Chapter 10: Cataclysm

Dense fog enveloped the area, and arm-thick vines hung in mid-air, one after another. They were vaguely visible, obscured by the mist, making them hard to see clearly.

A very heavy satellite, entangled by many vines, had fallen onto the train. The place was eerily silent, a deathly stillness pervaded.

This scene was truly shocking. That was a satellite! It should have been in space, operating in its designated orbit. How could it have fallen?

Both Chu Feng and Zhou Quan felt a chill down their spines, a creeping coldness. They involuntarily looked up again at the gloomy sky. What was up there?

"Don't tell me these vines are actually dangling from the sky!" Zhou Quan's voice was hoarse, and his face looked terrible.

He found the scene truly hard to accept; he couldn't believe it!

Chu Feng remained silent. He walked closer, pushed aside the vines, and gazed carefully, examining it repeatedly. He confirmed it was indeed a real satellite, no mistake.

"What exactly is going on?" Zhou Quan's mind was in a whirl.

Chu Feng pondered, wondering what was happening in the outside world. They should leave this place as soon as possible; they couldn't stay any longer.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Zhou Quan snapped back to reality. He saw Chu Feng pulling at the vines hanging in mid-air with both hands.

"I want to go up to the sky," Chu Feng said.

"Are you still in the mood for jokes?!" Fatty Zhou usually smiled cheerfully, like a benevolent Maitreya Buddha, but now his face was filled with worry.

The drastic changes that occurred today made him panic.

"I'm going up to take a look," Chu Feng said. He wanted to climb higher to investigate.

"No, it's too dangerous," Zhou Quan objected, worried about his safety. "This isn't some celestial path. Do you think you can really climb to a heavenly palace?"

"It's fine, I won't go too high, just a quick look," Chu Feng said. His excellent physical condition was evident as he quickly climbed up six or seven meters.

At this point, the mist engulfed him. He was no longer visible from below, as the visibility was simply too low.

"Brother, are you alright?" Zhou Quan shouted from below.

"I'm fine!" Chu Feng replied. He continued climbing upwards, ascending several tens of meters before stopping.

"The vines in the air are even thicker, hanging straight down," Chu Feng said, frowning. "They really don't look like they grew from the mountainsides; they're dangling from high up."

This was hard to believe. How could something so astonishing have happened overnight?

Then, he remembered the news he had seen earlier about trees and other lush, original Earth species suspended in space. Now, these thoughts gave him much to ponder.

Chu Feng slid back down the vine, deciding there was no need to risk going deeper.

"Brother, we need to get out of here fast," Zhou Quan said. "This place is giving me the creeps."

Chu Feng nodded. The train was stranded, and their communicators were cut off from the outside world. This was no place to linger, so he felt they should figure out a way to leave on their own immediately.

The successive events were unsettling; they couldn't passively wait.

"Oh my god, what am I seeing?!" Just then, a scream echoed.

Several agile young people also climbed onto the train roof. When they arrived, they immediately spotted the heavy satellite, and each one was dumbfounded.

They looked as if they had seen a ghost, their faces frozen stiff.

Soon, this news spread, causing a sensation. Panic ensued, and the mountain area could no longer be peaceful. Everyone stepped out of the train cars, and cries and various noises blended together.

"This could easily lead to chaos," Zhou Quan said.

In a state of disorder, all kinds of incidents were most likely to occur. But who could maintain order now? The train staff and others were already bewildered and at a loss.

"What about that ancient man?" Chu Feng asked.

"What do you mean, he's long dead," Zhou Quan replied. "I just went to check. I heard others saying he might not be an ancient person after all; he was even carrying a communicator."

"Huh?" Chu Feng was surprised. He had observed everything about that man; his clothes and other items weren't simply retro but truly possessed a unique ancient charm.

"Why think so much? Let's go!" Zhou Quan urged, not wanting to stay for a single moment.

In fact, at this time, others were also moving, wanting to leave the place immediately.

Chu Feng weighed the black sword in his hand. It was only a little over a foot long, yet it was so heavy, its density exceeding all known metal materials. This made him very suspicious.

"Where's that man's communicator? Let's see who he contacted. It's too strange."

Unfortunately, Chu Feng couldn't get his wish. There were too many people here, and it was chaotic; the communicator was long gone, its whereabouts unknown.

"Let's go!"

They didn't waste any time and quickly set off together.

Group after group of people left, teaming up with each other and heading towards the nearest town.

Chu Feng and Zhou Quan walked along the railway. The fatty was relatively familiar with this path, having traveled it by train many times. According to him, there was a small town about ten li through the mountains.

"Who did this? No wonder the train had to stop. This is too damaging!" Zhou Quan exclaimed indignantly on the way.

