Clues (Thanks to Ally Leader Newbie Village Chief Taipal)

"This... is the barrier of a world fragment..."

Tao Yu looked at the grassland ahead, his eyes filled with shock.

An abrupt change of scenery!

On the last day before his return, he had barely made it through the rainforest and arrived on the grassland mentioned on the radio.

Turning his head, he saw the dense rainforest that had suddenly appeared behind him!

Many giant trees could be seen, directly torn apart in the middle!

Many of the outermost giant trees looked as if they had been split vertically, revealing their uneven cores.

The cut surfaces were not smooth, like a dog's chew marks, similar to the ground on the higher level below.

The messy ground surface revealed many tree roots underneath, and the ground was about three meters higher than the grassland.

It was as if a piece of a jigsaw puzzle had been violently torn off and then forcibly shoved into place, completing the join!

A single line separated two worlds!

Tao Yu looked up at the sky. So far, the clouds and sunlight did not show any obvious signs of division.

Perhaps there were before, but clouds are ever-changing, and after being torn, they slowly formed new shapes, completing the overall join.

As for sunlight and day/night, he had heard that the Abyss fragments were also relatively chaotic. Sometimes several fragments were unified, and sometimes adjacent worlds were completely different, or even complete, independent worlds.

In short, the situation in the Abyss was chaotic and complex, and even the Company's records were incomplete.

As for whether one could fly out of the atmosphere to see if the outside was a starry sky, it was completely uncertain. It was likely in a state of Schrödinger's superposition, and one would only know upon going.

"I heard that near the Company settlement, when new world fragments appear, they might fall from these dividing areas, or even fall directly from a certain world, forming a new world overnight, turning seas into mulberry fields..."

Tao Yu thought of the little information he knew and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Besides, when he jumped from the ground, which was more than three meters higher in the rainforest, onto the grassland, he could still feel a slight sense of awkwardness.

This should be the difference in the so-called 'world power'.

Different world fragments had different rules, and the upper and lower limits of power manifestation varied greatly.

However, his parents had only mentioned this knowledge in passing, and this kind of restraint on the upper limit had little to do with the Outer City people, who were the limit for ordinary people.

In fact, the most obvious manifestation of this restraint was in the Real World. While resisting the consumption of the Abyss, the World Will also exerted a significant suppression on the manifestation of power in the Real World, likely a form of self-protection for each world.

Uh, but as mentioned before, this had little to do with the country bumpkins of the Outer City. It seemed that the stronger one's strength, the more obvious the suppression.

Besides, theoretically, various unique Wish Power Creatures in world fragments would encounter some obstruction when entering other fragments.

But judging by the fact that Xenomorphs were running rampant in the rainforest, the strength of this obstruction should also vary depending on the world.

"These grasses are quite lush, so I don't have to worry about lacking shade."

Tao Yu surveyed the grassland. The grass here generally grew to chest height, which could be considered exceptionally lush.

Under the gentle breeze, he could see waves of grass like a rolling sea.

But beneath this grassland lay various hidden dangers.

If nothing else, Xenomorphs, when crawling at high speed, could completely hide themselves in the sea of grass!

However, there was shade here, and Tao Yu also possessed superior concealment techniques.

"From the radio broadcast, this should be the destroyed planet of the Prometheus World. Due to the Black Water, normally there wouldn't be many creatures on this grassland, with little to eat."

Because he had been constantly training with the Breathing Technique's acceleration, Tao Yu had a great need for food, and this was his first consideration.

However, since it was connected to the rainforest, and the Xenomorphs, as Wish Power Creatures, had entered the rainforest, there would definitely be animals in the rainforest that would enter this desolate grassland.

Ordinary animals had no restrictions on their movement.

But...

Because of the Black Water, many of these creatures would likely encounter something ominous and become material for the Xenomorphs!

He didn't know how long these two world fragments had been adjacent.

But since Facehuggers were already running around, the collapse was likely quite severe.

This made Tao Yu's eyes show some worry...

With the existence of Black Water, coupled with Facehuggers, all the animals in this rainforest had the potential to become Xenomorphs!

As time went by, with the two worlds eroding each other, would they eventually form an endless army of Xenomorphs...

