Night’s Nomenclature

Return Countdown 10:01:9.

In a bank in District 4, over forty Time Travelers are huddled together with more than twenty refugees, all sharing the space with the bank's skeletons.

Forty-two Time Travelers belong to the same squad. They had taken shelter in this bank earlier to avoid a Rat Tide march, and later, out of kindness, opened the doors to take in the twenty-odd refugees.

Among these forty-two, many are Cliff Challenge participants who had just completed their 5th challenge, each having consumed 5 Eternal Heaven Fruit.

Their mentality is stronger than most.

Nearby, Ye Han, another challenge participant, hugs a trembling eight-year-old boy, comforting him: "Don't be afraid, little brother. Go to sleep. Your upperclassmen are here to protect you."

A piece of flesh has been bitten off the boy's calf, and Ye Han can only provide simple first aid; there's nothing else he can do.

In the bank's lobby, the refugees tremble, their faces etched with despair.

Meanwhile, the Time Travelers comfort each other. Zhang Hubao, the challenge participant who once supported Hu Jingyi before the cliff, whispers, "Don't worry too much, everyone. The Boss provided these safe havens for us to lie low. There are too many Rat Tides outside right now. He'll come to get us once things calm down a bit."

Chen Zhuoqu taught them this.

"Will the Dean really come?" a Time Traveler worries. They're not challenge participants, so they still call him Dean.

"He should," Zhang Hubao nods. "He made such detailed plans and set up such detailed safe havens; it's clearly to make it easy for him to pick us up. Don't worry; don't be affected by the refugees' despair. We must conserve our strength."

To be honest, Zhang Hubao himself isn't sure. He doesn't know whether the Boss will really come to save them in such a dangerous environment.

It's understandable if no one comes to the rescue, realistically speaking. Who would repeatedly put themselves in danger? Besides, Zhang Hubao knows that if Qing Chen really wants to save everyone, he has too many teams to save.

However, he knows he, as the team leader, must remain calm, even if it's just a façade.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound comes from outside the bank. Someone looks through the louvers and sees the Rat Tide surging past.

Since this bank has already been ransacked, the Rat Tide doesn't bother searching it again.

But the next moment, someone on the opposite building screams.

The Rat Tide outside stops abruptly, surging towards the source of the scream.

"Bad," Zhang Hubao lowers his voice. "That's also a place that's been overrun by the Rat Tide. If they find someone hiding in a place they've already been through, will they re-search the entire city? Hopefully they don't have the energy for that."

A long time passes before the screams from the opposite building stop.

Everyone sits quietly in the bank, silently waiting for Qing Chen's rescue, afraid to speak.

An hour, two hours, eight hours, twelve hours.

Zhang Hubao and the others never receive any rescue.

Gradually, hope turns to disappointment, then despair.

Later, when someone asks Zhang Hubao if the Dean will come to save them, Zhang Hubao can only vaguely say, "He probably will."

Because he doesn't know.

"Let's break out ourselves. Maybe there's still a chance," Ye Han suggests.

Zhang Hubao refocuses. "No, too much time has passed. According to the Boss's estimate, the Rat Tide is about to enter its third stage. No one can survive crossing tens of kilometers."

"Yeah, no one can survive crossing tens of kilometers, so no one will come to save us."

But just then, there's a clear knock on the door,knock knock.

A tired voice says, "Open the door."

Zhang Hubao's eyes light up. All the Time Travelers stand up!

That's the Dean's voice!

During the seven days before their return, the Dean's voice has echoed in their ears, repeatedly explaining plans and precautions. This voice is too familiar!

They go to open the bank's gate, but the refugees stop them. "Don't open the door! What if the people outside attract the Rat Tide?

Zhang Hubao says calmly, "When we opened the gate to let you in, we didn't consider this. Move aside; we're leaving. Whether you want to come with us is your own business."

He pushes past the refugees and pulls open the bank gate.

Under the moonlight, Qing Chen stands outside, exhausted. "Sorry, I'm late."

Zhang Hubao's nose gets sore. "Don't say that. You're not late. Everyone is still alive."

"Let's go," Qing Chen smiles. "I'll take you to join the others."

Zhang Hubao picks up the injured eight-year-old boy and nods firmly.

The people in the bank don't follow, and Qing Chen doesn't persuade them.

