The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"Captain Shen!"

When Shen Ge and his companions were about to leave, Chief Lao Shi and his companions caught up with them, panting and saying to him, "The journey to Black Mountain is long and dangerous. I think you should leave the wounded and the ladies in the tribe to rest, and take them away when you return."

Regardless of whether Chief Lao Shi had good intentions or ulterior motives, anyone who has read wasteland apocalyptic novels should know that in this environment, "morality" is no longer a basic quality possessed by humans, and no one in a tribe can be fully trusted, let alone when they have only known each other for a few hours.

As for accepting Shen Ge's food out of good intentions to "repay a favor", anyone who believed this would not survive more than a week in the wasteland apocalypse.

"Thank you, but it's not necessary. They have gotten used to following the convoy along the way. Besides, we may not return along the same route after we find Montenegro." Shen Ge only said that he would try his best to help them find the abducted people. He did not promise to guarantee that they would be found, nor did he promise to act as a nanny and send them back after they were found.

Patriarch Lao Shi wanted to use "moral blackmail" to trap Shen Ge, but Shen Ge had never been aware of being a good person and refused to accept the offer at all.

After several attempts, Chief Lao Shi found that Shen Ge was very determined, so he did not insist any more. Instead, he proposed that York go with the team and guide the team to the Black Mountain.

Shen Ge did not refuse this. First, the wasteland was endless. Even if the blood spiders were sent to explore the route, it would be difficult to find Black Mountain in a short time.

Secondly, even if Chief Lao Shi is still planning something, let alone their tribe, even if the weird organization is directly brought out, Shen Ge will not be afraid.

After a short rest, everyone set off again.

After driving for nearly two hours, there was still endless wasteland and not even a mountain could be seen.

The wild wind in the wilderness blew up sand and gravel, which whipped the cold iron sheet of the military jeep, making a tiny and continuous whimper.

York sat in the back seat of the lead car, his body tense as a piece of dried wood, his rough fingers tightly grasping the rusty door armrest, his knuckles white from the force.

Passing by the window was the familiar and terrifying wasteland scene, but now sitting in these roaring iron beasts, passing through the "evil land" that he once regarded as a dead place, everything seemed so unreal. He tried to identify the direction and pointed out the traces of the old road half covered by wind and sand in a hoarse voice.

"Go... a little to the left... yes, go around that... 'Pile of Weeping Bones'. That's the lair of the 'Stone Claw Scorpion'. In the past, tribes had to take a long detour when migrating... It's very dangerous." York's voice was intermittent amid the roar of the engine, and he guided the lead vehicle with the memory of many years of migration.

Camille looked in the direction he directed and her pupils shrank suddenly.

It was a huge depression, filled not with rocks or sand, but with mountains of white skeletons of various creatures.

Some were as small as wild dogs, some were as big as trucks. The bones were piled up layer upon layer, and it was unknown how many years they had been accumulated. They glowed palely in the gray-yellow sunlight.

The wind passed through the cracks in the bones, making sharp and mournful whimpers, which is the origin of the name "Crying Bone Pile". What's even more frightening is that just at the edge of the convoy, several scorpion-shaped creatures covered with gray-black rock-like shells and with huge claw tails were using their slender limbs to search for something in the bone pile. When they heard the engine sound, they raised their ferocious heads vigilantly, and their compound eyes flashed with cold light.

"The Stoneclaw Scorpions will drag their prey back to their nests and suck out their marrow. Even creatures that are several times larger than them can be easily killed. Once you're targeted by them while walking in the wilderness, there's no way to escape..." York's voice was filled with uncontrollable fear.

"As long as they don't come to bother us." Shen Ge's voice was calm, and he didn't even look at those strange scorpion-shaped creatures.

As long as Shen Ge was willing, he wouldn't even have to stop the car. With just a thought, he could spread out the strange domain and easily kill the stone-clawed scorpion.

As soon as Shen Ge finished speaking, perhaps sensing the strange energy fluctuations in the car, the stone-clawed scorpions hurriedly drilled back into the depths of the bone pile and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

York stared at the scene in amazement, making meaningless mutters in his throat, and looked at Shen Ge's back with eyes full of awe and deeper confusion.

The journey ahead is like traveling through a doomsday atlas.

