Chapter 444.3: NOWHERE TO GO NOW

Sisi raised her eyebrows slightly. "To the west is Petra Fortress. The east is held by our buddies of the Skeleton Corps. We can only run north, I don't mind sacrificing a bit... Want to bet how far we can run before the explosion?"

Tail suddenly perked up. "It's okay! Roro, the map is so big! It's hard work for the amazing Light to make more... So... Let’s just pester him to make a few more of it even if we destroy the valley!”

Roshan sighed and sat back down. "That's also true."

After all, the gains they made wasn’t small. The destructive power of a nuclear bomb varied depending on where it was detonated.

If it exploded in the air, it would naturally cause the most damage.

Whether the shockwave or radiation, the coverage area was the widest if it was detonated in mid air. The radioactive dust could even be carried hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away by air currents.

The next most destructive would be if it exploded on the ground.

The center of the explosion would form a deep crater, and some of the shockwave would be released upward in a conical shape.

The method of detonation was mainly used to destroy fixed fortifications and was somewhat less effective against personnel.

As for underground detonation... That was primarily used for nuclear testing.

There was a massive crater in the Great Rift Valley, and it was probably blasted out by some orbital weapon. Although partly buried over time, it still had a depth of about 100 meters.

That was their target.

Just by sending the nuclear bomb into that nearly vertical shaft, they could minimize the impact of the explosion.

The truck stopped next to the airfield as someone quickly got off.

Picking up the shovel next to the seat, Sisi was about to step forward when Roshan volunteered. "I'll do it!"

Although awkward with tools, mutant genetic sequence players generally had ridiculously strong stats.

After confirming where they would throw the bomb, Roshan roared with all his strength, tore off the hanging steel plate, exposing the nuclear warhead buried inside the belly of the Hurricane, along with the metal bracket securing the warhead.

Fortunately, they could pull it out.

Ignoring her singed fur, Roshan used all her strength to forcibly break two aluminum plates, finally pulling out the warhead which was about as tall as a person, along with the bracket from under the belly of the plane.

Looking at the cylindrical object on the ground, she suddenly felt a chill and cautiously looked at her teammates. "... Will it explode?"

Sisi shook her head. "Don't know, it's best if it doesn't explode, but we have to be prepared just in case."

...

Elsewhere in Lost Valley, when he slowly opened his eyes...

Falling Feather shook his dazed head. He looked around, a hint of confusion gradually appearing in his eyes. "... Where is this?"

It was pitch black up ahead, and it looked like some unknown cave. A few strands of light mixed with the sound of whistling wind from behind him suggested he was somewhere high up.

The Cloudfly did not have ejection seats. Instead, it had stronger protective ejection pods.

The parachute hadn't fully opened, and the ejected escape pod had crashed directly into the mountain. Half was stuck in the cave and the back half was exposed outside.

From the scattered concrete debris, that place didn't seem like a naturally formed geological structure. It looked like it was patched up with cement.

According to posts from other players on the forum, the nearby residents had imbued Lost Valley with mythical colors. In the early days, there were also followers of the Sky God.

Where he was should be a temple they built... Or part of it.

But Falling Feather always felt that instead of a temple, it looked more like a pit dug by a raider.

Whatever it was, events from 100 years ago couldn't be verified.

Perhaps there were no believers at all, just a few scavengers who had been inaccurately labeled through rumors.

Such coincidences weren't unheard of in history.

Climbing out of the wreckage, Falling Feather found the survival tools stored in the ejection pod.

A 5 mm caliber pistol, two 15 round magazines, bandages and other basic medical supplies, and tools like flashlights.

Unfortunately, his copilot ultimately didn't make it. All that remained in the crushed seat was a pool of blood with not even a whole body to be found.

Not even the VM strapped to his leg could be seen.

Falling Feather silently mourned for him, then packed his survival tools into his backpack. With a flashlight in hand, he walked down the cave, trying to find an exit.

The wide cave led to an unknown destination, the dark red fungal patches on the corners of the walls looked eerily familiar.

Swallowing, Falling Feather drew his pistol, chambered a round, and cautiously moved forward with his flashlight held in an underhand grip.

More and more fungal patches appeared on the walls.

A rust-streaked escalator eventually appeared in front of him.

The top was blocked by large rocks, and below was a pitch-black abyss.

