Countermeasures IV

Just as she rushed into the passage, the Sky Curtain behind her instantly closed, shutting everything off.

She was inside an oval-shaped cavity, going deeper and deeper.

There was no light, only the light emanating from her own body.

"Hey, boss, are you still there?" she asked softly in her mind, a little scared.

"Shut up and keep going!" Zhang Rongfang's voice answered quickly.

His current state is quite strange.

In reality, his main body did not completely enter White Scale's body, but only a small portion of it entered. This portion was roughly equivalent to one-fifth of his flesh and blood.

After all, you can't put all your eggs in one basket, but I didn't expect to succeed on the first try this time.

'We just went out like that? Without any preparation? We just went out?' After her initial excitement, White Scale suddenly felt a little lost.

Over the years, she had become accustomed to relying on Zhang Rongfang, and now, facing the unknown, she did the same, immediately seeking advice from her boss.

"It's alright, I'm here, you won't die," Zhang Rongfang, carefully observing his surroundings.

The Sky Curtain was very clear and extremely thick.

They have been flying for at least half a minute now, at a speed of about ten meters per second.

But it still failed to break through the Sky Curtain.

'Alright.' White Scale suppressed his unease, quickened his pace, and flew forward.

Time slips away unnoticed.

Suddenly, a soft sound.

White Scale felt a sudden emptiness in front of him, as if he had rushed into an extremely empty place.

Her vision blurred.

His body had already flown out of the Black-Line Sky Curtain.

Beyond the Sky Curtain.

At the bottom of a dark crack in the earth.

A massive white, one-eyed python burst out of the spatial distortion and flew straight out of the crack.

Strangely, when the giant python first appeared, it was at least several hundred meters long and several tens of meters thick.

But soon, as the flight distance increased, its body began to shrink rapidly.

In just a few breaths.

The giant python, which was hundreds of meters long, Minor Accomplishment the size of White Dress Woman was about 1.6 meters tall.

Bang.

The woman landed on the ground at the edge of the crack, still crawling on the ground with her arms outstretched in front of her, mimicking a swimming motion, her slender body constantly wriggling and twisting from side to side.

She clearly still thought she was a snake.

"Get up, you idiot!" Zhang Rongfang was simply unbearable to look at.

If there weren't so few Gods and Buddhas that could be trusted and communicated with, he wouldn't have chosen this fool to scout the way.

"Can you please stop insulting me? I'm not stupid. My God Lord once said I was very smart!" White Scale retorted, dissatisfied.

Zhang Rongfang ignored her and began trying to separate himself from White Scale's body.

But trouble ensued.

His body was frozen in the Spirit Thread state, and it seemed impossible to change it at will!

What happened?!

Zhang Rongfang couldn't understand it; logically speaking, his abilities shouldn't have anything to do with gods or Gods and Buddhas.

"Why do I feel a bit of a headache?" White Scale chimed in at this moment.

"Wait! Heavenly Light!" Zhang Rongfang suddenly realized. "Find somewhere to hide right now! Don't let the light shine on you!"

White Scale also realized what was happening, and instead of getting up, he used both his hands and feet to rush quickly towards a black mud hill to the side.

Bang!

A loud bang.

She crashed headlong into a large patch of black mud, creating a hole at the base of the small hill.

A hole appears out of nowhere.

Hidden in a large patch of mud, White Scale finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did she have time to check herself.

In just that short time, purple bruises had already begun to appear on the skin beneath her dress.

'I feel like my skin is permanently damaged. It might need to peel to heal,' she worried in her mind. 'It was only a few seconds of light exposure, isn't that too much?'

"Something's not right outside. I might not be able to get out of your body for the time being," Zhang Rongfang said in a deep voice. "The amplification of my power on you has also weakened considerably. I can only help you heal your injuries or provide simple boosts to your speed and strength."

After he came out, he could clearly feel that everything in the outside world was different.

That Sky Curtain seemed to serve more than just isolation and protection; it also seemed to have some other function.

"What should we do then?!" White Scale panicked upon hearing this.

"What are you afraid of! You check out the situation outside for me first. It won't be long before I can come out in my true form!" Zhang Rongfang replied.

"Wait!! Boss, your real body hasn't come out yet!? Didn't you go inside my stomach??" White Scale suddenly felt a sense of unease.

"Oh, I did burrow into your stomach, but only a tiny part of your body. The vast majority of your main body is still inside the Sky Curtain," Zhang Rongfang replied naturally.

These words were like a bolt from the blue, instantly shattering the last vestige of security that White Scale had held in his heart.

"What are you afraid of! Hide first, then observe the situation outside." Zhang Rongfang kept trying to restore his body, but to no avail.

'I can't project my Spirit Thread anymore either.' White Scale was on the verge of tears, feeling like she'd been tricked by her boss again.

'So this is the rule here.' Zhang Rongfang understood.

The Spirit Thread, combined with consciousness, seem normal within the Sky Curtain, but once outside, they cannot be projected outwards at all. Perhaps this is the normal rule of the original world.

Perhaps the Interaction Zone is intentionally designed inside the Sky Curtain.

He thought of the old man who managed the fourth floor, and what Bottom Crawler had said.

The Interaction Zone was created to forge the strongest consciousness and spirit.

White Scale led Zhang Rongfang slowly out of the hole they had created. Covered in mud, they lay at the entrance, peering out.

