Chapter 144 Silent Black River

The central control room fell into a brief silence.

Lin Lin shifted his gaze from the screen, immediately looking at the commander behind him. The legion's eye, who had been stationed on the border of Zheng Wing for decades, as steady as Mount Tai, was now showing a rare display of discomposure.

On the other side of the screen.

Team One Captain Lu Zhe spoke, saying, "Your Excellency Osmund, my mental power has fully covered the area within a kilometer radius, and I have not discovered any 'anomalies'..."

Lu Zhe emphasized the word "anomalies."

Everyone who saw this skeleton knew what it meant.

An unknown transcendent creature...

If it was proven to be true, it would be an unprecedented "blockbuster news"!

All along, the Investigation Legion had maintained absolute vigilance while carrying out missions beyond the Great Wall. Since humans could break through the [Old World] so long ago, come to the Five Continents to set up camp and build giant walls, then it was also possible that other creatures... were also carrying out their own tribe's migration. Perhaps, in the dark world, two sparks of civilization would collide and ignite.

An explosion was inevitable.

What's more, other creatures in the current "Five Continents" had already begun to awaken transcendent abilities.

Like the dog that Lin Lin kept.

"Your Excellency, do we still need to move forward?"

The Team One Captain's voice echoed slowly in the central control room.

Osmund quickly regained his composure. He asked in a deep voice, "Can you still move forward?"

"Of course—"

Mu Wanqiu glanced at Lu Zhe and took over the conversation. After all, she was the real captain of this team. "Our current condition is very good. All team members have ample physical strength, full of energy, and sufficient energy reserves. We can continue to move forward!"

She had come to Doru River this time to find the "Nether River dream" in her heart!

To this end, she deliberately accepted the troublesome position of captain.

The purpose was to have her own say at critical moments.

The significance of restarting the mission was to re-explore this dangerous disaster zone. Stepping into this place, everyone was prepared for battle and discovery. Turning back just like that... was not their intention.

"We can continue to move forward."

One of the team members echoed.

"We request to continue moving forward!"

The entire team's desire to move forward was very high, which was a good thing... Compared to unknown fears, they were more eager to become witnesses of "history." Moreover, they had confidence in their strength!

"Okay, approved."

Osmund's expression was solemn as he slowly issued the order. "Lu Zhe's team can continue to move forward, but you need to ensure a mental link at all times... Once the mental link is broken, you need to return immediately. The results of this discovery are already important enough."

"Understood."

Mu Wanqiu nodded.

The link was disconnected.

Osmund stared at the blank screen, lost in thought.

"Your Excellency, are you thinking about the origin of that skeleton?"

Lin Lin asked.

"Yes... Seeing that skeleton, I had some ominous premonitions."

Osmund slowly retreated, sinking into the chair. He slowly raised his head, and the eye that was not covered by the black cloth gradually became vacant.

"The gnawed wounds on the skeleton cannot be done by ordinary creatures... It's not surprising if there really are creatures with awakened transcendent abilities." Lin Lin said in a low voice, "One of my subordinates is like that."

"Yes…"

"Of course I know that as long as the genes in the body are stable, they can carry the power of 'transcendent awakening'." Osmund murmured, "But have you ever thought about... when exactly is this skeleton from?"

Lin Lin was taken aback.

"If this skeleton comes from a long time ago."

Osmund looked at the young man in front of him. "Then... have these creatures who have already awakened transcendent abilities been living here all along? Not long ago, when we first attacked the disaster zone, the artillery fire was intense, but we didn't even notice a trace of life."

"You mean…"

Lin Lin followed this line of thought and thought of that daunting possibility. "The creatures in this disaster zone have not only awakened transcendent abilities, but also developed extremely high intelligence?"

The legion's airship entered the disaster zone, tearing through the tranquility of the Black River.

For dozens of days.

Not a single trace of abnormality was discovered.

It was not until the mission was restarted and this skeleton was unearthed... that the Northern Continent realized the existence of "transcendent creatures."

If they really lived here.

Then there was only one possibility: they chose to lie dormant, retreat, and hide in the face of the magnificent artillery fire that tore through the Black River!

