Chapter 1 Shark Transporter

The shark transporter slowly entered a canyon. The terrain ahead sloped southward, with unknown plants growing on both sides. They were sparse, sickly, and grey, clearly untended—probably some kind of weeds.

Down the slope was a huge cave entrance, the gaping hole in the rock face large enough for the entire Titanic to sail through.

This place had obviously been expanded and fortified by humans, no longer a purely natural landscape. Thousands of rail-like metal supports covered the mountain rocks, some embedded in them, others connected in mid-air, like a complex steel spider web. Small, shanty-like buildings dotted the rock frames, and many workers in protective suits moved about on the metal structures. If Feng Bujue and his companions could have seen this spectacle from afar, they would surely have marveled at this magnificent sight.

As the shark transporter approached the entrance, it received an external communication. A strange voice sounded, "This is the Lookout. State your identity."

Hank, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at Feng Bujue for guidance. The latter simply spread his hands and made a "go ahead" gesture.

"Scavenger Team, number twenty-four. I'm the driver, Hank," Hank said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Left the village this morning. The password is 'bow and arrow.'"

In Divine Grace Village, records were kept of teams leaving, and they were given an updated password. When they returned, they had to give the current password to enter. If they couldn't say the password, or there was no record of their departure, it meant they had sneaked out or were imposters.

The person on the other end was silent for a moment, presumably checking the team number and password. Soon, he replied, "Password correct. Welcome back, Team Twenty-Four. Please proceed to your assigned berth. Supply personnel are on their way."

The shark transporter smoothly entered the cave, passed through a winding passage, and arrived in a vast space. It was like a vertical parking garage, with one wall resembling a honeycomb, densely packed with hexagonal compartments. With the help of the navigation system, Hank drove the transporter into one of the compartments.

As the two players officially passed through the "gate" of Divine Grace Village, a system prompt sounded in their ears:

[Hidden mission triggered]

[Find "Son of God" York Cobain in Divine Grace Village]

"Brother Feng, do you still insist this script is sci-fi?" Kuang Zong Jian Ying asked after reading the mission.

"Yes, absolutely certain," Feng Bujue replied.

By this time, they had each put on a protective suit and were heading out of the shark transporter with Hank.

Divine Grace Village had a very strange scientific system. In many ways, their level was unbelievably low, lacking even basic knowledge in biology, medicine, and astronomy, which were at the level of a primitive tribe. However, they were very advanced in energy, construction, and agriculture, and possessed the technology to manufacture anti-gravity devices and smelt metals.

We'll discuss later why these guys had their technology tree so skewed. For now, let's talk about Feng Bujue and his companions' situation.

The plan was simple: put on protective suits, pretend to be scavengers, and sneak into the village's residential area.

In reality, it wasn't that difficult. Because there were no photographs in this village.

Perhaps someone might ask, what about electronic devices that could transmit or record images? Like smartphones? Sadly, there were none. Divine Grace Village's technology tree was similar to that of the Germans in *Iron Sky*. It was hard to say whether they were advanced or backward; it could only be described as a unique civilization born in a special environment.

Perhaps someone else might ask, then wouldn't it be very difficult for the people in this village to identify each other? Indeed, it was. But that wasn't a major problem. Human civilization had already begun long before the invention of cameras and identification cards. People had managed just fine for so many years.

Of course, Feng Bujue and Kuang Zong Jian Ying's disguise obviously had many flaws. First, although there were people of all races in the village, Caucasians made up the vast majority, so the two of them, being Asians, would easily attract attention. Second was their height. Men in Divine Grace Village were generally no more than one meter seventy, while both players were about one meter eighty. Even if they consciously hunched over and craned their necks, they would still appear very tall. Third, according to Hank, protective suits were not required in the residential area. But if they took off their suits, a weirdo in a suit and a swordsman in cloth would definitely cause a stir if they were seen.

However, Feng Bujue's idea was: as long as they weren't exposed in the short term, it would be fine. After all, the time he had to explore was limited. After that guy called Doomsday Stronghold searched the exit of the laboratory, he would give up after at most two more hours. By then… even if his Survival Value could hold up, his mental state wouldn't. So, the immediate priority was to get into the residential area.

Squeak—

The sound of mechanical movement came from far to near. An elevator platform carrying a wheeled disc device and five people in protective suits arrived at the compartment platform where Feng Bujue and his companions were.

"Scavenger Team… number twenty-four, right?" the leader asked, holding a metal clipboard with a stack of papers attached. He was currently looking at one of them. Naturally, there couldn't be any images on the paper, only basic information, such as the team's departure time, password, reason for departure, destination coordinates, and the number of people in the shark transporter, as well as their names.

"Yes," Hank replied. Because they were wearing protective suits and separated by a distance, it was difficult for the other person to see his expression clearly. In fact, he was very nervous at the moment, his face covered in sweat.

"Why are there two fewer people?" the questioner said, already shifting his gaze to Feng Bujue and Kuang Zong Jian Ying.

"Dead… killed by monsters while exploring the 'Outsider' ruins," Feng Bujue took the initiative to answer, intentionally sounding rather sorrowful.

The questioner continued, "Did you bring back the bodies?"

Feng Bujue shook his head. "No, the three of us barely managed to escape. Those monsters were ferocious. There was no way to bring anything back."

The other person was silent for a few seconds. "Your name?"

"Jia Wei," Feng Bujue replied. "This is Hank." He pointed. "That's Joey."

Feng Bujue had previously asked Hank for the names of the five people on this scavenger team, and he had also confirmed that everyone in Divine Grace Village, regardless of their skin color, used English names. Also, the "supply personnel" had documents that only recorded names. Details such as skin color and facial features were not included.

"Alright, I understand," the man sighed, making a few marks on the paper. "Hah… another two deaths… a terrible day."

"Yeah…" Feng Bujue responded. He could tell that, for these people, one or two deaths among those returning from outside the village seemed commonplace.

The man paused for a few seconds, then said, "So… in terms of recovered items, it's zero, right?"