146: Chapter 146 Beyond the Barrier

"Is this your first time seeing the Safe Zone barrier up close?"

Lin Yan came back to his senses and nodded.

Captain Zhao smiled, seemingly accustomed to this reaction: "It's normal. Most people have that same expression the first time they leave the Safe Zone."

He raised his hand and pointed to the alloy wall outside the window that blotted out the sky.

"However, what you are seeing now is only half of it."

Lin Yan was stunned: "Half?"

"That's right."

Captain Zhao nodded.

"The barrier above ground is only the exposed part. There is an equally large part underground. The entire Safe Zone barrier is actually a complete spherical defensive structure, completely sealing the entire city from the inside out."

[Safe Zone Core Barrier]: Several thousand meters high above ground, with an equal depth underground, and a total thickness of 180 meters. It is cast from a special alloy and can withstand long-term attacks from high-Rank monsters.

Lin Yan's heart trembled slightly as he listened.

An alloy wall 180 meters thick...

This was no longer just a "wall"; it was a mountain range of metal.

Captain Zhao continued: "Whether entering or leaving the Safe Zone, you must pass multiple verifications. Identity, Rank, authorization, and mission—everything must be confirmed correct before you can pass."

"Ordinary channels take half a day just to queue up. We are taking a special channel, so it will be much faster."

Lin Yan nodded again.

The vehicle drove into a huge tunnel, surrounded by thick alloy walls. The lights on the ceiling swept backward in rows, casting alternating light and shadow inside the carriage.

The convoy was traveling outward.

The tunnel was deep and dark, as if it had no end.

Lin Yan watched the alloy wall receding outside the window and suddenly spoke: "Captain Zhao."

"Hm?"

"These barriers... how exactly did humanity build them a hundred years ago?"

Lin Yan's voice carried a hint of confusion.

"At that time, the disaster had just begun; there shouldn't have been any Awakened, right?"

Without the Awakened, there was no supernatural power.

Relying solely on the ordinary technology of a hundred years ago, during the Early Stage of the disaster when monsters ran rampant, building such a massive project... was simply inconceivable.

The smile on Captain Zhao's face slowly faded.

Replaced by a hint of seriousness.

"I don't know the specific process either."

"There are no complete records in the Federal Archives."

Lin Yan's eyes flickered slightly. Not even in the Federal Archives?

Captain Zhao looked ahead and said slowly:

"But I do know one thing: that humanity was able to survive."

"And that the ability to build the first batch of Safe Zones was not because of some technology, but because of one person..."

The car went quiet, and Captain Zhao's voice was full of respect.

"The first Awakened."

"Elder Xiao."

This was the first time Lin Yan had heard this name.

"Elder Xiao?"

Captain Zhao nodded.

"The first Awakened to appear in human history after the disaster broke out."

"He was also the first person to discover the rules of Awakening. During that darkest period, humanity did not know why monsters appeared, why some people could undergo Awakening, or where the future lay."

"It was Elder Xiao who led humanity to explore and develop the Awakening system, and it was he who guided and helped humanity establish the first batch of Safe Zones."

Captain Zhao looked out the window as if he could see that history from a hundred years ago.

"During the first monster tide, humanity had almost no ability to resist, and many cities were destroyed overnight."

"If it weren't for Elder Xiao, humanity might not have survived the first ten years at all."

Lin Yan was silent.

For the first time, he realized that such a figure existed behind the world's ability to reach where it is today.

One person held up the spark of a civilization.

...

A glimmer of white light gradually appeared ahead.

Captain Zhao glanced ahead and said casually: "We're almost there. Get ready."

"Outside the Safe Zone, it might not be what you imagine."

Lin Yan's heart stirred slightly. Not the same?

He turned his head and looked at the approaching white light, unable to help but feel some anticipation.

What did he imagine the outside world to be like?

In his imagination, it should be a ruin, with dilapidated cities, debris everywhere, and a desolate land.

After all, that was the world after the disaster a hundred years ago.

The next second, the vehicle rushed out of the tunnel, and the dazzling white light instantly flooded his vision.

