttering amidst the surging spiritual energy. She scattered 19 shikigami, Aobozu's vajra erupted with Buddhist light, Akahana's karmic fire folding fan hovered in the air, Hakuzosu's nine ice crystal fox tails formed a frost-covered barrier, and Tsukiyomi's Oborozuki katana cleaved through the sky...

The twin magatama stood on either side, with the crimson wings of the morning dew and the icy magatama of the evening mist complementing each other. The three of them worked together to draw on the earth's veins, thus protecting the area within dozens of miles of Mount Fuji, with the refuge at its core.

As the mighty "Abyssal Titan" completely submerged into the Earth's crust, western Honshu Island was reduced to a boiling, murky sea. Cruise ship wrecks and convenience store signs floated in the bloody foam of Yokohama Port, while the underwater rift formed by the behemoth's drilling continuously spewed out sulfurous gases.

In Europe, a female beast with a wingspan of nearly a thousand kilometers appeared in the sky above the earth's surface, dropping many cubs. This female beast was obviously more powerful; its figure disappeared in mid-air, and then the next second, it appeared eight hundred meters underground, heading towards the earth's core.

In the United States, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Siberia… hundreds of thousands of strange beasts have descended upon almost every place. These smaller beasts began to occupy mountains, forests, lakes, and even deserted human settlements, establishing their nests. Some also fled into the sea.

The mother beast that transported them there disappeared deep underground, its whereabouts unknown.

Although it was tragic, it was much better than my previous life.

In Li Xiang's previous life, due to the sudden apocalypse, people didn't enter the underground cities but remained on the surface. Looking up, they saw a sky full of meteor showers, which many considered a spectacle, as it was unprecedented. They flocked out to see, some even taking photos and videos. However, in the first round, they encountered monstrous beasts head-on, and without the shelter of the underground cities, tragedy struck. On the first day of darkness, the global population plummeted by seven or eight hundred million; seven days later, the loss was nearly four billion.

The scene was as tragic as that of Lion Camel Ridge.

However, Lion Camel Ridge is only 800 li long, while at that time, all densely populated areas in the world were like that.

However, in this life, everyone knows that these are ferocious beasts, not dazzling meteors. Everyone has gone into hiding. Although there have been losses, the number of casualties is definitely no more than 100 million.

Of the 72 underground cities in China, one was destroyed by a single claw from a mother beast, and seven or eight satellite cities were also affected, discovered and invaded by the beast.

Li Family Village Underground City, Main City.

Jiang Cai'er, Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and a group of high-ranking officials from the underground city gathered in the command room of the central building to watch the radar screen.

Although the satellites in the sky have lost contact and no longer provide images, there are still many high-powered radars on the ground, which are now clearly reflecting the situation outside.

When they saw a female beast with a wingspan of two or three thousand kilometers appear on the radar screen, everyone gasped and exclaimed in amazement, "How can it be so big?"

Is this a spaceship? Even the city-sized spaceships in science fiction movies aren't this big!
Lei Xiaohui asked, "Should we attack?"

Yao Yao: "Are you stupid? How can we fight in this situation? Follow Brother Xiang's orders and lie low."

Zhao Xueqing: "In other words, it's about playing it safe and focusing on developing your strength first."

Yao Yao immediately perked up: "This is my specialty. When you're behind, you have to play it safe and prolong the game as much as possible to have a chance to turn the tide."

However, the final decision rests with Jiang Cai'er.

Everyone looked at Jiang Cai'er. With Li Xiang absent, Jiang Cai'er was the most important person there.

"Let's just lie low." Jiang Cai'er's expression was solemn. She switched another screen to the main screen, which displayed tens of thousands of names—all members of the Anti-Alien Beast Alliance's bases. Global network.

At this moment, many dungeon names have turned gray, indicating that contact has been lost.

“We can’t worry about things abroad for now. Domestically, one main city and eight satellite cities have been attacked, and the casualties are estimated to be heavy. The three satellite cities closest to us are not good. Why don’t the three of you each lead a team to provide support?” Jiang Cai’er said to Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui.

"We're leaving, what about you?" Zhao Xueqing asked worriedly. They got along well with Jiang Cai'er, and it wasn't that they were worried that Jiang Cai'er was deliberately using this opportunity to send them to their deaths.

Rather, if they leave and something happens to Jiang Cai'er, Li Xiang might blame them. And there are still Xiang-ge's three children there.

"I still have nine Saint-level beasts here, along with many drones, robot dogs, and missiles," Jiang Cai'er said with a hint of confidence. If she couldn't defend this place, the other dungeons would be even less likely.

The nine holy-level beasts are naturally the three-headed tiger, the white elephant and its mother, Tuantuan, Dundun, Erhuang, and the little fox.

Among them, Jin Hu and Dun Dun reached the Saint rank through their own talent, while the other seven advanced to the Saint rank with the help of the Saint Blood Alchemy Core bestowed by Li Xiang.

Eileen crafted ten alchemical hearts for Li Xiang. Li Xiang gave seven to his pets and kept three in the warehouse for future use.

As for drones, robot dogs, various shells and missiles, the accumulated stockpile in the main underground city of Lijiacun and its 12 satellite cities is countless.

Although satellites are no longer available, missiles can still be used, albeit with reduced accuracy. It's important to remember that missiles were invented before satellites.

Inertial guidance, infrared guidance, starlight guidance, radar guidance... well, starlight guidance is no longer usable. Radar and infrared guidance are still the most reliable options.

After Jiang Cai'er took over, she modified the missiles in the base, adding a "two-way data link" that ultimately connects to her super quantum computer through various relays. She personally guides the missiles based on battlefield situational awareness.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui each selected their elite teams and set off from the underground railway network in small railcars.

These people have extensive rescue experience in previous major floods, and this time when they went out to provide assistance, their main focus was on treating the injured and helping those trapped to escape.

Before they left, Jiang Cai'er also reminded them to prioritize their own safety and to run away immediately if they encountered a powerful beast, rather than confronting it head-on.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui are all very smart girls, so they naturally understand this.

They set out to provide rescue because the underground city of Lijia Village was lucky enough not to have been attacked yet, and they couldn't just sit idly by and watch the nearby underground cities suffer.

……

On the moon, Li Xiang's white jade golden hook staff left afterimages as he killed dozens of Saint-level beasts that were besieging him. Ignoring the other alien beasts on the moon, he broke through the encirclement and rushed towards Earth at top speed.

Because there are too many, they are densely packed together.

Although he possessed the "Beast Taming - Azure Scale Summoning" ability, he had no time to subdue those Saint-level beasts in this tense moment. The formation of the soul contract required a process, and with countless beasts swarming in, he was overwhelmed and there was no window of opportunity left for him.

Fortunately, after breaking through the encirclement, none of these strange beasts could match his speed, and the previous divine-level mother beasts had disappeared without a trace, allowing Li Xiang to escape.

Li Xiang was injured after fighting against dozens of powerful Saint-level beasts, but thanks to Zhao Xueqing's "Spiritual Dew," he swallowed several bottles and his injuries healed quickly.

Zhao Xueqing's cultivation level has now increased to eighteen levels, and she is only one step away from the Saint level. As her cultivation level increases, the "spiritual dew" she secretes becomes more effective, carrying a strange fragrance and sweet scent. It is a supreme medicine for treating internal and external injuries.

When Li Xiang returned, the underground city of Li Family Village was under fierce attack.

(End of this chapter)