Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 713: Burning Embers

Xue Yunzhen was stunned.

She suddenly sobered up, getting goosebumps all over her after looking at Xiang Fengran's angry yet sad eyes.

Were they scared of death?

Yes, they were, but they were also ready to sacrifice themselves at any moment!

They were all prepared to die, especially after having been stationed at the Deep Caves for years. While staying behind to fight was brave, it would destroy the last hope of humankind!

Bloodlines and seeds of fire had to be passed on!

Xue Yunzhen bit her lips so hard that blood came out. She raised her head and looked at the passionate eyes around her… Then she gritted her teeth and said, "Sorry, but I have to go!"

If she had to die, she just hoped that her death could be valuable. She was going to be the last guardian of humankind!

"Legend, please go!"

"Legend, we're here to cover your retreat. You're not defectors; you're heroes!"

"Yes, Legend, you should go. We will hold this place with our flesh and blood!"

What made Xue Yunzhen shiver was that no one responded with angry curses; all of them were voices of sincerity and understanding. The other battle pet warriors had heard what Xiang Fengran and Ye Wuxiu had said, and knew of their determination.

They knew that the legendary warriors weren't running, it was a last ditch effort for humankind!

Why would they force such heroes?

Xue Yunzhen's eyes were wet. She suddenly thought that her hundreds of years of fighting in the Deep Caves were worth it!

For the land and the people she loved, her devotion was worth it!

"Let's go!"

There were no farewells nor any other words. Xue Yunzhen gritted her teeth and dashed behind the defense lines. She seemed to be running, but she also looked like a hero that never looked back.

The bald legendary warrior who had planned to keep her company instantly followed her.

The many battle pet warriors nearby didn't ask the fleeing legendary warriors to stay anymore. They instead unleashed their astral power and summoned their battle pets, ready for the last battle of their lives!

…

In the Longjiang Base City behind the defense lines.

Su Ping had a white pallor once he returned to his shop. He quickly looked around and found a few people in the shop's safe area.

Su Ping stepped into the shore and quickly said to Tang Ruyan and Su Lingyue, "Inform Qin Duhuang and the others, ask them to evacuate and move into this place immediately. Also tell your family to send the women and children over. They'll be safe here!"

His body was shivering. Although he knew he wouldn't get killed thanks to the protection of the system, he could easily imagine the cataclysm that was about to happen!

It would be hell beyond the shop!

Both Tang Ruyan and Su Lingyue were shocked by what Su Ping told them. They had seen the shocking Star State battle outside. After seeing Su Ping's condition as he arrived, they realized it was impossible for him to save the day anymore.

However, Su Ping's words confused them somewhat.

This shop could work as a shelter when they were already doomed?

Is it because Joanna is in the shop?

But if Joanna was capable of slaying the Lord of the Deep Caves, why couldn't she just go out and kill it?

A confused Su Lingyue was about to ask him, "Brother…" She had already seen how that mysterious shop was quite important to her brother. She also never knew where he found pets to sell.

"Don't ask, just do it!" Su Ping suddenly roared.

Time is life. This motto fitted perfectly in that scenario; time was of the essence.

Both women were dazed by Su Ping's roar; it was a first for them to see him that anxious.

Not daring to ask or think, they quickly took out their phones and contacted the relevant people. The place was probably safe since Su Ping claimed that it was. Even if it wasn't, gathering them at the store was better than letting them die in other places.

While they talked on the phone, Su Ping quickly reached out to Xie Jinshui, Ye Wuxiu, Li Yuanfeng and the others, asking them to go to his shop.

Fortunately, his shop had just been upgraded with virtual arenas, which doubled the shop's area. The shop's footprint had expanded to the two blocks nearby!

The area was enough to accommodate ten thousand people if it was crammed!

Let's not forget that the area was three-dimensional; the air within a hundred meters above the shop was also safe!

So, if the survivors were stacked like goods, at least a hundred thousand people could be packed!

A hundred thousand people was just a drop in the bucket compared to the total population behind the defense lines, but that was the best Su Ping could do at this moment.

Some of the calls didn't go through, and some did. Su Ping quickly informed those who picked up the call and then hung up to immediately contact the next person.

