Chapter Sixty-Nine: Breaking Through to Intermediate Entry (Part One)

“Where is this? Let me out! Is anyone there? Where am I?”

A man in gray clothes was running ceaselessly along an endless track, sweat constantly beading on his face and dripping from his chin onto the ground. The entire track was black, as was the surrounding sky, with only the spot where the man ran illuminated as if under a spotlight.

Ye Bai no longer knew how long he had been running. His last memory was of striking the intelligence entity’s protective shield with a blade.

He had watched as Cao Xiaosen, to block the intelligence entity’s mechanical arm, grabbed it with his bare hands. Ye Bai had already experienced the entity’s strength first-hand; in an instant, blood seeped from the corner of Cao Xiaosen’s mouth. With his grip, Cao Xiaosen bought Ye Bai a brief moment, while Yao Ling, far away and powerless to intervene, could only watch anxiously.

Of the three, only Ye Bai could inflict damage on the intelligence entity’s protective shield. His arm had split open, blood running down to the blade. In that moment, the blade in his hand seemed to transform, but he hadn’t the time to examine it. Using all his strength, he heard a crack in his ears, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

In Radiation Zone C, Cao Xiaosen and Yao Ling walked across parched earth, the ground cracked and peeling under the relentless sun, each step shattering the brittle crust. Their destination was the nearby ruins of a building, its upper floors destroyed in a past explosion, leaving only a single collapsed level above ground.

“Ling’er, be careful. Something feels off,” Cao Xiaosen said, turning to Yao Ling. The closer they got to the ruins, the greater his unease. He extended his protective finger-guards, ready for any sudden turn.

Seeing this, Yao Ling’s expression grew tense. She drew her longsword, her pulse gun having been destroyed in Radiation Zone D.

“Yes, I know,” she replied, her anxiety mounting as she gazed at the ruins. Women’s intuition can be terrifying, and she could not shake the sense that something was about to happen.

“Is anyone there? Let me out!” Ye Bai had stopped running, exhausted and uncertain how long he’d been at it. Surrounded by darkness, he shouted desperately, hoping for someone to rescue him.

He dared not imagine what he would do if he were truly alone here. Where were Ling’er and Xiaosen? Had his final strike failed to kill the intelligence entity, resulting in the deaths of his companions instead? And if so, why was he still alive?

Ye Bai’s mind was a chaotic tangle, throbbing with pain, as though something was trying to force its way inside, seeking to carve out a domain of its own. He hammered his head with his fists until his mind cleared a little. His memories seemed fragmented—one moment striking the shield, the next lost in darkness. What had happened in between? Where was he? He asked himself these questions again.

Cao Xiaosen handed Ye Bai, who was unconscious, to Yao Ling. Her petite frame strained under his weight. Before the Dark Era, someone as small as Yao Ling would never have managed to carry Ye Bai, despite his wiry appearance. Years of training had left no excess flesh on him.

After the advent of the Dark Era, humans awakened to elemental powers, beginning a path of dual evolution in body and mind. Women’s strength had increased, now rivaling men’s. Perhaps God favored women a little more, for as their power grew, so did their grace and beauty. Gone were the days when beauty was achieved only with layers of cosmetics; now, a touch of light makeup sufficed.

As they drew closer to the ruins, Cao Xiaosen’s unease grew. To avoid accidents and remain in top fighting form, he had Yao Ling carry Ye Bai for now.

With a clatter, Cao Xiaosen took the longsword from Yao Ling and broke through the topmost layer of rubble. Just as he anticipated, the original explosion had only destroyed the surface structure; the basement still existed. Sunlight shone through the gap he created.

Another basement. Cao Xiaosen’s expression was troubled—this mission in the radiation zones seemed cursed with basements. Having just barely escaped from one, now they faced another. He swore to the heavens that if he survived this mission, he would never set foot in a basement again—and would even tear down the one at home. The psychological shadow was too great.

“Ling’er, take Ye Bai and move back. It’s another basement—we don’t know what monsters might emerge.” Cao Xiaosen’s repetition of the word “another” revealed his deep apprehension.

“Basement?!” Yao Ling’s lips twitched awkwardly. She stepped back with Ye Bai, uncertainty in her heart.

Cao Xiaosen tried to enlarge the opening with his sword, hoping to see inside, when suddenly a roar rumbled from the depths below.

