The next day.
It was the third-day Chungluo City had succumbed to the overlapped space.
The city seemed to have reinvigorated slightly as the dawn chased away the night of melancholy. Nonetheless, the cityscape was vastly different as compared to three days ago.
People who sought refuge in their own homes once again found the alien plants around them resuming to grow hysterically. It had now reached the height of two floors. Beasts that arrived uninvited during the night had sneaked out from their hiding to hunt.
An increasing number of insectoids swarmed the streets brazenly as if they had claimed the city their new home.
Loathed by the disgusting, twitching worms, humans trapped inside felt nothing else other than despair.
Then there were those who had fought through the night and exited the city before dawn. Together, they even survived the assault by the venomous vipers. News had reached them through Li Yuan Shan and Guan Shan. They learned that the spatial tunnel would once again open mid-afternoon. Not all was lost.
They gathered at the said rendezvous point earlier than the promised time. Some had even hurried to the center square with little to no rest throughout the night.
There was not a single lot around the city square that was left vacant. Numerous survivors had crowded the once spacious square.
‘After today, this city is going to vanish in the history of time. People who chose to stay will not leave for a long, long time. But this is despair, but also a new beginning for them.’ A mocking grin appeared on Qin Feng’s face.
If they had no courage to come out today, those who stayed would only keep waiting for help that would not come. Still, they would rather die waiting than confront the beast.
However, who knew what would happen when humans were being strained to the limit?
At the end of the tunnel, someone among them might come out of this predicament a transformed man or woman.
As such, a new plan started brewing in Qin Feng’s witty mind.
While he was indulging in his own little thought, the sun was getting nearer and nearer to the highest point. The tunnel would be opened anytime now.
Soon, a silver light glimmered on the top of the city sky. Then, a dark spot emerged and expanded above them.
After what happened yesterday, everyone was cheering excitedly when they saw the portal opening right on time again. They knew what to expect next.
Yet, the metal box they anticipated did not occur. In its place was a stairway made of alloy.
The stairway was as crude as it could be. Bad marksmanship was evident all across the joint of the stairway. Some parts of the metal plates did not match the color of the rebar connecting them. Nonetheless, the stairway as a whole looked especially majestic in the eyes of the survivors.
The stairway was dropped from four-hundred-meters-high. It became larger and larger as it was being descended carefully through the portal. It was both intimidating and impressive at the same time.
It was, figuratively, a stairway to heaven!
Splash!
Something that was initially rolled up at the side of the stairway was snapped off. A large canvas was released, and it flapped in the wind. Four red-colored words shined brilliantly against the dark base.
“Made by Feng Li.”
***
On the other side, the aircraft was letting down the stairway through the tunnel carefully. Little by little, they had a better look at the numerous small dots beneath them as the stairway approached the ground. The dots were all looking up at them eagerly.
The people inside the aircraft understood what the stairway meant to the people below.
On the screen, the drones had captured the excitement, relief, or teary eyes on the peoples’ faces trapped inside the overlapped space.
The technicians of the Fengli Organization soaked it in and felt a sense of pride.
“Our overnight efforts are worth it after seeing their response.”
“Isn’t there a saying that we shouldn’t flaunt when doing the right thing? Isn’t the canvas a little too much?”
“Well, since the duke of Chungluo City didn’t bother to care about his people, why can’t we promote our organization? We are not going to serve them for free. This is not charity work.”
“That’s right. General Qin was the only one willing to carry the burden after the regent announced the mission. Where are the other B-tiers when he is risking his life there?”
“I couldn’t agree more. General Qin is truly an admirable figure.”
“Of course, we have done our part too.”
“Gosh, I am touched by my own effort in this rescue mission.”
Their efforts would save numerous lives today. It was truly a glorious moment.
Though they were on a different dimension, they could almost hear the majestic sound made by the ladder as it landed and stirred up dust on the ground.
The aircraft released the rebar holding the stairway, which was now connecting the two worlds. On the topmost platform of the stairway, a C-tier metal-type ability user used his power to construct a connecting stairway effortlessly. It easily outshone the little polished stairway inside the overlapped space.
The technicians grunted grudgingly, “F*ck, welding work worth eight hours is nothing close to what he made in three minutes!”
“This is infuriating! Why am I not an ability user?”
“You wouldn’t be a welder if you were an ability user!”
They all laughed light-heartedly.
Abruptly, their laughter was cut short by the buzzer. Shocked, they immediately peeked at their communicator. The look on their faces spelled serious trouble.
From the stream delivered by the drones, a group of beasts had just strolled out from the forest outside of the city. More and more monsters joined the parade and it quickly inflated into an earth-shattering torrent.
This did not take place when the portal was opened yesterday. Unfortunately, it had quietly set off a ripple effect.
The plants had continued to grow, and the beasts must have been startled as they loomed toward the city hungrily. It was just that all these had happened without being noticed.
All hell broke loose when the spatial tunnel reopened. The scent of a different dimension acted like pheromones to the beasts. They were like sharks that had smelled blood as they swam thirstily toward their prey.
“Stop goofing around. Quick!”
“Now! Quick!”
They began to tie the supply boxes and threw them into the spatial rift. Inside the boxes were first aids and G-tier guns.
The aircraft suddenly became very busy and lively.
***
Qin Feng did not at all feel they were overdoing it.
The name of his organization had to be known in every corner of the world. Those affiliated with Fengli would be proud of such a moment.
Of course, it caught Qin Feng by surprise that his men outside were being this thoughtful. Both the stairway and the canvas were commendable work.
Guan Shan and Li Yuan Shan, who stood by Qin Feng, were astounded seeing the giant stairway. When they saw the words “Feng” “Li”, something unexplainable tingled in their hearts.
‘What exactly is this Fengli organization? How big-hearted do the members have to be that they would still happily promote the organization when their boss is doing such arduous and unrewarding work? These people surely know even the regent has ordered them to give up on the city?’
This organization, like its leader, had toughness and positivity written all over it.