Xiao Chen picked up a concrete block as big as a millstone, walked down from the ruins on the pile of rocks, and threw the stone on the pile of rocks in the open space. Then, without even taking a breath, he rushed up the pile of rocks in two or three steps.
Chen Hansheng followed him holding a similar stone, and next to him was Liu Yisheng who said nothing. Although this guy's brain was not working well, he was really strong. The stone he held was almost twice as big as Xiao Chen's. They also threw down a piece of cement and climbed back to the ruins. Chen Hansheng took a breath and said, "Xiao Chen, I said you are amazing. The people who came up with us have all been replaced by a new group, but you are not embarrassed, out of breath, and not tired at all?"
Xiao Chen was stunned by his question and said in surprise: "This cement block is not that heavy, right? It won't take much effort."
"It's really not heavy, it's very light!" Liu Yisheng grinned.
"Haha." Chen Hansheng was both angry and amused. He ignored the jerk and said to Xiao Chen, "What a joke! Can you see how heavy I am? I've already gone downstairs to rest twice. You've never done this kind of rough work before, so you don't know what you're doing. Just the big piece of cement you just carried downstairs must be over a hundred pounds."
"How is this possible? How long have we been doing this?"
"Two whole hours."
Xiao Chen was speechless, and then he felt something was wrong. In the past, with his body, he would have been out of breath even if he ran up and down for two hours with nothing in his hands, let alone transporting things. But now, he just felt full of energy and his limbs were relaxed, just like an athlete who had done warm-up exercises and was about to participate in a competition.
Could it be that, like my eyesight, it has also changed? I raised my hands and saw that they were still white, thin, and very slender as before. It was obvious that they were only suitable for holding scrolls, not carrying stones.
He picked up a two-finger-thick steel bar from the ground and bent it with all his strength, but the steel bar didn't react. Liu Yisheng didn't understand what he was doing, so he followed his example and immediately bent the steel bar into a U shape. Xiao Chen looked at the muscular man helplessly. Although his strength and endurance had improved, he still hadn't become as tough as someone else.
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At the other end of the school, Wang Jiyuan was checking on the students.
"Report to the captain, everything is normal here, except..."
"Just what it is, don't hesitate."
"It's just... it just doesn't feel right." The soldier holding the gun said a little embarrassedly.
"awkward?"
"That's right, I just feel so upset."
"What's wrong with you? Are you imitating Aunt Qiong Yao and becoming sentimental?"
The soldier's face turned red, and his cheeks trembled for a long time before he uttered one word: "I miss home."
Wang Jiyuan was silent for a moment, and finally could only pat him on the shoulder.
The soldier's shoulder trembled even more when he touched it, and tears started to fall without stopping. "Wow... before, I could go home to visit my family, but now, wow... I don't have any leave, and I have nowhere to go."
After the soldier finished speaking, he wiped his face vigorously with his sleeve, stood at attention, and said loudly: "Report to the regiment commander, I am not... not crying, this... this is rain."
Wang Jiyuan nodded, saluted the soldier, and walked to the next post with Sergeant Shi Hao. At this time, the drizzle that was originally falling became heavier, hitting people's bodies and chilling their hearts.
The silence was unbearable. Shi Hao might have wanted to break it, so he said, "Captain, I heard from Xi Luo that there are not many people around except their town. Isn't it a waste of manpower for us to have so many sentries? Several comrades told me privately that they think saving people is more urgent."
"Nothing else is more important tonight than keeping as many people safe as possible."
"But most of the rescue team are students. Their physical strength and endurance are very limited. If we can spare half of them to help them..."
"Stop talking. In order to ensure this safety, we have to make sacrifices." Wang Jiyuan stopped and looked at the tall buildings that became silhouettes in the night, and the ruins next to the tall buildings illuminated by the fire. "Shitou, remember, we soldiers are always the ones who know how to sacrifice the most. Not only sacrifice ourselves, but also sacrifice others."
“They are just ordinary students.”
"In a strange and wild world, for everyone's survival, we can sacrifice anyone. Me, you, Xiao Chen or Principal Guo. It all depends on whether the situation chooses us."
“Do I have to choose?”
"Yes." Wang Jiyuan walked forward again, looking back slightly and said, "Don't avoid the moment of making a choice."
It was time to change shifts again. The students who had taken a break earlier slowly climbed up the ruins with their tools, dragging their tired steps. Even though Xiao Chen's physical strength was no longer what it used to be, he still felt very tired. The drizzle of rain fell on the rocky ruins, making an annoying rustling sound.
Xiao Chen saw a student not far away, who fell on the gravel because the ground was slippery. He ran over to help him up, but just as he got to him, the student staggered to his feet, with blood on his forehead and a very hideous look on his face.
The student was breathing heavily, his body hunched, he slowly raised his head, stared at the sky, and then let out a loud shout.
