Two Worlds in the Apocalypse: Each journey through the modern world lasts 60 seconds.

Chapter 167 Mountains and Forests and Verification (Two-in-One)

In a mountain forest, Xu Mo leaned against a huge rock, panting.

In the open space before him and in the distance lay the corpses of hundreds of mutated creatures. The corpses lay scattered about, some still twitching slightly, others completely stiff.

Black blood trickled down the parched earth, seeping into the cracks of withered branches and leaves. The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood, mixed with the distinctive stench of wild beasts, so strong it was nauseating.

Xu Mo's clothes were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his body. His combat uniform had more than a dozen tears, some torn by claws and others by fangs. Underneath some of the tears, skin could be seen, with white marks left by the Iron Bone Realm's defenses. There were no broken skin, but bruises were inevitable.

This wasn't an accident; Xu Mo brought it upon himself.

The story begins in the morning. After leaving Linhe Town, Xu Mo had been preoccupied with one question: the crystal core.

The black panther saber-toothed beast he killed outside Mori Town had a crystal core in its head.

But what about the mutated creatures that were killed later? The mutated cheetahs at the agritainment farm weren't there, nor were the mutated creatures that helped clear out Linhe Town.

Why?

At first, Xu Mo thought it was a matter of probability; perhaps only a few mutated creatures would develop crystal nuclei, like winning the lottery, with a very low probability. The Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast was just lucky, which is why it had one in its head.

But as the number of kills increased, this hypothesis became increasingly untenable.

Since this conjecture is untenable, there is only one possibility: the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast is not a creature of this world at all.

Once the idea surfaced, it grew wildly in Xu Mo's mind like weeds, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. The creature's appearance was too strange; it resembled a saber-toothed tiger, but had short black fur and dark red stripes. Moreover, its combat power far surpassed that of other mutated creatures of the same level. It withstood five shots and 50 armor-piercing rounds, and even managed a near-death counterattack. Could any mutated beast in this world, capable of achieving such a feat? He needed to verify it!

So after leaving Linhe Town, Xu Mo took out the map and looked at it carefully.

There is a route that requires traversing a mountainous area. It's slightly shorter than the main road, and the map is marked with a warning of "frequent sightings of wild animals," a sign from before the apocalypse. Now, these "wild animals" have most likely turned into mutated beasts.

To others, this is a dangerous route. To Xu Mo, however, this is exactly what he wants.

So Xu Mo put away the map, turned the steering wheel, and entered the mountain road.

The first part of the journey went relatively smoothly; although the mountain road was rugged, it was barely drivable.

After driving for about an hour, Xu Mo encountered his first attack. It was three mutated wild dogs, a size larger than ordinary wild dogs, with mottled fur and blood-red eyes. They rushed out of the roadside bushes and pounced directly on the SUV.

Xu Mo stepped on the brake, opened the car door, and held the triangular dagger in his hand.

The three wild dogs were fast, but they were no match for Xu Mo. He sidestepped the first dog's attack, and his triangular spike pierced its head. At the same time, he kicked the second dog away, used the momentum to turn around, and swept his triangular spike across the third dog's neck.

The second one tried to pounce, but Xu Mo had already turned around and pierced its forehead with a single slash.

It only took two or three breaths to deal with these three mutated wild dogs, which can be described as very easy and effortless.

Xu Mo shook the blood off his triangular dagger, looked at the three corpses, a slight smile appeared on his lips, and then he squatted down and used the triangular dagger to pry open the head of the first wild dog.

There was nothing, and the same was true for the remaining two.

Xu Mo stood up, not disappointed. Three were only enough; it didn't prove anything. He needed more mutated creatures to verify.

However, Xu Mo soon realized that something was wrong. Five more mutated badgers rushed out from the roadside. After killing them, Xu Mo found that their heads were empty except for tofu pudding.

Continuing forward, they encountered mutated beasts, only to find their heads were empty; upon encountering them again and killing them, their heads were still empty.

Xu Mo frowned. He began to realize that the density of mutated creatures in this mountainous area was much higher than he had imagined. Moreover, they seemed to be enraged by something, attacking him frantically and relentlessly as soon as they saw him.

