TRCP 215 PART 2

“Beautiful creatures are drawn to each other,” Liu Fengyu said, flipping his hair. “If you guys were too ugly, I wouldn’t have become friends with you.”

Cong Xia replied helplessly, “Brother Liu, back then you didn’t exactly have a lot of options, did you?”

Liu Fengyu snorted. “It was fate’s arrangement.”

Tang Yanqiu frowned seriously and said, “Under the skin, we’re all the same. You shouldn’t judge by appearances.”

Liu Fengyu chuckled. “But I *do* judge by appearances. Otherwise, why would I be interested in you?”

Tang Yanqiu froze, his face darkening, and he turned to leave.

Liu Fengyu, dumbfounded, called after him, “Hey, I was just joking! Tang Yanqiu!” He hurried after him.

Zhuang Yao rolled his eyes. “Idiots. You guys talk; I’ve got work to do.” He patted Abu and walked off.

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Cong Xia and Cheng Tianbi sat on another paw, discussing their recent training progress.

Three days later, the group was ready to set off for Golmud to train.

In addition to Cheng Tianbi’s group of six, many mutated human organizations and high-level mutants from Qinghai also decided to go. In the end, nearly everyone was going. After all, no one wanted to miss the opportunity to become stronger quickly, and with Cong Xia there, the usual 50% death rate during advancements had dropped to nearly zero.

To their surprise, one of the people joining them was a familiar face—Yi Nan, Yi Dong’s brother, the white fox mutant. As expected, Yi Nan didn’t greet them warmly, but given their current strength, he didn’t dare act out either, so they simply ignored each other.

The group, now fully rested and energized, reached a small county near Golmud in less than three days. This county was 30 kilometers away from the dreaded city, and while there were still some threats around, nothing that posed a serious challenge to them. Weaker individuals could train here, while stronger ones could travel back and forth to the city as needed.

They found an undamaged hotel, tidied it up, and settled in. Supplies for the next few months would be provided jointly by Xuanying City and Guangming City.

Early the next morning, several natural force evolvers and high-level mutants headed back into Golmud’s city, while Mr. Sun took Zhuang Yao and Tang Tingzhi back to his lab in Guangming City. The others stayed behind to begin their training.

Time passed in a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Half a month later, Shen Changze and Tang Yanqiu reached the critical point of breaking through to the third tier.

Shen Changze’s breakthrough was unsurprising. His flames turned an even whiter color than before. Due to the danger of his ability, they had set up a special tent for him outside. Sure enough, the moment his energy core advanced, the entire tent disintegrated into ashes, and the surrounding snow melted away. When Shen Changze emerged from the blinding golden-white flames, slowly taking human form, he looked like a god descending to earth, awe-inspiring and magnificent.

After breaking through to the third tier, Tang Yanqiu finally gained full biological radar functionality. His effective range was currently 68 meters, meaning that within a 68-meter radius, any living being, no matter how well they concealed their energy, would be exposed to him. Once he could synchronize his radar range with his arrow’s shooting range, he would be able to detect any target without needing to see it—potentially making him more deadly than a natural force evolver in certain situations.

A few days later, Liu Fengyu and Yao Qianjiang also reached their breakthrough points.

Liu Fengyu’s advancement went smoothly. At the moment of his breakthrough, the smell of his Rafflesia underwent a strange transformation. Before, it had emitted a foul stench, but now it carried an odd fragrance—neither wholly pleasant nor disgusting. The scent was unsettling, almost as if it carried a hypnotic quality that made people want to stay away. Liu Fengyu had mixed feelings about this change. In addition to the altered scent, the corrosiveness of his digestive fluids increased significantly, and his petals became larger and tougher.

Yao Qianjiang’s breakthrough also went without incident. When he emerged from his room in a translucent, water-condensed form, Cong Xia couldn’t help but feel like he was witnessing a scene from a high-tech movie. Yao Qianjiang in his water form was both beautiful and powerful. He looked down at his transparent, wave-like body, and although his features were colorless, the upturned corners of his lips revealed his joy.

The third wave of breakthroughs came from Deng Xiao and Xiao Zhou.

Deng Xiao’s advancement was smooth, and his body grew over 30 centimeters taller, with his skin becoming even tougher and thicker. His venom, climbing ability, speed, and attack power all saw significant improvements. Even the camouflage ability he had been struggling to master finally came to fruition. This new skill excited Deng Xiao so much that he threw himself shirtless into the snow, watching as his skin slowly blended with the pure white snow. If you didn’t look closely, it was hard to tell something was lying there. Of course, like an idiot, he got too carried away and went into hibernation from the cold.