Lin Yan subconsciously squinted his eyes, and after adjusting, his expression froze slightly.

Everything before his eyes completely exceeded his imagination.

No ruins, no deserts, no apocalyptic scenes as he had imagined.

What met his eyes was a world of green and a blue sky, with huge trees rising from the ground, reaching tens of meters in height.

Thick trunks were like natural architecture, with countless vines entwined among abandoned buildings, and vegetation covering the land.

In the sky, there were even unknown birds flapping their wings as they flew past, emitting crisp chirps.

Except for the alloy road in the middle maintained by the Federation, everything else was engulfed by green.

It was as if the disaster of a hundred years ago had never happened.

Jiang Ruoxue and Lu Zhiyao also showed expressions of surprise.

Captain Zhao looked at the three of them and smiled.

"Didn't expect that, right?"

"But you shouldn't be deceived by this appearance. It is full of murderous intent, especially above this seemingly blue sky."

"When the disaster first began a hundred years ago."

"This place was indeed a ruin; cities were destroyed, the land Lay Waste, and there was death everywhere."

"But as time passed, this world also changed."

Captain Zhao looked out the window.

"Monsters are adapting, humans are adapting, and plants are also adapting."

"Now, most of the areas outside the Safe Zone have been re-covered by plants."

He paused, his voice becoming low.

"I hope that humanity, like these plants, will have the ability to regrow."

"And one day, take back the world that belongs to us."

The car went quiet, and the three of them looked out the window, then nodded slowly.

Captain Zhao suddenly patted Lin Yan on the shoulder and smiled.

"So, the future of humanity depends on you young people."

"If you can clear a few more Nine-Star Fixed Dungeons in the future, this world will be much safer."

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Clear a Dungeon?"

Captain Zhao nodded.

"It seems you don't understand Fixed Dungeons yet."

"Well, your Rank hasn't reached that stage yet."

He began to explain.

"After the disaster, a large number of Fixed Dungeons appeared on Blue Star. Unlike random Dungeons, these Dungeons seem to be connected to different dimensions, continuously generating monsters and overflowing outward."

"And the monsters that escape from the Dungeons are what we call stray monsters."

Captain Zhao continued: "You should have cleared quite a few Dungeons, but that can only be called 'clearing'; it doesn't mean you can 'solve' it. To truly eliminate a Fixed Dungeon, you must complete four steps."

"First, find the hidden resource points and obtain key resources;"

"Second, complete the hidden tasks and unlock the Dungeon core;"

"Third, defeat the hidden BOSS;"

"Fourth, when all the above three conditions are met, the Ultimate BOSS will appear. Only by defeating the Ultimate BOSS can you be considered to have completely solved this Dungeon."

He looked at Lin Yan and said earnestly:

"A completely solved Fixed Dungeon will disappear from Blue Star forever, and no more stray monsters will ever run out from it."

"This is the true way for humanity to 'take back the world'."

Lin Yan's eyes narrowed slightly; he had never known these things before.

"Otherwise, even if you clear a Dungeon, you can only temporarily curb the speed at which it releases monsters. After a period of time, it will reopen and continue to create monsters."

Captain Zhao shook his head.

"That's why previously, Your Excellency Mo Leifeng and Your Excellency Xia Ying led a team to successfully conquer the Nine-Star Dungeon [Doomsday Abyss]."

"The entire Federation was shaken."

"Because that meant... for the first time, humanity had truly reclaimed a piece of lost territory from a Nine-Star Dungeon."

Speaking of this, Captain Zhao's eyes held respect.

"Those two Excellencies are among the top combat forces of humanity today, and they are also the goals that all Awakened strive to catch up to."

Lin Yan looked at the green world constantly receding outside the window.

He finally understood why the Federation attached such importance to high-Rank Awakened.

It was not for leveling up, not for farming gear.

It was to, bit by bit... reclaim the world humanity had lost.

Every time a Dungeon was eliminated, a piece of land returned to peace.

This was the true mission of the Awakened, and now he was also about to step into this war.

The black vehicle continued forward, heading toward the First Safe Zone.

A much larger world was waiting for Lin Yan.