The ground was littered with Steel Thorn Turtle corpses. The Heavy Armor Demonic Beast and Meteor Iron Swallow had also become lifeless metal statues.
The Heavy Armor Demonic Beast was too massive; taking it back was probably impossible. The Meteor Iron Swallow could be brought back, but Lin Shen feared it carried that poison, so he did not touch it either.
"If I'd known, I should've let Dead Powder deal with the Poison Thorn Turtle." Lin Shen had been afraid Dead Powder would be poisoned to death as well, so he had not dared use it.
Now that he saw the thing swallow the Poison Thorn Turtle's corpse whole without suffering any harm—and even evolve—he knew his worries had been completely unnecessary.
"The mutated Poison Thorn Turtle is a mutated creature, yet it had no Fire Seed. Is that because of this place, or do mutated creatures not necessarily have Fire Seeds?" Lin Shen had no time to think too deeply. After collecting as much Gene Mutation Fluid from the Steel Thorn Turtles as possible, he continued along the coastline.
Beyond the white beach lay the Steel Jungle. Unlike the area near Blackbird Base, there was not a single green plant in sight here. Every plant was metallic.
Lin Shen did not dare enter the Steel Jungle rashly. With his chicken-weak body, if a Gene Mutation Creature suddenly crawled out of the grass, he would not even be able to run.
Looking along the coast, he saw huge reefs and sheer cliffs by the distant shore. The view there was much clearer.
Lin Shen wanted to see whether he could find somewhere to hide over there. As long as he endured seventy-two hours, he could activate this damned Teleportation Device and return.
After walking only a few meters, Lin Shen felt he could not keep going. Otherwise, he would never reach the Reef Area in his lifetime—he would die of exhaustion first.
He called Superspeed Gunslinger over and had him crouch down. Lin Shen lay across his back and let Superspeed Gunslinger carry him.
It was not that Lin Shen did not want to challenge himself. It was simply that after walking those few meters, he was already drenched in sweat, aching all over.
"What exactly is this place? Is it inside that mysterious Gourd Mountain? If Gourd Mountain can contain a world of its own, then what kind of existence is Gourd Mountain itself? Did Third Brother and Fourth Brother come here too? Could Second Brother, who disappeared, possibly be here as well..." Lin Shen lay on Superspeed Gunslinger's back, thinking of many things.
He also knew that Third Brother and Fourth Brother might still be alive, but the possibility of Second Brother being alive was likely exceedingly slim.
Superspeed Gunslinger's speed had clearly been affected too, but he could still stride as swiftly as if flying. There was no major problem.
After following the coastline for two or three kilometers, Lin Shen suddenly saw what looked like a person lying face-down on the beach ahead.
The person lay sprawled on the sand, with small waves repeatedly slapping against his body, yet he did not move in the slightest.
"Don't tell me he's dead?" The distance was too great for Lin Shen to see the person clearly, so he had Superspeed Gunslinger speed up.
He wondered whether the man belonged to the Qi Family or the Wang Family. But once they drew closer, Lin Shen immediately recognized his clothes.
"Wei Wufu? Is he dead?" Lin Shen froze slightly.
Although he knew Wei Wufu had followed him with an agenda, Wei Wufu had stepped forward to help when Lin Shen was in danger. Seeing him dead here still left Lin Shen somewhat saddened.
When they reached Wei Wufu's side, Superspeed Gunslinger set Lin Shen down.
Lin Shen had Superspeed Gunslinger drag Wei Wufu farther inland, to where the waves could not reach him.
Several places on Wei Wufu's clothes were torn, but he seemed to have no visible wounds. His hair was disheveled and soaked with seawater, clinging to his scalp in wet strands.
Lin Shen reached out to check his breathing, then felt for his pulse. To his surprise, the man was still alive. He seemed to have merely fainted.
The discovery put Lin Shen in a difficult position. If Wei Wufu had not helped him before, Lin Shen would have immediately had Superspeed Gunslinger blow his head off with a shot, lest he become a future threat.
But Lin Shen had been influenced by his older brothers and sisters since childhood. He had always been clear-cut about gratitude and grudges alike. Asking him to kill someone who had helped him was something he simply could not do.
Just as Lin Shen was considering how to deal with Wei Wufu, the man unexpectedly woke up.
When he opened his eyes and saw Lin Shen, he was briefly stunned. Yet he said nothing, pressing a hand against the sand as he tried to get up.
But the moment he moved, his expression changed drastically. Something seemed to be wrong with his legs. He could not stand, only manage to sit upright with his upper body.
"Are you all right?" Lin Shen asked, looking at his legs.
"My legs can't move," Wei Wufu replied.
Lin Shen immediately fell silent. If his legs were crippled, then his life was over. For a Gene Mutator, without legs, he could no longer fight Gene Mutation Creatures.
"They just can't move. They aren't crippled." Wei Wufu seemed to see through Lin Shen's thoughts and spoke expressionlessly.
Lin Shen felt that was merely Wei Wufu's final stubbornness. His legs looked completely devoid of sensation. If they were not crippled, what else could they be?
But Lin Shen did not want to dwell on that now. He noticed that Wei Wufu wore a watch identical to his own and asked, "After you covered my escape, what exactly happened? Why were all of you gone when I returned to the canyon? And how did you get here?"
"Met monster. Couldn't beat it. Ran. Slow ones died. Ran into mountain. Blackbird led way. Found Gourd Mountain. Hole on mountain. Entered hole, came here. Watch appeared on hand. Fell into sea. Gene Mutation Creature in sea. Couldn't beat it. Fought desperately. Gene Mutation Creature retreated. Fainted. Woke up. Saw you."
Wei Wufu's concise way of speaking left Lin Shen dazed.
Most people spoke with causes and consequences, beginnings and turns, embellishments and descriptions. More often than not, most of what they said was useless information.
But Wei Wufu was different. Not a single word he spoke was wasted; every word was a useful point. It was as if he were reading an outline.
"What kind of monster?" Lin Shen noticed Wei Wufu had said monster, not Gene Mutation Creature.
"Don't know. Looks like human, but not human. Looks like Gene Mutation Creature, but not Gene Mutation Creature," Wei Wufu answered.
"Um... could you describe what that monster looked like?" Lin Shen felt as if he had heard the explanation, yet also as if he had heard nothing at all.
Wei Wufu was about to answer when they suddenly heard the seawater churning. Both men turned their heads, and their expressions changed at once.
A monster emerged from the sea. Its body was made of blue metal, but its eyes gleamed like rubies. It looked human, yet fish scales covered its body. Fins rose from its back and head, and gills sat beneath its cheeks. It carried a red metal trident in one hand, glaring covetously at Lin Shen and Wei Wufu as it stepped through the seawater toward the beach.
"Leave. Can't beat it. Mutated Alloy Creature," Wei Wufu said.
"Bullshit. If I could leave, wouldn't I?" Lin Shen felt like crying without tears. His physical condition was a huge problem; he could not run even if he wanted to. He could only hurry and have Superspeed Gunslinger carry him.
But the moment Superspeed Gunslinger moved, he immediately drew the Gene Mutation Creature's attention. It did not care whether Superspeed Gunslinger was heading toward it or not. Its scaled legs erupted with terrifying power and speed, and its body crossed more than ten meters in an instant, charging near Superspeed Gunslinger as it thrust its trident at him.
"You fucking lunatic!" Lin Shen wanted to cry, but no tears came.
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