Pitch Black Land and the Crushing Weight of Despair

Kim's team continues to move forward.

The sheer size of the Dark Continent made their progress seem minuscule.

"Where is this place?"

Looking at the distant scenery, Tuk asked with a hint of helplessness.

Jin squatted on a nearby Rock, gazing into the distance.

From a distance.

At the very edge of the field of vision, amidst the hazy scenery, one could see peak after peak resembling stalagmites.

These mountain peaks, like sharp thorns, are densely packed in the distance and can be seen from a great distance.

That is the Unmanned Stone Range.

Both the book and the return mission report described that area in detail.

The mountain range is not a normal mountain peak, but rather like sharp spikes protruding upwards from the earth, except that each spike is enormous and densely packed together.

The Unmanned Stone is located there.

But living in these mountains Papu the Nurturing Beast that gives people joy and extracts their life force.

But they are still extremely far from there. As the saying goes, "Looking at a mountain makes one's horse run itself to death."

They are still too far, far away.

Before heading towards the mountains, they were about to cross an endless expanse of black territory that almost filled their entire field of vision.

"How come there's no detailed description of such black areas in the book?"

Ai Meimei also somewhat incredulous.

After all, the book records many very obvious landmarks and provides geographical guidance.

"Two possibilities." Jin squatted on the Rock and held up two fingers.

"The first way is that when you can see these black areas, you will naturally be able to see the Unmanned Stone Range, which can provide guidance to people further away."

"The second type is that the black zone is essentially the source of danger, so the book simply omits the discussion of the source of danger."

Regardless of the method, they must remain extremely vigilant if they want to cross the black zone.

"According to previous operation reports, these black zones were not mentioned, so we can conclude that the area covered by these black zones is limited, at most only covering an area in the southeast direction."

The landing site was actually located southwest of the Unmanned Stone Range.

Then take the shortest route directly to the Unmanned Stone Range.

After all, it is an exploration of hope, and the Dark Continent is fraught with danger.

In this situation, remaining vigilant, avoiding danger, and reaching the destination at the fastest speed and shortest distance is the optimal solution.

It's impossible for them to conduct a detailed exploration of their surroundings.

"Based on the account in the book and our own experience, and given the author's malicious intent, these dark areas should be dangerous."

Jin said directly.

When experiences are combined with what is recorded in the book.

It's already quite clear who the author of the book is.

Although Jin said there were two possibilities, he actually believed there was only one: that he was deliberately keeping quiet, and that the black area was dangerous.

Anyway, let's explore it first.

Tuk waved his hand, and the Mechanical Bird on his shoulder flew away.

They quickly entered the black area.

And from high above, they looked down to observe the situation of the entire black area.

Tuk closed his eyes and began to take over the Mechanical Bird's vision.

As the Mechanical Bird ventured deeper, Tuk quickly gained a general understanding of the entire black area.

"The entire black area was almost devoid of life; no living, moving things were seen, but the possibility of some creatures hiding within it cannot be ruled out."

"At the same time, there wasn't a single patch of green to be seen; it was absolutely desolate, which is probably related to its black soil."

After observing for a while and finding nothing wrong, Tuk opened his eyes and told everyone what he had seen.

"Is there nothing there?"

Jin's expression turned serious, which was more likely to indicate the danger in the area.

"How about we go around it?" Moxi suggested from the side.

Judging from the current distance, if they change direction and move to the outer edge of the black zone...

It should take a few more days to reach the route taken by the previous Exploration Team.

According to the route in the record report, we should be able to reach the Unmanned Stone area.

Jin thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"It's a journey of several days, and we can't predict what we'll encounter along the way. We might even run into situations like this."

Finding a completely safe route is too difficult; you can only overcome one obstacle and problem after another along the way.

"Thinking about it from another angle, if these black zones are extremely difficult to traverse, doesn't that mean there are even fewer enemies in the area of Unmanned Stone Range adjacent to these black zones?"

