Volume 1: The Spiral Carving, Chapter 27: Wasteland of Bones 1: The Human-Headed Toad

Following the guidance of the golden-red light spots, Chen Fan arrived near a desolate wasteland.

It was a... wasteland of white bones!

The ground was paved with skeletal remains!

Moreover, this wasteland was incredibly vast, stretching out so far that it seemed endless.

"Hello there, would you like to team up?"

A group of three strode toward Chen Fan. On their chests was the character "Seven."

This indicated they were survivors from the Seventh Base!

The leader was a young man with a square jaw and a straight nose, dressed in grey combat armor. He had short hair and an heroic aura. He held a pistol in his hand and carried a sniper rifle on his back.

Upon reaching him, he extended his right hand toward Chen Fan. "Wang Yuan!" His gaze was sincere.

Out of courtesy, Chen Fan also extended his hand. "Chen Fan."

Shortly after, the other two also greeted Chen Fan.

One was named Yang Chao, and the other Qin Feng. Both were in their twenties and held firearms in their hands.

This was a well-equipped three-man squad!

Wang Yuan looked at Chen Fan and, seeing that he only carried a long blade and lacked even a backpack, a look of confusion appeared in his eyes. He asked, "Brother Chen, this place is very dangerous. Do you intend to go in just like this?"

Chen Fan said nothing unnecessary. He reached behind his back and retrieved his heavy-duty pistol from the system inventory.

"That's good! Otherwise, I would have suspected you were out of your mind."

Wang Yuan laughed, finally feeling relieved. He was looking for teammates, not dead weight!

Chen Fan did not engage in small talk and looked toward the wasteland of white bones. "How much do you know about this place?"

"I wouldn't call it knowledge. We've only been here twice, and because our equipment wasn't up to par, we didn't venture deep," Wang Yuan said.

"What is your mission or objective?" Chen Fan looked at them.

"Don't ask. You'll know once we're inside." Wang Yuan waved his hand impatiently, feeling that Chen Fan was talking too much.

Chen Fan stopped speaking, retreated 50 meters, and stayed in a straight line with the three of them.

"Brother Chen, what is the meaning of this?" Wang Yuan's eyes narrowed, staring fixedly at Chen Fan. "Do you suspect that we would open fire on you?"

Anger flickered in Qin Feng's eyes as he drew his sniper rifle. "This man is too suspicious. He might shoot us; we should kill him here to prevent future trouble!"

His arms were thick, corded with veins, and his fingers were covered in calluses. He held his sniper rifle with a steady grip; clearly, he was a marksman.

Yang Chao also drew his sniper rifle, staring straight at Chen Fan. Though he looked quiet, the murderous intent on him was heavy.

"Brother Chen?" Wang Yuan waved his hand, signaling the two to put their guns away, then looked at Chen Fan in the distance.

"I'm not used to teaming up with others. Let's just act independently," Chen Fan said, gripping the handle of his heavy-duty pistol, ready to fire at any moment.

Wang Yuan nodded helplessly. "Alright then... stay safe!" With a wave of his hand, he led the other two and headed forward at a fast pace.

Yang Chao and Qin Feng followed behind, retreating with short steps, keeping their sniper rifles aimed at Chen Fan to prevent a sneak attack.

Chen Fan smiled and stood still. The two finally felt at ease, slowly lowering their muzzles. Once they were far enough away, they turned around and tapped Wang Yuan on the shoulder, signaling that they were safe.

The three of them retreated rapidly at an angle, determined to maintain enough lateral distance from Chen Fan.

Once they had disappeared from sight, Chen Fan followed the guidance of the golden-red light spots and headed forward at high speed.

His direction of travel was exactly opposite to theirs, which suited him perfectly.

This wasteland was too large. In the blink of an eye, he had been walking for over a dozen hours.

There was still a very long distance to go before reaching his destination.

Night fell. He dug a deep pit, placed his safe inside, and then stepped into the safe himself.

Hahahahaha!

A woman's laughter suddenly rang out from outside. Chen Fan was startled, his heart tightening abruptly.

"Is it... a vengeful spirit?" Chen Fan's brows furrowed. He hadn't expected to encounter a vengeful spirit in a place like this; he felt somewhat depressed.

He originally didn't intend to pay attention to this spirit, but it kept laughing endlessly.

He grew angry and, unable to tolerate it any longer, stepped out of the safe, holding a Demon-Subduing Talisman in his left hand and a long blade in his right, scanning his surroundings.

