Three Moons later.
Several figures stood on a desolate plain.
They made no other move, simply standing there with their heads slightly tilted back.
What appeared before them was a Distortion and bizarre scene, filling the space between heaven and earth, spreading to the left and right, and overflowing the boundaries of all vision.
Like an infinitely vast shattered mirror, it tears apart, reflects, and ruthlessly crumples the landscape of the wasteland and the sky.
Everything after that was blurry and indistinct, as if the world had abruptly ended there...
"Although I've seen it many times, I'm still amazed every time I see it. Is this really something we can do in the future?" Zhou Xuan exclaimed, looking at the scene in the distance.
"You might not be able to grow to that First Tier!" Zheng Guomin said calmly.
"Hey, Old Zheng, you're such a spoilsport!" Zhou Xuan couldn't help but turn to look at his former captain upon hearing this.
Since they were in a new team, Zheng Guomin asked Zhou Xuan to change how he addressed him in order to maintain consistency in how they addressed each other.
"I'm just stating a fact." Zheng Guomin withdrew his gaze and looked calmly at Zhou Xuan.
"I..."
Zhou Xuan opened his mouth, but then became speechless and didn't know what to say.
It was a bit disheartening to say, but when he saw the scene before him, he truly felt that even given enough time, he couldn't have done it.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he turned his head to look at the figure beside him.
"Hey, Captain, aren't you going to do anything about him?!"
Shen Heng withdrew his gaze, glanced at him indifferently, and ignored him.
Zhou Xuan raised his hand to his chest and took two steps back. "Damn it, how could you all treat me like this? Even if I draw a circle and curse you, you won't reach this level!"
As he spoke, he actually started doing it, squatting on the ground with his back to everyone and drawing circles.
Ignoring Zhou Xuan's antics, Shen Heng once again turned his gaze to the distant border.
This is the boundary of the Erosion Zone, indicating that they have reached the very edge of the Erosion Zone.
Further ahead... it's uncertain whether they can proceed. When Shen Heng and the others first saw it, they tried throwing Stone into it.
The Stone can be thrown in, but what happens after it goes in is anyone's guess.
They also tried to get Zhou Xuan's Yin Soldiers inside, but after the Yin Soldiers went a certain depth, they lost contact.
Therefore, they had no choice but to abandon their exploration of the boundary before them.
but...
"Now I understand why the Seventh Tier is called Demigod!"
A calm, emotionless voice rang in Shen Heng's ears.
Shen Heng glanced at Han Ling, who had just spoken, then his gaze returned to the boundary that filled the entire world, and he said:
"Indeed, a being capable of this level is no different from a god!"
Han Ling nodded slightly, agreeing with this statement.
Qin Yu, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement.
Shifting his gaze, Shen Heng looked at the three giant rocks arranged together in a unique shape in the distance.
"Three months, much longer than expected, and the Erosion Zone is much larger than anticipated...?"
He let out a soft breath, gathering his thoughts, and slowly swept his gaze across the crowd, saying:
"Let's go, we're coming back!"
It took several days.
After a long separation, everyone returned to the base once again.
However, unlike the previous two times, this time it wasn't Li Daoyi who conducted the tests, but rather two members of the Supervision Bureau.
The test was completed, and the group headed into the base.
Zhou Xuan looked around, seemingly confirming something, before turning to the crowd and grinning:
"The base has gotten much bigger!"
"Indeed!" Zheng Guomin nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping around as well.
Unlike previous expansions that only affected the overall area, this time, even the roads within the base have been widened considerably.
Shen Heng glanced around briefly and said, "It seems the situation at the base has been quite good these past few months!"
Everyone nodded. Only when the situation is relatively good will there be time to repair and expand the base.
Turning his gaze away, Shen Heng looked around at everyone and said:
"You should all go back first and get ready. We'll probably be setting off again in a few days."
"Huh? No, we just got back and we're already going out again?" Zhou Xuan looked at Shen Heng with a bitter expression.
Although I didn't fight much during these three months because of Shen Heng's presence, I was still very tired from running around outside all day long for three months straight!
"The purpose of the exploration was to prepare for the subsequent actions. Now that we've returned from the exploration, it's only natural to follow up with actions immediately. Moreover, every day of delay inevitably introduces some uncertainties," Shen Heng said calmly.
"Fine!" Zhou Xuan said with a bitter face. He understood the principle, but he was really tired!
After giving a brief explanation, Shen Heng walked straight towards the command center.
After parting ways with Han Ling and Qin Yu, Zhou Xuan watched Shen Heng's departing figure and said with a bitter face:
"Ugh, I thought following the captain would be a good job, but now it's turned into a real nightmare!"
Zheng Guomin glanced at Zhou Xuan.
"The more things happen, the more it demonstrates the importance of our team, and also..."
He paused, then looked towards the disappearing figure in the distance.
"Compared to you, the captain is the one who's working the hardest! We just need to follow along, but he has to keep an eye on what's happening outside!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan also composed himself and looked in the direction of the already departed figure.
He nodded and said:
"That's true, but why haven't I heard him utter a single complaint?"
"This is the difference between you two!" Zheng Guoming sighed, then strode off in another direction.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuan quickly waved his hand.
"Hey, wait a minute, Old Zheng!"
Meanwhile, Shen Heng returned to the command center after several months.
Upon seeing Shen Heng, Li Daoyi, stood up and walked straight to Shen Heng's side, then raised his hand to put it on Shen Heng's shoulder.
Shen Heng chuckled softly, not resisting this latest test.
After a moment, once he confirmed that Shen Heng was indeed alright, Li Daoyi's brows relaxed, and he said irritably:
"You little rascal, I was worried something had happened to you out there since you didn't come back!"
"I didn't want to either, but the Erosion Zone is much larger than I imagined, which caused us to spend a lot more time!" Shen Heng sighed and said helplessly.
"Aren't you going to come back first?" Li Daoyi said irritably.
"If we come back first, we'll waste even more time!"
Shen Heng smiled helplessly, then turned and nodded to Zhang Weijun and the other two.
At Zhang Weijun's prompting, Shen Heng followed Li Daoyi to the long table and sat down.
"Has the entire Erosion Zone been explored?" Zhang Weijun asked.
Shen Heng nodded slightly.
"We've already figured out the distribution of the Calamity Beast, but we don't fully understand the terrain yet."