Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

People are fleeing.

Just like rats on a ship that sense it is about to sink and become restless and rush to run out.

"Pack your things first," Zhang Renfeng said in a deep voice. "There might be more problems later."

----

His premonition was remarkably accurate.

People living in the civilized world have always been well protected by "order," yet they are unaware of it. When order collapses due to external forces, many horrifying things will happen: blindness, madness... more and more of the dark side of human nature will take center stage.

I have never seen such a crowded station.

As a train pulled into the station, cheers erupted. Before the train had even come to a complete stop, the crowd began to surge forward at the platform. Judging from their frenzied movements and momentum, what they were vying for was far more than just a parking spot. The manners and etiquette of the civilized world seemed to have been washed away by this storm, leaving only pushing, shoving, and shouting. Large numbers of people crowded around the train doors, like athletes waiting for the starting gun, ready to sprint at any moment.

"laugh---"

Finally, the bus came to a complete stop, and almost the instant the doors opened, more than a dozen people rushed in. Zhang Renfeng and the others wanted to get off, but they were blocked in the middle of the doorway, like a small pebble stuck in a rapid current, making the boarding speed through this door much slower than through the other doors.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" Zhang Renfeng shouted. "We have luggage. Let us off first, then you can get on the bus."

However, his shouts were immediately drowned out by the insults.

……

"What are the people in front doing?! Why is everyone else on the bus but our line isn't moving an inch?"

"Damn it, this is really bad luck. It looks like someone's trying to get off the bus and they're blocking the door... This is fucking weird..."

"If this continues, people from other carriages will flood in and take our seats!"

"We paid for it, let us on the bus!"

"There's some yellow-skinned bastard blocking the way...shit!!! Don't waste your breath on him, just shoot him dead!"

"Hurry! Hurry! I need to get on the bus!"

……

Those at the back of the line, unaware of what was happening, pushed forward, their force cascading to the front and landing on Zhang Renfeng. Sam, hiding behind him, watched this scene with a growing sense of fear—their expressions, demeanor, and attitude were all incredibly ferocious. He had no doubt that if Zhang Renfeng yielded even slightly, they would surge forward, completely disregarding the possibility of trampling someone to death.

Such a powerful flow of people surged up like waves, but Zhang Renfeng stood firm, like a reef that had stood for millennia, resisting the onslaught of the crowd.

Looking at that reassuring figure, he seemed to understand why so many people in White Torch Town would set aside their skin color and background to sincerely follow him.

"I said let us get off first!" Facing the surging crowd, Zhang Renfeng showed no intention of backing down. "Get off first, then get back on, that's always been the rule! There are only three of us, and some important luggage, we'll be done quickly!"

"Shut up, you yellow-skinned bastard, don't fucking block my way!" A man dressed reasonably well, but whose face was contorted, shouted in an almost distorted voice, "Get out of my way! F**k off!"

He swung his fist and punched Zhang Renfeng in the face, making a dull thud.

The people behind him cheered and pushed forward, causing the man who had just thrown a punch to be almost pressed against Zhang Renfeng. Zhang Renfeng looked at him in disbelief, touched his cheek, and then raised his arm to slap him back.

"Boom!!"

Caught off guard, the man was struck by a palm strike and flew backward, crashing heavily into the crowd behind him. The line was so densely packed that if someone in front fell, it easily caused those behind to fall as well. The result was like hitting a bowling ball, knocking down a large number of people.

"Ah... my teeth..." The man lying on the ground realized what was happening, touched his lips, smeared blood all over his hand, and cried out, "He knocked out my teeth!"

Zhang Renfeng expressionlessly drew his pistol, clicked it open, chambered a bullet, pointed the gun upwards, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!!"

No sound can calm people down faster than this.

"If you say one more word, it won't just be your teeth that fall out."

Zhang Renfeng said coldly, and while everyone was still stunned by his words, he waved his hand, allowing the two people stuck behind the car door to quickly get out. He didn't hold a grudge, and after his men got out of the car, they made way for him, just as they had agreed beforehand.

As if granted a pardon, the crowd saw the gates of life wide open and, without saying a word, rushed forward in a swarm.

The man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked around, and saw that everyone was rushing to get on the bus, ignoring him completely. The support he had just heard seemed like a dream. He muttered resentfully, picked up the tooth that had been knocked out, and tried to squeeze onto the bus with the crowd.

A large, tangible hand grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the crowd.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave," Zhang Renfeng said sinisterly. "I'm not done with you yet."

"What...what are you going to do?!" Upon seeing Zhang Renfeng's face again, his expression was filled with fear, and he screamed, "Let me go! Help! Help! Someone's killing someone!"

The others were busy squeezing onto the train and didn't even glance in their direction, let alone acknowledge it. In fact, even if Zhang Renfeng had fired, they would have been relieved to have one less person competing with them for survival space.