Each stage has its choices. At this point, he can only save those willing to trust him.

Return Countdown 105:9:0.

Xiao San and the others have just repelled a wave of Rat Tides. Everyone sits on damp sandbags, disregarding their appearance; being able to rest is enough for now.

Many women are also in the Guardians' Union, and Xiao San doesn't let them go to the battlefield; he only lets them do logistical work.

Now, these women carry makeshift stretchers, carrying away the fallen Home Families.

They cry as they carry, because some bodies have had their hands gnawed away by rats, while others still maintain a posture of biting the rats.

The terrible state of the corpses is unbearable to look at.

Support staff place the bodies one by one in the rear, and no one knows if they'll have a chance to bury them. They may soon lie there themselves, reuniting with their comrades underground.

There are also wounded, enduring the pain on their stretchers, afraid of affecting morale.

Xiao San looks away, unable to bear looking for a long time.

The radio suddenly crackles: "They're back! The Leader is back!"Everyone looks up and sees Qing Chen leading more than a hundred people running quickly. Fortunately, the Rat Tide has just been repelled, otherwise these people wouldn't be able to escape so smoothly.

"Quick, quick, quick," Xiao San says. "Heat up the food. Let him eat something when he comes back!"This is the seventh group of students Qing Chen has picked up. During this period, Qing Chen only sat on the ground and adjusted his body once using the Knight Breathing Technique before leaving again.

The refugees also see him picking up refugees again and again, and everyone remembers this figure.

When Qing Chen leaves, an auntie secretly asks Xiao San, "Does this young man have a girlfriend? He seems very gentle."

Xiao San bursts into laughter. "If you think he's gentle, you're wrong. Did you see the news about his single-handedly defeating the Shendai Consortium at A0 Base? He's the one."

Now, this story is getting more and more exaggerated. In Xiao San's words, Qing Chen is almost superhuman; everything else about him is perfect.

Now the refugees also know that Qing Chen is the big shot from the Qing Family.

But this conglomerate big shot seems completely different from what they imagined.

After bringing Zhang Hubao and the others to the frontline, Qing Chen simply asks, "Casualties?"

Xiao San's face darkens. "19 dead, 711 slightly injured, 1409 severely injured."

Qing Chen asks again, "Can you hold on?"

Xiao San immediately stands straight. "Yes!"

Qing Chen nods. "Hold the line."

After saying this, he turns and leaves without a moment's hesitation.

"Leader, stay and have something to eat, rest a bit," Xiao San says anxiously.

Qing Chen just waves his hand without saying anything.

There are dozens of teams of Time Travelers and children waiting for him. He doesn't have time to worry about himself.

Moreover, the Rat Tide is getting bigger and bigger. He can wait, but those who are still waiting for him may not have that much time.

Zhang Mengqian suddenly says, "Actually, the Boss is punishing himself. He left Kunlun's people and all of you to guard this city. For every one of you who dies, he blames himself a little, even if he made the most correct decision."

"But we don't blame him," Xiao San says.

"It doesn't matter whether you blame him or not," Zhang Mengqian replies.

Xiao San realizes that this is what Principal Zheng said: The person who makes the decision is the most painful. If you want to take charge, you have to bear this pain.

Qin Shuli watches Qing Chen leave in silence.

He has little interaction with Qing Chen. Even after marrying Zhang Wanfang, he hasn't visited Qing Chen a few times.

At that time, he was worried that Zhang Wanfang might meet Qing Guozhong frequently because of Qing Chen.

During that period, Qing Guozhong even went to Qin Shuli's factory to borrow money, saying that if he didn't lend him the money, he would leave Qing Chen to Zhang Wanfang and Qin Shuli to raise.

A current husband being approached by his wife's ex-husband to borrow money – what a terrible experience.

So, when judging Qing Guozhong and Qing Chen, Qin Shuli instinctively felt some rejection.

To be honest, normal people would reject them.

After Qing Guozhong was imprisoned, Qin Shuli asked a friend about the incident and found out that the person who reported Qing Guozhong was called "Concerned Citizen Qing", and who else could it be besides Qing Chen?

But Qin Shuli doesn't understand why Qing Chen would report Qing Guozhong?

Later, Qin Shuli came to the Inner World. When he learned that the Leader of the Guardians' Union was Qing Chen, he started collecting all information related to the young man.

