Guo Yun: Plays Ye Shunguang, teammate Ye Shiyuan

The recorded screen suddenly lit up, without any build-up, and cut directly to the eerie space behind the Japanese player who stepped into the black sphere.

The eyes of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide were instantly drawn into that upside-down, bizarre world.

Instead of the smooth glass I had imagined, I found myself on a solid but cracked concrete floor.

The ground was covered with cracks of varying depths, some as narrow as a hair, others several meters wide, with a faint dark purple light shining through the depths of the cracks.

About ten meters below the plane are the inverted ruins of the city.

The shattered skyscrapers extend upwards from the "ground" below, their reinforced concrete remains resembling jagged bones, gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the dim purple light.

"Wow, there's a city in here?"

"Could this be... a relic of a civilization?"

"This place feels really weird; something's not right with the space."

Kenichi Yamamoto and Masako Miyazawa appeared small and out of place in this space.

Their pure white protective suits stood out as the only bright spot in the dim and oppressive surroundings, like candlelight in the darkness, easily attracting the attention of all those in danger.

"What... what kind of place is this?"

Kenichi Yamamoto's voice came through the communicator in his protective suit, trembling with barely concealed fear and a hint of suppressed dread. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed instinctively, a sharp pain shooting through his dry throat.

He tried to take a step closer to the edge to see where the boundary of this space was.

But as soon as he lifted his foot, a strong sense of spatial distortion suddenly came over him, as if the ground beneath his feet was shaking slightly, and the surrounding light was also distorted and deformed.

His body staggered uncontrollably for several meters, and he barely managed to steady himself by flailing his arms wildly.

Less than half a meter in front of him, a dark purple rift that had suddenly split open was slowly writhing. The edges of the rift were irregularly serrated, and thick dark purple mist was swirling inside. The aura emanating from it was icy cold, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

It was an aura of decay and chaotic energy, like the smell of countless rotting corpses being repeatedly washed by etheric energy, which was nauseating.

However, the protective suit's filtration system seemed to have some effect on the odor, so there wasn't much of a reaction.

But Masako Miyazawa's situation is even worse.

The persistent high fever had already begun to cloud her consciousness, and everything in her vision was blurry and swaying, as if covered by a thick layer of frosted glass.

Adding to the strange spatial distortion inside the void, she felt as if her internal organs were being churned up, and waves of dizziness kept coming over her, making it almost impossible for her to stand.

The inverted ruins spun and distorted in her eyes, eventually twisting into hideous grotesque faces that seemed to be silently mocking her. She could clearly feel her body temperature continuing to rise, her skin burning hot, each breath scalding, and her throat parched as if it were on fire.

She gripped Kenichi Yamamoto's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, and the flexible material of her protective suit was crumpled and almost torn apart by her grip.

Her voice was so weak it was like a mosquito's hum, and it trembled uncontrollably: "Yamamoto-kun... I'm dizzy... I feel so awful... Did we... did we go to the wrong place? There are no resources here, only... only danger..."

"Shut up!" Kenichi Yamamoto growled through gritted teeth, his voice distorted with anger and fear, carrying a desperate resolve. "What's the use of saying this now?! We have no way out! The 500 points we borrowed must be repaid within seven days, or double the amount will be deducted, and the fate of the Sakura Kingdom will be affected! The wasteland outside is either the lair of the Nether Wolves or a barren desert; going back is a dead end!"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His gaze swept over the eerie surroundings, and his tone carried a self-deceptive yet resolute tone: "The Dragon Kingdom people must have their eyes on this place too. They spent so many points to exchange for anti-corrosion equipment; there must be huge resources hidden here! If we find them first, we can turn our lives around in one fell swoop. Not only can we pay off our debts, but we can also make Japan's ranking soar! Just imagine, we'll become national heroes!"

He didn't finish his sentence.

A very faint scraping sound suddenly came from the darkness behind the two of them.

The sound was very soft, like rough sandpaper slowly rubbing against the ground, or like some kind of slippery scales dragging across the red soil, with a sticky texture. Each friction was accompanied by a "rustling" sound, which, though faint, was exceptionally clear in this space where even the sounds of breathing and heartbeats were amplified by some invisible force.

The sound was amplified infinitely, sharp as a needle, easily piercing the soundproof barrier of the protective suit and drilling straight into the eardrums of the two people.

Kenichi Yamamoto's body froze instantly, a chill creeping up his spine and spreading throughout his body, making him shiver involuntarily.

He turned around abruptly, his hands instinctively reaching for his waist. Before setting off, he had considered exchanging for more ammunition, but his points were too limited, so he could only prioritize exchanging for protective suits and anti-corrosion drugs. Now it was too late to regret it.

The National Fortune Shop will not be available when entering a battle.

"What...what is it?" Masako Miyazawa's body began to tremble uncontrollably, her teeth grinding together and making a soft knocking sound.

She clung tightly to Kenichi Yamamoto's back, as if grasping at the last straw, her eyes fixed on the darkness behind her, filled with fear.