"Ah~~~~!" He yelled, swinging the shovel in his hand and smashing it hard at the sky. "Damn God, I want to go home! I want to go home! I want to go home... Ah..." The shovel flew three or four meters and fell down helplessly. Xiao Chen grabbed the classmate who was a little out of control, and the other party pinched his forearm fiercely with his hand, and squeezed out a few words with all his strength: "Why did you leave me here? I did nothing wrong! Why are you punishing me like this?"
With Xiao Chen's current strength, he could push him away with one hand, but he did not move. He just looked at him sadly, letting the other party pull him and scream, letting the rain slide down his face.
"My mother is seriously ill, I have to go to the hospital..." He let go of Xiao Chen and started to cry.
Everyone around him looked at him silently, and gradually some people were infected by him, and the sound of rain was mixed with sobs and cries.
"I haven't seen my parents in my hometown for two years. They will be heartbroken if they can't find me."
"Wow, I really want to eat the braised pork made by grandma."
"Wow, I just got a girlfriend yesterday and I haven't even held her hand yet."
There were many more people who didn't speak, but secretly shed tears. All the men present were grown men, but they cried wantonly and unbridled. Xiao Chen wanted to say something, but found that he had no idea where to start. If he didn't even believe it himself, how could he persuade others
"Let them cry, they need a chance to vent." Chen Hansheng said on the side. He thought that in the dark, Xiao Chen couldn't see his face clearly, but Xiao Chen, who had night vision, saw his red eyes clearly.
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A dozen kilometers east of the school and the town is a beautiful plain, with a small river dividing the plain in half from west to east. On the north bank of the river is a small castle, built on a small hill, surrounded by water, with a nursery at the foot of the hill and a large sparse forest behind the hill.
The castle was small, and the walls were not high. It was obviously not used for military purposes, but it was a good holiday resort. This was where Count Arias stayed every autumn when he went hunting. At this time of year in previous years, there would only be a few gardeners and servants in the manor, but today the lights were on and many people were coming in and out of the castle.
"Is the Earl still not awake?" Batis and several knights were eating smoked beef and baked potatoes in the castle's hall. When they saw the sad-looking Steward Pin coming down from upstairs, they hurriedly asked.
When he saw a doctor crawling down the stairs with his face covered and running out of the door, he knew that the man must have failed to save the master.
"There's not even a real doctor in this damn place," Pinto said angrily. "That idiot just now said he wanted to bleed the master again and grind up a lizard's tail into powder for the master to eat."
"Ah, isn't this what doctors do?" A bearded knight asked curiously, taking a bite of a chicken leg.
"Only stupid village women and uneducated idiots like you would believe those liars. When the lady heard him say that, she kicked him out." Pinto was furious. "It seems that we can only wait for the priests of the temple to come and treat the Earl properly."
"But are we just going to wait here?" Batis asked, "I still don't understand what happened to us this morning."
"I saw a mountain fall down with my own eyes," Pinto said with lingering fear.
"I saw that there seemed to be houses on that hill," a knight added.
"Summon a mountain, drop it from the sky." Pinto thought about it carefully, and finally came to a conclusion, "Magic, I think only magic can produce such an effect."
"I've seen Master Morin use magic, but not with this kind of noise..." a knight interrupted, "Master Morin is already one of the most powerful magicians in the kingdom."
"Have you ever seen Master Morin use his full strength?" Batis said disdainfully, "Those magicians are so mysterious. Who knows how powerful they are?"
"Maybe they are powerful demons, or they are powerful wizards. In any case, they are very dangerous." Pinto held his pointed chin with his hand and tilted his head to think, "If it weren't for the untouchables' resistance to taxation, which made the Earl and us run away from the house, what do you think would have happened if the mountain had fallen?"
The knights all looked unhappy, because they knew that it was impossible to avoid such a sudden large-scale magic. If it weren't for the tax resistance, they would probably have been turned into meat patties.
"Are we going to fight against such a powerful opponent?" a short knight said timidly.
"There are many kinds of enemies. Some can be killed, like the Imperials. Some can be taught a lesson, like the untouchables. Some can become friends as long as the conditions are right. We must find out who is behind that mountain. Otherwise, we won't be able to explain ourselves when the Earl wakes up." Pinto made a decision. "Batis, send two scouts back to check. Don't provoke them or draw attention. Just quietly find out who they are."
Batis nodded. But at this moment, a servant rushed in and whispered something in Pinto's ear with a nervous look on his face.
"What!" Pinto was furious. He slapped one of the servants hard, then stumbled to the window and looked out. He shouted: "Asshole, rubbish, hurry up and chase them! If anything happens to the young lady, the count will never forgive you when he wakes up!"
In the night outside the window, several horses had already rushed out of the castle for several miles and ran straight towards the school.