New Journey: X Team

On the platform in the Gate.

Janus opened his eyes.

He watched as the group of people who had disembarked from the ship slowly walked towards him.

There were more than twenty people scattered around.

Leading the way was his old acquaintance, the only human he had met several times before.

And this guy's strength surprised him.

"Kevin, it's you again? Aren't you going to enjoy your last moments at home?"

Janus asked.

In his understanding, the reason why someone of Kevin's strength would want to return to human society is precisely because of humanity's attachment to their home.

Otherwise, why would you come back?

Since this is the last time, I should naturally stay in my home for a while.

That's enough.

Kevin waved his hand.

In essence, Kevin's attachment to human society was not as deep as the other party imagined.

"It seems you've resolved the disaster—what a pity. Now you understand why there's a door here, right?"

Janus let out a rare, deep laugh, a sound as heavy as if worn down by Rock.

"It seems this disaster hasn't dispelled your fears. That's humanity for you—humans who never learn their lesson."

Janus looked at Kevin, then at the group of people behind Kevin, and murmured something.

Kevin looked at him, thought for a moment, and asked.

"If I control the total number of humans on the Dark Continent, I can avoid the calamity of death, right?"

Janus nodded very directly, without hiding anything.

"Based on the information that remains in my mind, that is indeed the case."

"The ancestors of mankind once led their people, numbering 3,677."

Only 2131 remained at the end.

Upon hearing such a precise number, some people behind him immediately began taking notes.

This is a very important source of human history.

There were three people like you back then, but only one of them was more capable than you are now.

Janus looked at Kevin and said.

Does this mean that the entire human group at that time actually had three Lords?

The existence of three Lord is enough to show that the human community at that time was actually living quite well.

But they actually escaped and tried to carve out a closed territory for human habitation.

There are only two possibilities then.

One reason is indeed the hope that the human race can reproduce and survive.

Another possibility is that humans were forced to flee from some kind of danger or disaster.

However, based on the information available now, the first possibility is more likely.

Human reproduction rates are already quite high; if the population remained at a few thousand, it would demonstrate just how high the human mortality rate was at that time.

Life ultimately has an instinct to continue.

Seeking a secluded place is a perfectly reasonable and instinctive choice.

"Excuse me, were all the humans on the Dark Continent at that time, or was it just a branch that remained here?"

Netero bowed politely, then asked respectfully.

Janus glanced at Netero.

"I remember you. You're not dead yet."

Then he answered, "Of course, you are human beings yourselves, how could you not understand your own thoughts? When faced with important issues, there will always be disagreements."

"There will always be a way out for oneself, and naturally some humans will remain on the Dark Continent."

Netero nodded slightly; that made more sense.

However, no one bothered to ask what the current situation of humans was on the Dark Continent.

It's meaningless, and it's unlikely we'd know.

But according to the fact that humanity once had ancestors who Lord Level,...

See Kevin.

Therefore, the possibility of sheltering hundreds or thousands of their own kind is still quite high.

Therefore, there may still be human populations living on the Dark Continent.

However, we may find it difficult to meet.

After all, the sheer size of the Dark Continent is unbelievable, and human ancestors likely originated from inland regions rather than areas near lakes.

After exchanging this information...

Kevin suddenly said, "From now on, there will likely be more people heading to the Dark Continent."

"This day has finally come."

Janus murmured, not surprised by the situation.

Clearly, our ancestors knew exactly what choices we would make.

The possibilities of the future were already foreseen.

"In that case, come forward."

Janus suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing this, Kevin frowned slightly, but still took a step forward.

The Gargoyle was squatting on the stone platform, suddenly emitted light from its eyes.

A spiritual wave was transmitted.

Kevin received the telepathic message, thought for a moment, and then relaxed his mental defenses to some extent.

After all, there was no malice detected from the radio waves; it was more like a transmission of information, like someone telling you not to cover your ears.

