Chapter 41

The target disappeared.

At this moment, two people—one small and one large—vanished without a trace during this unexpected snowstorm. Only a few people could afford to notice where the two figures had gone under the cover of the snowstorm, and even if they did, they could do nothing to stop them.

This was just plain bullying.

Outside the Sandbox, Lin Tuo stopped raising his palm lest he raised it too high. Then, he randomly found a position and put down his clone as well as Hua Xi.

“Switch!”

……

“It’s safe, now.”

When Hua Xi heard his voice, she let go of him and opened her eyes. ‘W-where is this?‘ She remembered feeling a gush of wind brushing past her ears before her feet stepped on a weird 'soil,” and her body seemed to rise briefly before landing as if some force was pulling her toward—somewhere.

A novel experience for her, indeed.

“You…”

Hua Xi blinked and looked at Lin Tuo, yearning to ask something. In the end, though, she closed her mouth. Yet, the curiosity and the doubt in her eyes only deepened.

Lin Tuo had no plan to explain. He said, “All right, let’s go.”

……

The Western Mountain Range was not big. Therefore, a few hours later, Lin Tuo’s trace was found again. This, combined with the previous “disappearance,” caused speculation to appear that this might also be a kind of Transcendent Abilities, an ability that allowed one to teleport within a specific distance.

‘Is there really an ability like that?’ Many had similar doubts.

After all, although some Evolved Ones will develop Transcendent Abilities, most of them were related to the body, more like the evolution of their organ function. For example, someone had their eyesight improved, someone developed a strong sense of smell, and someone could even sense climate change… an ability of the teleporting nature was unheard of, certainly.

But these doubts were never important. The Hunters of the Apocalypse Wanderer only cared for one thing—that the encirclement had failed. So, the Apocalypse Wanderer adjusted the rating of the mysterious powerhouse to an unprecedented height, SS-Class.

This failure didn’t discourage the local forces, though. It only strengthened their determination to kill Lin Tuo. However, they were puzzled on how Lin Tuo could avoid their encirclement in advance every time as if he had some predictive ability. Either he left the place early or used the “Teleport.” After several attempts, not only did they gain nothing, it also delayed their exploration progress.

Thus, they had to put more resources on pushing into the depths of the Great Western Continent.

And with complicated feelings, they had also discovered that Lin Tuo’s hunting activities had solved many powerful Mutated Beasts, which sped up their progress by many times.

Quite ironic.

……

In such an odd situation, another day had passed.

Lin Tuo was still tempering his body and eating at his own pace. One day, he killed another snow bear and climbed another mountain, only to found no more enemies to fight.

Under the dark sky, it was snowing.

In front of him was a messy valley, and further ahead, the last mountain. In the background, one could see an endless stretch of dark, dreary sea.

That was the Endless Sea.

Here, at the end of this continent.

“I… never thought we would be able to arrive here… the edge of the continent…” Hua Xi, who was wearing a thick winter coat and holding a rifle, looked at the sea in shock.

“If my guess is right, that mountain… is where the laboratory is.” Lin Tuo used a scope to look ahead. At the peak, he found many clear traces of human creations, especially at the top; there was a large, broken antenna.

“It should be. According to the legend, it was on the Endless Sea, at the last mountain, where the madman started it all… the Cataclysm,” said Hua Xi with a complicated expression.

After a brief silence, Lin Tuo let out a sigh, feeling the exhaustion accumulated from the continuous fighting.

“Come on, let’s go.”

……

Using “Teleport,” the two arrived outside the laboratory in mere seconds.

The entrance to this laboratory was halfway up the hill, a half-sealed gate.

Two figures stood alone outside the magnificent gate, silent.

The laboratory gate was simple, with no decorations; only a white jade statue was placed here. Perhaps, because the explosion affected the statue, it was cut off at the waist with its upper body lying on the snow, still maintaining its grip on the pointing stick. This was the statue of “Lin Sheng.” However, the face had been deliberately altered to eliminate the imperfections.