Xu Mo knew that he had probably stirred up a hornet's nest.

The roars of the mutated creatures attracted even more mutated creatures. They rushed in from all directions, some charging down the hillside, some emerging from the bushes, and some even leaping down from the trees. As soon as they arrived, they frantically pounced on Xu Mo, emitting piercing roars that attracted even more of their companions.

At first, Xu Mo was able to handle these attacks with ease. The triangular dagger in his hand transformed into streaks of lightning, each thrust piercing a head. The mutated creatures were like paper before him, surging forward wave after wave, falling one after another. His steps hardly faltered, the corpses carpeting both sides of the mountain path.

But as the number of mutated creatures increased, the situation began to change. Xu Mo could still handle ten, twenty, or even thirty mutated creatures.

But the mutated creatures swarmed in from all directions, giving Xu Mo no chance to catch his breath. He'd barely finished one wave before the next one was upon him. He'd just turned to deal with the ones on his left when the ones on his right pounced behind him. The triangular dagger in Xu Mo's hand kept thrusting out and retracting, but the number of mutated creatures didn't decrease at all.

Realizing he couldn't continue like this, Xu Mo immediately turned and ran.

The mutated creatures pursued relentlessly from behind, their roars echoing and attracting more of their companions. Xu Mo ran while looking back; the pursuers behind him were growing larger and larger, a dark mass like a surging torrent.

Xu Mo could only run and kill, thrusting out his triangular dagger again and again, then retracting it each time. He killed the mutated creatures that blocked his path, but more pursuers were closing in from behind.

Xu Mo didn't know how long he had been running. He only knew that the sun was slowly setting in the west and the sky was getting dark. Instead of decreasing, the number of pursuers behind him was increasing.

Finally, Xu Mo realized a problem—the farther he ran, the more mutated creatures he attracted.

This mountainous area is their territory. If I keep running like this, I'll only attract all the mutated creatures in the entire area. Then it won't just be a matter of a few dozen, but hundreds or even thousands.

So Xu Mo started looking for a place to use as cover while running, and finally chose this big rock as his cover.

This rock is four or five meters high and more than ten meters wide, with its back against a steep hillside, making it accessible only from the front.

Xu Mo had just rushed over and turned around when the mutated creature behind him caught up.

Leading the pack was a gigantic mutated mandrill. It stood nearly two meters tall, its body covered in black fur, its face contorted in a ferocious grimace, and its fangs were a full ten centimeters long. Seeing Xu Mo stop, it roared and pounced first.

Xu Mo sidestepped its attack, his three-edged thorn piercing its head from the side. The mandrill let out a muffled groan, its massive body crashing to the ground, but the pursuers behind it had already caught up.

Two mutated leopards pounced at the same time. Xu Mo stabbed one with his knife and kicked the other away. Before the kicked leopard even hit the ground, it was trampled underfoot by its companion rushing up from behind.

Then more mutated creatures rushed up, some common ones and others that Xu Mo couldn't name.

But at this moment, Xu Mo had no way out; he could only kill.

In Xu Mo's hand, the triangular dagger transformed into a vortex of death. The mutated creatures pounced on it madly, only to fall one by one. Their corpses piled up in front of the boulder, quickly forming a small mountain. Those behind continued, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades.

They pounced, but Xu Mo killed them one by one.

Blood and flesh splattered, severed limbs flew everywhere, and screams and screams rose and fell, weaving together a bloody symphony.

Xu Mo's clothes were already torn, and the sharp claws and fangs repeatedly slashed across his body, leaving white marks on his skin. The defense of the Iron Bone Realm was indeed formidable, but the impact of those attacks could not be completely neutralized. Bruises began to appear on his body, and some places ached slightly, but he couldn't care less about that now.

After an unknown amount of time, when the last mutated creature fell, Xu Mo's combat suit was practically hanging off his body.

Seeing that no mutated creatures rushed at him, Xu Mo leaned against the boulder, panting heavily. He still held the triangular dagger in his hand, but his hand was trembling slightly.