He contacted everybody he knew. As for those whom he didn't, he didn't even have their numbers to try and alert them.

Very soon, one person came after another. Some were titled warriors, and some were of legendary rank.

"Mr. Su!"

"Brother Su!"

Ye Wuxiu, Li Yuanfeng and some of the others arrived. Void State warriors could travel by flashing, so they arrived first.

Ye Wuxiu asked quickly, "Did you summon us here because you have an escape route?"

His eyes were full of hope, as Su Ping had shown a high combat ability that was only second to Nie Huofeng's!

If Su Ping worked with them and marched in single file, there was hope for them to break out as long as the Lord of the Deep Caves didn't get there in time!

He was willing to sacrifice himself even if Su Ping was the only one of them who survived!

Su Ping was already only weaker than the Star State experts. He might enter the Star State someday if he trained himself in a secret realm; then he would be able to avenge them!

"Mr. Su!"

Xiang Fengran, Xue Yunzhen and some others arrived at that moment.

Qin Duhuang and Zhou Tianlin got there right behind them, still merged with their battle pets and using their abilities.

The empty streets were instantly filled with their powerful auras.

"Boss Su, we'll protect you! Let's fight our way out!" Qin Duhuang looked at Su Ping with glowing eyes. The powerful aura and fighting spirit he released made him look dozens of years younger.

He meant what he said and was ready to deliver on his promise!

His battle pet was Su Ping's gift, and he became a legendary warrior mostly because of the understanding brought by the beast king pet that Su Ping had given him; he had always said he owed Su Ping a favor and committed that to memory.

Now…

It was time to repay it!

"Mr. Su!" Zhou Tianlin also said. He stared at Su Ping with regret and determination in his eyes. He had just become a legendary warrior. He wanted to live and enjoy the new level; however, there was no time nor hope. He only wished he could do something with his remaining power.

Everybody fixed their eyes on Su Ping.

Far in the distance, Su Ping's parents walked to the store, also with troubled expressions.

"Ping'er, no need to care about us," said Li Qingru, his mother; her eyes were full of love, affection and comfort.

Next to her, his father Su Yuanshan remained silent, but he could feel his father's deep love for him!

After seeing them arrive, Su Ping took a deep breath and said, "We're not going anywhere. This shop is the safest place!"

The shop was caught in a moment of silence.

A few seconds later, everybody had finally realized what he meant and looked at Su Ping in shock.

They were going to stay right there?

Ye Wuxiu couldn't help but ask, "Boss Su, are you serious? We're just going to stay here and wait for death?"

On the other hand, Qin Duhuang and Zhou Tianlin were dazed for a moment. They knew Su Ping longer and better, and they knew how horrifying his shop was.

After all, it was probably the only shop in the world where Void State pets were available all the time.

They also remembered that Su Ping's shop was being supervised by a blond legendary woman!

Could she protect them?

But soon, they had exactly the same question as Tang Ruyan and Su Lingyue did: if the woman was able to resist the Lord of the Deep Caves, why couldn't she fight outside?

While everybody seemed astounded and even angry, Su Ping knew it was impossible for him to explain. He quickly found an excuse, "Don't be hasty. There's an ancient divine formation in my shop, which is able to resist even Star State attacks. So, no wild beasts can break into my shop!"

Everybody was shocked upon hearing that.

An ancient divine formation able to fend off Star State enemies?

They observed the shop behind Su Ping again, not expecting it to have such a miraculous capability.

Xue Yunzhen quickly thought of something and said, "However, even if we hide and they can't kill us, they can still surround us; we won't be able to go anywhere…"

Although she seemed like a careless tigress, she was actually quite thoughtful.

The other people's smiles were instantly frozen.

That was very true.

Even if the wild beasts couldn't break in, humans would also be unable to go out; starvation would eventually hit them!

Even if legendary warriors had the option to sustain themselves on astral power alone, what if the Lord of the Deep Caves were to loot all the astral power nearby?

Then, the legendary warriors would also die of old age!

That method was only a slower way of dying!

Su Ping was going to talk, when the system suddenly spoke in his head, "It's useless."

Su Ping instantly changed his expression.

The system had peeped into his thoughts again! He was going to soothe everybody by telling them that he could teleport the shop away from that place!

