Volume 1 Chapter 36 The Hope of Survival

Having been struck by the quantum spatial cannon, the Titan Salamander had no chance of survival. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for it to slowly perish.

However, watching those crimson eyes still glaring fixedly at him, its mouth opening and closing as if it still longed to swallow Li Yan whole, he remained cautious. Yet, its massive body had already rolled a great distance away, posing no further threat to him.

The young woman stared at Li Yan’s back, lost in a daze. Her hero had emerged from the serpent's maw—he was alive, and that was all that mattered. Li Yan faced the creature's head while walking toward her. As he approached, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Li Yan shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's move further away to ensure that beast's body doesn't roll toward us."

The woman nodded, using a tree trunk to steady herself as she struggled to stand. Her leg injury was severe—a fracture. The pain caused her pretty face to twist in agony. Seeing this, Li Yan stepped over, wrapped one arm around her slender waist, and hoisted her up as easily as if she were a sack of rice, carrying her to safety. She did not struggle, allowing him to carry her. Though the position was awkward and left her with no dignity to speak of, she did not care. Having arrived in this world filled with peril, simply being alive was enough. This man had saved her; otherwise, she would have long since become food in the great serpent's belly.

From a distance, the two watched the Titan Salamander’s body continue to thrash, the movements growing weaker and weaker. The opening and closing of its jaws also gradually ceased, as they witnessed the slow fading of this prehistoric giant’s life. Finally, it died completely.

Li Yan reported the situation to Yue Chengzhe truthfully. Upon hearing that Li Yan had slain a Titan Salamander nearly forty meters in length, Yue Chengzhe and Wu Xu broke into a cold sweat for him. The creature’s strength was on par with a Void-Eater that had reached the preliminary intermediate stage of evolution.

"As long as you’re unharmed, your choice was the right one under the circumstances. The Order Bureau won't hold it against you, don't worry."

This Titan Salamander had not been corrupted; it was a genuine native creature. If members of the Order Bureau killed such creatures without an unavoidable reason, they would face disciplinary action. However, Li Yan’s motive—saving someone—was a valid justification.

"Li Yan, keep yourself safe. Save as many people from World 87 as you can. Head to rendezvous with Captain Elia as soon as possible; the Captain and the others should be able to find us soon," Yue Chengzhe instructed.

"I understand, Team Leader."

Yue Chengzhe and his team were faring no better; they had just been attacked by a pack of raptors. Likewise, they had been forced to kill the creatures to protect the humans from World 87.

"Can you walk?" Li Yan asked the woman.

She looked at him, bit her lip, and nodded. "I think so." She leaned on a wooden stick and attempted to walk, but after only a few steps, cold sweat broke out from the pain. Seeing this, Li Yan had no choice but to carry her on his back and head toward Elia’s team.

Lying on Li Yan's back, the woman felt a profound sense of safety. This was the man who had saved her and slain that gargantuan monster. "What is your name? Are you special forces sent by the government to rescue us?"

Hearing her questions, Li Yan naturally wouldn't reveal that he was from the Order Bureau. He spoke vaguely: "Um, you could say that."

The woman’s eyes remained full of doubt. "Has our government's technology really become this advanced?"

"I suppose so," Li Yan replied.

"Oh, my name is Ye Lele. What about you?" The woman had no defenses against him and offered her name.

Li Yan thought for a moment. "Our unit doesn't allow us to disclose our names. Just call me 'Old Bai'."

"Old Bai? But you don't look old at all. How old are you?"

Li Yan hadn't expected the girl to be so talkative. However, through their conversation, he learned her background. She was a sophomore at Southern Jiaotong University from World 87. Three days ago, they had been in class when they were inexplicably transported to this world. Since then, they had been hunted by the world's terrifying creatures. Many classmates and professors had perished—some eaten by dinosaurs, others dead from poison. Out of their class of fifty, only thirteen remained.

Suddenly appearing in a world crawling with dinosaurs and unknown creatures was, for ordinary people from a civilized world, a journey through hell.

Soon, they reunited with the others who had scattered earlier. Two of them had been bitten by unknown venomous insects and had died from the toxins. Danger was everywhere; survival felt like a luxury. The remaining ten were in poor health—some injured, some poisoned, and all of them starving. They had no idea what was edible and had instead been constantly preyed upon. Like the others, they all assumed Li Yan was a special forces soldier sent by the government.

Now, Li Yan was their only hope for surviving in this strange world. The ten of them followed him, pinning all their hopes upon him. Li Yan felt no resentment toward them for having fled and left him and Ye Lele behind. It was only natural; facing a giant snake that could swallow them like candy, they had no chance of resistance. In the face of death, human nature is not something that can withstand testing.

They were still over five hundred kilometers away from Elia’s team. If Li Yan were alone, he could have reached them in a few hours. But now, he had eleven civilians in tow, and if he abandoned them, they would surely perish. With no choice, Li Yan led them forward at a slow pace.

Along the way, several more people from World 87 joined their group, bringing the total to twenty-five. They all deferred to Li Yan as their leader.

When night fell, continuing the journey was unwise. Under Li Yan's direction, the twenty-five of them found a dry cave to take shelter for the night. A bonfire burned in the cave as the men and women huddled together for warmth. Many had looks of confusion on their faces, unsure of what would happen next.

"Teacher Zhao, do you think we’ll survive?" a girl asked the middle-aged man who had been holding the wooden stick at the cave entrance.

Teacher Zhao looked bitter; he had no answer. Everyone looked toward the cave entrance, waiting for Li Yan to return—he was their only hope. He had gone out to forage for food to sustain these twenty-five people. He was like a mother hen, trying to keep these twenty-five ordinary people from World 87 alive.

They were all teachers and students from Southern Jiaotong University, brought to this strange world by a cruel, lethal prank played by fate.

"Who do you think he really is? Is he really a special forces soldier sent by the government to save us?" a student asked, skeptical of Li Yan’s identity. The tactical gear Li Yan wore suggested a level of technology that neither China nor the rest of the world possessed.

"I don't know. Why ask so many questions? As long as he can keep us alive, that's enough," Ye Lele said, not wanting the others to pry into Li Yan's identity.

People are like that; once they feel a sense of security, their curiosity drives them to probe the unknown.