Chapter 1409: Empty

Empty

The continuous, blazing fire burned at the frontlines for nearly half an hour. The number of Calamities that died by Han Meng's hands was countless.

By the time Han Meng's spiritual power was almost exhausted, the Calamities that had charged into the South Sea Domain were basically mostly dealt with. The tide and water mist had both been suppressed to the edge of the gap. The members of the Pu Family to the side also seized the opportunity to quickly set up their arrays in the surroundings, gradually transforming this impromptu encounter battle into a positional defense battle.

A figure shuttled in from outside the gap.

"How is the situation?" Han Meng asked.

"There are no more high-tier Calamities outside." The Head of the Pu Family's expression also relaxed. "Those Calamities seem to have realized that it's difficult to break through here, so they diverted to other breathing portals... I have to go over and help."

After speaking, the Head of the Pu Family looked at Han Meng's slightly pale face and spoke up to remind him:

"You've been fighting continuously for too long, you need to rest a bit."

The task of Eighth-Tier combatants like the Head of the Pu Family was to block Eighth-Tier Calamities. But in reality, there were only so many Eighth-Tier Calamities in the Forbidden Sea, so their combat wasn't relatively as dense... However, there were truly too many Seventh-Tier Calamities. And before the Integration Faction joined, the South Sea Domain had too few capable Seventh-Tier combatants. So from the start of the battle until now, Han Meng had barely rested, constantly facing situations of fighting multiple enemies alone.

"Chief Han Meng, go rest... leave this place to us."

Han Meng turned his head, only to see Teacher Ye already walking over from behind. He carried several reagents with him, looking like he was prepared to erupt and fight Calamities at any moment.

Han Meng didn't force himself either. He was well aware of his current condition and nodded slightly:

"Then I'll leave it to you all."

As the Head of the Pu Family went to support other breathing portals, Han Meng also set off to leave. His figure passed through the edge of the battlefield, approaching the dedicated logistics dispatch area straight to the rear.

Right now, the entire South Sea Domain was under strict control. All residents were strictly prohibited from going out, and the streets were completely empty. But as Han Meng passed by, he could still feel a massive number of gazes cast from the windows of the surrounding houses. These residents also seemed to be standing nervously behind the windows, wanting to see the situation outside.

The logistics location established by the South Sea Domain wasn't far from here. In between, besides Han Meng, there were also a large number of logistics personnel walking back and forth. Just as Han Meng pushed open the door and entered the room, a strong, pungent stench of blood immediately rushed into his nose.

Within his field of vision, blood-stained beds were placed in the center of the room one by one. Numerous figures were gathered around the edges of the beds, whispering something with tightly furrowed brows.

"These corpses are...?" Han Meng stepped forward and asked.

"They are the guards from the gap earlier." A staff member explained. "After the Calamity tide was blocked, we found an opportunity to bring the corpses out, but..."

"But what?"

"The way they died is a bit too tragic."

Han Meng stepped forward and lifted one of the bedsheets. A corpse that had been sliced in two at the waist was presented bloody before his eyes. Internal organs continuously flowed out from the torn flesh, a shocking sight to behold.

The moment he saw this corpse, Han Meng froze in place.

He immediately turned around and lifted all the other bedsheets. As the bloody corpses entered his field of vision one after another, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter...

...

"Holy Son..."

"Holy Son!"

At the factory entrance, Zhao Yi, who was sitting on the ground staring blankly, abruptly snapped back to reality.

He turned his head to look, only to see Linglong walking straight toward him, her eyes full of confusion...

"Holy Son, why are you spacing out here?" Linglong pointed at the people successively returning to the dormitories behind her. "Everyone has gone back to sleep, aren't you going?"

"I... am not sleepy." Zhao Yi shook his head.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhao Yi hesitated before speaking, "I just keep feeling... Teacher Ye is a bit strange today."

"Ah? He is?"

"It's just a feeling... How should I say it..." Zhao Yi recalled the scenes he saw when helping in Teacher Ye's laboratory earlier, and for a moment, his thoughts were somewhat chaotic. "I don't understand experiments or science or whatever... But... can that kind of phenomenon really be considered a successful experiment?"

Linglong looked at him blankly, seemingly finding it very difficult to understand what Zhao Yi was trying to express. But after thinking carefully, she still said:

"Although I don't understand either... isn't Teacher Ye the most amazing biologist? Almost all of us in the Integration Faction were personally saved by Teacher Ye, right? He definitely has his own understanding when doing experiments."

"What you said makes sense too."

Hearing this, the doubts in Zhao Yi's heart dissipated by more than half. Mostly, he still felt regret over not being able to head to the frontlines.

Standing beside him, Linglong couldn't help but yawn. "Holy Son, are you really not going to sleep for a bit?"

"I can't fall asleep, and hasn't nap time just finished not long ago?"

"But I'm just sleepy!"

"Alright, alright, you guys go sleep. I promised Teacher Ye to guard the factory well, so I'll keep watch right here."

Zhao Yi sat cross-legged at the factory entrance just like that. His black wanderer robe fluttered lightly in the wind. His bandage-wrapped arms were crossed in front of him, facing the direction of the frontlines. He quite had the imposing manner of 'one man holding the pass against ten thousand'.

Seeing the Holy Son acting cool again, Linglong couldn't help but curl her lips, but she still very cooperatively added a sentence:

"Wow, the Holy Son is so amazing~ Then our safety will depend on the Holy Son~~"

"Hehe."

Zhao Yi couldn't help but laugh.

After saying that, Linglong turned around and returned into the factory, walking along the stairs to the side toward the direction of the dormitories.

The sounds of the children playing and laughing gradually vanished. Ultimately, the entire factory descended into silence. Only faint snoring sounds would occasionally echo within the factory's dormitories.

As for Zhao Yi, he maintained his stance of 'one man holding the pass against ten thousand' the whole time. He sat at the factory entrance with his back straight, his gaze fixed tightly on the direction of the frontlines, like an 'observer' ready to spring into action.

Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.

The sounds of battle from the frontlines were endless, but nothing abnormal occurred. It was as if the situation ahead had been completely stabilized. The occasional explosions and rumbles from extremely far away seemed to become white noise, making Zhao Yi feel a bit drowsy as well.

He didn't know how long had passed, but he lightly dozed off and almost pitched forward onto the ground.

"Fuck... I really waited until I got sleepy."

Zhao Yi muttered quietly and stood up, planning to stretch his body at the factory entrance. But then, as if he noticed something, he froze slightly...

He turned his head to look at the tightly shut factory main doors behind him.

Is it...

A bit too quiet?

For an afternoon nap, can they really sleep this long? Moreover, out of over a hundred children, has not a single one woken up until now?

For some unknown reason, an inexplicable sense of unease rose in Zhao Yi's heart.

He walked straight to the factory's main doors and pushed forcefully. A low, muffled creak sounded within the factory...

A stifling deathly silence filled the factory. The huge dormitories...

Were completely empty.