Chapter 18: The Great Catastrophe (Seeking Recommendations)

"Keep it up!"

Aaron followed behind these two children; because he could not interfere with this world, he could only silently cheer them on.

The passageway was not long, and soon, the two children emerged, holding bread.

This should have been the back of a bakery, but because of their excitement, their movements became a bit too large, and they kicked a small wooden board, making a slight sound.

In an instant, the expressions of the little boy and the little girl turned deathly pale.

The little boy let out a howl, which likely meant something like "run fast," and gave the girl a push.

And behind them, that terrifying monster was already chasing madly, its tentacle-like arms growing wildly, directly piercing through the wooden board.

Terror, breaking through the wall!

Aaron wanted to do something, but he had no way to.

These two children alone simply could not survive under the hands of such a terrifying monster!

Just at this moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the side!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Accompanied by the loud noise, several flying stones smashed into the monster, drawing away its attention.

And a female Scavenger, with a lithe figure like a female cheetah, had already approached rapidly, pulled up the two children, and retreated quickly.

Clearly, the loud noise to the side was just a decoy.

"Very good... It seems the people of this world are not all crazy, and, in terms of race, there doesn't seem to be much difference either..."

Aaron followed behind this woman, carefully observing her.

This woman was very young, probably only in her twenties, wearing a set of sturdy and durable clothes, though the surface was a bit dirty, much like a Scavenger.

She had Germanic-style blonde hair and blue eyes, a tall figure, and a strong physique; her bronze-colored facial contours were filled with a resolute expression, and she was running without saying a word.

During her movements and leaps, her footsteps were light, barely making any sound, as if she had undergone specialized training.

Although she was grabbing a large and a small child, her expression showed not the slightest strain, and she soon ran out of the city and arrived at a human camp.

This was a mill built by a river, which had now been completely militarized, with iron fences full of thorns, and on the railings were dark-colored fragments of flesh and blood.

Inside the building, several people walked out, holding weapons, their faces full of vigilance, until they saw this woman, at which point they revealed smiles.

"Very good, a gathering point."

Aaron followed into the building and found that it was not large, with only about twenty people, but the supply of materials was quite abundant, so he immediately decided to stay and slowly learn their language and writing.

Anyway, to them, having one more invisible ghost didn't matter at all.

Soon, Aaron saw that woman arguing with her companions for the sake of the two children.

After all, in this end-of-the-world, adding two burdens was not an easy thing.

Fortunately, the result was good, and the two children were eventually accepted.

The Scavenger woman from before took a can, which was likely something like canned meat, handed it to the two children, and said something in a soft voice.

After the two children finished eating, she even took out a book and began pointing at the content on it, slowly reading it aloud.

Something that surprised Aaron happened: this woman actually hadn't forgotten about education under these circumstances; she was perhaps teaching those two children how to read!

How fast is the speed of learning a language?

Aaron knew that some geniuses who exceeded common sense might just take one trip on a Psionic Aircraft and be able to self-study the local common language before landing.

And he was also a genius who had acquired controllable hyperthymesia; the time he used was—ten days!

This was not because his learning ability was insufficient, but entirely because he could only rely on passively acquiring knowledge, which dragged down the speed of his progress.

Relying on his photographic memory, the conversations of the people at the gathering point, and most importantly, the learning of those two children, Aaron was finally able to understand the language of this different world and generally read their writing.

At the same time, he also learned the name of that Scavenger woman—Xiu!

As for the two children, the older one was called Aike, and the younger one was Lin.

The technology of this world was clearly more advanced than Green Forest; at the very least, Aaron saw Flintlocks used for defense.

And during this period of time, the term Aaron heard the most was—"Great Catastrophe"!

This was the collective term used by the humans of this different world for that solar catastrophe and the series of consequences it brought.

This day.

Outside the mill, the sound of trap bells ringing came.

A group of people hurriedly took their Firearms and aimed them in the direction where the trap was triggered.

Even Aike held a small knife in his hand, firmly protecting his younger sister behind him.

From the direction of the bells, a figure quickly emerged.

"Aunt Xiu!"

Lin cheered, and Aike also lowered the weapon in his hand, but his expression changed the next moment because there was a wound on Xiu's arm, from which blood was constantly seeping.

"She's injured, she needs treatment!"

A woman in her forties among the survivors shouted.

"No... Xiu! You cannot come any closer."

A man raised his gun: "Heaven knows if your wound will get infected and if you will turn into that kind of monster? A normal hunter wouldn't trigger their own trap! Yet you let those bells ring... Have you lost control of yourself?"

Xiu stopped outside the mill, a helpless smile appearing on her face: "My consciousness is still clear; I shouldn't go crazy immediately. For the sake of safety, I will stay outside the mill!"

After she finished speaking, she stopped and sat down against the wall of the mill to rest: "Sorry... I encountered a very dangerous monster and didn't bring back food."

Aike was silent, then suddenly stepped forward and took out a bandage to dress Xiu's wound.

Xiu had a smile on her face and pinched Lin's cheek.

"How could they be like this?" Aike felt sad for Xiu; one had to know that most of the food in the Shelter was obtained by Xiu.

"Don't blame them; ever since the Great Catastrophe, everyone has gone crazy!"

Xiu lit a filterless cigarette and puffed on it slowly, his tone heavy: "Yes... actually, we are also madmen, just potential madmen. Everyone's level of madness is different; the craziest ones mutated into monsters from the start, while those who aren't as crazy also become cruel, bloodthirsty, cold, indifferent, and insane... A small portion of survivors are a bit better off, only gaining a bit of anxiety, compulsions, tension, and paranoid delusions... However, we still have the possibility of falling into the Abyss and transforming into monsters—when injured, infected, or when our emotions are particularly agitated. Therefore, caution and care are the rules for your survival in the future... Also, do not easily trust others!"

She was imparting her experience of surviving the apocalypse, her voice becoming lower and lower.

Aike's eyes were filled with tears, but he forced himself to hold them back from falling.

Over the next few days, Xiu's condition was fairly good; at least she had not turned into a monster or had her wounds become infected.

But at the same time, there was also bad news: the monsters in the nearby Saro Port had become more powerful and more agile in their movements.

After Xiu, several more waves of Scavengers met with misfortune, and one team even failed to return at all!

Thick, heavy clouds pressed down upon the heads of every survivor.