"All the peaks, big and small, are beneath my feet! Who in this world can stand shoulder to shoulder with me?" Shen Feng stood proudly on the mountain, having accomplished what others could not.
Looking around, all the surrounding peaks were below him. Only the mountain he stood on was the highest, and by standing on its summit, was he not even higher than this peak? Shen Feng felt a profound sense of achievement, for he could stand at the highest point of this mountain range and look down upon all living beings.
On this sacred mountain, Meili Snow Mountain, there was perpetual snow. Even in summer, the altitude and climate were abnormal, resulting in constant snowfall. Survival here was incredibly difficult, with no human settlements nearby to provide aid. Thus, anyone attempting to climb this peak was essentially seeking death, except for Shen Feng, who could now descend directly from the sky onto the mountain.
Here lay the snow that never melted. After all, the higher the altitude, the colder it became. Once the temperature dropped, not only could animals not survive, but plants also struggled to grow. The dinosaurs that once dominated the Earth had, in fact, become extinct due to the cooling climate.
"Although it is currently a mini ice age, it will end eventually. It's not as if the entire world is frozen over, so we are fortunate. The volcanic eruptions have lasted for ten years, and now they are finally coming to an end," Shen Feng muttered to himself.
Shen Feng had heard much about volcanoes. It was said that volcanoes across the country had recently entered a dormant period, ceasing to emit acidic gases. This mini ice age had persisted for a decade, during which floods and droughts were common, and abnormal weather plagued the world, making it impossible to cultivate crops in a safe environment.
Currently, most geologists believed that the Earth's magma activity had entered a period of calm, leading to the cessation of gas emissions.
Volcanoes had a profound impact on the Earth, especially the supervolcanoes. Once they erupted, the entire world would be affected, ushering in the legendary great ice age.
At this point, people saw hope for the end of the apocalypse. The climate was stabilizing, and if the crisis brought by the insects could be resolved, the apocalypse would be over.
However, for the apocalypse to truly end, all the insects had to be eradicated. Dealing with these insects was no easy feat.
Shen Feng had been fighting these insects for the past two years and was well aware of their formidable nature. He did not believe the apocalypse would be so easily resolved.
"There are insects everywhere now. Ordinary cities cannot even protect themselves when faced with mutated insects. If not handled properly, an entire city can be destroyed by them. If nuclear weapons were used globally, there might be hope for eradicating the insects, but humanity would likely have a shortened lifespan afterward!" Shen Feng suddenly mused in his heart.
Scientists had once predicted that humanity's ultimate destruction would be caused by its own invention of nuclear weapons. While nuclear weapons might grant immense power for a short time, in the future, countless radioactive elements would spread globally, making it impossible for children to grow to adulthood.
Shen Feng now dared not eat anything casually, especially seafood, as radioactive elements could easily spread through the ocean.
Shen Feng took out his phone. There was no signal here, as there were no signal towers nearby, making it impossible to receive a signal.
However, Shen Feng did not need to make a call. He wanted to seize this rare opportunity to take photos, which could serve as proof later. As the saying goes, "seeing is believing," so Shen Feng needed to use pictures to prove he wasn't lying.
After finishing his photography, Shen Feng flew back into the sky, eventually returning to the fruit fly's nest. In this valley, the ground had become barren. Most of the leaves on the ground had been carried away by the strong winds, leaving little else in the valley.
Shen Feng descended from the sky and found Chu Chaoyan, asking, "Have you discovered anything in the valley? The reproductive capacity of these insect kings is far greater than that of ordinary fruit flies. They must all be killed, otherwise, failing to kill the snake completely will only lead to trouble."
Chu Chaoyan quickly replied, "There's no need to worry about that. We are guarding the valley, and with Lu Xian here, we can detect any situation that arises."
Shen Feng looked at the swamp in the valley. There were no fruit flies present anymore. The fruit fly nest had been completely wiped out and could no longer cause harm.
Just then, Yang Chang arrived beside Shen Feng, looking very tense. "City Lord, we've lost contact with the main force. We initially thought it was due to poor signal in the deep mountains, which is why this happened. However, it's been a whole day, and we still haven't been able to contact them. I have a bad feeling about this."
"What? We've lost contact with the main force? How could this happen?" Shen Feng had been quite happy, having just resolved a troublesome insect problem, completing the first step of his three-step plan. But upon hearing the bad news, his good mood was immediately ruined.
Shen Feng was also worried about Yu Renshu's situation. She had lost an arm, and if she encountered an insurmountable crisis, wouldn't something happen to her?
