The following morning.
They woke up as usual to continue as they were almost reaching the ocean.
After packing all their belongings, they embarked on the last part of the journey. They were filled with uncertainty and trepidation as they had not even encountered any problems along the way.
Mutated beasts and wild animals were everywhere in the Dark forest but strangely enough, they had not encountered any. It was not like they wished to but it just felt strange.
Wishes and thoughts are always granted by nature itself…
A growl of a beast startled them.
"Did you hear that, the soun…" Ye Chen subconsciously asked before he was silenced.
"Shush, just don't talk for now…" Ye Ling immediately covered his mouth before he could say more.
"I think it might be a mutated mammoth beast, lay low first…" Don Giovanni advised as he looked around for the beast.
This was one of the scariest animals in the wild due to its violent nature.
But luck seemed to have escaped them because the growl neared them before the bushes parted ways for the beast that confronted them with full strength. It charged at them blindly while trying to shove all of them. Even before reacting, they were already in the air before they fell with a thud.
"Kids, run as I try to fend it off… go go go…" Don Giovanni realized this was not the kind of beast he encountered in his hunting quests, it was more savage. This one was a high-level one with intelligence. He might die trying to fend it off but he did not panic nor show any kind of fear. His kid's lives were more precious than his own.
Ye Chen and Ye Ling hesitated for a while but realizing the kind of danger they were in, they took off as this was no place to stay.
But just as they rushed away, Ye Chen heard Xiao's voice, "It's already too late, there is a beast tide coming in from three directions and the other way is a cliff, seems like this is a dead end…"
"What!" Ye Chen blurted out immediately before halting, legs heavy as steel. It would be dangerous if they were surrounded. They would die here all no matter the way they chose.
Within the few moments they hesitated, the beast tide had already cornered them.
The ground shook under the might of the mammoths as they rushed forward.
Don Giovanni looked at the situation before he sighed resigning his life to fate.
No matter what he did now, it was already over.
"Brother, are we going to die here?" Ye Ling asked with a terrified expression as she too was scared. She felt she was still too young to die here. Maybe they should have just stayed in the village. Many thoughts ran through her brain but it was already too late.
Ye Chen could only comfort her by holding her shaky hands as he too trembled with fear.
He had just activated the Xiao system. How could he die without even doing something significant with it? Would he get another chance to even meet Lady Jaya? Probably not!
"Don't worry sis, at least we shall die together…"
Don Giovanni looked at his two children with pity as he felt sad for leading them out of the village.
Had they just stayed there, they would not have met this disaster.
'Am sorry kids, maybe we shall meet in the next life…'
The tide rushed through them carrying them away with it.
Pitiful cries filled the forests as they cried out in pain after being tossed around by the mammoths as they were stepped upon and lifted in the air.
---
Virtual space.
Ye Chen's virtual figure stood as he pondered of what would happen to him. He could enter the virtual space virtually but his body couldn't and he could not see the outside situation. He could only rely on Xiao to display to him what was happening outside.
What appeared before him was nerve-wracking and scary.
Thousands of mammoth beasts ran across the landscape sweeping away trees and anything they encountered. They looked possessed as they blindly rushed forward bringing down everything.
This could only mean that he would not survive neither could his family. His sister, his father, his body. It was just scary to think about it. He even started to think that maybe he should have chosen another system, a system that could grant him rewards, maybe it could have saved him at this moment.
He could not see his body let alone his sister's and father's, what would happen to them?
Would he die again? No, he had to live to rebuild this world. Yes, maybe the heavens could pity him and give him a chance again.
"Xiao, tell me. If by bad luck I die now, where will you go?" He asked this to console himself as he knew he might die anyway.
"Mm-mhm, if I were another system, I would get a chance to choose another host…"
"What do you mean by that, will you also…"
"Yes, am bound to your soul like another consciousness, if you die then I perish too, so sad!"
"Wahaha, you will die too see, that's scary indeed, don't worry buddy I'll make sure to show you around the Nether realm…"
Hearing this, the virtual figure of Xiao squatted in a corner where Ye Chen's figure was squatting as it drew circles in the virtual dust like him.
"Am too young to die, this is not fair at all…ahh you are so hateful if we survive this, hehe I'll make sure to beat you black and blue, you get me, boy…"
"You beat me. Are you some kind of master, hehe, am your boss, if you beat me then I'll give a negative review the next time I meet with Lady Jaya…"
"But Ye Chen, do you think we will survive this or puush!" The figure asked while blinking its virtual eyes filled with worry.
"Mm-mhm, am sure we have a very small chance to survive, even so, the extent of injury will be fatal if I can survive this but let's just be optimistic…"
"By the way, can you surveil out again and see if my body is around or my family's…"
"Okay, let me see?"
A picture was projected in the virtual space showing what the outside was like.
The bruised body of a teenage boy was showcased on the screen while it lay in a pond of water that was filled with the red color of his blood.
The body was floating on the surface stark naked.
The water was not that shallow but it still kept him on the surface.
Looking at his injured body, Ye Chen felt a chill down his imaginary spine as he saw the extent of his injury as projected on the interface before him.
Condition: Unstable
Injuries: Broken arm, bruised legs, twisted thumb, bruised back, broken ribs
Survival chance: 7%
Solution: Look out for silver grass to heal the broken limbs, seek medical help, seek help from the Binary realm, end your life, and reincarnate again…
"What, Xiao, I consider you my buddy, you want me to die hehe, we shall die together then…"
"No! No! Let's seek the boss's help, she might help us, I have three chances to ask for a favor in my lifetime, maybe I should try to seek her help…"
"Eeeh, really, then ask her or we will die… I will owe you this one…"
"She is offline, I left her a voicemail 3 seconds ago, help will arrive within 2 hours I think…"
"Mm-mhm, two hours is okay, I think I can survive that! Eeeh can you try to locate my sister and dad again?"
"Okay, let me initiate a bloodline search…"
Task: Locate the host's family
Function: Bloodline locator
Status: Location restricted
Conclusion: Still alive…
"Aah, why is the location restricted, is she okay…"
"I think she is safe, but my range cannot reach her, that means she is in a faraway realm, probably…"
"Hah, how can it be, did she enter some other space that fast, but is it possible?"
"Let me try for your dad, we can't know for sure what happened but at least she is safe for now!"
Task: Locate the host's father
Function: Universal locator
Status: Location restricted
Conclusion: Still alive…
"Aah the location is restricted too, does that mean they are together, but where can they be?"
"Provided they are alive, then you can always find them later, we should await for help for now… It will be much easier to find them if you are strong, you should increase your strength for now!"
"Yeah, Xiao, can you search for information about the alignment of the Universe, I want to know how many realms are out there and the galaxies before we make a feasible plan…"