Chapter 14: Aberrations

...

On the second day, Tao Yu and his four companions lined up in the jungle, with Chen Guan wielding a steel pipe and a machete leading at the front, followed by Zhang Wei, then Jose, behind them was Tao Yu, and lastly, Worr with his hunting shotgun.

In the rainforest environment, only a few rays of sunlight fell through the branches and leaves. Stepping on the thick layer of fallen leaves, occasionally a few tiny insects would be startled, and the vivid colors of venomous insects were also not infrequent, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

However, including venomous snakes and other normal creatures in the rainforest, they would generally be scared away by their group, so they hadn't encountered any trouble.

Jose was adjusting the signal receiver on his mechanical arm on the way and it was obvious that his receiver was much stronger than Tao Yu's—one that didn't even require climbing trees to complete signal reception.

Moreover, in addition to the broadcast from the siblings in the Floating City, he seemed to have contacted another offspring from the Inner City, one that was close enough to communicate with via walkie-talkie.

"Wino, I've got four over here, the last two are pretty lucky, one with an Endurance at D+ and another with a Dynamic Vision at B."

Sizzle~

After a brief sound of electric current, an irate voice came from the other end,

"Damn it! Dynamic Vision B? Outsiders born in mud with such talents are indeed lucky. Shit, why is my own talent only D?"

"Haha, although your Rejection Optimization is only D grade, its potential is still better than the B grade common talents of those from the outer city. If he were born in the Inner City, he might have a chance to compete with you."

At this moment, Jose also seemed to be taking some pleasure in another's misfortune.

During the exchange, he also casually mentioned to Tao Yu beside him,

"That guy's awakened talent rank is a bit of a mess. Be careful not to offend him later."

"Thank you for the warning, Big Brother Jose."

Tao Yu was outwardly very well-behaved, appearing very persuadable.

But inside, he was having some doubts.

Ever since Jose gave him the 'Divine Medicine', the man's true colors were completely exposed!

If it were just an ordinary Outsider, perhaps they wouldn't understand the threats and dangers of such a thing. For example, Zhang Wei was actually excited, genuinely grateful.

Now Tao Yu was beginning to understand why so many Outers never seemed to have any excess savings!

Poor family conditions meant that the parents were committed to preparing for the day of awakening, excluding all of life's and their own needs for Acceleration maintenance, plus paying land rent. To save up a surplus of a thousand Yuan Force units for themselves, they probably had to tighten their belts for at least a year.

And for many other families like Zhang Wei's who didn't care about survival at all and didn't contribute any Yuan Force, it's likely that a good portion of their spare money was squandered on 'happiness'!

Not only did they control the basics of food, clothing, housing, and travel in the outer city, but even if there was a little surplus, it could be completely scraped away by 'happiness', leaving nothing left!

If possible, Tao Yu really wanted to shoot the guy, but he realized after observing that the opponent also had modified equipment on his head, and it might not be so easy to take him out with one shot.

If he failed, with the opponent's absolute advantage in attributes, there would be no chance of survival for him.

And leaving alone would seem too abrupt, not to mention the sense of crisis experienced from the three-snake attack; it was also uncertain whether Jose would let him go. Sneaking away would also require considering the risks.

After considering all factors, for now, he could only endure. With the orders from the broadcast, they still wanted to bring more live Outers with them.

And besides, his B-grade talent was more valuable! Jose 'generously' offering him 'happiness' for free meant he likely had his own thoughts and demands.

Just then, after another sizzle of electricity, a voice came through,

"But now that you have four over there, we could come together and discuss taking down the Python's nest and gather a full set of Skills."

"What? Just a few mortal-bodied snakes, being so cautious? Doesn't sound like your style. The starting funds you got were about one hundred thousand, right? Isn't that enough for you to handle it?"

Jose raised his eyebrow as he spoke.

And the casual remarks made Tao Yu suddenly feel as if he was tasting bitterness.

One hundred thousand Yuan Force units? Starting funds?

The disparity was too great!

All his parents' scrimping and saving to scrape together a thousand Yuan Force seemed decent, Zhang Wei started at zero, and then there's someone who got a hundred thousand Yuan Force units just for awakening!

Is this the world of the rich?

But then Tao Yu sighed and came to understand the situation; the wealth held by those in the Inner City definitely couldn't be compared with that of the outer city.

A substantial part of the profits drained from the outer city surely ended up with them. Given the danger of the first dive into the Abyss on awakening day, it seemed normal to give them more Yuan Force in one go to quickly get through the fragile early stages.

It's just that the hard-earned money of his family couldn't compare to their pocket money...

"That was in the city before, what's the problem with being aggressive? Now, for the first time entering the Abyss, caution is never too much. Even if either of us is bitten or ensnared by one of those big snakes, it's a matter of life and death."