They passed through an area called "Swamp". The ground was no longer dry sand, but covered with a layer of sticky, dark green mud that emitted a strong fishy smell.

Huge bubbles were rolling in the mud, releasing lavender poisonous mist when they burst. Countless twisted plants like rotten vines or tentacles stretched out from the mud, moving without wind, with corrosive mucus dripping from their cracked mouthparts at the top.

Deep in the swamp, huge skeletons covered with mucus and moss can be vaguely seen floating up and down.

"Those are 'rotten vines'. Their roots can entangle anything that passes by and drag it down into the poisonous fog... If you breathe it in... your lungs will rot..." York's voice was trembling.

If it was another convoy, they would have to take a detour from a distance.

But Shen Ge only needs to prevent the strange domain from being deployed, use an invisible barrier to isolate them from the outside world, and then combine it with the "Traceless Strange Domain" for shielding, so they will not be affected by the "Swamp".

Camille looked at the death swamp through the car window and his face turned pale.

She had also experienced strange disasters in "reality", but such a direct and large-scale natural environment was twisted into a pure death trap by strange energy, which still made her feel strong physical discomfort and a tremor from the soul. This was no longer a simple monster attack, but the decay and alienation of the entire world.

They also saw a wreckage on the horizon in the distance, like a huge metal tombstone, sticking diagonally into the ground. The shape of the wreckage vaguely showed that it was part of some super-large aircraft, but the surface was covered with a thick, pulsating dark red moss-like substance. Countless thick, blood vessel-like tubes extended from the broken parts of the wreckage and penetrated deeply into the ground, as if absorbing nutrients from the earth. A low roar like a beating heart could be faintly heard coming from the inside of the wreckage.

"That... that's the 'iron coffin'... something that fell when the gods were angry... there are living things in it that will capture people and never come out again..." York's voice was full of fear and an ancient sense of taboo, but this made Shen Ge even more interested in the "god".

Shen Ge opened his strange eyes and looked into the distance. Through the thick black fog of strange energy, he could clearly see that the interior of the wreckage was not a mechanical structure, but had been transformed into some kind of huge nest like a flesh and blood factory.

The dark red "moss" is active flesh and blood tissue covering the metal skeleton. The "blood vessels" are flowing with sticky liquid that emits a strange fluorescent light. Some strange creatures that look like giant maggots and are made of metal and flesh are wriggling and working in them.

"The weirdness here is really interesting. It actually 'developed' into a flesh and blood factory. No, this may be a monster that has merged with the factory." Shen Ge pondered.

This scene is very similar to some scenes in the underground laboratory of the Dawn Base.

What they saw along the way completely overturned Camille, Cheng Shu and others' imagination of "doomsday". There was no rebuilt Dawn base, no isolated island of civilization struggling to survive, only endless desolation, distortion and death. Every inch of land and every breath of air told of the complete collapse and despair of this world. They seemed to be driving on the edge of hell.

Two days later, a huge, rolling black mountain range finally appeared at the end of the horizon.

That is Black Mountain. The mountain is not black like natural rock, but a dead black color, as if it has been repeatedly burned by fire and soaked in thick blood.

The mountains were steep and rugged, with jagged rocks, like countless desperate claws pointing to the gray-yellow sky. The entire mountain range was shrouded in a thin but extremely sticky layer of dark purple strange energy mist, which flowed slowly like a living thing, exuding a palpitating sense of oppression.

What is even more eye-catching is that on the hillside of the main peak of Black Mountain, a huge space crack, like a scar tearing the sky, is clearly visible!

At the edge of the crack, there was rolling darkness as sticky as asphalt, and inside was a chaotic vortex that was spinning madly and swallowing up the light - that was exactly where York said that "the sky cracked" a few months ago!

Below the crack, near the foot of the mountain, a huge, brightly lit area clung to the black mountain like a festering sore.

The towering walls, built of rough metal and rock, were covered with sentry towers and searchlights. Inside the walls, the huge mine entrance was vaguely visible, like the greedy mouth of a giant beast. The roar of machinery, the faint sound of whipping and scolding, and some kind of low, strange humming sound that sounded like the painful groans of countless people could be heard faintly even from a long distance.

"That's the Hunter's mine. They... are right there! Xiaoya... and others..." York's voice was filled with deep hatred and a hint of fear.

Although York's reaction was very "real", Shen Ge always felt that something was wrong.