Over the past few days, through Hua Xi’s narration, Lin Tuo had learned that after he left back then, the emperor of the Chi Dynasty had made a statue of himself, which had now been passed down for a hundred years. It was only later, in the last few years of his life, that the Mad Emperor forcibly destroyed all the statues in the country and forbade anyone to remember the Saint, using a strict method, of course.

Who would have guessed that he kept one here instead?

‘Does he want me to witness this insanity with my own eyes?’ Lin Tuo stared at the statue.

He shook his head and smashed the statue, then he stepped forward and forcibly opened the metal gate. It was already on the verge of collapse; hence, with a paltry force, he opened a gap.

“Come here,” said Lin Tuo, taking the lead to walk inside.

After walking through a corridor, a vast laboratory hall showed itself in front of them.

Thirty years had passed, and yet, it remained the same as it was in the old times. Quite impressive, indeed. Still, some places showed some signs of collapse. And each instrument appeared to have been damaged and eroded.

Hua Xi followed cautiously, looking around. Suddenly, she stepped on something, which freaked her out.

“It should be the remains of the researcher who died back then,” said Lin Tuo, looking at the dry bones.

Dead man’s bones such as these were scattered around the hall. Judging from the trace, it seemed a riot once broke out here.

It’s difficult for Lin Tuo to guess what happened here, but from their posture at death, it was painful.

“They should be the first humans affected by the radiation.” Lin Tuo sighed. For some reason, facing these sinners who destroyed the entire civilization, he didn’t have much anger, just a heavy heart, and silence.

After a few steps forward, Lin Tuo’s eyes finally fell on a peculiar skeleton on the ground.

It was wearing a bright yellow robe belonging to the royal family. Perhaps, it was the environment in the middle of the mountain, but surprisingly, it still kept its original color.

This skeleton seemed to belong to an old man. It was leaning on the wall; the top of its skull had broken. Even at this moment, it was still looking through the “window,” as if calmly listening to the peaceful sea waves.

In its fragile hand was a dark-green metal box with several rotten cables attached to the bottom.

On it was written the word “Detonator.”

This was the dead—Mad Emperor. The one who had ended the centuries-old rule of the Chi Dynasty and established himself as the first and only emperor of the new empire.

Shatter.

When Lin Tuo approached, the Emperor’s skeleton shook and shattered. Perhaps because of the vibration, it could no longer support itself as it crumbled and the box in its hand fell.

A dark-green, simple square rolled from the skeleton to the ground.

Lin Tuo cast his gaze over. Judging from the handwriting above it, this was the so-called extraordinary artifact that could control the spirit of others: the Imperial Seal.

It really existed, huh?

However, many cracks had appeared on its surface, and even the corners were broken. It was slightly dim. It seemed the event that year had damaged it beyond repair.

Lin Tuo thought for a while before reaching out to it and picking it up. Suddenly, a virtual panel popped out automatically in his eyes the moment he touched it.

A line of words he had never seen before appeared:

[Special Item detected, would you like to analyze it?]

Lin Tuo was startled; he became more curious. How could the Sandbox have so many functions, even this kind?

‘Analyze.’

On the virtual panel, a flashing progress bar appeared.

[Analysis complete.]

Information poured into his mind. It was the analysis report of the Imperial Seal.

[Attributes: Natural Ore, Transcendent Item. (It is suspected that the item is eroded by the Spiritual Tides, changing its structure and gaining spirituality, and thus possessing a special ability.)]

[Rating: Low]

[Status: Seriously damaged, on the verge of collapse.]

[Abilities: By consuming Ether, the user can affect the living’s spirit within ten meters of the surrounding, producing a hypnotic effect. The duration and the number that could be affected are dynamically related to the amount of Ether consumed.]

[Negative effects: Enlarged obsession, paranoia, loss of reason, madness… Long-term use is not recommended.]

……

“You… What’s wrong?”

In the laboratory, Lin Tuo was in a daze while holding the Imperial Seal.

A worried look appeared on Hua Xi’s face. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped forward and called out.

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Lin Tuo woke up from his daze and smiled at the little girl, faint tears forming in his eyes. He looked at the Imperial Seal in his hand. “I’m just… a little surprised.”