In fact, it was just that the large crowd gathered around the passage had been cut off. A long, several-meter long strip of material, resembling some kind of rubber, fell to the ground, separating the crowd like the Chu-Han boundary.
Then, perhaps because of the effect of this "rubber material," the ground actually cracked along the spot where it had fallen. The ground on the other half, lacking any support, collapsed, causing the people’s footing to disappear, and then the entire area began to collapse backward.
As a result, the civilians who had been standing on that part of the ground were naturally dragged down by the broken surface beneath them, falling backward.
What does it feel like to suddenly lose weight and be pulled by an unknown force? At this moment, Jiang Hui didn’t feel much. She only sensed that everything in front of her seemed to become unusually calm and slow.
She heard the sharp screams in her ears being infinitely stretched, transforming into strange sounds as if they were coming from some distant space. She smelled the dust flying in the air, mixed with the thickening scent of gunpowder, and faintly, there was the smell of blood and burning flesh. Even as she was falling backward, she clearly saw Xierman, who had barely managed to stretch out his hand to try to grab her, his face filled with terror… He really had wanted to catch her, but sadly, it was too late.
Jiang Hui felt no fear in her heart. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking; her mind seemed empty, but she still unconsciously moved her lips and said something.
...Fortunately, this guy didn’t fall down. Otherwise, the five of them, who came here to watch, would have to stay here. Whether they would make it out safely would depend on fate.
Of course, this seemingly endless moment was actually limited. It felt like a long time had passed, but it seemed like only an instant. Jiang Hui's body woke up before her thoughts did.
She instinctively adjusted her posture mid-fall, quickly finding her center of gravity, curling her shoulders slightly to protect her fragile neck and arms. Then, she bent her legs and moved them, absorbing most of the impact in a fairly agile way.
Good, she landed successfully, and she hadn't lost an arm or a leg, her head still securely attached to her neck. However, her back and shoulders were sore, likely from overexerting herself while absorbing the impact. But it didn’t affect her movement too much, so she considered herself lucky.
In such a dangerous situation, Jiang Hui didn’t have much time to daze. What she had thought was a blank moment was actually just her thoughts scattering in the instant of falling, a fleeting moment that didn’t last long. Then, she became alert and quickly reacted instinctively.
However, many others who had been dragged down by the shattered floor didn’t have the same reaction or awareness.
Without needing to see what was happening on-site, just hearing the surrounding wails of agony told Jiang Hui that everyone had fallen hard.
However, to be fair, after experiencing the earlier scene of flying flesh and extreme bloodshed, this was considered relatively lucky. Especially for those who were still screaming now, their spirits seemed to be holding up well, which meant they would likely have a better chance of survival moving forward.
Sigh, when will those terrorists be subdued? Jiang Hui truly felt that if they allowed the attackers to continue running rampant inside and they couldn’t find an escape route in time, they would probably soon become the next victims.
Jiang Hui clumsily scrambled to her feet, her mind still chaotic, and then, after a moment, she managed to clear her thoughts and remembered that when she had fallen, she had caught a glimpse of Clarens falling too. Where was he?
Perhaps in dangerous situations, people instinctively seek out reliable companions or groups, and Jiang Hui was no exception.
Although her time in this world had been short, she had already encountered a group of friends who left a strong impression on her. Though by her actual age, she could be their elder, during her time with these kids, she had unknowingly found a sense of belonging in this vast and mysterious foreign world.
Though she occasionally complained about the differences in their personalities, she genuinely accepted them.
At this moment, Jiang Hui was lucky not to be injured, but hearing the cries of pain around her made her feel uneasy. Besides feeling sorry for others, she was also afraid that her friends would be severely harmed and become one of the casualties.
Jiang Hui anxiously made her way through several people lying on the broken ground, looking around. Finally, in the corner of her eye, she spotted the person she was looking for.
Heaven knows how relieved she felt when she saw him half-sitting on the ground, seemingly looking at something. Jiang Hui immediately let out a breath of relief. His head moved slightly, as if he was turning to look at something, and it seemed like he was okay.
She quickly jogged over, being careful to watch the surroundings in case anything dangerous came flying toward them, ready to take her life.
Fortunately, the object that fell earlier only segmented the ground beneath them, and the people on the ground had fallen several layers below with the collapsed ground panels. Other than that, the chaos on the other side didn’t seem to spread this way; that incident seemed more like an accident.
"Clarens..." Jiang Hui ran up from the side, and as she turned to face Clarens, her expression froze for a moment: "This—"
The young man’s lips were slightly pale, but his demeanor was still as proud as ever, as if nothing was too serious in front of him. If she hadn’t seen his bloody leg, Jiang Hui would probably have thought he was just tired and needed to sit down.
It was his left leg.
The wound was deep, exposing the bone, and fine stone fragments and dust were smeared across the wound. The edges of the injury revealed what seemed to be torn tissue, looking grotesque, making the scalp tingle just to look at... This injury was even worse than the one Jiang Hui sustained during the orientation race.
And how unlucky they were... Was this planned? Last time, it was her right leg, and now Clarens had injured his left leg, with a similar kind of injury. One could say they were such good friends that even their injuries matched. Misfortune always seems to strike together. Wait, no, this isn’t the time to joke—
He needed to get out of here with that kind of injury, or else, if the terrorists came over, he wouldn’t even have the strength to run.
Jiang Hui opened her mouth, wanting to say something to lighten the mood, but in the end, she said nothing. She quietly took out the medical supplies she had left over from the last competition and began treating his wound.
The school never asked for these things back later, and they were kept for personal use. It turned out to be an unexpected surprise that they could be useful now. But she really didn’t want to use them under these circumstances... Life was truly too exciting; no one knew what would happen next.