"Why is it useless?" Su Ping demanded furiously in his heart.

The system, however, didn't answer with the usual lazy attitude. It said with a cold tone, "Even though you have been given a chance to relocate your shop after it's upgraded to level 4, the rule is that it can only be sent to a place with enough customers. Only the range behind the defense lines meets the requirement at the moment. So, even if you relocate it, you can only relocate within the range protected by the defense lines!"

Su Ping was surprised.

What kind of bulls*it rule is that?

He was exasperated.

"It would be possible to relocate elsewhere if you had enough residents in other places. However, the global population is all concentrated here," replied the system, ignoring Su Ping's wrath.

Su Ping said angrily in his heart, "Why didn't you remind me sooner? Aren't you always reading my thoughts? Why didn't you tell me that my plan couldn't work? Besides, don't you want to make money? So many people are dying. According to you, they're all potential customers!

"Then, shouldn't you do me a favor and help me rescue them?"

The system said solemnly, "Taking care of customers is your responsibility, not mine."

Bastard!

Su Ping gritted his teeth and lost his cool.

But he knew that it wasn't the system's fault; he was simply being too impatient.

Xiang Fengran frowned and called him tentatively, "Boss Su?"

Su Ping seemed about to talk, then his expressions changed haphazardly and he looked angry, which made the others feel confused and uneasy.

Su Ping came back to his senses and finally said, "I'm fine. Even if we can't go out, they can't come in either. We can cultivate here until we're strong enough to go out and defeat them!"

Xiang Fengran and the others were briefly stunned upon hearing that. They looked at Su Ping, certain that he was the one with the greatest hope to reach the Star State.

"No. It would be impossible to cultivate here if the Lord of the Deep Caves absorbs the astral power nearby," said Xue Yunzhen while shaking her head.

Everybody's expressions changed; that was indeed a problem.

Qin Duhuang, however, said after a few seconds of silence, "In that case, we can release the astral power in our bodies for Boss Su."

Everybody was quite shocked to hear that.

Release our astral power for Su Ping to cultivate here?

That… was indeed a solution!

After considering the idea, Xue Yunzhen looked at Qin Duhuang with appreciation in her glittering eyes.

Su Ping, however, trembled and felt like he was about to be choked by tears.

Releasing the astral power in their bodies would mean that they would lose their cultivation!

He slightly gritted his teeth. He knew that he didn't need their astral power, not when he had his cultivation sites, but he found their selflessness overwhelming!

More and more people gathered as they talked.

Ji Yuanfeng and the Deputy Chief were both there.

Su Ping was the only hope for a breakthrough. They wanted to join Su Ping and break out of there together!

They knew they had gone to the right place upon seeing Ye Wuxiu, Xiang Fengran and the other legendary warriors in Su Ping's shop.

Yuan Tianchen and the other group of legendary warriors joined them. They had stayed on the surface all the time and never saw eye to eye with Su Ping, but they also showed up.

Their only hope was Su Ping!

Everyone felt assured after seeing all the strong experts gathered. They had found the community of the best fighters!

"Brother Su!"

"Mr. Su!"

Ji Yuanfeng greeted Su Ping and said, "Give us a route. Let's march out together."

Su Ping was going to talk, when noises of wind moving were heard; titled warriors riding flying pets were arriving. The backs of all the battle pets were filled with many women and children.

All of them belonged to the Tang family.

Su Ping and the Tang family had already made peace. In fact, their conflict wasn't too serious; the Tang family had challenged Su Ping while intending to take back their young mistress.

However, Su Ping had killed several titled warriors in a row and eliminated a legion of two thousand master pet warriors. The Tang family suffered a heavy loss.

The Tangs had offered an apology and compensation afterwards. That was it.

Su Ping had never been a petty man.

With Tang Ruyan as an intermediary—and since she had been appointed as the leader of the family—Su Ping was even less interested in getting back at them.

His shop was a shelter, but nobody knew that. He wanted more people to come; it would be a waste if the shop was left empty.

"They're here," said Tang Ruyan in relief after seeing the members of the Tang family.