At that moment, Qin Shuli knew he was wrong. Qing Chen and Qing Guozhong were completely different, and he shouldn't put his prejudice against Qing Guozhong on Qing Chen.

When the Daybreak Villa caught fire, and Zhang Wanfang stopped him from checking it out, Qin Shuli felt a strange sadness.

He didn't blame Zhang Wanfang because his wife had suffered a lot. She had finally reached the age of 40 and achieved some happiness, and she shouldn't lose everything now.

Qin Shuli just felt that they all owed Qing Chen. The young man has a gambler father and a mother who ignored him. His life must have been very hard all these years.

In the Inner World, he works tirelessly, feeling that he should do more.

In the Guardians' Union, everyone except Luo Wanya doesn't know that Qin Shuli has a connection with the Leader. He works his way up from a Blue Family member to a Golden Family member.

Now, he watches the boy slowly grow into a towering tree that protects everyone, inexplicably feeling happy, although he feels he doesn't even have the right to be happy.

"Everyone, find clothes to wrap around your necks!" Zhang Mengqian shouts. "Pass this message to the other lines of defense. The only place where rats can kill instantly is the carotid artery. As long as you protect this area, you can greatly increase your chances of survival!"This is Zhang Mengqian's experience-based method; it's very effective.

When Qing Chen took the refugees to escape earlier, even if some people were surrounded by rats, as long as their necks weren't bitten, it didn't matter if they were bitten elsewhere.

There are cries from behind the defense line. The Rat Tide has returned five times, and thousands of family members are injured. Half of those who can still fight are simply bandaging themselves with strips of cloth cut from their clothes.

Yet, this is still fortunate; over three thousand more people died because they were bitten in the carotid artery.

Xiao San is exhausted, but when he hears this, his eyes light up. "Quick, quick, quick, Qin Shuli, quickly get people to collect scarves and clothes. The Leader said that the Rat Tide will return soon. We only have a few hours of rest time, so prepare quickly!"

Qin Shuli comes to his senses and quickly agrees, "Okay, I'll get the bonfire going and get people to go."

After a great battle, everyone's hair and clothes are soaked with snow, and the ground is muddy.

Everyone needs to warm up and rest, otherwise no one can withstand the next few days.

After doing this, he has to go find clothes.

Even though he's exhausted.

The bonfire is lit, and Qin Shuli tells the Home Families, "Go, collect clothes."

As he speaks, he walks, and then suddenly, his vision blacks out. Many people don't notice, but Qin Shuli hasn't slept for more than thirty hours.

"Are you okay, Golden Family?" Someone quickly supports him.

Qin Shuli gets up and smiles. "I'm fine. Let's go find clothes."

However, at this time, several aunties come out from the crowd. "You're all exhausted. Take a rest. If you need clothes, we'll go get them for you from our homes; we still have some clothes."

Xiao San is stunned. "You should get back to the line; it's dangerous here."

"Don't worry about it," the aunties say, turning to the long line behind them, "Anyone who has clothes at home, go get them and bring them to the young men!"Many refugees in the line remain indifferent.

It's worth noting that millions of people are lined up to evacuate. If they walk too slowly, they will die here. At this time, they have finally reached the front of the line, and it's impossible for them to leave the line.

They would have to line up again if they left.

The refugees hear the aunties' words and turn their heads to pretend they haven't heard.

The aunties stand outside the line and shout, "What kind of life did you all have before? You didn't even have electricity, you were always in the dark, gnawing on protein bars, and even going to the toilet meant using a chamber pot, and in the morning everyone would pour their feces and urine into the sewers on the street, making the whole street stink."

"Last month, the garbage in the Lower Third District piled up into mountains. I wanted to vomit when I passed by. My family lives on the 91st floor, and my child said he didn't want to go to school because there was no elevator in the building; he had to climb 91 floors of stairs to get up and down."

"Before, the whole Lower Third District was filled with people looting and killing; no one dared to go out on the street at night."

The auntie's voice gets louder, "But now, look carefully, where is not clean except for this defense line? Who doesn't have electricity? Whose sewers haven't been repaired?"

"Except for those who fight for you, who isn't clean? Look at yourselves, then look at them. They even pretended to be ferocious to allow you to take refuge. You don't even know what their names are, whether their homes are the same as ours, whether they have parents and children."

