Everyone looked in the direction Leng Yebai pointed, only to see a thick layer of dark clouds.

The clouds covered the sky, layered upon each other.

The black clouds hung low, seemingly within reach, yet far on the horizon.

An oppressive atmosphere engulfed the earth, as if to devour the boundless surface.

"What is it?"

Bai Yifan squinted, staring for a while, still unable to see anything.

Nothing but clouds upon clouds.

The sun was completely covered by the thick layers of clouds, revealing no light whatsoever.

Leng Yebai’s lips moved slightly but said nothing, his eyes still fixed on that direction.

Everyone noticed Leng Yebai didn’t seem to be joking, so they continued watching the dense clouds.

"What is that!"

Suddenly, Bai Anhai exclaimed in surprise, and the bowl and chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground.

The dumplings spilled out, mixing with the dirt on the ground, and the bowl shattered into two pieces.

No one noticed the broken bowl, as shock was evident on every face.

In the distant sky, from the thick cloud cover, two long tails emerged.

The two tails seemed different in color and appearance; one was white, the other deep black.

The white tail was heavy and fan-shaped, resembling the mythical dragon.

The black tail resembled a snake, or perhaps a flood dragon, appearing somewhat slender.

The tails appeared for just an instant, indistinct but undeniably present.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished back into the clouds.

"Is it a dragon? Or a snake?"

Bai Zhengxuan hurriedly took out his reading glasses, but could no longer see anything in the clouds.

For a moment, everyone was unsure whether the giant beings in the sky were truly existent or a collective illusion.

The sound of chopsticks clattering disappeared, and everyone stood still, the dumplings in their bowls now tasteless as they quietly gazed at the clouds.

Rumble――

Thunder exploded in the sky.

Yet no lightning appeared.

Like the roar of ancient beasts.

"Could it be the sound of a dragon?" Bai Yifan’s voice was somewhat excited.

As a teenager with dreams, who hasn’t fantasized about the grandeur of Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin?

Dragons, known to every descendant of Yan and Huang, yet unseen by any.

A timeless totem, believed in for its power, despite uncertainty of its existence.

Of the twelve zodiac animals, eleven exist in the world. When defining the zodiac, why include a totem and name a nonexistent creature as one of its members?

An apocalypse erupts, and ancient mythical creatures emerge in mutated forms.

Perhaps, mutation or not, they’ve always been like that, unable to become their ancient selves without superpower energy.

As energy saturates the earth, it will slowly revert to the mysterious age of yore.

No one answered Bai Yifan’s question, they quietly listened to the thunder above.

In the past, thunder merely signaled rain, never truly listened to the sky’s voice.

Now, listening closely, they felt the thunder held an endless pressure, an overwhelming terror emanating.

The sky belonged entirely to that sound.

Humans, zombies, mutant animals, no matter how strong their superpowers, were as insignificant as a drop in the ocean amidst this thunder.

Since ancient times, heavenly thunder was feared by beasts.

This thunder spread across every inch of land. Overlook it, and it’s merely thunder.

Truly listen, and it effortlessly seizes your heart, inspiring awe without reason.

Dense thunder grew louder, containing wrathful flames, laced with emotion.

Through layers of clouds, the monstrous figures appeared faintly again.

The long forms stretched across the horizon, seemingly thumb-sized, yet suffocating.

A powerful pressure surged forth.

The white form and black form intertwined, their heads biting fiercely at each other.

The white form maintained its dominance, but the black form fearlessly counterattacked despite being bitten.

Their entanglement shook the heavens and earth.

They swiftly traversed the sky, crashing into nearby clouds with terrifying speed, disappearing.

Another brief moment lasted seconds.

In those seconds, the Bai Family clearly saw the full appearance of two colossal creatures.

One resembling a dragon with claws, battling a black flood dragon.

’Resembling,’ because the distance was too great for full certainty.

"Could the legends... be true? Is there truly... a dragon?"

Bai Zhengxuan searched his body, hoping to see the Classic of Mountains and Seas entry on dragons.

After fumbling a while, he recalled it was in Xiao Niu’s space, and continued looking up.

This time, Bai Zhengxuan took out his phone. It had lost signal but could still be used for filming.

Not only Bai Zhengxuan, but everyone with phones took them out.

Rumble――

This time, true thunder struck, accompanied by flashes of lightning.

In the direction of the beasts, lightning exploded, dense as shattered glass.

Whoosh――

Suddenly, it rained heavily, pouring down relentlessly.

In moments, everyone was soaked.

"There’s something wrong with the rain, get in the bus, don’t eat the dumplings!"

Leng Yebai frowned, pulling Bai Xiqin onto the coach.

Everyone hesitated, then caught a whiff of the stench in the air.

To be precise, the rain had issues.

This rain wasn’t clear, but rather grayish.

The Bai Family smelled the stench, immediately discarding their rain-soaked dumplings and hurried onto the bus.

Wang Liu, two elders wise to the situation, promptly followed, boarding the bus to escape the rain.

They didn’t have time to change clothes, all crowded at the windows, watching the sky in hopes of catching another glimpse.

Unfortunately, it was gone, as the sky gradually darkened with heavy rain, forming small streams on the ground.

The stream color was faint gray, visible to the naked eye.

The air was filled with a faint musty smell.

Like the diluted rot of zombies.

Rumble――

The thunder in the sky persisted.

Sometimes mixed with lightning.

Other times, the thunder carried anger without lightning.

Like the fury of territory intrusion.

In silence, they listened to the thunder inside the bus, eyes fixed on the sky.

"This rainwater――will it turn you into a zombie if accidentally consumed?"

Bai Yifan suddenly voiced his thoughts in the bus.

Bai Xiqin paused, observing the rain outside, recalling how the rain resembled diluted zombie blood.

"Chirp chirp chirp――"

Distantly, sounds of birds chirping erupted.

It wasn’t melodious, overly shrill.

A soaked sparrow suddenly appeared before everyone, flying erratically, wet wings causing frequent landings before taking off again.

It fluttered like a headless fly, aimlessly around.