"This… this is… the mark of a Space Rift! You've brought down a disaster upon us all!"
Lao Wang's voice trembled violently. He clutched the Black Iron Crab Shell so hard his knuckles whitened, his cloudy eyes wide with terror, as if he had witnessed doomsday itself.
Chen Mo frowned and stepped forward. "Uncle, what is a Space Rift? What does this mark have to do with the Giant Crab?"
Wanshuang supported the old blacksmith anxiously and asked softly, "Uncle, please tell us. Does this mark bring something terrible?"
Lao Wang took several deep, shaky breaths before calming down enough to speak. He pointed to the faint black, web-like pattern on the bottom of the shell, his voice hoarse.
"This is the mark of a Space Rift! When I was young, I traveled with merchants and saw this mark once before. It is the trail left by dimensional monsters crossing into our world!"
"That Giant Crab was never a native monster. It was an alien creature that crawled out of the Rift! By killing it, you've cut off the Rift's claw on this side. Before long, the monsters on the other side of the Rift will track the mark straight to you!"
Dimensional monsters… Space Rift… crossing worlds…
Chen Mo's heart shuddered.
He had always thought this game world was just a typical fantasy realm. But now, it was far more dangerous than he had ever imagined.
No wonder the Giant Crab was so much stronger than local monsters. No wonder its aura was so savage—it wasn't even from this world.
"Then Qingxi Town… is in terrible danger?" Wanshuang paled, her hands squeezing her medicine basket tightly.
"Terrible danger doesn't cover it!" Lao Wang slapped his thigh hard. "Once the Rift fully opens, hordes of dimensional monsters will pour out. Forget Qingxi Town—the entire beginner area will be trampled flat! There was a town before… it got this exact mark. It was completely destroyed by monsters in three days!"
Chen Mo fell silent, his mind racing.
According to Lao Wang, the Giant Crab was a dimensional monster carrying the Rift mark. Killing it had only drawn stronger enemies.
But he'd had no choice back then.
If he hadn't killed the Giant Crab, he and Wanshuang would have died, and Qingxi Town would have been crushed by the crab army anyway.
"Uncle, is there any way to destroy this mark… or seal the Rift?" Chen Mo asked in a low, firm voice.
Running would solve nothing. He had never been the type to wait for death.
Lao Wang sighed, his face gloomy. "It's nearly impossible… All I know is that the Rift mark lives inside the monster's core—in the Giant Crab's Crab King Core. To destroy the mark, you have to completely destroy the core. But… it's infused with Rift energy. Ordinary power can't even scratch it."
The Crab King Core!
Chen Mo immediately pulled the pitch-black core from his backpack. It pulsed with a cold, eerie energy.
He had taken it from the Giant Crab's body, planning to sell it for copper coins. He never imagined it was the host of the Rift mark.
"I'll try."
Chen Mo gripped the core and poured his warm energy into it, trying to crush it with force.
But the moment his energy touched the core, it was swallowed by the cold Rift power—not even a ripple appeared.
"It's no use." Lao Wang shook his head. "This dimensional energy is beyond our current power. The only way is to go to the Rift itself and set up a Demon Suppression Formation with special materials. But the Rift at Liusha Beach… no one dares go near it."
"I'll go."
Chen Mo spoke without a second of hesitation.
Wanshuang jumped in alarm and grabbed his arm. "Mo Chuan, no! It's too dangerous! The Giant Crab was already terrifying. There must be even stronger monsters by the Rift! You'll be killed!"
"If I don't go, Qingxi Town is finished." Chen Mo looked at her, his voice calm but unshakable. "I can't let the whole town suffer because of me."
He always took responsibility for his actions.
He had killed the Giant Crab and awakened the mark. He would be the one to fix it.
Wanshuang saw the iron resolve in his eyes and knew she could not stop him. Her eyes reddened. She bit her lip and said:
"Then I'm going with you! I'm a Herbalist—I can heal you. I won't let you face this alone!"
"Okay." Chen Mo nodded gently and did not refuse.
Lao Wang stared at the two young people, admiration filling his eyes. He sighed deeply.
"Young ones… you have real courage. I've lived most of my life and admired few. You're one of them. I have a few last treasures tucked away. They might save you!"
