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

Everyone paused, looking at them in surprise.

"Why?" Camille asked, frowning.

"For the past two weeks, we've been on the move, fighting, and losing everything." York's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly. "We don't know what lies behind that rift. Is it another, more dangerous, eerie space? Or a post-apocalyptic world collapsing like our tribal world? Or even... another testing ground for the hunters?"

He paused, then pointed around: “It is indeed dangerous here, with those 'hunters' being quite cunning. But after half a month, we’ve figured out their habits, how to avoid them, and how to fight them. Although food and water are hard to find here, they are much more abundant than in our post-apocalyptic world. Giant trees can provide shelter from the wind and rain, and vines can be woven into a protective shelter… At least, this place looks like a complete 'world'.”

The tribal warriors and Xiaoya behind him nodded silently, their eyes revealing a longing for a stable habitat. For them, struggling to survive in a resource-scarce and harsh post-apocalyptic world, this jungle, though dangerous, was at least full of life and possibilities, far "safer" than blindly jumping into an unknown spatial rift.

“We’re tired, Captain Shen.” York looked at Shen Ge with a complicated expression. “We’ve lost our homes, we’ve lost our families. We just want to… find a place to survive. Even if it’s next to a monster’s lair. At least, we’re starting to get used to this place.”

He bowed deeply: "Thank you for your protection and guidance all the way. Without you, we would have perished in the storm long ago. But for the road ahead... please allow us to choose to stay."

The clearing was silent. The only sounds were the crackling of the campfire and the eerie cries of unknown creatures coming from the depths of the distant jungle.

Shen Ge looked at York and the exhausted but resolute tribal survivors behind him, and remained silent for a moment. He understood their choice.

For those struggling to survive on the brink of doom, a relatively familiar environment that provides basic survival resources, even if fraught with danger, is far more attractive than a vague "exit." Their choice is based on survival instinct and fear of the unknown.

He neither forced nor tried to persuade.

"Everyone has their own ambitions." Shen Ge's voice was calm and composed. "Take care."

He turned to Cheng's mother, Camille, Shirley, Xiaoqi, and the few anti-demon warriors who chose to continue following him: "Those who are willing to come with me, pack your gear, we'll set off in ten minutes."

Cheng's mother silently stood up, walked to Shen Ge's side, her eyes resolute. Her two closest relatives, Uncle Cheng and Shen Ge, were at peace, but her daughter was still waiting for her to return in the "reality."

Camille, Sherry, and the others quickly packed their belongings, and the anti-deception warriors stood behind Shen Ge without hesitation.

York and the remaining tribe members silently made way, their eyes filled with blessings and a complex mix of emotions.

Xiaoya looked at Sally in Shirley's arms, her lips moved, but in the end she just waved her hand gently.

The two teams parted ways in the dimly lit primeval jungle.

One team chooses to embrace familiar risks, attempting to take root in this vast green labyrinth.

One branch resolutely heads towards the unknown rift, solely to pursue that faint glimmer of hope for its return.

Shen Ge led the remaining people without hesitation into the deeper, more secluded jungle passage, which resembled the throat of a giant beast, and resolutely walked towards the source of the strange energy and spatial fluctuations indicated by Xiao Qi.

Just hours after they left, near the camp York and his group had just chosen, deep in the shadows of giant ferns, several pairs of cold, greedy, vertical pupils, far larger than the "hunter's," silently opened and locked onto the group of new "settlers."

The fishy, ​​sweet smell in the air had somehow become thick and bloody.

Shen Ge led his team swiftly and cautiously through the increasingly dark and deep jungle passages. Xiao Qi's blood spider led the way, its crimson light appearing and disappearing among the dense branches and twisted vines, continuously feeding back complex terrain information.

The air seemed to freeze, and the lingering, sweet-smelling odor became heavy and pungent, almost overpowering the damp, humus-like scent of the jungle itself.

Each step on the thick layer of fallen leaves produced a chilling "rustling" sound, as if reminding the predators lurking in the darkness.

"Master, the source of the strange energy fluctuations is still eight kilometers away from us. But... something is amiss." Xiao Qi's icy voice broke the silence, carrying a hint of barely perceptible gravity. "The energy readings are rising rapidly, the spatial distortion index is soaring, and the rift... seems to be in an extremely unstable and active state!"

