I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 666: Escape

Even though the Magic Cube Space upgrade was much simpler this time, without the usual lengthy repair routine that took several hours, a massive number of rotten mermaids had already advanced layer by layer, quickly reaching the seventh floor during the brief moment Jing Shu was unconscious. It was the last bastion of survival for the people inside the building!

The thousands of insects and snakes Jing Shu had released were now almost completely wiped out. They didn’t dare show their heads, except for a few insects quivering in wall crevices, having narrowly escaped disaster.

The building was crammed with rotten mermaids that devoured everything. Despite Li Yuetian leading his people to desperately defend every passageway, even resorting to all sorts of methods, they were simply no match for the rotten mermaids that surged like a tide, forcefully overwhelming them.

Jing Shu didn’t have time to understand what had happened. When the last of her insects were about to draw blood, she had clearly felt some of her own blood being taken. But what transpired after that?

Subconsciously, she touched her neck. I was afraid of being possessed and developing tumorous growths like Da Ji, but that hasn’t happened. There’s just a small bump, much like a mole.

I can’t worry about that now! She couldn’t even focus on the upgraded Magic Cube Space. Jing Shu knew she had to first organize a defense against the incoming rotten mermaids. Otherwise, what am I supposed to do once all the rotten mermaids swarm over and devour everyone?

A continuous chirping echoed in her head, incessant, as if countless rotten mermaids were speaking. She couldn’t understand them; it was as annoying as tens of thousands of ducks quacking nonstop!

If only they would quiet down, Jing Shu thought.

Then, as if by magic, the noise from a moment before suddenly vanished. Now, all she could hear was a ringing buzz in her ears and the faint sounds of screams from outside.

Jing Shu’s mind raced. She emerged from Boss Lu’s secret treasure chamber. Rotten mermaids were still continuously dropping into the passageway there. Li Chenglong was retreating with a group of people to the next exit. Consequently, no one nearby had witnessed that scene. Instead, many rotten mermaids passed by Jing Shu, targeting the area Li Chenglong’s group defended. Not only that, but the rotten mermaids also consciously cleared a path for Jing Shu.

Jing Shu speculated. Am I receiving the same treatment as Da Ji? The rotten mermaids are no longer attacking me. Does that mean I have the same privileges as him?

All of you, stop! Don’t move! Jing Shu thought, recalling what Da Ji had said. He couldn’t control these rotten mermaids, but if he had a strong desire for something, they would help him achieve it.

「」

"Hold the line! We must hold the line!" Li Yuetian shouted, ordering people to grab anything that could burn. "As long as we survive, until the very last moment, there’s hope!"

"Bedding, items from the private rooms, doorframes—bring them all here to burn!"

"Tie Dan, secure the other passage!"

"Captain, staircase number four is lost! They’re in, they’re pouring in!"

Upon hearing the news, Li Yuetian ran over frantically. The central hall on the seventh floor was overflowing with people. There was no room to stand; everyone was shivering. If there were only a few hundred, they could still put up a fierce resistance. But these teeming creatures numbered at least in the tens of thousands, and more kept squeezing their way toward them relentlessly.

"AHHH, help!"

"Monsters are breaking in!"

The already cramped hall erupted with screams as people tried to flee. But with the crowd packed so tightly, where was there any space to run? A rotten mermaid charged into the crowd, and with one huge bite, devoured a person.

It’s over, Li Yuetian thought blankly. He then shouted at Li Chenglong, "Still no sign of Jing Shu?"

Li Chenglong replied, "I don’t know. I’ve been here from the start."

Jun Jia, pinching Gold Dominator’s hand, sighed. "Under these circumstances, she’s probably more dead than alive."

Li Chenglong then yelled, "She’s so powerful! She must be doing something we can’t imagine. She’ll definitely be fine!"

Li Yuetian murmured, "If only she were here. Perhaps she’d have a way."

Suddenly, another monster lunged over from a different blockade. Stepping on the bodies of its companions, it plunged into the crowd from above, jaws wide open, heading straight for Li Chenglong.

It’s over, was Li Chenglong’s first thought. Then, clenching his teeth, he grabbed a torch with his bare hands and shoved it into the mermaid’s mouth, resigned to mutual destruction.

But then, unexpectedly, events took a sudden turn.

All the monsters suddenly stopped moving, as if stuck. The attacking monsters froze. The feasting ones stopped. They were like statues. Li Chenglong had just stuck a torch into a monster’s mouth; normally, it would have reacted, but at this moment, the monster didn’t move, allowing the torch to burn it to ashes.

"Huh?"

Immediately afterward, everyone else in the hall noticed. "What’s going on?"

"These monsters have stopped moving! Hurry, kill them all, no matter what!" Li Yuetian was the quickest to react.

「」

Jing Shu walked forward, gazing at everything in disbelief. Indeed, all the rotten mermaids had stopped, just like statues, exceedingly obedient.

It wasn’t as Da Ji described, requiring a strong wish to be fulfilled. I merely thought about it silently. It was a piece of cake.

"All of you, retreat underground!" Jing Shu commanded this time. But after giving the order, her head felt like it exploded with a BANG, almost bursting. It felt as if something had been completely drained from her.

The next second, the mermaids began to leave, just as they had come. Their minds were dull, lacking intelligence, yet they knew the path and turned to go back the way they came.

The recently quieted hall erupted with cries of alarm again. This time, however, the monsters truly receded like the tide.

Only when every living rotten mermaid had returned to the Mudstone Flow Sea underground and completely exited the building did Jing Shu, who had been holding on with difficulty, finally exhale. This matter is finally resolved, she thought. But are there conditions for ordering these monsters? That still needs to be verified.

"Who’s there?!" Li Chenglong, who had just come out to check the situation, immediately realized someone was in a dark corner.

Jing Shu, holding the mysterious black box she had summoned from the Magic Cube Space in advance, said weakly, "It’s me."

"Sister? Sister Jing! It’s you! Thank goodness, you’re not dead! I knew it!" Li Chenglong ran over excitedly. In the dim light, he smelled the thick scent of blood. He turned on his flashlight and was shocked by how pale Jing Shu’s face was.

"What’s wrong? Let me support you, Sister. Are you okay?" Li Chenglong carefully helped Jing Shu up, taking the black box that she never went anywhere without.

"What is this thing? It’s so heavy!" Li Chenglong could barely lift it.

Back in the crowded hall, no one dared to go out. Who knew if the monsters had truly gone?