She was familiar with Su Ping and bought the ancient divine formation fib when Su Ping mentioned it, because she believed that the man would never make empty promises.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The titled members of the Tang family leaped off their flying pets and were all shocked to see the many legendary warriors at Su Ping's shop.

"Members of the Tang family pay respect to you, Mr. Su!"

"Members of the Tang family pay respect to you, Mr. Su!"

All of them landed and dropped to one knee, paying respect to him in the most courteous way.

Su Ping was strong enough to make them kneel voluntarily. After all, he was a top legendary warrior who deserved their respect!

"Tang Linzhan, former leader of the Tang family, apologizes to you!"

"Tang Yuanqing, elder of the Tang family, apologizes to you!"

Several men dashed out of the crowd. Tang Ruyan's father, and the previous leader of the Tang family also half-knelt and lowered their heads.

Behind him was the elder of the Tang family who had previously attacked Su Ping.

Although Su Ping had let bygones be bygones, those people had always been worried that he might hold a grudge.

"Tang Ruyu of the Tang family apologizes to you!"

A short girl, who was already at the titled rank, also moved out from the crowd and fell on one knee with her head lowered.

It was quite a shocking scene. Ji Yuanfeng, Ye Wuxiu and the others were confused, not sure about what was going on.

Su Ping looked at the familiar faces. Having already dissolved all grievances, he waved his hand and said, "You may rise. We're in the middle of a crisis, bring them to my shop immediately."

In the next moment, Tang Linzhan, Tang Ruyu and the others all felt an irresistible force that made them stand up straight again.

This only increased their sense of awe. What Su Ping said next reassured them. It seemed that Su Ping no longer cared about the Tangs' previous offense anymore.

They were all excited by that, as if a shadow in their hearts had finally been dispersed.

"Hurry, hurry!" Tang Linzhan quickly waved his hands and asked the women and children of his family to settle down.

Ji Yuanfeng was confused by their actions and could only ask, "Brother Su, what are you doing?"

"We're not leaving." Su Ping looked at Ji Yuanfeng, whom he didn't dislike. "There's an ancient divine formation in my shop; one that not even the Lord of the Deep Caves can destroy. You'll be safe as long as you stay inside my shop. Come on in now."

Ji Yuanfeng was quite shocked.

Yuan Tianchen and the other legendary warriors were equally astounded. When did Su Ping master such a horrifying formation?

Yuan Tianchen looked at the shop behind Su Ping. He had almost been stabbed through by the blond woman inside on his past visit. He found that Su Ping's shop looked even more splendid than before.

His expression changed when he remembered the blond woman, as fear still haunted him.

What confused him was that he didn't see the blond woman in the battle. It was slightly weird that Su Ping took part in the battle but without sending her out.

Did he consider the woman's safety more important than his own?

At that moment, more people were dashing over.

They were Lu Qiu, Shi Haochi and other people from the Trainers Association. There was also the president of the Trainers Association, who was accompanied by two old men. One of them was a bright-blue haired person from the Roaring Thunder Continent, and the other was from the Dragon Swamp Continent, with bright golden hair and a chiseled face.

Su Ping could easily tell from their vibe that they were Holy Spirit Trainers just like the president of the Trainers Association!

"Mr. Su."

"Legend Su."

They were all delighted to see the legendary warriors at the shop, thinking that they were planning on pooling their strength to break out with everyone present!

"Help me settle them down and summon more men over," said Su Ping to Qin Duhuang and the others. He then rose to the sky and gathered flames on his fingertip. He raised his hand as he looked down at the shop.

Pff, pff, pff!

The compressed flames on his fingertip were shot out like a laser, drawing a circle that marked the safe area.

After the drawing was completed, Su Ping landed and said, "Ask everybody to enter the area within the circle and never step out!"

Qin Duhuang and Ye Wuxiu accepted his command and fetched more people.

"Stay in the shop," said Su Ping to Su Lingyue and his parents, then he quickly ran out. No more than a hundred thousand people were there yet. He needed to get more people.

Beep…

Suddenly, Su Ping's phone rang.

He saw that it was Xie Jinshui whom he had failed to reach earlier. He picked up the call and said, "Old Xie, come to my shop immediately. Also inform others to come; my shop is protected by a divine formation and can resist the beast tides."

