187: Gaps leading to different cities

First stop: New York City. The air was filled with acrid smoke, the smell of blood, and an indescribable stench of industrial waste mixed with putrefaction.

Underfoot was cracked asphalt, covered with thick ash and rubble.

In the distance, the skyscrapers that once symbolized the pinnacle of human civilization now resembled the gnawed remains of a giant beast, many reduced to twisted steel skeletons, their dark windows like hollow eye sockets, silently narrating destruction.

Collapsed bridges lay across the murky Hudson River.

On the streets, abandoned vehicles were piled high, rusty and with shattered windows.

Further away, one could vaguely see plague-twisted figures stumbling through the ruins, as well as some crudely constructed temporary defensive fortifications emitting faint energy fluctuations.

Those were the strongholds where survivors struggled to survive.

The aura of decay here was not pure; instead, it was diluted and mixed with industrial pollution, residual nuclear radiation, and the scent of human despair.

Lin Feng's figure appeared in the shadow of a half-collapsed office building, like a ghost, attracting no attention from any existing presence.

He coldly surveyed the apocalyptic scene, his figure disappearing again into the next spatial rift that quietly appeared.

Second stop: Detroit. This was once a kingdom of steel and machinery.

Now, the massive abandoned car scrapyard had become a true 'steel graveyard,' an endless expanse of piled-up car wrecks gleaming with cold metallic luster under the dim sky.

Many vehicles were dismantled into pieces, and huge gantry cranes were rusted solid on their tracks.

Further away, the former automobile factory buildings resembled gigantic steel coffins, with shattered windows and mottled walls.

Besides the smell of rust, the air was filled with a strong, pungent odor of putrid engine oil and chemical solvents.

The ground in some areas was covered with dark green, moss-like fungal mats, emitting a faint aura of decay, clearly signs of Fallen Xenomorph plague or similar power erosion.

Several twisted, mechanically modified creatures, pieced together from discarded metal and decaying flesh, slowly crawled and rummaged through the piles of wreckage, emitting grating metallic friction noises.

Lin Feng appeared at the top of a huge pile of old tires, the rubber beneath his feet being corroded by a slowly creeping dark green slime.

He closed his eyes, sensing the faint connection of the spatial coordinates, and stepped into the rift again.

Third stop: New Orleans. A humid, hot, and decaying scent of plants assailed him.

Lin Feng appeared in a swampy area submerged in murky black water.

Underfoot was soft, bubbling mud, and the water surface was covered with thick, oily-green duckweed and rotting plant debris.

Twisted cypress trees emerged from the black water, their aerial roots like dying tentacles, and the trees were draped with gray-green, rag-like moss.

The air was filled with a heavy smell of sulfur and a cloyingly sweet, nauseating scent of decaying flowers.

In the distance, the once colorful French Quarter was now largely submerged in murky, foul-smelling sewage, revealing only mottled rooftops and precarious spires, its windows like the eyes of underwater monsters.

The walls of some houses were covered with dark red, pulsating vines resembling blood vessels, emitting a strong aura of decay intertwined with distorted life.

Beneath the water, large, shadowy figures with viscous pustules occasionally glided slowly.

Lin Feng stood on a thick tree root exposed above the water, the murky water beneath his feet visibly turning green, stinking, and emitting tiny bubbles.

He frowned; the Power of Rule of decay here, combined with the swamp environment, had undergone some mutation, becoming more damp and sticky. He quickly located the next rift, and his figure disappeared into it.

Fourth stop: Las Vegas. The extreme prosperity and extreme desolation formed a heart-stopping contrast.

Lin Feng appeared on a casino avenue that was once bustling with lights and revelry, but was now utterly silent. Most of the huge neon signs were extinguished and broken, while a few remaining ones stubbornly flickered with incomplete, color-distorted light and shadow, casting an eerie and desolate glow on the deserted streets and piles of garbage.

The opulent casino hotels were covered with thick dust and bird droppings, and their massive glass curtain walls were riddled with spiderweb-like cracks.

The walls of some buildings were covered with huge claw marks or scorched traces of explosions.

The air was filled with dust, the sour smell of evaporated alcohol, and a faint, sweet, bloody scent like cheap perfume mixed with blood.

Most strikingly, the center of the streets and parts of the building surfaces were covered with large patches of dark purple, mold-like fungal mats, spreading and emitting faint mental pollution fluctuations, some even growing small mushrooms that glowed eerily.

Occasionally, one could see 'people' in tattered formal wear, with empty eyes, wandering through the ruins like sleepwalkers, their bodies more or less eroded by the dark purple fungal mats.

Decay and the decadence of luxury were presented here in another form.

Lin Feng's figure appeared next to a huge, overturned roulette table; he ignored the strangeness of his surroundings, fixated on the next spatial node, and disappeared again.

Fifth stop: Vatican. This time, the spatial traversal brought a sense of Power of Rule impact far exceeding any previous one!

The passage was no longer merely chaotic light and shadow, but filled with a strong, repulsive, golden Power of Rule with a sacred purifying meaning!

This power was like a scorching steel needle, frantically impacting and squeezing the decaying spatial passage barely maintained by the Fallen Xenomorph, attempting to completely purify and annihilate it!

The passage barrier trembled and twisted violently, its edges constantly disintegrating and then barely regenerating, emitting a piercing wail like glass being forcibly twisted.

The chaotic Power of Rule barrier around Lin Feng's body also suffered an unprecedented impact; golden light and dark chaotic energy collided fiercely, erupting in dense, annihilating sparks!

“Puff!”

Lin Feng was 'spat out' from a violently fluctuating, dark green rift that could barely accommodate one person, as if struck by a giant hammer, his figure appearing somewhat disheveled.

He landed heavily on the ground, the hard granite pavement cracking into fine lines.

The scene before him suddenly opened up, yet it carried a suffocating solemnity and oppression.

The first thing he felt was the vast, ocean-like, crystal-pure holy light energy enveloping the entire Vatican City State!

This was not merely light, but a visible holy light barrier constructed jointly by countless devout beliefs, sacred Power of Rule, and powerful divine magic!

It was like a giant, inverted, translucent golden bowl of light, enveloping the entire Holy City.

The light wall flowed with sacred runes, exuding a warm, steadfast, and inviolable majesty.

The moment Lin Feng appeared, even the slightest trace of the Power of Rule of decay emanating from him immediately triggered a strong reaction from the light wall!

The light wall near his landing spot suddenly lit up, like a red-hot branding iron, emitting scorching light and a strong repulsive force, attempting to completely purify and expel him!

At the same time, a grand, majestic will swept across the entire area like an invisible tidal wave.

This was the automatic alert of the Holy City's defense system!

Inside the holy light barrier was a completely different world.

The air was incredibly fresh, carrying the fragrance of grass after rain and ancient stones, a stark contrast to the decaying, chaotic atmosphere outside.

The magnificent St. Peter's Basilica soared into the sky, its massive dome gleaming as if made of pure gold, bathed in holy light.

In the spacious St. Peter's Square, a giant obelisk pointed to the heavens.

The marble-paved streets were as smooth as a mirror, flanked by solemn churches, palaces, and colonnades, the architecture uniform and sacred, every stone seemingly imbued with a thousand years of faith.

Exquisite sculptures were everywhere, their expressions compassionate and solemn.