The central region of the Zero Realm, due to its vast, continuous plains and hills, is referred to as “Middle-earth” by the people who live there.
Tens of thousands of meters above the northwest of “Middle-earth,” a massive Floating island hovers.
On the island is an enormous forest, boundless and infinite; no one has ever been able to walk out from its edges.
All who wish to leave the island can only find an exit beneath the ancient, towering tree at the island’s center.
Those who leave the island through that exit will fall from the sky, plummeting directly towards the Zero Realm, landing in a lake.
People call that lake “Lake Zero-Start.”
“Ah ah ah ah ah ah~”
Yan Kuan, Chen Bugu, and the others were plummeting rapidly from high altitude, having been falling for nearly three minutes; although they could see a lake below, at this height and acceleration, falling into the water would be almost no different from falling onto concrete.
At a height of tens of meters above the water, Lin Xiaoxiao was about to use her Mind to cushion everyone and slow their descent, when she suddenly discovered a giant bubble appearing beside her.
Bai Ting and Han Badou, on the other hand, had expressions of realization; they had seen that Chen Bugu hadn't taken any measures and thus knew there would inevitably be a solution to the fall.
The bubble enveloped everyone, and their rapid descent immediately slowed.
The bubble slowly sank, bursting the moment it touched the water, and everyone promptly fell into the water.
The lake water was calm as a mirror, clear and transparent, reflecting the azure sky and the inversion of white clouds.
Fortunately, everyone knew how to swim, so after falling into the water, they calmly floated on the surface, waiting until Chen Bugu confirmed the direction before unhurriedly swimming towards the shore.
The lake was not small; Yan Kuan felt he had swum at least several kilometers before reaching the shore.
After coming ashore, they looked back and found that they, like the trees and vegetation on the lakeshore, appeared tiny and dwarfed; compared to the vastness of the lake, they seemed to be merely insignificant embellishments.
As a gentle breeze swept across the lake, the water shimmered, rippling across the surface like blue silk sliding over the water, or as if the lake itself were gently breathing; its tranquility and grandeur brought a sense of peace.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Lin were both a little stunned; since the Great Disaster erupted, they had not seen such a beautiful sight in a long time.
Bai Ting and Han Badou, meanwhile, stared blankly at the sky, their expressions complex.
That airborne island, Floating above the clouds, was too far away to be seen clearly; at this moment, it could only be faintly discerned as a black dot.
Besides Chen Bugu, no one could have imagined that the vast Initial Forest would actually be a huge island Floating in the air.
Chen Bugu opened his left hand, and a giant blue fireball rose, ready to dry everyone's soaking wet clothes.
“I really miss that guy Wang Bin; I wonder if he and Liu Shifu found their families.”
Yan Kuan felt the water on his clothes evaporate quickly and suddenly thought of Wang Bin.
At this moment, after climbing ashore, they discovered that they had landed in the middle of a huge canyon, with the azure lake perfectly filling the space behind them, leaving them only one way out.
The massive rock walls on both sides of the valley floor stood upright like walls, smooth and steep, as if cut in half by a giant blade.
Above the cliffs on both sides, the rock walls were covered with various types of vegetation, with strangely shaped plants stubbornly breaking through the smooth rock face.
Giant birds, as black as ink, built nests on the rock walls, their green compound eyes staring intently at Chen Bugu and his group, occasionally letting out a few shrill cries.
“I remember you told Liu Shifu and the others before that if you walk towards the sunrise for half a day, you’ll see a town, right?”
Bai Ting put his dried white suit back on, asking Chen Bugu casually.
“Yes, actually, it’s just following the direction of the canyon exit. At a normal pace, you can see that small town in about half a day.”
“Then wouldn’t it be troublesome if Liu Shifu and the others didn’t come ashore from this side?”
“That won’t happen. Didn’t you notice when you fell? The other side of this lake is also a huge rock wall; it’s a dead end. Besides, Teacher Lin has ‘Submersible Goat’; if they really swam the wrong way, he can just have ‘Submersible Goat’ carry them back.”
Chen Bugu was indeed not worried about this; Lake Zero-Start is not dangerous on ordinary days, and even magic beasts are extremely rare, so for Teacher Lin, who has “Submersible Goat,” it poses no problem at all.
“Summoning-type abilities are really great; you don’t even have to do anything yourself.” Yan Kuan shed tears of envy.
Chen Bugu also missed Old Liu and the others, as well as “Amon”; he wondered how they were doing in that town, and if they had found their families.
After their clothes dried, everyone set off again, heading towards the canyon's only exit.
At the same time, somewhere in the Starting Forest, four dark figures were gathered under a tree, chatting idly.
“John, that guy your North group is responsible for, wasn’t he supposed to wake up soon? Why is there still no movement?”
A man completely shrouded in a black robe asked, his voice hoarse, as if damaged vocal cords were struggling to produce sound, each word seemingly pieced together from a pile of broken fragments.
“Old Four, as a Chinese person, don’t you know the saying ‘a thousand-year tortoise, a ten-thousand-year turtle’? For that guy, how long has it been?”
John removed his black hood, revealing his face.
It was a Caucasian face, with a high nose bridge, a broad forehead, full and well-defined lips, deep and bright blue eyes, and golden hair gently curled on his forehead; his smile was somewhat unrestrained.
“Rather, Old Four, have you and your group prepared the sacrifices the boss needs? Ninety-nine Awakeneds of three-star rank or higher shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
John looked at Old Four opposite him, retaliating sharply.
“Hmph, that’s none of your concern. You and George had better take care of yourselves first.”
After Old Four finished speaking, he and another Black-robed man turned and walked away.
After taking a few steps, Old Four looked back at John.
“Let me give you a piece of advice, John.”
“While the East, West, and South groups haven't completed their tasks as quickly as you, the big guys they are each responsible for have all woken up.”
“The boss has been getting a bit impatient lately. You’d best find a way, lest next time I have to give advice to your corpse.”
Old Four said a lot in one breath; his hoarse voice made George, who was beside John, very uncomfortable.
Before George could react, Old Four and the other Black-robed man instantly vanished into the forest.
“John, why don’t I go take care of Old Four? His terrible voice is simply torture to me.”
George also took off his hood; he was also Caucasian, with curly brown hair and emerald green eyes, a high and symmetrical nose with a straight bridge, which added a mysterious sense of confidence to his face.
He was biting a twig, leaning lazily against a tree.
“George, don’t underestimate Old Four.”
“And Old Four is right. Judging by the time, the beast tide is about to erupt, and the boss won't make it this time, so he's bound to be displeased. We should hurry and find a way to wake that guy up.”
After John finished speaking, he also turned and walked into the forest, instantly disappearing, leaving George alone, holding his head, leaning lazily against the tree.
“Boring, truly boring…”
George shook his head, and the next second, he too vanished from his spot.