128: Boundary

Bidding farewell to the vast and wild Serengeti, the land rover defender headed west, and the terrain began to gradually rise.

The scenery outside the window underwent a world-shaking transformation.

The endless golden withered grass and sparse Acacia Trees gradually disappeared, replaced by rolling verdant mountains. In the distance, several giant volcanic cones were hidden in thick clouds and mist, like gatekeepers to another world.

This is the Virunga Mountains, located at the junction of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.

This is one of the most mysterious and hardest-to-reach hidden realms on Earth.

"We're here."

Jiang Yuan parked the car on a mountainside road at an altitude of over two thousand meters.

There was no road ahead, only a narrow path half-swallowed by dense vegetation, winding toward that bottomless dark-green primeval jungle.

"Are we really going to hike in?"

Lin Xia pushed open the car door. As soon as she got out, a cool breeze with heavy moisture and the smell of decaying leaves hit her face.

"Of course."

Jiang Yuan shouldered a tactical backpack that looked light but was actually loaded with space-folding technology, then checked the positioning on his wrist.

"The big guys we're looking for won't be waiting by the road for you to take photos. They're in the bamboo forest zone above three thousand meters in altitude."

This is the last habitat of the endangered species—the Mountain Gorilla.

Compared to the lions known as the 'Kings of the Savannah,' these 'Kongs' hidden deep in the mist are the true secret kings of this continent... The two abandoned the car and set off on foot, plunging into the depths of the rainforest known as the 'Impenetrable Forest.'

Less than ten minutes after entering, Lin Xia experienced what was meant by 'Green Hell.'

It was simply too damp here.

Rather than saying it was raining, it was more like the entire forest was soaked in water. Heavy mist condensed on every leaf, gathering into droplets that pitter-pattered down. The path beneath their feet consisted of humus and mud that never saw the sun, and every step kicked up a leg's worth of sludge.

The air humidity was close to 100%.

For someone used to the dry climate of the savannah, this feeling of suffocation, as if one's nose and mouth were being covered by a wet towel, was simply torture.

"Huff... huff..."

Lin Xia struggled to pull her hiking boots out of the mud and wiped her face.

She couldn't tell if it was sweat or dew on her face, and her hair was already damply plastered to her scalp. Worst of all was the camera in her hand; the lens kept fogging up, and no matter how many times she wiped it, she couldn't take any photos.

"This damn weather..."

Lin Xia couldn't help but complain, feeling her clothes sticking to her skin like rubber, making her feel maddeningly uncomfortable.

She looked up, only to find that Jiang Yuan, walking ahead, seemed to be in a completely different world.

He was still wearing that black windbreaker, which didn't look very thick, with his hands in his pockets and a light stride.

The weirdest thing was that after walking for half an hour in this muddy jungle, he was actually as dry as if he had just stepped out of a dry cleaner. His spotless pant legs didn't even have a single speck of mud on them.

"Jiang Yuan, aren't you hot? Isn't it stuffy?" Lin Xia asked, panting heavily.

Jiang Yuan stopped, looking back at the disheveled Lin Xia.

"Sorry, I forgot you don't have a regulation system."

He didn't explain much, just slightly moved his finger and muttered in his heart.

"System, activate Environmental Force Field."

"Mode: Constant Temperature and Dehumidification."

"Coverage: Three-meter radius."

Hum—

A very faint vibrato, like the plucking of a string, seemed to come from the air.

Immediately after, Lin Xia felt the world around her change.

The original viscous, sweltering, and suffocating moisture vanished into thin air in an instant.

In its place was a dry, fresh breeze that seemed to carry a minty coolness.

It was as if someone had turned on a high-power central air conditioner to the most comfortable 'dehumidify' mode in this primeval jungle.

"This..."

Lin Xia's mouth dropped open in surprise.

She reached out and tentatively felt around her side.

About a meter away from her body, she felt an invisible 'wall.'

Outside the wall, it was still misty with water droplets falling.

But when the mist and droplets hit this invisible barrier, they were like mercury sliding off a lotus leaf, automatically sliding to both sides or being instantly evaporated by some force.

And inside the wall.

The mud on the ground was actually drying and hardening at a visible rate, becoming no longer slippery. Her clothes also returned to being dry and fluffy within a few seconds, and the fog on the lens instantly dissipated.

"Is this more of your black technology?"

Lin Xia looked overhead.

That invisible force field was like a giant umbrella, blocking the mist from the sky and forming a mobile 'Absolute Dry Domain.'

"Just a little trick."

Jiang Yuan shrugged and continued walking forward.

"The moisture here is bad for the joints and easily breeds bacteria. Since we're here for a tour, we should naturally make ourselves comfortable."

He said it as if it were a matter of course, as if carrying a 'Climate Regulation Barrier' in a primeval jungle was a basic operation for every tourist.

Lin Xia stood in place, feeling the touchingly dry air around her, and gave a bitter smile.

Is this the world of a Divine Magnate?

Is this the so-called 'power of money'?

Even the climate of nature has to make way for him.

"Let's go."

Jiang Yuan's voice came from ahead, sounding quite relaxed.

"The bamboo forest zone is not far ahead. Just now the radar... ahem, just now my intuition told me that those gorillas are having lunch up ahead."

Lin Xia hurried to catch up.

In this weirdly comfortable 'invisible bubble,' the hike for the two of them became exceptionally easy.

Without the hindrance of mud and the erosion of moisture.

They didn't seem to be on an adventure, but rather like they were taking a stroll in their own backyard.

Surrounded by a fairyland shrouded in mist, with the calls of rare birds in their ears and soft, dry fallen leaves beneath their feet.

They walked for about another half hour.

The vegetation ahead suddenly became more open.

The originally tall trees disappeared, replaced by a dense wild bamboo forest that looked like a green wall.

"Shh."

Jiang Yuan suddenly stopped and held up a finger to his lips.

"Listen."

Lin Xia held her breath.

In this absolutely quiet domain, she clearly heard the crisp 'crack, crack' sounds coming from deep within the bamboo forest ahead.

That was the sound of bamboo being snapped.

There was also a heavy, thunder-like sound of chest-beating.

Thump, thump, thump.

A powerful sense of pressure from an ancient creature slowly permeated through the mist along with these sounds.