After travelling in the Red Wasteland for some time, the trio finally reached the entrance to Darkniss . When Ye Chong saw the entrance, he was stunned .
In the middle of the endless stretch of wasteland was a flat, black colored circle . It was 15 meters across, and suspended about 20 centimeters above the ground . It was like a gateway to another world .
Ye Chong was familiar with the black circle . He had seen it more than once . There was one in the underground tunnel, one on Yi Ju, and one in the Research Consortium's base on Spectre . The size of the black circles varied, but they were all black, perfectly circular, and suspended in the air . The similarities were there .
Xuan Ning and Sha Ya noticed Ye Chong's muted surprise . They had never seen that expression on him .
Xuan Ning was curious . He asked, "What is it? Have you been here before?"
Ye Chong quickly recovered himself and shook his head . "No . "
"Let's go inside," Sha Ya interrupted them . "I always felt unsafe at the entrance . Let's go inside now . "
"Alright . " Ye Chong nodded . He moved the Spider closer to the black circle, ready to step through it . People with strong parapsychic sense had better instincts than normal people .
Xuan Ning smiled . "I once had that feeling too, but now I sense something new . The entrance feels unstable, but it's actually quite the opposite . A Level 8 shooter can sense its instability, but once you reach Level 9, you can sense that there is a very stable structure underneath the instability . "
Xuan Ning had just finished speaking when a ripple appeared on the black circle .
"What was that?" Sha Ya gasped . She had never seen the entrance ripple like that .
Ye Chong looked at Xuan Ning . Was this really stable?
Xuan Ning look perturbed . "Something's not right . It became unstable suddenly, like it was stimulated by something . " He closed his eyes and reached out with his parapsychic sense to the entrance . He had the strongest parapsychic sense of the three, and could detect the most minute details .
"Huh?" Xuan Ning opened his eyes wide and turned to Ye Chong with a weird expression . He said, "We should step back . "
The Spider retreated about 10 meters away . The effect was immediately apparent . Once the Spider began retreating, the ripples at the entrance reduced until it eventually became flat again .
Ye Chong and Sha Ya could not understand what was happening .
Xuan Ning turned his attention to the ring on Ye Chong's finger . He hesitated before speaking again, "Your ring is a little odd . It was the cause of the instability at the entrance . "
Ring? Sha Ya looked at the inconspicuous ring on Ye Chong's finger . It did not look particularly interesting to her .
"Celest's dimension keystone?" Ye Chong thought to himself in surprise . How was the ring responsible for this?
Ye Chong suddenly remembered the time when he was in the Research Consortium's laboratory on Spectre . The spatial window in the corner of the lab had transformed abruptly and sent him to Dual Forest . Could that be related to his ring too?
Xuan Ning saw the confusion on Ye Chong's and Sha Ya's faces . He explained, "I don't know what happened either, but I can sense that the ring was causing the entrance to become unstable . The structure of the entrance seems to be affected by it . Once we back off, the entrance returned to normal . It looks like distance is key here . Hmm, the entrance feels normal now . The structure of the entrance is stable . "
Ye Chong lifted his right hand pointed at the ring on it with his left hand . "This one?"
Xuan Ning nodded . "That's the one . " He saw the inquiring look on Ye Chong and shrugged . "Don't ask me why because I don't know either . " Ye Chong's ring looked ordinary . He could not understand what was happening as well .
Sha Ya watched Xuan Ning admiringly . This was the difference between Level 8 and Level 9 . Xuan Ning could sense the structure of the entrance with his parapsychic sense, and even feel it transforming . What a powerful skill! Sha Ya never imagined that parapsychic sense could do this . Level 9 was almost a legend . People could only imagine what a Level 9 shooter was capable of . She just witnessed the true strength of a Level 9 shooter, and it was much more powerful than anyone could have imagined!
Ye Chong considered their situation for a moment and pointed at the entrance . He asked, "What is its structure like?" He was also curious about Xuan Ning's ability to sense the structure of the spatial window . His parapsychic sense was strong!
Xuan Ning shook his head in chagrin . "I can't say for sure . It's strange and mysterious! I don't know how to express it . "
Ye Chong tried again with a more straightforward question . "How can we safely pass through the entrance?" He did not want to spend too much time on this problem . The fact that Celest's dimension keystone could disrupt the spatial window was already a very important piece of information for him .
Xuan Ning looked at Ye Chong . He could see that the man would not leave the ring behind . He considered the problem for awhile . "If we could approach the entrance fast, it should not be a problem . "
"I see," Ye Chong nodded . His fingers tapped on the control console, and the Spider lunged towards the entrance without warning .
Xuan Ning was thrown backwards . He hit the back of his head on his seat and screamed like a madman . Xuan Ning roared, "Can't you at least warn us?"
Sha Ya threw a pitiful look at Xuan Ning, the admiration she felt for him fading fast . She marveled at how a Level 9 shooter was helpless against the unpredictable man, Ye Chong .
Once the Spider was close to the entrance, ripples began to form on the flat surface again . Ye Chong ignored the ripples and focused on piloting the Spider . The Spider charged head on towards the black circle and went right through it .
The surroundings turned dark . The image on the holographic screen was completely different now .
It was very, very dark . Only a faint light allowed them to see their surroundings . The sky was dark . There were stars and moons in the sky . Nevertheless, darkness was not the only thing that defined this place . There was also a bright, hot red in sight - lava .