"Su…"

Xie Jinshui had just said one word and was going to explain why he missed Su Ping's call, but then registered what Su Ping had told him and was shocked.

"Got it!" he quickly responded and accepted the offer.

Su Ping quickly dashed out after hanging up.

Soon after he saw a car driving over with several acquaintances riding it; Xu Kuang—who called him master all the time—and his sister were among them.

The other passengers seemed older than them; they looked like their parents and relatives.

Xu Kuang was excited to see Su Ping in the sky. He instantly cried, "Master!!"

"Go to my shop!" Su Ping instantly shouted.

Then, he flew further away.

Still inside the car, Xu Kuang was stunned for a moment, then a middle-aged man in the backseat asked in shock, "He's your master?"

Xu Kuang nodded quickly. "Yes! That's how I've always called him!"

"Then, did he accept you as a disciple?"

Xu Kuang quickly shouted, "Hey, stop asking questions. Sister, let's go to my master's shop; he asked us to wait for him there. He's going to take us out!"

While at the driver's seat, Xu Yingxue rolled her eyes; Su Ping didn't mention anything about taking anyone out of anywhere.

However, given the great crisis, she hoped that what her not-so-reliable brother said was true.

…

Su Ping flew a dozen kilometers and asked everybody he met to go to his shop. As for people further away, he simply carried them to his shop with astral power.

He later found that the shop was almost full when he returned.

Then, the other survivors would have to be stashed on top of them!

Boom!!

Right when Su Ping was going to ask Ye Wuxiu and Qin Duhuang to make the necessary arrangements, an ear splitting explosion burst out; the expressions of all the legendary warriors in and out of Su Ping's shop changed.

They already knew it would happen, but it wasn't any less shocking when it really took place.

The walls outside of the defense lines were destroyed!

The Lord of the Deep Caves' enormous body had crossed the two outer walls and passed the defense lines!

Many Fate State behemoths and some Ocean State beasts had appeared in the other parts of the defense lines.

The Beast Kings were marching unimpeded since the legendary warriors had retreated.

Far away, Su Ping and the others could almost hear the screams.

They shivered as the beasts surged in like a flood; they didn't need to look to know that the battlefield in the front line was already an inferno.

Su Ping's body was as sturdy as that of one in the Fate State. His eyesight was so good that he could even see the battle pet warriors on the walls.

Although several holes had been left on the walls, a lot of battle pet warriors were fighting where the walls still stood. The skills they released were extremely feeble; they looked like fireflies, causing no damage at all when they struck the beast kings…

However, for some reason, Su Ping shed tears.

Next to him, Ye Wuxiu and the other Legends also fell silent. They clenched their fists with bloodshot eyes.

Roar! Roar!

Roar!!

Earsplitting roars echoed in all directions. The defense lines had been overtaken one after the other!

The beast tides attacked all four directions, and the defense lines were easily torn apart, as if they were made of paper!

Whoosh!

Far in the distance, dozens of shadows were moving closer. All of them were battle pet warriors.

Su Ping and the others were shocked. They quickly flashed out and caught the thrown battle pet warriors.

Some beasts had already reached the Longjiang Base City!

The Fate State beast kings that were hundreds of meters high were able to easily crush the city walls and break in; the beasts trailing behind them inundated the city through the openings.

Cries and screams were coming from all directions!

Apocalypse was at hand!

While the beasts were charging, Su Ping saw a lot of titled warriors riding battle pets and carrying passengers.

They seemed to be moving to Su Ping's shop.

They arrived soon after, and were able to relax when they saw Su Ping, Ji Yuanfeng and the other legendary warriors.

Some of them dropped to their knees upon seeing Su Ping and begged in fear, "Please help us!"

Not all of them were from the Longjiang Base City; some had been relocated from other places.

Xie Jinshui had released the news, which was then delivered to the command center. Then, the people who received the message in other areas rushed over to Su Ping's shop.

The survivors of other continents who didn't know where the shop was could only ask other people or wait to die.

Su Ping asked Ji Yuanfeng and the others to help the new arrivals to settle down.

A battle pet of the rock class appeared after a resounding boom. It belonged to Xiang Fengran, who gave it an instruction. The soil immediately began to move; thin rock plates rose inside the circle that Su Ping had drawn and covered his shop. Then, the rock plates were separated into different layers and formed a massive cube.