"Tsk, those fellows in the two floating cities are quite sharp. They know this place isn't suitable for settling, but if the chosen location is close to here, they could still be impacted, or rather, it would be almost unavoidable."

The Pioneers from Starfall City, when searching for suitable settlement locations, relied on their legs. Their speed might not even be as fast as the spread of Xenomorphs.

What kind of world is this?

If there were only the Giant Pythons in the rainforest, the difficulty would be higher than a normal Awakening Day, but it would still be manageable.

The Xenomorphs on the grassland alone were also like this!

Because there were originally no creatures on the grassland, the total number of Xenomorphs was limited.

But when these two cursed places combined, the rainforest, with its abundant resources and excellent creatures like Giant Pythons, combined with Xenomorphs, this combination was a complete disaster.

At the very least, even for Tao Yu now, it made his scalp tingle.

"I must find new world fragments, fragments that can obstruct Wish Power Creatures. These two places are too demonic."

Tao Yu didn't venture deep into the grassland but instead walked along the border of the rainforest and grassland, heading into the distance.

Beside him was the rainforest floor, over three meters high, and below, the soil occasionally revealed roots, like earthen walls.

He scanned the horizon, seeing no smoke signals from the two teams in the Floating City, so they had to be very far away.

Since that was the case, he wanted to try and see if he could travel to other world fragments.

He wondered how large these two world fragments were. If an entire planet had been ripped apart and thrown here, he'd truly have to walk until his legs broke.

Crossing the entire world on foot?

What a hellish joke...

"I wonder if I can get my hands on some kind of mountain bike when I go back. A solar-powered electric one would be even better..."

Since it was the last day, Tao Yu was unusually relaxed, letting his mind wander.

However, at that moment, he frowned slightly and turned to look at the waist-high sea of grass. The ripples in the grass were wrong!

Something was coming his way!

"Alien?"

Tao Yu's heart sank, and he quickly melted into the shadows. The surrounding scenery instantly became mottled, transforming into a perspective from within the shadows.

The next moment, Tao Yu was rapidly moving towards the source of a disturbance.

The perspective of moving through shadows, with reflections of the surroundings blurring past, caused his spirit and stamina to decrease, but his speed was far greater than if he were running at full speed himself!

The most crucial part was that by increasing his mental power consumption and layering the double shadow depth of the two Stealth skills.

He could also continuously reduce his "collision volume." While he couldn't phase through walls, moving through the grass barely disturbed its sway, and he left no footprints or traces on the ground!

"It seems to be five of them, tsk~, they're quite troublesome."

Tao Yu now had a clear judgment of himself. He could sneak attack and instantly kill one or two Aliens.

But if he encountered three or more at once, he'd have to resort to using firearms at range and maneuvering.

Five was just about his limit! He'd have to use all his abilities and items!

His sustainment would be pushed to its absolute limit, which was too risky.

He'd probably have to run first.

He had high burst damage and high killing power. Even if an Alien's individual strength was a bit higher, he was confident he could handle it, even sneak attack and kill it instantly.

But facing a war of attrition and a siege, he was truly in an awkward position.

Still lacking in endurance...

However, Tao Yu then looked at the fierce, man-high Grey Wolf before him and couldn't help but feel speechless.

After all that, it turned out to be a few Grey Wolves. Wasn't that just trying to scare him...

Although the Grey Wolf he saw was as large as an Alaskan Malamute and quite fierce, compared to the Aliens he had initially judged, Tao Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad, not bad. I'll use them as a meat supplement. I'll dry them and hide them. I don't know if there will be any left next time I come."

While thinking this, Tao Yu swung his blade, not wasting any of his enhancements, and severed the neck of the Grey Wolf before him.

Although his attack was casual, Tao Yu didn't look down on the Grey Wolf.

Without tools and weapons, five large Grey Wolves could still pose a fatal threat to Tao Yu!

Because of their numbers, and the ease with which he could lose track of them!

During the evolution of canines, their teeth became adept at tearing and biting, allowing them to bite and retreat, easily tearing off chunks of flesh, perfectly suited for pack attacks.

