# 1919
Chapter 1919: Mentality
The appearance of these two Great Xia military helicopters was undoubtedly announcing the background of the man in front of them, confirming the earlier speculation online... The people in those crimson cloaks were indeed members of the mysterious organization mentioned by the authorities.
Since the official military had shown up, the members of the exploration team had no way to refuse. They exchanged glances with each other and walked苦涩ly toward one of the helicopters.
At this point, they didn't have much regret anyway. Over the past many days, they had explored enough areas... The monsters they had just encountered proved that some things outside the borders were simply beyond their capability to handle. Being able to survive was already very lucky.
"Um... do I need to turn off the camera?" After boarding the helicopter, the photographer asked hesitantly.
A military member sitting nearby glanced at the lens. "Whatever you want."
The photographer exchanged a look with the reporter, then turned the camera toward the helicopter's window, focusing on that deep crimson figure.
Shen Qingzhu glanced at the time and didn't walk toward the helicopter they were on. Instead, he headed directly for the other one... Seeing this, the reporter felt a moment of disappointment.
He had thought the mysterious person would sit in the same helicopter as them, which would give him enough time to chat, and maybe even extract some information about this mysterious organization.
As the helicopter slowly took off, the reporter finally had time to open the livestream and browse through the comments.
【Except for Team 2, the other two teams were also taken away by helicopters...】
【But the other two teams didn't encounter monster attacks, nor did anyone in crimson cloaks show up for them? Strange, how did the people from that organization know Team 2 would encounter monsters? Can they predict the future?】
【My guess is they've been secretly following the exploration teams since they left the country. Only Team 2 ran into danger, so only one person showed up... The crimson-cloaked people following the other two teams just stayed hidden, never revealing themselves】
【Silently guarding you all along in the shadows?? Good heavens, I'm already imagining the scene! Feels so cool!】
【But why recall all the exploration teams at this moment? Is something about to happen?】
【Don't say it, in just these few minutes, over a dozen planes have flown past my place... I have a bad feeling】
【Same here, where are all these planes coming from?】
【This number definitely isn't civilian aircraft... Must be military】
【Is war about to break out? With who? Didn't all the other countries become ruins?】
【...】
As the adventures of all three teams were halted by the military, the livestream's popularity didn't decrease—it increased. The fact that both the mysterious organization and military personnel had shown up meant something big was likely about to happen... And through the lenses of these exploration teams, they might be able to see more.
Through cross-referencing the comments in the livestream, everyone sensed something was off. Combined with those monsters from earlier and the forced interruption of the expedition, an inexplicable tense atmosphere began spreading through the livestream.
...
Click—
The sound of a key entering the lock came through. Zhao Zhengbin, who had been scrolling through livestream comments on his phone, froze and turned to look.
A middle-aged woman finished putting on her slippers and walked into the house, placing her briefcase on the table. In her other hand, she held a red plastic bag and walked straight toward the kitchen.
"Mom?" Zhao Zhengbin glanced at the clock on the wall and asked疑惑ly, "Why did you come home so early today?"
"I don't know what happened. The company suddenly sent out a notice saying we're on holiday..."
"Holiday? But it's Thursday!"
"I don't know the specifics either. They just told us to go home and rest. It wasn't just our department—the whole office building got the day off." The woman took out the ingredients from the plastic bag while speaking古怪ly, "When I was coming back, I planned to pick up some vegetables on the way. But I noticed the street market was already closed... Couldn't get any meat, only managed to grab some vegetables. We'll have to make do tonight."
"The market closed too?"
Zhao Zhengbin stood frozen in place. At that moment, his phone chimed with a message. He looked down—it was a notice about his university semester being postponed.
The notice was somewhat strange. Although it mentioned a postponement, it didn't explain the reason, nor did it specify when exactly classes would resume. It was rather vague and abrupt.
Whoosh—!!
Several planes swept across the sky overhead, emitting low rumbling thunder. Zhao Zhengbin got up and walked to the balcony, only to find that the gray sky had been crisscrossed with over a dozen contrails from planes flying in different directions.
"...What's going on?"
Zhao Zhengbin stared blankly at this scene, the uneasy, nervous feeling in his heart growing stronger.
"Mom..."
"What?"
"Don't you think something's strange?" Zhao Zhengbin furrowed his brow. "I feel like something big is about to happen..."
The woman said casually, "You mean those things that have been trending online lately?"
"You know about them too?"
"People are discussing them everywhere. Not just me—your grandparents have heard about it too."
"...Do they believe it?"
"More than I do, actually. Their generation has seen much more than we have." The woman skillfully washed and chopped vegetables. "But even if something does happen, it's got nothing to do with us... We're just ordinary people. If the sky falls, there'll be taller people to catch it."
Watching his mother's calm reaction in the kitchen, Zhao Zhengbin felt complicated inside... Not everyone was a passionate youth with burning enthusiasm, not everyone was curious about the unknown. Perhaps his mother's attitude was the true reflection of most people in Great Xia.
His mother seemed to think of something. Her hand cutting vegetables paused slightly, then she quickly untied her apron and hurried toward the door.
"Mom, where are you going?"
"If something really happens, a lot of things probably won't be available anymore... No, I should still drive around and take a look. I need to stock up on more vegetables at home, and daily necessities too. If I go too late, it won't be enough."
"Mom, it's not necessarily safe outside right now. You shouldn't go." Zhao Zhengbin watched the planes passing overhead one after another and tried to persuade her. "Some things haven't been announced by the authorities—probably to avoid causing public panic... You need to trust them. They've definitely made preparations in advance. We won't starve."
"You're a grown adult now, why are you still so naive? We can't depend on others for everything. Only what we hold in our hands is truly reliable." The woman quickly stuffed several plastic bags into her pockets and pushed the door open.
Seeing his mother wouldn't listen, Zhao Zhengbin gritted his teeth and followed her.
"Mom, I'm coming with you..."
The two rushed downstairs and drove out of the residential area. Zhao Zhengbin sat in the passenger seat, his phone still playing the livestream page. In the footage from the three exploration teams, they were all still in the air, flying.
Just as the car merged into traffic, something suddenly changed in the livestream!