52: Chapter 52 The Dark Race Emerges from the Rift in the Abyss

The sparse starlight could not penetrate the layers of foliage, and the mountain contours sketched a blurry and hideous silhouette in the deeper darkness.

"Roar—!"

"Awoo—!"

"Screech—!"

Scalp-numbing roars echoed from all directions, sometimes distant and sometimes near, as if countless invisible hunters were darting through the forest shadows, weaving a web full of malice.

"What the hell are these damn things?!"

A low growl, suppressed with shock and anger, broke the oppressive silence.

At this moment, Wei Shan's face lacked its usual composure.

He whipped his head around, the bright beam of his headlamp like two sharp swords, piercing fiercely into the depths of the shadowy forest behind them.

Where the beam reached, there were countless trees standing silently like ghosts in the gloom, their branches twisted.

But accompanied by heart-palpitating screeches, pairs of crimson light points lit up one after another in the cracks of the tree shadows, connecting into a vast expanse.

They were densely packed, layer upon layer.

"I... I don't know. Coach Wei, we've never seen anything like this..."

The two Intermediate Beastmasters from the club following Wei Shan were currently as pale as paper, sweat dripping from their foreheads, their voices trembling with extreme fear.

They were the backbone of the Yuanshan Club and had experienced many field training missions and seen fierce wild pets, but what they faced now brought a fear that originated from the depths of their souls.

A dozen or so young people were currently following closely behind the three coaches, running for their lives through the rugged and slippery forest.

"Ha... ha... is field training always this intense?"

Zhou Ming leaned against the trunk of an old tree with both hands, bending over and gasping for breath, his lungs burning with pain.

He felt like his legs were filled with lead, each lift weighing a thousand catties.

Su Qingyuan was also breathing slightly harder, but her rhythm was noticeably steadier than the others. Her cold face appeared solemn under the headlamp light, but her gaze remained calm.

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, she looked straight ahead and spoke in a clear voice:

"Those things are not ordinary wild pets."

Half an hour ago, they were still setting up camp in a relatively flat clearing, preparing to spend their first night in the wild.

Wei Shan was the first to notice the abnormality in the communication equipment—all signals had completely disappeared, leaving only piercing static noise.

Immediately after, the forest silence was broken, and violent roars erupted from all directions!

Wild pets of various forms, but all with eyes as red as blood and surrounded by twisted black aura, lunged at them frantically.

They completely ignored the differences in racial habits; pets of various races and attributes were mixed together, their eyes containing only the purest desire to kill. Their state was bizarre—tireless and unafraid of pain.

Wei Shan made a split-second decision, immediately directing the two intermediate coaches to cover the rear while he protected the students as they began their escape.

Along the way, everyone's pets fought desperately, repelling wave after wave of attacks, but they also paid a heavy price, with almost everyone sustaining injuries.

If not for Wei Shan's seasoned experience and formidable strength, tearing through the encirclement several times at critical moments with powerful attacks, they might have been trapped to death in that clearing long ago.

"Yuan-yuan, do you know what those are?"

Zhang Xiaoxiao leaned against a tree, trying her best to steady her breathing, and turned to look at Su Qingyuan.

Su Qingyuan did not answer immediately.

She lowered her eyelids slightly, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks, hiding the gravity that flashed deep within her eyes.

Dark Species.

The true source of that apocalyptic catastrophe.

The future in her premonition was real.

Before seeing the Dark Species with her own eyes, Su Qingyuan still held a sliver of hope in her heart: perhaps these were just dreams created by unknown causes, and there wouldn't really be a global crisis in the future.

But when the Dark Species actually appeared, all hope was crushed.

But why would so many Dark Species suddenly appear here?

Could it be... an Abyss Fissure has appeared?

Thinking of this, Su Qingyuan's pupils constricted slightly, and her palm unconsciously clenched.

In her memories of the future, the first publicly confirmed Abyss Fissure outbreak wouldn't happen until after she entered university.

Judging by the form and attack patterns of these Dark Species just now, as well as the abnormal magnetic field covering a large area, this outbreak should only be a "D-rank Abyss Fissure," the lowest evaluation level.

But even the lowest-level Abyss Fissure was enough to be fatal for them right now.

"So the Abyss Fissure appeared this early?" Her eyes flickered as her thoughts surged.

In her memory, after the college entrance examination ended, she had traveled alone to the distant Star Dome Federation to adapt to the environment early. She only knew bits and pieces of what happened in Donghuang through contact with Zhang Xiaoxiao and others.

And Zhang Xiaoxiao and the others at this time naturally wouldn't have access to news like "Abyss Fissures" and "Dark Species," which were strictly classified by the high-level authorities.

It wasn't until she entered the Beast Taming Academy that she gradually came into contact with higher-level knowledge and secrets, learning about this apocalyptic catastrophe that could threaten the survival of the entire intelligent civilization.

And at this very moment, an Abyss Fissure had erupted right beside her.

Countless thoughts flashed through Su Qingyuan's mind like lightning, but her expression didn't change in the slightest.

She knew that saying it out loud now would be meaningless and would only cause greater panic.

The priority was to survive.

But rescue...

Su Qingyuan's heart sank slightly.

Based on her understanding of Donghuang's current response mechanisms, local security and rescue forces likely had no experience or contingency plans for dealing with Dark Species.

They might be able to handle berserk wild pets, but against these Dark Species born from the Abyss Fissure, ordinary tactics and skill effects would be greatly diminished, and they might even suffer heavy casualties due to a lack of understanding of their characteristics.

Even worse, Dark Species could infect other pets.

They had to establish contact with the outside world as soon as possible or find a safe place to hold out for reinforcements.

Just then, Wei Shan wiped the sweat and mud from his face, his voice hoarse: "We can't keep running blindly like this. We must try to retreat downwards and then find a way to send a distress signal!"

Zhou Ming quickly spoke up: "Coach, my watch has offline maps downloaded. I can lead the way!"

Wei Shan's expression didn't change, his voice low: "I have offline maps too, but..."

He paused for a moment, looking up at the dense forest behind him, his voice growing even lower: "But will these damn things just let us leave?"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless pairs of crimson eyes suddenly lit up in the pitch-black forest.

Zhou Ming subconsciously took half a step back, quickly reaching out to steady himself against a tree trunk, a forced smile on his face: "It seems they're not quite ready to let us go."

No one laughed.

Zhou Ming gave a sheepish smile, then turned to look at the solemn-faced Wei Shan, asking in a low voice: "What do we do now?"

Wei Shan remained motionless, his voice carrying through the wind: "Your physical test scores should all be pretty good, right?"

Zhou Ming nodded.

"Then... keep running!"

The group turned and continued their flight, but the darkness surged toward them like a tide, carrying a suffocating malice toward the group trapped deep in the mountain forest.

At this moment, the rescue team was already on its way.