Infinite: Starting from Infiltrating Other Spaces

From this point on, they rarely spoke, because they used a unique set of gestures.

Li Xia also saw this in "One Hundred Little-Known Facts for Hunters": Heterogeneous monsters roam the wild, and there are also inexplicable rule traps.

You don't know if sound will trigger some strange rules or attract isomers, so you try not to speak if you can.

Moreover, opening your mouth may cause you to inhale some larger dust particles, which would normally be filtered by the handkerchief, but opening your mouth will not.

"But why don't they make the handkerchiefs into the shape of face masks?"

Awoo poked its head out from under Li Xia's clothes and asked in the team chat.

"Perhaps it's not stretchy enough; the key to a face mask is elasticity."

This microfiber, like a silk scarf, is good enough to cover the mouth and nose.

"That's true."

Aowu identified the direction and pointed ahead: "It should be over there."

The road beneath my feet was no longer a smooth alloy surface; instead, it was a cracked and broken old-world road, with clumps of deformed, gray-black weeds sprouting from the cracks, their leaves as hard as thin iron sheets.

Awoo curiously flicked it, and it actually made a buzzing sound.

Li Xia looked up and saw that the whole world was bathed in a sickly yellowish hue. The sun was hidden behind a thick layer of grayish-yellow haze, and the light it cast was unusually dim.

Looking up, Li Xia felt as if she were looking at a faded old photograph.

The surroundings were deathly silent; even the wind seemed to be pressed down by something, blowing heavily along the ruins and making a low, mournful sound.

This is the wilderness, the real world after the rules have collapsed.

"let's go......"

Li Xia remained silent for a moment, then started walking forward. Outside the shelter, it looked more like a wilderness.

The nearby buildings have been cleared countless times to prevent monsters from hiding there, leaving only bare foundations.

Once a certain boundary is crossed, the surrounding scenery begins to change again.

The buildings on both sides of the highway have long lost their original shape.

The low-rise buildings collapsed into mounds of rubble, the exposed steel bars rusted dark red, and even a light touch would cause debris to fall to the ground.

Aowu felt that these steel bars looked like bones poked out of a corpse.

The taller buildings were tilted at an eerie angle, and the entire building twisted along the middle into an unnatural arc, as if it had been twisted violently.

Li Xia guessed that it was a distortion caused by spatial rules. It still looked good, but the space there had long been twisted into a pretzel shape.

If an ordinary person were to enter that space, they would likely be distorted into that terrifying state.

A car that had overturned by the roadside was half-buried in the roadbed, its body covered with colorful rust stains.

Looking into the distance, the silhouette of the abandoned city lies quietly on the horizon.

The skyscrapers resemble gnawed skeletons, some cut in half, their surfaces smooth as if sliced ​​by a sharp blade.

Some sections of the building are suspended in mid-air, surrounded by faint, almost invisible spatial ripples.

The distant horizon blurred into a chaotic gray.

The only difference is that traces of human activity can still be seen along the roadside.

The discarded power batteries of the energy gun were carelessly tossed aside by the roadside.

The bloodstains had dried and appeared as sprays.

Li Xia didn't speak, her gaze sweeping across the end of the road ahead.

There stood a road sign leaning to one side, its lettering long since blurred by wind and sand, with only the words "Tambara City 37km" barely discernible.

This is the wilderness.

Li Xia took a step and walked forward along the cracked road.

The protective barrier behind them receded into the distance, eventually shrinking into a pale blue dot on the horizon.

Like the only patch that's barely intact in this broken world.

————————————————————

1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 20 What are you afraid of?

Li Xia walks through this world that seems to be dead.

The catastrophe that year clearly happened in an instant.

This kind of shock and rupture originating from the rules has no concept of distance at all; rather, the whole world suffers as a result.

Through the wrecked frame of the hovercar parked on the road, some skeletal remains can still be seen.

The dim sunlight filtering through the gray sky casts flickering shadows on the wreckage.

Li Xia stopped and suddenly reached out, grabbing a handful of something from the shadows on the roadside.

When you take it away again, you will find a shapeless, struggling shadow in your hand.

"Huh? What's this?"

Aowu stuck his head out and took a look, thinking that the little thing looked quite unique.

Li Xia thought for a moment and matched it with a monster.

This should be a "Ghost," the lowest-ranking monster, and also the monster hunters encounter most often.

It has no fixed form, lives in shadows, and is characterized by black, fluffy things floating around its edges.

Its abilities are rather peculiar; it can move through the shadows and possesses low-level mental interference, such as inducing fear and panic.

A single ghost is not scary, but a cluster of them is more dangerous because this kind of mental interference can accumulate.

Li Xia extended another finger, and a bright light suddenly appeared at the tip of the finger.

The shadow in his hand immediately began to struggle desperately, and even the black fuzzy matter that was still spreading on its body became much denser, and soon it vanished into thin air.