A chill ran through them. This chill was different from the coldness of the environment; it carried a pure, corrosive malice, as if an invisible beast was lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce and tear them apart at any moment.

This malice grew stronger and stronger, almost materializing, clinging to their protective suits and seeping in little by little along the fabric's texture, causing both of their skin to tingle.

[WARNING! Unknown energy detected in the right-hand area! Approaching rapidly!]

The built-in alarm system in the protective suits suddenly emitted a piercing warning sound, and the red warning light inside the face shields flashed wildly, making the two men's faces appear even paler.

The alarm sounded like a death knell, making Kenichi Yamamoto's heart clench violently, almost leaping out of his chest.

He instinctively reached for the anti-corrosion potion on his side, but just as his fingers touched the cool outer shell of the tube, he caught a glimpse of a faint light flashing in the darkness out of the corner of his eye.

That was at the boundary between darkness and fog, a few dozen meters away.

A humanoid creature slowly emerged.

Its body is predominantly a deep, inky black, as if it were cast from solidified asphalt, with a smooth surface covered with irregular dark green veins.

The patterns seemed to be alive, with dark green liquid slowly flowing inside, emitting a faint fluorescent glow, which looked particularly eerie in the dim environment.

Its limbs are severely disproportionate; its left arm is slender and short, while its right arm extends into a dark green blade that is half a meter long.

Its legs are of different heights, with the left leg being thick and the right leg slender, making its posture appear constantly swaying and crooked, in a very unstable state of balance, as if it would fall to the ground at any moment.

Its head had no obvious facial features, only a smooth black cavity, from which a circular core converged, and at the core was a cold eye, fixedly staring at Kenichi Yamamoto and Masako Miyazawa.

"These are the residents of that place Ye Shunguang mentioned? They don't seem like much. They seem rather dull."

"The key point is that Ye Shunguang didn't say whether the residents inside are strong or not. I feel that they should be quite weak."

"Yeah, his posture is all crooked and unsteady, like he can't even stand up straight. How good could he be?"

"They wouldn't get dried out by this stuff, would they? That would be so embarrassing!"

"Those two from Japan were already at their last gasp, so it's only natural they'd die after encountering such a monster, right?"

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments. Most viewers didn't find the creature particularly terrifying; in fact, they found its posture somewhat comical.

But Kenichi Yamamoto and Masako Miyazawa, who were on the scene, tensed up instantly. A fear stemming from instinct gripped them. This creature was not as clumsy as it appeared. Its crooked posture concealed an indescribable danger, like a cheetah poised to pounce. It seemed lazy, but in fact, it had already locked onto its prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

[National Fortune System Notification: Sakura Country players have discovered an aetheric alien creature: Tyrfon!]

[Rank: E-]

【Attribute: Etheric Erosion Type】

[Weaknesses: Core of the head (where green lines converge), joint connections]

[Earn 500 points for each enemy killed]

[Note: Tyrfalcon is a low-tier Aetheroid, but it moves extremely fast and its attacks inflict Aetheric Corrosion. Be wary of its continuous slashing attacks!]

"Holy crap! E-class?!"

"666 got proven wrong!"

"Wow, he looks so dull, but he's actually this strong?!"

The instant the system notification sounded, Kenichi Yamamoto almost reflexively screamed, "Run!!"

He suddenly grabbed Masako Miyazawa's arm and turned and ran with all his might.

His arm throbbed with pain from the infection in his wound, but at that moment, the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything; he only knew that he had to get away from this terrifying creature as quickly as possible.

Masako Miyazawa stumbled as he pulled her, and a piercing pain shot through her already swollen and painful left arm, as if a knife was twisting inside her bones. She couldn't help but groan, and tears welled up instantly, blurring her vision.

But her survival instinct was frantically reminding her! If she didn't run, she would really be stuck here forever! So she dared not stop for a moment, and could only grit her teeth and do her best to keep up with Kenichi Yamamoto's pace.

Her legs felt as heavy as lead, and the high fever was draining her strength very quickly. Every step she took felt like she was overdrawing her life force.

But it was too late.

The seemingly swaying and crooked posture of the Tyrfong was entirely a deceptive illusion. Its uncoordinated limb movements and frequent shifts in its center of gravity were all deliberate disguises, making people mistakenly believe that it was slow-moving and easy to deal with.

But only Kenichi Yamamoto and Masako Miyazawa, who actually faced it, knew what terrifying speed and killing intent lay hidden beneath that clumsy exterior.

Just as Kenichi Yamamoto and Masako Miyazawa had run less than ten meters, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly came from behind them! The sound was extremely fast, like a heavy object rapidly rolling over the concrete ground, dull and powerful.

The gravel beneath their feet was kicked up and sent flying, the tiny pebbles hitting their protective suits with a crackling sound. The thud of their footsteps was like the beating of war drums, each landing precisely striking their hearts and making their breathing quicken.

