An endless wilderness.
The red, barrennd had only sporadic, withered grasses still stubbornly struggling, while visible ck ash permeated the air everywhere.
The scorching temperature caused visible distortions in the void, and under the pitch-ck night, a distant volcano spewed out bright redva flows, illuminating a murky, fiery glow.
Inside the cabin, Xue Jing looked out of the porthole and said,
"Although I have heard that the environment of the ''Evil Land'' outside the urban area is bad... I didn''t expect it to be this bad."
Void de, standing beside him and looking out the window as well, spoke in a calm tone, "That''s not entirely true."
She pointed at the distant volcano that continuously erupted with bright redva flows.
"That volcano is a remnant of the ''Intersecting Phenomenon,'' a collision between our world and some Otherworld. It was tossed into our realm from the other realm when the two collided."
"The internal motion rules arepletely different from thews of our world; the frequency of eruptions is absurdly high, which is what causes the surrounding area''s environment to deteriorate to this extent."
Mountain Demon interjected, "The environment of this area is harsh, but that''s not entirely a bad thing. It keeps the Intersecting Boundaries creatures from liking this ce too much, so at least near here, you don''t have to worry too much about being suddenly attacked by something dangerous."
"Just be sure to prepare cooling measures and poison gas masks, and you''ll be fine."
Void de shook her head, "We might still encounter attacks from Intersecting Boundaries creatures... Some special ''me Habitat Species'' rather like this environment; we still need to be careful."
Mountain Demon opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of Xinsha Soda, twisted the pull tab, took a sip, and chuckled,
"The temperature here hasn''t reached the level that higher-grade me Habitat Species prefer. No need to worry."
"Speaking of me Habitat Species, I haven''t eaten ''me Crab'' in a long time... just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
"After this mission, we definitely need to go to the Inner Ring for a meal."
Xue Jing curiously asked, "What''s a me Crab?"
Mountain Demon smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste:
"It''s a type of me Inhabiting Creature, appearing as a crab with constant mes burning on its body. The meat on them is naturally cooked, just peel back the shell and you can eat it directly, absolutely delicious to die for."
"However, their breeding environment is very demanding, only a few cultivationpanies have the capability to breed them, so they''re expensive. Especially the ''Joint Cultivation'' me Crabs are thergest and best in quality but also the priciest."
"They have this King Crab, one in a hundred thousand, with a pound of its meat selling for over ten thousand. Last time, a record-size King was sold at an auction for nearly ten million, outrageously expensive."
Xue Jing nodded and said, "Sounds great, I''ll have to try it sometime."
As they chatted casually, the ne gradually approached its destination.
...
In the night wilderness, several campfires quietly burned.
Around the campfires, a dozenrge and small tents were set up, various instrumentsid out on the ground, and dozens of figures in bulky gray protective suits, wearing poison gas masks, were busy with their tasks.
"Whooosh——"
A hissing sound from the sky, a ck-coated ne, nearly invisible in the night, arrived above the campsite, then paused and slowly descended.
"Captain Void de is back, those of you over there, hurry up and move, clear the space!"
A man in a protective suit shouted to several nearby personnel who were chatting together.
The personnel quickly dispersed, and the nended on the cleared ground.
Hisss——
The cabin door opened, and Void de, Mountain Demon, and Xue Jing stepped out.
As soon as Xue Jing disembarked, he felt a wave of heat enveloping his entire body.
It was as if he was in a steamer, the sensation had moved beyond ''hot'' to ''scalding''.
He took a brief breath of air, and immediately felt a sticky, scorching sensation in his nostrils.
He nced at the floating ck ash particles in the air and frowned.
Mountain Demon, already wearing a poison mask on his face and holding another in his hand, handed it to Xue Jing.
"Put this on."
Xue Jing reached out, put on the mask.
Due to the mask, the air intake was less than usual, making it more difficult to breathe and ufortable, but it felt much better than directly inhaling volcanic ash.
Another person emerged from the cabin, it was Jing, a petite girl who was also a member of the Void de Squad, already wearing her mask.
"Captain Void de, wee back."
A man in a protective suit, wearing a poison mask, came forward and shook hands with Void de.
After exchanging pleasantries with him, Void de gestured towards Xue Jing and introduced him:
"This is Xue Jing, the new explorer for this Intersecting Boundaries mission."
Xue Jing nodded, extended his hand, and smiled, "Hello."
The man''s eyes brightened as he shook hands with Xue Jing and said, "Hello, hello, Xue, d you finally arrived... I''m Shen Da, the head of this ''Roaring Waterfall Temporary Research Group.'' "
Void de spoke, "This Intersecting Boundaries exploration task is entirely in charge of Doctor Shen. He will provide you with logistical support. As for what to do once you''re in the Intersecting Boundaries, just listen to Doctor Shen."
Shen Da: "Let''s go, let''s talk inside the tent, the air here is not so good."
...
This was arge tent covering an area of more than twenty square meters. As soon as Xue Jing entered, he felt a chill over his whole body.
He looked around the interior, which apart from a small bed and several chairs, was almostpletely filled with various instruments, constantly emitting beeps, clicks, and other mechanical sounds. The remaining space for movement was only about five or six square meters, making it rather cramped.