Night’s Nomenclature

Chapter 950: Predicting the Future

Midnight.

"I'm so hungry," someone whispered.

"Me too." Someone whispered in response.

In the shadowy mountains and fields of the southwest, 381,241 members of the Guardians' Union were divided into over a thousand columns, dispersing strategically among the mountains and slowly marching forward.

To avoid being detected by satellites, they chose to walk at night and sleep in the shade during the day.

Each of them had at least an E-level skill set, but the difficulty of traversing the Sichuan roads in southwest China was unimaginable.

A Long March-like journey is not just about walking over 2,000 kilometers on flat ground.

From the Central Plains to the southwest, one needs to cross countless rivers, valleys, and mountain peaks.

When encountering impassable terrain, they had to make large detours to find suitable passages.

A straight line might measure 2,300 kilometers, but if the rugged terrain were to be unfurled, it would probably exceed 7,000 kilometers. After traveling more than 300 kilometers, many people's shoes were worn out.

Their feet were also worn out.

They could only walk barefoot on the uneven mountain roads, stepping on dead branches and pine needles. Even after their feet were torn, they couldn't stop.

Along the way, resourceful people started making straw sandals for everyone, but only those who have worn them can understand how unbearable the pain is for modern people. Ankles were chafed, and the sandals slowly turned red before drying into black.

The hands of those making straw sandals were also worn out, but they persevered. When people advised them to stop, they would smile and say, "Even with worn hands, we can still move forward, but if everyone's feet are worn out, we can't continue."

Some people started running away. The 300-kilometer mountain road crushed the faith of many, reducing the 381,241 people to 324,109.

Little Seven and Luo Wanya, along with 320 core members, were mixed among the crowd. After evading the black magic on the first day, they secretly returned to the team, silently leading the way.

When the 320 of them decided to return, many disagreed because no one could be sure if the Arbiters would suddenly appear and use black magic again.

They evaded it once; they couldn't be sure they could evade it a second time.

But Luo Wanya said, "This long march is too arduous. Without core members leading the way, the hard-won team will quickly collapse. This is our last foundation; we can't let it collapse."

Qing Chen had his own tasks, and those under his command were now capable of independent action, making their own contributions.

Back in Black Leaf Plain, someone asked, "What if all 320 of you are killed by black magic?"

Luo Wanya replied, "Then another 320 will return to the East Continent's team and continue to lead the way."

This was a suicidal act, with the core members of the Guardians' Union replacing each other in batches. One batch would die, and another would take their place.

Another batch would die, and another would take their place.

Until they led these 300,000 people to their destination, allowing them to be tempered along the way.

Luo Wanya smiled, "If others can die, why can't we? If we can use our lives to forge a team that is no longer afraid of any difficulties, it's a good thing."

As Qing Chen had said, the Guardians' Union expanded too rapidly. Some people had not experienced war or disaster, only expressing their aspirations out of admiration before joining the Guardians' Union.

But the problem was that some determination could be shattered, and some people's faith was not firm.

Sometimes, Qing Chen would think that the Guardians' Union truly needed a trial, using a method of survival of the fittest to eliminate those unfit for the battlefield.

It was like putting a steel blank in a furnace, burning it red-hot, and then repeatedly hammering it to remove impurities and forge it into a steel knife. Only then would these 300,000 people have any use.

However, the most difficult part of the journey was not the mountain road, but hunger.

What is the concept of 320,000 people? Even if they were dispersed in the mountains and fields, it was difficult for them to find food on their own.

At first, many people optimistically imagined that they could hunt wild game, dig wild vegetables, and that resources were abundant in nature; they would always find something to eat.

If all else fails, they could eat tree bark.

However, the reality was that a large number of people were a disaster for any ecological environment.

They would find that when they caught game, the portion each person received was minimal. The same was true for plants.

The people at the front of the team could still eat tree bark; those at the back had no tree bark to eat.

In the end, everyone started eating insects, but the consequences were vomiting, diarrhea, and even fever and illness.

If you were alone in the wilderness, had a strong physique, and had wilderness survival experience, you should be able to survive.

But if you are with more than 300,000 people, everyone will struggle.

Now, the Key Gate was still occupied with evacuating their families and couldn't care about them. Everyone was starving.

In fact, even with the Key Gate, after losing City 10, the Guardians' Union could hardly immediately organize supplies to be sent over.

The rugged mountain roads, hunger, and disease made their lives seem less than human.

During the day, everyone rested in the shade, and sometimes a sob would suddenly come from the crowd; one person would cry, then a group of people would cry together.

Cry when tired, sleep when exhausted.

This life, they didn't know when it would end.

Luo Wanya leaned against a tree, silently watching the sunlight cast on her face through the gaps in the canopy: "Little Seven, what did you do before?"

"An unemployed vagrant," Little Seven chewed on a blade of grass and smiled, "I just danced and lived carefree every day."

"Before I transmigrated, I was a thug, I did all sorts of things. When I sneaked into Japan, I hid in the hold of the snakehead's boat. At mealtime, the snakehead would open the cargo hold and pour a pot of porridge directly onto the ground, and then all the illegal immigrants would fight over it." Luo Wanya recalled, "Everyone fought tooth and nail over that bit of porridge. Those who won still had to scoop the porridge from the ground with their bleeding hands."

Luo Wanya: "Those days were really hard. I vowed in the cargo hold that once I made it, I would kill that snakehead. But before I had the chance, he was already killed."

Luo Wanya: "But the hardships back then were meaningless. Although today's hardships are even worse, I feel that they are meaningful."

"If you're hungry, eat some grass. Don't keep rambling," Little Seven said with a wry smile.