The transmission of mental information is extremely rapid, seemingly ending in the blink of an eye.

"The Gate will open automatically, so please don't bother me so often in the future."

Having said that, the Gargoyle closed its eyes and, like a real statue, remained motionless.

Seeing this, Kevin turned around and waved to everyone.

Back on the ship.

"I thought there would be some restrictions, but I didn't expect it to be this simple?"

Kevin was somewhat puzzled after boarding the ship.

Even Netero and the others standing nearby couldn't help but nod in agreement, because that was indeed the case.

Human beings live in a closed, enclosed circle.

Humans discovered this a long time ago.

Otherwise, there would be no Gatekeeper.

This must be something that consists of some kind of Succession Ceremony.

Kevin had thought that the frequent comings and goings would impose some restrictions, but it seems there aren't any.

"He just conveyed some message to you, didn't he? I could feel it."

Netero changed the subject and asked.

He could vaguely sense something.

Kevin nodded and said, "Well, it's strange, what he gave me was knowledge about taming Navigation Whale."

"Navigation Whale? You're not talking about those creatures that swallow us and transport us to the Dark Continent, are you?"

Netero immediately understood, after all, he had also explored the Dark Continent before.

"Yes, that's it."

The massive doors opened, and two ships, one large and one small, slowly sailed out.

Angel descended.

Two enormous whales stood in front of us, their mouths wide open.

Everyone was already familiar with this process.

He waved goodbye to Melusina.

The two ships entered the whale's mouth and then disappeared into darkness.

Several days in darkness.

The whale surfaces when its body senses that the ship has stopped.

Light shone in from outside.

The small boat sailed sideways.

Buhaci piloted the boat, speeding away at an extremely high speed, leaving a long trail in the water.

Qi sat at the very top of the bow, gazing into the distance.

However, it was still just a vast, boundless sea.

--

A little nervous?

Melusina sat down next to Men Qi and asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Men Qi nodded.

What they held in their hands, which was still with them, was detailed information about the Ochima Federation's past explorations in search of Nitromi.

"After all, it's the highest-level danger level Double-tailed Snake Hellbell, just like the Papu the Nurturing Beast, it's not something that can be destroyed by realistic means."

Men Qi's sigh stemmed from humanity's fear of unknown dangers.

The most dangerous creature they've encountered so far is actually the Papu the Nurturing Beast.

Because the other party is essentially a kind of mental virus, and it is rooted in the individual's will and emotions.

Only those with sound thinking can act within their designated area.

It can't be said that the problem has been solved at all.

It can only be said that a method has been found.

The same applies to the Hellbell of the same level.

Among the Five Great Disasters, the Hellbell are undoubtedly the most aggressive.

According to the available information, the explorers did launch an attack and were carrying some weapons.

However, these attacks and weapons were meaningless to Hellbell at that time.

"Our job is simply to explore, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Melusina said with a smile.

A few days later, the ship docked at its destination.

They landed and looked around; it seemed ordinary, with nothing special about it.

It's similar to the destination shown in the information.

"This should be the landing point of the Ochima Federation. There are still some things they left behind around here."

The Federation's Exploration Team was fleeing after being attacked, so they were in a hurry and left behind some supplies.

Along this coastline, there seem to be few living creatures; many remnants of materials remain, faintly visible.

Buhaci dragged the boat directly onto the shore and then left it there, ignoring it completely.

Men Qi clapped her hands, and her Nen Aura surged forth, sending forth countless birds and insects that scattered in all directions.

Melusina waved her hand, and the Four Maids appeared and dispersed.

After completing all these preparations, they slowly moved forward.

Ahead was just a sparse grove of trees, the view was fairly open, and there seemed to be nothing special about it. There was also no sign of any living creatures around.

After some reconnaissance, the area within a radius of five or six miles had been basically scouted.

"It's very desolate, just like the information said. The area around the landing point is a desolate area with few living organisms."

The group walked slowly forward.

Remain vigilant.

