Chapter 361: The Reviving Little Aberrant
Xu Zhi glanced at her and said, “As long as nothing happens to me, the Light Academy will protect you. There’s no need to worry too much. Just live your life well.”
After saying that, she did not linger. She boarded the vehicle waiting at the entrance, which was headed toward the Lost Land teleportation circuit.
The extraordinary energy she had consumed could be quickly replenished using her stored cores. After reaching the Named stage, her affinity with extraordinary energy had risen to an even higher level. As long as she had enough core reserves, she no longer needed to worry about the day she would run out of extraordinary energy.
Unfortunately, her current reserves were still far from sufficient.
Still, when she thought about the dense extraordinary energy within the Lost Land, and considered both her absorption rate and storage capacity, she figured that unless she encountered a life-or-death crisis, she was unlikely to face complete energy depletion.
The reason she had not separated any Moth-attribute circuits for the Spirit Body was also because she was about to enter the Lost Land. Just in case, she could not afford to weaken herself too much.
During the journey, Xu Zhi reviewed everything she knew about the Lost Land.
The Lost Land was enormous, occupying nearly half the world. After the great catastrophe, more than half of the world’s population had fallen into it. Later, as the real world gradually recovered and countless extraordinary beings ventured inside to explore, they discovered that those who had fallen into the Lost Land had not all perished.
A tiny number had survived.
They had established territories within the Lost Land, but they no longer regarded themselves as the same kind of people as those from the outside world. Over the long passage of time, they had developed their own social systems and ways of survival. They were not particularly friendly toward visiting extraordinary beings. Aside from trade, they rarely formed any other relationships and could even be described as highly wary.
For some reason, those descriptions reminded Xu Zhi of Cloud City and the Federation.
The difference was that back then, she had been someone inside the city.
Now, she was someone from outside the Lost Land.
The change gave her a sense of novelty.
The survivors within the Lost Land were called “Lost Ones” by the outside world. Naturally, this name was only used externally, since it was hardly a flattering title.
The territories built by the Lost Ones were generally located along the outskirts or near the middle regions of the Lost Land. As locals, they seemed well aware of the dangers lurking in its depths and never crossed that line.
Any outsider wishing to explore deeper into the Lost Land inevitably had to stop at these territories to rest. After all, within the Lost Land, those settlements were the only places where extraordinary beings could recuperate or replenish supplies.
Xu Zhi’s objective this time was simple.
She wanted the little aberrant to devour the sleeping Cup.
At the same time, she intended to venture deeper into the Lost Land and uncover its secrets. She had not forgotten the call that had come from its depths. Her intuition told her it was extremely important.
This was her second time entering the teleportation circuit, and she had become quite accustomed to the discomfort.
Carrying the flowerpot containing the little aberrant, she skillfully completed the inspection procedures, registered her name, and once again arrived before the sealed gate.
The gatekeepers seemed long accustomed to extraordinary beings traveling alone. Several others were already waiting before the gate. Since the “door” could not be opened too frequently, at least ten extraordinary beings had to gather before it would be activated.
This was merely one section of the Lost Land defense line.
Along the massive defensive perimeter that stretched around nearly half the world, there were only a little over a hundred such gates. Constructing both the defense line and the gates required enormous amounts of manpower, wealth, and extraordinary resources. As a result, every gate was backed by a major faction or city.
The gate Xu Zhi was using bore the emblem of the Light Academy.
When the gate opened, she ignored the surrounding discussions about forming a team and stepped directly into the endless sea of mist.
The path felt somewhat familiar.
There was little difference from her previous visit. Following the records left by the Spirit Body and sensing the locations of her followers, Xu Zhi once again realized just how vast the Lost Land truly was.
The moment her followers received her message, they had immediately begun making their way toward the outer regions. Even so, they still had a considerable distance to travel.
For now, Xu Zhi would have to head to the marked location on her own.
Compared to her previous visit, her speed had increased dramatically.
Without teammates slowing her down and with her strength greatly improved, she reached a location that had previously taken two or three days to reach in only about half an hour.
The familiar roots erupted into a frenzy as soon as they sensed an intruder.
But against the current Xu Zhi, such disturbances were insignificant.
She merely released a few Moths, which was enough to throw the roots into chaos and make them attack one another. She even took control of several mindless roots and had them dig through the earth, dragging out the sleeping Cup buried beneath the ground.
The moment it saw daylight again, Xu Zhi noticed that the sleeping Bloodman seemed to have been disturbed.
Its eyelids trembled slightly.
It was about to open its eyes.
Without hesitation, Xu Zhi tossed the little aberrant onto it.
“Go. Eat it.”
She had no intention of letting this thing wake up.
For some reason, although it had not yet advanced to the Named stage, its aura was already incredibly powerful. Perhaps it was only waiting for a final opportunity.
Unfortunately for it—
That opportunity would never come.
With Xu Zhi’s assistance, the little aberrant’s devouring process went exceptionally smoothly.
It had once been an Archbishop. Devouring a Cup was now effortless for it, almost like long-awaited rain after a drought.
As it continued to consume and digest its prey, Xu Zhi gradually sensed its once-clouded consciousness beginning to recover.
Its level rose steadily.
Its fragmented sense of self also seemed to be repairing itself bit by bit.
When it finally finished devouring the entire meal, Xu Zhi once again heard that noisy voice echoing repeatedly inside her mind.
—Mama Mama Mama Mama!
“Stop!”
Unable to bear it any longer, she grabbed the little aberrant, which had licked the plate clean and was now trying to leap onto her.
Holding it in her palm, she said, “You should call me Big Sister!”
“Mama!”
“No! Big Sister!”
Xu Zhi argued with the empty-headed little aberrant several times before suddenly realizing something.
Hadn’t they had this exact idiotic conversation before?
“…Has your brain really not improved at all?!”
After devouring the Cup, the little aberrant had recovered to roughly the Second Stage of Longevity.
That was somewhat slower than Xu Zhi had expected.
After all, the Cup had been on the verge of advancing to the Named stage.
Still, recovery itself was already a good thing.
“Owie…”
The little aberrant suddenly rubbed against her finger, transmitting a pitiful complaint.
Xu Zhi’s expression changed.
“Where does it hurt?”
She immediately used her extraordinary abilities to inspect its body.
Then she discovered something.
Within the little aberrant’s still-incomplete and damaged body, a bolt of lightning was hidden.
Its aura was extremely familiar.
It was the lightning left behind by the Watcher—the one who had tried to stop her and the Archbishop from leaving the Federation.
Xu Zhi instantly realized something was wrong.
Outside the Lost Land.
Inside a certain tower.
A researcher hurriedly slammed the button beside him.
“Inform the higher-ups immediately! We’ve detected the aura of a Watcher!”
“It’s on the outskirts of the Lost Land!”
“We can’t pinpoint the exact location—the aura is too weak!”
“Dispatch an investigation team to the Lost Land immediately!”
