Grand Canyon

Beyond the vast basin, there are no more swamps to hinder one's progress on the wasteland.

On the desolate land, two heads peeked out from behind the steep slope, finally seeing a different landscape ahead.

One of the men took out his staff, summoned a bat, and sent it to scout ahead.

The woman patted the man on the shoulder, her tone excited. "Finally out!"

"Linsey, it took us a month to cross this basin?"

"That's right," Linsey said to Red, whose Common Language was becoming increasingly fluent. "To be precise, it's 32 days."

Red climbed onto a protruding rock.

She leaped up from below and knelt down to help Linsey.

"..."

Linsey blinked, then took the girl's hand and was pulled up by her.

He certainly doesn't need that kind of help.

But Red always likes to take the initiative, and after a month of getting along, Linsey has gotten used to her actions.

The two climbed to the top of the hill together, stood side by side, and gazed into the distance.

A canyon with a dramatic drop comes into view from the northernmost point of the field of vision, seemingly endless, stretching to the southwestern horizon where heaven and earth meet.

Nature has left its ever-changing brushstrokes here.

Valleys, streams, and fissures crisscross this land, and rushing rivers surge through the rugged canyons.

It's difficult to find a reliable path by just looking at it.

The terrain you see in the distance at this moment could be a winding path leading forward, or it could lead you to a dead end with Ten Thousand Zhang Cliff.

The scene described above perfectly matches the landscape recorded in the Expedition Team's notes.

Linsey immediately took out her notebook.

He had just turned to the corresponding page when Red, who was standing next to him, leaned over and tried to read it aloud in her Common Language:

"This land is dotted with... canyons, and the frequent changes in elevation make the earth look like... a wrinkle?"

Linsey pointed out the two words that Red couldn't pronounce. "The first word is densely interwoven, and the second word is wrinkled dog."

Red asked again, "What is a wrinkled dog?"

Linsey explained, "A dog is an animal that has been domesticated by humans. It can be used for guarding the house or hunting, and some are kept as pets for enjoyment. Wrinkled skin refers to the fact that this type of dog has many wrinkles on its skin."

While explaining the meaning of the words, Linsey and Red continued moving forward.

The terrain here was a serious obstacle for the two who wanted to reach the east.

When a cliff stands in front of you.

They had to take a detour, searching for a route that would allow them to pass through, which involved constant climbing and falling.

Linsey, however, wanted to use Resource Conversion items to build bridges.

However, these clods of earth cannot completely disregard the laws of physics like in a game. Laying clods of earth horizontally along the edge of a cliff has a limit of three meters; the final choice is still to honestly take a detour.

In the canyon, the sun rises and sets.

Even for two awakened individuals, walking through such complex terrain would inevitably slow them down considerably.

As night fell, the two arrived at a relatively wide canyon.

We simply chose a flat, open space to use as our temporary campsite for the night.

Linsey was naturally in charge of setting up the camp.

His Resource Conversion made him the perfect candidate for this job, while Red used the bats' scouting abilities to go out hunting.

A few minutes later, a simple shelter was set up.

A campfire also rose from the rubble in the clearing.

Linsey took out the stored Beast Meat to prepare dinner, but before it was even cooked, the girl's footsteps sounded above her.

"You're back?"

Linsey looked up and saw Hong jump off a cliff more than 20 meters high.

The girl moved nimbly and precisely, stepping on the protruding rocks and soil on the cliff three times along her fall path, completely eliminating the force of the fall upon landing.

"I'm back."

Hong greeted Linsey with a smile.

He then flicked the fiery red spear he was carrying on his shoulder forward, and the prey hanging on it was thrown in front of the camp.

"We're lucky today, there's this big cat up there."

[The body: Spotted Leopard Cat]

[The corpse of a suddenly deceased Third Stage Devil Beast, fresh and still warm.]

The fur and meat are available for sale, but their value is average.

The Third Stage of the Devil Beast...

Linsey looked at the girl in front of her, her companion, who had regained her status as an Awakened after coming into contact with the Essence.

Moreover, she did not follow any of the paths Linsey suggested.

The instincts that remain in the body are deeply ingrained, and even if memories are lost, the re-integrated Essence automatically returns to its original path.

Hong was quite pleased with this.

Using this innate skill, she demonstrated tremendous potential in offense.

In just one month, her skills improved by leaps and bounds.

She can last about three minutes when sparring with Linsey, which is almost a complete change from the frail girl she was a month ago!

Unfortunately, her status Source Material Lost One Disrupted the specific structure of her power.

Even when Linsey used her commodity abilities, all she could get was the information that "the Source Material Lost One is recovering its abilities."

Ding! At this moment, the cooking indicator reached perfect, Linsey quickly tossed the roast meat to Red.

The girl took the food and ate it with gusto.

After eating barbecue every day for a month, even the most delicious food can get boring. She didn't mince words or mince words, directly expressing her frustration:

"Barbecue again... Linsey, how long have we been eating barbecue?"

"Can we have something different tomorrow?"

Linsey looked innocent too. "I'd like to try something different, but that's just how things are in our environment... Tomorrow, you know? I'll try to find some wild vegetables, but just so you know, don't complain about how bad they are."

Hong's eyes widened, her bright pupils filled with disbelief. "You can make something that tastes bad?"

Linsey gave an example on the spot. "Didn't you think the cookies from last week were awful?"

"..."

The girl was silent for a few seconds, clearly remembering the 'deliciousness' of the Meat Biscuit, and then decisively changed the subject. "What about that sweet syrup? Give me some."

Linsey immediately refused:

"Maple Syrup is a finite resource; we should use it sparingly."

Red pounced on Linsey, trying to find something behind her, but to no avail. So she started to coax her, "Linsey, aren't you tired of eating barbecue?"

"Here, take it out. Let's enjoy it first, and then we can think of something else after we've finished eating, okay?"

"..."

Linsey knew this guy wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted, so she simply made a condition. "Tonight's training hasn't even started yet."

"If you can fight me to a draw, then you can have it."

Hong immediately took the bait. "It's a deal!"

The girl stood up and raised her red spear; Linsey also drew a pair of crimson daggers.

The two were on high alert.

In the instant before the fight, Linsey recalled the description of today's prey—[the corpse of Third Stage Devil Beast that died suddenly]—and asked, "Red, have you gotten stronger again?"

Red smiled confidently, raised his spear, and charged forward:

"Try it yourself and you'll see!"

I stayed up all night yesterday, my sleep schedule is completely messed up 0. o