Because C85 had never been artificially developed, the climate was extremely cold.

Before Chi Yao even got off the fighter jet, he heard Xiao Hei’s prompt.

“Outside temperature is minus 25 degrees. Suggest adding a big cotton coat.”

Chi Yao looked at the thin shirt on his body: “…”

A perfectly good Star Pirate leader like him, going out to fight in a big cotton coat? That would lower his status.

When he walked to the hatch, Xiao Hei’s voice sounded again.

“Activate protective mode? Two hours free of charge.”

The protective armor mode was resistant to high temperatures and cold, very effective against extreme weather.

However, after switching to protective mode, weapons couldn’t be used as freely.

“No need.” Chi Yao said confidently.

Minus 25 degrees was nothing to him.

Although modified humans acted in human form most of the time, they were fundamentally very different from humans.

The hatch opened slowly. The whistling cold wind drilled in through the gap, and Chi Yao was instantly frozen numb.

“…Better switch it on.”

The spot where he parked was a small hillside in the north of the forest, which happened to have a flat area.

From here, one could see the vegetation destroyed in the core area and the beast herds still fleeing outward at this moment.

“Roar—!”

Cries of various wild beasts came from all directions, accompanied by sounds of fighting and collisions.

Chi Yao glanced at the data displayed on the virtual screen and walked down the hillside.

It was more than ten kilometers from the core area. Abnormal sound waves could be clearly felt, but unlike the aggressive nature of No. 333, the sound waves this time were closer to No. 820.

They had a strong presence but no targeted aggression.

But it might also be because he wasn’t a normal person.

Chi Yao: “What is the sound wave intensity?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the virtual screen in front of him jumped, displaying a page of data.

Xiao Hei: “Sound wave frequency exceeds the normal human acceptance range by 10 times. Not recommended for the legion to approach.”

Chi Yao secretly thought, as expected.

“Does it affect modified humans?”

The virtual screen jumped again, displaying several columns of data next to the original data.

Xiao Hei: “It has a significant impact on some beasts. Should be about the same for modified humans.”

The genetic stability of modified humans wasn’t as good as mutated beasts. External and internal stimuli could both cause physical changes.

The large-scale bestial transformation among the Ghosts, was it related to this sound wave?

Chi Yao observed while walking towards the central area.

A blur flashed before his eyes, and he subconsciously stepped back to avoid it.

A Level 4 Red Wolf Spider appeared in front of him.

Noticing Chi Yao, the Red Wolf Spider moved closer to him, all the barbs on its legs standing up, instantly ready to attack.

Chi Yao didn’t want to waste time with this kind of thing.

He subconsciously reached back for his gun. By the time he realized Xiao Hei was worn on his body, the wolf spider’s leg had already stabbed over.

Chi Yao raised his hand to block. Just as he was about to be pierced, steel claws popped out from the back of his hand, parrying the spider leg away.

The strength of this thing could even withstand a Level 4 mutated beast. Something made by his wife was indeed reliable.

“Of course, he is much more reliable than you.” Xiao Hei’s faint voice sounded by his ear.

When the wolf spider attacked again, Chi Yao grabbed a branch and jumped up.

“Dare say one more word, and your energy stones are gone.”

Xiao Hei: “…”

A few seconds later, the steel claws pierced the vital point on the wolf spider’s head. Chi Yao shook off the unidentified sticky substance remaining on the steel claws with disgust, casually picking a large leaf to wipe it as he jumped down.

“Chi, Chi Yao?!”

A male voice came from ahead. Chi Yao looked over unhurriedly.

A Ghost wearing a red mask with bull horns on his forehead stumbled towards him.

“It’s almost too late! Follow me!” The Red Mask said panic-stricken.

Chi Yao half-lowered his eyes, looking down at him from above: “Do you know who you are ordering?”

The icy voice revealed its owner’s impatience.

The Red Mask pointed towards the core area, saying urgently: “It, It is coming! Must stop him!”

Chi Yao retracted the steel claws, put both hands in his pockets, and stood motionless.

“What is It?”

Red Mask: “It is urgh—!”

Halfway through speaking, Red Mask suddenly clutched his head and groaned in pain. The bestialized parts on his body spread visibly to the naked eye.

Chi Yao glanced at the data on the virtual screen; the sound waves were strengthening.

Holding onto a tree trunk, Red Mask saw Chi Yao acting as if nothing happened and said in surprise: “You’re fine?”

Chi Yao: “Should I not be fine?”

Red Mask’s eyes flashed, voice filled with surprise: “Then you can definitely get close to there! As long as you can solve It, the Boss will give you whatever you want!”

Chi Yao looked towards the core area, then at the other two coordinates Zhang Sheng sent him. After thinking for a moment, he walked in a direction.

Seeing that he had absolutely no intention of walking towards the core area, Red Mask grew anxious. Coupled with the intense emotional fluctuations caused by the sound wave stimulation, without thinking, he threw a punch.

Even if he had to tie him up, he would drag Chi Yao there.

As long as Chi Yao went, he could definitely help them solve It.

