Chapter 677: They...have arrived

Soon, the food was ready.

Everyone received the most lavish meal since the apocalypse began.

Many people swallowed hard at the fragrant aroma, but no one dared to eat more than a single bite.

Some people found their mouths watering uncontrollably just from the smell alone.

Even so, these people carefully tucked their portions into their clothes, treating them like precious treasures.

Some of the younger children, already gaunt from hunger, only took a single small bite, an incredibly tiny one at that.

Then, fighting back their saliva, they carefully hid the food within their clothes.

No one was willing to eat it all in one go.

Those who would have recklessly gorged themselves into a final, gluttonous death before perishing, never survived long enough to see this day.

Although each person had received several days' worth of rations.

In truth, compared to pre-apocalypse standards, it was merely a slightly larger meal for a normal person.

Even over at the Silent Council's side, a tense atmosphere prevailed.

The Silent Council Shop had already sealed its doors and windows tightly.

All members of the Silent Council had moved into that small shop.

The windows had long been sealed shut by Architect Sequence superhumans.

Not a single ray of light could penetrate from outside.

The Silent Council Shop, once the liveliest place around, now looked like nothing more than a dead house.

Hou Junji, Xiong Baochun, Song Wei, and the others were nowhere to be seen. No one knew where they had gone.

The streets were utterly deserted.

The sea breeze swept through, and apart from the rustling of trees, no other sound could be heard.

The former base now appeared as if it had already died.

Almost without needing orders from their respective convoy supervisors.

After briefly organizing the convoy's supplies, the survivors eagerly hurried back onto the vehicles.

Without instructions from their own convoy captains, no one dared to apply the Concealment Talismans just yet.

Every bit of energy in the Concealment Talisman had to be used at the most critical moment.

Only when the captain said they could use them, would they dare, and would they be willing.

On ordinary days, such a high-grade Concealment Talisman would have been impossible for them to obtain.

Over at the Fair Convoy, the massive tent in the middle of the convoy had long been taken down.

Actually, calling it "taken down" wasn't entirely accurate.

Because the tent was far too large, folding it up completely was hardly a quick task.

So, the tent was merely folded up somewhat, then shoved onto the roof of Bus Number Five.

Other supplies were similarly crammed into Ding Dong's panel van or strapped onto its roof.

Everything felt rushed.

So rushed that all signs of life were extinguished in a frenzy.

The two neighboring convoys were doing exactly the same.

The once-bustling base was now cooling down at an astonishing rate.

Cold enough to freeze into ice.

Outside, the sky should have been filled with stars.

But right now, everyone felt a chill running down their spines.

Every window of every migration vehicle was blocked by various objects.

Even the behemoth of the Great Shun Dynasty Convoy was no exception.

Those massive windows on that vehicle were covered with quilts, practically letting in not a single ray of light.

Of course, not all vehicles were like this.

At the very least, the vehicles belonging to some self-important superhumans were the exception.

That was because superhumans possessed self-control and psychological endurance beyond that of ordinary people.

This was a mental fortitude honed through prolonged battles against the Anomalies.

"Bang!"

The door was finally shut, emitting a dull thud.

Lai Baiwei felt the compartment instantly plunge into darkness. Apart from the faint edges where the window coverings allowed a sliver of light to seep through, there was no other source of illumination.

Even though the sun was still blazing outside, inside the vehicle, it felt like night.

Fortunately, the first floor of Bus Number Six was relatively spacious, so at least no one's movements were restricted.

But at this moment, no one got up from their seats to wander around.

Lai Baiwei, the long-legged beauty, could vaguely make out the silhouettes of her teammates across the vehicle.

But they were merely silhouettes, nothing more.

At first, there were some faint rustling sounds of hushed conversation inside the vehicle.

But those sounds quickly died out.

It seemed everyone remembered what Supervisor Xue Nan had said before: anyone who dared to speak would be thrown out.

Lai Baiwei, being Xu Lina's younger sister, had originally always lived on the second floor of Bus Number Six.

But this time, Xu Lina had directly kicked Lai Baiwei downstairs.

The reason was that she was afraid Lai Baiwei couldn't handle the psychological pressure of so many Anomalies.

Lai Baiwei had assured her over and over that she wouldn't say a word and would completely follow her cousin's orders.

But she was still sent down from the second floor by Xu Lina.

Lai Baiwei could clearly see that the people around her seemed to have a hint of gloating in their eyes and expressions.

Although she couldn't see clearly, Lai Baiwei was certain such looks existed.

However, the schadenfreude quickly faded.

Because the silent pressure around them was truly suffocating.

No one knew when the Anomalies from the sea would come ashore.

Whether countless Anomalies had already crawled up from the ocean right outside the windows at this very moment.

No one knew.

But this suffocating silence made everyone feel as if a bomb were lodged in their chests, ready to explode at any moment.

"Everyone, now, immediately, right this second, apply your Concealment Talismans!"

Just then, a crisp voice suddenly rang out, speaking rapidly with perfect clarity.

Lai Baiwei recognized it as her cousin's voice.

Rustling sounds quickly filled the vehicle.

But they lasted only a brief moment.

Lai Baiwei also hurriedly pressed the Concealment Talisman, which was already damp from her sweaty palms, onto her body.

Some people went so far as to stick the talisman directly onto their foreheads, looking utterly bizarre.

Somewhat resembling certain terrifying beings from horror movies.

In reality, the Concealment Talisman only needed to be attached to one's body, clothing would work just as well.

But somehow, a rumor had spread that the talisman only worked at its full potential when pressed directly against the skin.

So, for the sake of their lives, almost everyone without exception stuck it onto their bare skin.

Some even lifted up their clothes and pressed the talisman directly onto their stomachs beneath their garments.

Those who had stuck it on their foreheads, upon noticing what others had done, were immediately filled with regret. Yet they didn't dare peel off their talismans and reapply them elsewhere.

Throughout the entire process, not a single person fumbled.

Everyone had completed the act of applying their Concealment Talisman.

No one wanted to die.

But what followed was an even longer stretch of silence.

Lai Baiwei could even hear her own heartbeat.

Just then, Lai Baiwei felt a wave of palpitations rising from the depths of her heart.

As if something utterly terrifying was drawing near.

They're coming, they're coming...

They... are coming...

A repeating voice echoed in Lai Baiwei's mind.

It was the feeling of a human encountering its natural predator.

Lai Baiwei could hear her heartbeat growing louder and louder, as if the next second, her heart would leap right out of her throat.

Lai Baiwei tried desperately to listen, to hear whether there really were Anomalies outside the vehicle.

But she didn't dare.

Staring at the windows sealed tight with quilts.

Lai Baiwei wanted to pry open just a tiny crack in the quilt to see whether those Anomalies had truly arrived.

But she still didn't dare.

The dread in her heart only grew stronger and stronger.

Everyone who had survived this long had seen Anomalies before, and some had even fought them directly.

But this feeling surpassed every single previous encounter.

Lai Baiwei's hands clenched deathly tight against the seams of her pants. From sheer tension, she began to feel dizzy.

Sweat trickled down her temples and slid along her cheeks.

Her entire body began to tremble slightly.

This was her body's instinctive reaction.

Beyond the control of reason or will.

She had no idea what was outside the vehicle.

But... she was afraid...

Afraid beyond all resistance.

She hadn't seen anything, yet those things seemed to be right by her ears, gently breathing against them.