Hot lava flowed like rough waters, splashing violently as they went along deep trenches . The fiery waves could reach up to 8 meters tall . Despite being in the Spider, they could still feel the heat emanating from the lava .
There was a main branch of lava river that was about 30 meters wide . It branched out into thinner flows going downstream, like roots of a tree .
Ye Chong had never seen anything so magnificent . He was distracted for a moment .
"Leave the entrance now!" Xuan Ning shouted panickedly . "Quick! It's becoming unstable!"
Ye Chong quickly focused himself and pulled the Spider away from the black entrance .
The ripples on the entrance subsided once more and became flat again . Ye Chong watched the spatial window, suspended in midair, and felt fascinated by it . This place was completely different from the Red Wasteland outside, but just by stepping through the "door", they had arrived in a whole new world . The whole process was even more mysterious than warp jumps .
Unfortunately, Ye Chong knew very little about spatial science . He did not understand the working principles behind them .
Xuan Ning was still not over his shock . "Good thing we left quickly, or we would be in deep trouble . "
Of the three of them, Xuan Ning was probably the only one who truly understood the severity of their situation just now .
Sha Ya said to Ye Chong, "We are now in Darkniss . We call that huge river the Lava River . Usually, we will travel along the Lava River . The River will sometimes change its course, but the general direction is the same . This way, we will not lose our way . "
Darkniss - this was Darkniss!
Once they were in Darkniss, both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya turned serious . Their hands never left the firearms control lever . This made Ye Chong even more wary .
The Spider walked along the Lava River . Everything they saw was tinged red due to the light coming from the lava .
It was just a short while before Ye Chong found a few pieces of high quality metal ores along the way . Darkniss was truly the place to find gravestones . The bright red lava would also have familiar circular patterns that were actually metals in liquid form .
Soon, Ye Chong understood why Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were nervous . They encountered a pack of 80 black striped gray dragons . It was rare to see such a huge pack . These dragons usually move in packs of 20 to 30 .
Ye Chong saw his first black striped gray dragon .
The animals were beaked and had sharp claws . Their bodies were gray with black stripes, and reached up to three meters long . Their wingspan, however, was close to 10 meters long . They flew fast and were aggressive in nature .
The Spider was large and hard to miss . The black striped gray dragons thought that this unfamiliar creature would taste delightful .
Xuan Ning reacted first . He was nervous since they first stepped into Darkniss .
A thick laser beam shot right through a black striped gray dragon, leaving a 30 centimeter wide circular hole in its wake . The dragon stopped breathing immediately . Its wings froze and it fell straight down from the sky .
Lasers began to fire . Xuan Ning's attack marked the beginning of their battle . Sha Ya reacted quickly as well . The black striped gray dragons fell one by one like loose kites, kicking up dirt as they crashed into the ground .
The sudden attacks surprised the dragons, but they were soon angered by them . The dragons screamed sharply and flapped their wings, making their way towards the Spider .
Ye Chong did not expect how fast these creatures could fly . Without a mech, he would have trouble dealing with these dragons . Since they were diving from a high altitude, the attacks from these black striped gray dragons must be very powerful . Even thin alloy boards would give way to their attack .
Fortunately, shooters were the best combatants at medium range . This battle was perfect for them . Ye Chong did not have to worry about his safety, since he had a Level 8 shooter and a Level 9 shooter with him . The black striped gray dragons were strong, but not enough to threaten these two excellent shooters .
Ye Chong even had time to enjoy watching the marksmanship of these two shooters .
They were both very good at what they do . Almost none of the shots missed . Besides, they were not using normal laser guns, but super powerful laser guns at 1 . 2 million Lux . Every shot was powerful enough to penetrate the bodies of the black striped gray dragons, which were relatively weaker beings in Darkniss . Even if the shot missed any vulnerabilities, it would still affect their flight speed .
Soon, both shooters gained the upper hand . The powerful firepower aimed at the dragons suppressed their movements . Their flying formation was wrecked . Dragons continued to fall from the sky . However, this pack of dragons was stubborn . They were quick and agile in the air . Since Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were still not used to the Spider's two main laser guns, they were shooting down the dragons fast enough .
There were still at least 40 dragons in the air still, but Ye Chong was not worried . He could see that Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were already getting better at using the laser guns . This was obvious from their increasing firing frequency .
The battle was in the favor of Xuan Ning and Sha Ya . As time passed, their advantage increased further .
Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were both concentrating . Their eyes were closed one-sided so that they would not be distracted by anything visual . On the contrary, Ye Chong was just an observer, enjoying the intense but uninteresting battle .
Suddenly, he caught a movement at the corner of the screen . He quickly turned his attention that particular corner on the screen .
There were only dark rocks and nothing else there . However, Ye Chong was certain that he saw something earlier .
Ye Chong maneuvered the holographic scanning system to perform a detailed search on that area . The screen was showing the opposite side of the Lava River .
"Huh, what's that?"
There was some hair jutting from behind a rock . Something was wrong! Ye Chong focused on the situation . Those hair must be from some animal! The hair was black and shiny, standing up straight like needles .
Ye Chong took a peek at the black striped gray dragons in the air and dismissed the idea of using the Hummingbirds . Of the four Hummingbirds he prepared, one was lost in the sandstorm, leaving only three with him . This was not the time to use the Hummingbirds .
