114: Chapter 114 Searching for a New Path to Heaven

Inside the seven-story dilapidated building, the smell of blood had already overwhelmed the stench of decay.

Lin Ye did not look at the corpses downstairs being gnawed on by Pale Species.

He stuck his Fire Axe by his feet and bent down to pick up his backpack.

Zhao Mengmeng sheathed the two remaining usable daggers at her waist and kicked a severed arm away from the floor.

"These poor bastards are ridiculous. They formed a group to rob us, yet their pockets are cleaner than my face."

Lin Ye pulled out the damaged Fire Axe and glanced at the blade.

A third of the blade edge was ruined.

It could still chop bone.

He hooked the axe handle back onto his waist and picked up the thick steel bar dropped by the man from Russia, weighing it in his hand.

Too heavy.

Carrying it would only hinder the evacuation.

Lin Ye laid the steel bar across the pile of corpses at the stairwell entrance and used the Dark Weaver to string up two warning lines.

From below the stairwell, the sound of Pale Species scratching against the wall could be heard.

That group of monsters, smelling the blood, was climbing up.

Zhao Mengmeng glanced at the pile of corpses at the doorway. "Still holding?"

"Holding my ass."

Lin Ye threw his backpack onto his shoulder.

"The smell of blood is too strong here. Living people just died, and the giant beast just died too; all the monsters nearby will swarm here."

Zhao Mengmeng re-attached the aluminum pot to the outside of her pack, her expression grim. "Then where to?"

"Leave the ruins first."

"Back to the karst cave?"

Lin Ye looked out at the street district covered by wind and snow.

The place after the tide receded was left with only churned-up concrete, broken vines, and a slurry of flesh and blood.

"We can't go back to the karst cave."

Zhao Mengmeng's movements paused.

That karst cave was their most stable stronghold on the Level 3 Floating Island.

It had water, elevation, a fire pit, and stored meat.

Now it was all gone.

Zhao Mengmeng swallowed the curse in her mouth and lifted her crossbow.

"Fine, if you say we leave, we leave."

Lin Ye walked to the broken wall and looked down.

Around the giant beast's corpse in the middle of the street, over a dozen Medium Pale-Types had gathered.

In the streets further away, there were still shadows of remaining Challengers.

The counter-kill just now had scared off a group of people.

But when people are starving to death, they will go crazy again.

He did not intend to give these people a second chance to test them.

"Go via the outer wall."

Zhao Mengmeng looked down at the seven-story height. "Me first?"

"You first, I'll cover the rear."

"Cut it out, your right arm is shaking like an electric toothbrush."

Lin Ye turned his head to look at her. "Then will you carry me?"

Zhao Mengmeng laughed in anger. "Have some shame."

She cursed, but her movements didn't stop.

She raised the Wind-Chasing Claw, and the grappling hook shot toward a shorter dilapidated building to the southeast.

Bang!

The grappling hook bit firmly into the steel beam on the roof.

Zhao Mengmeng pulled hard and vaulted over the broken wall.

The cable retracted, and she swung out horizontally against the wind and snow.

In mid-air, a Small Pale One darted out from a crack in the outer wall, lunging at her lower leg.

Zhao Mengmeng kicked the wall hard with her left foot, her body shifting half a meter sideways.

The monster missed, grazing the sole of her boot, and plummeted seven stories.

Thud!

The sound of bones shattering came from downstairs.

Zhao Mengmeng landed on the outer edge of the opposite dilapidated building and shouted back: "Come over!"

Lin Ye didn't move immediately.

Using the Dark Weaver, he dragged several corpses near the broken wall inside the seventh floor to the window on the other side.

The blood dragged across the stone floor, leaving a long trail.

Then he threw out a Nano-wire, forcibly snapping a piece of rusted iron frame by the wall.

Clang!

A loud noise exploded inside the building.

The Pale Species climbing downstairs collectively turned, swarming crazily toward the side with the heavier bloodstains from the corpses.

The Great Xia Live Stream chat, having just recovered from the ecstasy of the golden light rebate, was stunned numb again by this maneuver.

[Brother Eye doesn't even forget to order takeout for the monsters while retreating!]

[Corpse bait, iron frame diversion; this tactical literacy is absolutely amazing!]

[Did the overseas Challengers who wanted to scavenge see that? Your teammates are contributing greatly.]

Lin Ye vaulted over the broken wall.

The Dark Weaver shot out, biting into the load-bearing beam of the ruined building.

His body dropped outward, the Nano-wire tightened, and he was forcibly pulled away from the bloody, dilapidated building.

Cold wind poured into his collar, and the burn site froze until it was numb.

When he landed, Lin Ye's knees bent slightly, and Zhao Mengmeng reached out to support him.

