Chapter 118: Continuing to Breathe

To avoid the thick smoke and tear gas, everyone gathered to one side, trying to stay away from the door as much as possible, more concentrated than before. Although everyone was minding their own business, because they weren’t far from each other and Li Yan and his group weren’t lowering their voices on purpose, the things that moved these young people naturally wouldn’t concern others. But one sentence caught the attention of the people listening nearby!

’Though it’s unsafe outside, staying here doesn’t guarantee nothing will happen. If there’s another bomb, it would be troublesome...’

The first bomb, they didn’t know where it exploded, but it was at least at a distance from here, so everyone was relatively calm. But the second bomb already felt like it was in the adjacent lounge. Judging from the thick smoke and security officers in front, the outer wall likely blew open!

And the third bomb came from outside as well. If a bomb came to the direction outside this conference hall, the crowd separated by just a wall would be in grave danger!

Li Yan’s words reminded those who heard him. They all didn’t want to stand under a potentially collapsing wall. Seeing Li Yan deliberately coming over to lead them out, showing they could at least come up from below or come in from outside, indicated there was no immediate danger to life! The robbers might have just blown open the wall nearby, and the smoke grenades were merely to confuse the view. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Thinking of this, these decisive and sharp-witted elites quickly made decisions. They whispered to their companions right away, then took deep breaths, covered their noses and faces, and began to move toward the door.

Yue Yao naturally followed Li Yan’s arrangements, but with Zhang Yurong present, she still wanted to see her decision. She hadn’t decided yet, but the people nearby had already made up their minds, making her feel Li Yan’s words made sense.

"What about you?" She blinked a few times, holding back the mist in her eyes, looking at Li Yan’s reddened eyes. If he kept rushing ahead, it might be even more uncomfortable.

"I’m fine. I just came over, so I’m familiar with the way. Don’t worry, I’ll also close my eyes. If you follow me, everyone will be alright! Let’s go!"

Li Yan saw that others were already moving and took the opportunity to leave. But too many people going together could cause blockages like earlier, and any problem could lead to crowding, pushing, and trampling, which would be bad.

After he finished speaking, he had already turned and walked toward the door, and Yurong quickly pulled Yue Yao to follow.

As they approached the door, both of them covered their mouths and noses with one hand, then closed their eyes. At this time, the door in front had already opened, and the people at the front had left. Li Yan waited for them, then held each of their hands and led them into the hallway in front.

When a shepherd wants the sheep to leave, they don’t need to herd all the sheep at once. They just need to move one or a few sheep, and the other sheep will follow. This is the so-called leading sheep effect or herd behavior. This herd psychology is very common not only among sheep but also among humans.

Seeing some people leaving, the other guests inside, even if they didn’t hear Li Yan’s words, could make some connections. With someone leading, they couldn’t hold back anymore, and the herd effect started to appear. The ones leaving later feared being left alone, so in such danger, following the crowd brought more safety, and hence they all squeezed toward the door.

Holding one of them on each side, Li Yan held his breath, closed his eyes, and relied on the memory of what he had observed earlier to move towards the stairway. He believed others were heading towards the elevator, which might not be safe at this time.

After just a few steps out, Li Yan felt the difficulty. Strictly advancing like this posed no problem for him alone. But bringing the two of them along made a bigger target in the corridor, making it easier to bump into people or things. So, after pondering for a moment, he pulled tightly, stopped momentarily, and when they stepped closer, he embraced them on either side and continued forward together.

This action wasn’t pre-communicated, so Yue Yao and Yurong felt a bit panicked, Yurong feared being seen, and Yue Yao feared Yurong knowing. But soon, they both calmed down because being embraced by Li Yan was different from just holding hands; it wasn’t the helpless stumbling from before but rather relying directly on his support, turning the previous chaos into a steadfast unity!

Having accepted this mentally, accompanied by the current state, they held their breath even though it was still quite uncomfortable, making it nearly impossible to speak in refusal. Thus, the three of them moved together as one, stepping forward in unison. Being held by Li Yan, they only needed to follow his steps forward.

The corridor was still filled with thick smoke and tear gas, although it had faded somewhat, it remained significantly threatening to people. Li Yan alternated between keeping his eyes closed and squinting slightly. He could sense that it was bustling ahead and behind, with people passing by them from the side and some being overtaken by them.