Nevertheless, Ye Chong had no intention to sit just sit back and do nothing . He had many options to choose from . His hands quickly tapped on the control console . Suddenly, the Spider's tail armor slid open to the sides . A cannon array rose up slowly from inside . Animals that knew to hide from its enemy were much more dangerous - this was something Ye Chong knew very well .
Compared to the 49-barrel cannon array that Ye Chong sold to Sun Sieha, this cannon array had 81 cannon barrels, each thicker than that of the original model by a third . These 91 cannon barrels formed a nine-by-nine cannon array . The long, smooth cannon barrel were tightly arranged together .
When the cannon array was activated, both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were momentarily distracted by the danger that emanated from the weapon .
"What is he trying to do?"
That was the thought that came to Xuan Ning and Sha Ya . The black striped gray dragons were already under their control . They could not attack, but they could not run either . Winning was only a matter of time . If that was the case, why would Ye Chong suddenly activate the cannon array?
They also did not know beforehand that the Spider was armed with this weapon .
Ye Chong aimed at the black hair that protruded from the rock on the screen, and pressed down hard on the firing button .
Each cannon barrel in the cannon array could fire 10 shots of spheric photon grenades per second . These grenades were highly explosive .
Boom! The cannon array roared!
810 spheric photon grenades were shot towards the target that Ye Chong had chosen .
The grenades all landed within 15 meters off the target . The resulting explosion was massive!
The loud explosion was enough to send a whole person shaking . Close to a thousand grenades exploded at the same time . Ye Chong's target area now had a big mushroom cloud over it . The explosion had destroyed all the rocks around as well . A shockwave blasted out visibly from the center of the explosion .
Aooh! Two low howls came from a distance .
When the dust settled, Ye Chong saw in front of him two black colored leopards with an inch-wide stripe of white on their backs . There was also a small patch of white fur on their foreheads that contrasted beautifully against the black sleek fur on their bodies . The animals had an elegant build, with four muscular limbs; nevertheless, they were now in a tight corner .
There were small, charred holes on their black fur . The animals were injured all over . Some of the wounds were still bleeding . Despite their injuries, the animals moved with grace . They stared at Ye Chong coldly .
Beside the two leopards was a third one, lying on the ground . It suffered far worse injuries than its companions . Its body was a bloody mess . This was the animal that Ye Chong saw earlier, and the one who was hit the most from the blast . With close to a thousand photon grenades exploding within 15 meters from the target, no animal could survive the attack . Its two companions were also injured from the explosion .
"Snowshade leopards!" Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were following Ye Chong's actions closely . They saw the two wild animals now and gasped in surprise . Ye Chong could hear the fear in their voices .
These animals must be avoided at all cost! Ye Chong made the decision immediately . His hands moved across the control console, and the Spider began to run .
To think that he would encounter three snowshade leopards! He only saw one just now . As expected, non-combat holographic scanning was unreliable! Ye Chong did not know what was so scary about these snowshade leopards, but he trusted the judgement of Xuan Ning and Sha Ya .
The two snowshade leopards watched their now dead and unrecognizable companion, and then looked their beautiful fur, now marked with hundreds of charred holes . They howled again!
Aoooh!
The black striped gray dragons heard the howls and quickly made their escape .
Before the echoes of the howls disappeared, the two snowshade leopards ran .
The Spider ran as quick as it could . Both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya had already directed their laser guns at the snowshade leopards .
"I say, what'd you do to get in trouble with the snowshade leopards? My God, there are three of them!" Xuan Ning almost went crazy with the thought .
Sha Ya bit her lips down tightly, and kept very quiet . She was obviously nervous as hell .
Ye Chong did not expect a Level 9 shooter to feel so alarmed by the snowshade leopards . It seemed that they were in big trouble .
Ye Chong soon experienced the terror of the snowshade leopards first hand .
On the screen, he saw the two snowshade leopards raced towards them like bolts of lightning . They were fast! Ye Chong found it hard to describe exactly how fast they were! They were running on the ground as fast as a mech could fly in the air . It was that fast!
The two snowshade leopards could run as fast as a mech . This was a strong visual impression . Their every step on the ground resulted in cracks in the earth . They were so powerful that it was paralyzing to just think about it . Their streamlined bodies ran like the force of nature . They charged like a heavyweight mech . The ground shook and rumbled at their every step .
It was impossible to lock on to them because of their speed .
The two snowshade leopards seemed to be wary of the Spider's cannon array . They darted left and right as they made their pursuit .
High speed veering, Non-orderly wavy evasions, Sidestep Bursts, Z-steps …
Ye Chong stared blankly at them . What was this? The animals were practically demonstrating how a professional close range mech pilot would long avoid long range attacks .
No wonder Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were so afraid of them .
"To think that we'd see these monsters right after we enter Darkniss . Our luck sucks . " Xuan Ning shrugged casually . "Oh, by the way, you should know that energy weapons are ineffective against snowshade leopard . Their fur is a tough protective material . Oh, I don't know if these 1 . 2 million Lux graded laser guns are good against them . "
Ye Chong did not know if the two main laser guns could harm the snowshade leopards, but he did know that a concentrated attack of spheric photon grenades could pose a threat towards them .
The Spider was still running for its life . The cannon array that rose from its tail swiveled round easily .
The snowshade leopards were too fast for their non-combat holographic scanning system to lock on to . Even if Ye Chong decided to deploy Celest now, it would be useless . The only weapon could harm the snowshade leopards was the cannon array - that was what Ye Chong thought .
Boom boom boom! The cannon array fired . To Ye Chong's surprise, the two snowshade leopards were able to avoid the intense grenade attack aimed at them .