The cube looked like an enormous container with many compartments inside, all to accommodate as many survivors as possible.

"Hurry up! Have everybody go inside!" said Su Ping in haste.

Those who had just arrived were sent to the compartments. Some of the newcomers didn't know what was going on, simply joining the others; after all, they were willing to follow a legendary warrior's arrangement.

Roar!!

A noise burst out. Far in the distance, a group of several dozen people who were on the way to take shelter were slapped by a rock claw that emerged from the soil, taking all their lives!

Su Ping, Ji Yuanfeng and the others were all grim.

More deafening noises echoed. The beast kings were right there, inside the base city!

"STOP NOW!"

All of a sudden, Xue Yunzhen, who was patrolling in the sky, burst into a fit of fury and dashed out. There was a group of ordinary people—including men, women and children—on a street a dozen kilometers away, and they were facing a hideous eighth-rank wild beast.

The seemingly hungry creature stuck out its long and mucus-lined tongue.

All those humans were distressed.

Boom!!

Flashing consecutively, Xue Yunzhen suddenly appeared above the eighth-rank wild beast and stepped on it. The ground exploded, and the wild beast was pulverized into a mist of blood!

Xue Yunzhen looked at the stunned humans, then carried them with astral power and declared, "Follow me!"

She was going to take them to Su Ping's shop.

However, a sharp claw was suddenly extended from the void and, with a deafening boom, smashed the ordinary people she had just lifted into pieces.

The children were also smashed into a pulp!

Xue Yunzhen's eyes widened. Then, she felt as if all her blood was rising to her head. With bloodshot eyes, she roared, "Ahhhhhhhh!"

Her astral power burst out, and she attacked the giant claw.

The body behind the giant claw was fully revealed. It was a mountainous Fate State demon king. It had white fur and resembled a polar bear.

The beast looked down at Xue Yunzhen and grinned. "Not bad. This is a delicious one."

The next moment, Xue Yunzhen sensed that the space around her had been locked. Her pupils contracted, but she simply let out an angrier roar; a vortex appeared next to her and she merged with her battle bet. She then unleashed bolts of scorching lightning; her powerful constitution belonged to the thunder family.

At that moment she performed an ancient secret technique to enhance her constitution. She released thousands of light streaks that caused a crack on the locked space.

When she was about to run, a giant claw fell down and blocked her way.

However, exactly at that moment, a brilliant sword aura appeared and chopped the giant claw apart.

Su Ping arrived where Xue Yunzhen was. His black hair was dancing, and his eyes were filled with killing intent and fury.

The Fate State demon king was greatly appalled to see Su Ping. It didn't expect that the base city it had invaded turned out to be the place where Su Ping was located.

Overwhelmed by panic, it quickly tore space apart and escaped.

Su Ping intended to kill it, but it managed to escape. No longer trying to give pursuit, he said to Xue Yunzhen, "Go back to the shop."

Xue Yunzhen looked at him. Su Ping soon changed his expression and flashed away before she could thank him.

Boom!

Two Ocean State Beast Kings were chasing a group of Titled warriors on the street. Su Ping got there and slashed at them.

Sword auras surged out, and he killed the two Ocean State beast kings on the spot. He didn't use the Void Sword as it wasn't necessary.

Su Ping took the titled warriors back to the shop, only to discover it was almost full!

More survivors in the distance were approaching his shop.

Su Ping looked awful.

Ji Yuanfeng, Ye Wuxiu and the others also noticed this. They asked Su Ping, "What do we do?"

What should he do?

Su Ping knew the answer, but he couldn't say it out loud.

What else could he do? There wasn't enough space!

They could only be abandoned!

However…

"Help! Help me…"

At a distance, several battle pet warriors cried for help while riding their battle pets, but king-level flying wild beasts soon passed by and squeezed them into pieces.

On another street, a private car was racing for dear life under the pursuit of a fifth-rank wild beast.

Boom~!

Buildings were collapsing further away; some were destroyed by wild beasts, and some collapsed due to aftershocks.