With no other options, he had to continue forward.

Especially after he walked down a broken staircase to the lower area, at least half of one wall was covered with red patches.

That wasn’t all. Even the air around him carried a hint of rotting from Slime Mold.

As Falling Feather had expected, a Cruncher appeared.

But just as he slowed his footsteps, planning to walk past and knife the creature, it seemed to notice him.

Then...

... It spoke.

"Hey, is that a flashlight? Don't shine it at me, Slime Mold hate light."

Falling Feather froze, almost discharging his gun on accident. "You can talk?!"

"What do you mean I can talk...? Your tone is strange, is it some kind of dialect?"

Falling Feather stared and took a step back, moving the flashlight away, and asked warily, "Who are you?"

"Who am I...

Hmm,

that's a good question, but I can't quite remember." The man didn't seem to take his gun seriously, casually replying.

Falling Feather looked puzzled.

What is this?

"Don't you remember...?"

"Names are for others to use, it's been so long since anyone came here, I just forgot." The man laughed heartily, still not turning around.

Falling Feather watched the back of his head. "Can you turn around?"

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Are you sure?"

"

Um

..." Falling Feather nodded.

The man wasn't pretentious and turned around generously.

However, the moment Falling Feather saw him, he was completely stunned, and couldn't help but exclaim. "Damn!"

That face...

No, that could no longer be called a face; it was like a log that had been soaked for too long. It was hideously ugly.

With lips like rotten wood, the man spoke with a cheerful voice, "Right, I haven't seen a living person for a long time, seeing you reminded me a bit of the past..."

He paused, then continued, "You can call me, Pigeon."

Falling Feather paused slightly, vaguely remembering the name.

That's when he suddenly remembered the book Sisi had translated on the forum.

His eyes filled with disbelief, he asked, dumbfounded, "... Are you a researcher from the Academy?"

Pigeon thought for a while before answering. "Academy... Oh, that's a nostalgic name. Are those bookworms still around? Or are they already rotting in the swamps?"

"Probably still there..."

Though just as part of this game's setting.

Looking at that horrifying face, Falling Feather couldn't help but continue asking about what concerned him the most. "Wait, didn’t you die many years ago?"

Pigeon nodded. "Um... If nothing unexpected happened, I should have aged peacefully, like other old men lying in coffins, but I couldn't resist my curiosity about this relic. Can't help it, that's how we people from the Academy are, we can't control our interest in relics even though we’ve been away from the academy for many years."

Falling Feather's expression turned a little strange.

The New Alliance's chief researcher came from the Academy, but that guy's curiosity about relics was just average. He was more interested in coffee machines.

"So what's your status now?" Falling Feather asked.

The man candidly admitted. "I’m probably taken over by Slime Mold."

"Symbiosis?!"

Seeing Falling Feather's eyes widen, the man laughed and said, "Don't be so nervous, symbiosis isn't parasitism. Two organisms depend on each other, share each other's fate... Don't you think that sounds great?"

Before the man in front of him could recover, Pigeon looked towards the dark corridor behind him. "Right, let me introduce my companion... Hey, Reddy, come out and greet the guest."

A chilling sensation crawled up Falling Feather's back

He stiffly turned around, only to see a creature, possibly nine feet tall.

With the residual light from the flashlight, he saw something that was blood-red.

Its features were abstract, with only a vague outline of a mouth and nose. There were no visible organs yet, as if they hadn't evolved.

And its eyes were particularly unusual, resembling a fly's compound eyes, made up of numerous hexagonal structures, and faintly emitting a crimson glow.

Two long arms hung at its sides, with trumpet-shaped openings at the ends, like the cuffs of a garment, yet no palm was visible.

As for its lower limbs... They were even more abstract.

A slender waist gave way to an inverted cone of fungal mat, much like

Lissandra’s

skirt.

At first glance, this creature resembled the evolved being from the last Tide. However, it wasn’t as aggressive.

If there was any difference, the creature that emerged from the center of Clearspring City resembled a shark with its jaws wide open, while the one in front of him was more like a dolphin.

A strand of finger-thick tentacles floated from behind it, surrounding it yet not coming too close.

Watching the tentacles hovering just inches away, Falling Feather gulped nervously.

He didn't know what it was, but he hoped the game designers weren’t actually assholes and left him a way to live.