A Clue (Thanks to Ally Leader Newbie Village Chief Taipal)

"So... this is the barrier between world fragments?"

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

The scene had changed with startling abruptness!

On the last day before he had to return, he had barely made it through the rainforest and reached the grassland mentioned over the radio.

When he turned around, the dense rainforest had appeared right behind him!

He could see numerous Giant Trees, all torn apart down the middle with brute force!

Many of the trees along the outer edge looked as though they'd been sliced vertically, exposing their jagged cores.

The cut surfaces were rough, like they'd been chewed by a dog, just like the higher layer of earth beneath them.

Through the ragged cross-section of the ground, he could see plenty of roots. The rainforest floor stood about three meters higher than the grassland.

It was as if someone had violently torn off a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and forcibly shoved it into place!

One step separated two worlds!

Tao Yu looked up at the sky. So far, he couldn't see any obvious divide in the clouds or sunlight.

Maybe there had been one before, but clouds were ever-changing. After being torn apart, they'd gradually taken on new shapes, and the two sides had joined together all the same.

As for the sunlight and day-night cycle, he'd heard that conditions inside Abyss fragments were chaotic, too. Sometimes several fragments shared the same cycle; sometimes neighboring worlds were completely different. Some even had their own independent cycles.

All in all, the Abyss was chaotic and complicated. Even the company's records were incomplete.

As for whether you could fly beyond the atmosphere and see if there was outer space, there was no way to know for sure. It was probably in a Schrödinger's superposition state. You'd have to go and find out.

"I've heard that when a new world fragment appears near a company settlement, people might fall from one of these dividing regions. Sometimes an entire world falls down, too, then forms a new world. The landscape can change completely overnight..."

Thinking of the little he'd learned, Tao Yu couldn't help feeling moved.

Besides, when he'd jumped down from the rainforest floor, which stood more than three meters higher, onto the grassland, he'd felt a subtle sense of wrongness.

That was probably the difference in what people called 'world force.'

Different world fragments had different rules, and the upper and lower limits of power varied greatly from one fragment to another.

His parents had only briefly mentioned that kind of thing. Those constraints and limits didn't matter much to Outer City people like him, whose limits were those of ordinary people.

In fact, the effects were most obvious in the Real World. As the World Will resisted being devoured by the Abyss, it also clearly suppressed the power people could wield there. That was probably each world's way of protecting itself.

Well, like he'd said, none of that had much to do with Outer City lowlifes. It seemed the stronger you were, the more obvious the suppression became.

In theory, the unique Wish Power Creatures in each world fragment would also face some resistance when entering other fragments.

But since the Facehuggers had been running wild all over the rainforest, the strength of that resistance must vary from world to world.

"The grass is pretty lush, too. I don't have to worry about a lack of cover."

Tao Yu surveyed the grassland. The grass here generally reached chest height. It was incredibly thick.

A gentle breeze swept over it, sending waves rippling across the sea of grass.

But the grassland was full of hidden dangers.

For one thing, if a Facehugger crawled along at high speed, it could hide completely in the grass!

Fortunately, there was plenty of shadow here, and Tao Yu had even better concealment skills.

"From what the broadcast said, this should be the destroyed planet from the Prometheus World. Because of the Black Water, there shouldn't be much life in this grassland. There probably isn't much to eat, either."

Since he'd been keeping up the accelerated training from his Breathing Technique, Tao Yu had a pretty big appetite. Food was the first thing on his mind.

But the rainforest was connected to this place, and Facehuggers, as Wish Power Creatures, had already entered it. Animals from the rainforest would certainly wander into this lifeless grassland, too.

Ordinary animals weren't restricted in their movements.

It was just that...

Because of the Black Water, many of those animals would probably meet a grim fate and become raw material for Facehuggers!

He had no idea how long these two world fragments had been next to each other.

But since Facehuggers were already running around everywhere, things had probably gone pretty badly.

Concern flickered in Tao Yu's eyes...

With Black Water and Facehuggers around, every animal in the rainforest could potentially turn into one!