"Don't push yourself."

"Not pushing it, my leg slipped."

"Guess whether I believe you?"

The two did not stop.

Using the remains of the building complex, they moved all the way toward the periphery of the basin.

Zhao Mengmeng walked half a step away from Lin Ye.

With her crossbow held level, she would turn the muzzle toward anyone who dared to poke their head out.

In a dilapidated building on the north side, a Challenger from United Kingdom just exposed half his face.

Zhao Mengmeng raised her crossbow directly.

The man shrank back, and his short spear fell onto the windowsill.

Zhao Mengmeng sneered, "Cowardly, aren't they."

Lin Ye did not stop his pace.

The two bypassed the collapsed subway entrance and crossed the street crushed by the giant beast.

At the end of the street, the ridge on the outer edge of the basin was vaguely visible.

The wind and snow grew heavier.

The roars of monsters in the ruins were completely left behind.

Crossing the last broken overpass, the Lost Lands finally faded into the distance.

The two descended along the crevice of the ridge, re-entering the snow forest on the periphery of the basin.

But the scene before them made Zhao Mengmeng stop.

The woodland, originally covered in snow, had been plowed open.

Tree roots were overturned, and the frozen soil was gouged into deep trenches.

The tree trunks had been drained of moisture, their bark cracked and peeled off, revealing grey-white wood cores.

There was no birdsong in the forest.

No sound of strange beasts running.

The footprints of the Frost-Maned Fox had all disappeared.

Zhao Mengmeng used her entrenching tool to brush away a layer of snow.

Beneath it were only sucked-dry insect shells and broken bones.

"It's all gone."

Lin Ye squatted down and pinched a handful of frozen soil.

Mixed in the soil were fine, red residual roots that were still twitching slightly.

He used his dagger to flick the residual roots away, throwing them into a snow pit.

"The Blood Vine has scoured this place."

Zhao Mengmeng looked into the distance.

There should have been traces of prey activity there, but now there was only churned-up black soil.

"Brother Lin, what should we do next?"

No stronghold, no prey, no safe water source.

The remaining dried meat wouldn't last many days.

Killing monsters doesn't give you points to fill your stomach.

Lin Ye stood up and brushed the mud off his hands.

"This Level 3 Floating Island is ruined."

He pointed to the frozen soil under his feet.

"Prey is cut off, water source is polluted. Staying here means starving to death, or being worn out by the remaining monsters."

Zhao Mengmeng asked: "Then we leave?"

"Yeah."

"Where to?"

"Find a new Floating Island."

The wind and snow battered them.

Zhao Mengmeng wrapped the wolf king hide tightly around her shoulders and slung the crossbow onto her shoulder.

"Fine, anyway, we can be considered professional refugees now."

Lin Ye glanced at her. "You have a very clear self-assessment."

"Shut up, less sarcasm from the wounded."

Lin Ye led her along the periphery of the basin.

Every so often, he would briefly activate his left eye to capture their bearings.

In the wind and snow, large areas were interfered with by the pollution residue of the Blood Vine.

Finally, behind a belt of withered forest, he captured continuous green lines.

The lines extended upward from the edge of the Floating Island, drilling into the clouds.

Lin Ye stopped.

"Did you find something?"

"Follow me."

The two pushed into the withered giant trees.

The frozen soil crevices emitted a sour stench.

Lin Ye used the Fire Axe to hack away the dead branches blocking the path; the sound of the blade hitting the trunk was muffled.

Zhao Mengmeng helped drag the branches away from behind.

"This Blood Vine really is like a locust plague; it doesn't even leave a whole corpse of the trees."

Lin Ye stopped.

In front was a row of fallen giant trees, their crowns intertwined, blocking the view.

He used his dagger to cut through the withered vines, and the Dark Weaver's anchor hooked onto the thickest trunk.

The bracer retracted.

The dead tree was forcibly dragged away, and the frozen soil made a dull cracking sound.

The wind poured in from the front.

Zhao Mengmeng looked up and was frozen in place.

Behind the fallen giant trees was the edge of the Floating Island cliff.

The sea of clouds surged silently beneath their feet.

Beyond the cliff.

A giant vine rose from the depths of the sea of clouds, piercing straight into the sky.

The cross-section of the vine was as large as a truck.

It pierced straight through the thick snow clouds overhead, leading to a higher Floating Island that was completely beyond the reach of sight.

Zhao Mengmeng stared at the living thing that resembled a pillar supporting the sky.

"This thing... can we climb it?"

Lin Ye stood at the edge of the cliff, his right arm raised.

The Dark Weaver's crosshairs pressed toward the deep crevices of the giant vine.

"Whether we can climb it or not, we'll know once we try."