Chapter 142 A New Challenge

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: A New Challenge

Although they had discovered that the Water Monkeys carried some Treasures, everyone’s spirits remained low. The more they uncovered, the more despairing this world seemed. They might still be able to rely on human intellect to outmaneuver mindless monsters, but the appearance of these High Level monsters—creatures with a degree of intelligence—meant their advantage as humans was diminishing.

Coupled with the raging natural disasters that incrementally compressed their living space, everyone present, ordinary people included, understood this harsh reality. For a moment, the scene fell into silence as a faint sense of despair lingered in everyone’s hearts.

"I will figure something out. Chairman Wu, have someone thoroughly study the corpses of these Water Monkeys, sort out the supplies, and be ready to evacuate at any time!" Han Ning said. Having no mind to soothe their feelings, he left those words with Chairman Wu and turned to leave.

"Leave it to me!" Chairman Wu nodded. His expression turned solemn as he looked around at the crowd and barked, "Pull yourselves together! Have you forgotten our goal? It’s to survive! Old Zhao, take your men and continue sorting out the supplies. Long, keep an eye on the boats."

"Old Xu, go inspect the boats as well. And Professor Ye, organize all the various crops we’ve researched. We need to be ready to retreat at a moment’s notice," Han Ning said to his two subordinates after leaving the Gathering area of the Biyun Awakened Association.

"Understood!" The two nodded with serious expressions.

Han Ning found an empty room, sat down leaning against the corner of the wall, and initiated Communication with Nature. The wall became a medium connecting him to the Earth, his Spirit will spreading downward.

"Is there a safe place in this world? What is the route to a safe place? Where exactly is the ’center of the world’ that those natives speak of?" he wondered. Firing off multiple questions in one breath, he was curious how the natural will would answer him.

After a brief silence, an indescribably vast will descended. Han Ning’s Spirit Perception was instantly elevated, breaking free from the shackles of his physical body.

First, he "saw" his own body leaning against the corner. Then, his field of vision rapidly shot upward, piercing through the office building’s ceiling and the heavy, lead-gray clouds until he reached the space above them.

What greeted his eyes was not a clear, starry sky, but an oppressive scene. Countless writhing wisps of black fog shrouded the top of the clouds, exuding an unsettling aura of deathly stillness. Soon, an invisible force diluted the vision-obscuring black fog, making his sight clear. His perspective shifted into a bird’s-eye view.

Star-Studded islands were Scattered across the ocean. The area he was in was a massive island where the vast majority of the land had been submerged by endless seawater. The island’s total area far exceeded his imagination; its vastness was almost comparable to a small continent from before he transmigrated. However, this island had no particularly towering peaks; the average mountain heights were roughly the same. The ruins of Bailu City, where they currently resided, were merely a tiny dot in the southern part of this colossal island.

His field of vision continued to pull higher. Crossing the violent, surging ink-black ocean, the outline of an even more boundless, vast continent appeared at the edge of his sight. Mountains, rivers, forests, grasslands, and lakes were Scattered across the continent. It was lush and vibrant, brimming with a primal aura. Towering, colossal trees rose from the ground, while hideously deformed giant beasts walked and slaughtered each other among the mountains. With casual movements, they could tear apart trees, shatter mountain ranges, and whip up monstrous waves.

In the central region of the continent, faintly discernible humanoid figures could be seen moving about. Initially, they built crude shacks, much like a primitive tribe.

Immediately after, it was as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button on the vision. A Crystal Stone radiating seven-colored light accidentally fell into the hands of one of the figures. From then on, the progress of civilization accelerated abruptly. The crude shacks were replaced by brick and stone houses. Villages formed, magnificent cities rose from the ground, and bizarre architecture stood tall like marvels. Those figures mastered the terrifying power to breathe fire, harness the Thunderbolt, and drive giant beasts, establishing a glorious civilization.

At this point, everything stood still, and the scene abruptly shifted.

Endless seawater swept in from all directions. A monstrous flood submerged most areas of the continent, turning it into a watery realm. Some of the terrestrial creatures were corroded by the Black Tide, while others were slaughtered by the monsters lurking within it. The birds in the sky were interfered with by the wisps of fog above the clouds. The pitch-black fog formed streaks of black Thunderbolt that struck the flying creatures, stripping them of life and sending them plummeting downward. Only a few areas with relatively high elevation remained, preserving a somewhat abundant natural environment.

"They can’t fly? Are the creatures in the sky interfered with by the fog above the clouds... or does the flight altitude have an impact?" Han Ning wondered as he witnessed this sight.

However, the natural will did not answer him. It simply continued to evolve the imagery.

Between the massive island they were on and that boundless continent lay an endlessly violent black ocean, teeming with terrifying giant beasts and unknown dangers. Han Ning could clearly feel his Mental Power draining rapidly like floodwaters through open floodgates. Sustaining this grandiose vision was becoming exceptionally difficult.

Just then, the vision abruptly shrank and magnified, cutting back to the airspace above his office building. An incredibly clear stream of information, acting like an invisible arrow, pointed straight from the high sky toward the northeast of the building. The endpoint indicated by the information stream was a stretch of rolling mountain ranges in the northeastern part of the island. It was situated just outside the city ruins, not too far away.

Then, all the imagery shattered and dissipated like a broken mirror.

"ARGH!"

Han Ning snapped his eyes open, his body trembling violently as he was forcefully ripped from that state of highly concentrated Spirit. He gasped heavily for air. A fine layer of cold sweat covered his forehead, and the clothes on his back were completely soaked through.

The brief communication with the natural will just now contained an exceptionally massive amount of information. With such a high volume of data, the consumption of his Mental Power was extraordinarily enormous. It had nearly drained his Mental Power dry. Bouts of needle-like stabbing pain and a strong sense of emptiness pulsed from his brain—signs that his Mental Power had been overdrawn.

Though it was painful, Han Ning’s tense face relaxed slightly.

This expenditure of Mental Power was entirely worth it!

Not only did the natural will tell him a relatively safe evacuation route, but it also provided a suspected answer regarding the center of the world. That civilization, having developed to a certain scale, most likely styled itself as the center of the world.

It was just that the imagery provided by the natural will was too blurry; he could only glean a general idea. He had no way of seeing what those creatures actually looked like or what methods they utilized. Nor could he clearly see the specific scenes within their cities. Perhaps he would only be able to understand a thing or two once he reached that vast, boundless continent.

"It’s just that... if we want to cross that endless, raging sea, relying solely on our sailboat is probably hopeless..." he thought.