Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Abyssal Realm
Around 8:30, Chen Yu arrived at Squad 12’s station. He changed his clothes, restocked his weapons, and walked out into the main hall where most of the other team members had already gathered.
Upon seeing Chen Yu, a few team members came over to greet him. Chen Yu returned their greetings with a smile.
"I don’t know, I just feel like something’s different about you."
Tie Niu walked up to Chen Yu, looking him up and down.
"Did you break through?"
Chen Yu shook his head. "Not yet, but it should be soon."
"Attaboy." Tie Niu clapped him on the shoulder. "Break through soon. Our team could use another powerful fighter."
Chen Yu simply smiled, saying nothing.
In a contest of Skill, he was at least ninety percent confident he could beat any other team member besides the captain and vice-captain.
...
At 8:30, Li Qing hadn’t arrived, only Duan Feng.
"Brother Duan, where’s the Captain? Why isn’t he here?" Xiaowang, one of the team members, asked Duan Feng.
Duan Feng replied, "The Captain went to the city for a meeting."
"A meeting? Brother Duan, is there a special mission?"
Another team member, a heavyset man, asked.
"Yeah, probably," Duan Feng said. "I heard some news. It seems a new Abyssal Realm has appeared within Qing City’s borders, but we don’t yet know if there are any problems with it."
"A new Abyssal Realm!!!"
Everyone was shocked, their faces filled with disbelief.
’An Abyssal Realm...’
Hearing this, Chen Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
He knew a fair bit about Abyssal Realms.
An Abyssal Realm was a special place formed by a tear in space-time.
To put it simply, it was an alternate dimension!
However, every Abyssal Realm was different. Some were filled with abundant resources and treasures, while others were fraught with danger!
This danger could include alien beasts, radiation, potent toxins, and more.
They existed not only on the Ancestor Star but in the other eight realms as well.
Besides naturally occurring ones, some were also man-made. Online forums had posts claiming that some Abyssal Realms were deeply connected to the Stellar Alien Race.
This point had even been officially confirmed.
The appearance of a new Abyssal Realm could be a pleasant surprise, but more often than not, it was a terrifying shock.
The government had sealed off some of the particularly dangerous Abyssal Realms.
Abyssal Realms were also a major reason for the endless stream of alien beasts.
They had even once brought humanity to the brink of extinction!
Such was the case with the first Abyssal Realm to ever appear in the history of the Ancestor Star.
Hundreds of millions of alien beasts poured out from the Space-Time Secret Realm. That was also the first time an S-Class destructive beast tide had ever erupted!
Fortunately, top-tier Martial Artists had emerged among humans by then. By uniting all of humanity’s strength, they managed to stop it.
However, it caused enormous casualties, a truly tragic loss.
Hundreds of millions of people died, making it the most significant Abyss-related event in human history!
’Could the beast tide that struck Crane City be related to this new Abyssal Realm?’
The thought flashed through Chen Yu’s mind.
The Crane City Safety Zone had just recently been hit by a beast tide, which led to the city’s fall.
Perhaps it was connected to this Abyssal Realm.
A "new" Abyssal Realm didn’t necessarily mean it had appeared yesterday.
It only meant that humanity had just discovered it.
"Captain Duan, is this for real? Has a new Abyssal Realm really appeared?"
Tie Niu looked at Duan Feng in disbelief.
Duan Feng nodded. "Yes, it’s true. Based on our speculation, the appearance of this Abyssal Realm is highly related to the Crane City beast tide."
Hearing this, the others all turned to look at Chen Yu in unison.
"..."
’Why are you looking at me?’
’How would I know!’
Seeing their gazes, which seemed to be asking him for information, Chen Yu was rendered speechless.
"Chen Yu, you came here from the Crane City Safety Zone. Did you see anything?" Xiaowang asked from the side.
Chen Yu shook his head. "I don’t know anything about it. This is the first I’m hearing of it, too."
Hearing this, the others gradually looked away.
It made sense. During the beast tide attack and the fall of Crane City, he would have been too busy escaping to have the time to pay attention to such things.
