CHAPTER 468: CHAPTER 69: ARRIVAL OF THE BLOOD MOON (EXTRA UPDATE FOR JUNE!)_1

As time slowly passed, gathering places worldwide had essentially consolidated, either by relocating or by establishing defenses.

On the American, European, and Asian continents, with their large populations, numerous professionists and civilians had already moved to various gathering places. The rudimentary forms of post-apocalyptic gathering places had gradually taken shape, with super-settlements rising one after another, primarily centered around the political and military hubs of major world powers.

Even if the infrastructure was insufficient, in terms of population alone, they were undoubtedly super-sized.

In the United States, aside from Las Vegas—which, admittedly, was quite small in scale—there were only three officially recognized gathering places: the Washington Assembly Site, the New York Assembly Site, and the Los Angeles Assembly Site, which was very close to Las Vegas.

...

Atop the Eternal Sky City, innumerable soldiers in the military uniforms of various nations were coming and going via the teleportation array formation.

Although everyone had joined the Earth Community, the internal factional disputes within it were not something that could be explained in a sentence or two. With the demon plague imminent, powerful experts affiliated with the Earth Community swiftly teleported to their own countries via the Eternal Sky City, attempting to do their part in defending their homelands.

At this time, Lin Haifeng was in the central control tower of the Eternal Sky City, conducting the final video conference with leaders of various nations before the demon plague.

"These are the main points to note," he said. "Lastly, I need to remind you all: if you can’t hold your ground, try to save as many people as possible. I will remain in Eternal Sky City. Notify me immediately if any location is about to fall, and I will unilaterally open a teleportation channel to transport people and resources to Cathay."

The major nations were dismissive, but some smaller nations that hadn’t yet found a powerful backer felt as if they had found a savior. Some wanted to offer their populations in exchange for aid, others wished to relocate to Cathay immediately. Some even suspected Lin Haifeng of planning to occupy their lands and seize their populations, using this offer as leverage for negotiation.

Such varied reactions were trivial to Lin Haifeng; he refused no one, agreeing to all matters related to population and resources as long as the terms weren’t too harsh.

After some time, these matters were settled. Lin Haifeng looked at the hundreds of leaders from the various gathering places present—some were powerhouses who had risen since the apocalypse, others were former national leaders. He sighed softly.

After the demon plague, most of these people will likely vanish forever—whether they stay put or come to Cathay via the Eternal Sky City...

...

While everyone else was preparing to resist the demon plague, Wen Yu and Qin Tian were leisurely grilling meat in the Red Stone Grand Canyon.

Wen Yu leisurely picked up a piece of grilled meat, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. He placed it in his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the explosion of fresh taste and juices.

"Mmm... delicious!" Wen Yu, hissing from the heat, simultaneously gave Qin Tian, who was in charge of the barbecue, a thumbs-up.

Qin Tian, however, made no show of humility and deliberately struck a proud expression.

Then, Qin Tian lifted his wrist to check his watch. "It’s almost time, right? If we calculate it as exactly half a year, there are only five hours left!"

"Mmph..." Wen Yu’s mouth was stuffed with food, and he mumbled incoherently. After a moment, he finally swallowed and said with certainty, "Not five hours. It’s at exactly midnight tonight. Trust me, there will be a spectacle then, the kind you only see once in a lifetime."

"What spectacle? And another thing, I’ve been meaning to ask you: how do you know so much?"

Wen Yu wagged his index finger playfully. "Secret."

"Fine, don’t tell me if you don’t want to... I guess it must be related to Sequence privileges? Such a pity. During the Sequence Member-Ranking Battle, I was so close to reaching Sequence Number 3..." Qin Tian continued to mutter, concocting what he believed was the most ’reasonable’ explanation in his mind.

Wen Yu, showing no intention of revealing the truth, simply continued to eat, accumulating energy.

...

Night deepened.

Bright moonlight blanketed the land.

Tonight’s moon, though not full, cast abundant light. Moreover, the moon had lost its usual crimson hue, instead emitting waves of ghastly white light.

Wen Yu and Qin Tian lay on the sand, gazing up at the sky.

Wen Yu appeared to be conserving his energy, while Qin Tian was presumably awaiting the spectacle Wen Yu had mentioned.

Time drew nearer...

Until the hour and minute hands on their watches overlapped at the twelve o’clock position...

"It’s here," Wen Yu said softly, perhaps reminding Qin Tian to prepare, or perhaps just muttering to himself.

The next moment, the entire world gradually descended into darkness.

...

The moon’s light grew increasingly dim and hazy until it vanished completely. Then, a terrifying energy flow enveloped the upper atmosphere, sweeping across the entire Earth!

In his previous life, he had also observed such a phenomenon. Initially, he hadn’t thought there was anything unusual about this energy flow. However, after conversing with Tang Haofei, he had learned the truth from him: this energy flow was a barrier, designed to prevent Earth’s creatures from breaking through the atmosphere and leaving the planet! According to Tang Haofei, the Demon Tribe intended to exterminate all life on Earth! Of course, these matters were not his primary concern at the moment. The crucial point was that specific Energy Fluctuation.

As the Energy Fluctuations swept across Earth’s surface, missing no corner, Wen Yu and Qin Tian instantly felt the density of Demonic Qi in the air skyrocket. A clearly visible, pale grey mist permeated the air before the Energy Fluctuations slowly subsided.

In that brief span, the concentration of Demonic Qi on Earth had surged to over ten times its previous level, fulfilling the precondition for the opening of the Demon Realm’s Gate!

As the Energy Fluctuations slowly subsided, the moon reappeared overhead... or rather, what had taken its place.

No, he wasn’t even sure if it could still be called a moon!

A dark-red sphere hung high in the sky, replacing the original moon. It cast an eerie, crimson glow upon the land, suffusing the world with an aura of blood and slaughter even before the demon plague truly began.

In mere seconds, the heavens themselves had transformed!

The methods of the Demon Tribe were beyond imagination!

Despite having witnessed this scene in his past life, he still couldn’t help but feel a profound shock. The more one knew, the closer one came to the truth, the more one realized their own insignificance, the terror of that truth, and how perilously close one might be to death!

...

In just a few seconds, the world had utterly changed.

The atmosphere was sealed, transforming Earth into a brutal gladiatorial arena—a deathmatch between Earth’s denizens and the Demon Tribe, to the bitter end!

Wen Yu exhaled a turbid breath and surveyed his surroundings.

Dark grey streams of air drifted about, lightly brushing against his skin and seeping into his nostrils. It carried an indescribable stench, similar to the odor of the Demon Tribe, yet subtly different.

Then, visibly, the grey streams of air began to thin. This peculiar Demonic Qi was merging with Earth’s entire space. On one hand, it stimulated the mutation and Evolution of Earth’s flora and fauna; on the other, it provided the necessary energy for the opening of the Demon Realm’s Gate.

「A mere ten minutes later...」

The grey Demonic Qi had completely dissipated.

Apart from the Blood Moon hanging in the sky, everything seemed to have returned to normal. Yet, everyone understood one thing: matters had fundamentally changed. All prior understanding had been utterly subverted. The entire world had now entered a countdown, one governed by terror!