Chapter 57

Since Sykes also lost contact within the realm, few were willing to enter the ever-expanding blood-colored territory. It was widely believed that the realm’s danger level was no longer merely A+. At minimum, it had reached S+.

The overwhelmed imperial family continued dispatching forces while offering astronomical bounties to encourage powerful civilians to enter. Pei Xi did not need such rewards. He told the lower district city lord that tournament rules were sufficient. He volunteered to lead a team inside.

City Lord Chen Xue looked at him with the gaze one reserved for comforting a naïve child and advised him not to act impulsively. Yet upon discovering the boy’s unwavering determination, she promised him that if his team truly destroyed the realm, they would receive an impressive number of tournament points.

As Pei Xi approached the blood-colored curtain once more, his heart tightened. The situation was far worse than he had imagined.

Compared to the last time he came, the blood-red Aberrant Realm was like an incomparably greedy giant mouth that had swallowed yet another vast stretch of land. Its occupied area was so enormous that no end was in sight. If no one could truly stop it, perhaps the entire empire would be devoured by it.

Just like the super-S-class Aberrant Realm five hundred years ago. Legend said it had occupied half the empire until the God of Hope appeared out of nowhere and ended the catastrophe.

The black-haired, blue-eyed youth clenched his fists. At this moment, an indescribable feeling of guilt surged in his heart. He was not doing this only for points, but also for a mission that, for now, could not be revealed.

Pei Xi had a premonition. In this operation, he would no longer be able to hide his second aberrant ability.

He silently stopped in front of the red light curtain, took a deep breath, turned his head, and reminded his teammates, "Everyone must stay close to each other and remain vigilant."

The young teammates nodded. Their firm conviction and trust in their friends outweighed their fear of the unknown.

Roy patted the large bag on Kyle's back beside him, his tone as always proud and awkwardly tsundere. "Especially you, Kyle. You're carrying our rations. And Lu Qi, don't drop all those weird things you're carrying..."

Lu Qi gripped the straps of her backpack with both hands. "These aren't weird things at all. They look really useful."

Though she did not know exactly how they would be useful, Zhao Mei looked smart. Anything he recommended was definitely useful.

Pei Xi could not help but laugh. Roy and Lu Qi always liked to bicker. Everyone was used to it. The noisy sound of their quarreling lightened the heavy, tense atmosphere a little.

He turned to look at Zhao Mei. Among his teammates, the one he worried about most was actually him. Zhao Mei always liked to walk at the very back of the group, like a traceless breeze that could vanish at any moment.

The black-haired, green-eyed youth noticed his teammate's gaze, tilted his head, and suddenly suggested, "All the food is being carried by Kyle? I think everyone should carry some on themselves."

Ye Zheng kindly explained in her mind that in such a complicated environment, it was extremely easy to get separated from the team. They had better keep some food on themselves. Otherwise, if they got separated, they would have to gnaw on red mushrooms.

Pei Xi thought for a moment and nodded. "Zhao Mei is right. Everyone take some food and put it in your own bags."

Kyle was the strongest and most robust in their team, so Pei Xi had entrusted the miscellaneous items to him. The tall, sturdy boy took off his backpack and divided some of the food into his teammates' bags.

Before Zhao Mei had sent them messages with suggestions, Pei Xi had already made arrangements. He was always the most meticulous person in the team. Of course he had considered food and water. After all, this Aberrant Realm was different from the previous ones. They might be trapped inside for quite some time.

He was very grateful for Zhao Mei's suggestions. However, as captain, he also had to make choices. Some of the things Zhao Mei listed puzzled him. Would those things really be useful? Carrying too many miscellaneous items would only slow the team down.

With that in mind, Pei Xi looked toward Lu Qi again. He felt bad that a girl had to carry so much. He spoke up. "Lu Qi, how about you give some of it to me to carry?"

Before Lu Qi could answer, a slightly hoarse voice answered for her, the tone carrying a helpless laugh. "I think with Lu Qi's strength, we don't need to worry about her. I'm still recovering from when she crashed into me."

The high-ponytail girl jumped up and bumped the youth again, causing the black-haired, green-eyed boy to stagger once more. Only then did she reply to Pei Xi. "No need! It's not heavy at all!"

"Alright, then let's go in."

Pei Xi turned to face the piercingly red light curtain and stepped first into this Aberrant Realm that had plunged the entire empire into fear.

Suddenly everything went pitch black before his eyes. When Pei Xi opened them again, he was so shocked by the scene in front of him that he was momentarily speechless.

Pei Xi instinctively took a few steps forward and nearly tripped over the slippery moss under his feet. He suddenly remembered his teammates and turned to warn them. "Watch your feet..."

His voice stopped. He looked around. There were no familiar figures, only the high and low symphony of birdsong and insect chirps.

Pei Xi gave a wry smile. He could only be glad that he had listened to Zhao Mei just now and distributed some food to everyone.

The place looked rich in natural resources, but he had an ominous feeling. To the native species of this Aberrant Realm, he was the natural gift meant to be consumed. The youth cautiously moved with agile steps. He needed to find everyone quickly.

✧✧✧✧✧

When Ye Zheng raised her head and opened her eyes, fresh green light and speckled sunlight filtering through the canopy reflected in a pair of green eyes. She blinked, as if stirring a pool of green water into fragments.