Xiao Zhou’s breakthrough was more dangerous. If it weren’t for Cong Xia’s help, he might have died from an energy overload. After advancing, he became bigger and stronger, but his abilities didn’t change significantly. Animal mutants, while initially the most dominant evolution path due to their natural physical advantages, were later limited by the traits of their base animals. For example, someone who mutated with a tiger’s genes could easily kill an equally evolved natural force evolver in the early stages. But someone who mutated with a sparrow’s genes wouldn’t have many abilities beyond flight. Therefore, the development of animal mutants in the later stages was often constrained by their base species.

Time flew by, and a month and a half passed. During this time, people continued to break through to the second or third tier. Thanks to Cong Xia, the usual 50% death rate during advancements had dropped to zero, and Cong Xia’s status within the team had risen to rival that of the natural force evolvers.

Cheng Tianbi and the others returned every few days to restock supplies, but they usually only stayed for a meal before heading back. Cong Xia could see that they had become obsessed with training. Nothing mattered more to them now than returning to Golmud and becoming stronger. They trained day and night, pushing themselves to the limit in their quest to protect themselves and the people they cared about.

After two months, Cong Xia finally reached the critical point of breaking through to the third tier.

When Cheng Tianbi and Zhuang Yao heard the news, they rushed back. Cong Xia was different from the others. When others advanced, Cong Xia could help. But when Cong Xia advanced, there might not be anyone who could assist him. The last time Cong Xia advanced, he had fallen into a coma for several days, leaving everyone helpless and terrified. So, this time, everyone was a bit anxious about Cong Xia’s breakthrough.

Seeing everyone gathered around him, Cong Xia felt deeply moved. Yet, he wasn’t worried at all. In fact, he was excited. Not only was he eager to become stronger, but he was also looking forward to delving deeper into the mysteries of the ancient jade. After his last breakthrough, he had created the life-saving energy armor. He wondered what new abilities he would unlock this time.

Once he was ready, Cong Xia officially began his advancement.

At the beginning of this time, the process was not much different from when he broke through to the second tier. Since it was an intentional advancement, everything was within his control. It seemed as though a long time had passed, with the energy inside him running smoothly, neither too hot nor too cold, and the energy core remained unresponsive. Gradually, he felt like his entire body was floating in warm water, and his consciousness grew heavier. Although his mind was still thinking, his other senses had stopped working. He could no longer hear, smell, or feel anything from the outside world. This was quite similar to the last time, so he didn’t feel nervous.

Time quietly flowed by. Sure enough, he was once again pulled into the world of the ancient jade. However, this time, he did not see the familiar green light or the familiar walls of Sanskrit. This world was pitch dark, and he couldn’t see anything—no, it would be more accurate to say that there was nothing here. The only reason he knew this was the world of the ancient jade was purely based on a feeling.

He “walked” in that dark space for a long time, growing more and more anxious. This was completely different from the situation he encountered last time, and he wasn’t sure how to respond. Finally, he shouted loudly into the void, not knowing what else to do.

After a long time, an old voice suddenly and unexpectedly sounded: “You have come.”

Cong Xia was startled. “I… I’ve come? Who are you?”

The old voice sighed, “You have come, finally.”

This sigh was exactly the same as the voice he had heard when he first obtained the ancient jade.

Cong Xia shouted, “Senior, who are you? What happened to this world? What is this jade? Please tell me!”

“You have finally arrived. Since you are here, you have come to the source of everything. The questions in your heart will naturally have answers.”

“Where is the source? Is it the Forbidden Zone? Does it hold the answers to the apocalypse? Is there a way to prevent the apocalypse there?”

“Everything is in that source, waiting for you.”

“Senior, what is in the source! If you know something, please tell me. I don’t want to die for nothing, Senior!”

“Everything is in that source.” The old voice repeated.

Cong Xia suddenly realized that this voice was not speaking directly to him. It was likely similar to the information preserved in the ancient jade, which had existed long before. It was triggered by his arrival and his breakthrough to the third tier, activating some kind of “mechanism.” That ancient jade had given him a hint to go to the “source.” And the so-called “source” was almost certainly the Forbidden Zone.

Does the Forbidden Zone hold the answers to the apocalypse? Does it contain all the answers?