Dawn of a New Era

Chapter 668 642: After the Battle

Within a few hundred meters of Chen Shouyi's location, a massive bowl shape has formed, resembling a meteorite crater. Villages several kilometers away have been leveled by the shockwave, and even buildings over ten kilometers away have suffered varying degrees of damage. Looking around, devastation is apparent everywhere.

Chen Shouyi, with two little ones in tow, walked slowly along the fragmented highway.

A gust of wind blew, sweeping up a cloud of dust.

The road was silent, not a single pedestrian in sight. The crimson rays of the morning sun fell warmly on him, a relaxed smile on his face as he enjoyed the quiet of having survived the disaster.

From afar, a military vehicle sped towards him, quickly stopping beside him. Several officers got out.

"General Manager Chen!"

"General Manager Chen!"

...

Meeting the reverent and admiring gaze of the officers, Chen Shouyi waved his hand and continued forward.

Clearly indicating he did not want to be disturbed, the officers exchanged glances, helpless, none daring to approach to inquire about the state of the war, letting him be.

Upon reaching the city, soldiers were scattered everywhere on the streets.

Some looked bewildered, some visibly anxious, some excitedly searching for news. The thunderstorms earlier had completely destroyed the power supply, communications disrupted. They clearly still had no idea what had happened.

Chen Shouyi saw a tender-faced soldier crouched in a corner, clutching his rifle in suppressed sobbing, tears and mucus streaming.

Ordinary people facing such a war were truly left with nothing but despair beyond despair.

No civilians were visible, clearly still hiding in the air raid shelters.

When Chen Shouyi arrived at the evacuation spatial passage, he found it sealed, the entrance shut with a thick iron door. He approached and knocked, only after a long while did someone respond from inside:

"Who are you? Which unit? Password!"

"I'm Chen Shouyi," Chen Shouyi said.

"Incorrect password, military zone, please leave immediately..." as the voice inside was cut off halfway.

"Are you daft? This is General Manager Chen, open the door now."

"Captain, even if it's General... General Manager Chen, we can't violate orders. Without the password, we cannot open."

"Shut up, open the door."

Inside was a whisper of conversation, accompanied by the sound of iron chains rustling, the heavy iron doors gradually opening, and five soldiers appeared, quickly saluting upon seeing Chen Shouyi.

"General... General Manager Chen, what is the situation outside?" the leading captain asked nervously.

"It's temporarily safe now!" Chen Shouyi responded.

Everyone was stunned, then their faces lit up with excitement, several soldiers even teared up.

"That's great!"

"General Manager Chen, it's truly safe?"

"It should be safe, the Barbarian God has retreated," Chen Shouyi patiently explained, then asked the group: "Are you the only ones here?"

"Yes, someone had to stay outside. We're all without parents, no regrets, compared to those comrades who have sacrificed, we are lucky," the captain sheepishly smiled.

They weren't ordinary soldiers; each was a martial artist, ordinary soldiers couldn't carry out such missions.

Chen Shouyi opened his mouth but ended up saying nothing.

He walked into the spatial passage, led by the soldiers, passed through the nuclear minefield, and soon returned to the camp, ready at any moment to depart. Rows of steam trucks were already filled with people.

Even the forests had been rapidly opened up to create a passage several kilometers long.

...

Inside a tent.

"According to the maps from the airships, there's a valley over a hundred kilometers westward, with ample water supply, hidden terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack, making it a potential temporary station for us," a staff officer said.

"Approximately how many days to reach there?"

"Normally, it would take about ten days but in an emergency, abandoning all supplies and gear, going in light, might only take one to two days."

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Abandoning all supplies and gear meant discarding everything; humanity would need to start anew, and surely, there would be casualties.

"Of course, that's the worst-case scenario. The war may not necessarily end in defeat," the staff officer remarked.

"We came here to prepare for the worst and any wishful thinking would be irresponsible to human kind," Commander Zhang Simin softly reprimanded, looking at the middle-aged man with glasses next to him: "Academician Fang, is the soil here suitable for farming?"

"The soil here is slightly acidic, still suitable for most crops, but it's now deep autumn, soon to be winter, it would take half a year for planting. Though, vegetables could be planted in greenhouses," Academician Fang sighed.

For decades, humans have researched the climate changes, environment, and vegetation of the alien world, perhaps even knowing more than the Barbarians. If not for the Barbarian God, the entire alien world might have been occupied by humanity long ago.

At that moment, a soldier rushed in.

Everyone jumped at the suddenness, immediately looking towards the entrance, only to see the soldier in excited tremble, "Report Commander, just now... just now General Manager Chen returned from outside, bringing important information."

"What information, quickly tell us!" Zhang Simin quickly asked.

"He said... he said, the Barbarian... Barbarian God retreated, we... we won!"

The tent fell quiet.

Then erupted.

"Where is General Manager Chen?" Zhang Simin, taken aback by the shocking news, asked, mind somewhat dizzy with excitement.

"He said one sentence and left."

How could he just leave after saying one sentence?

"Quickly get General Manager Chen here," Zhang Simin ordered, then said: "No, I'll go myself."

With that, he rushed out of the tent.

...

Accompanied by soldiers, Chen Shouyi searched from one vehicle to another.

There were cars everywhere, densely packed by the thousands, making it difficult to locate even with numbered sections.

"Brother, brother, it's brother, he came back!" Chen Xingyue spotted him keenly, excitedly waving, "Brother, we're here."

With that, she couldn't wait to jump out of the car, quickly running over.

"Boo hoo... Brother, you finally came back, if you hadn't come, we would have left," Chen Xingyue cried with excitement.

Chen Shouyi's heart fully relaxed, smiling, "Didn't I return, don't cry, you're grown up now."

"You still laugh, I thought you... you wouldn't return." Chen Xingyue wiped her tears, but the more she wiped, the more her tears flowed.

"Didn't I say it's just a small task, how could I not return!"

Chen Xingyue paused and stared at Chen Shouyi: "You've become so thin."

Just one day out, and his skin was almost wrapped around his bones.

Chen Shouyi naturally knew his condition, but lazy to explain, said while walking: "Normal, in a few days it'll be fine."