After searching, he finally saw the spirit. It was naked, its body highly decomposed, floating in mid-air with its neck crooked, like a hanged ghost.

Its rotting eyes were fixed directly on Chen Fan, the sockets filled with maggots, and foul-smelling grey pus dripped along its two rows of teeth.

"Are you looking for death?" Chen Fan's eyebrows arched in fury. He had been traveling all day and intended to get some rest, only to be severely disturbed by it.

It didn't speak, but continued to laugh hysterically.

Its voice was like a blade, causing his eardrums to sting.

Chen Fan could no longer endure it. Clutching the talisman, he charged toward it at full speed.

But it was too cunning, floating rapidly into the distance, refusing to let Chen Fan get close.

After chasing for four or five hundred meters and seeing that it was afraid, Chen Fan snorted coldly and turned back.

He reached out to pull the safe door open, but before he could even bend down, its laughter rang out again.

Turning back, he saw it once again floating in the same spot, staring fixedly at him.

Chen Fan gritted his teeth, feeling as if his head were about to explode from the noise. He raised his sniper rifle and pulled the trigger!

Bang!

The gunshot was like thunder!

The bullet left the barrel and instantly blew its head apart, but as its neck writhed, another skull grew out.

Looking inside through its ribcage, he saw six or seven more human skulls within its body!

It continued to laugh, determined to laugh Chen Fan to death!

"Very well!!"

Chen Fan's face was extremely grim as he pulled the trigger, continuing to fire.

The six or seven skulls inside it shattered one by one!

It finally realized fear and retreated rapidly for four or five hundred meters.

It... was still laughing!

Even from four or five hundred meters away, its laughter remained ear-piercingly shrill.

Chen Fan endured the agony and aimed through the sniper scope!

He pulled the rough trigger again!

Bang!

The loud gunshot echoed through the wasteland. Its head shattered directly in mid-air. This time, it finally stopped laughing, fell onto the grass, and convulsed violently.

After swearing under his breath, Chen Fan turned around and walked toward the safe.

Hahahahaha!

But he had only taken three steps when the vengeful spirit's laughter rang out again.

He looked back and saw another spirit floating in mid-air, staring at him and laughing incessantly.

He didn't understand what was going on!

A moment later, he raised his sniper rifle again.

If it came to it, he would kill as many as showed up.

But this spirit was different; it retreated at top speed for six hundred meters, hiding behind a giant boulder.

Then... it kept laughing!

Even from far away, the laughter was so piercing it was unbearable; he even felt like he was having a brain hemorrhage.

If he couldn't afford to provoke it, he could at least hide, right?

He packed up his safe and headed into the distance at high speed, determined to get away from this spirit.

But what he didn't expect was that no matter how far he ran, this rotting spirit followed him just as far.

It had latched onto him!

Two hours later, Chen Fan completely broke down!

He had never felt so broken before!

His eyes turned red, and he pursued it.

This time, the roles of hunter and prey had reversed.

"Why are these spirits clinging to me? What is their goal?" His eyes were bloodshot; he didn't understand where the problem lay.

After chasing for half an hour, Chen Fan stopped running and chose to walk instead.

Because the ground was covered in massive holes, each with a diameter of over three meters.

Clearly, some unknown creature lived in these holes, and Chen Fan did not want to wake them.

To Chen Fan's fury, the spirit stood in the distance quite kindly, patiently waiting for him to catch up.

This successfully ignited his murderous intent.

What even was a vengeful spirit?

It didn't even count as a proper entity; killing it was just killing it.

But these two spirits were more abominable than humans—they were absolutely detestable!

He felt like he was going to die of anger!

After chasing for another dozen minutes, Chen Fan stopped. He looked at the ground, his heart tightening.

The ground was covered in foul-smelling yellow slime, at least half a meter thick, like a yellow carpet.

The yellow slime was bubbling, and within it, a large number of red skeletons were rising and sinking.

On the surrounding ground were enormous footprints. Although they had five toes, they were definitely not human footprints, as the soles were fan-shaped.

Upon arriving here, the spirit stopped fleeing. Instead, it floated in mid-air, staring fixedly at Chen Fan, occasionally striking a bizarre pose.

Chen Fan raised his sniper rifle, aimed at its head, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Sparks erupted from the barrel, piercing the darkness before him.

Its head shattered directly in mid-air.

Chen Fan put away the sniper rifle, preparing to leave.

