Estée Lauder, after the cockpit opened, immediately rushed towards the area burning with flames. Compared to normal trees and vegetation, places where humans live have more dry items that are easier to catch fire. So, the place where the fire was most ferocious was naturally where the survivors of this settlement lived.
From the previous actions of this Divine Messenger mecha, it should not have started capturing survivors yet. This was also a point of concern for Estée Lauder. But it couldn't be ruled out that the essence of this Divine Messenger's actions was to carry out a cleanup of the survivors.
"Is anyone there? Anyone? Are there any survivors?"
Estée Lauder walked among the flames. If it weren't for the cloak Aslan had given her, which, due to his own habits, had the properties of being fireproof and waterproof, the current Estée Lauder might have been in an extremely pathetic state. After all, the fire didn't look small at all. The parts of her not protected by the cloak were already stained a bit dark by the black smoke.
She continuously advanced towards the place where people lived. Along the way, besides broken daily necessities, she could also see bodies that had been burned to charcoal under the attack of the magical heat rays. These charcoal-like bodies were once living, breathing humans.
Estée Lauder just gritted her teeth. She had already seen such a scene in the distant past.
"Here! We're here!"
Just as Estée Lauder was about to give up, the voice of a burly man came from within the flames. In a collapsed underground structure, a middle-aged man was holding a child, struggling to hold on. And the expression on that child's face was a bit strange, a mix of regret and relief, as if not entirely satisfied with being saved now. But from the emotions that flashed in this child's eyes, it seemed that he also did not wish for the middle-aged man protecting him to die here with him.
Estée Lauder quickly ran to the location of the two, then enlarged her forging hammer. With a fierce swing, she smashed the ruins pressing down on the two of them to the side, also preventing the fire from continuing to burn and eventually swallowing the two in a sea of flames.
"What about the others?"
Estée Lauder, while pulling the two out of the flames, asked with concern. After hearing her inquiry, the burly man patted his body, checked the child in his arms again, and only then began to explain, "Our lookouts discovered the abnormality early on, so we evacuated ahead of time. It's just that we couldn't just leave everything here. After all, it's just the beginning of spring, and food and other things are not yet abundant. So some of us wanted to come back to salvage some food. Just as we were salvaging, the Divine Messenger descended from the sky. If I hadn't happened to discover that this child was still in the underground residence and went in to get him, I'm afraid I, like the others, would have been turned to charcoal under the Divine Messenger's attack."
Although it was called an underground cave, in reality, the entire environment was extremely simple. It was basically a living space dug downwards, relying on the roots of tall trees as natural pillars. Although the living space was not large, it was warm in winter and cool in summer. Plus, being in the forest, they were not short of food and water. If they happened to encounter the interconnected roots of underground plants, then the underground space could be a bit larger. Of course, if some places were weaker, occasionally staying at home would bring some unexpected surprises. That is, a heavier animal would fall directly into the ground, and even fall directly into the house. Of course, if what fell was a fierce beast, that would be a bit scary.
This man was actually quite fortunate. If it weren't for this child, he wouldn't have had this slight chance of survival. After all, being pressed under the house, the fire had not yet so easily burned the tree roots. He still had a period of time to survive. If it weren't for this child, being on the surface, he would definitely have been burned to charcoal by the Divine Messenger's eyes.
The burly man looked at the raging flames around him and the wreckage that still vaguely resembled human forms. He couldn't help but put his hands on his chest, making a prayer gesture. Even if the gods would not cast their loving gaze upon humanity, the people living in this world still hoped that these souls who had left their flesh and blood could have an easier next life. In the eyes of these people living in the West, an easier next life, of course, meant being able to be reincarnated in the distant East.
Estée Lauder looked around. After ensuring that there were no more survivors, she prepared to follow this man and first go to the area where the others who had left earlier were. If possible, she would also help these people build a new home. But the latter was not very likely. This place had already been discovered by a Divine Messenger. Even if they were to build a new home, they would need to go to another location.
During this period when the Divine Messengers were about to become frequently active, the best choice for the people living here now was to follow Estée Lauder and first go to the gathering places of other human survivors. There would always be one or two areas that could accept these survivors in batches. Although in the process of this migration, they could also encounter danger at any time. But if they didn't migrate, the ending was already set. Those who wanted to live should understand what they should do next.
---
This was a lush mountain cave. At the entrance of the cave, someone was already waiting. After all, the crimson mecha had eliminated the Divine Messenger. In the eyes of the survivors, this was no less than a miracle. They didn't know if this miracle had anything to do with them, but at least they held onto the hope that the red mecha was on their side.
One of the women, upon seeing the child in the burly man's arms, quickly rushed up and took the child in her arms. At the same time, the surviving people had already begun to discuss whether to leave this place and go to the gathering places of other survivors. After all, there were also some who had never seen such a situation and still held a sliver of luck in their hearts. But in the end, most people still chose to leave this place. As for those who did not intend to leave, one can only say that good words cannot persuade a ghost who is determined to die.
The rescued boy looked at his mother, who was packing their things, and frowned. He took a step back. "I don't plan on leaving here."
The boy's words made the young mother's actions stop. She then looked at her child in some disbelief. She didn't understand why her child would make such a choice.
The boy lifted his head slightly, his pair of eyes looking at his mother. "I don't want to live a life on the run anymore."