Luo Wanya: "…………………………"

At that moment, a scout suddenly ran back, "Old Luo, Old Luo!"

Luo Wanya stood up abruptly, "What's wrong? Is there an enemy?"

"Ah, no. There's someone waiting for us in front!" The scout said, "And he said he's been waiting for us for several months!"

Luo Wanya and Little Seven looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

Did they encounter a mystic? Someone who knew months in advance that the Guardians' Union would be forced to retreat and pass through this place?

Even they themselves couldn't have imagined this. Who could have predicted it?

"Where is he?" Little Seven asked.

"He's under control," the scout replied. "He seems like an ordinary person; a few of us have him on the ground, but he wants to see Luo Wanya."

"Hmm," Luo Wanya frowned, "Is this some kind of trap?"

He quickly walked forward for about three kilometers, seeing a middle-aged man pressed to the ground by several scouts.

The man didn't struggle, just waited quietly.

"Who are you?" Luo Wanya squatted beside him.

The middle-aged man looked up, "Shadow Unit, code name E1333."

"Nonsense," Luo Wanya sneered. "I know all the people in the Shadow Unit, and I've never seen you before."

If it were someone from the Shadow Unit, they would have contacted Qing Chen long ago. How could there be any omissions?

The middle-aged man smiled, "I'm not from the current generation of the Shadow Unit, but from the previous generation."

Luo Wanya and Little Seven were stunned. What current generation and previous generation? Isn't there only one generation of the Shadow Unit?

"Wait," Luo Wanya suddenly remembered something. "Are you Old Master's man?"

"That's right," the middle-aged man smiled.

Everyone was shocked. The Qing Family actually had two Shadow Units! The previous generation of Shadow Units gradually faded from everyone's sight after Qing Xun became the head of the family. Many people thought they were disbanded and integrated into other units, but that was only part of it.

The Old Master kept a small number of the most loyal members hidden from everyone's sight.

"How can you prove it?" Luo Wanya asked.

"No need to prove it, I'm not here to harm you," the middle-aged man smiled. "Four months ago, my unit received orders to secretly transport supplies along the southwestern mountain range. Since then, we've been waiting here."

"Ah," Luo Wanya was stunned. "Everyone release him. What kind of supplies are you talking about?"

The middle-aged man twisted his wrists and neck, smiling, "Just come and see."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man led Luo Wanya and others forward for about a kilometer, only to see rows of boxes covered with dark green rainproof tarpaulins hidden in a sheltered valley.

Luo Wanya rushed forward and opened the boxes, only to find boxes of vitamins, antibiotics, camouflage tarps, and a small amount of protein bars and compressed biscuits.

These foods, even when distributed among the 300,000 people, were still a drop in the ocean, not enough to fill their stomachs.

The middle-aged man smiled, "Don't have such a disappointed look so quickly. When we received the order, it was already urgent. It took four months to quietly find these supplies and quietly transport them here. Without mechanized equipment, using manpower to carry them here was not easy."

A scout muttered quietly, "Since you could know in advance, you should have brought more food…"

The middle-aged man continued, "The Old Master also said that these things are enough to keep you alive. For those who can't hold on, give them some food. Hardship and fatigue are what your team must experience, but there's no need to die here from meaningless illnesses and bombings. The tarps are to help you avoid Airship searches to avoid being bombed."

Luo Wanya quickly said, "Thank you, thank you. This is already great. We are very grateful."

He was telling the truth. In this remote area, receiving supplies was more surprising than winning a five-million lottery ticket. This was a lifesaver!

Hunger could be endured, but illness could not.

However, Luo Wanya was puzzled, was the Old Master too powerful? How could he predict all this four months in advance?

This kind of ability was like a prophet's foresight.

Earlier, Qing Chen also mentioned his guess that the Old Master, who never left Ginkgo Mountain, seemed to have known what would happen to him after being taken to the a02 base by Shendai Yunhe.

That ability to predict the future was like the god's-eye view of a Fate Weaver.

It was incredible.

Looking at Luo Wanya's questioning gaze, the middle-aged man smiled, "You don't have to look at me like that, I don't know how Old Master did it."

"Since the Old Master knew that we would be forced to make a long march and prepared camouflage tarps for the corresponding number of people, why didn't he warn us of the dangers in advance?" Luo Wanya asked. "For example, black magic, the invasion of the Roosevelt Kingdom, and the Li Clan's defection?"

The middle-aged man shook his head with a smile, "How would I know? We only follow orders… However, the Old Master did say that if the outcome of life is acceptable, then don't try to change it, because you don't know if it will get better or worse; fate is uncontrollable."

Luo Wanya fell into deep thought. Was it because the Old Master could only see certain fragments, or did he not want to change certain situations? He couldn't be sure.

"I haven't asked your name," Little Seven asked.

"Don't be so polite, call me E1333," the middle-aged man smiled. "From the day we joined the Shadow Unit, we have had no names. We don't marry, we don't have children, no official positions, no ranks."

The Guardians' Union members were stunned. These people were truly Shadow Unit members, who voluntarily gave up everything and were willing to become insignificant bricks in this era, the foundation stones of the Qing Family's building.

E1333 said, "Alright, you receive the supplies, and we'll leave. There should be many sick people in your team, quickly send the medicine over, and look forward to seeing you again in the southwest."

As he spoke, hundreds of Shadow Unit members, covered in grass, stood up in the mountains and fields. They had been guarding here for four months, finally able to retreat.

Luo Wanya watched the Shadow Unit warriors leap away in the mountains and forests and suddenly said, "This Inner World seems to have many things we don't know. But the Old Master specially sent a unit to guard us, afraid that we would all die… Does this mean that we are quite important in the future?"