Gao Wu: After transforming into a soft girl, I became a calamity?

"The lowest-ranked base city?"

Jiang Mian raised an eyebrow.

Good grief, they've gone straight for the biggest one.

The base cities from number 150 onwards are numbered sequentially with odd numbers in the north and even numbers in the south.

Number 187 is said to be the most remote base city in the north, which is absolutely true.

"Brother Ye, have you been to that place before? What was it like?"

"Um."

Ye Chenyang nodded and said a few words:

"There isn't even any official presence there; the people in charge are just a bunch of local bullies."

"On the surface, they are packaged as legitimate non-governmental organizations, but in reality, their composition is quite complex, including all sorts of people."

"But without exception, their individual abilities are all quite outstanding."

Ye Chenyang could sum up the place in one word—chaotic.

With just a few words, Jiang Mian understood the essence of that place.

Isn't it just a "garbage dump"?

Outlaws, terminally ill patients, bounty hunters... all are social destabilizing factors that ordinary base cities cannot tolerate.

After all, it is a rare lawless place, and only here can they be considered "free".

However, only the best of the best can brave the fog and truly arrive.

Nature chose to be.

However, the existence of such places does not pose a threat to the authorities; on the contrary, it helps maintain internal order.

From the authorities' perspective, dangerous individuals who are difficult to contain all run there, like a process of detoxification, and many are lost along the way.

As long as no eighth-tier being born in this place, it will not pose a threat to the authorities, so we can let them be.

"Brother Ye, shall we head straight that way now?"

"No rush."

Ye Chenyang shook his head instead.

"We can also look for the unique 'hidden places' in the northern fog along the way."

"what?"

Jiang Mian was stunned.

What's going on? She time-traveled again? Isn't that something that only happens in novels?

Ye Chenyang squeezed her palm, then lowered the height.

The surrounding fog remained thick.

However, Jiang Mian himself was immune to the fog's perception shield, and Ye Chenyang's ability was the nemesis of the fog, so his perception remained clear.

Jiang Mian instinctively covered her nose.

The fog here seems to be filled with a lingering stench of decay, which gets stronger the closer you get to the ground.

She tried filtering it with "wind," but it didn't seem to change anything.

I felt much better after using the power of [Annihilation].

"With the core circle as the center, the distribution of disaster types in the four directions is emphasized."

Ye Chenyang began to explain the so-called "secret realm" in detail from the beginning.

"The calamities of the North are mostly of the nature of 'death and annihilation,' and their source of power is 'death energy.' After they die, this power will return to the mist."

"Awakened individuals may become infected when they are severely injured or near death."

"Once an infected person dies, and the number of Tier 5 individuals exceeds a certain threshold, or there is one Tier 7 individual, a closed space will be formed at the location of the death."

"This is the 'Secret Realm'."

"Oh~"

Jiang Mian suddenly realized.

No wonder she, a southerner, had never heard of it; it turns out to be a "specialty" of the north.

This generation mechanism is quite unique; only those who die at the fifth rank or higher are counted... Perhaps it's related to the realm of Awakened Ones?

"Brother Ye, from what you're saying, there are good things in these secret realms?"

"Do you still remember the 'greeting gift' that Wangchuan gave you before?"

"what?"

Jiang Mian frowned, then remembered the gift box that she hadn't touched before.

She had mentioned it to Ye Chenyang once, but she had forgotten about it herself.

"You mean Soul Crystals?"

"Yes, the secret realm is actually a youth version of the 'Other Shore'. It can gather scattered spiritual energy to form Soul Crystal Origin Stones, which are then purified into Soul Crystals."

"In addition, certain special materials and the remains left behind by awakened individuals may also appear in it."

As he spoke, Ye Chenyang slowly raised his right hand.

Golden ripples spread outwards from the two people in the center.

"Furthermore, if you want to hone your [Annihilation] skills, practicing in secret realms is an excellent way to do so."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mian's eyes lit up.

As a being from the "apocalypse," she inherently possesses a destructive instinct.

After choosing to merge with [Annihilation], this instinct becomes even stronger.

Although I can suppress it, it always feels a bit unsatisfying, and I want to vent it out.

Normally, Jiang Mian would transform it into other desires; it was pleasurable, but it would cause some trouble for someone.

"Great! Brother Ye, hurry up and look for it, see what's going on."

Ye Chenyang closed his eyes, and the golden ripples expanded even further.

After detecting a spatial anomaly, he led Jiang Mian straight into the depths of the "grassland".

The restless "weeds" all calmed down, disguised themselves as ordinary plants, and tried to ambush their "prey".

Jiang Mian found them in the way and casually unleashed a wind blade.

A blue arc of light swept across the entire meadow in the blink of an eye.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

Before the mist plants could even burst forth, they were severed at the roots, black sap seeping from the cut surfaces.

This is not over yet.

After the wind blade swept past, an orange-gold flame instantly spread out.

In just a few seconds, the entire grassland was burned to the ground.

"Hmm, cleaning complete."

Jiang Mian, hands on her hips, stepped into the still-warm incineration zone.

Ye Chenyang smiled and followed, ignoring his surroundings and focusing only on her adorable appearance.

They hadn't gone far when a grayish-white vortex appeared before them, and they stepped into it without hesitation.

The surrounding scenery was constantly changing.

After a moment of disorientation, a "primeval forest" suddenly appeared before them, but the plants were all strangely shaped.

The ground was covered with a soft, grayish-white moss that seemed to undulate slightly as if it were breathing.

The distant "forest" is composed of black trees that block out the sun.

With the gray background, it's as if the whole world has lost its color.

Apart from the wandering human figures, there seemed to be no other danger in the forest.

"Huh? There's also a calamity?"

Jiang Mian clicked his tongue softly.

The walking corpses that roam the forest are called "Wanderers," and they are the lowest-ranking calamity, number 356.

This thing is like a cockroach, it's everywhere in the northern wasteland. Its only skills are spitting out corpse poison, or scratching and biting. It's utterly useless.

"Yes. Since the secret realm is born from death energy, it can replenish the [Death] calamity within it in various ways."

"However, they cannot enter or leave the secret realm, not even the [Wither]."

Ye Chenyang looked him over and came to a conclusion:

"It seems to be just an ordinary medium-sized secret realm, with a maximum capacity of only level six, which is just right."

"Um!"

Jiang Mian nodded heavily, transformed into a streak of black light, and disappeared into the clouds of the secret realm.

Ye Chenyang followed closely behind, but did not go inside.

The next second, amidst a gray-white expanse, a colossal dragon with a jet-black body and gleaming golden pupils slowly stretched out its body.

Seeing this scene, Ye Chenyang felt a subtle, indescribable feeling welling up inside him.

The majestic and imposing "Catastrophe" behemoth in the sky, the adorable girl who softly calls herself "baby" in private, and the mature and aloof white-haired dragon girl—all of them are her.

In the past, he would never have imagined that "Apocalypse" could be so adorable, let alone that he could actually win her over...

Deciding to pursue Jiang Mian was definitely the best decision he ever made.

Ye Chenyang composed himself and looked at Jiang Mian again.

As her scales turned crimson, ripples spread across the sky.

Countless meteorites appeared out of thin air, trailing long orange-gold flames as they crashed into the ground!

"boom--"

Subsequently, a meteor shower, accompanied by a strange fire, quickly swept across the entire secret realm.