Thunderous rumbling!
As a fearsome heatwave swept through, the earth shuddered and a hush fell over all living things.
This was the true force of world-ending destruction.
Billows of smoke and dust were thrust a thousand meters into the sky, spreading outwards at a horrifying pace. In the blink of an eye, they reached the horizon's edge.
Every physical object in its path was obliterated, leaving no trace.
Nothing could withstand such a devastating onslaught.
The trembling earth seemed to grieve, to weep in agony.
Chen Wei clutched his sister tightly, his hands over the little girl's ears, his eyes ablaze with a terrifying intent to kill.
His gaze shifted from lucid to a deep, blood red.
An ominous aura surged uncontrollably from his being.
But as a thought struck him, Chen Wei's fearsome presence vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there at all.
The shaking persisted for two minutes.
After two minutes, the reverberations began to subside.
At last, tranquility was restored.
Only then did Chen Wei release MeiMei from his embrace.
"Brother, what just happened?"
MeiMei, ever perceptive, sensed immediately that something was amiss. She tilted her head up, her delicate face looking at Chen Wei with wide, inquisitive eyes.
Chen Wei met MeiMei's gaze, a pang of unspoken pain in his heart.
Yet, he managed a reassuring smile and soothed her, "MeiMei, stay here at home. I'll go out and check on things."
"Okay."
Chen Mei, the little girl, nodded her head obediently. Though curious, she trusted Chen Wei's words and stayed put inside the house.
Stepping outside, Chen Wei surveyed the courtyard. The vast farm before him remained untouched, shielded by the energy barrier. Igris, nestled within the farm, was coiled tightly around the field ridges.
Chen Wei addressed Igris, "It's all clear now, Igris."
At the sound of his telepathic message, Igris snapped out of her daze, her voice quivering, "Master, what just occurred?"
"I was engulfed by an energy so terrifying it chilled me to the bone and left me in despair."
Chen Wei spoke calmly, "It was a nuclear strike. The blast wave will have eradicated all life within a radius of hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles."
Upon hearing his voice, Igris couldn't suppress a shiver that ran through her body.
Chen Wei looked up to see the transparent energy shield above him slowly fading away, finally vanishing into thin air.
As expected, it could only withstand a single nuclear blast.
"I need to amass 100 million exchange points and get another energy shield in advance to avoid a future catastrophe," Chen Wei mused to himself, resolving to save his exchange points for unforeseen needs.
"System, what's the state of the world outside?" Chen Wei inquired.
"The life force within a 900-mile radius has been wiped out. The nuclear bomb's energy spread has reached 1,500 miles," the System reported.
At this news, Chen Wei's mouth fell open, his eyes reflecting utter astonishment.
The devastation was unimaginably horrific.
Without delay, Chen Wei reached out to Igris, "Igris, come here!"
"Master," responded Igris.
With her hefty serpentine body, Igris slithered over to Chen Wei. Seeing her approach, he leapt onto her head and commanded, "Go check beyond the farm area."
"Understood, Master," Igris complied.
Hissing softly, Igris propelled her massive form toward the edge of the farm.
As her head rose above the farm's boundary wall, a shocking scene unfolded before them.
A colossal pit, thousands of meters deep and spanning tens of thousands of meters across, lay before them, its edges still creeping outward.
Even at the surface, the pit's expanse was staggering, easily encompassing 70,000 to 80,000 meters.
Smoke billowed, and the earth was scarred with ravines, as if a primordial bull demon had furiously plowed the land over and over.
Life was extinguished everywhere, save for the livestock and fish farms within the farm's confines.
The area had become a true dead city.
A dead city inhabited solely by Chen Wei and his sister.
Overwhelmed by the desolation before him, Chen Wei could contain himself no longer. He threw back his head and let out a wild, anguished roar that resonated across the desolate landscape.
Regrettably, his voice echoed outward from within, only to fade back into silence.
Chen Wei's gaze was tinged with desolation, his energy seemingly drained in an instant. With a feeble voice, he instructed Igris, "Igris, head back."
"Okay, Master," Igris responded.
Sensing Chen Wei's melancholic mood, Igris proceeded in unusual quiet, her hefty frame lumbering back towards the farm.
Chen Wei dismounted from atop the snake's head and made his way into the yard.
But as soon as his feet touched the ground, he froze.
There stood his sister, Chen Mei, gazing directly at him—or more accurately, at Igris behind him, who had lowered her head to let Chen Wei off and was now waiting patiently.
"MeiMei!" he exclaimed, momentarily taken aback before regaining his composure. He tried to speak, to offer some explanation, but found himself at a loss for words.
"Brother, that big snake is so white. Is it your pet?" MeiMei asked.
Unaffected by the apocalypse, having been shielded by him all this while, she was oblivious to the devastation wrought by the nuclear attack.
She was simply mesmerized by the sight of him standing atop the snake's head, a sight she found utterly fascinating.
Chen Wei was momentarily speechless at his sister's question.
Then, with a smile, he replied, "Yes, MeiMei, her name is Igris, and she's my pet. You can play with Igris too, from now on."
"Oh yeah!" MeiMei cheered, bouncing joyfully on the spot before scampering over to Igris.
"Wow, Igris is so, so big," MeiMei observed, her eyes wide with excitement rather than fear. She clapped her hands and squealed with delight.
Sizzle!
Igris occasionally flicked her thick tongue, her large eyes fixed on the little girl before Chen Wei.
It was as if Igris understood that this young human was her master's most cherished, and she affectionately lowered her massive head to nuzzle at MeiMei's feet.
"Igris, Igris!" MeiMei called out, thrilled as Igris approached. She then extended her small palms to gently stroke the snake's head.
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