Chapter 581
Chapter 581 - 561: Going Solo
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7 min read
Little Yin Mountain, located on the outskirts of the Ancient City....If the area nearest to the gas station is still 12 kilometers away, it can still be considered part of the city.
"...Quite magnificent."
"It was reinforced last year, and it seems to have been well done."
Hua Xueyi had interned here before, and now, she acted as Lu Ping’an’s guide.
As far as the eye could see, built along the mountain was a fortress.
The structure, made of steel and cement, was full of Doomsday Punk style...that is, an incongruous collection of pieces with no aesthetic design.
Inverted steel corridors, ugly and unappealing flamethrowers, strangely hooked chainsaws made of Hook Locks; if the designers of these buildings were not a group of lunatics, they probably had never properly designed them from start to finish.
"...Although they’re not pretty, they’re quite useful."
Simple words, but they hinted at a rather terrible reality.
According to the terrain, this place was transformed into a steel fortress, and at least hundreds of space cracks served as the core defense points.
Yes, hundreds of them; from the beginning, ordinary Secret Realms and these large-scale Secret Realms were not the same. It was unrealistic to expect full control of the battlefield within the Secret Realm. Hundreds of large and small openings were constantly at war, but there were still countless escapees breaking through.
Lu Ping’an looked at the crack not far away, where a ten-meter-long dark purple crack tore apart the space. Although there were no monsters pouring out at this time – on the contrary, their own warriors were entering – Lu Ping’an could still feel the pressure it brought him.
At a glance, there were at least a dozen partially open space cracks, varying in size. Most of them had Guardians stationed at their entrances, and Lu Ping’an had grown tired of seeing the usual combination of machine guns, barbed wire, and cliché fortifications around them. Instead, he was drawn to the tanks parked nearby.
"Is this the 76th Division, First Brigade of Ancient City Military District?"
Lu Ping’an had already seen the military unit number. Next to a large crack, an entire battalion entered the battlefield along with the tank.
Just by looking at the peripheral area, it gave an impression that was completely different from the Secret Realms inside the city.
These large and small cracks were not continuous within the Secret Realm. In many cases, space was not linear.
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Cracks that were close together might be separated by tens of kilometers within the Secret Realm, under the responsibility of two completely different combat groups.
These peripheral fortress areas were meant to intercept whatever might crawl out of those cracks, no matter what they were.
"If it were to get out of control..."
"It won’t get out of control. It hasn’t happened in so many years."
"....Call for reinforcements from other cities or even the State, and forcibly clean up the area. The last retreat was in 1985. It has been peaceful here for more than a decade, and the pressure is not too great. Of course, there are whispers that there are Taboo measures for each such level of Secret Realm, which would destroy all involved, but I’ve never seen them."
Upon entering the fortress area, Lu Ping’an noticed that, in addition to human professionals, there were many warriors from the Foreign Domain.
As soon as he entered the alert range, Lu Ping’an felt that he was targeted by more than a dozen guns. The security level here was even more stringent than the entrance to the Foreign Domain.
After submitting his reasons for visiting and presenting a letter of introduction, Lu Ping’an obtained permission to roam the outer area.
And the Ancient City University emblem on Lu Ping’an’s chest made this journey much smoother.
Lu Ping’an noticed that among the fortress watchtowers and the coming and going of the Watchers, his senior brothers and senior sisters were also present. It seemed that the rumors about the senior students being collectively drafted were true.
However, this situation would not last long in theory since; after all, they would need to think about their own employment after a half-year internship if they didn’t plan to take this path.
"Using student soldiers is a sign of a difficult situation, isn’t it?"
Due to their special status as Ancient City University students, they could not refuse large-scale emergency calls. This group of senior students had been drafted for at least half a year, which led to a shortage of backbone members during the previous recruitment of the Special Service Team, forcing them to recruit from other schools.
It can be said that these large-scale Secret Realms, like bleeding wounds, were continuously draining the Eastern Country’s resources, manpower, and even land.
"Junior brother, please be careful. There are no safety zones in the usual sense."
Lu Ping’an followed the "Apply for Onlooker" procedure for Ancient City University students because it was the simplest.
The person who contacted him was also a senior who was studying in the fourth year...and he appeared to be an old acquaintance with Hua senior sister from the casual way they greeted each other.
Lu Ping’an and his party first arrived at Ancient City University’s temporary outpost here. Compared with the busy military, the school was easier to communicate with.
"How’s the situation? Is the pressure great?"
Lu Ping’an did not receive much attention since, after all, he was openly just an ordinary "freshman". However, Hua Xueyi had invested in this place before, which made it more convenient for Lu to come here.
Arrangements had been made in advance at the school’s office. Lu Ping’an also got the information he wanted.
Little Yin Mountain was not a small world built by a single race but an entire Otherworldly realm.
Those large and small cracks led to dozens or even hundreds of areas, with varying levels of difficulty. Some areas had 24-hour battles, while others waged silent wars against one another.
The risks within were not fixed; bad luck could lead to encountering Rule-level creatures, but good luck might put one up against Tier 1-2 Demons.
Generally speaking, depending on the locations of the cracks, the enemies faced after entering the Secret Realms differed.
Student soldiers and professional military corps had different defensive areas, and the local army had not gone mad enough to use student soldiers as cannon fodder.
"Junior brother and junior sister, are there only two of you? I personally suggest that you take a trip around Areas 1 and 2 and then go back."
From this number, it could be seen that the other party was introducing the safest local areas.
Lu Ping’an flipped through the information in his hand and silently made a decision.
"Hua senior sister, what do you think?"
With one sentence, Hua Xueyi was taken aback. Since when would Lu Ping’an listen to her opinion? In the next instant, she understood.
"....If you want to go play, just go by yourself. I’ll catch up with old friends. I have many senior brothers and sisters here."
Hua Xueyi was somewhat helpless. So, you think I’m a burden, and you want to go solo? Where did the honest junior brother from yesteryears go?
Seeing that Hua Xueyi had understood, Lu Ping’an nodded with satisfaction.
"Just be careful on your first visit. I’ll check Pit No.6."
"No.6?! Wait, junior brother, that’s not a normal area. The minimum admission requirement is at least 2-tier latter half, and you must form a team. If you’re going solo, you need three-tier...."
"Well, I’m three-tier, so it’s fine."
— End of Chapter 581 —