With that, Lao Wang rushed into his back room. Moments later, he returned with three items: a yellowed talisman, a bottle of pale golden liquid, and a small bronze key.
"This is a Demon Suppression Talisman. It can block the Rift's evil energy for a time. This is Clear Mind Dew—it stops dimensional energy from twisting your mind. And this key… it opens the abandoned watchtower by the beach. Inside are weapons and a map left by past warriors."
"These are my life's collection. Take them. Come back alive!"
"Thank you, Uncle." Chen Mo accepted the items solemnly, his heart full of gratitude.
These things would quite literally save their lives in the danger ahead.
There was no time to waste. The two gathered all their potions and supplies and set off once more for the depths of Liusha River Beach.
Lao Wang stood at the door of his smithy, watching their backs, hands clasped, praying silently.
The atmosphere was heavy along the way.
Wanshuang stayed close to Chen Mo and whispered, "Mo Chuan… what kind of monsters do you think are on the other side of the Rift?"
"I don't know, but they'll be stronger than the Giant Crab," Chen Mo replied calmly. "When we reach the watchtower, you stay inside. Don't come out. I'll go to the Rift alone."
"No!" Wanshuang shook her head at once. "I'm coming with you! Even if I can't fight, I can heal you. I won't let you face this alone!"
Chen Mo looked at her stubborn, determined face, warmth filling his chest. He nodded gently. "Alright. Stay behind me. Don't leave my sight."
"Mm!" Wanshuang nodded hard, a small smile returning to her face.
Soon, they reached the black pool again.
The pool had become deeply unnatural.
The water was black as ink, churning and bubbling violently. A sharp, fishy stench filled the air. At the center of the pool, space itself warped, revealing a faint black crack—the Space Rift.
Around the Rift, more than a dozen monsters loitered—each larger than ordinary crabs, all underlings of the Giant Crab, their auras savage as they patrolled.
"So many monsters…" Wanshuang gasped, clutching her medicine hoe tightly.
Chen Mo's gaze hardened. He gripped his iron sword. "These are the Rift's guardians. We have to clear them before we can approach the Rift and destroy the mark."
He didn't charge in blindly. Instead, he led Wanshuang quietly around to the abandoned watchtower and unlocked the door with Lao Wang's bronze key.
Dust coated every surface inside. In the corner lay several rusted iron swords and a tattered map—exactly the relics Lao Wang had mentioned.
Chen Mo unrolled the map. It clearly marked the Space Rift… and a hidden path that bypassed the monsters, leading straight to the crack.
"Perfect! With this path, we can sneak right up to the Rift!" Wanshuang said in delight.
"Wait here. I'll clear the monsters at the path entrance and come right back for you."
"Okay! Be careful!" Wanshuang nodded obediently and pressed her best healing potion into his hand.
Chen Mo took the potion, folded the map, and gripped his sword. He slipped silently out the back of the tower.
Using his superhuman senses and agile movement, he crept up on lone patrolling monsters one by one, striking cleanly through the throat, making no sound at all.
One… two… three…
The monsters guarding the path were eliminated one by one. Chen Mo's sword skills grew sharper, and his Sword Control Art proficiency skyrocketed.
Wanshuang stood at the watchtower window, watching the calm, decisive figure below. Adoration filled her eyes.
This man always gave endless, unshakable safety.
Before long, Chen Mo had cleared a safe path. He returned to the tower. "Let's go."
Wanshuang followed at once. The two crept along the hidden path marked on the map, carefully approaching the Space Rift.
The closer they got, the thicker the cold, eerie aura from the Rift became, freezing them to the bone.
Chen Mo quickly took out the Demon Suppression Talismans and stuck one on himself, then one on Wanshuang. The cold energy was blocked at once.
Just as they were about to reach the Rift, an incomparably savage aura—even stronger than the Giant Crab—erupted from behind a huge boulder beside the crack!
A massive, deep-red monster with three heads slowly rose from behind the rock. Six cold, murderous eyes locked directly onto Chen Mo and Wanshuang!
Wanshuang trembled violently, clutching Chen Mo's arm, and screamed in a shaking voice:
"Mo Chuan! Wh-what is that thing?!"