Chapter 581: You Are My Strength
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Rui Bing and her companions came to a stop. In front of them was a meadow of some kind. This was not grass, not exactly. The hair-like plants were vertical and swayed lazily. Rui Bing and Sang Kan could not quite find the words to describe it. In the end, Aried came up with a name that they both agreed with.
Sea of Threads - exactly what Mei Wu called it.
"Something's off." Rui Bing quickly realized that something felt wrong around the Sea of Threads. She could not use her sensitive mental waves here.
Sang Kan asked, "What's wrong?" He excelled in strength and speed, but not in mental skills, so he could not detect the changes.
Rui Bing did not know how to explain it to him. In fact, she had never experienced anything like it. When Rui Bing deployed Guardian, she was shocked to find that her vision was simply an empty sheet of white, despite being able to see in the purple mist earlier on.
"I can't use Guardian here." Rui Bing's words sent a chill to Sang Kan and Aried. Rui Bing was the main combatant of the trio, and Guardian was key to their safety. If Guardian was of no use, they must not stay here.
It was impossible to imagine what would happen to them without Guardian if a threat showed up. Sang Kan and Aried exchanged a nervous look. They were not expecting this.
"Do we continue forward or not?" Aried asked slowly.
Sang Kan looked to Rui Bing, who was standing straight and still. Her white training garb flapped in the wind. Rui Bing stared at the endless Sea of Threads. It was quiet but for the sound of the breeze. Rui Bing could not help but recall the face of a cold, young man.
"When are you ready to marry me?"
"Marry? Why should I marry you?"
"You kissed me."
"I did not kiss you."
"You did."
"I didn't!"
"You did!"
"I did not kiss you, probably."
"You did!"
…
Words from the past came back to her. A red blush crept up Rui Bing's fair skinned neck. Rui Bing felt her cheeks turned hot. She took a deep breath in. Her tired body was suddenly filled with strength again. Emotions overwhelmed her. Rui Bing's gaze became clear and determined.
She looked into the distance and spoke softly, "Let's go!"
…
Ye Chong kept a tight rein over the stronghold expansion works. With enough resources in his hands, he began to advance further into Darkniss. They were camped near Mei Wu's cave dwelling. Building a small base had become a familiar task for Ye Chong's men.
It took only three days to complete the stronghold.
Close to the stronghold were piles of metal chunks. Ye Chong now had 27 liquid metal auto-extractors in place. There were also 13 metal ore sites and six mineral reserves under his control. Production never stopped at these places to provide Ye Chong with enough metal. He now had enough resources to become an independent force in the He Yue Galaxy or the Five Galaxies, and this was just the beginning of his mining operations. There were still many resources that he had not begun harvesting. He had enough resources from the current production sites. The only expansion he had in mind was the rare mineral reserves. It would be a waste to mine resources without putting them to use.
The latest base, Stronghold 4, now had its perimeter cleared of wild animals. Armed with mechs, the students were now the dominant power in Darkniss. To the right of the stronghold entrance was a 10-by-2.5-kilometer field that they had cleared and flattened.
There were only smooth and flat rocks in this clearing.
The students had gotten used to seeing new and interesting things as part of their daily lives. They would not settle for their old, primitive lives ever again. Besides, Ye Chong took care of their families through certain channels. Their families received heavy monetary compensation, and this gave the students peace of mind. Thus, they continued to serve their commander with undying loyalty.
Their commander demanded more and more improvement from them. Their training became much harder than when they first started. By following the sequence of base training, actual combat, analysis, and finally, specialized training, they improved at an astounding rate. They could feel this improvement in actual combat. Wild creatures that were difficult to kill at first were now easy prey.
Nevertheless, they did not try to venture too deep into Darkniss. Caution was a quality that Ye Chong never stopped emphasizing to them.
In the 10-kilometer long clearing, a huge metal structure was slowly erected. The structure reached from one end to the other. The weapon-smiths worked on this structure every day.
Was their commander thinking of building a metal stronghold? The students were curious, but no one asked the commander himself. They were not yet so bold. The engineering works continued, and the metallic structure grew from a simple framework to a complicated piece of technology. Everyone could see that the metallic structure was a huge and intricate project. This must be a huge and miraculous work of engineering - all the students thought so.
…
After 13 days of non-stop running, Rui Bing's lips began to crack. She looked tired, but the determination in her eyes did not waver.
They did not have much drinking water left, and had to ration it carefully. There was no water in the Sea Threads, but they must cross it as soon as possible. In the past 13 days, Rui Bing and Sang Kan never stopped running as quick as they could manage.
Sang Kan looked exhausted too. He had Aried on his back all this while. He was so tired even lifting a finger was hard work. However, he was as resilient as any member of the Sang Tribe. He never complained in the past 13 days.
The Sea of Threads had a uniform appearance. There was nothing else but the light blue colored threads. They saw no other creatures, and no source of water. This wide piece of earth sustained only one species of life - the light blue colored threads.