It was perfectly normal that Chen Yu didn’t know.
"Alright, the Captain isn’t here today, so I’m in charge of assignments. Xu Yi, Bai Qiu, Zhang Tao, you’re responsible for the southeast sector. Lin Qiang..."
After Duan Feng finished assigning the teams, two groups quickly boarded their vehicles and left.
Duan Feng walked over to Chen Yu and Tie Niu and looked at Chen Yu. "You’re with us again today."
Chen Yu nodded. The three of them then got into an SUV and drove away from the station.
...
"Captain Duan, where exactly is this new Abyssal Realm located?"
In the car, Chen Yu looked at Duan Feng in the back seat, his curiosity piqued.
Duan Feng answered, "On the border between Qing City and Crane City. The situation hasn’t been fully investigated yet. We’ll know more when the Captain gets back."
"Captain Duan, do you think they’ll send us to this new Abyssal Realm?"
Tie Niu asked while driving.
Duan Feng replied, "You want to go that badly?"
"I’d like to see it, I’m just not sure if it’s dangerous."
"Fine. If an order comes down from the higher-ups, I’ll recommend you."
"...Captain Duan, I was just kidding."
"Just drive. And stop talking nonsense."
...
Driving out of the safety zone, Chen Yu gazed at the wilderness stretching out in the distance.
On his second patrol, he was much more composed. With his current strength, he was safe even out in the wilds.
They reached a patch of woods in the wilderness, drove the car inside to conceal it, and Duan Feng took out a Life Detector to check the surroundings.
It showed no signs of activity.
"Let’s check the northwest first. Stay alert," Duan Feng said before heading off. Chen Yu and Tie Niu followed close behind.
The three of them soon disappeared into the wilderness.
A short while later, the trio arrived at a village.
However, the village had long been abandoned. It was filled with crumbling walls, ruined buildings, and overgrown with weeds.
It was impossible to tell how long it had been deserted; the wild grass had nearly swallowed the village whole.
In the current environment, it was nearly impossible to survive in a wilderness village. Such settlements only existed near large safety zones or base cities.
In smaller safety zones, almost the entire population had to live within the city itself.
This was also for their own safety and security.
Upon entering the village, Chen Yu took out his Life Fluctuation Detector to scan the area.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. On the detector’s screen, a single red dot flickered in and out of existence.
Then, a second red dot flashed into view.
It was followed by a third, a fourth—and in an instant, the number of red dots surged to over a dozen and was still climbing.
And yet, the surroundings were frighteningly quiet, without the slightest sound.
"Back!"
Duan Feng shouted suddenly, and both Tie Niu and Chen Yu quickly retreated.
BZZZZ—!
Duan Feng’s Qi erupted, a powerful surge of it coalescing into a wall before him.
SWISH SWISH SWISH!!!
The sound of something slicing through the air came from the tall grass as a volley of sharp spines swept toward them.
The Qi wall shuddered, but the spines couldn’t break through its defense.
"Earth Porcupines!"
Chen Yu’s eyes narrowed as he watched the monsters bursting out from the ground amidst the wild grass.
Just then, the ground trembled, and more than twenty Earth Porcupines suddenly appeared around them, their eyes scarlet and their gazes bloodthirsty!
They were completely surrounded!
Among them, one enormous Earth Porcupine was particularly eye-catching. It was twice the size of a normal one, and its fur was a completely different color: black.
Its aura was incredibly powerful!
A Level 3 Earth Porcupine!
"Martial Art—"
"Vibration Wave!"
Duan Feng’s Qi flared. Ripples like water spread out from his body as he stomped his foot, sending a powerful shockwave sweeping outward.
RUMBLE—!!!
It was like an earthquake. The ground cracked open, and the ultra-strong shockwave blasted the surrounding group of Earth Porcupines into the air, sending them tumbling and leaving them completely disoriented.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
At the same time, Tie Niu and Chen Yu blurred into motion, taking advantage of the moment before the Earth Porcupines could recover to strike swiftly!
