Chapter 72: The Rules of the Mysterious Land

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

[Energy: 1,700 grams]

This was what Lin Yao saw when he looked inside himself. He then remembered clearly that his energy value had been only 1,200 grams after the Tree of Heaven Punishment had advanced. Although another day or two had passed, his energy value should have been around 1,400 grams. Therefore, the extra 300 grams was the experience value he had gained by uncovering the contaminated person a while ago.

‘I gained the remaining 300 grams by uncovering that person. Therefore, I only need to uncover, not kill. So long as I can increase my contribution to the team, my energy value will also increase rapidly.’

Although volunteering in the orphanage was the safest way to gain energy, the Tree of Punishment required about 100,000 points of energy to advance again, and the Tree of Light required 30,000 points of energy to fill up. Lin Yao knew that it would not be enough to rely solely on volunteer work. He had to find new sources of energy. Helping these armed forces was one of Lin Yao’s attempts to do so.

Of course, apart from his personal agenda, Lin Yao also wanted to do something for these people.

‘I hope my existence can reduce the casualties.’

As Lin Yao organized his thoughts, the geared-up team members were already walking out of the door one by one. As soon as they exited the place, the military and the night guard spread out skillfully and took out various weapons to create a battle formation.

While holding specially-made steel weapons in their hands, soldiers clad in explosion-proof armor were standing in the forefront. Honestly, Lin Yao’s face turned pale when he first saw those soldiers.

They looked really dramatic. Based on Lin Yao’s visual observation, those soldiers seemed to have practiced special techniques. All of them were at least two meters tall.

In addition to their size, the weapons in their hands and the protective armor on their bodies had also exceeded Lin Yao’s expectations.

The weapons they were holding were not conventional weapons but specially-made steel shields the size of doors. Just looking at the shields gave Lin Yao a heavy feeling.

In addition to the shields, those soldiers were also clad in bulging attire. There were at least four to five layers of protection on their bodies.

The outermost layer of steel armor, the inner layer of the bulletproof vest, a special buffer jacket, and so on…

Given their excessive attire and the big shields in their hands, Lin Yao had a feeling that they were carrying at least 150 to 250 kilograms of items.

‘Strength is certainly the core of the techniques practiced by these people. Otherwise, they would not be able to bear the weight of this attire and their big shields.’

As Lin Yao sighed, Squad Leader Zhang spoke proudly. “These are the heavy-duty soldiers of our military department. They cultivate the Divine Armored Body, which is a combination of the Vajra Shield, the Iron Jersey, and a series of cross-training martial arts of the National Academy of Sciences. This set of techniques can greatly increase one’s physical strength and tenacity and resist all kinds of harm. With this technique and the special equipment custom-made by the country, people of the same level can’t hurt them at all.”

“I can feel it.”

Even Lin Yao’s scalp turned numb when he saw the equipment. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to break their defense even if the other party were to stand still for him to attack. His flashing Sword-Drawing Technique would not be useful at all.

In fact, there was no need for anything else. Lin Yao felt like panicking the moment the door-sized Vajra Shield stood on the ground.

As an industrial powerhouse, China was not just strong because of the protective gear of the heavy-duty soldiers. There were also various kinds of protective attire for other soldiers. Lin Yao was given a set before going out as well.

“It’s a pity you have too little strength. Otherwise, we’d also give you a set of protective clothing for heavy-duty soldiers.”

“No, no, there’s no need to. This is enough.”

Lin Yao glanced at the three layers of protection on his body. He felt especially relieved after discovering that the innermost layer of protection could also withstand the erosion of the gray fog.

“Let’s go.”

When everyone was fully equipped, Squad Leader Zhang, who was at the front, waved his hand. After taking out and switching on the special torchlights, everyone charged out into the endless gray fog.

The group was not walking very fast. It was as if every step they took was cautious.

As everyone walked, the policewoman stayed around Lin Yao to ensure his safety and communicate with him.

“Do you sense danger?”

“No… By the way, what exactly is the mysterious land? Are freaks very common here?”

Lin Yao had asked this question before. However, at the time, the policewoman had refused to answer him and had told him that he would find out in the future.

This time, she decided to tell Lin Yao about the situation after hesitating for a while.

“Given your talent, I believe your memory won’t be erased after we leave this place. In that case, I can tell you what happened here.”

After taking a deep breath, the policewoman spoke with a solemn expression. Lin Yao was stunned by her first words. “Are freaks the greatest enemy of mankind?”

“Well… Wait a minute. Aren’t beasts the greatest enemy of mankind?”

“Of course not. Mutated wild beasts are very strong, but humans have technological weapons. In the past few years, humans have even built space-based weapons that can be placed in orbit. If beasts enter the world, humans will actually have the upper hand due to the bombardment of our space-based weapons, as well as missiles, nuclear bombs, and other weaponry.”

The policewoman’s words completely reversed Lin Yao’s knowledge. He finally realized he knew too little about the world.

“So, our enemy is the hidden, mysterious land. Why aren’t we telling our entire population about this?”

“We can’t do that. I don’t know the specific reason, but according to the higher-ups, everyone will be in greater danger after finding out. You don’t need to explore all this now. When you reach a certain status, the country will take the initiative to tell you about this. For now, I can only tell you how this mysterious land came about.

“We believe the mysterious land is a special mystic realm formed by condensing the evil aura of a strange world and the negative emotions of human beings. This mysterious land exists in a gap between reality and illusion, and ordinary people can’t come into contact with it. After being affected by this kind of negative emotions and the evil aura of the strange world, countless horrifying and ferocious freaks were born in the mysterious land.

“The freaks are also confined in the gap between reality and illusion and normally cannot escape. However, once negative emotions are triggered to a certain extent, an opening will be created. Our area is considered fortunate because the opening is too small. It’s only enough for an entry ticket to go through. However, too many human deaths have been occurring in our neighboring cities in the mysterious land, and a negative aura has been produced. At twilight, illusion and reality overlapped…”

The policewoman did not mention what had happened afterward, but Lin Yao already had read the answer on the Internet. The city was battered, and countless people had died.

Shocked by the reality of this world, Lin Yao started pondering something. “Since the mysterious land is formed by an evil aura, why is there a safe house like the haunted house? It doesn’t seem to have been built by you guys. Furthermore, why do the freaks have to follow the rules when they kill humans?”

“We haven’t figured this out. Internally, we believe there are two reasons for the emergence of the safe house. One, besides negative emotions, humans also have positive emotions. Two, this is our world, after all, and the evil aura is an invasion. This may be the world’s retaliation.

“In short, although the freaks in most of the mysterious land are terrifying, they can only strike indirectly through a medium. At the same time, there are also some safe houses in the mysterious land, and freaks that restrain and kill the freaks will appear. Therefore, you must not panic after entering the mysterious land. You have to find out the rules of the mysterious land. This is the best way to survive.”

As the two of them were talking, a sudden and violent wave of malice gushed toward Lin Yao. Lin Yao turned around immediately and warned them. “Be careful, there’s a freak next to us.”