"Look!" Aried cried out excitedly from Sang Kan's back as he pointed in front of them with his trembling hand.
The terrain was changing quickly. They were almost out of the Sea of Threads! Sang Kan and Rui Bing were both invigorated by the news. They picked up their pace and ran for it.
After stepping past the last blue thread, Sang Kan finally yielded to his fatigue. His legs gave way and he fell face down. Aried cried out in surprise as he fell forward.
Rui Bing gathered the last of her strength and went to catch Aried in his fall.
The trio looked at each other, a tired mess, and smiled.
After some rest, Sang Kan struggled up to his feet to search for water. He could already sense the moisture in the air. There must be water close by.
Soon, he found a watering hole. It was a small lake. The surface of the lake was still as a mirror. Sang Kan was overjoyed. He found many animal footprints around the lake.
"This must be drinkable water," Sang Kan thought to himself. Nevertheless, as a safety precaution, he still checked the water for poison. To his delight, the tests showed that water was indeed safe to drink. He quickly helped himself to it. It felt wonderful to quench the thirst from so many days of running.
He took out his water pouch, filled it up, and was about to return to Rui Bing and Aried when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He bent down to inspect the ground.
He recognized whatever he saw, and ran as fast as he could to Rui Bing and Aried.
"What is it?" Rui Bing saw Sang Kan's expression and knew that he must have found something.
Sang Kan passed his water pouch to them and said to them with a funny expression, "I found human footprints! There are people nearby!"
"Ah!" Rui Bing and Aried gasped in surprise. The water pouch that was about to reach Aried's lips stopped moving abruptly.
"It's human footprints, I'm sure of it. They are by the lake over there, probably by a woman. Beside her footprints were many other animals footprints. I think she was being pursued by the animals." Sang Kan did not look too excited when he said this. To them, humans might pose an even bigger threat than animals, especially strangers.
The news came as a shock to all three of them.
Sang Kan added, "The footprints are fresh. They must have been left not more than two hours ago."
This was encouraging news. They did not expect there to be any humans in this place. They had thought that they were the only ones who were lost and trying to find their way home in this dangerous place. It was wonderful to know that there were other humans here.
Nevertheless, they did not immediately set off to find these humans, but took a rest instead.
Rui Bing sat up straight and closed her eyes. Her hands rested naturally on her folded knees. A Jie expert. For a Jie expert, this was the most basic and fastest way to recover. Sang Kan simply laid down and slept, snoring so loudly that even Aried felt like sleeping.
However, Aried kept his eyes open wide to keep watch for the group.
An hour later, Rui Bing opened her eyes and Sang Kan stopped snoring. Sang Kan carried Aried on his back as usual, but he secured Aried's position with a rope this time. He also had a spiral patterned wooden spear. The wood he found was so hard that he bent his lava gold dagger while making the wooden spear.
His steps were light and vigilant. Silently, he crept forward in a half bending position.
Rui Bing followed close behind him. She did not use Guardian for now.
They arrived back at the lake and refilled their water pouches. Sang Kan continued to study the footprints around them.
"I don't recognize the animal footprints here. We have to be careful." Sang Kan was an experienced hunter. This was obvious throughout their journey so far. Both Aried and Rui Bing trusted his judgment.
The three of them proceeded carefully along their way for an hour when they heard the howl of a wild animal.
Howl! The cry echoed around them. The ground began to tremble, as if thousands of animals were heading their way.
Sang Kan and Rui Bing were both alarmed. Aried paled quickly.
In the valley below them, a herd of wild animals were running in a wild stampede. They looked like they were startled by something. The herd consisted of all kinds of animals. Some were so huge they reached up to 16 meters tall, and every step they took shook the ground like a heavyweight mech would. The smaller animals were all agile creatures. They leaped along the cliffs of the valley, making their way forward in powerful leaps.
"There!" Aried pointed towards the front of the stampede.
In front of all the animals was a small figure, running as fast as the animals.
She did not look particularly strong to Rui Bing or Sang Kan, but she was also much faster than normal people. However, her stamina was failing. She was beginning to slow down.
"I think she's carrying something like a gun on her back," Sang Kan said grimly.
The woman was slowing down. Her steps were getting uneven. Rui Bing and Sang Kan knew that she could not hold on for much longer.
"Save her!"
Both of them exchanged a look, and then rushed towards the woman.
However, the woman was more capable than Rui Bing and Sang Kan expected. She slipped into a narrow crack in the cliffs. The narrowest part of the crack could only allow three people in side by side. The animals behind her were not fazed by her attempt. The smaller animals followed her into the crack.
The gun on her back slid down smoothly into her hands. She shot without aiming. Swoosh swoosh swoosh! The laser gun began to fire.
Within the crack, animals began to scream in pain. Soon, animal bodies began to pile up at the entrance of the crack. However, the animals outside continued to force their way in like they had gone mad.
"She's a good shot!" Rui Bing and Sang Kan looked at each other in surprise.
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