Chapter 25 Encounter with a Horde of Fierce Beasts

Ding Huan was still planning his path of cultivation.

In his previous life, he would have followed the Genetic Alliance's spaceship to leave Earth in two years. At that time, there were a total of eleven spaceships leaving Earth, and the one he was on naturally focused on genetic research.

According to the plans of the Genetic Alliance, this spaceship would experience three years in space.

During those three years, they needed to search for life substances in outer space, collect their genetic materials, and also send out messages through dematerialized wave codes, searching for alien civilizations.

Thinking of this, Ding Huan shook his head; these guys were courting death.

If they really found an alien civilization like that of the Changyi Continent, Earth would be in trouble.

The Changyi Continent would definitely treat Earth as a backyard, sending all humans on Earth to dig for elemental ores.

This was still assuming that the level of genetic science on the Changyi Continent was somewhat decent; otherwise, all humans on Earth would end up as subjects in extensive genetic experiments.

The fleet of the Genetic Alliance met with disaster a year after leaving Earth when the spaceship crashed into a black hole.

Later on, Ding Huan learned that what they encountered was a wormhole, which was difficult to accurately describe with current scientific terminology.

But passing through a wormhole, it was possible to travel from one star system to another.

That is to say, the straight-line distance between these two star systems might be countless light-years, but a wormhole could potentially bypass these countless light-years and arrive in an instant.

It's like an infinitely long wall; you would have to travel a great distance to get from one side to the other, but if you punched through this wall, you could reach the other side in the next moment.

Wormholes aren't exactly like this, but they have a layer of meaning that could achieve this effect.

If a spaceship entered a wormhole, even Ninth-level Genetic Cultivators could only wait for death.

Not to mention that the people from the Earth Gene Alliance who left were probably only as strong as a Third-level Genetic Cultivator.

Ding Huan sighed; he survived because after the spaceship disintegrated, he encountered a Starry Sky Battleship from the Changyi Continent.

That captain was already a Ninth-level Genetic Cultivator. He was saved before the spaceship completely disintegrated, while the rest of the people on the spaceship did not survive.

Even though Ding Huan never met that captain again and didn't have the status to know the captain's name or origins, he was always very grateful to that Starry Sky Battleship captain.

When his thoughts returned, Ding Huan realized a problem.

If he were to leave Earth again, must he join that Genetic Alliance fleet? And more specifically, embark on the ninth spaceship of that Genetic Alliance fleet?

It might not be feasible, after all. He survived in his previous life because he was lucky.

If he left Earth with the fleet of the Genetic Alliance again, even if he was still on the ninth spaceship and encountered a wormhole a year later, would he be able to survive for sure?

Keep in mind that in his previous life, everyone aboard the ninth spaceship died due to its disintegration; he survived because he was in the experimental cabin...

Yes, the experimental cabin. If he decided to leave with the spaceship again, he had to make sure he stayed in the genetic experiment cabin of the spaceship.

Ding Huan shook his head; the Genetic Alliance's spaceship would leave Earth in about two years, and even if he cultivated to a Fourth-level Genetic Cultivator, traversing a wormhole would be a dead end.

But if he didn't follow the fleet, how would he be able to travel to the Changyi Continent?

It definitely wouldn't work to stay on Earth forever; Earth's Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was insufficient for his cultivation.

As Ding Huan was pondering how to leave Earth, a series of hurried footsteps passed by.

This was a master; Ding Huan immediately opened his eyes.

The two passing people were not gene cultivators, but at least they were Martial Artists who practiced Inner Strength. No, one of them was at least a Martial Artist of the Yellow Rank.

The two men dashed through the business car, hurrying forward.

Only then did Ding Huan sense something amiss. Normally, if the railway was damaged, the maintenance staff would repair it quickly, no more than twenty minutes at most.

Because such incidents were all too common, it seemed like nearly an hour had passed now.

Could it be a Genetic Beast?

