My Apocalypse Territory-Chapter 455 - 423: Sixth-Level Territory

First, I looked at the research on Demonized Beasts.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, Tang Yu had heard of an army dispatching special forces into the Abyssal Rifts, never to return.

After the establishment of the Demon Bureau, this became one of many major undertakings.

As the most important subject of research.

"Apocalypse Calendar January 19th, Operation ’Submarine Abyss’ commenced, with Special Combat Teams advancing below the Abyssal Rift."

"Apocalypse Calendar February 1st, the three squads dispatched earlier have not returned."

"Apocalypse Calendar February 13th, the Council decided to shift the focus of the investigation."

...

"Apocalypse Calendar March 1st, a full sweep of Abyssal Rift Number 17 was conducted, and a base was established underground."

"Apocalypse Calendar March 5th, the red mist underground was too thick, visibility less than five meters, and even more limiting to perception, no matter how powerful an Awakener, they couldn’t see through the dense red mist. We fended off the assaults of Demonized Beasts while researching the red mist, soil, and other elements."

"Apocalypse Calendar March 8th, damn it! Demonized Beasts appeared out of thin air inside the base, our high walls were as if nonexistent!"

"Apocalypse Calendar March 10th, they vanished, I witnessed it with my own eyes! Just like the Demonized Beasts appeared, they disappeared into thin air!"

"Apocalypse Calendar March 11th, more and more people are disappearing, no, we can’t stay any longer!"

"Apocalypse Calendar..."

Tang Yu frowned.

It was also the first time he knew that underneath the Abyssal Rifts, it wasn’t directly connected to the Otherworld, but there was a place similar to the surface.

Recalling the past, the path at Resource Point Number One had led right out from the cliff of the Abyssal Rift... this indicated that the rift and the Earth were still on the same spatial plane.

But at that time, feeling the danger, Tang Yu didn’t venture deep underground, while the Demon Bureau had evidently done a lot of work.

Many had been sacrificed.

"Underground, according to the documents, the area is very large... Even a 300-meter scale Abyssal Rift should not have such a large underground space, and it’s not the East Africa Rift Valley... And yet, beneath the Abyss, aside from the cliffs at our backs, no matter which direction one goes, the end of the rift is not visible."

Limited visibility and perception are one aspect.

The Demon Bureau’s experts speculate that the bottom of the Abyss might be the overlapping point between Earth and the Otherworld.

The deeper one goes into the red mist, the more likely they are to get lost—increasing the chance of being transported to the Otherworld.

And even staying close to the cliffs—the 17th base was established against a cliff—there is still the possibility of being sent to the Otherworld, the longer one stays, the higher the probability.

"Luckily, I did not rashly enter the Abyssal Rift. I originally thought it was something like a spatial tunnel, but it’s more complex than that..."

These documents, although just photocopies, most were copied from the original handwritten records, and the handwriting was very credible.

The records above should be written by the person in charge of Base 17. Tang Yu noticed at the end that a different font had been added.

The base manager went missing.

And this diary was left behind in the base, brought out by someone else.

"What exactly is the mechanism of transportation? People and clothes disappear together, but the items held in hand may not..."

Tang Yu’s brow was tightly knit and after three seconds, he gave up on pondering it himself.

Such a difficult subject was better left to others to solve.

He stored the documents back in their original place and picked up others for a cursory glance.

"Speculation on the relationship between Demonized Beasts and the Alien Race":

"...The Alien Race can command Demonized Beasts, but no Alien Race has ever appeared in the Abyssal Rifts, it is hypothesized that the two exist in different worlds."

...

"Research on the reproduction methods of Demonized Beasts."

"A complete record of Demonized Beast types."

"Why can soul power elevate the life level of humans?"

...

The documents included countless subjects, many with no research results yet.

Tang Yu found it headache-inducing and simply closed the pile with a clap.

He turned to look at domestic and international situations.

Inside Daxia Country, the territory’s intelligence network had already expanded quite a bit. Tang Yu had numerous sources of information which confirmed the details obtained from Beiting, consistent with no discrepancies.

Abroad, however, it was a black void.

The Intelligence Department had personnel active in West Forest Province and had even planned to cross the southwestern border to investigate neighboring countries, but that area was too dangerous. Demonized Beasts were rampant, and the large Sanctuaries near the border faced attacks from Grade 4 and 5 Demon Tides every few days... the entire Sanctuary was in a perilous state.

And now, Tang Yu had confirmed from the intelligence provided by Beiting.

The neighboring countries were indeed very dangerous. Southeast Asia, including other small countries in adjacent directions, because their technology and military strength were far inferior to that of a nation like Daxia, could not withstand the onslaught of the Demon Tide during the early stages of the apocalypse when Awakeners had yet to grow in number.