At this moment, when I was still thinking about the details of what had happened since I met the tribe, I suddenly felt an unusual fluctuation of strange energy.

"Master." Xiao Qi's reminder voice also sounded at the same time.

"Stop the car!" His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.

Uncle Cheng subconsciously stepped on the brakes, and the entire convoy stopped, leaving a long trail on the charred wasteland.

"Captain Shen?" Uncle Cheng looked at Shen Ge puzzledly.

Shen Ge did not answer immediately. He pushed open the car door and stood outside. His eyes were like two sharp swords, piercing through the thin dark purple mist and fixed on the brightly lit mine and deeper inside... the huge space crack that exuded an ominous aura.

The perception of the strange energy spread silently like water waves, raising his perception of the strange energy fluctuations to the extreme. After a moment, Shen Ge slowly withdrew his gaze, and a layer of frost covered his face.

"What's wrong?" Camille also got out of the car and walked to Shen Ge. She could feel the unprecedented solemnity emanating from Shen Ge.

"A very strong fluctuation of paranormal energy. The source... is deep in the mine, or... closer to the space crack. The intensity is at least above the seventh level!" Shen Ge's voice was a little solemn. He had just killed two seventh-level paranormal kings, and now another one appeared?
Although it is a fragmented world, are there really seventh-level creatures everywhere and numerous ghost kings?

"Another seventh level?" Camille sucked in a breath of cold air, her face instantly turning pale. She had witnessed the horror of the seventh level ghost king with her own eyes. It was a world-destroying existence that was powerful enough to flatten a city and tear apart space.

Could it be that the group of “hunters” actually controlled, or… imprisoned a seventh-order ghost king?
how can that be!

Uncle Cheng and the others were all shocked when they heard this word. Having just experienced the battle between the two kings, they knew too well what the seventh level meant!

Shen Ge's eyes swept over Uncle Cheng, Mother Cheng, Sister Shirley, and the frightened researchers and anti-ghost warriors.

Taking them close to the source of the seventh-level strange energy fluctuations would be tantamount to suicide.

He had to make a decision.

"Uncle Cheng, you lead the convoy to retreat five kilometers and find a hidden rocky terrain. Relying on the vehicles and the terrain, build a temporary defense camp. Xiao Qi will leave the Blood Spider to assist in the defense and be responsible for the outer perimeter. Without my signal, no one is allowed to approach the Black Mountain Mine!"

"But, you..." Uncle Cheng instantly understood Shen Ge's intention, and his face was full of worry.

"I have to go in and take a look. I have to find out what that seventh-order paranormal energy fluctuation is. Maybe that crack... is the clue to the 'exit' we have been looking for!" Shen Ge said, his eyes once again looking at the space crack in the air.

Uncle Cheng knew very well that Shen Ge was determined to take Cheng's mother away. He didn't take the risk, and the others didn't have the strength to take the risk either. He could only nod heavily: "Okay! Be careful! We'll wait for you to come back! Madam, don't worry, I will protect you even if it means risking my old bones!"

"Captain Shen, I'll go with you." Camille said firmly.

As soon as she finished speaking, York responded.

"I'll go too. I have to find Xiaoya!"

Camille was not so righteous. On the contrary, she knew very well that in this doomsday environment, it was safest to stay with Shen Ge.

Even in the horrific battle between the two Ghost Kings, Shen Ge was able to protect her and Shirley in such an extreme environment.

And staying here may bring greater risks!

Shen Ge originally intended to bring York along even if he didn't say anything. First, he wasn't sure if York had any other intentions.
The second is to bring York with you. Here, we have the secondary armor and blood spider controlled by Xiaoqi for defense, which is enough to resist general weirdness.

As for Camille...

Shen Ge immediately understood the woman's little thoughts, but he did not refuse, because he also needed someone to "keep an eye on" York.

If York really came to rescue people, it would be safer to let Camille go with him to take the survivors out of Montenegro.

"Okay, let's go."

The figures of the three people quickly disappeared in the shadows of the charred rocks and twisted dead trees, and quietly sneaked into the flesh and blood mine that exuded an ominous aura and seventh-level strange energy fluctuations.

Unknown dangers and possible clues to "reality" are hidden behind the rolling darkness and chaos deep in the mine. (End of this chapter)