252: It grew bigger in a short time.

Before long, led by Ai Guosheng, they smoothly found the site of their former residence.

As expected, their former apartment building had long since collapsed.

Looking at the pile of rubble before them, the group felt a surge of emotions.

After watching for a while, Ai Guosheng said, "Let's clear these broken stones and settle down here for the night."

"Alright, let's treat it as staying at home for the last few days." Li Shilan pursed her lips and spoke, following behind Ai Guosheng to prepare to clear the stones.

Ai Yue and Ye Rui quickly stepped forward; they couldn't let the elderly couple do such tiring work.

With a Strongman like Ai Yue present, it didn't take much time to clear a large area.

With a wave of Ai Yue's hand, three tents appeared on the cleared open ground.

Ai Yue and Ye Rui skillfully secured the tents.

By the tents, Ai Yue took out a barbecue grill and some ready-made skewers from her space, and the group got busy around the grill.

It had been a long time since they had eaten barbecue. There wasn't even a single mosquito in this place, let alone people, so the group felt quite at ease.

However, they still maintained the necessary vigilance; after all, they hadn't forgotten those underground Ancient Centipedes.

For some reason, perhaps because of their sense of belonging to their hometown or something else, the group found the barbecue and wine exceptionally delicious.

Even the stars in the night sky seemed brighter to them than stars anywhere else.

"Sister, look, that's the Shoulder Pole Constellation," Ye Rui said, leaning against Ai Yue and pointing at the stars on the horizon.

Ai Yue looked in the direction Ye Rui was pointing. "Which one?"

"The one that looks like a parallelogram," Ye Rui said.

"Oh, I see it. It's quite ordinary."

"Sister, you're so boring. I haven't finished yet," Ye Rui said with a pout.

The corners of Ai Yue's mouth curled slightly as she lay loosely on the ground, saying nonchalantly, "Oh, go on."

Ye Rui also lay down beside her. "Actually, it's nothing. Seeing it just makes me think of my grandmother. "

"I can still imagine her stroking my head with a loving look."

"She told me that the Shoulder Pole Constellation is right above us in the summer, but once autumn arrives, it moves far away from us, changing position to hang on the southern horizon, looking quite blurry..."

Ai Yue closed her eyes, letting out an occasional 'mm' in response, though it was unclear if she was actually listening to Ye Rui's rambling.

In Ai Yue's view, it didn't matter what Ye Rui was saying; she just missed her home, didn't she?

Unfortunately, of her family of five, only she remained now.

The night was as cool as water. Everyone else had gone to sleep, leaving only Ye Rui to occasionally poke at the fire while looking up at the deep night sky.

Suddenly, her brow furrowed, and she snapped to her feet, staring vigilantly at her surroundings.

A dark cloud drifted from somewhere and covered the moon, making the already dark night even blacker.

Even the shimmering ruins of the buildings nearby became indistinct.

At that moment, Ai Yue silently stepped out of the tent and came to Ye Rui's side.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said, "Rui Rui, there's a situation. Did you notice something?"

"No, it's just that there was a sudden sense of pressure around us just now, but it was fleeting. Now, it feels like even the wind has gone still," Ye Rui whispered back.

"You stay here and protect Mom and Dad. I'll go check the surroundings."

"I understand. Be careful, Sister!"

"Mm!"

Ai Yue tapped her toes lightly and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Ye Rui stood in front of Li Shilan's tent, staring vigilantly at the surroundings, with faint flashes of lightning passing through her hands.

Ai Yue quickly circled the area but found nothing, so she continued to scout further out.

Suddenly, across the pitch-black horizon, several thick bolts of lightning flashed, followed by the rumbling of thunder.

By the light of the lightning, a massive dark shadow appeared in the far distance.

Ai Yue's heart skipped a beat. What was that thing? It was so huge.

Following several flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder, it suddenly began to pour rain.

Ai Yue immediately took an umbrella out of her space and held it over her head.

Using the light from the lightning, Ai Yue observed carefully but couldn't see any specific details; it looked like a giant monster walking upright, heading southeast.

The rain grew heavier, and Ai Yue had to head back first.

When she returned to the camp, Ai Guosheng and his wife were already awake, sitting in the tent with Ye Rui to avoid the rain.

Seeing Ai Yue return, they quickly beckoned her. "Sister, the rain is too heavy, come inside quickly!"

Ai Yue ducked into the tent, and Ye Rui quickly pulled the rain curtain shut behind her.

"Sister, what did you find?"

Ai Yue said with a solemn expression, "I couldn't see clearly, but it was likely caused by an incredibly massive monster passing by."

"A monster? How big?" Li Shilan asked curiously.

"About ten zhang tall!"

"Is it the Nameless Monster?" Ye Rui asked.

Ai Yue's expression shifted; the silhouette did bear some resemblance, but she still shook her head and said, "Probably not. I've fought it before, and the Nameless Monster was no more than three zhang tall at most. This one... the difference is too great."

"Well, as long as it's not that. Even from this far away, I could feel its suffocating pressure." Ye Rui patted her chest and let out a long breath.

"There's nothing to be relieved about. First there was the Nameless Monster, and now this behemoth has appeared. If it starts causing destruction, there will be no living space left for us humans."

Ai Yue said with a grave face.

After hearing Ai Yue's words, a touch of sorrow appeared on the faces of the other three.

Just then, Ai Yue's satellite phone outside began to ring.

Ai Yue saw it was Gong Qiuqiu and quickly answered it.

She understood that for Gong Qiuqiu to call in the middle of the night instead of waiting for daylight, there must be something important to tell her.

The moment the call connected, Gong Qiuqiu's voice came through: "Ai Yue, it's Gong Qiuqiu. We have news of the Nameless Monster."

Ai Yue's eyes lit up. "Where?"

"News just came in; it appeared in a small county in the former D City."

Ai Yue raised an eyebrow. "D City?"

"Yes, Ji County in D City."

Ai Yue's brow furrowed even tighter. "Are you sure?"

"Sure. Not only that, according to our people, the Nameless Monster has grown even taller and larger, like Optimus Prime. It seems our mission has become even more difficult."

Ai Yue's face turned grim. She hadn't expected that the behemoth she saw was actually the enlarged Nameless Monster.

"What about Jing Xi? Is she still on the monster?"

"It was too dark, and with the rain, it wasn't very clear through the binoculars. We only confirmed it was the Nameless Monster; we didn't find anything else," Gong Qiuqiu explained.

After a pause, he added, "Presumably she has her own goals, and until those goals are achieved, she should still be there."