Chapter 130: Rain

In the desert, within the convoy.

Li Qi was watched warily by a group of people, his body already searched thoroughly to ensure he had no weapons.

Then, he was surrounded by a crowd, with at least ten guns pointed at him.

The only one without a gun was the middle-aged man leading them; he scrutinized Li Qi, trying to see through this city dweller.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn't see any emotions like fear on the other party's face.

So, he gave up on the scrutiny and said to Li Qi, "I warn you, if you don't deliver on your promise of clean water here later, I'll bury you in the ground."

Then, he sat down cross-legged: "Speak, what do you want to ask?"

Seeing that the other party was finally willing to communicate, Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, these people still listened to reason.

So, he opened his mouth and asked, "I want to ask, how long has your life been like this?"

"Hmph…" A young man scoffed.

"Quiet, only my words matter here. Go watch outside, be on guard." The middle-aged man frowned and said to the young man.

The young man dared not say anything more, only glaring unhappily at Li Qi before taking his gun outside to guard against potential enemies.

It was clear that there was still hostility towards Li Qi here.

No, it wasn't hostility towards 'Li Qi,' but rather hostility towards 'city people.'

"How long? Of course, since birth. It's just that we used to be in the polar regions, and only recently arrived near these satellite cities of the Zhang clan," the man replied.

"Satellite cities?" Li Qi had never heard that term before.

"Don't you city people call them that? I learned that name from you. Anyway, they're just those big cities, you know, the ones surrounding the Earth Oil Realm excavation sites, like satellites," the man replied.

"Since birth? Do you know how long that's been?" Li Qi asked again.

"Since my grandfather's generation, I suppose. When I was little, I heard my grandfather say that cities used to be everywhere, and these roads in the desert now were built back then. But starting from my grandfather's generation, they began to dwindle."

"After that, there weren't enough resources to support so many people. Only those in the satellite cities could survive. As for us, we were left outside," the man said in a relaxed tone.

It was clear that he genuinely didn't care about these things; he just wanted to finish answering the questions quickly and get the clean water that this city dweller had promised.

But Li Qi could hear the horror in his words.

Only the people in those satellite cities survived in the entire world? The rest… were abandoned?

How many people died?

Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

No wonder the outside looked like such a wasteland…

"So, you are the descendants of the survivors from that time?" Li Qi asked.

"Yes, that's right. There's no other way; people have to live, after all. But it's not like you lot. There's no water out here, and we can't farm. But thankfully, the satellite cities still need to exchange goods, so we can only rely on your transport convoys," the man said.

As he said this, there seemed to be a subtle hint of threat in his tone.

"I see." Li Qi wasn't scared; instead, he silently took note and continued to ask questions.

Seeing Li Qi remain calm, the man pouted, not expecting this city dweller to be so bold.

"Then, if that's the case, how did you get your weapons? Even if you can steal them now, how did you get the initial weapons?" Li Qi asked again.

"I can't tell you that, but don't try to use that as an excuse not to give us water. I told you before, I won't answer all your questions," the man emphasized.

"I understand. Let's skip that topic. By the way, have you heard of the Resistance organization?" Li Qi continued with his next question.

Unexpectedly, the man reacted strongly to this question!

He immediately grabbed his gun, pressed it against Li Qi's forehead, and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

However, he was just an ordinary person.

And Li Qi was faster, immediately ducking his head, narrowly dodging the bullet.

Fortunately, the ground was loose, unfertile soil, so the bullet buried itself deep without ricocheting.

As their leader fired, the others reacted immediately, disengaging their safeties, ready to shoot Li Qi dead!

But Li Qi stood up at that moment, raising his hands and shouting, "Wait! I heard this news from Shā'ěr! I saved Shā'ěr!"

The man waved his hand, stopping the others from firing.

"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose?" He grabbed Li Qi's collar, staring intently at him.

"I told you, I saved Shā'ěr, and from her, I heard about you wanderers outside! That's why I wanted to ask!" Li Qi replied immediately, without any hesitation.

"How do you prove it!" The man gripped Li Qi tightly, shouting.

"By the fact that I'm here alone, isn't that proof enough?" Li Qi said.

"You'd best get the water out now, and then I'll let you get out of here alive. Otherwise, even if you've set up an ambush, I'll make sure they only get your corpse!" the man threatened Li Qi.

And his attitude already explained many things.

Sometimes, not speaking is also an answer.

Li Qi sighed, "All right, I understand."

Then, the man suddenly felt a blur before his eyes!

What followed was intense pain throughout his body.

Li Qi's body twisted into an exaggerated angle, his feet stepping several times in quick succession, then he suddenly turned around, shifting his weight to his back foot, his muscles twitching slightly, his whole body like a sliding snake… No, it should be said, like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, suddenly bursting forward to attack! He effortlessly stretched his body to the limit of maintaining balance.

Almost everyone present was caught off guard, unable to react, struck on their gun-holding hands, forced to stumble backward repeatedly.

The man who bore the brunt of the attack was hit two or three times in quick succession, his entire body hunched like a shrimp, his face bright red, almost having his bile knocked out of him.

They had no idea that Li Qi could reach them from such a distance; he seemed so far away, yet his attack felt as if it arrived instantly!

By concentrating his strength and aiming precisely, Li Qi completed dozens of attacks in an instant. After knocking everyone down, his body leaped directly into the air, instantly vanishing without a trace.

When he accelerated with all his might, his sprinting speed could briefly approach the speed of sound, and the human eye couldn't see clearly in the darkness at all!

So, Li Qi knocked everyone down in an instant and then fled.

Only a group of astonished people remained.

Only then did everyone realize why this person had the courage to come in alone.

"Don't chase!" Enduring the pain, the man shouted, "Forget about them! Pack up, we're moving! Run!"