"I hope it's not as I think..."

Osmund supported his forehead with one hand, kneading his brow vigorously, and murmured, "The reason why I let Lu Zhe and the others continue to move forward is because... if these creatures really exist, and they retreated because of the previous artillery offensive, then the strength of these things is at most at the level of the third or fourth tier. With the strength of the Team One Captain, even if they encounter an accident, it would be enough to protect the entire team!"

The central control room did not remain peaceful for too long.

"Your Excellency Osmund, the Deep Scale Team is requesting a link—"

"The Triumph Team has made a major discovery and is requesting a link!!"

In just a few seconds, one link request after another popped up on the main screen... Lin Lin glanced at the [Deep Water Zone] map in the lower right corner. Judging from the coordinates displayed by the mental link, these teams had already traveled a considerable distance.

The mental link signal became weaker.

The old and the young looked at each other.

"Connect."

The two spoke at the same time, each linking to a team.

The voices of Fisher and the Triumph Team captain reporting also sounded at the same time. What was amazing was that even the content of the reports was exactly the same!

"Report! We discovered an unknown skeleton on the road!"

Fisher squatted in the dense forest. At the bottom of the gradually decreasing black stream, a fragmented and incomplete skeleton could vaguely be seen, immersed in the black water.

Live Fish used his mental power to salvage the skeleton.

After being soaked by the Doru River, the skeleton was as black as ink... Even if this was just a weak tributary like a stream, the power of corrosion was still terrifying.

Fisher's fish eyes stared at the skeleton expressionlessly.

He squatted down again and, very suicidally, stretched out his palm, removing the comprehensive coverage of the Source Armor, and touched the black river water with his fingertips... Perhaps because Fisher's mental power was too strong, or perhaps because of his racial characteristics, when his fingertips were lifted, wet, there were no injuries.

Live Fish said coldly, "Your Excellency, I tried to use 'profiling' to view the life experience of this skeleton, but I failed. The river water in this disaster zone is different. Even if I have physical contact with it, I cannot read the memory of the 'Doru River'."

Read the "memory of water"!

This was one of Fisher's abilities... After he began to mutate, he became extremely fond of water and could read the "memory" of the surrounding water elements, provided that these elements had not been deliberately destroyed by a powerful mental force.

However, the Doru River was an exception.

Every drop of water in this black river seemed to be filled with the spirit of corruption and silence!

Fisher failed to read it.

"Is that so? What a pity..."

Osmund spoke in a deep voice, somewhat regretfully.

"Your Excellency doesn't seem surprised..." Fisher captured the solemn atmosphere in the main control room at the moment. Osmund did not show any surprise at the major discovery of his team?

There was only one possibility.

Just before, someone else had discovered a similar "skeleton."

"Little Fish, be vigilant. There may already be 'unknown creatures' in the disaster zone. This time you need to find the whereabouts of the [Gate] as much as possible. If necessary, I can maintain a mental link with you at all times."

Osmund issued an order while glancing at Lin Lin's side.

The Triumph Team... had the same discovery!

The main control room began to receive a third link request... Without even thinking about it, this must be the message of the "broken skeleton"!

This was very strange.

One skeleton, two skeletons, that was all.

Where did so many "human bones" come from in this place, and they were scattered in various branches of the river... You must know that these captains in the Northern Continent were separated by a very long distance from each other.

Could it be that many years ago, a considerable number of "transcendents" had set foot here?

If that was the case... it was even more chilling.

Because many years later, their existence was discovered in the soil, at the bottom of the river, and in the mountain caves full of dust.

They came here.

They were buried here.

What was left for future generations was only an unknown history submerged by the Black River.

The only thing that could reassure Osmund was that he knew that at this moment, someone was with them.

Her Majesty the Queen was watching here.

……

……

The black river was calm and waveless.

Either perish in the calm, or die in the calm.

And this river was like the latter.

Even a glance at such a river would make one feel depressed... All that one could see was pitch black, extremely depressing. Gu Shen and his party were flying at a low altitude, and their speed was not fast. They did not link up with the central control room. The reason was simple: those "skeletons" that were constantly being discovered in the tributaries did not exist near the Black River at all. This dead river seemed to have swallowed even the remains of the "dead." If someone really died here, then they probably would not even have a bone left.