"Once snowshade leopards start running, their sixth sense would be greatly enhanced . Even I can't lock on to them . The photon grenades are slow compared to laser beams, so they can avoid them without difficulty . This is the interesting bit about snowshade leopards . Once they start running, they seem to be hypersensitive to energy . It's impossible to hit them with laser beams . They are the nemesis of all shooters . " Sha Ya explained to Ye Chong while firing a few shots at the snowshade leopards . The animals avoided her attacks easily . Sha Ya was looking a little pale . She had never encountered these deadly creatures before, despite having heard of them for a long time .
Sha Ya had just finished speaking when the snowshade leopards closed the distance between them even more . They were now only three kilometers away . The distance was getting smaller at an alarming rate . The only thing that comforted Ye Chong was the fact that the leopards were separated from them by the Lava River . If the snowshade leopards wanted to attack them, the must first cross the Lava River . However, the thinnest part of the River was 20 meters across . It formed a natural barrier between them .
The two snowshade leopards ran quickly, leaving a clear trail of footprints behind them . Each footprint was surrounded by cracks in the earth .
The animals got closer and closer to the Lava River, but they showed no signs of stopping .
They reached the edge of the River and leaped into the air!
Ye Chong's eyes widened . At the moment the animals made the leap, he could already tell that they would be able to make it to the other side . Ye Chong pressed down on the firing button without delay .
At that moment, two laser beams shot out from the Spider towards the snowshade leopards, still in midair . This was the perfect opportunity shoot! Xuan Ning and Sha Ya took their shots together instinctively .
The two snowshade leopards suddenly twisted their bodies in seemingly impossible ways, and both laser beams missed their mark .
Another two laser beams followed . Both Sha Ya and Xuan Ning were the best of the best in their field . Despite knowing how strong the snowshade leopards were, they would not give up without a fight!
The snowshade leopards showed exactly how superior they were by twisting their bodies again in the air, despite having no foothold to support their movements . Both laser beams missed once again . The creatures had terrifyingly powerful and agile bodies .
Nevertheless, Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were both set on killing the two snowshade leopards before they landed . Another two laser beams were fired!
The outcome this time was different . Xuan Ning's laser beam hit at center of the forehead of his target, right on the white patch of hair . Bang! The snowshade leopard's head exploded while the body crashed heavily onto the rocks on the other side of the Lava River .
Sha Ya's laser beam missed by just a fraction . It graced the ear of the other snowshade leopard as it made its landing .
With only half an ear left from the laser beam attack, the snowshade leopard's cold eyes turned red . It sprinted from the pain, running even faster than before, leaving only an afterimage in its wake!
Xuan Ning and Sha Ya looked horrified . That was their best chance at killing the showshade leopards . Now that they had missed the opportunity, they were all done for .
However, Xuan Ning quickly recovered himself . He saw Sha Ya with her bloody lips, feeling guilty about having missed, and said to her with a consoling smile, "It's not your fault . You did your best . Truth is, I wasn't sure if I could hit my mark just now . They're too fast . If I hadn't reach Level 9, I would have died if I ever encountered them before this . We killed one snowshade leopard, and that's quite amazing already . Haha, this laser gun is quite awesome, it can kill even a snowshade leopard . "
Sha Ya kept quiet, but she looked soothed . Xuan Ning was right . She did her best . The snowshade leopards were terrible monsters that lived in the inner parts of Darkniss . It must be fate that they encountered these animals so near the entrance of Darkniss .
If Xuan Ning and Sha Ya could miss, Ye Chong's amateur shooting would not harm the snowshade leopard at all . Nevertheless, Ye Chong was not about to give up now!
An auxiliary grenade silently flew out of the weapons chamber . It was directed not at the snowshade leopard, but above the Spider .
The snowshade leopard moved like a bolt of black lightning . It was too fast to aim at! When the auxiliary grenade reached 10 meters above the ground, the animal was already two kilometers away . Xuan Ning and Sha Ya had missed the opening, but still they did not give up . They continued firing at the last snowshade leopard .
Their attacks were in vain, however . The snowshade leopard stared angrily at the Spider with its blood-red eyes . It avoided all the laser beams with ease .
When the auxiliary grenade reached 50 meters high, the snowshade leopard was one kilometer away from the Spider .
At 50 meters above the Spider, the grenade exploded, but with no sound or light effects .
By then, the snowshade leopard was 300 meters way from the Spider .
On the screen, they could see the ferocity in the blood-red eyes of the snowshade leopard!
Suddenly, the Spider activated the huge laser saw in its leg . It seemed that Ye Chong opted for a close range battle as his last resort .
The snowshade leopard's whiskers quivered as though it was laughing at his effort . The animal did not slow down . Instead, it twisted its body and landed heavily on the ground on all fours .
Boom! Even from inside the Spider, Ye Chong and the two shooters could hear the animal made its landing .
Where the snowshade leopard landed, the ground fragmented . The animal borrowed momentum from its landing and darted towards the bottom of the Spider .
Only Ye Chong saw what happened . Both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya only saw a blur, and lost sight of the snowshade leopard .
Crack! The snowshade leopard had bitten off the Spider's leg that held the laser saw . Both the dismembered limb and the laser saw fell onto the ground . The fast rotating edge of the laser saw buried itself into the ground .
Boom!
There was a deafening sound .