Shen Ge paused, and his eerie eyes instantly pierced through layers of obstacles, pointing towards the northeast.

In his field of vision, the "space" in that area was exhibiting an unsettling, violently undulating distortion, like ripples on water, and he could even see tiny cracks flashing through the void, flickering with ominous purplish-black arcs of electricity.

"Unstable? Is it about to open or about to collapse?" Camille gripped her short blade tightly, her nerves on edge. Having followed Shen Ge for so long, she had gained some understanding of the stability of spatial rifts.

"It's impossible to determine precisely. But this fluctuation... seems more like some powerful entity trying to forcibly tear open or... squeeze this crack! The energy characteristics... are completely different from 'The Hunter,' much more... violent and... profound!" Xiao Qi quickly analyzed the data stream and came to a startling conclusion.

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts sank.

Instability means huge risks, but it is currently the only way to leave.

After a moment's thought, Shen Ge said in a deep voice, "Speed ​​up. We must get there before it completely goes out of control. Xiao Qi, continue scanning and watch out for any abnormal energy entities approaching."

The team's speed suddenly increased, and everyone did their best to keep up with Shen Ge's pace.

Camille was half-supporting Cheng's mother. Her face was pale and her breathing was rapid, but her eyes were unusually firm as she stared intently ahead.

Shirley held Sally tightly, gritting her teeth and persevering, while her younger sister remained unconscious in her arms.

Shen Ge and Xiao Qi stood at the front and back of the line, respectively, to prevent any hidden monsters from launching a surprise attack. The other anti-monster warriors stood on both sides of the line, mainly to protect Cheng's mother and the researchers.

As the distance decreased, the pressure of the strange energy in the air increased, squeezing everyone's chest cavity like a viscous liquid.

The fishy, ​​sweet smell was so intense it was almost suffocating, as if one were inside the digestive cavity of some giant beast.

The surrounding vegetation also began to change. The bark of the giant tree turned a sickly dark purple, the edges of the huge fern leaves curled and charred, and more and more eerie mosses and fungi emitting a faint purple light grew on the thick humus on the ground.

"Three kilometers to go." Xiao Qi's voice was accompanied by a high-frequency buzzing sound, clearly indicating that the ghost energy detection was being severely interfered with.

at this time!

Boom——! ! !
A muffled roar, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, suddenly exploded, causing the entire jungle to tremble violently. Countless enormous, withered branches and leaves rained down from the sky. The northeastern sky was illuminated by a sudden burst of blinding, purplish-black light. This light did not originate from the sky, but from the ground—a massive, irregular "wrench" with wildly twisted edges crackling with destructive arcs of electricity, tearing space apart.

Within the breach, there was no longer chaotic turbulence, but rather a thick, ink-like darkness that rolled and churned, from which an indescribable, terrifying suction force, seemingly emanating from the depths of the universe, erupted.

The surrounding giant trees were uprooted by an invisible force, making a teeth-grinding cracking sound. Along with huge rocks and soil, they were frantically swept towards the purplish-black breach as if swallowed by an invisible giant maw.

The good news is that it's not some enormous being tearing space apart, which means Shen Ge doesn't have to fight the Ghost King right after recovering a little bit of his ghostly energy.
The bad news is that the space is about to collapse, but this collapse is more violent than the previous ones Shen Ge has encountered since entering this multi-dimensional strange space. It is obviously not just this strange space. Judging from the scale of the tremor, it seems that the entire multi-dimensional strange space is about to collapse!
"The spatial rift... was burst open, not torn apart, more like... an energy overload?" Xiao Qi said.

At this moment, the red mist armor it was wearing instantly expanded, and dozens of blood-rotting tentacles shot out wildly, like anchor chains, firmly nailing into the thickest tree roots and rock layers around it, fixing the entire team firmly to the ground.

"Hold on tight!" Shen Ge shouted, unleashing his unorthodox power without reservation.

The invisible barrier formed by the strange domain instantly unfolded layer upon layer in front of the group, attempting to resist the terrifying suction force and the energy turbulence caused by the spatial tearing.

However, the power released by that breach far exceeded expectations!

click-

Click!

