Wisps of clouds drifted by, obscuring most of the already dim moonlight, leaving the world in a state of gloom.

"Caw— Caw—"

The flock of Thorn Birds arriving under the cover of night, fully revealed the cunning of these mutant creatures.

After realizing that the humans encroaching on its territory possessed long-range attack capabilities, the new Thorn Bird King, having inherited the unfortunate position of the previous leader, did not attack rashly at night. Instead, it patiently waited until darkness fully descended before leading hundreds of Thorn Birds riding the wind.

It circled over Dapo Town, its gaze sweeping over the Red Zone and Blue Zone, ultimately deciding to forego harassing the Red Zone.

Firstly, the former leader had died in the Red Zone, indicating a greater threat here compared to the other side.

Secondly, there was no suitable place in the Red Zone to set up mobile units; everyone’s energies on the first day were spent on surrounding land clearing and foundation organizing. By night, everyone was still cramped in the granary to rest.

The granary space was narrow, but the heavy bluestone walls were solid, and the Thorn Birds’ bone spikes couldn’t pierce through.

In contrast, the parking lot behind the supermarket in the Blue Zone, with the three freshly assembled mobile units, appeared particularly "fragile," becoming the Thorn Birds’ primary target.

"Quick, into the units! Everyone, don’t linger, hurry into the rooms to hide!"

"Find your spots according to the bed arrangements sorted at dusk, don’t push, don’t jostle!"

Lin Xiaoshan shouted among the crowd, but the camp was only established a day ago, so how could stringent order form immediately?

The crowd could only move toward the mobile units in a barely orderly manner, far from following orders strictly.

Fortunately, the Thorn Birds didn’t launch an attack immediately; they were merely circling above Dapo Town, search for the most optimal attack point, seemingly also looking for those "tasty snacks" from the daytime.

Even after the last resident entered the mobile unit, several more minutes passed before the sharp "caw-caw" sounds were heard above.

The Thorn Bird swarm was finally making a move.

"Everyone, don’t panic! The prefabricated board above us is thick enough, and there are two layers of vines laid on top as a buffer, definitely blocking the bone spikes, I assure you all!"

Sun Dazheng stood up, pacing in the mobile unit, shouting to calm everyone.

To Wastelanders living in Stone Province, Thorn Bird attacks are actually not uncommon.

During spring and summer, these creatures are relatively docile, but come autumn nest-building season, their aggressiveness multiplies, fiercely driving away other creatures around their territory, only drawing back when winter arrives.

There are exceptions, though, such as families coming from the mines.

Thorn Birds eat minerals, and White Stone Shelter City naturally wouldn’t allow them to seize resources; once a Thorn Bird nest is found within dozens or even hundreds of kilometers around, it will be completely overturned by patrol teams the next day.

White Stone Shelter City even raises the Thorn Birds’ natural enemies, a type of large bird called Birch Bird, specifically to drive away surrounding Thorn Birds.

The panic among mining families is visibly evident as they haven’t often experienced threats from Thorn Birds.

Sun Dazheng clearly understands this and timely assumes the responsibility of calming everyone down.

And what he said was indeed correct.

After circling twice in the high air, the Thorn Birds finally unleashed the first probing bone spike attack.

Above, a crackling sound burst forth like a hailstorm, yet no bone spike penetrated the vine buffer, leaving only traces on the prefabricated board.

Only a few oblique spike shots struck the side walls of the unit, causing muted "thud-thud" sounds, ultimately leaving merely shallow dents, amounting to no real threat.

Witnessing this, the crowd within the units instantly calmed down.

Soon after, several gunshots were heard outside, failing to directly drive away the Thorn Bird swarm but successfully attracting all their attention.

The Thorn Birds circling above the parking lot promptly dispersed, with their "caw-caw" calls gradually fading towards the side of the town.

In an instant, the tense atmosphere within the unit completely relaxed.

One after another, weary faces finally showed fatigue, both from the exhaustion of daytime work, mixed with a sense of relief from a narrow escape.

Survival in the Wasteland is no easy feat.

Running out to cultivate wasteland proves even more challenging.

Small gatherings planted in the wild mostly rely on special geographical advantages to establish.

The Tumo Gathering Place where Sun Dazheng previously stayed was built based on two small hills.

There are passages left from the old times within the hills, serving both as temporary shelters and for storing supplies. A wall built surrounding the hills provides a relatively stable life.

But charging into an old era town for land development, like what is happening now, with no geographical advantage for defense, is a first for everyone.

As the saying goes, ignorance is fearless.

The checkpoint actually made careful considerations during the selection and assessment of personnel.

If selecting refugees with strong survival skills and willpower, this group would indeed be more resilient but has an unavoidable issue that their willingness to resist doesn’t necessarily increase with ability, and might even decrease.

When facing imminent danger, if the Inspector mishandles the situation, this group might scatter or flee on the spot.

After all, refugees bear little psychological burden, for them, starting anew in Happiness City or elsewhere makes no difference; survival is key.

This is a very realistic issue.

Ability and loyalty might coexist in an individual but rarely appear simultaneously in a group of refugees.

Unless heavy rewards are promised by the checkpoint, but that would stray from the initial purpose of this assessment.

Therefore, after careful consideration, the checkpoint chose those who would trust the Inspector at critical moments.