It was quite ordinary for Genetic Beasts to form beast tides and collectively halt vehicles; these Fierce Beasts were intelligent. They would find ways to stop the car before making their move.

As he thought of this, Ding Huan stood up; he couldn't wait any longer.

If it was indeed a beast tide, his current strength might not be enough to break out.

"Sir, please remain seated in your own seat for the time being, and do not leave your seat," Ding Huan had just stood up when a stewardess came over to speak to him.

Just as Ding Huan was about to ignore the stewardess and leave, bursts of gunfire rang out, followed by the roar of artillery.

Hearing these sounds, Ding Huan did not continue to leave but sat down instead.

The sound of gunfire meant the military had arrived.

Despite nuclear weapons being unable to completely eliminate Genetic Beasts, as long as the Genetic Beasts didn't form a real beast tide, they were no match for conventional weaponry.

The Genetic Beasts blocking the road probably hadn't formed a real beast tide. If a real beast tide had formed, the view outside the windows would be swarming with Genetic Beasts by now.

He judged it wasn't a beast tide because as the sounds of gunfire rang, Ding Huan saw more Genetic Beasts appearing outside the windows, but they were all scattering and fleeing.

In a real Genetic Beast tide outbreak, those Genetic Beasts would definitely not flee; they would rush towards their target like mad.

Sure enough, only about ten minutes later, the gunfire became sparse and then completely disappeared.

Another half-hour passed, and finally, the car started to move again.

Ding Huan sighed, knowing this was just the beginning.

Despite how common it was for villages to be destroyed by Genetic Beasts, the true beast tide had not yet formed.

The main reason was that the number and levels of Genetic Beasts were still within controllable limits; once the number of Genetic Beasts swelled terrifyingly and their levels continuously increased, then a beast tide would follow.

The Genetic Beasts that tried to intercept the train had been driven away, even many had been killed, revenge was certainly cemented.

The brains of genetically mutated fierce beasts would gradually evolve, and acts like destroying railways to stop trains were definitely premeditated.

Having killed a bunch of fierce beasts this time, it's likely that even more would swarm here to block the route next time.

Regrettably, Ding Huan knew his warning would be of no use.

Even if he did warn everyone and they believed him enough to stop this train, those genetic beasts would merely shift their vengeance elsewhere.

Until the lead beast that initiated this small-scale interception of the train was killed, the outcome would not change.

"Eh, is that you, Ding Huan?" A surprised voice made Ding Huan open his eyes in astonishment.

Were there still familiar people here? Immediately, Ding Huan realized it was indeed someone he knew; he smiled and said, "Long time no see, Liu Aimei."

The girl in front of him was none other than Liu Aimei, whom he had met on Qianluo Mountain. It could even be said that she was someone he had saved.

"Ding Huan, what are you doing here? Aren't you in Lu River?" Liu Aimei suddenly lowered her voice.

Ding Huan had a rather good impression of Liu Aimei,

"I thought of getting away to clear my head and just happened to take this train. What about you? Just left Luoh River City today?"

Liu Aimei crouched down closer to Ding Huan and whispered, "Ding Huan, I actually came to look for you but didn't find you, so I planned to go to Pu Hai."

"Looking for me?" Ding Huan looked at Liu Aimei with confusion; they didn't have much of a relationship, did they?

He didn't even leave contact information; Liu Aimei should have known that he was not too keen on interacting with them.

Liu Aimei nodded a bit ashamedly and said, "After you left last time, we also left Qianluo Mountain, but Joey couldn't make it out."

Ding Huan frowned and said, "No way, I remember there were two helicopters, weren't they there to rescue Joey?"

Liu Aimei sighed, "That helicopter was indeed for rescuing Joey. Alas, after Joey came out and did not see me and Qin Yi, he must have panicked.

Just then, he heard the roar of the helicopter. Joey was probably too excited and ran to the cave mouth, shouting at the helicopter..."