Before them lay a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. Hundreds of mutated creatures lay sprawled on the ground, some piled together, others scattered in the distance. Black blood flowed like a river, soaking the earth beneath their feet and emitting a pungent, nauseating stench.

Xu Mo stared at the corpses and remained silent for a long time.

After regaining some of his strength, Xu Mo took a deep breath and started working. He needed to verify his guess and see if these mutated creatures had crystal cores in their heads.

Deep down, Xu Mo hoped to find crystal cores inside the heads of these mutated creatures. This only meant the probability of crystal core formation was very low; it didn't indicate anything else.

But things rarely go as planned. Xu Mo examined each one one by one, his expression growing increasingly serious. By the time he had opened the heads of all the mutated creatures before him and confirmed that there wasn't a single crystal core, it was completely dark.

Xu Mo stood silently amidst the pile of corpses, gripping the triangular dagger in his hand. Hundreds of mutated creatures, not a single crystal core—this wasn't a matter of probability.

If the generation of crystal nuclei were random, even with a probability of only one percent, one should appear out of hundreds. But in reality, not a single one appeared.

What does this mean?

This means that the condition for the formation of crystal nuclei is not the mutation itself.

The Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast has a crystal core in its head, while these native mutated creatures do not. The only explanation is that the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast is not a creature of this world at all.

"Not a creature of this world—"

Xu Mo murmured the same sentence over and over again, as fragments of thoughts began to flash through his mind.

In the Red Star Industrial Zone, the place he was stationed as an observer, zombies would periodically spawn. Xu Mo found it strange at the time; even after it had been cleared, new zombies would appear again in a few days. Where did it originate? Nobody knew.

And then there was that fog he encountered when exploring the heart of the industrial zone. He couldn't see what was in the fog, but that eerie feeling remained unforgettable.

Now, the appearance of the Black Panther Sabertooth has pieced these fragments together.

What if this world is facing more than just a zombie virus? What if it's invaded by another world?

A world inhabited by zombies has somehow become connected to this world. The periodically respawning zombies and the mutated creatures that don't belong to this world all come through that connection point.

The secret of the Red Star Industrial Zone might just be this! The origin of the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast might also be this!

A scene flashed through Xu Mo's mind: one or two worlds overlapped, and countless zombies poured out of the cracks into this world.

Therefore, the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast has a crystal core in its head because in that world, crystal cores are a standard feature of zombie creatures, just like the creatures in this world have hearts.

Therefore, the zombies in the Red Star Industrial Zone will keep respawning because that connection point is there, and new zombies will come from there every once in a while: so the fog in the core of the Red Star Industrial Zone may be the boundary phenomenon when two worlds overlap.

Xu Mo remained silent for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.

"Isn't playing like this a bit too exciting?"

Xu Mo's voice echoed through the mountains and forests, but there was no response.

Is it exciting? Yes, it is.

A person transmigrates to a post-apocalyptic world, awakens abilities, and cultivates powerful techniques—that's already fantastical enough. Now, tell him that's not all; there's another zombie world invading this world, and even more things could surge in from there at any moment. This isn't just fantastical; it's outrageous.

But that seems to be all there is to it, Xu Mo sighed, and then began to think about what to do next.

First, this hypothesis needs to be verified. He needs more evidence to prove the existence of that world. Perhaps he will encounter more "otherworldly creatures" in the future, perhaps he will find that connection point, or perhaps he will obtain more information from other survivors.

Secondly, should we tell Jiang Cheng this news?

Xu Mo thought of Major Li, Director Wang, and all those who strived for the continuation of civilization. If the news was true, they needed to know. But if it was just speculation, without concrete evidence, reporting it rashly might cause panic.

Finally, what should I do?

Should we continue with the mission, or investigate this first?

Xu Mo was silent for a few seconds, then made a decision.

First, complete the mission; Project Dandelion is the top priority. We don't know the situation at Pearl Harbor yet; perhaps there's more information there. Once he arrives at Pearl Harbor and completes his mission, we can consider the next step.

As for these otherworldly creatures, he'd kill them if he encountered them, and then search for their crystal cores. He needed to travel anyway, and collecting evidence along the way was also an option.