The three of them felt a strong blow coming from below them . Suddenly, the world was sent spinning . The image on the screen turned and turned . Sha Ya and Xuan Ning were both thrown out of their seats towards the pilot cabin's inner wall .
Ye Chong reacted the fastest . He gripped tightly onto his seat, counting the seconds .
Now!
Chapter 559 The Terrors of DarknissTranslator EndlessFantasy Translation Editor EndlessFantasy TranslationAfter travelling in the Red Wasteland for some time, the trio finally reached the entrance to Darkniss . When Ye Chong saw the entrance, he was stunned . In the middle of the endless stretch of wasteland was a flat, black colored circle . It was 15 meters across, and suspended about 20 centimeters above the ground . It was like a gateway to another world . Ye Chong was familiar with the black circle . He had seen it more than once . There was one in the underground tunnel, one on Yi Ju, and one in the Research Consortium s base on Spectre . The size of the black circles varied, but they were all black, perfectly circular, and suspended in the air . The similarities were there . Xuan Ning and Sha Ya noticed Ye Chong s muted surprise . They had never seen that expression on him . Xuan Ning was curious . He asked, What is it Have you been here before Ye Chong quickly recovered himself and shook his head . No . Let s go inside, Sha Ya interrupted them . I always felt unsafe at the entrance . Let s go inside now . Alright . Ye Chong nodded . He moved the Spider closer to the black circle, ready to step through it . People with strong parapsychic sense had better instincts than normal people . Xuan Ning smiled . I once had that feeling too, but now I sense something new . The entrance feels unstable, but it s actually quite the opposite . A Level 8 shooter can sense its instability, but once you reach Level 9, you can sense that there is a very stable structure underneath the instability . Xuan Ning had just finished speaking when a ripple appeared on the black circle . What was that Sha Ya gasped . She had never seen the entrance ripple like that . Ye Chong looked at Xuan Ning . Was this really stable Xuan Ning look perturbed . Something s not right . It became unstable suddenly, like it was stimulated by something . He closed his eyes and reached out with his parapsychic sense to the entrance . He had the strongest parapsychic sense of the three, and could detect the most minute details . Huh Xuan Ning opened his eyes wide and turned to Ye Chong with a weird expression . He said, We should step back . The Spider retreated about 10 meters away . The effect was immediately apparent . Once the Spider began retreating, the ripples at the entrance reduced until it eventually became flat again . Ye Chong and Sha Ya could not understand what was happening . Xuan Ning turned his attention to the ring on Ye Chong s finger . He hesitated before speaking again, Your ring is a little odd . It was the cause of the instability at the entrance . Ring Sha Ya looked at the inconspicuous ring on Ye Chong s finger . It did not look particularly interesting to her . Celest s dimension keystone Ye Chong thought to himself in surprise . How was the ring responsible for this Ye Chong suddenly remembered the time when he was in the Research Consortium s laboratory on Spectre . The spatial window in the corner of the lab had transformed abruptly and sent him to Dual Forest . Could that be related to his ring too Xuan Ning saw the confusion on Ye Chong s and Sha Ya s faces . He explained, I don t know what happened either, but I can sense that the ring was causing the entrance to become unstable . The structure of the entrance seems to be affected by it . Once we back off, the entrance returned to normal . It looks like distance is key here . Hmm, the entrance feels normal now . The structure of the entrance is stable . Ye Chong lifted his right hand pointed at the ring on it with his left hand . This one Xuan Ning nodded . That s the one . He saw the inquiring look on Ye Chong and shrugged . Don t ask me why because I don t know either . Ye Chong s ring looked ordinary . He could not understand what was happening as well . Sha Ya watched Xuan Ning admiringly . This was the difference between Level 8 and Level 9 . Xuan Ning could sense the structure of the entrance with his parapsychic sense, and even feel it transforming . What a powerful skill Sha Ya never imagined that parapsychic sense could do this . Level 9 was almost a legend . People could only imagine what a Level 9 shooter was capable of . She just witnessed the true strength of a Level 9 shooter, and it was much more powerful than anyone could have imagined Ye Chong considered their situation for a moment and pointed at the entrance . He asked, What is its structure like He was also curious about Xuan Ning s ability to sense the structure of the spatial window . His parapsychic sense was strong Xuan Ning shook his head in chagrin . I can t say for sure . It s strange and mysterious I don t know how to express it . Ye Chong tried again with a more straightforward question . How can we safely pass through the entrance He did not want to spend too much time on this problem . The fact that Celest s dimension keystone could disrupt the spatial window was already a very important piece of information for him . Xuan Ning looked at Ye Chong . He could see that the man would not leave the ring behind . He considered the problem for awhile . If we could approach the entrance fast, it should not be a problem . I see, Ye Chong nodded . His fingers tapped on the control console, and the Spider lunged towards the entrance without warning . Xuan Ning was thrown backwards . He hit the back of his head on his seat and screamed like a madman . Xuan Ning roared, Can t you at least warn us Sha Ya threw a pitiful look at Xuan Ning, the admiration she felt for him fading fast . She marveled at how a Level 9 shooter was helpless against the unpredictable man, Ye Chong . Once the Spider was close to the entrance, ripples began to form on the flat surface again . Ye Chong ignored the ripples and focused on piloting the Spider . The Spider charged head on towards the black circle and went right through it . The surroundings turned dark . The image on the holographic screen was completely different now . It was very, very dark . Only a faint light allowed them to see their surroundings . The sky was dark . There were stars and moons in the sky . Nevertheless, darkness was not the only thing that defined this place . There was also a bright, hot red in sight lava . Hot lava flowed like rough waters, splashing violently as they went along deep