The refugees look at Xiao San and the others, but they are covered in blood, some from rats, some their own.

The Home Families' clothes have mud splatters and holes torn by rats and scratches; their shoes are also soaked.

They look completely disheveled.

The refugees look at themselves again; they are just leisurely lining up.

The auntie is already emotional as she speaks; she gets more and more excited. "That Qing Family conglomerate big shot went out to save people again and again. Think about him, then think about yourselves. Are you worthy of being saved? You just fought because of the queue!"Xiao San hurries to say, "Auntie, please get back to the line; we can find the clothes ourselves."

The auntie glares at him. "Get lost! You have no say in this!"Xiao San: ""

Qin Shuli: ""

Another auntie says to the refugees in the line, "Before they came, you kept saying who would save the Lower Third District. Now that the people who saved the Lower Third District are here, you only want to run. You can run now, but what then? If they die, what will we do? Continue to live like dogs in the stinky sewers? Is living like a dog the life you want?"

A young man walks out of the line. He thinks for a few seconds and says, "Let the women, children, and elderly go first."

After saying this, he turns and goes home to get clothes.

As soon as he leaves, dozens of people suddenly walk out of the line, rushing to their homes.

Slowly, more and more people walk out of the line and rush to the buildings in the Lower Third District behind them. With the whole city without electricity, some people even climb more than eighty floors to bring all the clothes from their homes, wrapped in sheets.

Then, some also bring out their kitchen knives. For a moment, in the long, endless line, about one-tenth of the people chose to leave, giving priority to others.

Compared to the five million-plus people in the line, one-tenth is five hundred thousand, a terrifying number, even ten times more than the Guardians' Union and the community federation.

Some young women choose to stay, "I've learned first aid. I wanted to be a nurse in the hospital, but they rejected me because I'm from the Lower Third District. I see you have medicine; don't send it all behind that gate; keep some, I'll bandage your wounded."

They call their neighbors and move the promotional tents from roadside shops to set up several temporary treatment points.

However, when they cut open the clothes on the wounded, they can't help but cry.

They see that everyone's wounds have deep bloodstains. The dirty wounds from the rats haven't been cleaned, and they are now festering.

Yet, these are the people who fought for them just now.

A nurse shouts to the crowd, "Don't just stand there, come and help!"The Lower Third District's defense line was originally simple. Because the disaster came too suddenly, the Home Families could only use their lives to block the gaps without having time to do anything else.

But now, the refugees are helping to fill in what a defense line should have: rear medical points and rest areas for soldiers.

The aunties are even building a canteen, taking out ingredients that can still be processed from each household, even if it's just to make a bowl of hot soup for the Home Families.

Xiao San watches this scene and suddenly understands what the Leader said: When you treat the world sincerely, the world will give you gifts.

This is the public support the Guardians' Union needs.

After the disaster, these people will remember the Guardians' Union's kindness. Only then will the Guardians' Union have the ability to continue changing the world.

"Thank you all, but really, don't give me any more clothes," Xiao San says nervously, because he already has seven pieces of clothing around his neck, looking like a clothes rack.

More than five hundred thousand people go to collect clothes, knives, and frying pans, and rush to put them on the Home Families; this is a bit overwhelming.

These people were indifferent at first, and now they're overly enthusiastic.

The aunties step in to maintain order, and the refugees gradually become rational.

Xiao San says, "Everyone can rest assured to continue evacuating. We will definitely hold this defense line until you have all evacuated!"Even if it costs their lives.

At this time, someone calls on the radio, "Xiao San, the Rat Tide is coming again!"The Home Families look back, and everyone returns to the defense line to prepare for battle.

Xiao San whispers to Qin Shuli, "The Leader said earlier that if the Rat Tide returns within two hours, it means they want to constantly drain our energy, making us unable to eat or sleep well. This is not the key moment; we must find a way for everyone to rest."

At this time, the auntie appears again. She wears a windbreaker around her neck, looking like a battle robe, with two knives in her hands. "I'll help you defend too!"Xiao San: ""

Qin Shuli: ""

Xiao San has never been so speechless.

He turns to face the Rat Tide, waiting for the beasts' arrival, "Those who can still move, fight with me! Hold the line! No retreat!"