Outside, everything was bright white; Heavenly Light fell Kong Wu, illuminating all things.

It illuminates everything in its entirety, revealing every detail.

There were no clouds in the sky, only a white sphere of light that occupied most of the sky.

'Is that White Pupil?' Zhang Rongfang, through White Scale's senses, also saw the enormous sphere of light.

It is not dazzling, even very gentle, but it always gives people the illusion that it is constantly expanding and getting bigger.

"What do we do now?" White Scale asked.

"Wait. This light can't stay on forever. Wait until it gets dark," Zhang Rongfang said in a deep voice.

***In the abandoned spire tower.

The four people were quietly scattered in the lobby on the first floor, waiting for the Heavenly Light outside to fade.

The Moon God sat by the campfire, gazing at the bright Heavenly Light outside the door.

He eventually joined the group called Heartless.

Although they're called a troupe, they actually feel more like stray dogs searching for food and Martial Arts Diagram.

The leader of the group was a middle-aged man Laf Lav with snow-white eyebrows.

Of course, they only look like middle-aged people. For monsters that crawled out of the Interaction Zone, you can't really judge their age by their appearance.

Just like the Moon God herself, she is over three hundred years old. But judging from her appearance, she looks no more than forty.

Aside from the regimental commander, Laf, the second in rank was the green-haired youth Heart Fusion.

Then comes the weakest girl Jade Pavilion.

Of the three, Jade Pavilion had fought him before and was very strong. When the power of the Heart Burning Furnace was not activated, Jade Pavilion was much weaker than him.

Once activated, the opponent was able to instantly gain the upper hand.

If it weren't for his superior martial arts skills, he probably wouldn't be a match for the Jade Pavilion in a real fight.

And this is only the weakest Jade Pavilion.

"What is this world like? Can you tell me?" The Moon God looked at the Jade Pavilion, who was sitting by the fire just like him, and asked softly.

This girl has a good temper and is easy to talk to, as long as she doesn't resort to violence.

Once she starts fighting, she seems to easily go into a berserk state, and she doesn't hold back when she strikes.

But it's better not to take action.

"There are quite a few groups like ours outside. We've encountered them about ten times over the years," Jade Pavilion smile. "There are Evil Spirit Car wandering around, and the Instant Tower that appear from time to time. In addition, there's the erosion of the Heavenly Light."

Everyone was busy searching for food; those without food could only wait to die. That's roughly how it was.

She was talking incoherently.

But the Moon God understood the meaning.

"Aren't there any ordinary people?" he asked.

"Ordinary people? You mean survivors? Yes, but they are few. They live in settlements of varying sizes. They grow a lot of underground mushrooms and other food, and it's said they also raise insects."

However, these are the minority; the main focus is on the Interaction Zone. As long as a good Interaction Zone can be found, it can thrive for many, many years.

"Can't we just go into the Interaction Zone and live a quiet life?" the Moon God asked in a deep voice.

"A peaceful life? How is that possible?" Heart Fusion slowly approached from the side and said, "We consider other Interaction Zone as invaders. As soon as we make contact, they will use all their power to try to kill us. There is no way we can have peace."

He stood by the wooden window and looked outside.

"If there are any people in this world who can live a quiet life, then perhaps only the people of the Perpetual Palace remain."

"What is the Perpetual Palace?" the Moon God asked. This wasn't the first time he had heard the name.

"They possess the most Martial Arts Diagram in the world and are trying to find a way to create the world's strongest Heart Burning Furnace, to find hope of escaping destruction," Heart Fusion replied.

"The Perpetual Palace is a very large and brutal organization with great strength. They are also the ones who have been resisting the countless evil spirits Evil Spirit Car that have been separated from the Instant Tower," said the leader, Laf, as he approached with a smile.

"This world is actually very simple, yet also very hopeless. Survivors, our group, a few Walker, the Perpetual Palace. Everyone is searching for the Interaction Zone."

Aside from the survivors who can barely be self-sufficient, the other factions are unable to achieve self-sufficiency. Therefore, they can only continuously exploit Interaction Zone, using them as food supplies.

Laf sighed.

"I guess that the entire world, excluding the Interaction Zone, probably has no more than ten thousand people on the ground who can still move. And that number is decreasing rapidly."

"Because the Heavenly Light is getting stronger and the night is getting shorter."

"Since we're all going to die anyway, let's enjoy ourselves while we can and do whatever we want." Jade Pavilion said with a grin, "Whether it's looting, slaughtering, torturing, or venting, as long as it helps us relax, it's fine."

"Why don't you go back to live in your own Interaction Zone?" Moon God asked after a moment of silence.

"It's gone." Jade Pavilion shrugged. "The guild leader destroyed the Interaction Zone between me and Heart Fusion. We can't go back."

"Then him."

"They also destroyed my Interaction Zone. So now we're homeless," Laf chuckled as he replied. "Actually, I was planning to kill them, but then I thought it would be too difficult to find a suitable guy outside, so I held back."

The Moon God fell silent. He vaguely sensed that the mental state of these three people seemed to be abnormal.

Overload Madman

Xiao Da Duang thanks both of you for your generous donations of 10,000 points last week. The pandemic is still ongoing, so please don't let your guard down. Even if you test negative, avoid strenuous exercise, as it could trigger myocarditis. Remember that! If you can afford it, consider buying some Coenzyme Q10; it's quite effective. I won't mention the brand to avoid being accused of advertising.