Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 86 Crimson Sea
"You are... Commander Su?"

A soldier in the front row looked at Su Xun in surprise as he got off the vehicle.

Su Xun wasn't surprised that the other party recognized him; there was a photo of him in the survival manual, which was also a way to enhance cohesion. In the future, there might be people who would call him a prophet, but Easterners still didn't buy into this explanation. They preferred to believe that Su Xun was reborn.

It's been 30 years, and the prophetic approach is definitely not as popular anymore.

Su Xun looked the young man up and down and asked, "You've broken through to the second tier?"

After receiving a positive response, Su Xun patted the young man on the shoulder. He had thought that he would have to go in himself to get these people out, but he did not expect that they would still be able to get out of the cognitive illusion on their own.

How much time has passed? Advancing is indeed simple for superhumans, but only relatively. All superhumans need strong willpower to complete this step. Willpower is the cornerstone of advancement. The road to approaching the truth is tortuous and bumpy. How much effort have they put in for it?
This might be a story full of hardships, but Su Xun didn't ask any more questions. He simply said to the young man, "You might not be used to things after you go out. You'll feel uncomfortable for a while. Take good care of yourself. How's it going inside?"

The young man fell silent upon hearing this.

"We...saved many comrades and injured many civilians."

"You encountered an alien species?"

As the most direct danger in the secret realm, the monsters there do not have a unified name. They are generally referred to as "monsters" or "twisted aliens". Westerners may be more accustomed to calling them monsters. These things do not have a fixed appearance, and almost every individual has different characteristics and abilities.

Unlike zombies, which are completely irrational, they are just not very intelligent, but they still have instincts such as pain, fear, and anger.

However, zombies may develop rationality when they evolve to a higher level, while the alien species have always only had this basic instinct, which may be related to the fact that they were born in a secret realm.

When the young man heard Su Xun's question, he nodded: "At first we encountered some smaller mutants, but we dealt with them relatively smoothly."

At this point, the young man's eyes showed lingering fear: "Later, something that looked like a crocodile attacked us. We killed it, but at a great cost."

How big is it?

"I haven't measured it carefully, but it's probably... more than ten meters long."

In most cases, the strength of a mutant is roughly proportional to its size. Su Xun pondered for a moment. It was more than ten meters long and roughly at the third level. Although it was something that would appear in the shallow layer, it was not very common.

Were they just unlucky?
Or were they driven out by something bigger?
Su Xun seemed thoughtful, then asked one last question: "How many people have you gathered? Are there any people still missing?"

"Based on the estimated numbers, we've only found 70% of the people. There must be many more still trapped inside, but those people..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, Su Xun actually knew better than him that most areas of the secret realm were desolate and empty, and since they still couldn't be found, these people were probably in grave danger.

"We'll keep an eye out. You guys go ahead and follow the direction of the convoy. Someone will be waiting for you outside."

Seeing that Su Xun was about to head into the secret realm, the young man hesitated for a moment: "Commander, it's dangerous inside!"

"Of course, that's why we came here."

"Then...can I come with you? I'm familiar with the situation inside!"

Su Xun looked at the young man in front of him in surprise. Judging from his age, this child was probably just an adult. Before the apocalypse, he might have just been a high school student.

"Your next task is to take these people out and then give them a good rest."

Su Xun smiled at him: "Can you do it?"

The young man paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

Su Xun's smile deepened: "You're a soldier now, look at you, stand at attention and salute!" "Yes, sir! Mission accomplished!"

"Go."

The young man jogged back into the crowd. Suddenly, he felt that the road ahead seemed clearer, and in the distance, he could see the streets and tall buildings beyond the thick fog.

The long convoy moved against the flow of people, heading towards a place beyond our comprehension. Red flags fluttered on the chariots, and just looking at the five-pointed star on the flag, large tears suddenly welled up in the eyes of the young man.

Why did I shed tears?

He himself wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was the frustration of being lost in the secret realm? Perhaps it was the sorrow of losing his comrades? Perhaps it was the excitement of returning to the real world? Or perhaps something else entirely?
I felt a mix of emotions, all of which were mixed into my tears.

The convoy moved forward while the crowd moved backward. Su Xun signaled several cars to separate from the convoy to help maintain order and provide assistance. He himself gently turned the steering wheel to avoid the direction from which the crowd had come.

They have found a way out and no longer need him to watch over them. The place Su Xun is going to is not the same as where they came from.

As the thick fog gradually dissipated, Jiang Yi seemed to hear the sound of waves, and a desolate land appeared all around her.

Here, she clearly felt a magical power being born within her body, and the fatigue brought on by days of hard work seemed to disappear instantly.

Is this what they've been calling spiritual power?
Jiang Yi turned her head to look at Su Xun, only to find that his expression was calm and unchanged.

That's true, these must all be things he's used to.

Coming to her senses, Jiang Yi turned on the radio and found that the team's internal communication, which had been barely usable despite the static, had completely disappeared.

"It's okay, we don't need this here."

Su Xun lowered the car window, seemingly talking to himself: "Attention all units, release the safety, load the bullets, and fire directly at anything that moves."

Jiang Yi opened her eyes wide and turned her head to look at the convoy behind her, only to find that the soldiers on the tanks behind her were starting to adjust the heavy machine guns on the roofs of the vehicles.

"This is……"

"It's a simple application of a wind-based spell, which is why I need to gather so many wind-based ability users. If they can master this skill, at least a team with these people can basically solve the problem of short-distance communication."

Jiang Yi nodded blankly; she couldn't understand these things yet. But then she remembered another question: "You said you'd just fire at anything that moves. Won't there be any survivors here?"

"No, this place is close to the edge of the secret realm... or rather, the bottom. The place we came from is not the same as the place those survivors went to."

As they were talking, Su Xun arrived at his destination, and Jiang Yi looked at the scenery in surprise.

At the edge of a desolate land, shrouded in a thin mist, lies a sea tinged with crimson.

Su Xun stared indifferently at the sea.

This place is known as the Floating Sea. Just as the fog in a secret realm may not be fog, the water here may not be water. At least in this place, water is a manifestation of depth.

Upon first glance at this sea area, Su Xun was certain that his previous speculation was correct: a being of at least the fifth rank and at most the sixth rank was rising, and this place was connecting with a deeper realm. Otherwise, the water here would not be so deep in color; in the shallower parts of the secret realm, it should be light red.

"It'll be a while longer... about ten days. Let's use this time to prepare a nice surprise for it!"

(End of this chapter)