Under the effect of adrenaline, Red Mask felt no fear, even confident he could beat Chi Yao.

But reality soon slapped him hard in the face.

Chi Yao twisted his arm back and smashed him against a huge tree trunk.

“Either run or die, understand?”

Red Mask struggled hard, only feeling afraid when he couldn’t break free.

“I, I’m also doing this to protect the Empire—”

Chi Yao laughed out loud, but unfortunately, there was no mirth in his eyes.

“Without you guys, who knows how peaceful the Empire would be—”

He threw the man to the ground and continued walking forward.

Xiao Hei: “Not killing him?”

Chi Yao: “What for? Waste of my stamina.”

Xiao Hei: “…You’ve changed.”

Just as Chi Yao was about to speak, he heard it add: “Saving your stamina is useless anyway.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Really should let Xi Xi modify the program.

This personality really needs a beating.

Even if it’s his own, it needs a beating.

Just a few steps later, a scream suddenly came from behind.

Chi Yao paused and turned his head to look. The Red Mask under that tree was gone, leaving only a pool of splattered blood and fragments of clothing.

“Did you monitor anything just now?” Chi Yao asked.

Xiao Hei: “There was a blind spot.”

A video window popped up in front of him. It was the system record retrieved by Xiao Hei.

But because the nearby trees were too dense, the shooting angle happened to be blocked by a tree. In the picture, one could only see blood suddenly splattering at the location where the Red Mask was, slowly flowing down along the vines.

This place was full of mutated beasts; encountering an attack wasn’t strange.

But in that instant just now, being so close, Chi Yao didn’t sense any killing intent.

He returned to that tree trunk and observed around. Except for this pool of blood and clothes, there were no traces.

The Red Mask seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Xiao Hei: “Increase monitoring range?”

Xiao Hei was equipped with a monitoring program, but under protective mode, the monitorable range was very limited. If increased, the mode would inevitably have to be switched.

Chi Yao suppressed his doubts and continued walking forward.

“No need, you stay put.”

Xiao Hei: “Told you to wear the big cotton coat, you refused.”

Walking for more than ten minutes, he found three similar bloodstains along the way, with some gun fragments scattered nearby.

Even if eaten by wild beasts, some human tissue, minced meat, or bone fragments would be left behind; it wouldn’t be eaten so cleanly.

Walking to the location between two coordinates, the straight-line distance from here to the core area was less than 8 kilometers. The detected sound wave frequency had tripled compared to the initial detection.

Chi Yao rubbed his forehead.

This feeling was very similar to what he felt on the spaceship in the early morning.

Walking further, the frequency of bloodstains appearing became higher and higher, but the relative sound wave frequency was decreasing.

Until reaching the second coordinate point, the sound wave frequency returned to the initially detected value.

Chi Yao looked at the positions of the three coordinates on the map and had some guesses in his heart.

He didn’t stay at this point for too long and continued walking towards the third coordinate point.

Going from here, both beasts and Ghosts were increasing.

Through the gaps in the tree trunks, almost every moment one could see beasts and Ghosts fighting.

Initially, the beast herd drilled into the forest while Ghosts tried desperately to stop them. Now it was exactly the opposite; Ghosts were using all means to keep the beast herd in this forest.

Something suddenly flashed past in his peripheral vision.

Chi Yao quickly turned his head. The Ghost who was fighting with a beast just now suddenly disappeared. In his original position, only a pool of blood remained.

What beast had such fast attack speed? Even his eyesight couldn’t see clearly.

Chi Yao looked up at the sky.

No birds flew nearby, and there was no movement on the branches.

“Switch to thermal imaging mode.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the image in Chi Yao’s left eye changed instantly.

Scanning through those dense branches, there were indeed no movable living creatures.

He looked down at the ground.

Still a patch of crimson.

Xiao Hei: “Based on my calculation results, what attacked this person was not a mutated beast. Even a Level 5 mutation couldn’t reach this speed.”

Chi Yao wasn’t surprised by this result.

But what exactly was it?

He was fast. Half an hour later, he reached the third coordinate point.

Similar to the first half of the journey, after reaching this point, the sound wave intensity dropped to the original value.

His previous guess was confirmed.

These three coordinates given by Zhang Sheng might be the points closest to the core area with the lowest sound wave interference.

Some areas had natural sound wave shielding capabilities, which could reduce sound wave interference to a certain extent.

If it was this range, it would be fine for Extreme Shadow people to come over.

But they couldn’t just stay here without moving.

Having roughly figured out the situation, Chi Yao sent the photos of the three coordinate points to Xu Ming.

【Check the mountain conditions nearby.】

If the cause of the sound wave reduction could be found, it would also be very helpful for subsequent actions.

“Roar—!”

A roar sounded again.

Chi Yao didn’t need to identify it specifically. Judging from the rustling movement, it was very close to him.

Just as this thought flashed by, a Level 5 mutated wolf sprang out, pouncing towards him.

While dodging, Chi Yao noticed out of the corner of his eye two Black Masks following behind.

Taking advantage of the moment he dodged behind a tree trunk, he had Xiao Hei activate stealth mode.