The two walls in the distance had been completely breached; there were multiple openings, which made it look like an inverted rake. A swarm of wild beasts were marching through the openings.

Was this the apocalypse?

Nothing but deaths could be seen, nothing but moans and screams could be heard, and nothing but blood and its stench could be smelled.

Scenes that were only expected in hell were happening in reality, right before everyone's eyes.

All humans were crying in desperation!

"My lord, please help me…"

"My lord…"

More and more people had arrived at Su Ping's shop through the wild beasts entanglement. All of them were airborne; most of them were titled warriors, while some were advanced battle pet warriors with flying pets.

Many of them had brought their families with them, who were mostly ordinary people.

At ground level, cars were also driving over and blocked the nearby streets. All of them were abandoning their vehicles and running to Su Ping's shop.

They found a sense of safety when they saw Su Ping and the other legendary warriors. However, the consecutive explosions and screams behind them was scaring them out of their wits.

Su Ping's face was covered in the shadow; there was no telling what his expression was.

The shop behind him was already crowded.

All the rooms had been crammed. As for his parents, Su Lingyue and all his close acquaintances, he had asked Joanna to take them to the pet room, which was also full!

… There was no more space.

Ji Yuanfeng and the others had awful looks, as too many survivors had shown up. After all, there were billions of people behind the defense lines; a mere one percent of them was enough to fill up the neighborhood.

Ji Yuanfeng understood Su Ping's silence; the situation was beyond their control.

Ji Yuanfeng looked at everybody and said with a sigh, "Sorry, there are no more vacancies."

All the survivors who had reached the place were stupefied. With an even greater fear on their faces, some of them fell on their knees and kowtowed loudly!

"Please, my lord, please save us!"

"Please!"

The titled warriors who were midair were also kneeling in panic.

Everywhere Ju Yuanfeng looked, people were imploring him, which made him look quite bad. There was nothing he could do.

The people in Su Ping's shop looked at those outside who were on their knees, pleading for help. Some felt lucky that they had gotten there early, while others had troubling feelings.

Someone suddenly declared in the midst of those cries, "I'll give away my spot. I can still fight!"

A brawny man walked out of Su Ping's shop. He was quite average-looking, someone who wouldn't have been noticed at all in a crowd.

But at this moment, he squeezed through the crowd and walked out.

Everybody looked at him. He was a battle pet warrior, but only a seventh-rank one.

"Please take care of my wife and my children." The brawny man looked at Su Ping in the sky and kowtowed. He then rose and walked to a woman who was holding a baby in her arms. "Go inside with your baby."

The woman was an ordinary person. She was quite surprised that she would eventually be saved.

The next moment, her tears flowed out, and she was about to kneel at him—

The brawny man stopped her in time. He then looked at the man next to her, who was evidently her husband.

"Sorry, I only have one spot," said the old man.

The man quickly shook his head and said gratefully, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much!"

He said countless thanks in a row; his gratitude was genuine.

"Go inside," the brawny man urged her.

Her husband stopped offering thanks and quickly urged her to go.

The woman looked at her husband affectionately while carrying her child, then she ran to Su Ping's shop in the end. She was accepted by the crowd inside.

At that moment, the shop had become an ark that carried the hope of life!

After a brief silence—inspired by the brawny man's valiant action—the men in the shop declared one after the other, "I can give away my spot!"

"I can fight too!"

"I am a titled warrior! I can't live like a coward!"

"My child, your father can't accompany you anymore. I'll fight for you!"

"Tell our child that his father never flinched. Never!"

One man after the other stepped out of the shop. Some were old, some young.

Some wavered, but the remnants of hot blood in their hearts were reignited when they saw other men stepping out; they also walked out with the others.

However, there were still some men who kept their heads lowered. They didn't dare to look around, nor to go out and be sacrificed.

There were again many vacancies as those men walked out of the shop. Some of the people who were pleading on their knees outside were stunned by this. Some of the titled warriors who were begging were also motivated. All of them stood up with a scorching battle spirit in their eyes.

Other men were giving away the hope of life. It was truly demeaning for them to keep begging on their knees. They couldn't accept such ugliness, so they decided to pick up their dignity again.

On the other side, more people saw the vacancies and hope. They swarmed closer and begged even more vehemently.