Towering giant trees blocked out the sky. Humans seemed trapped in an endless green cage. Ye Zheng looked around. The overly lush vegetation made her presence seem especially frail and insignificant, no different from the red ladybug at her feet.

"They're all gone."

Ye Zheng was a little surprised. She had heard that some Aberrant Realms had spatial-temporal distortions, but this was her first time encountering one.

Before even facing a monster, she already understood why so many people had entered this place and never returned. The unfathomable power of nature alone was enough to inspire fear.

"System, any suggestions for a direction?"

The youth slowly moved her feet, walking aimlessly. She took out her phone and tried to send a message. As expected, it failed.

『No problem. According to the plot, you just need to keep walking around. You'll encounter danger, and then Pei Xi and Roy, who will have already reunited, will save you.』

"So right now I just need to wander casually and wait for the plot to trigger?"

『You might also run into other things. After all, the plot doesn't describe what happens to you before you meet Pei Xi and the others.』

Ye Zheng curiously observed the surrounding trees, flowers, grass, and small animals. In the lower district, factories stood everywhere, and the air always carried an unpleasant smell. The air here was extremely fresh, with a beauty untouched by human pollution.

At the same time, this place was extremely hostile to human survival. The excessive number of mosquitoes in the forest made Ye Zheng silently pull out arm sleeves and a hat with a net veil from her bag. She armed herself fully, barely avoiding the insects' harassment.

"I remember that in the original plot, I was still wearing that white dress."

Ye Zheng tried to imagine herself wandering here in a pure white dress. The corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily. Beneath the black net veil, her face revealed an indescribable expression.

『The author completely ignored clothing suitability. Pei Xi is still wearing short sleeves. I don't know if he listened to your advice and brought a hat, sleeves, insect repellent spray, and so on...』

Ye Zheng felt that, aside from Lu Qi with her bulging backpack, the other three probably were not in great shape. However, with the protagonist's halo, they would at most suffer some minor injuries. They would not face serious harm because of these small details.

But ordinary people without the halo could very well lose their lives because of such details.

"These mosquitoes might carry some unknown virus. Just them alone could pose a fatal threat to anyone who enters."

Her expression grew more solemn. This place was even more dangerous than she had expected. The black-haired, green-eyed youth's gaze landed on a corner. Her eyes darkened slightly. She suddenly crouched down and picked up a piece of red cloth from the ground with her fingers.

"This fabric material belongs to the Royal Knights."

It did not look very old. Judging by the timing, it probably belonged to the royal knights who had entered the Aberrant Realm with Sykes. What kind of situation would leave only this scrap of cloth behind?

Perhaps it was accidentally torn by a branch. Or perhaps it was the leftover corner that some creature did not like to eat after swallowing the rest in one bite.

The soil under her feet was extremely damp. The youth gently pressed her fingers into the earth and closed her eyes.

Having admired the scenery enough, Ye Zheng was already tired of aimless action. She wanted to give herself a destination.

Abundant water sources flowed on and beneath the ground. 【Stream】 silently merged into them, as insignificant as a small fish leaping into the river. However, not long after, the "river" even changed its course, flowing through the damp earth according to the little fish's will, like swift white lightning.

The stench of rotting corpses, tidal signals, the fishy odor of large animals... Suddenly, through the water flow, Ye Zheng sensed an extremely powerful energy fluctuation. The youth kept her eyes closed, her brows furrowed. Sykes? No, with such a vast area of energy...

Ye Zheng stood up. The steps she took crunched the fallen leaves on the ground. Her ears, covered along with the net veil, sensitively twitched. She heard other out-of-place, scattered sounds of crushed leaves. An invisible sense of oppression followed closely.

"Divine Domain, deploy."

The person behind her spoke coldly. White specks of light drifted down, melting rapidly on the ground like snowflakes. Upon hearing the voice, a trace of astonishment flashed across the black-haired, green-eyed youth's face, followed by a helpless smile.

"There is no danger nearby for now. Do not waste your power."

Ye Zheng turned around, removed the black hat with its net veil, and revealed a fair, delicate face.

As if remembering something, she could not help but laugh once, then put the hat back on. Bai Muqing was blind from birth. She did not recognize people by sight.

Sure enough, even after Ye Zheng turned and showed her face, Bai Muqing's expression remained unchanged. Only after hearing Ye Zheng's words did she slightly press her lips together.

"Ye Zheng, you..."

The black-haired, green-eyed youth put a finger to her lips and shook her head vigorously.

"Alright, Ye Zhao, you..."

"My name is Zhao Mei."

Ye Zheng said helplessly, glad that the members of the Cloud Soarers were not here.

"The Cloud Soarers came in for competition points."

Ye Zheng knew what Bai Muqing wanted to ask. After answering her doubt, she curiously asked in return, "How did you end up here? Did that guy Yinkong trick you into coming?"

Bai Muqing shook her head gloomily. Ye Zheng noticed that her vacant white pupils seemed to drift toward a certain spot.

Ye Zheng looked down. It seemed she was looking at her feet... at that piece of red cloth.

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Authors Note

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For the next few days I'll be wrestling with the teaching qualification exam that I haven't studied for at all, so updates will be fewer...