In contrast, felines, while their long canine teeth could deliver a killing blow, were not adept at pack tearing and biting. Even social lions, when cooperating, primarily relied on their claws. Their teeth were for suffocating or severing the spine. If their claws didn't get a good grip, they could easily break their teeth.

Five Grey Wolves of this size, in an environment with grass this tall, could easily overwhelm even an armed individual who wasn't careful.

"But with my current physical fitness combined with weapons, and paying attention, it should be fine now."

After killing one, Tao Yu didn't want to waste any more mental energy on Stealth. He looked at the bayonet on his Assault Rifle, felt the surge of power from his body, and prepared to do some training.

With Bullet Time as a safety net, he wasn't afraid of failing.

This was indeed a good opportunity.

Swish~

The next moment, a second Grey Wolf leaped out from the grass, its ferocious canine teeth bared, completely different from a domestic dog's wildness!

Without using any extra skills, just relying on his passive Dynamic Vision and the passive enhancement from Basic Weapons.

Tao Yu's physique, now at the limit of an ordinary person, easily stepped aside and then, with a backhand motion, precisely thrust the bayonet into the Grey Wolf's neck.

It fell heavily to the ground, struggling for a few moments, but soon, as blood seeped out, its struggles grew weaker.

"Humans can be considered ferocious beasts."

Tao Yu chuckled lightly, then swung the butt of his rifle heavily at the head of a Grey Wolf that was attempting to sneak attack from behind.

The strength of the human body's limits, combined with the power techniques of basic weapons, a rifle butt to the head of the sneaking Grey Wolf, directly shattering its skull!

It's time to let you recall the memories of being dominated by terrifying upright apes!

As Tao Yu looked at the fourth Alien with its small mouth lunging, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

This schemer, I knew you guys were this insidious!

Bullet Time!

The surrounding scene continuously slowed down, and the lunging Alien's movements instantly became sluggish.

Because the Alien was in mid-leap, besides its cunningly aimed tail, there were no points to brace against.

Tao Yu, relying solely on the consumption bonus of Bullet Time, combined with the Blood Essence from his Breathing Technique and Explosion - Modified, pushed his own tendons to the extreme, easily completing the evasion.

This time, Tao Yu didn't immediately Meld into Shadows. Instead, he counterattacked, raising his gun, concentrating his mind, and pulling the trigger!

Da da da~

The bullets directly pierced the sneaking Alien's body from behind!

Acidic blood splattered!

After being hit by the bullets, the Alien, in addition to the physical stagger from the bullet impact, seemed to have its reaction speed suddenly reduced significantly.

It just fell to the ground, rolling and struggling, unable to launch an effective counterattack!

After firing half a magazine, Tao Yu, while retreating, once again Melded into Shadows. Following the shifting perspective of the colorful shadows, Tao Yu's movement speed surged again as he moved towards the last one at high speed...

"Why is it a wolf again."

Drawing his saber and casually killing the last one, Tao Yu also seemed a bit speechless.

He had originally prepared himself, expecting the last two to be Aliens, one he would try to deal with using firearms to conserve stamina and spirit, and the second he would kill with stealth. But his ambitious second strike turned out to be another wolf.

Four wolves and one Alien?

Tao Yu even suspected that this Alien had originally intended to capture these Grey Wolves and was secretly following them.

It seemed like the only logical explanation.

However, considering the appearance of the Alien, Tao Yu lost the mood to stop and slowly roast dried meat.

He cut off two wolf hind legs. Tao Yu wasn't greedy for more; it was the last day anyway, and cutting off two legs was enough to bring back some meat.

"Heh, good luck."

Sensing that the Alien was gathering Wish Power from its mouth, Tao Yu also appeared somewhat joyful.

His second skill was only one or two steps away from completion, and the probability of Mouth of Wish Power was relatively small.

Even if it didn't fully form after absorbing this, supplementing it with some Wish Power should be enough.

"But are there large wolves like this in the Rainforest?"

As Tao Yu absorbed the Mouth of Wish Power, he also felt a bit puzzled.

After traveling through the Rainforest for so many days, he had only seen one type of small, skinny wolf that ate fruit. He had never seen one of this size.

This meant that this might have come from another world fragment?

Wish Power Creatures might encounter obstacles when traversing world fragments, but ordinary creatures wouldn't