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墨書 Inktalez
They had been walking for an unknown amount of time, and according to the map, they were on the right path. However, they encountered a strange issue: the compass had completely malfunctioned. No matter which direction they turned, the compass always pointed in the same direction—south.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! The compass is broken!” Duan Shuai exclaimed as he threw the compass away in frustration.
At that moment, the others in the group were not faring much better. They had been walking for several hours without a drop of water. Although they all understood the importance of water in the desert, there was a strict rule that they could only drink when absolutely necessary. If they succumbed to thirst at any sign of dehydration, their water supply would quickly run dry. They found a shady spot beneath a cactus and sat down.
The autumn sunlight was increasingly harsh; it was surprising how intense it felt even compared to summer. Many felt as if their bodies had been drained of moisture by the sun’s rays. Freyr picked up a rock and struck it against another until he found a sharp edge. He then smashed the cactus behind him, breaking off its spines and digging deep to extract the moist flesh inside to eat.
Seeing this, the others followed suit, burying their heads into their tasks. The cactus flesh was at least sour and bitter, but it provided some much-needed moisture to keep them alive. Even those who were usually picky about food were devouring it hungrily.
Afterward.
“It seems we’ve run into trouble. It’s not that the compass is broken; rather, this area is known as the Death Triangle, a magnetic interference zone. Mechanical devices struggle to function here, including our compasses, which seem to be affected by these magnetic forces. Look at those strange stones; aren’t they marked as danger zones on the map?”
Freyr frowned as he noticed something amiss ahead—some neatly arranged black shapes that were clearly stone formations. For some reason, the compass continued to point toward that direction. He quickly gathered everyone to explain while picking up the compass from the ground.
Duan Shuai suddenly realized and nodded, “That’s exactly it! Those must be monopole magnets—an ancient magnetic matrix that releases strong magnetic forces during specific time periods. This must be one of those times. We have similar occurrences back in my hometown, but our stones are singular in form and lose their magnetism after a while.”
Freyr shook his head in frustration. “That won’t do. Just because we’re safe now doesn’t mean we’ll be safe in a few hours. We need to get out of this desert before nightfall. While this matrix can affect our compass, we still have a map to guide us out. Fortunately, this map marks place names and indicates areas where predators are commonly found. Let’s go; we’ve rested enough.”
“Things don’t look good,” just then, a man holding a sniper rifle spoke up, causing everyone’s expressions to turn serious. Behind him was another man slung over his shoulder. The group exchanged glances before lifting the covering from the man’s body, revealing shocking features that made them gasp.
“Blue skin?”
Someone screamed as Freyr stepped forward to cover the figure again and turned back to ask, “What happened to Nosty? It looks like he’s been poisoned—was he bitten by a snake?”
The man named Froth sighed softly before handing Nosty over to his good friend Aeros to carry him. Once he turned back around, he pulled Freyr aside for a conversation while the others looked on curiously. Their exchange grew heated as if they were arguing but soon ended with them shaking hands amicably.
“Alright then, let’s keep moving.”
Freyr let out a faint sigh, pretending that nothing was wrong as they passed through the magnetic matrix. They glanced back briefly at the images of stone figures standing on the matrix, each with wide eyes—some looked fearful, others had a strange half-smile, and a few had faces twisted in jealousy. In short, they were odd stone figures. After a few seconds, they continued on their way.
After walking for a while, Duan Shuai suddenly sighed and said, "It seems that the farther we go, the stronger the magnetic force becomes. Our compass has finally returned to normal. Let's drink some water and eat something before we continue. It's unfortunate; if we don't eat, the women in our group won't be able to hold out."
Freyr turned back with an impatient expression and shot a cold glance at Duan Shuai before changing his tone. "Sorry, I was too anxious. After walking all morning, I shouldn't force you all to keep going. Let's take a moment to eat something and rest before we continue."
Many people were already quite tired, sitting on the ground. Some took off their shoes and poured a little water from their canteens over their feet to cool down. In times like this, they couldn't waste water, but they had to do something to relieve their legs. They took out some compressed food rations and ate sparingly, trying to avoid choking by taking small bites and drinking water little by little.
To conserve energy, everyone lay down on the ground for a short nap.
Freyr continued to move around the area, quickly covering the exposed legs of those resting with clothing. There were many snakes and scorpions around; if their skin was bitten without any antiviral serum, they would have no choice but to wait for death. He walked over to Aeros and generously handed him his canteen. "How is he? Is he okay? Let him sit up and drink some water."