It is known that the occupant of the Unmanned Stone Range is the Papu the Nurturing Beast.

Since this kind of creature needs to absorb the Life Force of other creatures, it certainly won't stay in desolate areas, but rather in places with more creatures to hunt.

Wait a while.

The Mechanical Bird returned without encountering any problems along the way.

Zaharut thought for a moment, then stepped into the black area.

However, I didn't feel anything, except that the ground felt harder. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the black color was due to the soil being mixed with many black pebbles.

"I don't feel anything."

Jin also squatted down and placed his palm on the ground.

I carefully experienced it.

"There's nothing inside the land; it's very solid, and there are no passageways."

This suggests that it is unlikely that there is some kind of burrowing creature in the image.

The group spread out slightly, remaining vigilant, and moved forward slowly.

The one walking in front became Tewashi, carrying a large Scissors and remaining vigilant.

However, after walking for more than an hour, they still didn't feel anything.

"That's strange, are they trying to lower our guard?"

Aimeimei asked, puzzled.

"Is it possible that this is a rather desolate area? Precisely because it is desolate, there are no plants, so naturally there is no way to attract life and form an ecosystem."

Tuk spoke from a more professional perspective.

This possibility certainly exists.

After all, the Dark Continent is so vast that it's impossible for every region to be inhabited by all sorts of creatures.

It is indeed possible that there exist life-threatening situations like the one before us.

But Kim's intuition told him it wasn't that simple.

Just as we continued moving forward.

Tewashi, who was walking at the very front, suddenly let out a muffled groan.

Everyone reacted immediately.

However, all that was seen was that Tewashi suddenly knelt on the ground, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other hand holding the Scissors.

My whole body felt as if it were being pressed down tightly by something invisible.

Don't go there!

Jin reminded him loudly.

Everyone just stood there.

Just then, not far ahead, the soil and sand were pushed aside.

A creature emerged.

What emerged was a creature that looked like a snail.

On its back was a black, rock-like snail shell, with black Rock protrusions on it.

Two tiny tentacles emerged from the gap below, and then the snail slowly moved forward, heading straight for Tewashi, who was lying on the ground.

"Attack! Don't let him get close!"

Upon hearing this, Zaharut grabbed a polished pebble from his waist and threw it out.

The whistling sound of something cutting through the air.

The pebble flew out immediately, but missed.

As it passed by Tewashi, it seemed to be knocked down by something and landed directly on the ground.

"It's gravity; there's something wrong with the gravity in that area."

As he spoke, Jin seemed to remember something and turned to shout at Tuk.

"Non-living entities, or those flying in the sky."

Tuk immediately realized what was happening.

The Mechanical Bird on his shoulder flew off and then grew larger out of thin air.

It transformed into a giant Mechanical Bird with a wingspan of five meters, soaring above the Black Snail and hurling one enormous steel needle after another downwards.

The steel needle pierced downwards with tremendous force due to gravity.

"When!"

A deafening sound.

The penetrating steel needle pierced the black snail shell, but it merely stuck there without actually piercing it.

Moreover, the penetration area was very shallow, and it was shaken down with the slightest sway.

It only chipped a shallow dent into the black Rock above.

Without needing commands, Tuk knew exactly what to do.

Numerous steel needles fell from the mechanical Giant Bird, forming a dense row that blocked the snail's path.

It's just a steel pin, a power strip.

The snail seemed genuinely stunned for a moment, and then actually started to walk around it.

They continued to act at their own unhurried pace.

But this did buy Tewashi enough time.

At that moment, Ximo pulled out an iron chain from his own space and threw it over.

It got tangled around one of Tewashi's legs.

But he didn't rashly pull the other person out; instead, he waited.

At this moment, Tewashi's face turned completely red, and he couldn't even speak.

But he was still not crushed to the ground.

He was trembling all over, and instead of trying to stand up, he tried his best to crawl backward.

Move it little by little.