trenches . The fiery waves could reach up to 8 meters tall . Despite being in the Spider, they could still feel the heat emanating from the lava . There was a main branch of lava river that was about 30 meters wide . It branched out into thinner flows going downstream, like roots of a tree . Ye Chong had never seen anything so magnificent . He was distracted for a moment . Leave the entrance now Xuan Ning shouted panickedly . Quick It s becoming unstable Ye Chong quickly focused himself and pulled the Spider away from the black entrance . The ripples on the entrance subsided once more and became flat again . Ye Chong watched the spatial window, suspended in midair, and felt fascinated by it . This place was completely different from the Red Wasteland outside, but just by stepping through the door , they had arrived in a whole new world . The whole process was even more mysterious than warp jumps . Unfortunately, Ye Chong knew very little about spatial science . He did not understand the working principles behind them . Xuan Ning was still not over his shock . Good thing we left quickly, or we would be in deep trouble . Of the three of them, Xuan Ning was probably the only one who truly understood the severity of their situation just now . Sha Ya said to Ye Chong, We are now in Darkniss . We call that huge river the Lava River . Usually, we will travel along the Lava River . The River will sometimes change its course, but the general direction is the same . This way, we will not lose our way . Darkniss this was Darkniss Once they were in Darkniss, both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya turned serious . Their hands never left the firearms control lever . This made Ye Chong even more wary . The Spider walked along the Lava River . Everything they saw was tinged red due to the light coming from the lava . It was just a short while before Ye Chong found a few pieces of high quality metal ores along the way . Darkniss was truly the place to find gravestones . The bright red lava would also have familiar circular patterns that were actually metals in liquid form . Soon, Ye Chong understood why Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were nervous . They encountered a pack of 80 black striped gray dragons . It was rare to see such a huge pack . These dragons usually move in packs of 20 to 30 . Ye Chong saw his first black striped gray dragon . The animals were beaked and had sharp claws . Their bodies were gray with black stripes, and reached up to three meters long . Their wingspan, however, was close to 10 meters long . They flew fast and were aggressive in nature . The Spider was large and hard to miss . The black striped gray dragons thought that this unfamiliar creature would taste delightful . Xuan Ning reacted first . He was nervous since they first stepped into Darkniss . A thick laser beam shot right through a black striped gray dragon, leaving a 30 centimeter wide circular hole in its wake . The dragon stopped breathing immediately . Its wings froze and it fell straight down from the sky . Lasers began to fire . Xuan Ning s attack marked the beginning of their battle . Sha Ya reacted quickly as well . The black striped gray dragons fell one by one like loose kites, kicking up dirt as they crashed into the ground . The sudden attacks surprised the dragons, but they were soon angered by them . The dragons screamed sharply and flapped their wings, making their way towards the Spider . Ye Chong did not expect how fast these creatures could fly . Without a mech, he would have trouble dealing with these dragons . Since they were diving from a high altitude, the attacks from these black striped gray dragons must be very powerful . Even thin alloy boards would give way to their attack . Fortunately, shooters were the best combatants at medium range . This battle was perfect for them . Ye Chong did not have to worry about his safety, since he had a Level 8 shooter and a Level 9 shooter with him . The black striped gray dragons were strong, but not enough to threaten these two excellent shooters . Ye Chong even had time to enjoy watching the marksmanship of these two shooters . They were both very good at what they do . Almost none of the shots missed . Besides, they were not using normal laser guns, but super powerful laser guns at 1 . 2 million Lux . Every shot was powerful enough to penetrate the bodies of the black striped gray dragons, which were relatively weaker beings in Darkniss . Even if the shot missed any vulnerabilities, it would still affect their flight speed . Soon, both shooters gained the upper hand . The powerful firepower aimed at the dragons suppressed their movements . Their flying formation was wrecked . Dragons continued to fall from the sky . However, this pack of dragons was stubborn . They were quick and agile in the air . Since Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were still not used to the Spider s two main laser guns, they were shooting down the dragons fast enough . There were still at least 40 dragons in the air still, but Ye Chong was not worried . He could see that Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were already getting better at using the laser guns . This was obvious from their increasing firing frequency . The battle was in the favor of Xuan Ning and Sha Ya . As time passed, their advantage increased further . Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were both concentrating . Their eyes were closed one sided so that they would not be distracted by anything visual . On the contrary, Ye Chong was just an observer, enjoying the intense but uninteresting battle . Suddenly, he caught a movement at the corner of the screen . He quickly turned his attention that particular corner on the screen . There were only dark rocks and nothing else there . However, Ye Chong was certain that he saw something earlier . Ye Chong maneuvered the holographic scanning system to perform a detailed search on that area . The screen was showing the opposite side of the Lava River . Huh, what s that There was some hair jutting from behind a rock . Something was wrong Ye Chong focused on the situation . Those hair must be from some animal The hair was black and shiny, standing up straight like needles . Ye Chong took a peek at the black striped gray dragons in the air and dismissed the idea of using the Hummingbirds . Of the four Hummingbirds he prepared, one was lost in the sandstorm, leaving only three with him . This was not the time to use the Hummingbirds . Nevertheless, Ye Chong had no intention to sit just sit back and do nothing . He had many options to choose from . His hands quickly tapped on the