65: knowledge

Gao Lingfeng looked at the assembled crowd before him, his lips trembling slightly, and finally spoke: "Those with families, step forward."

Out of a ten-person squad, only four remained standing in place.

"Those who are only sons, step forward."

Only one of the four remained.

At this moment, Ban Yangming and several other older team members looked around. They saw He Jingrui still standing behind them, bewildered, and then looked at Gao Lingfeng, whose face was filled with indignation and unwillingness, and they understood something.

Immediately, the few of them exchanged glances and were about to step back.

"Stop."

Gao Lingfeng let out a low growl, then strode towards He Jingrui, patted him on the shoulder, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Xiao Rui, don't be afraid. I'll go with you."

Even if He Jingrui was foolish, he guessed what was happening by now.

But he said nothing, just smiled and nodded.

Ban Yangming and the others rushed over, just about to say something.

But Gao Lingfeng waved them off, then patted Squad Leader Ban on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Squad Leader Ban, since I won't be here, the task of leading the team falls to you."

He paused, then continued: "Your mission isn't easy either. You need to create opportunities for us to enter and exit the rift."

Ban Yangming looked at Gao Lingfeng, whose mind was clearly made up, his cheeks trembling slightly, and he stood at attention and saluted.

"I guarantee to complete the mission."

Gao Lingfeng nodded in satisfaction. He pulled Squad Leader Ban over to the team and meticulously discussed the action plan.

After a while, Gao Lingfeng, holding He Jingrui, separated from Ban Yangming and the others.

A few minutes later, a ground-shaking tremor suddenly came from the rift, accompanied by thick smoke.

Gao Lingfeng and He Jingrui, who were already prepared, immediately rushed into the smoke.

During this time, when some short-sighted mutated beasts discovered the two and roared, attempting to pounce, a bullet from an unknown source instantly pierced its forehead, taking its life.

And Gao Lingfeng and He Jingrui, without even blinking, sprinted past it, charging towards the rift.

In the last ten meters, the number of mutated beasts in front of them surged.

At this point, the long-range fire support from Squad Leader Ban and the others was no longer effective. Gao Lingfeng and He Jingrui, with a firearm in one hand and a dagger in the other, fought fiercely, bathed in blood.

In the last three meters, an elite mutated beast, twice the size, just happened to emerge from the rift.

Gao Lingfeng and He Jingrui were stunned, but their reactions were swift. They both pressed their submachine guns against the mutated beast's forehead.

The next moment, bullets collided with the hard skull, and sparks flew.

The elite mutated beast roared repeatedly, being forced back again and again. Finally, its skull armor shattered, and it died under the power of human firearms.

"Charge!"

Gao Lingfeng's veins bulged as he roared, and he and He Jingrui plunged into the rift together.

At the same time, in the command center, which was anxiously monitoring their movements, the real-time broadcast on the large screen suddenly went dark.

"What's going on?"

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie was startled, then quickly shouted at the soldier operating the computer.

"I... I don't know, we're checking it!"

The soldier jumped, his fingers clattering on the keyboard, sweat constantly seeping from his temples.

At this moment, the young man spoke.

"It's just a normal phenomenon when crossing the 'passage'."

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie had long since lost his politeness towards the young man. He grabbed the young man's collar and glared at him.

"If anything happens to my soldiers, I will never let you off!"

The young man pushed up his crooked glasses, his eyes still calm and unruffled.

"Hmph."

Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie angrily released the young man, then went to the side to smoke and sulk.

---

He Jingrui's vision blurred, then slowly became clear.

After he shook his head, clearing away the chaotic images in his mind, he finally had the presence of mind to observe his surroundings.

However, what he saw before him completely subverted his understanding, leaving his mouth agape for a long time.

"Where is this?"

He saw that his location seemed to be deep within a canyon, and the sky was torn in half.

The upper half was a burning purple nebula, while the lower half was a silver firmament with ice crystals.

The cliffs on both sides were made of transparent crystal, with liquid flames flowing inside, staining the entire canyon with an eerie scarlet, like blood vessels.

Glowing vines grew in the crevices of the cliff face, their leaves a translucent emerald, and their roots entwined around the entire cliff like a spiderweb.

There was no river at the bottom of the canyon; instead, there were large areas of ice crystal lakes. Beneath the ice, countless glowing jellyfish-like creatures could be vaguely seen swimming, their tentacles emitting pale blue electric arcs.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

At this moment, flames suddenly rolled across the sky, and then a beautiful creature emerged from the clouds.

Its long tail feathers fanned, scattering colorful specks of light. This was a mysterious bird, three or four parts similar to the mythical phoenix depicted in films and television dramas.

Its feathers were made of light, and each flap of its wings resonated with the thunder and fire in the sky.

Countless flames fell rustling. Some crashed into the bottom of the canyon, melting the ice crystal lake, but the jellyfish life forms hidden at the bottom of the lake would swim up and "mend" the lake surface back to completeness.

He Jingrui was dumbfounded.

He almost thought he had transmigrated into an anime or a TV show; otherwise, how could he witness such a magical scene?

Fortunately, footsteps behind him startled him awake.

He Jingrui heard the familiar footsteps and was about to speak in surprise, but his mouth was suddenly covered by a large hand.

"Silence."

A slightly trembling voice sounded next to his ear.

He Jingrui nodded in confusion, then broke free from the large hand and looked behind him, his eyes instantly widening significantly.

"Captain, you..."

Gao Lingfeng was covered in wounds, but no blood seeped from any of them.

He Jingrui looked closely and realized that each wound was covered by a crystal insect resembling a leech.

"Captain, let me help you!"

He Jingrui's scalp tingled, and he was about to draw his knife to help deal with them.

"Don't."

Gao Lingfeng quickly urged, then pointed at the crystal leeches on his body, lowering his voice and grimacing as he said: "It's a good thing I have them, otherwise I would have died from excessive blood loss."

He Jingrui was astonished but put his knife away.

"They don't suck blood?"

Gao Lingfeng nodded. For some reason, his previously tired face visibly grew rosier.

"They probably aren't sucking blood. I just don't know what they're sucking, but I'm getting better and better."

He Jingrui clicked his tongue in wonder and lowered his head to observe a crystal leech hanging from Gao Lingfeng's arm.

Gao Lingfeng, meanwhile, surveyed his surroundings, a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a while, he began to share information.

"After passing through the rift, I fell onto the lake at the bottom of the canyon and almost died. Fortunately, I had these leeches. After that, I cautiously explored and discovered many strange creatures. Nearby, there's a type of giant bat that's particularly sensitive to sound."

"Xiao Rui, what did you encounter?"

He Jingrui was stunned. He hadn't expected Gao Lingfeng's experience to be so exciting, and he couldn't help but scratch his head.

"I just woke up, and I was here, and then Captain, you found me."

"..."

Gao Lingfeng fell silent for a moment.