Epoch of Twilight

The next morning, Luo Yuan and the rest walked out of the cave.

The giant lizard had already gotten out of the pit by digging itself out, and was now sleeping near the aircraft.

The thunderstorm was gone, and so was the aurora. The sky was as clear as polished jade, and everything was quiet. There were damaged trees and burned spots on the ground. Obviously, the thunderstorm had not been an illusion.

Everyone was exhausted from all the tension over the past two nights. Their eyes were bloodshot, yet they seemed exhilarated. Their fatigue was almost completely gone. In fact, the lightning had started scattering away around midnight, and had completely disappeared by 3 a.m. No one could fall asleep until they saw it with their own eyes. They all felt relieved. They had not eaten or drunk anything in a whole day. Everyone except Luo Yuan realized how tired and hungry they were after such a busy day.

They had not been hunting the past two days. Their only food source had been the giant snake’s internal organs, and nothing was left of those anymore. There were quite a lot of dead mutated beasts nearby. Some of them had died by crashing around aimlessly, and some had been scared to death. All of them had died miserably, but surprisingly, very few had been struck by lightning.

Luo Yuan took a stroll and brought back two low-level mutated beasts. A few women hastily prepared the food despite their exhaustion, and they all gorged themselves, not minding how hot it was. They even finished the soup. After the meal, Luo Yuan urged everyone to go to sleep while he cleaned up the place.

No one had as strong a physique as Luo Yuan. Ever since he had activated the energy inside his heart, he was always energetic. He could go four days without sleep and still not look tired at all.

Luo Yuan brought the stone bowls to the creek and washed them, before strolling back to the cave. In the aftermath of the thunderstorm, the forest was quiet. The usual chirps of birds and insects were no longer to be heard. Luo Yuan sighed and jumped on top of the worn-out aircraft. He stabbed his sword into the metal, took a seat and stared at the sky. Worry was flooding his heart.

He did not know whether the peace had been caused by the movement of the Earth, or if the universe storm had indeed ended. The Earth was too small in comparison to the universe, and any living thing on the planet was like a tiny ant. He had noticed that the thunderstorm had caused strange changes in the weather. It was morning, and yet the temperature was already 30 degrees. That kind of temperature was typical for noon, but the sun had not even risen yet. By noon, when the sun would be high up in the sky, the temperature would rise to more than 50 degrees.

The stir caused by the universe storm had produced a massive energy, and as a result the temperature had skyrocketed. The thunderstorm the previous night had happened in a really short time, which had had an even bigger impact on temperature.

Luo Yuan dared not imagine what this change in temperature could bring. Would the icebergs melt? Would the sea-level rise? Would large amounts of land disappear? Of course, this issue would not affect any mutated animals, plants, or even humans. Although humans after the apocalypse were not comparable to mutated beasts, their physique was stronger than it used to be, so the higher temperature would still be tolerable for them.

What they had to be worried about was that, according to the study of the rehabilitation area, the universe storm had been caused by the mutation of living organisms. As a result, the massive energy that had been released could speed up evolution and worsen the living conditions for humans.

Luo Yuan felt depressed. He sat there until noon, when Huo Dong walked out of the aircraft and snapped him out of it. The top of the aircraft was terribly hot, and the air was so steamy, that one could possibly fry an egg on the metal. Only then did Luo Yuan realize that his butt had been burning. He stood up immediately. He could feel the burn for awhile, but the pain was gone almost instantly.

“Oh my god, the weather is so hot,” complained Huo Dong, who was soaking in sweat. He squinted at the sun and noticed Luo Yuan hopping off the top of the aircraft. “Boss Luo, what were you doing up there? Isn’t it hot?” he teased.

“Why didn’t you sleep some more?” Luo Yuan asked, ignoring Huo Dong’s teasing.

“It’s too hot in there. I felt like I was in a steamer. If I slept any more, I would probably end up getting boiled. I didn’t expect it to be even hotter outside. This is ridiculous,” said Huo Dong while he fanned himself with his hands. It was useless. He would not stop sweating, so he quickly hid under the shade of the aircraft.

The ventilation in the cave was bad, and the space was limited. It was okay in the beginning, because there were thick rocks covering the cave, but once the heat was transferred to the rocks, the temperature inside started rising gradually. Soon, everyone got out one by one, woken up by the unbearable heat.

“The temperature was okay yesterday. Why is it so hot now? None of us could sleep,” complained Wang Shishi with a yawn. Her eyes looked bloodshot.

“I think the temperature in the cave is over 60 degrees,” said Commander Xia. His expression was solemn as he observed the unusual weather. The gigantic aircraft was almost as tall as a four-floor building. Everyone sat under its shade to avoid getting burned by the scorching sun.

There had to be some kind of explanation about this. Most of them thought it had something to do with the thunderstorm the previous night, but none of them wanted to bring up that heavy topic.

Luo Yuan did not join in the conversation. He was just cleaning his Zhanmadao quietly. His anxiety was gone. Deng Chao peeked at Luo Yuan from time to time. His eyes held a burning desire, and his unbelievable power and astonishing sword skill were jaw-dropping. Luo Yuan was like a god to them.

Deng Chao had experienced many things in his life. He had seen the ugliness of people during the apocalypse, and how the strong ruled over the weak. He remembered his mother’s sacrifices- how she had been raped by a couple of guys just for a few pieces of molded bread. Eventually, she had died of hemorrhage. All these dark experiences had made Deng Chao grow up fast.

Without his mother, he’d had to suck up to other adults in order to survive. Although he’d had to do degrading things, it had not bothered him. The more he had to do though, the more desperate he got for power. His desire was almost sickening. It was a dream he was trying to realize. It still remained a dream, though.

As he watched Luo Yuan clean his sword, Deng Chao had something on his mind. He’d had that same thought countless times, but he had not had the courage to do anything about it. He struggled internally before he finally stood up. Biting the bullet, he walked up to Luo Yuan, trembling. He tried his best to form a pleasant smile on his young face, but his skinny body was still shaking. Mustering his courage, he said, ”Boss Luo, please teach me how to fight!”