Cold, shaking...
Chen Kong abruptly sat up from the ground, his mind still clouded.
In a daze, his thoughts lingered on the moment before entering the holographic simulation chamber, leading to confusion with the 'real' environment around him.
Fortunately, he cleared his head after just a few seconds.
"I don't know what they're thinking upstairs, sending a rookie to be my guide."
Chen Kong turned his head and saw a black-haired man staring at him with a disdainful look.
The man was around twenty-four or five years old, with an exceedingly ordinary appearance.
However, a scar over his right eye added a chilling sharpness to his otherwise plain face.
At the same time, this black-haired man inexplicably gave Chen Kong a sense of 'déjà vu,' but he couldn't recall where he had met him.
"Let's go. The United States' Doomsday War Chariot can only stop here for a maximum of two hours."
"We must seize these precious two hours to confirm whether this is a reachable zone or an untouchable... forbidden zone."
Before Chen Kong could figure out the situation, a panel appeared in front of him.
[Welcome to the Quicksand Star Fallen Zone (Low Intensity) Simulation]
[Mission Goal: Collect 10 Quicksand Star Ores]
[Survival Time Limit: 120 minutes]
"What are you waiting for? Get out of the car."
"Do you really think taxpayer money is for you to take a vacation here?"
Although he knew the person was merely a 'virtual character.'
Yet, for some reason, Chen Kong felt inexplicably nervous when facing the man's powerful presence.
He had only ever felt a similar sensation from Tendo.
Though he had never met this virtual character, Chen Kong somehow had a feeling that he and Tendo were the same type of person.
A type of person who only follows their own will and cannot be swayed by any external factors.
With this thought, Chen Kong followed the man out of the so-called 'Doomsday War Chariot.'
Stepping out of the vehicle, Chen Kong was instantly stunned by the scene outside.
It was the ruins of a city after the apocalypse.
There was no sun above them, only a special protective layer of clouds glowing with a strange purple light.
The distant horizon was distorted in this eerie purple light, and the air was filled with a pungent, ozone-like smell.
Not far away, collapsed steel buildings were half-buried in yellow sand, with only partial floors exposed, yet to be engulfed by the sand.
In the wreckage of these building ruins, occasional faint light flickered.
That was the unique luster of the Quicksand Star Ores, the target of his current simulation mission.
Wasting no time, the black-haired man walked straight towards the nearest ruins as soon as he exited the vehicle. His pace was steady, his expression relaxed, as if he wasn't exploring a dangerous fallen zone but merely strolling in his own backyard.
But before the man could take a few steps, Chen Kong suddenly felt a strong surge of 'killing intent,' and a chill ran down the back of his neck.
This killing intent was neither good nor evil; it was the 'aggression' unique to a beast warning an intruder to protect its territory: cold and direct.
"Look out!"
As soon Kong's warning faded, he saw three crimson eyes light up in the shadow of the ruins.
The next second, a black shadow leaped towards the black-haired man's back at an extremely fast speed.
The black shadow's sharp mandibles gleamed coldly in the purple light, seemingly intending to cut the black-haired man in half at the waist.
Yet, the black-haired man acted as if he hadn't heard, turning to Chen Kong with a questioning tone.
"Look out for what?"
His turning around completely exposed his back to the Star Beast.
Seeing this, Chen Kong immediately summoned his 'Void Weaver' on his right hand, intending to help the black-haired man out.
But an unexpected scene unfolded before Chen Kong.
Though the man had his back to the monster, his right hand suddenly shot up.
Immediately afterward, the monster that had rushed out of the city ruins collided precisely with the back of the black-haired man's raised fist, as if on cue.
Pfft!
In Chen Kong's startled gaze, the body of this unknown Star Beast instantly exploded like a watermelon.
In the air, fragmented flesh and shattered carapace splattered everywhere, quickly staining the ground red.
After doing all this, the black-haired man casually shook the blood from his fist, his tone flat and relaxed.
"Rookie, I can crush things like this, ants, with one hand. What is there to look out for?"
"..."
Seeing this, Chen Kong was silent for a long time, unable to utter a word.
A moment later, he looked down at the monster, which had been reduced to a heap of flesh that couldn't even be pieced back together.
A piece of information about this monster appeared on the dimension screen in the real world at an opportune moment.
[Name: Quicksand Star · Black Ant]
[Danger Level: Tier 2]
[Characteristics: Has sharp and robust mandibles, and a 'vision' that ordinary ants lack. Possesses immense strength, can see in the dark, and has extremely sensitive sight and hearing. Prefers to live in colonies.]
[Description: A Quicksand Star Beast that appears unremarkable but is actually very dangerous.]
"Alright, Rookie, don't waste any more time here. Follow me."
With that, the black-haired man continued walking toward the depths of the ruins.
Chen Kong quickly followed him.
But as he walked, Chen Kong soon noticed something unusual about the Quicksand Star Fallen Zone.
Even though he was stepping on seemingly ordinary 'sand,' the sensation transmitted from the sand made Chen Kong feel like he was treading on the soft skin of some kind of living creature.
With every step, he could feel a faint but distinct vibration.
"We've arrived."
The black-haired man suddenly stopped.
Chen Kong looked up and realized they were standing in front of a collapsed library.
However, this building, which once symbolized human 'knowledge' and 'wisdom,' now only had half of its walls remaining above the sand.
A large amount of pale blue mineral light seeped out from the cracks in the library ruins, along with a complex but extremely strong Star Energy fluctuation.
Clearly, this was the nest of a Star Beast colony.
Shh... Shh... Shh...
Amidst subtle yet spine-chilling footsteps, dense masses of Black Ant Star Beasts surged out of the library's architectural cracks like a black tide.
Even more terrifyingly, mixed within this dark 'tide' were several 'Soldier Ants' that were entirely reddish-purple and incredibly massive in size.
They were three times the size of ordinary Black Ants, and their carapaces were covered with a layer of light purple Star Energy, clearly designating them as 'Elite Level' existences.
The appearance of these creatures was undoubtedly signaling to everyone.
The current era was no longer the old era ruled by humans on Blue Star; they were the true masters of this land!
Gazing at this astonishing number of Star Beasts, Chen Kong instinctively took half a step back.
Putting aside the 'Soldier Ants,' whose strength was obvious at a glance.
The sheer number of ordinary 'Black Ants' surrounding them was enough to devour a mere Tier 2 Star Envoy like himself.