Norsidi pulled down the cloth covering his head and said, "Thank you, I'm fine now. It was just that I overexerted myself using a certain mental ability, which caused some backlash on my body. However, this condition won't last long; can't you see I'm doing much better now?"
"It seems that way. Just make sure to rest more. Even though you can't see, we still need your abilities to avoid dangerous predators. It looks like we've been too careless about your condition; from now on, just take it easy and don't put yourself in danger."
Freyr smiled as he gently patted Norsidi's head and lightly touched his forehead. It seemed he was feeling much better and didn't have a fever. After a moment of relief, Freyr turned to find a spot on the ground where he could pull out a map and admire it.
After some time, everyone had gotten up on their own. After clearing away traces of their stay, they prepared to set off again. Throughout their journey, nothing significant happened; everyone hoped nothing would occur. However, some unexpected events were unavoidable—like predators following them. In the desert, every powerful predator had its territory, but there were also weaker ones that had to hunt alone due to their lack of strength. These weaker predators were usually at risk of becoming food for stronger ones.
As they watched the last row get ambushed—flesh torn away—Freyr and the others quickly made a decision to kill that predator immediately. They stared into its eyes for a moment before regaining their composure from the initial shock.
"It’s not a Parasite Beast; consider yourselves lucky," Freyr warned. "Everyone stay alert; many predators hide beneath the sand for surprise attacks. Some may even be creatures containing Deadly Poison—be careful not to fall into an ambush."
Before they could relax further, another writhing shadow appeared beneath the sand, followed by gunfire.
Freyr felt somewhat helpless and cursed inwardly; this place clearly wasn't home to those ferocious predators either. Although encountering predators in the desert was unavoidable, everyone lined up in formation while those with sharper eyesight began signaling and shouting instructions as all their guns fired simultaneously.
The writhing shadow emerged from the sand—a three-headed Red-necked Cobra—a snake containing Deadly Poison and closely related to the Spectacled Cobra. It was also a hybrid venomous species; if bitten, there would only be time left for prayer. Just moments ago, one bullet had exploded one of its heads; that area was now bloodied and mangled—this was why the snake had suddenly lunged out at them.
“Undead-Class Predator!!”
Freyr looked extremely astonished. Without a second thought, he quickly drew his revolver. The so-called Undead-Class Predator was a predator that fell between the Normal Level, Danger Level, Undead level, Catastrophe Level, and Death-Class. As the top-tier Death-Class predator, it was a rare existence in the desert, typically equivalent to three or four Catastrophe Level predators. Most teams would be directly overwhelmed by it. However, while Undead level predators were classified under the third Danger Level, encountering one was still incredibly dangerous. Normally, predators at the Normal Level and Danger Level could evade with some maneuvering, but Undead level predators were relentless entities that would not stop until they had killed their enemies.
The two pouches on its jaw visibly gathered toxins at an alarming rate, emitting a purple gem-like glow reminiscent of amethyst. This Two-Headed Snake was concentrating its venom, and at the same time, a splash of black liquid erupted forth. The direction of its venom spray was aimed right at the crowd. When the venom splashed onto the sand, parts of it melted away as if cut by a hot knife through butter. The range of its venom was extensive. At that moment, two gunshots rang out simultaneously—one from a Sniper Rifle, the other clearly from a handgun. The sounds echoed one after another as the heads of the Red Serpent were blown apart. At this moment, one head of the Red Serpent emerged, clearly recovering and exerting itself considerably.
“We need to blow off all three heads at once to completely kill it! Who has a Sniper Rifle?” Freyr shouted.
“Leave it to me.”
Another man with a cheerful demeanor stepped forward. He had short black hair and always wore an enchanting smile. Optimistically, he took a step forward and revealed his weapon—a Rifle. He aimed his Rifle carefully.
Freyr closed his eyes. He had met this man once before; if he was nearby, perhaps this team would definitely make it out alive.
“I’ll time it for you—uh, about twenty seconds until the third head grows back!”
“Once all three heads have regrown, fire together! There’s only one chance; his venom is extremely dangerous—just one drop can dissolve bone.”
The three men found themselves engulfed in confusion, surrounded by a white void devoid of focus. However, to them, it felt as if they had entered another realm. Those three heads were slowly growing in their line of sight at an agonizingly slow pace, cells and tissues forming bit by bit as those terrifying heads squeezed out from the wounds.
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