As time passed and the two worlds encroached on each other, would they eventually end up with an endless army of Facehuggers...?

"Tsk. Those two from the Floating City were quick to realize this wasn't a good place to settle. But if they choose a site close to here, they could still get caught up in the disaster. They can hardly avoid it."

The team of pioneers from Starfall City had to search for a suitable place to settle on foot. They might not even move faster than the Facehuggers spread.

What kind of messed-up world was this?

If there were only the giant pythons in the rainforest, it would be harder than a normal Awakening Day, but still manageable.

The Facehuggers alone on the grassland would be the same!

There had originally been no life on the grassland, so the number of Facehuggers was limited.

But put these two hellish places together, and you had a rainforest rich in resources, with giant pythons—the cream of the crop—and Facehuggers. That combination was a complete disaster.

At least, even Tao Yu was getting chills just thinking about it.

"I have to find another world fragment—one that can keep Wish Power Creatures out. These two places are way too messed up."

Tao Yu didn't venture into the grassland. Instead, he followed the border between it and the rainforest, heading into the distance.

The rainforest floor rose more than three meters beside him, its exposed roots showing now and then through the earth below, like a wall of soil.

He looked into the distance but couldn't see the trail of smoke the two-person team from the Floating City had been leaving behind, so they were definitely far away.

In that case, he wanted to see if he could reach another world fragment.

He had no idea how big these two fragments were. If an entire planet had been torn off and dumped here, he'd have to walk until his legs gave out.

Cross the whole planet on foot?

What a hellish joke...

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

Since it was already his last day, Tao Yu finally let himself relax a little and clear his mind.

But just then, he frowned and looked back at the grass, which stood taller than a person. The ripples were wrong!

Something was heading his way!

"Facehuggers?"

Tao Yu's heart sank. He immediately used Shadow Meld, and the world around him turned mottled as he slipped into the shadows.

The next moment, he darted toward the source of the disturbance.

The view of the shadows rushing past on all sides, Tao Yu moved at a speed far faster than he could manage by sprinting at full tilt, though it drained his stamina and energy.

Most importantly, by spending more energy, he could stack the double-shadow depth of his two stealth skills.

He could also keep reducing his 'collision volume.' He still couldn't pass through walls, but he could move through grass without disturbing its swaying or leaving footprints or other traces!

"Looks like five. Tsk... this is going to be a pain."

Tao Yu had a clear idea of his own limits. He could kill one or two Facehuggers in a row with close-range surprise attacks!

But if he ran into three or more at once, he'd have to use his gun's range and maneuver around them.

Five was about the most he could handle! He'd have to use every skill and item he had!

His stamina would be pushed almost to its limit. The risk was too high.

He'd probably better run first.

He had high burst damage and high lethality. Even if a single Facehugger was a bit stronger, he was confident he could handle it—even kill it with a surprise attack.

But against a war of attrition or a group attack, he was at a serious disadvantage.

He still couldn't last long enough...

But then Tao Yu looked at the fierce, half-person-high gray wolf before him and couldn't help feeling speechless.

So they were just a few gray wolves. They'd given him quite a scare...

The gray wolf he'd spotted was as big as an Alaskan Malamute and looked vicious, but compared to the Facehuggers he'd been expecting, it was a relief.

"Not bad. I'll take these for meat. I can dry it and stash it away. Who knows if there'll be any left when I come back?"

As the thought crossed his mind, Tao Yu swung his blade and cleanly severed the gray wolf's neck, making full use of every bit of his strength.

Though he'd struck casually, he hadn't looked down on the wolf.

Without tools and weapons, five large gray wolves would still pose a deadly threat to him!

Their numbers made it easy to be distracted and leave himself exposed!

Dogs had evolved to have teeth well suited to tearing flesh. They could bite and pull away, ripping off a chunk of meat, which made them perfect for group attacks.