Hearing this, Ding Huan shook his head helplessly.

The sort of retaliatory nature of the Great Wilderness Golden Ape, once it had secured its herbal stash, would definitely lie in wait for the people inside the cave.

Sure enough, Liu Aimei continued, "Joey didn't expect the giant ape to be outside. As he reached the cave mouth, the giant ape just snatched him away.

You probably know the rest; his fate was the same as Bai Chuanqiang's. Joey died – you really need to be careful recently and not expose yourself randomly."

Ding Huan looked at Liu Aimei, puzzled, "What does that have to do with me?"

Liu Aimei whispered even lower, "Joey's background isn't simple, and Bai Chuanqiang's family has their connections too.

I and Qin Yi feel somewhat sorry for you, because after Joey's death, we were called in for detailed questioning."

"What do you mean?" Ding Huan furrowed his brow.

Liu Aimei apologetically said, "Joey's family repeatedly asked Qin Yi and me why Joey hadn't escaped with us.

I told them I had called out loudly for Joey, but after he ran into the cave, there was no further news and no reply. In that urgent situation, Qin Yi and I could only run away first."

Liu Aimei looked at Ding Huan cautiously, "Those questioners were fierce, but they still found out..."

Ding Huan let out a cold laugh, "Did they find out that you said to call for Joey, and I didn't want to wait?"

Liu Aimei nodded but didn't speak.

After Joey was killed by the giant ape, she knew Ding Huan was right; if they really had gone to call Joey, none of them would have escaped.

"Was it you who said it, or was it Qin Yi?" Ding Huan asked calmly.

He was sure that had he dared to wait a little longer, he would have lost his life on Qianluo Mountain.

Joey ran into a place over a hundred meters inside the cave; even if he called, Joey wouldn't hear. Not to mention a minute, it might take twenty minutes to get out.

"It was Qin Yi who said it. Under those circumstances, she probably would have been found out if she didn't speak," Liu Aimei's voice was very faint, no longer needing to be lowered.

"Did you come to Luoh River City to warn me?" Ding Huan asked again.

"Yes, you don't know how terrifying Joey's family is. I heard that the Yongtang Gene Company holds some of their shares.

I went to Luoh River City to urge you to leave quickly, but since I couldn't find you, I didn't expect to see you here," Liu Aimei breathed a sigh of relief, finally having said her piece.

"All right, I got it. Thanks for the heads up. Also, just a tip for you, don't take this train in the future," Ding Huan thanked her.

Liu Aimei stood up and cast a remorseful glance at Ding Huan before turning to leave.

She didn't take Ding Huan's last words to heart, or perhaps she didn't pay attention to Ding Huan's final words.

Ding Huan sneered internally; he was certain that Liu Aimei's movements in Luoh River City were being monitored, she just didn't realize it.

It was fortunate he didn't give his contact information to Liu Aimei; otherwise, he would be on the run again.

So much time had passed since the Qianluo Mountain incident; Joey's family and the people behind Bai Chuanqiang had definitely come to Luoh River City to look for him.

Only because he was mostly cultivating at Yujiang University and only occasionally went out once or twice.

Joey's family didn't know his true identity and couldn't monitor the entire Luoh River City, which was why they had not found him yet.

Liu Aimei coming to Luoh River City was also a bet by Joey's family that she might find him, but unfortunate for them, she couldn't find him just the same.

Since Liu Aimei couldn't find him, it meant that when she left Luoh River City this time, Joey's family would probably not follow.

(Thanks to our longtime Alliance Hierarch who's also a die-hard fan of the cosmos, Silver Leader of the Alliance 'Wanderer's Last Stand,' as well as to 'Liu Jie7777777,' who manages many accounts in support of the Alliance and for sponsoring two more alliances after the myth.

Thanks also to fellow Pathfinders for their monthly tickets, recommendations, and reward support. The new book is automatically taken off the list once it reaches a certain word count, and we are probably at our limit for daily words released.)