After walking several li, they saw that the railway track was broken in one place. This was definitely a major safety hazard; if a train had traveled this way, a major accident would have been inevitable.

"Something's not right!"

After walking another two li, they saw the railway track broken again, but this time it was very strange. It didn't look like it had been dug up by someone; rather, there was something hidden about it.

"Did you see that? Something's wrong!"

Zhou Quan looked carefully again and again, his face solemn.

The ground looked as if it had been stretched, and the area had become larger, causing the railway tracks to break and disconnect.

Both were suspicious. Could the original land really stretch and become larger than before?

"It must be an earthquake, right?" Zhou Quan said.

But they hadn't felt any tremors earlier. The situation was extremely bizarre, astonishing them. Now they couldn't make sense of anything.

Both felt a bit uneasy, not understanding why.

Continuing forward, soon after they personally heard the sound of the railway tracks breaking and witnessed the scene: the ground seemed to be stretching and expanding.

Zhou Quan was dumbfounded, his mouth wide open, unable to speak.

"This is madness!" he finally cried out.

"Let's go quickly, this area is unstable!" Chu Feng said, starting to accelerate.

Although Zhou Quan was fat, it was evident from his climb onto the train that his physical strength was actually very good. While he was panting as he ran, he didn't complain of tiredness.

"Huh, is the path gone?"

Ahead of the railway tracks, a large mountain stood in the way, blocking their path.

Most bizarrely, after the tracks led to this point, they seemed to be pressed beneath the mountain. On closer inspection, it was indeed true; digging away the soil and rocks, they could see the buried sections.

Not to mention Fatty Zhou, even Chu Feng was bewildered, completely stunned. What was going on? How did an entire mountain appear here, suppressing everything!

"Are you sure there's a town up ahead?" Chu Feng asked.

"I'm sure!" Zhou Quan said, swearing he had never seen this mountain before. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air, pressing down on this spot.

"There's no other way, let's climb over it," Zhou Quan said. "I refuse to believe we'll enter an unknown world!"

"No, let's go around it, it's not that far!" Chu Feng stopped him.

Zhou Quan was a bit unwilling. He really wanted to investigate where this mountain came from; how could it appear out of nowhere?

"Roar!"

A loud roar shook the mountains and forests. It came from that imposing mountain; clearly, there was a terrifying beast there!

"How is that possible? This beast's roar is quite astonishing," Zhou Quan thought, shaken. "But this area shouldn't have large beasts. Where did it come from?"

Chu Feng pointed to the mountain, and Fatty Zhou immediately abandoned the idea of climbing over it, honestly beginning to go around it.

In the process, they heard astonishing beast roars several times, followed by human screams.

"Someone is climbing the mountain!" Zhou Quan's face turned pale, relieved they hadn't taken that path.

Finally, the two successfully bypassed the mountain, still walking along the railway, wanting to enter that town.

At the same time, they grew increasingly alarmed on the way. The distance between broken railway tracks was increasing, and the ground seemed to be expanding more and more.

A path originally about ten li ended up feeling like they had walked over twenty li.

Fortunately, they safely reached the small city.

At this point, the mist finally dispersed, but sunlight didn't pour down; it was blocked.

"There really is a giant thing!" Chu Feng's expression changed. In the high sky, one vine after another hung down, all incredibly thick and lush with foliage.

It blocked out the sky and obscured the sun, stretching across the sky.

It didn't look like it grew from the ground, but as if it had originated in the sky itself, like something from a myth.

A giant vine covered everything, blanketing this entire area.

When the mist fully dispersed, the people in the small city also saw this scene, immediately causing immense panic.

"Run! We must leave quickly!" Zhou Quan roared.

In fact, many people were fleeing. Car after car started up, driving into the distance.

"No, we have to quickly get a car while the road is still passable," Chu Feng said. "Otherwise, we'll definitely be stuck here."

"Why bother stopping one? Let's just grab one!" Zhou Quan roared.

However, they eventually managed to stop a car, and a middle-aged man drove them away, rushing out of the city and escaping into the distance.

After the thick fog dispersed, the communicators surprisingly regained function, and they could contact the outside world.

Chu Feng immediately turned his on to see if there was any shocking news.

"Oh my god, famous mountains like Mount Song, Mount Wangwu, and Mount Luofu are showing various anomalies, with even rocks flowing with purple light."

Fatty Zhou let out a strange cry upon finding this report. Only one night had passed, but many major events had occurred in the outside world!

"Huh, someone found an ordinary sapling by the roadside with silver fruits. After eating one, he... actually grew a pair of silver wings?!" Zhou Quan stared blankly after reading it.

The world was undergoing drastic changes. This was Chu Feng's most immediate feeling after reading some of the reports.