In fact, this was indeed the case.

During the first campaign, the transcendents who died in battle... fell into the Doru River. Their heroic names had been engraved on the stone tablet, but the coffin under the stone tablet was empty.

No one could retrieve their bodies for them.

This great river was the synonym for "death."

Dead, falling into it... perhaps it was like reincarnation, directly turning into "nothingness" in this world.

Even the transcendent Source Quality was swallowed.

After flying for a while, Gu Shen understood the reason why the Northern Continent Queen wanted to find the [Gate]. The amount of transcendent Source Quality absorbed by this Doru River was extremely large and could not be calculated at all.

Perhaps only the massive energy of the "Fire Seed Level" could supply this river!

If the [Gate] in this disaster zone could be found, and the transcendent Source Quality of the [Old World] could be extracted from the bottom of the cauldron and put into the furnace, then the Central City, along with the entire Northern Continent, would be rejuvenated!

"Ahead... is the snow mountain."

Zhong Yuan let out a suppressed, tense sigh.

Gu Shen raised his head.

At the end of the main river, there was a towering mountain. It was still very far away at the moment, and could only be seen as a black shadow the size of a fist... But Gu Shen had already felt the "oppression" brought by that black mountain.

The Doru River disaster zone was covered in snow all year round.

But when it fell on the Black River, it became black, and when it fell near the river beach, it gradually turned black as well.

The whole world seemed to be filled with a sense of silence... The huge snow mountain was even more so, jet-black in color, like a wide-bladed sword, standing between heaven and earth.

Perhaps only a powerhouse of the level of Great General White Lizard would choose to cross that black mountain... Ordinary people would feel fear and want to retreat involuntarily just by looking at it.

Several team members cheered up.

It could be seen that they were all overcoming the negative emotions in their hearts.

"Captain..."

Even Yuan Yuan, who had experienced hundreds of battles, had a trembling voice at the moment, but it was suppressed in an instant.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Our mental link with the central control room... I'm afraid it's going to be broken."

The blond man looked back... The way they came had been submerged by the snow.

"Yes, this is going to happen sooner or later."

Zhong Yuan said calmly, "I will make the last link with the central control room... After three minutes, we will continue to move forward."

Every team would face this situation if they wanted to explore in depth.

This... was only the beginning of the restart mission!

Gu Shen's gaze fell on the black mountain. He silently stretched out his palm and held the pendant on his chest.

The protection of the Goddess of Fate sent out a strong warning.

Black Mountain!

There was a great disaster on Black Mountain!

"I understand…"

Gu Shen said silently in his heart, "I will be careful."

Great General White Lizard had crossed the Black Mountain and saw the stone tablet at the end of the "Black River," as well as the ancient writing!

Gu Shen had a very clear premonition in his heart that if he wanted to find the source of the "mental toxin" on this trip, he would have to reach a place even further away after Black Mountain...

It was just that he was a little curious at the moment.

Was the dangerous guidance from the pendant referring to the danger of Black Mountain itself?

Or was it referring to... some dangerous people?

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes and looked back. The long road he had come from was covered in endless snow. These heavy snows fell from the iron dome, and were already gray. When they fell on the Source Armor, he did not even feel cold at first, but instead felt a little warm.

But after melting, it became cold.

The heavy snow was boundless, covering the entire disaster zone.

At the end of Gu Shen's line of sight, there was a team of eight people, all wearing the robes of Zhen Yue, moving forward slowly.

One person was in the lead.

The other seven people were of different heights, like a ray of light, supporting the snow.

"Sir, after a while, we will be in the 'Disconnected Zone'."

Meng Xiao heard the words and slowly raised his head.

A pair of golden eyes penetrated the wind and snow, and remotely locked onto the figures in the light and shadow.

He gently hummed.

"Don't forget the real purpose of our trip..."

Zhen Yue raised his head, looked at the snowy iron dome, and murmured, "Without my order, do not act rashly. There are people watching from above."