Chapter 465 - 462: Activated Forest

Chapter 465: Chapter 462: Activated Forest

"Are you in a hurry?"

"Of course I’m in a hurry! It’s been half a year. I’ve been braving the elements every day, it’s hard to even find something to eat on this Sky Island, and I’m constantly getting ambushed by those things..." Zhou Dynasty ranted furiously about the island’s environment, looking thoroughly indignant.

"Then why don’t you go send a signal?"

Li Luo looked into the depths of the forest. A light breeze stirred, making the leaves rustle.

Hearing Li Luo’s question, Zhou Dynasty gave an embarrassed laugh.

"I can’t get in. It’s a little dangerous in there."

"Aren’t you supposed to be strong?"

"..." Zhou Dynasty scratched his head. "Not strong enough. The deeper you go, the worse the contamination gets. It’s not so bad on the outer layer, but the interior is chaotic. Those Activated things never rest; they attack everything in sight. One wrong move and you’re dead."

As he spoke, Zhou Dynasty glanced at the Block behind Li Luo.

"Are you planning to go to the beacon?"

"Besides the beacon, is there any other way to send a signal?" Li Luo asked in return.

"Nope." Zhou Dynasty spread his hands.

"Then let’s go." Li Luo headed straight into the forest.

"Wait, I’m not ready yet..." Zhou Dynasty said anxiously.

But Li Luo paid him no mind and continued walking straight toward the center of the island.

Zhou Dynasty hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.

"You really are decisive..."

"The Activated things inside aren’t like that bush from earlier. They’re all terrifying creatures. As they absorb more activity, they become more and more intelligent, even using tactics and stuff. They’re a real pain to deal with."

Zhou Dynasty chattered on nonstop as he followed behind Li Luo, sharing all the intel he had.

"The elite ones that survived by killing each other are all battle-hardened. I haven’t even asked about your combat skill level yet. If we run into danger, remember to pull back in time. I’ll cover your retreat. But I also have other methods..."

Perhaps because he hadn’t spoken to anyone in so long, Zhou Dynasty rambled on to Li Luo, not caring whether she responded or not.

And so, the two of them slowly walked into the forest.

...

’Activation contamination?’

After learning about the situation on the Sky Island, Mo Ling had been observing the forest.

After reaching the fourth layer, his field of vision had doubled again, allowing him to see extremely far.

However, no matter how he observed it, the forest appeared completely normal.

Mo Ling didn’t find any Activated things similar to the previous Activated stone or Activated bush. Instead, he saw quite a few animals.

Insects, birds, small mammals...

Although the creatures on the fourth layer of this abyss looked a little strange, he could still tell that they were normal living beings.

’It looks no different from a normal forest.’

As he looked deeper, aside from the denser vegetation and more complex ecosystem, he discovered nothing else out of the ordinary.

Mo Ling had expected the forest, tainted by Activation contamination, to be teeming with Activated things, but the reality was very different from what he’d anticipated.

’The Activation contamination hasn’t affected the normal ecosystem.’

Not only that, but looking deeper into the forest, he also discovered a babbling stream.

The stream’s source seemed to be even deeper in the forest, its clear water flowing through the woods, nourishing the earth.

’Wait, what is that?’

Mo Ling noticed strange fragments floating in the stream.

Splinters of wood, shredded leaves, and some small, unidentifiable pieces of material.

’Something seems to have happened upstream.’

After seeing these fragments, the unease that Mo Ling had just set aside returned.

It wasn’t just the fragments. When Mo Ling focused his vision on the silt at the bottom of the stream, he saw something even more shocking:

Bone fragments, iron nails, machine parts...

The skeletons of large creatures and the remains of what looked like civilized artifacts were sunk in the silt, extremely well-hidden. If Mo Ling hadn’t looked closely, he never would have noticed them.

’There’s stuff like this here?’

It was impossible to tell if the remains were man-made. Any markings on them had been completely washed away by time, leaving only rust and rot.

After noticing these remains beneath the silt, Mo Ling suddenly realized he had been overlooking one area—the underground.

At this thought, Mo Ling quickly sank his vision into the ground. This time, he finally found a clue.

’The soil... is squirming?’

Just like earthworms burrowing through the ground, the soil beneath the forest was constantly twisting slightly. Small clumps of dirt would occasionally tremble, and clods of mud stuck together would twitch as if they were alive.

The earth... was alive...

The contamination was spreading fastest underground!

The Activated soil had already taken over most of this area. If it weren’t held in place by normal soil and the root systems of the trees, it would surely erupt from the ground and attack the normal creatures on the surface.

’No wonder the Activated stone I saw earlier was covered in dirt. It must have crawled out from underground.’

Mo Ling recalled what the stone had looked like and realized he had completely overlooked the layer of fresh soil on its surface.

A stone dug up from the ground is different from one that has always been on the surface. At the time, Mo Ling’s attention had been focused solely on the stone’s movements, so he missed this detail.

’Was that bush also contaminated by the soil?’

Although bushes are short, their roots dig deep into the ground, forming a complex, tangled network.

Compared to the towering trees, they seemed to be more easily affected.

Beneath the calm forest, the contamination was spreading silently.

After entering the forest, Zhou Dynasty became much less talkative.

He gripped his stone longsword tightly, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath his and Li Luo’s feet.

’He must know the danger comes from the ground.’

Zhou Dynasty’s behavior was clearly a precaution against ambushes from below. It seemed he had learned this lesson the hard way over the past six months.

"Slow down. Step lightly. Don’t step on any branches," Zhou Dynasty suddenly said to Li Luo, who was ahead of him.

Hearing the warning, Li Luo immediately slowed her pace. She, too, could sense the caution in Zhou Dynasty’s tone.

Proceeding carefully like this, the two of them arrived at the stream Mo Ling had seen.

"Stop. Don’t go near that stream," Zhou Dynasty said grimly.

He even walked ahead and raised a hand to block Li Luo’s path.

The clear stream flowed slowly, its gurgling sound adding a touch of life to the silent forest.

But Zhou Dynasty clearly wasn’t admiring the beauty of the woodland stream.

He carefully crouched down, picked up a stone, and tossed it toward the stream.

His throw was off. The stone didn’t land in the water but rolled for a bit beside the stream before stopping.

Zhou Dynasty took a deep breath and picked up another stone from the ground.

As he repeated the action, he began to explain to Li Luo why he was being so cautious.

"Activation is easy to spot. Activated stone, Activated soil, Activated wood... you can tell at a glance because they aren’t supposed to move."

"But there’s one thing that’s already supposed to move, so you can’t tell whether it’s been Activated or not."

"And that is—Activated water."