Chapter 139
"What's going on...?"
The next moment, Tactical Glasses appeared in front of Wen Jing's compound eyes.
[Cold Pole's Kin] / [Stellar Furnace] / [Cold Nuclear Fusion] / [Giant] / [Thick Armor]...
Through the glasses, a string of terms appeared.
Wen Jing noticed a red entry on the giant insect that he had never seen before.
But at this point, what's most alarming isn't the new terms.
"... Is it still alive?"
A wave of horror washed over Wen Jing, alarm bells rang in her mind, and she instantly prepared to run away.
However, the next moment she realized that the glasses only displayed the words, and there was no red light representing the difference in combat power.
This indicates that the other party currently poses no threat to her.
Furthermore, the Tactical Glasses could detect even the giant insect hitching a ride; if the giant insect in front of them could still move, it wouldn't be in this motionless state.
The upgraded secondary Gravity Silk Gland have brought about a qualitative leap in their ability to Wen Jing.
At this distance, she could hear everything, not even the slightest change in energy fluctuations in the area, let alone any noise from the giant insects inside.
The entire area of the glowing floating islands seemed to be in a strange state of stillness; even the pale white light it emitted was stable, without any 'flickering' that was imperceptible to the naked eye.
After regaining his composure, Wen Jing flashed forward and began to observe the floating island.
"Really..."
As her perspective shifted, and she rounded the largest floating island of insects in front of her, even more 'amber' came into view—
A giant spider, even larger and more terrifying than the Spider King she had defeated, a cluster of shadowy jellyfish... and many more, Wilderness Beast she had never seen before, a mixture of living and extraordinary qualities, appeared here.
But without exception, they were all sealed within this floating island that emitted a pale light.
This was not the giant insect nest that Wen Jing had initially thought it was; it was more like a museum displaying powerful creatures from the underground world.
Such a bizarre scene made Wen Jing feel that both the parched surface and the newly collapsed upper layer of the earth were places of birdsong and fragrant flowers, a place of ecological prosperity.
At this moment, she realized that the 'deep matching' mechanism for Awakened to enter the Ancient Wilderness only meant that they were initially entering a relatively safe area within a vast world.
Because of the properties of the Gravity Silk, she can explore a world continuously, as if she has an unlimited number of Locator Stone, thus reaching places far beyond her current Wilderness Body strength.
For example, the glowing floating islands right in front of us.
Wen Jing knew that this place was full of unknown dangers, but at the same time, a great crisis also represented a great opportunity.
She scanned the entries one by one with her Tactical Glasses, and they were all lists of intriguing terms.
That shadowy jellyfish aggregate was a completely upgraded version of the Cold Flame Jellyfish! There was also a spider even larger than the Spider King, and several other Ancient Wilderness she had never tasted before—she really wanted to try them!
To Wen Jing, these glowing floating islands were like Ancient Wilderness, delicious canned goods, brimming with allure.
It was her Calmness that allowed her to remain observant and refrain from immediate action.
Could they be, like the cocoons in the Frost Spider's nest, a food reserve for some powerful being?
After failing to find anything even with his Mental Vision, Wen Jing tentatively approached.
After circling the floating islands from a distance of a kilometer, she took a deep breath of the cold air and chose the smallest one, which was a little over twenty meters in diameter.
Sealed inside is a giant scorpion the size of a heavy truck, with a glossy black carapace like obsidian, and a pair of enormous, exaggerated pincers that are very conspicuous.
Although Wen Jing herself is an exception, the Ancient Wilderness she has encountered so far all follow the rule that the stronger they are, the larger they are.
This giant scorpion is probably the weakest among the floating islands.
[Pincer of Shattering] / [Earth Vein Heavy Hammer] / [Thick Armor] / [Earth Pulse]
The Tactical Glasses scanned the area, revealing one gold and three purple stats, clearly indicating a physical attack type—if the opponent regains full mobility after 'opening the can,' Wen Jing can quickly eliminate them.
Closing the distance to 800 meters, Wen Jing unleashed an attack on the glowing crystal where the giant scorpion was located.
The Gravity Silk move, prying open the edge of a distant luminescent crystal.
This is a form of destruction that does not involve any energy properties; it involves altering the molecular structure by changing gravity.
If this crystal has the property of 'reflection', it cannot be reflected back to Wen Jing, because the source of the force is itself.
"Click..."
Instantly, a crack appeared on the crystal.
Wen Jing was taken aback: The strength wasn't actually that high? Then how did it seal so many creatures?
The very next instant that thought arose.
