I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"As expected of my clever teacher, Ms. Shen, you understood immediately." The boy patted her head with lightning speed. "So our speculation has some contradictions. Perhaps the Light Magic Particles are not important to the World Tree, or perhaps the World Tree is actually a native species?"

Shen Xi looked up and blinked, her small face showing hesitation, as if she had noticed his little action, but was not quite sure because she hadn't reacted yet.

"Teacher Shen, what do you think?" The boy looked at her nonchalantly.

"Heh, even someone with low intelligence like Cheng Feiyu can be clever sometimes. My previous assumptions were indeed contradictory." The girl turned her face away expressionlessly and flicked her hair.

As the two were talking, the Miriam arrived at the place where the wall had been torn apart by the dragon's claws, which was also directly above the dragon's remains, facing the roaring dragon's head. Its huge pupils disappeared during the petrification process, leaving two dark holes.

Zhou Han leaned over the gunwale, blinking her round eyes as she looked down, and exclaimed, "Wow, it's even scarier up close! If it really came to life, one slap from it would be enough to kill us!"

“Zhou Han, perhaps it’s best not to say such unlucky things?” Nagasaki Asuna stood to the side, smiling helplessly.

Cheng Fei and Shen Xi observed the torn cross-section of the roots on the other side. Although they were called roots, the dark red strips looked extremely tough, like the steel bars exposed when a cement wall was broken down, crookedly maintaining the state at the moment of tearing.

"There's a road ahead!" Ye Shuang, who was looking out from the top deck, relayed the message to the cockpit in a clear voice.

The crevice torn by the dragon's claws connected to the other side of the wall, winding and narrow, but relative to the wall and the dragon, its width was more than enough for human ships to pass through. The Miriam sailed into it, like an ant crawling into a crack in a tree trunk.

Fearing that the boat might scrape against the broken roots, Shen Xi slowed the boat down and passed through with the help of everyone on lookout.

As the teardrop-shaped airship spewed out streams of particles from its stern, it slowly sailed into the unknown region, and the scenery ahead gradually became clearer.

Asuna Nagasaki was the first to cover her mouth, her clear, bright eyes reflecting the orange-yellow fluorescence.

“This is…” Shen Xi’s pupils contracted slightly.

"It really was a brutal scene." Cheng Fei smacked his lips.

Ahead of the Miriam, the space behind the wall suddenly opened up, revealing a world shrouded in mist that appeared to be surrounded by a high wall made of roots. It was described as "appeared" because they could not see the wall on the other side, but could only guess that it was circular from the faint curve of the wall behind them.

Surrounded by such walls, the view extends as far as the eye can see, revealing a sprawling city.

A dead city.

On the cracked, crumbling land, the closely packed buildings still offered glimpses of their former prosperity. Now, only the tilted, collapsed ruins remain, telling these visitors of their past glory.

The cracks in the earth looked equally shocking, like the damage caused by an earthquake. Each one was a bottomless canyon, and from the height of the Miriam, the dark lines spread and grew across the earth like a spider web.

However, this scene was clearly unrelated to the earthquake. The dark red roots, which were many times thicker than the roots that made up the wall and resembled the tentacles of a planet, burrowed out from the depths of the earth, causing the land to crack and destroying everything.

Amidst these ruins, the skeletal remains of several dragons can still be seen. Although smaller than the one at the entrance, they still crushed the city beneath them.

"What's going on here?" Zhou Han stared blankly at the scene, unconsciously rubbing the face of the shadowy figure in front of him. The latter was also clinging to the side of the ship, with the same expression as Zhou Han.

After observing for a moment, Cheng Fei asked, "Teacher Shen, it seems like this place was destroyed by the World Tree?"

“Obviously.” Shen Xi narrowed her eyes slightly.

"This is even stranger. What exactly is the relationship between the World Tree, humans, and dragons?" the boy pondered.

Shen Xi opened her mouth.

Just as she was about to say something, something happened beside her that attracted everyone's attention.

With a buzzing sound, the silver triangular pendant on Leia's chest floated up without warning, emitting a soft, slow-flickering light, as if it were about to fly away to some place, pulling on the rope.

"Finally, there's a response. Looks like we made the right choice." Cheng Fei clapped his hands.

Eve watched Rhea from the side, her expression becoming excited, "Your Highness!"

The elven saint carefully untied the floating pendant and leaned it against the side of the ship.

Cheng Fei glanced at the direction the pendant was floating, then turned back to the cockpit and called out, "Maid, hard to the right!"

"I told you I'm not a maid!" came the protest from the baby-faced girl at the helm, and the Miriam began to tilt.

