Episode One: The Distant Homeland

Chapter One: Chaos!

Brian Carter listened intently for sounds outside the door. For several hours, there hadn’t been a single noise outside. It was completely different from the frenzied chaos of a few days ago. Now, the entire neighborhood seemed like a ghost street. In broad daylight, not a single living soul could be seen.

The marauding troops had already swept through this district. Brian Carter turned to look around the room he was in. This was a friend’s street-side shop, which had also been looted and smashed to pieces.

In fact, before the situation changed, his friend had already taken his wife and children to the countryside. Only Brian Carter had the key to the shop, so he made a bold decision: when things got to their worst, he left the shop’s front door wide open and arranged the interior to look as if it had already been looted. Then he broke down the doors to all the rooms inside the shop, and finally hid himself in the basement.

Sure enough, the situation took a dramatic turn. When the army lost control and soldiers began killing everywhere, and the civilians started rioting, the shop was easily looted and smashed. But because it had been so thoroughly ransacked and destroyed, in the days that followed, people outside almost completely ignored the place… There was nothing left inside, and it had been smashed to bits. Someone had even set it on fire, but since there was nothing left to burn, only the exterior was charred black, making the little ruin even less noticeable.

In these circumstances, Brian Carter quietly spent five days in the basement. On the fifth day, early in the morning, he went to the shop entrance and pulled down the rolling iron door. Only then did he finally breathe a deep sigh of relief. For the entire morning, he listened carefully for any sounds outside the door.

No one. Not a single human voice!

Those who had witnessed the madness of the past few days were either dead, had fled the city, or were in hiding. The crazed soldiers had mostly died in infighting, or had banded together and left the city. The city’s population was now less than one-thousandth of what it had been in peacetime.

Brian Carter could have left the city long ago. As a retired soldier, he was far more sensitive to war and killing than ordinary people. About half a month ago, when the world’s national leaders, high-ranking military officers, elite special forces, many famous scientists, top billionaires, and other outstanding talents—or even just handsome men and beautiful women—were confirmed to have disappeared for about half a month, he already sensed that something was wrong. He foresaw that the world might undergo a dramatic upheaval.

He did foresee all of this, but he couldn’t change any of it. It was as if he himself were in a dream. Why had those at the very top, the ones who controlled the world, suddenly vanished?

If it were only those high officials and dignitaries disappearing, it might not have been so bad. But why were there such rumors as well? If all of it was true...

Brian Carter felt utterly wretched inside. As he was lost in thought, his ears suddenly twitched—he heard faint footsteps in the distance. Instantly, his whole body tensed, like a tiger crouched and ready to pounce at any moment.

As Brian Carter lay in wait, ready to face any danger, a series of crisp quail calls suddenly sounded from far outside the door. Brian Carter immediately pursed his lips and responded with the same quail call. They exchanged a few calls, both understanding the secret code. Only then did Brian Carter finally relax, hurriedly pulling up the rolling iron door. He saw, by a pile of garbage in the distance, a shadowy figure crouching there.

The figure reacted with lightning speed. As soon as Brian Carter opened the door, he darted forward in a feline, canine posture, almost on all fours, covering more than thirty meters in just a few seconds before slipping into the shop. Brian Carter quickly pulled the iron door down again. Only then did both of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Li, how did you end up as the scout? Where are Old Wang and the others?" Brian Carter grabbed the person and asked urgently.