As expected... I'm afraid of bright light.

It is indeed easy to deal with; a tactical flashlight might be enough to immobilize it.

Li Xia continued walking forward, and soon he grew tired of the post-apocalyptic scenery.

"I wonder how the kitten is doing at home."

It was indeed bored; it could have just asked in the team channel, but it insisted on chatting with Li Xia instead.

"There shouldn't be any problem."

This time, Li Xia left Heitan and Xiaotian in the shelter as before.

He also gave instructions to Douglas and Reinhardt, implying that he would be absent.

The two naturally understood each other and would cooperate with Heitan to play their roles.

But he didn't bother to fake that he was still there.

If someone really wanted to investigate, they could still find out that he wasn't there.

Li Xia wanted to see if those people would rush to make a move after discovering his absence, thus revealing more clues.

The road leading to the settlement has indeed been cleared many times, just as the hunters had said, and is relatively safe.

Even so, Li Xia encountered many monsters on his journey.

For example, "the one who erodes bones".

They look somewhat like humans, but their grayish-white skeletons cover most of their bodies, leaving only a mouth full of sharp teeth on their faces, and their limb joints grow in the opposite direction.

Li Xia also caught one to test it and found that its bone armor had strong defensive capabilities, with a strength of at least 11 to 12.

However, it is not very effective against energy-based threats, such as waves and vibrations.

Their offensive capabilities are not to be underestimated. They can launch supersonic bone spikes to attack, and their sharp teeth have a strong biting ability. Moreover, they always appear in groups.

Bone Eater's shell is a valuable resource that hunters greatly appreciate.

Hunting Bone Eaters is easy if you bring an energy gun and have good aim.

Their shells, once peeled off and taken back, make excellent defensive materials, and Xuanjin Materials Company has offered a very generous purchase price.

However, Li Xia had no intention of keeping them. After easily reaping the monsters, he left the corpses lying to one side, leaving them for someone destined to find them.

For the distance of several tens of kilometers, Li Xia did not fly directly there, but chose to walk step by step along the route, just like the other hunters.

Many things don't feel real if you just fly over them.

The meaning of a journey also lies in measuring the path you've traveled with your own two feet.

Aowu held the smart device, studying the map carefully: Hey, boss!

I did some research and discovered something very interesting.

Before the catastrophe, these settlements appeared to be located in places similar to research institutes or military bases. Is there some explanation for this?

"possible."

Li Xia kicked the oncoming Bone Eater away:

"Since the world has already started playing by the rules, it means that other research institutes may also be researching rules and such."

There are also corresponding shielding and protective measures to prevent rule collapse.

So it is very likely that these protective measures were what allowed them to survive the disaster.

With the current level of technology in this world, it's not difficult for equipment to last for over a hundred years. With technicians or even just basic maintenance staff, this forms the settlement we see today.

Aowu nodded, agreeing that this was probably the case.

This road was really safe. They walked for a long time and only encountered low-level monsters such as ghosts and bone eaters. They did not encounter any mid- to high-level monsters at all.

Even though Li Xia only relied on his two legs to walk, with his formidable strength, he quickly covered the distance of several dozen kilometers.

Li Xia stood under a huge road sign, looking at the distorted words "iris" spray-painted on it.

Following the signs, we walked towards a patch of ground that had clearly been leveled.

There stood a shed made of scrap metal, with a downward-facing entrance inside.

Li Xia walked in; the room was brightly lit, almost blindingly so.

Clearly, this strong light is intended to prevent ghosts from hiding inside. As long as there is no shadow, ghosts cannot get in, and the strong light is also harmful to them.

The passageway was very well-organized, and the walls, apart from some cracks, remained relatively intact.

This must be a product of the pre-disaster period, or perhaps it was one of the underground escape routes to the research institute back then.

The passage wasn't long; after walking only a few dozen meters, the view suddenly opened up ahead.

Several men with guns stood idly at the door.

When they saw Li Xia approaching, they merely glanced at the Level 5 Hunter Badge hanging on his chest before lowering their guard again.

After all, for a level 5 hunter, the probability of being corrupted or possessed by anomalies is relatively much lower.

But someone still stood up: "This friend doesn't look familiar."

"Yes, I just advanced to level five."

"How are things at the shelter?"

"It's alright, life is much more comfortable for the Hunter's Guild than before."

The group breathed a sigh of relief; it was clear they had just come from inside.

"That's right, we've heard that too. Apparently, life in the back alley isn't so bad anymore."

Many people in the settlement were discussing whether they should also return to live in the shelter.

After all, living here is a constant state of anxiety, with no certainty of tomorrow.

They chuckled self-deprecatingly and beckoned Li Xia to a nearby instrument:

"This is a necessary check before entering, please excuse the oversight, it's just for safety."

"It's nothing, it's what I should do."