Without stable Sanctuaries, the death rate of survivors was extremely high early on.

Today, those lands contained only a few human settlements, while most areas had become the playgrounds of Demonized Beasts.

In terms of danger levels, those were at least fourth-grade high-risk areas, difficult to traverse.

Only White Bear Country to the north and Asan Country to the west had scaled resistance forces.

But even they couldn’t compare to Daxia.

White Bear Country’s military might was strong, and the individual power was formidable; it was just a pity the land was sparse... The birth of the Abyssal Rift didn’t care how few your people were, the major Sanctuaries in White Bear Country couldn’t communicate or interact with each other, completely cut off.

Although many died in Asan Country during the early period, the country still miraculously rose, and it was rumored that a Transcendent had been born.

As for the island nation to the east, across the perilous ocean, Beiting was also unable to understand the situation there.

"And there’s the Capital of Ancient Spirit..."

The Fourth Epoch Awakeners were either hidden among the Awakeners, or they were holed up in their own Secret Realms, tirelessly devoted to cultivation—like the Secret Realm of Nanlin Country, which closed its original entrance after Yan Dingtian’s departure, probably not to emerge until reaching Great Perfection,

some carved out a kingdom in the mountains, gathering followers.

At present, it was clearly known that a major Sanctuary was controlled by a group of Fourth Epoch Awakeners, where all the original high-level individuals had been killed—Beiting had once asked Green Shadow to strike down that group of Fourth Epoch rogues, but Tang Yu hadn’t agreed yet... That would have to wait until this busy period was over.

There were also some who had been persuaded, such as several Sacrificial Officers of Beiting, as well as many Tenth to Thirteenth Layer Fourth Epoch Awakeners who served in various departments.

Finally, there was the Ancient Spirit, which simply built a city.

"The Ancient Spirit Royal Family itself was not large in number, but perhaps as Yan Dingtian had guessed, the Ancient Spirit possessed its own little world, generation after generation of its descendants multiplying within this little world."

According to the intelligence from Beiting, the size of the Capital of Ancient Spirit was comparable to the Base City of Beiting, and although it had fewer inhabitants, it still numbered over five million.

Apart from small nations surrendering en masse to the surrounding area and many Awakeners settling in the Ancient Spirit Imperial City, the Imperial City itself had a large population, and their lifestyle and architectural style leaned towards that of the Xia Country of ancient times.

"But the Capital of Ancient Spirit is likely targeted by Alien Races too; it’s just unknown what the situation is, as there is no related information in the intelligence..."

The stronger the force on Earth, the more Alien Races struggle to destroy it, while for ordinary large Sanctuaries, those Alien Races seem to care less.

Tang Yu skimmed the information quickly, committing to memory not only the human situations but also some curious places mentioned in the intelligence, to explore them conveniently if he ever passed by—some Secret Treasures were said to originate from mysterious regions, but they usually came with dangers.

"It’s a pity that Beiting’s understanding of the outside world is limited to this; the states of Europe, Africa, America, and Australia—all farther away—are still unclear."

Tang Yu speculated, not unkindly, whether some countries across the ocean might have met their doom.

After some thought, he still hoped they would hold out longer, to give him time to develop.

Green Shadow had undoubtedly entered the sight of the Alien Races; the escaped Transcendent of the Ghost Hand Clan might strike with the force of thunder at any given moment.

He could run, but most people could not.

Tang Yu felt a sense of urgency.

[Ding! Territory Fitting Degree has risen to 50%, fulfilling the requirements for a sixth-level Territory upgrade.]

He was stunned, somewhat surprised.

His Fitting Degree had previously been 49 and some decimal points, but Tang Yu hadn’t expected it to break through just by browsing some data.

This time, it naturally fell into place.

With no hesitation required, Tang Yu stepped outside the castle, and with a thought, the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

The most prominent notification bar floated to the top.

[To upgrade to a 6th level Territory, two million Source Crystals are required. Yes/No.]

Yes!

In an instant, Tang Yu once again entered the marvelous God’s Eye View; this time, it was even clearer, as if he and the Territory had merged into one—within the Territory, he was omnipotent.

He saw adventurers engaged in lively discussions.

He saw a boy confess to a girl he fancied, decisively rejected.

He saw curtains drawn over a room where three people applauded for love.

He saw different colors, red, yellow, green, and blue, hovering above people’s heads.

He could even penetrate directly into the Spirit Space, witnessing the fierce confrontation of two Awakeners, and seeing the figures of those in the Trial Tower dying again and again.

After a long while,

it felt as though just a moment had passed.

Tang Yu emerged from this mystical state.

And he felt a pang of loss.