"Why don't we stop worrying about the valley situation and quickly return to the main force's location to see what's happening?" Chu Chaoyan was also very concerned about the main force's condition and offered her suggestion.
Shen Feng hesitated for a moment, then said, "We must eliminate all the fruit fly insect kings first. We absolutely cannot leave them unattended. So, you cannot leave at this time. I will go back to check. Since I can fly, you all must be careful of your surroundings!"
No one knew if there were any fruit flies left in the valley that hadn't been killed, as there were simply too many fruit fly nests. If they left now and any escaped, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
Therefore, the best solution was for Shen Feng to return to the main force alone to assess the situation, while the others continued to guard the area, ensuring their previous efforts were not wasted.
"Then you must be careful. As for us, Lu Xian can provide early warning, so we will be fine!" Chu Chaoyan immediately told Shen Feng.
Shen Feng nodded and immediately flew into the sky, heading towards the Nujiang River. The army had regular communication, so it was impossible for someone to suddenly lose contact unless they encountered danger. Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this!
"They have at least twenty-five thousand people. Logically, even if they encountered danger, they should be able to handle it. What exactly happened? Why can't we contact them?" Shen Feng was filled with doubts.
When Shen Feng returned to the camp by the Nujiang River, he saw that the ground was a mess. Rocks were scattered everywhere, and many soldiers' clothes were discarded on the ground, but the soldiers themselves were nowhere to be seen. He wondered where they had all gone.
Shen Feng descended from the sky and surveyed the ground. He saw many bloodstains, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place. In many rock crevices, there were yellow shell casings, suggesting that many people had fired their weapons. However, their ultimate fate was to flee from this place. If they had won, they would have remained in their positions and sent people to search.
"An army of this size cannot simply be wiped out in the mountains. They must have escaped somewhere, but in their haste, they even forgot to bring their radios, which is why we haven't been able to contact them for so long," Shen Feng pondered.
However, after observing the surroundings, Shen Feng found no human footprints. Many trees in the vicinity were not felled, so it was impossible for many people to have left through the forest. Yet, in many places along the riverbank, no human traces could be found, which was very strange. It was as if everyone had vanished overnight, leaving nothing behind except the clothes on the ground.
"Where on earth did they go? Did they encounter some insurmountable danger? Otherwise, why would they have left in such a hurry?" Shen Feng's doubts grew. He didn't even know how the main force had transferred, and how would he find them?
As Shen Feng was constantly observing his surroundings, he suddenly noticed several conspicuous markers on the riverbank. He walked over to investigate and discovered a pile of stones forming an arrow, pointing downstream along the Nujiang River.
"I almost forgot that Yu Renshu's ability is to control water flow. If they encountered danger, she would definitely be the first to have everyone jump into the river, and then she would control the water flow to lead everyone downstream to safety. This is the simplest and most convenient method of escape," Shen Feng realized as soon as he saw the arrow's direction.
With the direction found, Shen Feng immediately flew downstream along the Nujiang River. After flying for two hours, he finally found the people eighty kilometers downstream.
"The City Lord has arrived! He found us!" The people on the riverbank began to shout as they saw the figure in the sky, for they saw hope for salvation. At this moment, only the City Lord could fly freely in the sky, and he was the one who had come to rescue them.
Shen Feng descended from the sky and hurried to ask the soldiers, "What exactly happened to you? Why haven't we been able to contact you all day, and how did you end up fleeing here?"
"City Lord, the reason we fled here is that we encountered danger. It was a terrifying mutated plant. The entire vines were spreading throughout the forest, and we had no idea where the enemy was. Moreover, there were many earthworms in the ground at that time. These earth dragons made us suffer greatly!" The soldiers, seeing the City Lord asking, recounted the situation in detail.
"As expected, they encountered danger. Tell me more about the situation later. Now, quickly take me to find Yu Renshu. Is she alright?" Shen Feng then asked.
"The lady with the severed arm is fine. In fact, it's thanks to her ability that we all jumped into the Nujiang River. Under her protection, we were able to escape this far and find a gentler place to disembark. However, we lost a lot of our equipment, and everyone was unsure what to do. Then, you, the City Lord, arrived." The soldiers quickly replied.
Now, the soldiers recalled the terrifying scene that had occurred. They were still shaken. At that time, many vines in the forest were attacking people, and countless earthworms emerged from the ground. These things made it difficult for the soldiers to cope. They fired their weapons, but unfortunately, the bullets were of little use against the earthworms and vines.
The so-called earth dragons were actually another name for earthworms. In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a medicine called "Di Long," which is essentially dried earthworms used as medicine.