The Wolf King pounced on empty air, baring its teeth and looking around.

Behind it, the two Black Masks tried to lead it towards the core area, and soon started fighting with the Wolf King.

Chi Yao sat on the tree trunk, legs bent, watching them fight.

In just two minutes, one of the Ghosts suddenly disappeared on the spot.

Chi Yao’s eyes narrowed slightly, his expression icy.

Being close this time, he saw that the moment the Ghost disappeared, vines on the ground wrapped around the opponent’s ankle.

Like dragging a person into the soil, disappearing completely in an instant.

But strangely, no hole appeared on the ground. Except for an extra pool of blood, there was no change.

The smell of blood aroused the Wolf King’s bestial nature. With combat power halved, the remaining Black Mask lasted less than a minute before being eaten by the Wolf King.

Chi Yao watched coldly.

Wait until the Wolf King ate its fill and left, his gaze swept over those two pools of blood.

There was indeed a big difference.

But how could vines have such strong aggression?

Could it be that the plants in this forest also mutated?

Xiao Hei: “Watch out behind!”

At the same time Xiao Hei’s voice sounded, Chi Yao turned around, simultaneously drawing his army knife for a horizontal sweep.

Unfortunately, it only swept air.

That thing was faster than him.

Xiao Hei: “It’s a vine.”

The video window popping up in front of Chi Yao played the surveillance footage Xiao Hei retrieved from the system, slowed down to 0.1 times the original speed.

A seemingly ordinary vine suddenly drilled out from behind a branch, coming straight at him.

Stealth mode was already activated, but it seemed ineffective against this kind of vine.

Either this kind of vine could distinguish the wavelength emitted by living creatures like him, or this vine had a direct or indirect connection with the sound wave subject.

Chi Yao jumped down from the branch and walked under a pine tree covered with vines.

The blood splattered just now had been sucked dry.

Chi Yao held the army knife and cut off one of them. The cross-section of the grayish-green vine was crimson red.

He dug out a bit with the tip of the knife to observe.

The color and texture were similar to red dragon fruit, and red sap continued to ooze out.

Dense footsteps sounded, very heavy. Chi Yao knew it was the beast herd without looking.

Judging from the sound level, they should be heading towards the core area.

He had Xiao Hei preserve a part of the vine tissue and walked towards the core area following the movement of the beast herd.

Many details in the satellite images were blocked by trees. Walking in here, Chi Yao realized this seemingly ordinary forest revealed weirdness everywhere.

The ground was covered with vines large and small, woven denser than a carpet.

Stepping on it gave a creepy feeling like stepping on human legs.

Nearby trees were larger compared to the outer circle. Judging from the cross-sections of damaged trees, the color was normal, but strangely, these fallen trees were wrapped by vines and stood upright again. Given a little more time, they could recover to their original fully upright state.

Living for so many years, he had never seen vines that could help the host reconnect the trunk.

Footsteps approached. A herd of deer ran to a spot and suddenly stopped. No matter how the Ghosts behind drove them, they just lingered and refused to advance.

After persisting for half an hour, just before Chi Yao’s patience ran out, he suddenly smelled a strange fragrance.

Very faint and weird, the fresh scent of grass and trees mixed with the foul smell of blood.

Chi Yao’s heart clenched, as if suddenly gripped by someone.

This smell was clearly foul, yet it had an indescribable attraction to him.

He unconsciously took half a step forward, waking up abruptly when the soles of his feet touched the abnormal sensation of the vines.

Before Chi Yao could speak, several layers of flexible protective masks were automatically added to his nose and mouth.

Xiao Hei: “No cheating allowed.”

Chi Yao: “…”

The herd of deer that refused to move forward just now suddenly ran wildly.

Chi Yao watched as one of the deer was tripped by vines, its bent front legs seemingly dissolving.

In the blink of an eye, it was like falling into water, disappearing completely.

Sensing abnormality under his feet, Chi Yao quickly retreated, Xiao Hei’s low cursing sounding by his ear.

With a thought from Chi Yao, the micro-engines in his legs and soles started, flying into mid-air before the vines caught up with him.

In just two short minutes, dozens of deer were completely gone.

Chi Yao looked at those blood-stained vines, thoughtful.

Corrosion or devouring?

In that instant just now, he seemed to feel the whole ground shake once.

Just as this thought flashed by, the ground suddenly began to oscillate violently.

The Ghosts hiding in the distance fled in panic, quickly disappearing from Chi Yao’s sight.

The sound waves suddenly strengthened. This time he could feel obvious aggression; it was coming for him.

Vines poked out from the dense grass. Chi Yao increased thrust to fly upwards, barely dodging.

Flying to the treetop, with no obstructions around, howling rose and fell from all directions. The panic and fear of the beasts could be clearly felt.

But Chi Yao couldn’t care about that much right now.

His gaze stopped on the clearing below, unable to look away.

After nearly ten minutes of strong tremors, a patch of ground suddenly split open a five or six-meter-long gap, revealing a scarlet eyeball underneath—