control console . Suddenly, the Spider s tail armor slid open to the sides . A cannon array rose up slowly from inside . Animals that knew to hide from its enemy were much more dangerous this was something Ye Chong knew very well . Compared to the 49 barrel cannon array that Ye Chong sold to Sun Sieha, this cannon array had 81 cannon barrels, each thicker than that of the original model by a third . These 91 cannon barrels formed a nine by nine cannon array . The long, smooth cannon barrel were tightly arranged together . When the cannon array was activated, both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were momentarily distracted by the danger that emanated from the weapon . What is he trying to do That was the thought that came to Xuan Ning and Sha Ya . The black striped gray dragons were already under their control . They could not attack, but they could not run either . Winning was only a matter of time . If that was the case, why would Ye Chong suddenly activate the cannon array They also did not know beforehand that the Spider was armed with this weapon . Ye Chong aimed at the black hair that protruded from the rock on the screen, and pressed down hard on the firing button . Each cannon barrel in the cannon array could fire 10 shots of spheric photon grenades per second . These grenades were highly explosive . Boom The cannon array roared 810 spheric photon grenades were shot towards the target that Ye Chong had chosen . The grenades all landed within 15 meters off the target . The resulting explosion was massive The loud explosion was enough to send a whole person shaking . Close to a thousand grenades exploded at the same time . Ye Chong s target area now had a big mushroom cloud over it . The explosion had destroyed all the rocks around as well . A shockwave blasted out visibly from the center of the explosion . Aooh Two low howls came from a distance . When the dust settled, Ye Chong saw in front of him two black colored leopards with an inch wide stripe of white on their backs . There was also a small patch of white fur on their foreheads that contrasted beautifully against the black sleek fur on their bodies . The animals had an elegant build, with four muscular limbs nevertheless, they were now in a tight corner . There were small, charred holes on their black fur . The animals were injured all over . Some of the wounds were still bleeding . Despite their injuries, the animals moved with grace . They stared at Ye Chong coldly . Beside the two leopards was a third one, lying on the ground . It suffered far worse injuries than its companions . Its body was a bloody mess . This was the animal that Ye Chong saw earlier, and the one who was hit the most from the blast . With close to a thousand photon grenades exploding within 15 meters from the target, no animal could survive the attack . Its two companions were also injured from the explosion . Snowshade leopards Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were following Ye Chong s actions closely . They saw the two wild animals now and gasped in surprise . Ye Chong could hear the fear in their voices . These animals must be avoided at all cost Ye Chong made the decision immediately . His hands moved across the control console, and the Spider began to run . To think that he would encounter three snowshade leopards He only saw one just now . As expected, non combat holographic scanning was unreliable Ye Chong did not know what was so scary about these snowshade leopards, but he trusted the judgement of Xuan Ning and Sha Ya . The two snowshade leopards watched their now dead and unrecognizable companion, and then looked their beautiful fur, now marked with hundreds of charred holes . They howled again Aoooh The black striped gray dragons heard the howls and quickly made their escape . Before the echoes of the howls disappeared, the two snowshade leopards ran . The Spider ran as quick as it could . Both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya had already directed their laser guns at the snowshade leopards . I say, what d you do to get in trouble with the snowshade leopards My God, there are three of them Xuan Ning almost went crazy with the thought . Sha Ya bit her lips down tightly, and kept very quiet . She was obviously nervous as hell . Ye Chong did not expect a Level 9 shooter to feel so alarmed by the snowshade leopards . It seemed that they were in big trouble . Ye Chong soon experienced the terror of the snowshade leopards first hand . On the screen, he saw the two snowshade leopards raced towards them like bolts of lightning . They were fast Ye Chong found it hard to describe exactly how fast they were They were running on the ground as fast as a mech could fly in the air . It was that fast The two snowshade leopards could run as fast as a mech . This was a strong visual impression . Their every step on the ground resulted in cracks in the earth . They were so powerful that it was paralyzing to just think about it . Their streamlined bodies ran like the force of nature . They charged like a heavyweight mech . The ground shook and rumbled at their every step . It was impossible to lock on to them because of their speed . The two snowshade leopards seemed to be wary of the Spider s cannon array . They darted left and right as they made their pursuit . High speed veering, Non orderly wavy evasions, Sidestep Bursts, Z steps Ye Chong stared blankly at them . What was this The animals were practically demonstrating how a professional close range mech pilot would long avoid long range attacks . No wonder Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were so afraid of them . To think that we d see these monsters right after we enter Darkniss . Our luck sucks . Xuan Ning shrugged casually . Oh, by the way, you should know that energy weapons are ineffective against snowshade leopard . Their fur is a tough protective material . Oh, I don t know if these 1 . 