Cats, on the other hand, had long canine teeth that were good for killing with a single strike, but they weren't suited to tearing at prey in a group. Even lions, despite living in groups, relied mainly on their claws when working together. They used their teeth to crush a throat or spine, and if their claws weren't firmly in place, their teeth could break in an instant.

Five wolves of this size in grass this tall could easily take down someone with a gun if he let his guard down.

"But with my current physical condition and my weapons, I should be fine as long as I'm careful."

After killing one, Tao Yu didn't want to waste any more energy by slipping into the shadows. He looked at the bayonet on his Assault Rifle, felt the strength surging through his body, and decided to get in a little practice.

With Bullet Time as a safety net, he didn't have to worry about things going wrong.

This really was a good opportunity.

Swish—

The second gray wolf sprang out of the grass. Its cruel fangs, bared in a snarl, were nothing like those of a domestic dog!

Tao Yu used no extra skills, just the passive boost from Dynamic Vision and Basic Weapons.

With a physique now at the limits of an ordinary person, he easily sidestepped, then drove the bayonet into the wolf's neck with a precise backhand thrust.

The wolf hit the ground hard and struggled for a few moments, but as blood soaked into the earth, its movements gradually weakened.

"Humans count as beasts of prey, too."

Tao Yu gave a light laugh, then swung his rifle butt back at the head of a gray wolf that had tried to sneak up behind him.

With the physical strength of a human at their limit and the force technique from Basic Weapons, one rifle-butt strike caved in the attacking wolf's skull and shattered its bones!

It was time to remind them what it felt like to be ruled by a terrifying, upright ape!

When Tao Yu saw the little mouth of the fourth Facehugger rushing toward him, the corner of his mouth twitched.

This sneaky bastard. I knew you'd try something like this!

Bullet Time!

The world around him slowed. The leaping Facehugger's movements instantly became sluggish.

Since it was airborne, the Facehugger had no point of leverage except for its tail, which was aimed at him with nasty precision.

With just the extra energy drain from Bullet Time and the blood flow and Explosive Burst - Modified from his Breathing Technique, Tao Yu pushed his muscles to their limits and easily dodged.

This time, Tao Yu didn't immediately slip into the shadows. Instead, he brought his rifle up and pulled the trigger, concentrating!

Rat-tat-tat—

The bullets tore into the Facehugger's body from behind!

Acidic blood sprayed everywhere!

After being hit, the Facehugger seemed not only to stagger from the bullets' impact, but also to slow down sharply.

It collapsed onto the ground, rolling and thrashing, unable to mount an effective counterattack!

After firing half a magazine, Tao Yu sprang backward and slipped back into the shadows. As the mottled view shifted, he surged forward at tremendous speed toward the last one...

"Why was it another wolf?"

After drawing his blade and casually killing the last one, Tao Yu looked a little exasperated.

He'd been ready for the last two to be Facehuggers: he'd planned to save his strength and energy by taking down one with his gun, then sneak up and kill the other. But the second attack he'd been so confident about had ended up hitting another wolf.

Four wolves and one Facehugger?

Tao Yu even suspected that the Facehugger had been secretly following them, hoping to catch the gray wolves.

That seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.

But now that a Facehugger had shown up, Tao Yu didn't feel like stopping to leisurely make jerky.

He cut off the two hind legs from one of the wolves, but didn't get greedy. It was his last day, and he only needed a couple of legs to bring back for meat.

"Hey, not bad luck."

Feeling that the Facehugger's Wish Power was concentrated in its mouth, Tao Yu brightened.

He was only one or two short of completing his second skill, and the chance of getting Mouth of Wish Power was pretty low.

Even if absorbing this one didn't complete it, a little more Wish Power should be enough.

"But are there really wolves this big in the rainforest?"

As he absorbed the Facehugger's Mouth of Wish Power, Tao Yu felt puzzled.

He'd spent all these days moving through the rainforest and had only seen a kind of skinny little wolf that ate fruit. He'd never seen one this big.

Which meant they might have come from another world fragment?

Wish Power Creatures might face resistance when crossing between world fragments, but ordinary animals didn't...