Ken Yamamoto instinctively turned around, his pupils instantly contracting to their maximum size. He only saw a dark green, cold light pierce the darkness, carrying a strong stench of decay, like the scythe of death, slashing viciously towards their backs.

The blade gleamed with a deadly luster in the dim purple light, its edges shimmering with a faint glow, clearly imbued with intense ethereal energy. Its speed was absurd, so fast that Kenichi Yamamoto didn't even have time to execute a proper dodge, forced to react instinctively.

"Watch out!" Kenichi Yamamoto roared, shoving Masako Miyazawa to the side with all his might. The force of the push caused Miyazawa to lose her balance and stumble to one side, while Kenichi Yamamoto rolled to the other side.

"Sizzle—!"

A piercing tearing sound exploded in the empty space, extremely jarring.

Kenichi Yamamoto's protective suit was slashed open on the back by a blade, the flexible protective material was easily torn like a piece of paper, revealing the skin underneath that had turned white due to infection.

Although he dodged in time and was not directly hit by the blade, the airflow generated by the blade and the residual ethereal energy still left a shallow bloodstain on Miyazawa Masako's back.

The bloodstain instantly turned black, as if soaked in ink, and a tingling, itchy, and stinging sensation spread rapidly along his skin. It felt as if countless ants were frantically gnawing at his flesh, or as if some highly corrosive virus was rapidly eroding his body cells.

This pain was unlike ordinary wound pain; it was a corrosive, burning sensation that went deep into her bones, causing her to gasp and her hair to stand on end.

[Warning! Slight ether erosion detected! Erosion index rises to 18!]

[Protective suit damage rate: 15%! Energy remaining: 75%!]

"Ah!" Masako Miyazawa was pushed and fell heavily onto the concrete ground. The knees of her protective suit slammed into the gravel on the ground with a dull thud.

The hard pebbles tore through the surface of her protective suit, and the sharp edges pierced her knees, causing her to cry out in pain. Already disoriented due to a high fever, the fall made her vision blur, and she nearly fainted.

The swelling in her left arm had spread to her shoulder, stretching the protective suit tightly. The skin beneath the fabric was burning hot, and every breath aggravated the wound, bringing waves of excruciating pain. She struggled to get up, but found her limbs weak and powerless, unable to muster any strength. She could only lie on the ground, panting heavily, everything in her vision spinning, overlapping, and blurring.

Kenichi Yamamoto scrambled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his back, and immediately turned to look at the Tyrfong.

It landed where the two had just stood, tilting its disproportionately large head—or rather, where the head should have been, there were no facial features, only a dark, empty space. But Yamamoto Kenichi could clearly feel a cold gaze shooting out from that empty space, as if sizing up its prey, filled with undisguised killing intent.

Its body swayed slightly, maintaining that crooked and unstable posture, as if it would fall over at any moment.

But just when Kenichi Yamamoto thought it would charge again, its figure suddenly turned into a blurry green afterimage and pounced on Masako Miyazawa, who had fallen to the ground, with lightning speed.

Its speed was so fast that it stirred up a gust of wind as it moved, whipping up red dust and pebbles from the ground, forming a small sandstorm that swept towards Masako Miyazawa.

"Masako! Get up!" Kenichi Yamamoto's eyes were bloodshot and bulging with rage, as if he were about to spit fire. He drew his pistol from his waist, gripped the trigger tightly, aimed at Tyrfong, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang!"

The gunshot rang out louder in the silent space, like a thunderclap, making both of their eardrums buzz. The bullet, with a sharp whooshing sound, hurtled towards Tyrfong's head. Yamamoto Kenichi's aim was extremely precise; he thought this shot would hit a vital spot, at least forcing back this terrifying monster and buying Miyazawa Masako a chance to catch her breath.

But as the bullets whistled out, Tyrfong suddenly twisted his body, making a seemingly clumsy but exceptionally effective dodge maneuver.

Its body suddenly tilted to the side, and the bullet that was originally aimed at its head grazed its body and only hit Tyrfong in the chest.

"clang!"

A crisp, cracking sound rang out as the bullet struck the hard scales on its chest, as if hitting a steel plate.

Ordinary pistol bullets could not penetrate the thick defense at all, leaving only a shallow white mark on the scales before being ejected and landing on the concrete ground with a "clang" sound.

Tyrfong seemed enraged by the gunshot, letting out a sharp, metallic screech. The sound was extremely piercing, like fingernails scraping against glass, or like rusty gears being forced to turn, causing a sharp pain in both men's eardrums and a buzzing in their brains.

Wielding its dark green blade, it lunged at Kenichi Yamamoto once more, its attack even more ferocious than before. The speed at which it swung its blade was also much faster, and streaks of green light intertwined in the air, forming a deadly net.

Kenichi Yamamoto's heart pounded wildly, and the intense fear and panic made him stagger.

He instinctively stepped back, but accidentally stepped on a loose pebble. His foot slipped, and he instantly lost his balance, sliding towards the dark purple spatial rift behind him!