"What's wrong with this city?" Zhang Renfeng wasted no more time, pressing the gun barrel against his forehead and demanding, "Where are you going by train?"

"What kind of question is this? Don't you know that at a time like this, besides weirdos like you, who would willingly take the train here!" The man had no other choice, his face filled with anxiety, and he didn't even care about the pain of losing a tooth. "...Of course we have to escape! We'll escape wherever we can, otherwise, are we just going to stay here and wait to die?"

"What happened?" Sofia asked. "Is it related to this terrible weather?"

"Ha..." The man suddenly laughed in a cryptic tone. This laugh, coupled with his bleeding lips, looked somewhat terrifying. "We didn't even have time to escape, yet some people didn't know anything and just barged in..."

"Don't you understand? Look at these dark, heavy clouds, this world is about to end!"

He screamed in a piercing voice, "'The Great Lakes Demon' is coming!!!"

Chapter 735: Flea Nest

"The Great Lake... Demon?"

Sofia was stunned. Upon hearing the name, she felt as if she had traveled back to the Middle Ages.

"Look at this sky!" The man pointed to the dark, gloomy sky, his expression becoming somewhat distorted. "Do you dare say this is naturally occurring? I've lived most of my life and never seen a sky like this! It's nine in the morning, and there's not a single ray of sunshine! This has been going on for almost a week now, and the rain hasn't stopped. Tell me, what else could this be but the arrival of a demon?"

"The city hall hasn't officially issued an announcement yet, but news has already leaked out... Lake Erie's water level is rising rapidly, and the current in the Fritz River is becoming even more turbulent than before... I'm telling you, this is the prelude to the arrival of the devil. What we're seeing now is just the appetizer. If this continues, a great flood is just around the corner!"

"If you don't leave now, you'll be drowning!"

Sam looked terrified and quickly asked, "What about the shantytowns? How are the people in the shantytowns doing now?"

"What shantytown?" The man looked puzzled.

Sam hesitated for a moment, bit his lip, and changed his approach, "It's the 'flea nest'! How's the place where the factory workers lived? Were they evacuated in time? Do they have enough food and medicine?"

"Are you kidding me, Fatty? There's not even enough of this stuff to go around in the main city, how could it possibly be enough for the people in the flea den?" The man curled his lip in disdain. "They might still be hiding in the flea den, or they might have already run away... who knows."

----

When asked again, Zhang Renfeng finally let the unfortunate man go. By the time he boarded the train, it was almost full, so he had to drop his bag and luggage and was squeezed to the very edge of the crowd. The train, packed with people, sounded like a wail of unbearable burden as it slowly started moving and drove away from the city.

There were still large crowds at the station, with people rushing over with their luggage after failing to board the train.

Within moments, everyone's face wore an expression of frightened fear, exhaustion, and despair. The station returned to the state Zhang Renfeng had initially observed—crowded and chaotic, with no one bothering to maintain order. It was as if the city's sheriffs had vanished overnight.

In mid-air, dark clouds loomed over the city, thunder and rain raged, and icy raindrops pelted people's faces, as if the great lake demon truly existed and was spitting at them.

"Sam, are you alright?"

"..."

From the moment he noticed the weather was off, Sam's expression had been tense. But after asking that question, he completely broke down. There's a limit to how much pressure a person can handle. He could endure it for work, but when it came to something more important, once that line of defense crumbled, it was hard to repair.

"You... in that 'shantytown'..." After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Renfeng chose the same words Sam had used when he first spoke, "Do you know anyone there?"

“That’s where the workers live, kind of like a small community. My mother… lives there too.” Sam pursed his lips, remained silent for a while, then shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, Zhang, I… I… I can’t concentrate on my work right now. I want to go back to the shantytown first.”

“I completely understand.” Zhang Renfeng patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, “At times like these, we should put aside even the most important matters for now.”

"Nothing is more important than family."

----

With strong winds and heavy rain, there were no means of transportation available, and naturally, no horses could be rented on the streets.

Zhang Renfeng had never seen such a storm before. The lightning was obscured by layers of dark clouds, and only the faint rumble of thunder could be heard. In this downpour, lights were needed to see the road, and umbrellas were practically useless.

Following Sam's Finger, we bypassed the prosperous and bustling main city. What should have been a 20-minute journey was stretched to twice as long due to the torrential rain.

When Zhang Renfeng actually saw the shantytown, he understood why it was called "Flea Nest." It's true that there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

The first thing that hit the nose was an unbearable stench. Despite being washed by a night of torrential rain, it still made one feel nauseous. Zhang Renfeng couldn't even imagine what it would smell like under normal circumstances.

Looking around, hundreds of shacks are crammed together like a decaying beehive.