He turned his body around, and then, he saw a... giant!

It was an enormous toad, which people in some places were accustomed to calling a "Laigebao."

The name was no longer important, because its form was far too massive—it weighed at least ten tons.

It crouched silently 50 meters away from Chen Fan, like a small hill, exerting immense pressure on him.

"What is its relationship with that spirit?" Chen Fan was shocked, subconsciously taking two steps back.

It possessed high intelligence; though it did not speak, it opened its giant mouth.

Then... a rotting spirit crawled out from its maw and stared at him with festering eyes.

"So that's how it is!" Chen Fan's pupils contracted. He had been wondering why these spirits wouldn't let him go; now he finally understood—they were all under its command!

"Don't tell me you are also a visitor?" Chen Fan looked at the giant toad.

"Haha!" It laughed.

Its back cracked open with a boom, and as the flesh turned outward, its ribs were fully exposed.

On its spine, a head had grown!

A human skull!

The scalp on the skull had hair, but the hair was matted with thick, viscous blood.

"I am not a visitor, but I have seen several visitors. My intuition tells me you are also a so-called visitor. Let me eat you!"

"What kind of thing are you? Are you human or ghost? What is your purpose in luring me here?" Chen Fan circled to the side, retreating with short steps, staring at it intently.

"Am I human or ghost?" It seemed to fall into a state of chaos. After a while, it laughed, "I remember now. I am the successor of the Black Rock Organization. The glory of the Black Rock Organization shall be... passed on by me!"

"As for my purpose in luring you here... I once saw a mountain that could eat people. It told me that in this world, there are many invisible but real game rules. One of these rules is called the 'Fusion Rule'..."

Its eyeballs rolled as it looked at Chen Fan. "This Fusion Rule is aimed at visitors. Tell me... are you truly a visitor? Let me find out, hahaha!"

It let out a shrill laugh, and then, with a thunderous roar, it charged toward Chen Fan at high speed.

Chen Fan furrowed his brows and fled into the distance at top speed.

"Back in Zhou Qiyuan's courtyard, I really should have put that motorcycle into my inventory..." He sighed, his guts twisting with regret.

At that time, he had only activated the Divine Text System for a few days, and he thought the system inventory capacity wasn't very large, so he never considered putting it into his backpack.

If he had a motorcycle now, the monster behind him would never be able to catch him.

But now was definitely not the time to complain.

After chasing for a dozen minutes, it finally lost its patience, opened its giant mouth, and sprayed yellow slime in all directions.

A splashing sound rang out, and in an instant, the land within a radius of five hundred meters was covered in yellow slime.

The slime sprayed toward him, trying to envelop him.

At the critical moment, he took a table from his inventory and held it above himself, narrowly escaping disaster.

This was a trap!

And he... had already taken the bait!

"Must I use the 'Quake' character mantra again?" Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to use the 'Quake' mantra, as it was not invincible.

Even if he used it, his comprehensive combat power was only equivalent to a Level 1 mutant.

If he always thought of the 'Quake' mantra first whenever he encountered a problem, he would sooner or later die from abusing it.

It was just like someone taking painkillers to suppress chronic pain, only to die from drug abuse in the end!

His gaze became resolute as he looked around, trying to find a way out.

He finally saw an escape route. Not far from him was a massive hole.

Four-fifths of this hole was covered by slime, but the remaining part was barely enough for him to pass through.

His eyes flashed, and he rushed toward the hole at full speed.

"No! Come back!" It roared in fury and charged toward Chen Fan, the earth shaking violently.

Chen Fan dove headfirst into the giant hole.

The hole led downward, and he didn't know how deep it was; he couldn't see the end, like a pitch-black bottomless pit.

He slid downward at high speed.

His rough palms made contact with the hard soil and rocks, and in the intense friction, his palms became incredibly hot, as if they were about to catch fire.

Its roar echoed in his ears, growing fainter and fainter until he could no longer hear it.

His brows furrowed as he looked behind him.

In his peripheral vision, he saw that his back was covered in yellow slime. These secretions were not only foul-smelling but also corrosive; with a hissing sound, his clothes were directly corroded into rags.

Although he took his clothes off as quickly as he could, a patch of skin on his back was missing, and the yellow fat beneath was exposed.

What was this?

It was nothing but a senseless disaster!

After taking out new clothes and putting them on, he continued to slide downward at high speed, carefully observing his surroundings for a branching path.