The invisible barrier constructed by Shen Ge shattered layer by layer like fragile glass. Keep in mind that this barrier was created by seventh-order strange energy, yet it was so vulnerable. This shows how terrifying the power of the spatial turbulence is!
As the invisible barrier shattered, a terrifying suction force acted directly on everyone. Several weaker anti-ghost warriors were instantly pulled off the ground, screaming as they flew toward the churning darkness of the breach.

"No! Royce!" Camille's eyes widened in horror as he reached out to grab him, but the violent suction pulled him away, leaving him barely able to protect himself.

Xiaoqi's rotting tentacles also creaked under the strain, and the parts deeply embedded in the rock began to crack.

Fortunately, Shen Ge reacted quickly enough, releasing his Immovable Ghost Domain at full power to slow down the surrounding speed, buying him time to use his Corrupted Blood to pull back the few flying ghost warriors.

At this critical moment, something suddenly emerged from the depths of the inky black breach—

It wasn't a physical entity; it was more like a gigantic, indescribable "mouth" formed purely from "darkness" and "fragments of space"!
It is composed of countless layers of broken spatial faults, with flashing, leaping, purplish-black arcs of destructive electricity at its edges, and an absolute nothingness inside that devours all light.

The terrifying "abyssal maw" suddenly opened, aimed at the few anti-monster warriors who were being pulled into the air by the suction force. There was no sound, only a terrifying tremor on the soul level!
Just as this "materialized" black hole vortex swallowed the "frozen" anti-demon warriors, it also touched the range of Shen Ge's immovable anti-demon domain.

The black hole vortex slowed down due to the influence of the Immovable Ghost Domain, but Shen Ge's ghost energy was dropping rapidly.

"This can't go on!" Shen Ge knew that his own power was absolutely insufficient to withstand the spatial turbulence caused by this level of world collapse.

He now faces only two possible outcomes—

Either be torn apart by the spatial turbulence, or shatter this black hole vortex!

"Little Seven!"

"Inject the crimson mist energy into me to the maximum extent possible!"

As soon as Shen Ge finished speaking, Xiao Qi manipulated the Red Mist Armor to extend countless needle-like rays that pierced into Shen Ge's body. Since Shen Ge was in a fully attached state to the Red Mist Armor, it was as if the entire armor was "fused" with his body, and he began to frantically inject Red Mist energy.

The intense pain felt like it was tearing Shen Ge apart, but he couldn't care less. He focused on fusing his own strange energy with the strange energy of the red mist.

then,

"Eat this... a giant meteorite dumpling!"

Shen Ge was in so much pain that his expression became contorted and ferocious. He gritted his teeth and spoke, and the next second, the combined strange energy burst forth—

A peculiar characteristic, unfortunately!

At a higher position in the distorted spatial rift, a dark and narrow crack suddenly appeared in the sky. As this "crack" grew longer and larger, a huge meteorite burning with flames "squeezed" out from it and crashed down into the black hole vortex!

In an instant, the two violent and strange energies collided in the sky, and the entire "sky" was visibly pulled and torn apart.

The black hole vortex frantically absorbed the strange energy, and the degree of distortion increased, causing the sky-covering meteorites to crack under the pull.

Click, click!
The sky and the meteorite simultaneously emitted a cracking sound, which echoed like thunder overhead!
Meanwhile, at the temporary camp where York and the others were located.

The massive tremor also reached this place. The people in the camp looked up in horror at the purplish-black light illuminating the sky to the northeast, and at the faint, muffled rumble that sounded like the earth cracking open.

"What...what is that?" Xiaoya's face turned pale, and she gripped York's arm tightly.

York frowned, looking in that direction, his eyes filled with surprise and deep unease: "I don't know... but it feels... very bad."

As soon as he finished speaking, a tribal warrior on guard at the edge of the camp suddenly let out a short scream, and then the sound stopped abruptly.

"Amu?" York turned around abruptly.

Outside the camp, in the shadow of the giant ferns they had previously considered relatively safe, several enormous heads covered in dark, bony carapaces silently emerged!
Each head was as large as a water vat, resembling a centipede's head magnified countless times, but even more ferocious. Huge, scythe-like, crossed, pitch-black mouthparts opened and closed, dripping corrosive slime.

It has no eyes, only a few pairs of constantly trembling black tentacles that sense the air. Below its head are several pairs of thick, pillar-like legs, also covered with heavy bony armor, that pierce deep into the ground.

An even more terrifying "hunter" than before! (End of Chapter)