After all, this is an unknown region.

By late afternoon, they had traveled twenty or thirty kilometers.

We're starting to approach a forest area.

"We saw many traces along the way, including many signs of animal migration, but we rarely saw any biological communities."

"Moreover, all these traces point in the same direction—to a possible Swamp ahead; they've all been attracted."

After investigating along the way and based on various clues, Men Qi basically came to a conclusion.

Melusina looked up slightly at the sky.

Then he closed his eyes and gently inhaled the air.

"I can roughly smell it from this location. The faint life force permeating the air, if I'm not mistaken, should be the scent emanating from Nitromi."

Having worked alongside Kevin to help Kevin manufacture pharmaceuticals for many years, Melusina has an exceptional ability to identify the properties of various materials at a glance.

Based on various data, Nitromi has confirmed that the other party possesses a vast life force.

Moreover, it might be something completely different from Thick White Milk.

Thick White Milk is a known ingredient, and the Life Force it contains is essentially a form of nutrition; it is a highly nutritious product.

It can be compared to compressed food.

It is extremely important in the food and medical fields.

However, it does not possess the ability to directly convert into Life Force for healing the body.

But Nitromi is clearly a different kind of person.

It should not bring nutrition, but rather a supply of Life Force.

"That's really tempting."

Melusina let out a breath.

"You can smell it now?" Men Qi sniffed the air, but to be honest, she couldn't smell anything.

We walked a little further ahead.

As dusk settled, they found a secluded spot and set up a makeshift camp.

At this distance, Xiahara, Men Qi, and Qi could all smell the faint fragrance wafting through the air.

"This fragrance is what you call the breath of life?"

Kiy asked curiously.

He simply smelled it and thought it smelled nice, which made him feel hungry.

But he's not actually hungry right now.

Melusina nodded. "This is life's instinctive craving for concentrated Life Energy. You wouldn't feel this way about Thick White Milk."

"But now when you smell this fragrance in the air, you will feel your body yearning, you will feel hunger, you will feel the need for concentrated life."

When Kevin creates some high-concentration potions, some potions with the same properties will exhibit similar characteristics.

That is, wanting to possess a body simply by seeing it.

Melusina had experienced this more than once and was very familiar with the feeling.

So it's just as we guessed before.

Buhaci said, grilling the meat in front of him.

Men Qi nodded as well.

"It seems the Hellbell exists around Nitromi, using Nitromi presence as bait to lure more prey."

"Perhaps they're also protecting it. After all, those snakes might need to eat Nitromi themselves, and those attracted there are more likely to be enemies competing with them, so they naturally need to be eliminated."

Killua looked at the fire and said.

There are basically only two possibilities.

Melusina shook her head and retorted, "Based on the data and the information we currently have about the Dark Continent, the Hellbell's attack method must be based on mental attacks."

This means they are unlikely to be creatures with strong Life Force, so their need for Nitromi must be minimal, or even nonexistent.

"According to the records, the Exploration Team encountered the Hellbell when they were still quite a distance from the swamp area described in the book."

"Of course, from the perspective of the geographical area of the Dark Continent, this is indeed the other party's territory, but it is clearly more of a trap to ambush them."

"For creatures that excel at mental attacks, their prey is more likely to be entities like the souls and wills of other beings."

Of course, it's impossible to draw definitive conclusions about these things. The key is to understand the ecology of the Hellbell in order to make an accurate judgment.

Like Resentful Eater Snake.

However, the Resentful Eater Snake also seeks to absorb spiritual power; Life Energy is merely a secondary benefit.

Resentment is essentially an extreme form of spiritual energy, born from a mixture of life energy.

The next day.

They walked another fifty kilometers or so.

The surrounding environment has undergone significant changes.

Gloomy and dark.

A faint smell of blood filled the air.

"Tsk, they really don't hide anything."

With such a strong smell, Men Qi didn't even need to scout ahead to know the danger ahead.