Deep in the temple, a bonfire was burning.
The bonfires here are not lit with firewood, but with pieces of armor that are specially designed to burn.
The monitor has an unlimited supply of armor pieces. His special body can continuously grow such armor pieces. The lit bonfire can burn deep in the gray area and will be very effective in suppressing other patients and guarding the passage.
Everyone was asked to sit around the campfire, and they thought they would undergo a series of tests before entering the passage.
But they didn't know that there was no so-called test at all, or rather, they had passed the test when Yi Chen and others stepped into the temple and avoided the black halberd.
Sit in front of the campfire and just chat.
This observer wearing an iron helmet with a human face looks solemn, but he actually enjoys chatting with Yi Chen and his group of newcomers.
He asked about everything from Zion's recent situation to their respective assessments to become gentlemen and their entry into the city, and even occasionally a mature and slightly naive laugh could be heard from under the iron helmet.
During the chat,
Everyone watched with their own eyes as five pieces of armor of different sizes grew out of the observer's body, and he threw them directly into the bonfire.
During the chat, the observer also took the initiative to tell him some information about himself.
Black Heavy Halberd - Orman Yoder
An early executioner of the organization, one of the Black Knights (this title is now obsolete), and an important fighting force of the organization. Later, he transformed into a monitor, and his connection with the organization weakened, and he was no longer responsible for killing.
The cast iron helmet he wore and the black halberd in his hand were specially customized equipment for him as a Black Knight at that time by the organization.
He was born into a knight family and was eligible for modification permissions for "Gentleman's Skin". His original clothing design was a set of dark and heavy black armor.
Later, as the skin content increased, when it reached 50%, the armor actually fused with the flesh.
Even though they appear to be naked, their flesh can actually provide the same defensive effect as armor... and they can even grow full-protection armor in some key battles, doubling their defense.
As he became more familiar with the armor, he discovered more and more ways to use it.
For example, a 'suppressed campfire' formed by burning armor,
For example, when Orman rushed to the passage, he directly separated a large number of armor pieces and formed a deep-helmeted warhorse under his crotch, weighing several tons. All the patients who blocked the way along the way were crushed into powder under the heavy hooves of the warhorse and the swinging of the black halberd.
A pure physical gentleman,
Now he is over eighty years old, but he ignores the constraints of age by breaking through his limits and becomes stronger every year.
During the conversation, Yi Chen could clearly feel Orman's "loneliness".
As he had been alone for a long time and had little chance to communicate with others, he now met three young men whose talents were no less than his, and he wanted to repeat his life story in detail in front of the campfire.
"Mr. Allman, can't you go back to Zion?" Yi Chen suddenly asked a key question.
The man under the cast iron mask was silent for a moment before responding:
“Once I stop running and settle down in a temporarily comfortable place, the seeds of laziness will be planted in my heart.
The world is sick, and places like Zion will sooner or later be swallowed up by the gray realm.
If we want to truly continue human civilization, we must cultivate enough humans who can live normally in the gray area before this. Even if their bodies are already sick, it doesn't matter as long as they can maintain their humanity.
If I had given up my duties as a supervisor due to laziness, the rate of talent cultivation would have decreased, and you would not be meeting me here today."
Hearing this, Yi Chen and Reagan beside him also stood up and saluted.
“You three are quite good. You were able to remain absolutely calm in front of my black halberd and not be crushed. This means you are qualified to go to the other side.
Come, let's go take a look at the passage first, and then I'll talk to you about the specific rules."
Lighting the kerosene lamp on the waist, we followed Mr. Orman all the way to the deepest part of the temple. There was a very ordinary-looking stone wall blocking everyone's way.
Yi Chen, who combined his vision with that of Little Grape, quickly noticed the difference.
"Is this the place?"
Yi Chen pointed to a stone brick in the upper right corner of the wall.
"Can you tell at a glance? Have you absorbed the eye syndrome that affected you along the way?"
Yi Chen scratched the back of his head and said, "I guess so."
Bang!
Allman used his exaggerated giant hand to grab the stone out.
From a geometric point of view, the back of this stone corresponds to the outside of the temple.
But as the stones were taken out, a bottomless horizontal passage was revealed... Even if Yi Chen stared deep into it, he couldn't see the end.
The passage is just big enough for one person to fit in, and one can only crawl.
"You will be the first 'outsiders' to enter this passage.
Since the channel was formed less than a month ago and only touches the surface of the old world, the probability of you being discovered is very low... As long as you don't deliberately commit suicide, you can basically come back alive.
I believe your teachers or instructors in Zion have explained the rules to you, so I will just briefly mention them here.
Since the 'time' of the old world has been sealed, it is difficult for individuals to judge the passage of time through their own senses, nor can they use any natural phenomena for reference.
Therefore, you need to bring the ‘time’ back.”
Orman took out a special hourglass that he had prepared in advance. The sand in it was gray sand collected locally.
This hourglass is very small and can hardly be damaged when placed in a backpack. Once the timing starts, it will not be affected no matter how it is turned over.
"One day is the maximum time you newcomers can move around in the Old World.
Once the time limit is exceeded, your risk of exposure will increase exponentially, and your mind and body will be more susceptible to disease... If you return as a sick person, I may execute you on the spot.
Finally, I would like to remind you not to be too greedy.
Don't think about getting precious or rare relics. Regardless of whether you gain anything or not, you must calculate the time and route of departure in advance.
You are still young, and you will have the opportunity to carry out relic events in the future."
"Go ahead."
"See you in a day!"
In the same order, Yi Chen climbed first, Jin in the middle, and Reagan at the end.
Reagan's obese body also had difficulty squeezing into the relatively narrow passage.
Everyone clearly felt that they had not been crawling in the passage for long, but they could no longer see the exit behind them, and could not sense the pressure from the observers, as if they had been disconnected from the original world.
Lorian's voice came from within his body:
"I thought the human monitors would conduct strict inspections since they let you enter the passage so easily. Speed up, I can't wait to see the source of the disease."
Since there was no danger in the passages, the team slowly increased their crawling speed.
I don't know how much time passed, but I finally reached the end of the passage.
It was strange that the exit was blocked by a square stone similar to the one between the temples. I pushed it with my hand... Snap! The stone fell heavily to the ground.
The area that one arrives at after drilling out of the passage is still the stone temple; even the size of the space and the specifications of the stone pillars are exactly the same.
But there are no watchers here, and no blazing bonfires.
The moment I climbed out of the tunnel, the kerosene lamp hanging on my waist went out and could not burn.
The gentleman's clothing worn on the body, by turning up the collar and interweaving silk threads, creates a "leather mask" that allows everyone to breathe normally.
Both Yi Chen and Jin Jun could sense the restlessness of the clothes. The "gentleman's leather" contained inside was being slowly consumed, and the leather content was slowly decreasing.
This is why the Watcher repeatedly emphasized that the newcomers’ activities in the Old World can only be limited to one day.
If the time limit is exceeded, clothing with a low leather content like gold will be consumed by more than half, the protective effect will be greatly weakened, the probability of infection will be greatly increased, and survival will not be guaranteed.
Of course, for a newcomer like Yi Chen with a higher skin content, the time may be slightly longer.
The hourglass opens and the countdown begins.
As they stepped out of the temple, the sight before them made the three of them stop at the same time, staring towards the horizon with wide eyes.
The vast sky did not obstruct the view. There were no clouds or any moving living things. It was like a gray curtain filled with deathly silence.
A dark 'sun' hangs in the center of the world.
This dark sun was pierced by an extraordinary giant sword, and the sword even went deeper into the earth, as if to block and kill this world.
(End of this chapter)