As his feet left the area, the feeling of gravity seemed to lessen considerably, and he immediately began to drag his body along with his feet.

"Ah!"

A scream.

The snail is approaching.

However, there is still a considerable distance.

But Tewashi screamed in agony.

Swelling and congestion immediately appeared on the tips of his slightly forward-pointing fingers, as if they had been crushed by something heavy.

Jin finally moved.

He half-lay on the ground, aimed at the snail, and then pounded the ground violently.

Punch after punch.

The air, in a straight line, continued to travel forward along the ground.

Wave after wave.

Then this fluctuation seemed to bring about some kind of force, hindering the snail, preventing it from moving forward, and even pushing it backward.

Although it was difficult, it did manage to push the snail backward.

Punch after punch, wave after wave.

It forcefully pushed the snail backward three or four meters.

As the distance increases, the driving forces change.

But that's enough.

Tewashi, whose face was already red from holding it in, finally managed to pull himself out.

Then the chain was pulled sharply, pulling Tewashi back.

The group grabbed Tewashi and immediately retreated.

He ran away without looking back.

The snail remained in place, slowly and leisurely, then dug another hole and hid inside.

Jin and the others did not stop, but ran as fast as they could.

Compared to their initial vigilance, their escape speed was much faster.

In less than ten minutes, they ran out of the dark area.

Staying outside.

They immediately put Tewashi on the ground.

At this point, Tewashi had already fallen unconscious, his eyes closed, and his skin still had a slight rosy tint.

The fingertips of the left hand, which had been supporting the weight on the ground, had turned purplish-black due to swelling and congestion.

Ximo immediately began emergency treatment.

With the medication available, this problem is easily solved.

However, the problem is not that simple.

"His internal organs, bones, muscles, nerves—every part of his body was damaged."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned serious.

Then he took out several vials of medicine.

With the treatment of several medications combined, Tewashi's complexion quickly improved significantly.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and sit down around them.

"We'll take a detour."

Jin said directly.

The others did not object at all and all nodded.

After the brief conflict, they had gained a basic understanding of the area.

The very basic circumstances dictated that they could not possibly cross over.

Under the treatment, Tewashi had already woken up.

He coughed and opened his eyes.

Seeing the concerned looks on everyone's faces, he shook his head.

"Phew, I almost thought I was going to be crushed into a meat patty there," he said with a laugh.

Moxi stared at him and asked seriously, "How much do you think the gravity there suddenly increased?"

Tewashi lay on the ground, eyes open, carefully recalling the events.

"To be honest, it's impossible to judge, because the pressure from this gravity far exceeds any previous load."

"It was a comprehensive, all-encompassing pressure, felt by every single cell, from the inside out."

She said, still shaken, "I almost thought I was going to die."

The feeling of that immense pressure was all-encompassing: a heavy brain, blurred vision, slowed blood flow, and a reduced heart rate.

The effects of all-encompassing pressure are terrifying.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it felt like experiencing death.

Tewashi never imagined that such a comprehensive change in gravity would produce such an exaggerated effect.

"And that damn Black Snail, it seems to amplify gravity around itself. When it started to get close, I felt like I was about to lose control of my opponent."

As he spoke, Tewashi raised his left hand and looked it over, revealing indelible marks.

The pain seemed to penetrate to the bone marrow, causing him to experience phantom pain even when looking at his perfectly intact fingers.

"Why was my Mechanical Bird able to fly inside?"

Tuk sat there, lost in thought, and asked.

"Either you can fly and then you won't be affected, but gravity limits your altitude. However, this possibility is very low."

"Then it could be another kind of influence, if this gravity is not actually controlling gravity, but rather an influence of air on life."

"Therefore, only living organisms will experience the immense pressure of gravity when they enter that area."

Based on the situation they had just encountered, Jin quickly offered a range of possibilities.

"Regardless, just go around it; that's absolutely Forbidden Zone for life."

They are nothing special.

There's a reason it became a wasteland.

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