According to reports, this achieves two goals at once.

Xu Mo put away the triangular dagger and returned to the SUV parked where he had been. His combat uniform was tattered and unwearable. He opened the trunk and pulled out a spare set of clothes. Then Xu Mo started the engine and continued forward.

Xu Mo stopped actively provoking the mutated creatures; they were no longer relevant to him. He needed evidence, not quantity. Now that it was confirmed the native mutated creatures didn't have crystal cores, killing more was a waste of time.

So for the rest of the journey, Xu Mo changed his strategy. When encountering mutated creatures, he would avoid them if possible, and shake them off if he could. Only when he absolutely couldn't shake them off would he shoot them.

They drove for another two hours, until it was completely dark. Xu Mo had no choice but to slow down and start looking for a place to spend the night.

After driving for about twenty more minutes, he finally found a suitable spot—behind a huge boulder, in a relatively flat clearing. The boulder was over three meters high, which could block the wind on one side and provide some cover. Xu Mo got out of the car, looked around, and then began to set up the tent. That night, Xu Mo chewed on dry rations while thinking about the day's events, the firelight reflecting off his face.

Suddenly, Xu Mo's ears perked up; he heard a strange noise coming from afar.

The rustling was very faint and subtle. If Xu Mo's hearing hadn't been far superior to that of ordinary people, he wouldn't have been able to hear it at all.

The rustling sound was something moving through the grass and fallen leaves. Judging from the direction, it was in the woods on the left and was slowly getting closer.

Xu Mo didn't move. He remained seated, his eyes fixed on the campfire, but his ears were completely focused on capturing that sound.

The rustling sound grew closer and closer before suddenly stopping, and Xu Mo's pupils contracted slightly.

It's stopped?

The thing stopped. What does that mean? It means it has intelligence; it knows how to observe, how to wait, and how to find the best time to attack. It's not like a mindless beast charging in recklessly.

Xu Mo's lips curled up slightly.

"Stop tidying up all this useless stuff."

He said something softly, then Xu Mo pulled a red-hot piece of wood from the campfire and threw it forcefully in that direction.

The log traced an arc through the air before landing in the bushes twenty meters away.

"boom!"

The persistent high temperatures and drought had made the trees in the mountains extremely dry. As soon as the log hit the ground, it instantly ignited the surrounding dry grass and bushes. Flames shot up and illuminated the area.

"Shhh..."

The thing moved. Xu Mo clearly saw a dark shadow dart out of the firelight, moving at an astonishing speed, and disappearing into the darkness on the other side in the blink of an eye.

"Still a cunning prey."

Xu Mo stood up, pulled another burning log from the campfire, and threw it in the direction where the shadow had disappeared.

Another burst of flames erupted, and the dark figure reappeared, changing direction once more.

Xu Mo was about to throw the third piece of wood when he suddenly froze.

He noticed that the surrounding fire seemed quite large.

Where the two logs were thrown, flames were spreading rapidly. Dry grass, withered bushes, and cracked bark were all excellent fuel. The flames licked at everything flammable, crackling and spreading quickly in all directions.

To make matters worse, it's windy tonight.

The wind blew the sparks further, igniting more vegetation. The fire was spreading at a visible rate, forming an ever-widening wall of flames.

Xu Mo glanced at the expanding sea of ​​fire, then at the third piece of wood in his hand, and his lips twitched.

He seems to have done something foolish; he set the mountain on fire.

Xu Mo slowly turned around, his back to the ever-growing flames. The firelight cast a long shadow on him. He imagined himself like this—back to the flames, the fire reaching for the sky, his expression serene, and if someone were to take a close-up photo of him—

He couldn't help but laugh.

"If this were in the newspaper, I don't know if it would be a fashion magazine or a legal daily."

After saying that, Xu Mo threw away the piece of wood in his hand and walked towards the off-road vehicle.

Bye-bye~

He didn't want to be burned to death by the fire he had started.

Just then, a furious roar came from behind.

"roar!!!"

The sound was deafening, filled with boundless rage and murderous intent. Xu Mo turned around and saw that the shadowy figure that had been hiding for so long could no longer restrain itself. It burst out of the darkness, crawling on all fours, and pounced straight at him.