Thinking about that person's purpose, where he came from—those things could be discussed later.

Run first!

Not dying was the most important thing!

Having long struggled and traversed death in the desert, even children knew the importance of quick action.

So, in a few seconds, almost all the vehicles started, and amidst a roar, the entire camp quickly evacuated.

"Damn it! I should have just shot him then!" The man clutched his bruised body and cursed loudly.

"How could a person make those movements? How could he run so fast!"

"That person… is he like Shā'ěr, with a modified body?"

The crowd whispered, their voices muffled by the roaring car engines, constantly speculating about the terrifying incident with Li Qi.

Could that speed and strength truly be achieved by a human?

He said he knew Shā'ěr; could it be true?

After all, his strength and speed were indeed quite similar to Shā'ěr's.

The convoy rumbled forward into the night, the group fleeing in a state of shock, continuously discussing Li Qi's earlier actions.

Especially the few children, besides their fear, also had the excitement of witnessing something incredible, constantly trying to imitate Li Qi's movements from earlier.

But the adults were mostly in a panic, constantly looking out and aiming, fearing that the monster would catch up.

As soon as the middle-aged man felt a little better, he immediately asked, "Second Brother, he didn't catch up, did he?"

"No, it's just… Boss, there's a problem." Second Brother's voice was a little panicked.

"What problem?"

"Water… falling from the sky?" Second Brother's voice trembled slightly.

"How is that possible? Water always stays on the ground; how could it come from the sky?" The middle-aged man frowned.

"It's true! Look!" Second Brother pointed out the window.

The man looked up.

He saw tiny, drizzling droplets of water falling from the sky, hitting the car window.

The convoy became chaotic, almost crashing into each other.

But the people, who had been in a panic before, now fell silent.

"Stop!" The man shouted into the车载无线电 (car radio)!

Then, before the car had even fully stopped, he directly opened the door and rushed out, bathing in the small droplets falling from the sky.

He roared loudly, as a man over fifty years old, the oldest person in the entire convoy, he burst forth with energy and a voice far exceeding his age.

"Everyone, quickly stop the cars, get out, and collect water!"

"I remember! My grandfather once said! Water falling from the sky, this, this, this thing, is called 'rain'!"

A rain fell in this area.

Countless people rejoiced because of it.

— — — — — — — — — —

And at this moment.

The young woman, referred to as Number One, was walking through the satellite city.

Her appearance was beautiful, but only beautiful, not reaching the level of a peerless beauty, probably just the level of a campus belle.

After she had spoken with Shā'ěr about the matter, she hurried to this satellite city.

Because she had a premonition that she would meet the two Young Masters here.

At that time, it would be time for action.

Number One walked quickly through the streets; she still had some things to do before the Young Masters made their move.

Actually, they weren't very important things, more like a way to relax her mind.

She arrived at the dilapidated part of the satellite city.

This area was still some distance from the city's edge, but the dirty and foul-smelling environment made people involuntarily cover their noses.

Narrow streets carved out a messy array of square-shaped courtyards in the open spaces.

Many people lived in these courtyards and the rooms within them, men, women, some clothed, some naked.

It was late at night, and some people still had the energy to move, but more were already lying together in a jumbled mess, asleep.

Yes, they slept on the ground.

Most of these courtyards were dilapidated and piled with garbage.

The environment inside these courtyards depended on how many of the residents had not yet become accustomed to the garbage and stench.

Every satellite city had such a place.

Here was a nest of crime, filth, and infectious diseases.

The Company never cared about them; most of these people had physical disabilities, 'eliminated' from the Earth Oil Realm excavation sites.

Yes, the Company used the word 'eliminated'.

And they were the 'city people' that the convoys earlier envied and feared.

Not all city people had good lives; only those in the Company had normal food and water supplies.

Number One walked here.

A young woman appearing in such a place at night would likely not have a good outcome.

But surprisingly, almost no one noticed her; she was like a ghost, even if she walked past these people's eyes, she would be ignored.

"Sigh…" She looked at these people, then gazed out at the desert.

The Company, and the Immortals…

They were the root cause of the world's chaos.

Number One walked to the center of this area, sat down, then bit her finger, drawing blood.

Pale light wrapped around her body, the Qi drawn out by her blood swirling around her, like glowing fireflies, or like the Milky Way falling into it.

Just like the starlight she had created in the room earlier.

Fresh Qi spread out.

Regardless of whether they were awake, asleep, or in a daze, everyone suddenly felt their bodies lighten, and their breathing seemed much smoother.

"This way, the plague Qi in this satellite city can be temporarily alleviated for a while, but… it cannot be eradicated," Number One thought to herself.

It was impossible to eradicate.

To eradicate it, all Immortals must be driven out of this world.

Then the two companies would be destroyed, order would be re-established, and the world would slowly recover through rest and recuperation.

While silently dispelling the plague Qi, Number One suddenly looked up towards the horizon.

That was… a cloud?

Why were there clouds?

Clouds were supposed to be water vapor from mountains; the Earth Oil Realm no longer had such things. She had only heard of the existence of clouds and rain from others in other realms.

But at this moment, that black cloud Qi truly appeared in the sky.

Then, water fell.

Was that rain?

Why was there such a thing?

Wait, Number One suddenly stood up, stopped her bleeding, and her expression immediately became serious.

"Young Master…!" She gritted her teeth!

It must be the Young Master; only a Young Master could control such a degree of celestial phenomena!

Although she didn't know why the other party was causing rain, it was clear that her premonition had come true.

Almost immediately, she pressed one hand to her temple and contacted the others: "The Young Master has appeared, in Satellite City Number Four, to the east, about twenty li."

After speaking, she actually flew directly into the air, heading towards the place where it was raining.