The airship sailed in the direction indicated by the pendant, gradually moving away from the wall and into the depths of this hidden world.

Bathed in the orange glow of fluorescent light, the Miriam sailed through the boundless silence, the endless city on the cracked earth slowly receding behind, and time quietly passing by.

"Teacher Shen, have you noticed something?" Cheng Fei shaded his eyes with his hand as he looked down at the scene.

"What?" Shen Xi turned her head.

"If nothing unexpected happens, what we see below should be the actual landmass of this planet, right?"

"so?"

“But we can’t see the land outside the wall, even though the visibility is about the same,” the boy muttered.

The girl thought for a moment and shook her head. "It's possible that the internal terrain was pushed to a higher position by the World Tree."

"That makes sense." The boy nodded.

As it sailed, the airship descended lower and lower, gradually approaching the city below.

Shen Xi observed the streets damaged by roots through binoculars and said softly, "Judging from the architecture, this civilization has a high level of technology."

"Do you think it's comparable to Earth?" Cheng Fei observed with her.

The buildings below still vaguely resemble their former neat and beautiful appearance. It is unknown what materials they were built with, as there are no signs of reinforced concrete in the collapsed areas.

Shen Xi paused for a moment, then said, "At least it won't be too different."

"Speaking of which, Professor Shen, we're all here now, so why can't we see your large research station?" the boy asked, feigning seriousness.

"How should I know?" The girl gave him a light kick, then turned and walked away.

After a long period of time, new changes appeared in front of the airship.

At first, the group thought they had reached another wall, but as they got closer, they realized it was another wall, also made of intertwined roots, which tightly wrapped the inside. Unlike the previous one, this wall had a distinct curve, roughly enclosing an area several kilometers in diameter. The surrounding land was also the most damaged, having been shattered by the roots.

"Teacher Shen, it seems we've reached the core area?"

"possible."

As Cheng Fei and Shen Xi were exchanging casual words, Nagasaki Asuna strode up to them and said, "Gentlemen, there's a boat over there!"

"A ship?" Cheng Fei was taken aback.

Soon, the Miriam came to a stop, some distance from the second wall ahead.

At the base of the wall, a platform formed naturally by roots appeared, and several sailing warships, stylistically incongruous with the surrounding landscape, were moored on the platform.

Under Shen Xi's command, Nagasaki Asuna used her binoculars to observe the area, then turned back and said, "I can't see any signs of people, but there seems to be a passage ahead?"

Cheng Fei also looked around and noticed that at the base of the wall in front of the platform, the roots naturally parted to both sides, forming a path leading inside.

“It could be other adventurers, but it’s strange that recently, due to the influence of the tree spirits, almost no one would dare to venture deep into this place.” Shen Xi pinched her chin and frowned slightly.

"Teacher Shen, you already know they are adventurers. Maybe they think the bigger the waves, the more valuable the fish?" Cheng Fei shrugged.

"How about we go up and negotiate?" Vino suggested after thinking for a moment.

Shen Xi frowned slightly and turned her gaze to Cheng Fei.

"Let's give it a try. We're not afraid anyway, just be careful." The boy nodded.

780. Cheng Fei apologized to God.

After a brief discussion, the group continued sailing the Miriam forward, and, as a precaution, prepared their weapons.

As the teardrop-shaped airship gradually approached the platform, a figure flashed past deep within the connecting passageway.

"Teacher Shen, we've been discovered as expected," Cheng Fei said casually, holding up his binoculars.

"Understood." Shen Xi said expressionlessly, gripping her staff tightly.

“Cheng Fei, the people inside are very hostile, and they seem strange…” Nagasaki Asuna, also holding binoculars, blinked her clear and bright eyes, then suddenly frowned, as if trying to sense something.

"What's strange about it?" the boy asked, looking at her.

"Their attire and weapons... they seem to be players?" Nagasaki Asuna tilted her head, her expression hesitant.

As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Fei and Shen Xi looked at her simultaneously, their faces showing surprise.

"Are you sure?" The boy frowned as well.

At this moment, the two sides were still quite a distance apart. The mist blocked the orange-yellow fluorescence, shrouding everything in a haze, and only Nagasaki Asuna could see clearly.

She nodded vigorously, "Anyway, they don't seem like people from this world."

Ye Shuang looked bewildered. "Why are there other players? Didn't you say..."

“It can’t be an ordinary player, could it be someone from Avalanche…” Shen Xi frowned.

“Then there’s no other way, Teacher Shen, let’s get started.” Cheng Fei said without hesitation.

"Mm." Shen Xi nodded, her face tightening. She took a deep breath and raised her staff first.

