This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 29 Difficulty Traveling

Nie Weiyang's decision was not made without reason, nor was it self-righteous.

Although the shelter's overall system wouldn't activate until after the Blood Moon ascended, its existence in the new world meant it had its own origins and functions, and naturally, its own emergency response mechanisms. In the previous life, people frequently attempted to enter the shelter without meeting various requirements. Ultimately, they concluded that, with the exception of the 'Chaos' type, all other types of shelters could be entered, regardless of the circumstances, as long as a permanent payment of the corresponding attributes was made.

——The refuge is part of an extremely large [Crisis Resistance, Survival Guarantee and Safety Management System], which is aimed at humans who are threatened by various public events and monsters roaming around.

This system, abbreviated as 'CSSS', is spread all over the world, weaving a huge survival network for the entire planet. According to its original design intention, it should have played the role of preserving the fire of civilization and providing a safe early birthplace for humans in a world full of disasters and darkness.

But as expected, it went wrong, and the reason behind it is currently unknown.

Today's shelters have transformed from safe havens into high-risk secret dungeons. Their alienated spaces, completely independent of the outside world, prevent players who explore the shelters from receiving subsequent support, and even make it almost impossible to recover corpses.

In the previous life, humans were unable to determine how many shelters there were on this planet until twenty years later, but Nie Weiyang was very sure that the copies of each shelter were not the original ones, and these copies had sent 10,000 physical keys with maps to the outside world. They drifted around over a long period of time and hid in various places on the planet, especially the conventional world that humans can perceive.

Nie Weiyang sat in the tent, constantly calculating the most efficient route in his mind, but he took out a notebook in his hand and skillfully prepared to leave a suicide note.

Although he had once been able to enter and exit the shelter ten times a month, his current level attributes were not what they were before. The situation in the shelter was changing rapidly. 4701 was still the most variable and difficult "Mind Phase". This thing became stronger when it encountered stronger opponents, and the rewards would be better...

Even when he was at his strongest in his previous life, every time he entered the shelter, he would strictly follow the regulations of Zhongzhou and leave a suicide note.

but……

"What should I write?" Nie Weiyang murmured.

He stared at the blank paper for a while, and in the end did not write anything. Instead, he put the paper away and began to organize the things he needed in his backpack.

If he is not dead, the suicide note is useless. If he is dead... then let people think he is still alive.

Nie Weiyang pushed his wet hair back, straightened his clothes, put on a cloak-like raincoat, got on his motorcycle, and sped off into the depths of the rainy night.

……

The rain is getting heavier.

The dampness and mud of the rainy season made the wilderness increasingly difficult to navigate day by day, but it couldn't stop Zhusheng Runxi Jiaji's advance. Nie Weiyang left his jacket unzipped this time, his raincoat and collar fluttering in the wind and rain as he quickly bypassed a mountain pass.

"Tsk... the road hasn't been cleared yet."

He shook his head at a rocky slope covered with lush vegetation, turned around, lifted the front of the car, and jumped down the hillside in a sideways cross-over position, onto an alluvial rock beach, and went upstream along the river.

This direction led to the city, he could vaguely remember. So, it seemed like Shelter 4701 was somewhere around the city, or maybe even inside it...

If you are on Earth with convenient transportation, it takes about 40 minutes to drive from the city center to Langcheng. For safety reasons, the motorcycle will be slower.

But in the new world, in the wild wilderness, there were almost no traces of man-made paths. Nie Weiyang also used the river to determine his direction—after leaving Langcheng as a reference point, once he entered the mountains and forests, most people couldn't even determine their direction—most of the time he even had to get out of the vehicle and walk, and while walking, he had to carry something to cut grass, otherwise some mutated snakes and insects would come and try to bite through his leg armor. Nie Weiyang swung his sword.

'Crack'.

A snake with strange colors was broken into two pieces. Nie Weiyang picked up the snake's head with a sword and threw it away. The broken body twisted in the weeds, and tiny parasites crawled out from under the snake's skin.

Experience value +3.

A row of such experience value growth records have been displayed in the pop-up window, which shows how dangerous it is in the wild nowadays.

To this day, a month and a half after the opening of "New World," Lang City still hasn't established contact with the outside world, precisely because of the complexity of the wild environment. Currently, only snakes and insects are a problem, but on days without rain, creatures like mutant tigers and wolves emerge to greet humans, making it practically impossible for non-combat professionals to move in the wild.

The transportation conditions are even more difficult than those for scholars going to Beijing for imperial examinations in ancient times. After all, there were official roads and small paths at that time, but now there are only animal paths and no human paths.

Rain clouds rolled across the sky, pressing down on the plains like lead blocks. The rain grew heavier and heavier, and gradually the whole area became obscured.

The not-so-steep mountains were obscured by thunderstorms. Nie Weiyang passed by a deserted village with a hint of green light, several corpses, messy vegetation that had obviously been the result of a fight, and a huge lake. In the center of the lake was an unformed dark area, with only a hint of blue light flowing.

The inexplicable colorful lights are a sign of the formation of a dark area, but according to his experience, it will take some time for them to take shape.

Nie Weiyang placed the body in his backpack, noted the location, and continued on his way. He crossed mountains and rivers, and where he passed, a path was broken open. This journey, which used to take him only 50 minutes at most, took him a full day and he was not even halfway there. This was because he was strong and experienced. If it were anyone else, they might have died on this road...

"……Um?"

A slight movement made Nie Weiyang pause. He pricked up his ears, quickly distinguishing the surrounding sounds and eliminating any distracting factors such as ambient noise...

He heard a voice: "Help...

"Help……"

It sounded like a child who had not yet gone through the voice change period. However, Nie Weiyang did not rush to save the person. Instead, he listened more carefully to the voice and found some stiffness and rigidity in it. After every few sentences, the voice would become exactly the same as the original one, like a weird phonograph playing someone's last cry over and over again.

Nie Weiyang sighed.

Sure enough, as long as you "migrate" outward, you will encounter these things.

"Is anyone there?" he suddenly shouted. "Who's calling for help?"

The strange voice seemed to be attracted by him. It was silent for a moment, and then a long and sharp alarm sounded in the distance. Amid the alarm sound that tore through the sky, something was approaching quickly. It pushed trees and split rocks, whistling through the mountains and forests. In just a few breaths, a darkness that covered the sky and the sun came!

——The Dark Zone is coming!
　If you see extra words, missing words, or suspected content that wasn't deleted completely, don't doubt it, it's Win11 backstabbing my input method...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)