As if triggering some mechanism, the pale light of all the surrounding floating islands suddenly increased in brightness.
Retreat!
Without hesitation, Wen Jing immediately used Phase Jump to teleport 100 meters. When he reappeared, Gravitational Lens and Prism Shield were fully activated.
However, the threat did not come from any living being, but from the light itself.
The pale light intensified again, instantly illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
The speed of light is so fast that it has already arrived by the time it is illuminated.
The Gravitational Lens deflected some of the light, and through the refraction, Wen Jing seemed to see countless complex, rotating Geometry patterns flashing by, beyond her comprehension.
There was no pain, no impact.
But the moment she was illuminated by this special light, time and space around her seemed to freeze.
The surface of the pale white insect's body began to glow, and layers of luminous crystals began to form and cover it.
The newly created ' Wen Jing Island' automatically converges with the other floating islands and begins to become part of the museum.
All the struggles and outbursts were in vain.
Wen Jing's body was completely locked, and commands could not be transmitted to his body at all. Only his consciousness could still think, but he had lost all his senses. Even the interaction between his mental space and the outside world was blocked. Howl of the Hunt and Mental Vision were useless.
In a flash, everything connected. It turned out that this was the truth behind the many creatures sealed here—not the food reserves of some more powerful beings, but this eerie light!
The environment itself is the biggest source of danger.
"How can I escape?... Return to the material universe!"
There are no other creatures or external forces nearby, so Wen Jing doesn't need to use the Gravity Silk to form a cocoon and return. The Gravity Silk Cocoon will only exist in one spacetime coordinate in a world, so when she enters the Ancient Wilderness Land again, it will still be the Upper Ruins, not this dangerous place.
However, the next moment, when Wen Jing channeled his consciousness into the passage...
She realized she couldn't do it.
The passage that she could have entered instinctively before now felt like an insurmountable chasm between her and the world, impossible to reach.
"..."
Wen Jing suddenly realized with horror that the amber had solidified and sealed not only her body, but also her mind and consciousness!
No wonder their mental power and Mental Vision are unable to interact with the outside world...
Wait, then why is she still able to think?
She should have cleared her mind completely, entering a state of complete stillness, just like the Wilderness Beast on the other floating islands around her.
They didn't actually die, because death is also a change of state, but the effect of this area was to press the pause button on the state of living beings.
"Panel!"
The next moment, a familiar panel appeared in his mind, making Wen Jing understand the reason.
Because her consciousness is bound to the control panel, she can still think independently.
Perhaps his emotional hormones were frozen and unable to be secreted, and Wen Jing, knowing he was in a huge crisis, was naturally Calmness and unresponsive.
Her current situation is even more dangerous than the time at the Flame Altar. Back then, she still had some agency, but this time it's like being slowly cut to pieces with a dull knife.
The only function the panel can perform is evolution, but now even evolution...
"The ability to evolve and break through this state."
The Skill Points remained unchanged, without even providing feedback on whether there were enough for evolution.
Evolution is also a form of change. Now that Wen Jing's time and space have frozen, it means that she is also unable to use the panel to evolve combat abilities because the time bar in the middle is blocked.
Wen Jing continued to ponder...
Since actively traveling through time doesn't work, could the alternation of day and night passively send her out of this world, like the time she was controlled by the queen ant in the ant nest?
If one were to travel to a Ancient Wilderness night during the transition from day to night, this lockdown might be lifted.
This is currently the most hopeful, or rather, the only way out.
Night was approaching, and Wen Jing calculated the time in his mind, waiting quietly.
Time passed second by second...
Finally, it was six o'clock in the afternoon.
Wen Jing counted several times, even without much confidence, only to find that he was still in the same stagnant state and had not been transported to another Ancient Wilderness world by the change of day and night.
It failed again.
*
In a classroom at the Azure Jade Academy.
As evening classes began, not only the exchange students from Ocher Soil, but also the Azure Jade students in the same class were shocked to discover that Wen Jing had skipped class!
At the same time, inside the registration center, red alarm bells blared.
Before long, news that Wen Jing had failed to return from his journey through the Ancient Wilderness world within the allotted time spread throughout the entire academy.
Chapter 139
The exchange students from the Ocher Soil quickly learned of the news, and it caused quite a stir.
This news hit everyone who cared about Wen Jing like a hammer blow.
"Wen Jing is so strong, he'll be fine..."
"That's right, she also went overtime once in the Ocher Soil, but she returned safely in the end!"
They offered each other words of comfort, but their mood grew heavier with time.
It wasn't just the exchange students; many teachers and students at the Red Earth Academy who received the news also became anxious.