Nightmare Spores, Nightmare Dust.
From Ma Ran's explanation, these were clearly two different things.
"We aren't affected by the Nightmare Dust?"
"Why?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Song Chu had already figured out the answer.
He wasn't some thick-headed idiot.
Ma Ran's earlier assessment of Song Chu had been quite accurate.
He was a man with keen observation skills, impressive combat ability, and mental fortitude far beyond the normal standard.
In the blink of an eye, Song Chu remembered the "damage threshold" Ma Ran had mentioned earlier and connected the cause and effect.
Ma Ran had already said that to kill the Nightmare Mother, one needed a high life level as well as formidable mental fortitude!
From that perspective, the Nightmare Dust would have difficulty dragging someone with both attributes at a high level into a nightmare.
That was when the Nightmare Spores came into play.
Song Chu felt that if his guess was correct, the Nightmare Spores were specifically prepared for powerhouses like them!
"Can someone like me really be considered a powerhouse?"
Song Chu glanced at Ma Ran, then at the Elephant Hunting Spear in Ma Ran's hand. He began to doubt his life choices. "If I'm a powerhouse, then..."
"What about you?"
"How does that dangerous extraterrestrial life-form view you?"
After his weapon had been casually snatched away with one hand, he had already clearly recognized the gap between himself and Ma Ran.
To be deemed a powerhouse by an extremely dangerous extraterrestrial life-form that was supposedly capable of growing to a world-destroying level...
Song Chu truly didn't know whether he should feel happy or sad.
"Natural enemy."
After saying those two words, Ma Ran sighed, his expression somewhat troubled. "The information I foresaw still wasn't comprehensive enough."
"Six days ago, I began exterminating the Nightmare Spores."
"Because I had never encountered an enemy like this before, I failed to control the pace properly."
"I killed them too quickly, too many of them, and too ruthlessly."
"As a result, the Nightmare Mother developed a sense of fear."
"It sees me as a natural enemy and is completely unwilling to appear within my field of vision."
"It's deliberately avoiding me."
Song Chu hurried to keep up with Ma Ran. He felt he should say something, but after opening his mouth, he didn't know where to begin.
There were simply too many points to criticize!
"Compared to that extraterrestrial life-form, your danger level is clearly higher, isn't it?"
As he said this, Song Chu's expression suddenly changed.
When he had confronted Ma Ran earlier, he had been too nervous to notice the problem.
Only now did he suddenly realize that the Inner Qi in his acupoints had unknowingly been depleted by more than half!
A faint sense of weakness washed over him, making him feel as though his head was heavy and his feet were light.
Ma Ran glanced at him and immediately determined the cause of his weakness. "While resisting the erosion of the Nightmare Dust, Inner Qi is also consumed."
"Put your gas mask on properly, inject yourself with some adrenaline, and use some smelling salts."
"These items have extremely limited auxiliary stimulative effects, but they can at least slow the loss of Inner Qi somewhat."
Song Chu nodded solemnly. "All right!"
He took the advice readily and immediately did as Ma Ran instructed.
After going through the entire process, Song Chu felt much more clear-headed. Unfortunately, the Inner Qi he had lost could not be replenished in a short time.
He pinched the sides of his nose, finally dispersing some of the pungent ammonia smell from the smelling salts.
The two soon crossed the forest and reached the cluster of buildings in Area A3.
Military motorcycles, off-road vehicles, and other means of transportation had suffered varying degrees of damage. They were coated in thick black liquid and corroded to the point that they could no longer be used.
This was clearly the Nightmare Mother's doing.
It was no low-intelligence extraterrestrial life-form.
In Ma Ran's view, it was powerful, intelligent, cunning, and highly capable of learning—a very troublesome opponent!
To concentrate and maintain a high level of vigilance, the two tacitly chose to remain silent and stopped chatting.
Ma Ran maintained a speed that Song Chu could keep up with as they ran toward their destination.
At the same time, he deliberately suppressed the circulation speed of his Inner Qi, causing the light around him to gradually dim.
His originally intense life aura also weakened considerably, gradually falling to a level roughly comparable to Song Chu's.
The information Ma Ran had previously shared with Song Chu was indeed true.
This dangerous extraterrestrial life-form had not yet fully matured.
It possessed an instinctive fear of Ma Ran, who had killed dozens of its spores.
For the past six days, it had been desperately avoiding Ma Ran's pursuit.
The Nightmare Mother feared Ma Ran, but at the same time, it also craved Ma Ran's body, wanting to make Ma Ran its host.
It rejected him and resisted him, yet it could not resist his attraction.
"What incredible stamina..."
Song Chu panted heavily, struggling to keep up with Ma Ran. "I originally thought he was a product of Caolu Academy's star-making program, but it seems the reputation really is well deserved."
"Sixth Stage of Inner Qi..."
"How did he manage that?"
"Caolu Academy only officially established its organization less than half a month ago, right?"
"More precisely, about ten days?"
Ma Ran was a mysterious, unfathomable enigma.
The more Song Chu observed and pondered, the more confused he became.
When Song Chu was drenched in sweat, his calf muscles had become extremely stiff and were nearly cramping, Ma Ran suddenly stopped moving.
"Are we... huff... there?"
Song Chu adjusted his gas mask, which had begun slipping from the sweat. He braced both hands on his knees and struggled to calm his wildly pounding heart and disordered breathing, trying to recover his strength through controlled breaths.
Ma Ran wasn't even flushed or out of breath. He shook his head and said, "Almost."
He hadn't stopped to take care of Song Chu. Rather, just moments ago, an extremely familiar voice had suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Ma Ran, you're still alive? That's wonderful!"
It was Liu Huadie's voice!
She was transmitting information through her Mind Link ability.
For a moment, Ma Ran almost thought he had returned to the war-torn years before his reincarnation.
But Liu Huadie's next words immediately brought him back to reality.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice trembled slightly, as though she were enduring some kind of pain. "I... I've only developed my ability to this extent, and saying these few words to you..."
"It's already... my limit."
"My heart... it hurts..."
"Su Qiangwei... will take over... and connect with you..."
At that point, she directly severed the Mind Link.
Ma Ran looked at Song Chu, whose face was full of question marks, and quietly explained, "Sister Die was using her superpower, Mind Link, to contact me just now."
Song Chu was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses and realizing that the "Sister Die" the other man had mentioned was Liu Huadie.
Like Liu Huadie and He Nanguang, he was also a member of Fulan Academy in Anhui and had some acquaintance with them.
"How are things outside now?"
Song Chu's expression turned grave, and his voice was hoarse. "Every ten minutes, each sealed-off zone sends a safety signal to the main control zone."
"When the nightmares began moving, the other areas should have come to provide support immediately."
Ma Ran raised a hand and gestured for silence.
Song Chu obediently shut his mouth and said nothing more.
Su Qiangwei's voice rang out in Ma Ran's mind...
Su Qiangwei: Reinforcements are in position. Call me Big Sister, and I'll help you.
Ma Ran: ?
Before you continue