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

"……OK."

Marcus took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge.

The bridge swayed slightly, and several withered vines broke off and fell into the abyss. It took a long time before the echo of the falling water could be heard.

He steadied himself and walked forward step by step, and soon reached the other side.

It seems they really can walk—so the second one is Douglas.

Douglas thought to himself, "So this bridge is based on seniority after all—"

Then came Alexander, and then Red Bean.

When it was Nanbei's turn, the large lynx looked down at the bridge, then at the depth of the rift valley, and then turned to look at Leng Ruolan.

innocent.jpg

This amused Leng Ruolan. "You're a cat, and you're afraid of heights?"

Nanbei let out a meow, its voice tinged with grievance.

Leng Ruolan deliberately looked at Ou Yun, "Big brother, listen to what it's saying?"

Ou Yun laughed at the time, "It said it wasn't afraid of heights, it just felt that the bridge was unworthy of its status."

North and South: ...

no way.

Nanbei had no choice but to tuck its tail between its legs and crawl on the ground in a somewhat cowardly manner. Once it reached the other side, it immediately squatted behind a large rock, pretending that nothing had happened.

"It's your turn."

Leng Ruolan looked at Ou Yun.

Ou Yun looked at the bridge, then at the rift valley, and then reached into his spatial ring.

What are you doing?

"I'm wondering if I could get a flying vehicle if I opened a golden supply crate right now—"

"Alright, alright, let's go."

"well……"

Resigned, Ou Yun stepped onto the bridge.

"Creak..."

The bridge suddenly emitted a sound like a haunted house door opening.

Several vines were visibly stretched to their limit, making a faint cracking sound in the air.

Ou Yun didn't know whether the bridge or he would break down first—so he quickened his pace and practically ran to the other side.

Leng Ruolan, who was walking at the back, watched quietly as her older brother rushed over like a husky that had run away.

"..."

Haha, I'm used to it.

She even stopped in the middle of the bridge and glanced into the depths of the rift valley.

"What do you see?" Ou Yun shouted from the other side of the river, completely unaware of what was happening.

"There is light in the water."

Leng Ruolan narrowed her eyes, somewhat uncertainly asking, "Purple? And shimmering?"

The person on the other end was silent for a moment.

"Abyssal energy again?"

"Most likely."

What kind of time is this? Just assume anything purple is from the Abyss faction and that's it.

Leng Ruolan walked to the other side, brushing the dust off her hands.

"Although the Forest Lord is dead, the energy it channeled into the earth still exists."

This was something Chen Hao had mentioned to them before.

"That energy needs to go somewhere, right? What if it becomes a new energy gathering point?"

"So that means there's also an abyss-type monster developing beneath the rift?"

"It shouldn't happen in the short term. It takes time for energy to accumulate and form a physical entity; according to Chen Hao's calculations, it will take at least several months."

Leng Ruolan's tone was calm, "However, after we finish defeating the other lords and come back, a new BOSS might spawn here."

"Then we'll play it again later."

Ou Yun said, "Anyway, the boss drops good loot."

Leng Ruolan said it was true, "Big brother, your mentality is becoming more and more like that of a gamer."

"The forbidden area is just a game, after all."

To put it bluntly, isn't it just a high-risk MMORPG?

"First level: forest; second level: plateau... no, it's desert... what map is it again?"

"plateau."

Douglas added, "The desert is still early."

"Yes, yes, plateau."

They continued walking.

The terrain on the other side of the rift valley is completely different from that of the forest area.

The trees are becoming increasingly sparse, replaced by patches of low shrubs and cracked yellow earth.

The air became drier, the humidity in the wind dropped significantly, and the sunlight became even more intense.

"The temperature is rising."

Douglas wiped the sweat from his brow. "It's at least five degrees warmer than in the forest."

"And there's a strange smell in the air."

Alexander sniffed. "It smells like... sulfur?"

"It's not sulfur."

Marcus crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil, and rubbed it in his palm. "It smells like the weathered smell of minerals with high sulfur content. The geological composition of this plateau is different from that of forest areas; it's more like a landform formed by the weathering of volcanic rock."

"volcano?"

Ou Yun's eyes lit up. "Does that mean there are hot springs here?"

"Theoretically possible, but—"

"spa!"

Ou Yun is already dreaming, "Defeating the boss and then soaking in a hot spring, that's life!"

"Brother, we're here to explore a new map, not to find a resort."

"Is it impossible to have both?"

"able."

Leng Ruolan looked at him.

"Brother, you need to understand that all your rewards are not just simple rewards."

"..."

*

It took about two hours to walk.

Ahead, a massive cluster of stone pillars appeared.

Each of those stone pillars is over ten meters tall, varying in thickness, and their surfaces are covered with holes and gullies formed by wind erosion.

The arrangement of the stone pillars appears to be random, yet it subtly forms a strange pattern—from a high altitude, it would probably resemble a bizarre maze.

"This is the natural stone pillar group I was referring to."

Marcus pointed to the stone forest ahead, "A typical landform formed by long-term weathering of sedimentary rocks. This terrain is perfect for setting up ambushes—there could be an enemy hiding behind every stone pillar."

"Then let's search them one by one."

Leng Ruolan drew her short sword. "Work in pairs and maintain visual communication. Nanbei and Hongdou, you two are in charge of perimeter security."

The two lynxes meowed simultaneously and darted into the shadows of the stone pillars.

Ou Yun followed Leng Ruolan and began searching from the east side of the stone pillar group.

The shadows of the stone pillars cast dappled patterns on the ground, and the wind whistled through the holes in the pillars, sounding like a low, mournful sob.

Ou Yun published a sharp comment: "This place is perfect for filming horror movies."

Are you afraid of ghosts?

"I'm not afraid, but I think ghosts might be afraid of us."

"Too."

Leng Ruolan thought to herself, "Who knows who's more sinister, my brother or the ghost?"

They walked among the stone pillars, their footsteps echoing in the narrow passage.

Leng Ruolan's gaze swept across the surrounding environment—

The gravel on the ground, the scratches on the stone pillars, the dents hidden in the shadows.

She meticulously scanned every detail that might conceal enemies or traps.

"etc--"

She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"What did you find?"

Leng Ruolan immediately squatted down and wiped the ground with her finger.

A fine layer of black powder appeared on her fingertips.

"Residual energy from the abyss."

She held the powder to her nose and smelled it. "It's very fresh, no more than twelve hours old."

Obviously, this is not a good thing!

Alexander's eyes widened immediately. "So, something passed through here not long ago?"