Chapter 17 – A Spatial Gate

What was happening?!

Su Lifeng’s heart, which had just begun to settle, tightened once more. Without a second thought, he started running toward Jiang Yushi.

But he hadn’t taken more than two steps before an aura far more terrifying than that of the Wisdom Species suddenly struck, causing his entire body to freeze in place.

His heart pounded violently. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the torn wall.

The crack was now spreading upward, splitting the entire Metal Building in two. Su Lifeng could even see the massive rift extending high into the sky.

A Spatial Gate… the term flashed through Su Lifeng’s mind almost instantly.

He never imagined that such a rift would look so horrifying when witnessed with the naked eye.

But the Wisdom Species was already dead!

However, Su Lifeng soon realized that it was precisely because the Wisdom Species had died that this situation was occurring.

Through the rift, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of cold eyes.

Amidst the churning Black Mist behind the Spatial Gate, those massive eyes flashed by.

Su Lifeng felt as if his heart had been seized by a crushing grip. If his body hadn’t already been paralyzed with fear, he likely wouldn’t have had the strength to remain standing.

Boom!

At that moment, a skeletal Giant Hand that seemed large enough to blot out the sun suddenly appeared at the edge of the Spatial Gate and yanked at it with immense force.

Hearing the ear-piercing screech of friction, Su Lifeng’s mind went completely blank.

In his terror, only one thought remained: “I can’t let this thing in…”

Yet, before this rift and that Giant Hand, he was nothing more than an ant.

The Spatial Gate did not seem easy to open; the churning storm at its edges and the constant bursts of light sparks proved as much.

But the Giant Hand possessed staggering strength. Its movements were slow, yet it continued to tear at the rift with unwavering determination.

Was that monster about to break through?

Just then, a series of muffled thuds erupted from the edges of the rift, and the entire Spatial Gate suddenly collapsed.

As the Giant Hand vanished along with the Black Mist of the Spatial Gate, Su Lifeng felt as though he heard a distant roar of fury.

It wasn’t until several minutes after the Spatial Gate had disappeared that Su Lifeng’s body finally went limp. He stumbled back two steps and leaned against the wall.

“What was that? A Xenospecies? I absorbed the Wisdom Species and became an F-class Mutant Biological Species, and the Wisdom Species I absorbed was also F-class… So what rank would that thing just now be?” Su Lifeng squeezed his palms, only to realize he was drenched in layer upon layer of cold sweat. He had originally believed that humans could stand against the Xenospecies, but after seeing that Giant Hand, his conviction wavered.

If nothing else, once a Xenospecies like that crossed through a Spatial Gate, it would undoubtedly cause a massive catastrophe. Even if he possessed some abilities, he would still be utterly powerless against such a monster.

“I wonder why the Spatial Gate collapsed at such a critical moment… Is it Earth’s own protection mechanism? Something like the atmosphere?” Thinking this, Su Lifeng suddenly understood why the Xenospecies they had encountered were so weak. It was naturally much easier for those Black Threads to pass through a Spatial Gate than for such a massive body to do so. However, the Xenospecies likely hadn’t expected him to absorb the command center of their vanguard, which was why the Giant Hand had appeared to tear through space.

“The Black Mist behind that Spatial Gate felt incredibly deep; there must be a vast number of Xenospecies…” Moreover, from the gaze of that Xenospecies just now, Su Lifeng sensed that it viewed him-and all life on Earth-as nothing more than prey. And even if it couldn’t enter now, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be able to in the future.

For a moment, Su Lifeng felt a profound sense of dread. He felt as if Earth were a nest that would sooner or later be corroded and then torn wide open.

“The end of the world…” For the first time, Su Lifeng clearly understood the weight of those words. It was no longer a vague, abstract concept; he knew for a fact that the apocalypse would arrive in the very near future.

After the initial wave of panic, Su Lifeng gradually forced himself to calm down. Since this was an inevitable event, fear was useless. Had he not absorbed those Xenospecies, he might have spent his final days just trying to make the most of his remaining time. Now, however, he had the capital to survive-even if that capital seemed insignificant compared to that monster. But if he hadn’t misidentified it, the white bone on that Giant Hand was identical to the exoskeleton appearing on his own knuckles.

“If I can cover my entire body in an exoskeleton, maybe I’ll actually stand a chance in a fight,” Su Lifeng thought, taking a deep breath. Once he felt his strength slowly returning, he hurried to find Jiang Yushi.

The tearing of the Spatial Gate had caused a series of tremors, but fortunately, the Metal Building was incredibly sturdy. Although Jiang Yushi had fallen to the floor, she hadn’t sustained any injuries. He quickly hoisted her onto his back and ran toward the exit.

As soon as he left the corridor, he noticed that the Gelatinous Substance outside had vanished. Judging by the trails left behind, they had definitely scurried off onto the island. Su Lifeng didn’t have time to worry about them, though; his only goal now was to seize a lifeboat while the Xenospecies were without a leader.

“Sob… Su! Su!” Cheng Xiaomei hadn’t expected to run into Su Lifeng while wandering aimlessly. In truth, she had been running in this general direction earlier; though she had veered off course, she hadn’t ended up too far away.

However, after the initial joy of finding him, Cheng Xiaomei’s expression darkened again. She had already turned into a monster. How would Su Lifeng look at her once he found out? At that thought, her waving arm slowly dropped, and her voice grew quiet.

Before Cheng Xiaomei could overthink it, Su Lifeng heard her and spotted her, immediately offering a small smile. The smile touched her deeply-not necessarily because it was Su Lifeng, but because as a fellow human being, his reaction gave her a small sense of peace.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Where are the others?” Su Lifeng asked. He hadn’t seen any other bodies, so he assumed they were still around.

Cheng Xiaomei shook her head. “I don’t know. But they were planning to do something bad to you, so we shouldn’t go looking for them.”

Su Lifeng paused, immediately thinking of Zhang Hai. He could guess most of what had happened. There was no need to dwell on it, however, so he briefly explained his plan to take a boat and led Cheng Xiaomei toward the Cruise Ship.

Following behind him, Cheng Xiaomei secretly clutched her hand. Since Su Lifeng hadn’t noticed anything, maybe the others wouldn’t either…

What neither Su Lifeng nor Cheng Xiaomei realized was that shortly after they left, a little girl crawled out from the tall grass, her wide eyes fixed on the direction they had gone.

Her clothes were stained with blood, yet there wasn’t a hint of fear in her eyes.

Another figure soon came stumbling after her. He was a powerfully built man, but his rugged face was currently twisted with anxiety, and his eyes were bloodshot. As soon as he caught up to the girl, he grabbed her by the shoulders as if terrified she might vanish again.

“Nannan, why did you run off alone? This island is so dangerous! It took me so long to find you… To be honest, I didn’t even think you’d survive…”

Despite the man’s frantic, emotional words, the girl remained expressionless. She suddenly raised her hand and pointed in the direction Su Lifeng and the others had gone.

“Let’s go back,” she said.