Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

The very next second after the two stepped back—

*Smack!*

Mike's body suddenly exploded, splattering black pus everywhere.

Caught off guard, Ou Yun was nearly sprayed in the face—at the same time, a dark, cold flame erupted from inside the corpse, instantly igniting the pus and spreading along the skin's lines, enveloping the entire body.

It burns extremely fast.

In less than ten seconds, Mike's body turned into a pile of ashes.

Ashes are pure black.

It contains some fine purple particles that are visible to the naked eye.

The river breeze blew, and the ashes were swept into the air and scattered into the river bend.

Soon, only those small purple particles remained on the ground.

Ou Yun wiped the dust off his face and muttered, "This way of dying... is a bit like the Abyss Bone Demon."

Leng Ruolan glanced at him. "Yes. After the Abyss Bone Demon died, it also turned to ash, leaving behind Abyss Crystals."

These purple particles are probably fragments of some kind of crystal—but Mike is a human, how could he die in this way?

Could it be that he wasn't infected by being bitten by a mutated wild beast?

Or were they already infected by the abyssal energy long before?

No, can abyssal energy be infected by those two-legged creatures like a virus?

Leng Ruolan squatted down and used the tip of her dagger to poke at the purple particles.

"Oh, right, do you remember Mike saying that one of his teammates died from an infected wound?"

If that teammate was also infected by the abyssal energy, then the three of them had likely come into contact with the source of the abyssal energy a long time ago.

Ou Yun pondered for a moment, "Then does that explain why he retained human consciousness after the mutation?"

Because he was infected for a long enough time, this thing has an incubation period and is only triggered after he dies.

Leng Ruolan shook her head immediately upon hearing this, "This is not good news."

If their speculation is true, it means that abyssal energy can indeed lurk within the human body and erupt unpredictably.

Does that mean they're doomed too?

Leng Ruolan immediately got goosebumps and subconsciously touched her arm.

She and Ou Yun had come into contact with abyssal crystals in the circular valley, pulled out crystal pillars in caves, and were even directly hit by the mental attack of that abyssal scorpion—

And other various ores collected from various places.

If they also possess latent abyssal energy...

"Alright, alright, stop scaring yourself."

Ou Yun waved his hand, "We've been in contact with abyssal energy for quite some time now. If we were going to mutate, we would have mutated long ago, not now."

And given their level of contact, it might turn into something even more terrifying, haha!

Leng Ruolan thought to herself, "That makes sense. It might be related to that affinity we got? After all, that passive skill can grant immunity to some negative effects—and maybe Abyss Energy is some kind of negative effect?"

Or did they receive some kind of immunity reward?

I received so many rewards that I can't quite remember them all... I'll ask Brother Chen when I get back!

Leng Ruolan looked at him, "We'd better not get too close, this thing is too eerie—"

"It may be weird, but I'm already dead anyway. What if it suddenly jumps up and bites me?"

As Ou Yun casually remarked, he squatted down to examine the pile of purple particles more closely.

then.

*Smack!*

With another sound, the largest and brightest purple particle inside suddenly exploded, and an extremely thin purple light ray shot out from the exploded particle, shooting straight into Ou Yun's arm.

"Holy crap—!"

Ou Yun was jolted backward as if he had been electrocuted.

He looked down at his arm, where a purple line was rapidly appearing on the skin where the light had struck, spreading upwards along the blood vessels.

"Big brother!"

Leng Ruolan was stunned.

She grabbed his arm and drew her dagger to cut the line—but the line spread too quickly, reaching his shoulder in the blink of an eye, then up his neck, heading straight for his brain.

Ou Yun's eyes widened suddenly.

"Holy shit—"

His body began to convulse violently, he foamed at the mouth, his eyes rolled back, and he fell backward onto the ground.

His hands and feet were curled up in an extremely unnatural position, like a turtle whose shell had been turned inside out.

Leng Ruolan's pupils dilated.

"Big brother! Big brother!!"

No way, it's all over, why is there still a follow-up attack?!

Leng Ruolan immediately mounted him, slapping his face with both hands, pinching his philtrum, and even drawing a dagger to bleed him—

"..."

and many more.

She suddenly realized.

She seems... to have no idea how to deal with the infection from the abyss energy!

They still haven't determined what infected them!

This kind of thing has never been taught in any tactical training!

Ou Yun was lying on the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

The purple lines on his face became increasingly dense, almost covering his entire face like a spider web.

"..."

Leng Ruolan was absolutely panicked.

What should she do if her older brother gets into trouble?!

Impossible! How could this be?!

Weren't they invincible in the forbidden area?!

How could such a thing happen?!

Right, right...!

Leng Ruolan quickly reached for Ou Yun's right hand and snatched the spatial ring away.

She rummaged through her spatial ring and found the three golden legendary supply boxes.

Although it's an item reserved for the eldest brother, the situation is urgent now—

Leng Ruolan gritted her teeth and snapped one open.

"Whoosh!"

That familiar sound effect.

"Buzzing..."

That familiar golden light.

Congratulations on obtaining this item...

This familiar panel.

Congratulations on obtaining the item: Solar-Powered Helicopter!

[Item Description: This is an armed helicopter that can be charged by the sun.]

After the golden light dissipated, a majestic armed helicopter suddenly appeared in front of Leng Ruolan.

The paint is gleaming and shiny, and the weapons are brand new.

"oh oh!?"

What the heck?!

Armed helicopters?!

Leng Ruolan's eyes lit up immediately.

With helicopters, especially those that are solar-powered, wouldn't they be able to go wherever they want?

That way, we won't have to call those two big birds anymore—after all, one's butt gets numb from sitting for too long, and the other's butt gets cold from sitting for too long.

They finally, finally have a means of transportation that can fly!

wrong!!!

Leng Ruolan snapped back to reality.

Now is not the time to fly a helicopter!

Now it's the eldest brother's turn to exert his strength!

If we don't hurry, our brother will be in the air before we even need a helicopter!

Leng Ruolan took a deep breath and quickly opened the second golden legendary box.

"Whoosh!"

Sound effects.

"Buzzing..."

Golden light.

Congratulations on obtaining this item...

panel.

[Congratulations on obtaining the item: Purple-Gold Sirius Blazing Gale Fiery Dragon Descends, Frenzy Chasing the Sun and Moon, Precipice-Severing Verdure, Eternal Courage, Demon-Slaying Battle Blade!]

[Item Description: This is no ordinary knife. This is an ultimate weapon, cursed by the gods yet worshipped by countless holy spirits! Only those standing on the precipice at the edge of the world, facing the apocalyptic winds, can glimpse even a fraction of its full power!]

[Additional information: One strike deals 9999999999 damage.]

Leng Ruolan: ...?