Early the next morning, at the northern pass of the Seventh Transfer Station.
Crack!
The composite steel probing rod in the scout's hand had barely touched the ground when a seemingly seamless gray-white slab collapsed without warning, spinning into the bottomless black rift!
Rumble...
A full five or six seconds passed before the faint, muffled sound of shattering stone drifted back up from the darkness.
The Hunter Player at the front snatched his suspended boot back like lightning, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and frantically waved everyone back, his voice low and strained:
"Stop! Everyone, halt! Strong acid has eaten away everything underneath! There's only a thin shell left on top!!"
Anemia's breath caught. He quickly stepped forward and extended his thick, heavily armored exoskeleton arm, keeping Yi'er safely on the solid rock behind him.
On the system panel, the strategic holographic map copied from the ancient ruin wall clearly marked this spot as an intact downward slope.
But countless ages had passed. Rampaging Abyss toxins had long since eaten the once-solid stone slope into a brittle, hollow shell. A thick layer of ancient bone ash covered its surface, making it look no different from solid ground. One misplaced step would send a person tumbling into the fissure below.
"Well, that's a great start. The very first stretch of road is shot."
Anemia spat and used his tactical eyepiece to stamp a scarlet cliff hazard marker over the area.
Standing behind him, Yi'er unconsciously folded his four hands together. He studied the ancient lines on the parchment, the breathing gills along his neck creasing slightly.
"Look higher up. The ancestral map has two overlapping marks along this section. Above us... there should be a suspended auxiliary path the artisans once used to inspect the divine body's outer wall."