Zhang Renfeng couldn't count the exact number at once, only that they seemed densely packed, much like insect nests. The alley was as narrow as a sheep's intestine, less than four feet wide at its widest point, requiring two people to lean sideways against the wall to walk side by side. The asphalt paper on the roof was already curled up beyond recognition, soaked by the rain and stuck to the roof, looking from a distance like a patch of charred scales.

Zhang Renfeng had seen similar shacks for workers many times before, in Osborne's mines and factories, and in Haisen's kerosene lamp processing plant, where similar communities were located nearby.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving in the supposedly civilized North, the living quarters for the workers were even more dilapidated: the houses were made of thin wooden planks pieced together, with the gaps stuffed with oil-soaked burlap sacks and tattered canvas, and mold growing in the damp areas; rusted iron sheets, flattened and used as roofing material, clanged loudly in the downpour; the foundation was merely a pile of coal ash raised half a foot, barely better than nothing, and several houses even collapsed after being washed away by the heavy rain.

Judging from the quality of these buildings, Zhang Renfeng had serious doubts about whether they could withstand a normal storm.

Every household nailed their window frames shut, using the last of their materials to fight off this hurricane that proclaimed to be the "end of the world."

Atop the towering gas lamp pole hangs an iron plate with the words "No Gathering" written on it. Now, it is being blown about in the strong wind, slapping against the lamp pole and making a crackling sound.

Under the lamppost, a large group of people were gathered, chattering and discussing something.

Without any light source, their expressions were obscured, but their voices betrayed suppressed pain and anger.

……

"That's about it. This is all the stuff I have left at home. If we divide it up further, my family will be..."

“My daughter has been coughing non-stop. It's one thing if it's just normal, but it's been raining for so many days in a row, and she's been hungry for several days without food, hot water, or medicine…”

"You didn't let her drink well water, did you? I heard them say that you shouldn't drink well water after a heavy rain."

"There's no need for so many formalities. We're just happy to have some water to drink."

"I heard that everyone in the main city has already fled by train. Train tickets now cost several hundred dollars each. Damn it... even if we sold ourselves, we still couldn't afford one!"

"Wasn't there supposed to be relief food? Why haven't we seen any... They even skimped on this little bit of food, 'Water Ghost Brothers,' what a fucking ghost..."

"Mr. Archie, what should we do now? If this continues..."

……

Shh! Look!

One of them suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, "There's light!"

----

In the swaying rainy night.

That tiny point of light was walking towards them step by step.

Chapter 736: Hell on Earth

"Mr. Archie?"

In the dim light, Sam immediately recognized the foreman—a man in his forties with sunken eyes, a thin build, and dry, cracked skin. However, the others present all looked similar, and it was difficult to tell them apart as men or women without careful observation.

The heavy physical labor left the same marks on each of them, like parts cast from the same mold.

"Sam? You're back!"

Among this group of people, Sam's physique was practically iconic; anyone could spot him at a glance. They swarmed around him, chattering and offering words of comfort, as if seeing a glimmer of hope. If it weren't for the heavy rain, the scene would have been quite heartwarming.

"Sam, you've seen our situation. We're really desperate, we're almost starving..."

“A few days ago, right when these demons first arrived, they sent people to watch over us and prevent us from leaving. Mr. Archie took us to ask, and they said they would send food over, but several days have passed and we haven’t seen anything, not even a single ear of corn.”

"Now even the people watching us have retreated to other places, and we can't find anyone in charge at all. These bastards!"

"Mr. Archie led us to demand an explanation, but we were driven back by those sheriffs with sticks. They said the entire city was now under martial law, and we weren't allowed to go out on the streets unless necessary; we could only move around in this area... What kind of nonsense is this! We're all human beings, why should we just wait here to die!"

"You've met Old Coburn's two sons before, haven't you? I remember one of them was about your age, and you used to get along quite well with him. He was beaten to death with sticks by those beasts for uttering a few curses!"

“Sam, don’t you work for the government? Could you explain our situation to someone there… We don’t need much, just some food. If this continues, we’ll starve to death before the flood even comes…”

……

Upon seeing Sam, the crowd swarmed around him as if he were their savior, sharing their stories and pouring out all the oppression they had suffered these past few days, and indeed, their entire lives.

From their words, it was clear that Sam had lived in this shantytown with his mother when he was young. These people in front of him were essentially his fellow villagers.

Sam never mentioned his specific position. But from some details, Zhang Renfeng could already tell that he was merely an insignificant cog in the vast machine of the government, with little influence or power. However, in the eyes of the villagers, being able to escape their flea-infested life and become a member of the government was remarkable enough in itself.

At this moment, with the entire shantytown in dire straits, Sam's status as a civil servant seemed all the more reliable amidst the storm.

Faced with their verbal barrage, Sam didn't respond at all, but anxiously asked again and again, "Where is my mother? How is my mother now?"

----

Pushing open the dilapidated wooden door, Sam's last glimmer of hope vanished.