2 million Lux graded laser guns are good against them . Ye Chong did not know if the two main laser guns could harm the snowshade leopards, but he did know that a concentrated attack of spheric photon grenades could pose a threat towards them . The Spider was still running for its life . The cannon array that rose from its tail swiveled round easily . The snowshade leopards were too fast for their non combat holographic scanning system to lock on to . Even if Ye Chong decided to deploy Celest now, it would be useless . The only weapon could harm the snowshade leopards was the cannon array that was what Ye Chong thought . Boom boom boom The cannon array fired . To Ye Chong s surprise, the two snowshade leopards were able to avoid the intense grenade attack aimed at them . Once snowshade leopards start running, their sixth sense would be greatly enhanced . Even I can t lock on to them . The photon grenades are slow compared to laser beams, so they can avoid them without difficulty . This is the interesting bit about snowshade leopards . Once they start running, they seem to be hypersensitive to energy . It s impossible to hit them with laser beams . They are the nemesis of all shooters . Sha Ya explained to Ye Chong while firing a few shots at the snowshade leopards . The animals avoided her attacks easily . Sha Ya was looking a little pale . She had never encountered these deadly creatures before, despite having heard of them for a long time . Sha Ya had just finished speaking when the snowshade leopards closed the distance between them even more . They were now only three kilometers away . The distance was getting smaller at an alarming rate . The only thing that comforted Ye Chong was the fact that the leopards were separated from them by the Lava River . If the snowshade leopards wanted to attack them, the must first cross the Lava River . However, the thinnest part of the River was 20 meters across . It formed a natural barrier between them . The two snowshade leopards ran quickly, leaving a clear trail of footprints behind them . Each footprint was surrounded by cracks in the earth . The animals got closer and closer to the Lava River, but they showed no signs of stopping . They reached the edge of the River and leaped into the air Ye Chong s eyes widened . At the moment the animals made the leap, he could already tell that they would be able to make it to the other side . Ye Chong pressed down on the firing button without delay . At that moment, two laser beams shot out from the Spider towards the snowshade leopards, still in midair . This was the perfect opportunity shoot Xuan Ning and Sha Ya took their shots together instinctively . The two snowshade leopards suddenly twisted their bodies in seemingly impossible ways, and both laser beams missed their mark . Another two laser beams followed . Both Sha Ya and Xuan Ning were the best of the best in their field . Despite knowing how strong the snowshade leopards were, they would not give up without a fight The snowshade leopards showed exactly how superior they were by twisting their bodies again in the air, despite having no foothold to support their movements . Both laser beams missed once again . The creatures had terrifyingly powerful and agile bodies . Nevertheless, Xuan Ning and Sha Ya were both set on killing the two snowshade leopards before they landed . Another two laser beams were fired The outcome this time was different . Xuan Ning s laser beam hit at center of the forehead of his target, right on the white patch of hair . Bang The snowshade leopard s head exploded while the body crashed heavily onto the rocks on the other side of the Lava River . Sha Ya s laser beam missed by just a fraction . It graced the ear of the other snowshade leopard as it made its landing . With only half an ear left from the laser beam attack, the snowshade leopard s cold eyes turned red . It sprinted from the pain, running even faster than before, leaving only an afterimage in its wake Xuan Ning and Sha Ya looked horrified . That was their best chance at killing the showshade leopards . Now that they had missed the opportunity, they were all done for . However, Xuan Ning quickly recovered himself . He saw Sha Ya with her bloody lips, feeling guilty about having missed, and said to her with a consoling smile, It s not your fault . You did your best . Truth is, I wasn t sure if I could hit my mark just now . They re too fast . If I hadn t reach Level 9, I would have died if I ever encountered them before this . We killed one snowshade leopard, and that s quite amazing already . Haha, this laser gun is quite awesome, it can kill even a snowshade leopard . Sha Ya kept quiet, but she looked soothed . Xuan Ning was right . She did her best . The snowshade leopards were terrible monsters that lived in the inner parts of Darkniss . It must be fate that they encountered these animals so near the entrance of Darkniss . If Xuan Ning and Sha Ya could miss, Ye Chong s amateur shooting would not harm the snowshade leopard at all . Nevertheless, Ye Chong was not about to give up now An auxiliary grenade silently flew out of the weapons chamber . It was directed not at the snowshade leopard, but above the Spider . The snowshade leopard moved like a bolt of black lightning . It was too fast to aim at When the auxiliary grenade reached 10 meters above the ground, the animal was already two kilometers away . Xuan Ning and Sha Ya had missed the opening, but still they did not give up . They continued firing at the last snowshade leopard . Their attacks were in vain, however . The snowshade leopard stared angrily at the Spider with its blood red eyes . It avoided all the laser beams with ease . When the auxiliary grenade reached 50 meters high, the snowshade leopard was one kilometer away from the Spider . At 50 meters above the Spider, the grenade exploded, but with no sound or light effects . By then, the snowshade leopard was 300 meters way from the Spider . On the screen, they could see the ferocity in the blood red eyes of the snowshade leopard Suddenly, the Spider activated the huge laser saw in its leg . It seemed that Ye Chong opted for a close range battle as his last resort . The snowshade leopard s whiskers quivered as though it was laughing at his effort . The animal did not slow down . Instead, it twisted its body and landed heavily on the ground on all fours . Boom Even from inside the Spider, Ye Chong and the two shooters could hear the animal made its landing . Where the snowshade leopard landed, the ground fragmented . The animal borrowed momentum from its landing and darted towards the bottom of the Spider . Only Ye Chong saw what happened . Both Xuan Ning and Sha Ya only saw a blur, and lost sight of the snowshade leopard . Crack The snowshade leopard had bitten off the Spider s leg that held the laser saw . Both the dismembered limb and the laser saw fell onto the ground . The fast rotating edge of the laser saw buried itself into the ground . Boom There was a deafening sound . The three of them felt a strong blow coming from below them . Suddenly, the world was sent spinning . The image on the screen turned and turned . Sha Ya and Xuan Ning were both thrown out of their seats towards the pilot cabin s inner wall . Ye Chong reacted the fastest . He gripped tightly onto his seat, counting the seconds . Now
Chapter end
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