Don Freecss glanced again at the human lying on the ground.
"Crimson Tide Larvae?"
"From the looks of it, the companions were most likely devoured as well."
Don Freecss muttered to himself as he slowly raised his right hand and pointed it at the 'human' lying on the ground.
As the Aura was mobilized and flowed, the green plant-like surface of his palm, covered in fine textures, opened up like a monster's mouth, revealing red, pulsating flesh.
In just a blink of an eye, a dense, tangible Nen Beam gathered within the 'mouth'.
The 'human' lying on the ground, waiting for prey, seemed to sense the danger and suddenly sat up stiffly like a zombie, with crimson smoke rising from its facial features.
But the next moment-
A Nen Beam containing terrifying power tore through the air, directly striking its body.
But there was no sound, only a flash of intense light. The human body, along with the Crimson Tide Larvae within it, vanished into thin air, leaving behind only wispy white smoke as proof of their existence.
After the attack, Don Freecss lowered his arm.
Those unfamiliar with [Crimson Tide Larvae] would, like Moses and his group, be unable to accurately judge the lurking predatory nature of the creature at first glance.
They could only use trial-and-error methods to eliminate potential risks, or, in complete ignorance, be devoured by the Crimson Tide Larvae.
Crimson Tide Larvae have a hunting habit deeply rooted in their instincts.
When they hunt a creature, if there are a large number of such creatures, they will deliberately leave a carcass as a place to parasitize after tasting it.
In this way, they forcibly insert themselves into the ecological chain, waiting for prey to come to them like a hunter lying in ambush.
Therefore, when such a Crimson Tide Larvae in a human shell appears before your eyes, it indicates that many humans must have been devoured by the Crimson Tide Larvae beforehand.
Don Freecss, with his keen insight, recognized the presence of the Crimson Tide Larvae and immediately chose to strike first, eliminating the potential threat without taking any risks.
When necessary, it's better to kill by mistake than to let go.
When not necessary, avoidance is the best choice.
This is the law of survival in the Dark Continent.
Don Freecss carefully observed the surrounding environment, and after a moment, he set off in a new direction.
He needed to find the Ancient Pipeline in this area...
…
"We're finally out."
Standing on a white boundary line, Moses stepped onto the slightly damp soil with his other foot.
After five days and eleven hours-
They had finally walked out of the white land behind them.
During this time, apart from the giant Night Watcher, the black feather-like object, and the crimson smoke in the muscular man's body they encountered at the beginning, they hadn't seen any other life forms or anything other than the white land.
If it weren't for the ample survival supplies they carried, and if the Shadow World hadn't been able to carry everyone to move quickly...
This white land, which is devoid of any resources, would have been enough to stop most humans in their tracks.
That is to say-
It is basically impossible for the 163 participants who were sent here by Ancient Pipeline to walk out of this white land, let alone survive.
Stepping onto the damp soil, Moses first looked back at the endless white land behind him, then retracted his gaze and looked at the environment in front of him.
What appeared in the field of vision was an undulating black hilly terrain, which formed a sharp contrast with the white land they had just traversed.
If viewed from a bird's-eye perspective-
On one side was the flat, endless white land, and on the other was the black hilly terrain filled with terraces.
One white, one black.
One hard, one soft.
One flat, one rugged.
The two were separated by a boundary line, coexisting without interference over the long passage of time.
Having crossed the white land, all Moses and his group could do was continue moving forward.
And the top priority now was to determine their approximate location as much as possible.
If conditions allowed, it would be best if they can meet a native life form capable of 'communication'.
Because Pyon is in the team, Moses still held some hope for 'communication'.
Everyone stepped onto the black land one after another. After walking only about a hundred meters, they could clearly feel the soft touch coming from the soles of their feet.
That feeling-
It's like stepping on a latex mattress.
"Huh?"
Kanzai let out a surprised sound, then lifted his foot and stomped hard on the ground with a childlike curiosity.
But with a dull thud, the expected result of his foot sinking into the soil didn't happen.
The soles of his shoes landed flat on the soil, with only a few grains of sand scattering low in the air.
When he moved his feet away, what came into view was the intact black soil.
But when he puts his feet on it again, he can still feel the softness of stepping on a latex mattress.
This strange and contradictory feeling left Kanzai with a puzzled expression.
If the situation did not allow it, his small brain would have been tempted to investigate further.
"Keep up, you bumbling idiot."
Pyon's distinctive voice called out from ahead.
Kanzai's face immediately darkened and he bared his teeth at Pyon's back.
But he didn't say anything back.
As a member of the defense team, his duty was to remain vigilant at all times, ready to protect the logistics members of the team from threats at a moment's notice.
And his earlier moment of playfulness could, in a way, be considered a dereliction of duty.
Kanzai knew he was in the wrong and quickly caught up with the team.
He was responsible for the rear guard, while Moses was responsible for the front guard.
Moses led the group to the base of a low hill.
Before ascending, he could already see the situation ahead through the vision of the shadow clone tasked with scouting.
In order to see further, he even had the shadow clone at the front rise into the air for a better view.
But as far as his eyes could see-
There was still an endless expanse of black hills.
"It's too vast..."
Moses frowned slightly. After finally crossing the white land, they now had to attempt to traverse these black hills.
He was beginning to deeply understand Netero's evaluation of the Dark Continent.
This place was truly enormous!
Not just in terms of the creatures active in the ecosystem, but also the boundless land.
'Finding Nitro Rice seemed like a distant, almost impossible task...'
…
[Dark Continent: Publicly Available Information]
[Night Watcher: A creature born from human imagination, with a tiger's head, crocodile's body, and snake's tail. It has a voracious appetite, and a fully mature individual can be as large as a small mountain.]
[Feather of Gravity: A non-living entity harboring a rebellious will, appearing in a feather-like form. It can impose gravity on a target through direct contact.]
[Crimson Tide Larvae: A gaseous life form. The crimson smoke that constitutes its body has the ability to 'instantly dissolve' its prey. Its survival methods are diverse, actively hunting but occasionally acting as 'stomach acid' within the bodies of giant creatures.'
[Plant Weapon·Lichen·Symbiotic Type: A plant that can coexist with the host. In its normal state, it wraps around the host's body, forming a protective layer to ensure nutrient absorption.]