Chapter 111: Malicious Intent
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Tang Ling turned around all of a sudden.
What the hell? The crevice has its own cover? It was not a living being and was just a crevice. It was already unbelievable that he could feel malicious intent from the crevice, and now Yang Kong was telling him that the crevice had a cover of its own?
Could it mean that the crevice was alive?
“Instructor, is the crevice alive?” Christina and Tang Ling shared the same thought.
“If it has its own cover, why are we able to see it after the authorization?” Yu was thinking about another question.
“How come we can’t see it even after we’ve monitored the entire battlefield? What if we fall inside?” Vian asked.
“If we can’t see it, what about the monsters? Can they see it?” Orston was inquiring about the monsters instead.
Everyone’s curiosity seemed to be larger than when they found out about the Universal Source Rock.
Nonetheless, everyone did not want to admit that they felt a spine-chilling fear from the crevice. Why would they admit that though? How could a hot-blooded young teenager be afraid of a mere crevice?
Many questions popped up, but Yang Kong remained quiet.
With the New Moon Warrior’s level of authority, they were not allowed to know that much. All they needed to know was that there was a crevice on the ground, and they had to be careful of it, monitor it and never get close to it.
Therefore, Yang Kong did not answer all the quickly fired questions from the young warriors. He briefly explained that the level of authority of the badge was connected and provided by the A.I. of the Sector Protection Machine.
The Sector Protection Machine could see through the cover of the crevice, so those with the required level of authority could also see through it.
As for whether the monsters could get through it or not, Yang Kong said that it was unknown. However, based on the information they gathered from the battlefield, many monsters purposely avoided the crevice although not all of them. It could also be related to their instinct.
In short, the battlefield was huge. A 10 km crevice might be very long, but the width of its gap had a shorter limit.
Besides, it was not entirely a straight line as many parts of it were crooked. If the cover remained, even if one looked down at the battlefield from the sky, it was impossible to notice its existence either.
After all, not every corner of the vast battlefield had fights going on, and there would always be empty areas.
That was all Yang Kong revealed about the crevice, and he strictly added in the end, “When you get into the First Reserved Camp, you aren’t just required to learn and power up yourself. You are also warriors, so there are missions for you to carry out. When you have no missions to carry out, you have to be on guard duty at the Patrol Ground above the main structure of the Hope Barrier. Remember, your mission during guard duty is to watch over the crevice.”
Yang Kong was already prepared to change the topic, but when Tang Ling recalled the malicious intent he felt from the crevice, there were doubts in his heart that he could not suppress. “Instructor, what if when we fight the monsters on the battlefield and accidentally fall into the crevice. What happens?”
“As a warrior, I hope you will never make that kind of foolish mistake.” Yang Kong’s resentful and grumpy look hid a trace of fear that he buried deep in his heart.
He did not answer Tang Ling’s question directly. Instead, he gave a vague answer that hinted at ‘if you fall, there is no coming back out.’.
His words even suggested that the inability to climb out from the crevice had nothing to do with the depth. It also had nothing to do with either humans or monsters.
Tang Ling went silent. He uncontrollably glanced over the giant crevice once more, and this time, he could feel the malicious intent without even using his Precise Instinct.
If he stared at it long enough, that wicked intent that could cloud the sky and flood the land would wrap him whole. It reminded him of a saying in the old civilization: ‘if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you’. It might not be appropriate, but it was suitable.
“Class ends here. Today, the biggest secret of Safety Sector No. 17, the Hope Barrier, has revealed a significant part of the truth to you. You must remember that the more you know, the bigger your responsibility is. Your lives are now related to the lives of the people behind the Cliff of Hope, so please brand those words into your heart and soul. Can you do that?” Yang Kong bellowed.
“Yes, Sir!” The young warriors looked serious when they replied, and they also unconsciously touched the badge at their chests.
“Very well. There are still many rules regarding the First Reserved Camp, plus tons of other basic knowledge that you have to know. The sector deems it unnecessary to hold another class especially for that. So, after you go back to the camp for the day, get to the camp warden and he’ll bring you to the special document room of the First Reserved Camp. Your badge will let you know everything that you need,” said Yang Kong.
It was a cruel place after all. If they purposely had a class to tell them about the rules, allow them to be familiar with the place, and teach them something basic, it would cost a lot of time and was unrealistic.
After training for a whole month, the young warriors already had the basic qualities of a warrior.
“Alright, then. That’s all I wanted to say. Now you can go into the cave at the Cliff of Hope and someone will be there to bring you into the camp.” Yang Kong seemed tired.
“Yes, Sir,” the young warriors replied in unison and walked over to the cave in a straight line. There was no hesitation when they carried out the orders.
“Hold on. Before I forget... Everyone in the First Reserved Camp, even the camp warden or the officers, they are all your seniors. So, kids, you better get used to it.”
******
The sky was full of stars during the summer.
The Milky Way was like a bright shining belt, shuttling through the deep blue veil of the night sky. It left a bright trail behind, yet it glimmered in loneliness.
Maybe it also longed to cross paths with other stars.
This era was not entirely without its merits though. The healthy environment nurtured the prosperous night sky, and also set off the rather gloomy Purple Moon.
The little flickering cigarette in Tang Ling’s mouth was nothing before the vast night sky.
‘So, the Purple Moon is also nothing in the whole universe.’ Tang Ling mischievously thought of the Purple Moon and gazed through the infrared binoculars in front of him.
Through the binoculars, the malicious crevice was as quiet as usual.
As a matter of fact, it had been 20 days since his first day in the First Reserved Camp, and the crevice had been this quiet. Nothing ever happened.
A person as curious as Tang Ling would hope that something would happen to the crevice.
“Tang Ling, smoking is harmful. I heard that back in the old civilization, those who smoke at the age of 15 are all considered bad kid.” Andy carried a compound war bow longer than his body on his back as he walked over. He frowned when he saw Tang Ling smoking.
“Besides, smoking this early in life is bad for our health too.”
“Cut the crap. Where’s your cigarette? Give it to me.” Tang Ling impatiently stopped Andy from nagging.