Wino, though irascible by the sound of his previous tone, demonstrated with these words that he wasn't purely reckless.

They couldn't undergo the skill deification and transformative qualitative change like Tao Yu; they could only rapidly strengthen their proficiency in various skills to reach a mature bottleneck period in a short time.

After all, if one hundred thousand Yuan Force were used in a compressed time frame, based on the physical quality of an ordinary person, it would be equivalent to over twenty thousand hours of training, and the effects would be even stronger if the time were spread out!

However, as their own strength rapidly improved, this acceleration effect would only become weaker, and there would be diminishing returns.

Additionally, they all mastered some higher-level skills to some extent, which would also increase the proportion of consumption.

All things considered, their strength also belonged to an estimable range, starting above the end point of most Outsiders, but that didn't mean they could fly to the skies and escape the earth.

The Python could kill Tao Yu in a second, but looking at Jose's current state, a successful sneak attack would skin him alive, even if it didn't kill him.

Thinking about his own talent, Tao Yu quickly regained his emotional balance.

Then, his thoughts became more agile.

It seemed that Wino might have already found the location of the Blood Orchid.

However, unfortunately, with Jose and Wino from the Inner City, it would be difficult to get a large share of the spoils. He decided to take one step at a time and see how it went. If the Blood Orchid was hidden well, they might not notice such Yuan Force items...

...

Orienting oneself in the rainforest was challenging, but Jose and Wino both had short-range communication devices. By following certain markers along the way and communicating constantly, they were getting closer and closer.

"I see the creek you mentioned. Did you light a fire?"

"Yes, come over here. There's an uninhabited primitive village."

Continuing along the creek, the group suddenly had a clear view, spotting a thatched hut made of branches and dead leaves, and then more and more, revealing a village full of primitive style.

It was now high noon, and with fewer trees in the village, the scorching sun was blazing down. Nevertheless, they could see a bonfire burning in the center of the village, with black smoke billowing into the sky.

Near the bonfire, there were several small pavilions made of branches, with three people sitting inside.

One of them, a hulking bald strongman over two meters tall, drew Tao Yu's attention.

With his superior Dynamic Vision, Tao Yu could see the man's exaggerated inverted-triangle physique and the metallic luster shining on his body.

At first, Tao Yu thought it was a mechanical transformation, but then he realized it was a full-body metal armor set!

The man had removed his helmet and set it aside, next to a massive double-bladed axe, presumably his weapon.

Through the uncovered neck, one could see a kind of raised keratinous skin, extending all the way to the bald head, appearing somewhat fierce and clearly different from that of a normal person!

This must be the 'mutation' Jose mentioned, choosing to implant non-human tissues for enhancement.

Having completed the implant surgery before entering, they primarily relied on Yuan Force to quickly adapt their skills.

In the Outer City, mechanical arms and such were seen, but Tao Yu had never seen a mutated body before.

Even if it might be related to their family's limited exposure, it was enough to show that the number of mutated bodies in the Outer City was less than that of mechanical limbs.

Perhaps the side effects were greater, more troublesome, but from the fact that the other party could use the full-body armor as everyday gear, it was clear that it could bring formidable physical strength, surpassing the limits of the normal human body!

No wonder he wanted to team up with Jose.

This guy probably specialized in wielding heavy weapons and recklessly slashing, going head-to-head with Pythons.

Considering the Pythons' exaggerated size and the hard data it presented, this was indeed not in his favor, and if he turned to use guns instead, he would be even less effective than Tao Yu.

Now, in combination with Jose, who had long-range strike capability, they indeed complemented each other perfectly...

...

Wino, hearing the noise behind him, also stopped his casual conversation, turned his head, and saw the group at the entrance of the village.

The two Outsiders beside him, however, were a stark contrast in appearance; one of them was ragged, with red swellings from bug bites on his body, along with clear signs of being beaten up.

The other looked much better off. Despite being dwarfed by the over two-meter-tall Wino, his height of one meter eighty and his robust physique looked very strong. He was fully outfitted with tactical gear, including a bulletproof vest and goggles—quite top-notch equipment for the Outer City.

Seeing the people at the entrance of the village, Li Le also eagerly said,

"Lord Wino, my family used to come from the Inner City. 'Happiness,' you might as well give it to them, hehe~"

"Psh, what of the Inner City? I'm using it too, never mind, boring."

Wino glanced at Li Le dismissively and said no more, leaving Li Le to respond with a forced smile while inwardly rolling his eyes. Of course, you, with your body full of mutations, wouldn't care. You might even need it to suppress the sensation of rejection.

He knew all too well what that stuff was. Instead of calling it 'Happiness,' it might as well be called 'Devil'...