LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 146: Sudden Change
Inside the shelter, everyone ate their first full meal in days with excited hearts.
Unlike the previous gloomy atmosphere, the shelter's occupants gathered in several large circles around the relatively plentiful food, finally sharing laughter and chatter as they ate quickly.
"If we weren't in this gloomy basement right now… I'd feel like I was at some kind of spring outing…" Yun Feng sat on a raised platform, holding his share of the food, and chuckled as he looked at the people below.
"Yeah… but definitely a grade-schoolers' spring outing." Beside him, Chen Shicheng was wholeheartedly devouring a large piece of bread, managing to squeeze in a reply.
"Huh? Why?" Kiana, completely unfazed by having eaten seven bags of biscuits last night, was demolishing an equally large piece of bread even faster than Chen Shicheng.
"Like right now, for example." Chen Shicheng put down his bread, took a deep breath, and bellowed at the crowd below, "Eat faster! We're leaving as soon as the time's up! No time for leisurely meals on the road!"
The laughter stopped for a brief moment, then was replaced by a chorus of "Okay!"
Chen Shicheng raised his eyebrows at Kiana, as if to say, "See? Just like that."
But when he looked back, Kiana had already picked up a second piece of bread, leaving him lost in thought.
This Finality… could that nickname have been given to her by the accounting department…
Whatever, a good appetite is a good thing.
Chen Shicheng continued munching on his bread.
Yun Feng and the others had brought back quite a bit of food, but this was the only time they could afford to let everyone eat their fill.
After all, to be safe, Yun Feng had only taken a few people out, and each of them had carried back almost half their body weight in supplies. And there were a total of 146… no, now it could be considered 147 people in the shelter!
Chen Shicheng finally included himself in the count.
"Alright, we're leaving in ten minutes." Yun Feng stuffed the last piece of food into his mouth, stood up, clapped his hands, and pulled out a pen and a prepared notebook.
"Let's use this time to check and confirm everyone's names in the shelter."
"Need my help?" Chen Shicheng looked up, a bit surprised.
Yun Feng smiled and waved the notebook at Chen Shicheng. "No need, you rest up. Mengxi and I can handle this."
Yun Mengxi nodded. She hadn't eaten much, just a little before putting down her food.
Naturally, Kiana benefited from this.
Chen Shicheng's lips twitched. "Hey, you're clearly the one who needs more rest. Don't forget, you were up all night."
"Was I?" Yun Feng pretended to think for a moment, then walked down from the platform with a smile. "I'm so full of energy I actually forgot."
"Tch…" Chen Shicheng clicked his tongue in annoyance, but didn't say anything more.
Kiana quietly leaned closer to Mei. "Mei, do you think that's… concern?"
Mei gave an awkward smile. "Kiana, don't be like that."
"Oh…" Kiana nodded listlessly, turning back to focus on demolishing her third piece of bread.
Thump…
Kiana suddenly looked up, cupping her ear. "Mei, did you hear something strange?"
"Strange sound?" Mei paused, frowning as she listened intently, then shook her head. "No…"
Although she said that, a faint sense of unease suddenly crept into Mei's heart.
"Uh… maybe I'm hearing things?" Kiana furrowed her brow in confusion, picking up her bread again.
"It's always best to be careful." Bronya, holding a cup of yogurt, chimed in.
"Yeah…" Kiana nodded, just as she was about to bring the bread to her mouth, a slight tremor, penetrating the noise of the crowd below, was picked up by her enhanced senses.
*Thump…! *
"Something's not right!" Kiana put down her bread and abruptly stood up. At the same time, Mei and Bronya also rose vigilantly, scanning their surroundings.
They felt the tremor too, and… there was a strange familiarity to it!
Beside them, Chen Shicheng looked at the three standing up abruptly, a bit bewildered, unsure whether to continue eating his bread.
But he quickly reacted, scrambling to his feet and shouting at the crowd below.
"Everyone! Quiet!"
His shout instantly silenced the crowd. In less than a second, all the noise vanished.
Yun Feng and Yun Mengxi, who were registering names, looked up in confusion, glancing around. Though puzzled, they remained silent, watching the others expectantly.
After more than ten seconds, with no further sounds, the silence was so profound that Kiana almost thought she really had been hearing things.
"Wha…"
Thump!
A muffled thud echoed as if from a great distance, the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, or perhaps two hard objects colliding violently.
Yun Feng's bewildered expression instantly shifted to alarm. He straightened up, turned, and waved his hand. "Everyone! Line up according to plan! Mengxi, help maintain order! Continue checking the names."
"Brother!" Yun Mengxi cried out.
"I'll go see what's happening." Yun Feng thrust the notebook and pen into Yun Mengxi's hands and quickly walked toward the others.
Yun Mengxi hesitated for a split second before turning back to rapidly continue checking the names.
Yun Feng quickly reached the others. As soon as he arrived, he looked at Mei. "Miss Acheron, what's going on?"
"It's a Honkai Beast," Mei quickly replied. "Not far from us, but not close either… but this sound…"
"It's not like it's traveling, more like it's fighting something." Bronya, who had barely spoken before Yun Feng, finally spoke, her head lowered as she quickly analyzed the situation. "And a fairly even fight."
"Is it your captain?" Yun Feng immediately thought of Shu.
The three paused, then Mei nodded. "It's very likely."
Is that so… Yun Feng fell into thought.
It seems we've still wasted too much time… did we give them too long to eat? If we hadn't allocated time for eating, would everything be fine?
Yun Feng quickly banished the useless "what ifs" from his mind and looked up. "Miss Acheron, can we still evacuate now?"
"At this distance… I'm afraid it's too late." Mei shook her head. "Honkai Beasts choose their targets based on the density of the crowd, not proximity. If we leave now en masse, we might attract its attention."
"Then… what if we don't go out?" Yun Feng fell silent for a moment, then asked Mei through gritted teeth.
Mei was momentarily speechless. But just then, another muffled thud, noticeably closer this time, suddenly echoed.
They exchanged glances, a shared look of helplessness and grim realization passing between them.
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A "spring outing" (春游 - chūnyóu) is a traditional activity in East Asian cultures, particularly in China, Japan, and Korea, where people go outside to enjoy the pleasant weather and scenery of springtime. It's similar to a picnic or a day trip, like visiting parks, mountains, or other natural areas.