"Don't rush!" Cheng Fei pressed her down.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked, puzzled.

The young man hesitated for a moment, then looked around and said, "Master Ye, Leia and Eve, come down with me. The rest of you, stand by."

Shen Xi pondered for a moment, "You don't want to reveal your identity?"

Cheng Fei slapped her on the head with lightning speed and nodded, "Smart. Since we figured them out first, there's no need to expose ourselves."

The aloof girl hesitated, glancing at the boy's arm, which seemed to have not moved at all.

Cheng Fei didn't even look at her, but turned his head and said, "Master Ye, let's pretend."

"Okay." Ye Shuang nodded, a little puzzled.

Next, the two quickly covered themselves with local clothes outside their original corridor equipment, making them look at first glance similar to imperial nobles.

Incidentally, these clothes were all "accidentally" bought by Nagasaki Asuna and Zhou Han while shopping in Rift City. They bought them not only for themselves but also for Cheng Fei. Of course, they were later scolded by Shen Xi without any politeness.

As the Miriam was about to land, Cheng Fei instructed the people who remained behind, "We're setting off. If all goes well, you don't need to do anything. If things don't go well, we'll fire a signal flare."

"Shuangshuang, wait a minute, let Xiao'an come with you? That way, those people will think you're demon knights." Nagasaki Asuna suddenly called out to Ye Shuang and held up the shadow in front of her.

Ye Shuang and the blonde half-elf, who was being held in mid-air and looked dazed, stared at each other.

"Didn't you say that An didn't want to be a familiar?" Ye Shuang looked at An Ying and then at Nagasaki Asuna, puzzled.

“I’ve talked to her. She’s not willing to date Cheng Fei, but she’s fine with Shuangshuang. And she’s not a familiar, she’s a partner, right, Xiao An?” Nagasaki Asuna leaned close to the blonde half-elf’s childlike face, revealing a friendly smile.

Shadow, still being held up, nodded vigorously. "Asuna said fighting is work, and Shadow wants to work and earn money!"

"Hey! If it's work, why can't I?" someone watching said indignantly.

The shadow looked at him and shrank back in fear.

Shen Xi burst out laughing.

So Ye Shuang squatted down and let Dark Shadow lie on her back, patted the half-elf's little face, and showed a warm smile that also radiated friendliness, "Little Dark, are you ready?"

"Hmm!" The blonde half-elf nodded seriously, chanting softly. Bright blue runes appeared in her palm, putting her into a weightless floating state.

Seeing this, Cheng Fei smacked his lips, turned around and jumped off the ship's side.

Ye Shuang, Leia, and Eve followed closely behind, and the four of them landed together on the edge of a hard platform formed by roots.

As it turned out, Nagasaki Asuna's judgment was correct. The moment the four landed, the enemies guarding the passage ahead opened fire, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Be careful!" Cheng Fei said to Leia and Eve, then activated Zero and charged into the fire.

The world in the boy's eyes froze, with only bullets and beams of light moving rapidly.

As he ran, he ducked to avoid the barrage of bullets, and approached the enemy's position from the side in an arc.

A girl with champagne-gold twin ponytails appeared on the other side, her stern gaze meeting his. Ye Shuang and Xiao An were no slower than Cheng Fei. The blonde half-elf tightly hugged Ye Shuang's neck, her cloak billowing behind her.

Upon getting closer, Cheng Fei confirmed that the people in front of him were indeed players. Their excellent equipment was at the same level as his own, and in the past, he would have had a very difficult time dealing with them without any unexpected problems.

But now the enemy's reflexes couldn't keep up with his speed at all. The barrage of bullets he unconsciously spat out in a short time was left far behind by him and Ye Shuang. Only when the two of them got close did they realize that something was wrong and reached for their tactical knives or other self-defense weapons at their waists.

The enemy was startled by the two figures who moved so fast they left afterimages, which also created a gap in the frontal firepower. Rhea and Eve dragged their greatswords and pounced forward, their faces devoid of emotion, like jumping spiders hunting unsuspecting aphids.

The four charged into the enemy ranks at the same time, starting a one-sided massacre with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

On the Miriam, suspended in mid-air, the few people left behind watched this scene.

"As expected of Miss Ye Shuang!" Milian clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with inexplicable excitement. "Of course, my junior is also quite good."

"Those four are too amazing, they don't need our help at all, right? But it's so bloody... Ugh!" Zhou Han exclaimed, her round eyes gradually becoming empty, and she suddenly turned her face away and covered her mouth.

As always, Ruan Jingyi had no expression, but gently patted her back with concern.