128: Chapter 128 Mother Beast's Nest

The driver pulled the handbrake without turning around, his tone flat as he said:

"Ahead is the final checkpoint of the Southern District defense line—the 'Wall of Sighs'."

"Once you pass through this gate, you'll be in the quarantine zone. Go about another kilometer forward, cross that warning line, and you will enter the true Outside the Border."

Saying this, the driver glanced at these four young faces through the rearview mirror and added:

"There is no law, no morality, only survival. Good luck."

Chen Xi nodded, his expression calm:

"Thanks, driver."

Then, he called out:

"Everyone out!"

The four of them shouldered their tactical backpacks, grabbed their weapons, and jumped off the vehicle.

As soon as they landed, a wind mixed with the smell of rust and dust hit their faces.

The group approached the massive alloy gate that stood ten meters tall.

"Halt! What is your business?!"

Two fully armed guards immediately raised their psionic rifles, aiming the barrels at them.

That biting killing intent was clearly not something the security guards at the school gate could compare to.

Chen Xi didn't waste any words; he directly raised his wrist, revealing the mission authorization code issued by the military special training base.

"Southern District Special Training Base, Nirvana Battle Team, executing a C-Rank Mission."

The guard took a scanner and scanned the wristband.

"Beep—Authorization confirmed. Mission Rank: C-Rank. Target Area: Black Swamp Forest."

Seeing the words C-Rank Mission, a trace of surprise flashed in the guards' cold, hard eyes.

They looked up and down at this team, which appeared to have an average age of under 20, and their brows furrowed slightly, especially when they saw the three delicate-looking girls.

"C-Rank Mission? Are you sure?"

One of the guards couldn't help but remind them:

"Just the few of you... Forget it, take care of yourselves."

He said nothing more and turned to shout into his walkie-talkie:

"Let them through!"

"Rumble—!!"

Accompanied by the sound of mechanical grinding, the heavy steel gate slowly slid open to the sides.

A beam of blinding sunlight shot through the gap, illuminating the previously dark passageway.

Outside the gate was a much broader, much more savage world.

"Let's go."

Chen Xi took the lead and stepped out.

When their feet touched the ground outside the city wall, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

It was a strange feeling, like an infant leaving the cradle, facing a storm for the very first time.

The group slowly walked along a long-broken concrete road, heading toward the Black Swamp Forest marked on the map.

As they ventured deeper, the surrounding scenery became increasingly desolate.

The weeds by the roadside grew taller than a person, exhibiting an eerie purplish-red color.

The wind blew through the forest, making sounds like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

Occasionally, they could see the wreckage of abandoned vehicles and tanks, half-buried in the mud, telling tales of the fierce battles that had once taken place.

"So this is Outside the Border..."

Li Murou tightened her magic robe and sighed:

"It really is terrifyingly desolate. No wonder my dad wouldn't let me come here no matter what."

After walking for a while, the smell in the air changed.

A thick, pungent, fishy stench, mixed with the smell of blood, drifted over with the wind.

On the road ahead of them, a chaotic battlefield appeared.

The ground had been blasted into deep pits by some immense force, and scorched marks were everywhere. Beside those craters, many broken limbs were scattered.

There were the scaled claws of ferocious beasts, and also... the severed legs of humans wearing military boots.

The blood had long since dried, turning a dark red, attracting countless buzzing flies.

Chen Xi squatted down to examine the traces on the ground, his brows slightly furrowed:

"It seems a battle just happened here not long ago. And it was quite large-scale."

Looking at the broken military rifle on the ground, Li Murou's eyes instantly dimmed.

"A lot of people died..."

She bit her lip, a flash of unbearable sorrow and anger in her eyes:

"Ferocious beasts are truly a scourge! Why must they always attack humans? If only there were a way to annihilate them all! Why... why are ferocious beasts like weeds, no matter how many you kill, they never end!"

This question was a pain in the heart of every Professional.

Humanity had been fighting against ferocious beasts for a hundred years; although they had held the defense line, no matter how much they wiped them out, the number of beasts never seemed to decrease.

Hearing Li Murou's lament, Su Xiaoxiao, who had been keeping vigilant, gripped her magic staff and spoke in a cool, clear voice:

"I have heard a rumor."

"In the extreme depths beyond the safe zone, which is the core of the so-called 'Uninhabited Forbidden Zone', there is a place known as the [Beast Mother's Nest]."

"That is the origin place of all ferocious beasts. It is said that all ferocious beasts are born continuously from within the Mother's Nest."

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the grey, gloomy sky in the distance:

"If we could destroy that Mother's Nest and ruin their incubation pools, perhaps... the ferocious beasts would disappear completely."

"Mother's Nest?"

Ye Fei was also hearing this for the first time, and she asked curiously:

"Since we know the source is there, why don't we do that? Wouldn't it be enough to just send a large army to blow it up?"

"It's not that easy."

Li Murou took over the conversation and sighed:

"I heard my dad mention this once; it's a top-secret file of the military."

"It is said that twenty years ago, our Dragon Kingdom assembled an unprecedented expeditionary force."

"That was the strongest fighting force of the Dragon Kingdom at the time—three Professionals with levels as high as 120, leading thousands of elites, even utilizing a Forbidden Curse, pushing forward all the way, slaughtering through the defense lines of countless ferocious beasts, and finally reaching the vicinity of the legendary Mother's Nest."

"And then? Did they succeed?"

Ye Fei asked eagerly.

Li Murou shook her head, a trace of fear showing in her eyes:

"No."

"At the entrance of the Mother's Nest, they encountered a terrifying beast guarding the Mother's Nest."

"It was a disaster. The three top-tier powerhouses at level 120 joined forces to attack that one Mother's Nest beast, but the result... they were completely unable to win. You could even say they were unilaterally crushed."

"In the end, by relying on one of them burning their life force to cast a Forbidden Curse of mutual destruction to hold back that monster, the remaining two were able to escape back with the remnants."

"But even after returning to the Dragon Kingdom, those two survivors had already suffered irreversible, severe injuries, and their foundations were even destroyed, making them unable to engage in high-intensity combat ever again."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

"Level 120 couldn't win? And it was three against one?"

Ye Fei was so shocked her jaw dropped:

"That Mother's Nest beast... just how monstrous is it?"

"Yes."

Li Murou said in a deep voice:

"According to the descriptions from the few powerhouses who returned alive, the level of that Mother's Nest beast, conservatively estimated... should be above Lv.140! It might even be higher."