He retreated a few steps, shouting, “Careful, something’s coming out!”

Seated on the ground, Ye Bai gradually calmed himself, analyzing his situation. He realized he must have been separated from Yao Ling and Xiaosen. Apart from his own illuminated area, everything else was pitch black.

“Is it possible I’m no longer in the real world?” The thought struck Ye Bai. If this were reality, Xiaosen and Yao Ling shouldn’t be absent.

“Ah! What’s happening? My head hurts!” Suddenly, it felt as if something inside his skull was trying to force its way out. In agony, Ye Bai curled up on the ground, clutching his head and banging it against the floor, wishing for unconsciousness to escape the pain.

With eyes closed against the torment, Ye Bai didn’t see what appeared outside. In the blinding pain, four beams of light—yellow, green, red, and blue—descended from the heavens at the edge of the glowing circle. At first, they were narrow, but as Ye Bai collapsed, they grew thicker, expanding the circle of light.

“Xiaosen, something’s wrong with Ye Bai,” Yao Ling said suddenly, noticing his hand alternately burning hot and freezing cold, his face shifting through a spectrum of colors.

Cao Xiaosen kept a wary eye on the uncertain depths of the basement. After the roar, all was quiet, yet the wind from below carried the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Deal with it yourself—you’re the doctor, aren’t you? If you can’t even handle this...” It was the first time, or one of the very few times, Cao Xiaosen had lost his temper with Yao Ling. But at a time like this, if she didn’t step up, they might not survive the day.

Yao Ling’s heart ached at his words, tears welling in her eyes. Cao Xiaosen seemed suddenly changed—distant, unfamiliar.

She said nothing, her tears finally falling onto her hands and onto Ye Bai.

Now, faced with danger ahead and behind, with Cao Xiaosen blocking the path forward, was she to rely on him for everything? What was her role? Hadn’t she sworn to be strong and independent? Was she giving up so soon?

“Calm down, calm down,” Yao Ling told herself. No matter how strong Cao Xiaosen was, he was still just one person. It was her turn.

She took Ye Bai’s right hand and pressed her fingers to his pulse. Wood element energy flowed from her fingertips into Ye Bai, probing his condition.

“He’s about to break through?” Yao Ling sensed four unstable elemental energies raging throughout Ye Bai’s body, surging and dwindling chaotically.

Her expression grew grave. Ye Bai was unconscious, his elemental powers completely uncontrolled. Instead of coming together to break through to the initial stage, they rampaged through his body, the seed planted in his abdomen spawning untamed energies.

With a bang, two mutants burst from the basement entrance—a pair of ordinary mutants, or so it seemed.

No, that wasn’t right. In Radiation Zone C, the weakest creatures were at the Initiate level; ordinary mutants couldn’t survive the intense radiation. These two were smaller and more sinewy, with longer, sharper claws, unafraid of sunlight, and swifter than usual.

Seeing them burst from the ruins, Cao Xiaosen tossed his sword back to Yao Ling, both hands flashing with golden light as he readied his protective guards.

He was up against two Initiate-level mutants at once, having only just recently reached Initiate himself before the entrance exams; he couldn’t take them head-on.

Drawing their attention, Cao Xiaosen shifted the battle away from Yao Ling.

He’d heard what Yao Ling said, but he could only do so much. He’d block the threat ahead, and as for Ye Bai, if even Yao Ling, a doctor, couldn’t save him, then fate had already spoken. All he could do was ensure her survival.

After all, the three of them hadn’t known each other long. That Cao Xiaosen had done this much was already an act of great kindness—one life shouldn’t cost two more, especially in this dog-eat-dog world, where not everyone possessed the compassion of a healer.

Yao Ling carefully guided her elemental energy into Ye Bai, helping him gather and direct the chaotic elements toward the breakthrough’s bottleneck.

Ye Bai could no longer feel his body—not from numbness, but from pain so intense his brain refused to process it.

Moments before, he’d glimpsed a red beam at the edge of the circle; looking around, he’d seen green, yellow, and blue as well, all expanding the illuminated area.

Suddenly he recalled something his mentor, Zhang Jian, once said: “With each breakthrough, you broaden your mind’s domain. The body determines how much elemental energy you can store, but the mind determines your potential.”

Could this be the domain of his mind?