The firelight illuminated its silhouette—a gigantic feline, even larger than the previously seen black panther saber-toothed beast. Its fur was pure black, but in the firelight, faint golden spots could be seen. Its fangs, several centimeters long, curved like hooks, gleaming coldly in the firelight. At this moment, its pupils were vertical, its gaze fixed intently on Xu Mo, filled with murderous intent.

"That's exactly what I've been waiting for!"

Xu Mo shouted and charged forward with his triangular dagger in hand.

The dark shadow moved with astonishing speed, pounced in front of him in the blink of an eye. Its sharp claws lashed out, creating a gust of wind, aiming straight for Xu Mo's throat.

Xu Mo sidestepped the claw, then thrust out his three-edged thorns in a backhand motion, aiming straight for its abdomen.

The dark figure reacted with lightning speed, forcefully twisting its body in mid-air to avoid the thrust. Its tail swept across like a whip, aiming for Xu Mo's head.

Xu Mo lowered his head to let the tail pass, and at the same time, he pushed off with his feet and lunged forward, aiming his three-edged spikes at its hind leg.

The dark shadow landed, rolled, and dodged again. It turned around, stared at Xu Mo, and let out a low growl.

Xu Mo also stopped and stared at it.

A man and a beast faced off at the edge of the sea of ​​fire.

The firelight cast long shadows on them. The surrounding flames grew larger, and waves of heat washed over them, but none of them moved.

With a crackling sound, they moved simultaneously as the flames devoured the surrounding dry wood.

The shadowy figure lunged again, this time a head-on attack. Its speed was incredible, leaving trails of afterimages in the air. Claws, fangs, tail—it used every weapon at its disposal, like a deadly whirlwind.

Instead of retreating, Xu Mo advanced, the triangular dagger in his hand transforming into a bolt of lightning. His figure weaved through the attacks of the shadowy figures, each dodge perfectly timed, each thrust aimed straight for vital points.

"Clang! Sizzle!"

The triangular spikes and claws clashed, producing a metallic clang, and grazed the fur, drawing out a splash of black blood.

The dark shadow let out a painful roar, its attacks becoming even more ferocious. Its claws lashed out again and again, its fangs biting down repeatedly, but Xu Mo always managed to dodge at the last moment, simultaneously launching a counterattack with a slash.

The shadowy figure's attacks grew increasingly frantic, but also increasingly chaotic. Xu Mo could sense that its stamina was waning and its speed was slowing down.

Finally, the opportunity came.

The shadowy figure missed its target with a claw strike, revealing a slight opening in its body.

Xu Mo didn't miss this opportunity. He unleashed his full power, and the three-edged dagger shot out like lightning, heading straight for the dark figure.

skull.

The shadowy figure tried to dodge, but it was too late.

"Pfft, the three-edged thorn pierced its eye socket, went straight into its skull and came out through the back of its head."

The shadowy figure stiffened abruptly, let out a short whimper, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Xu Mo gripped the triangular dagger, panting heavily. He looked down at the corpse, then used the dagger to pry open its skull, finding a crystal core inside.

The second one!

A crystal core identical to the one from the Black Panther Saber-toothed Beast appeared in Xu Mo's hand, but it also lacked energy fluctuations.

Xu Mo put the crystal core into his pocket, glanced back at the sea of ​​fire behind him, and saw that the fire was out of control.

Flames erupted, heat waves rolled in, and sparks flew everywhere, igniting more trees. In the distance, the terrified cries of geese could be faintly heard as they fled for their lives, trying to escape the sudden wildfire.

Xu Mo paused for a second, then said softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

After apologizing, Xu Mo turned around and got on the SUV, which roared down the hillside and drove off into the distance.

Behind them, the forest had been completely engulfed in flames.

Xu Mo drove his car at high speed through the night.

In the rearview mirror, the burning flames were getting farther and farther away, but the firelight was still clearly visible, illuminating half of the sky in red, as if someone had lit a huge lamp over there.

"I promise I won't play with fire again next time!"

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