All the heavens, starting as the ruler of the universe

The third brother, who was a superhuman, immediately noticed that something was wrong with Zhang Jingyuan and shouted.

The other two were focused on the box and therefore did not see Zhang Jingyuan's movements in the dimly lit underground parking garage.

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out, accompanied by the third brother's shout.

Blue light shot out from the muzzle of the gun, exploding into a blinding white light in the dimly lit garage.

The light was so bright that Zhang Jingyuan squinted. Then he felt the butt of the gun hit his shoulder hard, and he staggered back a step, almost falling.

Gunshots rang out in the enclosed underground space like muffled thunder, shaking the walls.

The echoes surged back from all directions, layer upon layer, buzzing loudly, making his ears ache.

He shook his head, but his ears were still ringing and he couldn't hear anything.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but his voice sounded muffled and indistinct, as if coming from a very far place.

After the echoing gunshots in the underground parking garage gradually faded away, the three men had vanished without a trace.

Instead, there were bits of meat on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Holy crap, that's incredibly powerful!" Zhang Jingyuan shouted, his ears ringing so loudly he couldn't hear himself clearly.

When he tried to put the gun away, he realized that his arms were numb from the gunshot and he couldn't feel anything.

"It's alright, it's not broken." Zhang Jingyuan checked his arms and found that he could still use them, so he couldn't help but feel relieved.

In this nuclear wasteland, the fate of a person who has lost both arms is far too tragic; being abandoned in the wild to fend for themselves is considered a good ending.

After resting for a while and regaining feeling in his arms, Zhang Jingyuan began searching for his spoils.

Because the gun was so powerful, almost all of the three people's belongings were destroyed. Zhang Jingyuan searched the area and found only a small, colorful crystal.

"What is this?"

Zhang Jingyuan picked up the crystal and examined it carefully.

The crystal emitted a faint fluorescent glow, making it look very beautiful.

Without figuring out what the object in his hand was, Zhang Jingyuan decided not to linger any longer and stood up to leave.

Then he heard a very unsettling sound.

It wasn't footsteps, it wasn't human voices; it came from deeper underground.

There was a rustling sound, like countless feet crawling, densely packed, surging towards this place from a great distance.

The sound grew louder and closer, like a tide, like a downpour hitting a tin roof.

His ears were still ringing, but the sound was so dense that he could distinguish it from the tinnitus.

Zhang Jingyuan felt a chill run down his spine.

He didn't look back, and ran away.

He walked through the abandoned cars, around the pillars, and rushed towards the exit.

The sound behind us grew closer and closer, like something surging up from underground and filling the entire parking lot.

He could smell a foul, damp, rotten odor, as if it had been unearthed from the depths of the earth.

He didn't dare look back, he just ran as fast as he could, his knees ached so badly that they went weak, his feet slipped and he almost fell, but he didn't dare stop.

The sounds behind me had reached the first floor, a rushing, whooshing sound, like countless insects climbing the wall, overturning a vehicle, and surging across the ground.

The exit is just ahead.

The light streaming in from outside was hazy, but much brighter than in the parking lot.

He dashed out with all his might, the sunlight making him squint. He kept running, and only after running dozens of meters did he dare to look back.

The entrance to the parking lot was a sea of ​​black.

It's not a shadow, it's an insect.

They surged out of the entrance in dense, black waves.

The insects weren't big, each only about the size of a palm, but there were so many of them that they were countless. They piled up together, squeezed together, and crawled together, completely blocking the entrance.

Zhang Jingyuan ran for a while longer.

The insects didn't chase after us; they just piled up at the entrance, huddled together in a dark mass, like a small, moving mountain.

Some insects fell from the pile, crawled around on the ground a couple of times, and then crawled back. They didn't come out; they just blocked the spot, as if guarding something.

He stood there, watching from a distance.

They dared not approach, nor dared they return.

After a long time, the insects gradually calmed down, retreated back into the mouth, and disappeared into the darkness.

Some black marks were left on the ground, as if they had been burned.

Zhang Jingyuan turned and left.

He quickened his pace and headed towards the camp.

The ruins behind us receded into the distance, and the wind carried away the stench of insects.

Shortly after he left, several more figures appeared at the entrance to the parking lot.

Five people, dressed in identical black combat uniforms, their bodies covered with various equipment.

The person walking at the front was a woman with short hair and a scar on her face. She was holding a device with green ripples dancing on the screen.

"The signal source is right here." She stopped and looked up at the dark entrance.

A tall, thin man approached from behind her, stared at the entrance for a few seconds, and his expression changed. "There are many traces of insects."

"These aren't ordinary bugs." Another one, squatting on the ground, picked up a pinch of black slime with his fingers. "It must be the bug queen waking up."

Several people fell silent at the same time.

The short-haired woman stared at the instrument screen, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Someone has awakened the Insect King from its slumber."

"I don't know." The short-haired woman put away the equipment. "But someone who can cause such a commotion is no ordinary person. Go back and report to the higher-ups. The Insect King has awakened; this area needs to be sealed off."

The group turned and left, their figures quickly disappearing into the ruins.

After walking for nearly four hours, Zhang Jingyuan finally saw the familiar campsite.

Several half-collapsed buildings were clustered together, with some corrugated iron sheets and canvas in the middle, serving as a shelter for scavengers in this area.

He found a corner at the edge of the camp, sat down, put down his woven bag, and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

"You're back?" An old man next to him glanced at him and continued fiddling with the radio in his hand.

The radio had been broken for a long time, but he tinkered with it every day, saying he could fix it.

"Hmm," Zhang Jingyuan responded without saying anything more.

"Old Wang, last time you said that besides being born with superpowers, there's another way for people to acquire them, right?"

Old Wang, who was fiddling with the radio, paused for a moment: "Did I say that? I don't remember."

"Two bags of compressed biscuits."

"Oh dear, look at my memory." Old Wang slapped his forehead.

"That's true. Besides those new humans who are born with superpowers, there is another way to acquire superpowers."

"What method?" Zhang Jingyuan pinched the multicolored crystal in his pocket.

"Eat." Old Wang grinned.

"Eat?" Zhang Jingyuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, eat." Old Wang continued fiddling with the radio. "Whether it's a new human or a mutated creature, eat them, and if you survive, you'll have superpowers."

Zhang Jingyuan's hand stopped, and he subconsciously clenched the crystal in his pocket. His palms were sweaty, and the small stone was burning hot from being squeezed.

He remembered the splattered bits of meat all over the ground. Eat?

Zhang Jingyuan swallowed.