The Bus

An Wen said, “The territory each person gets to choose is very large, big enough to ensure you won't run out of space when expanding in the future.”

“And now, the place you two are going to choose from is a location called the Withered Forest and Barren Mountains.”

The Withered Forest and Barren Mountains?

Just hearing the name, Zuo Lin'an knew the place had to be desolate, withered, and completely devoid of human life.

“How long does it take to drive there?”

An Wen replied, “If I were to drive?”

“If I really had to drive us there, it would take at least three to five days of non-stop driving without eating or sleeping. After all, that place is very far.”

Three to five days?

Before they could even ask, An Wen continued, “But don't worry. I've already contacted a special bus to pick us up.”

“A bus?”

Xu Youyou's eyes lit up. “Could it be one of those specter buses?”

“Yes,” An Wen replied.

Zuo Lin'an remarked, “It seems we're going deep into uninhabited territory. If we want to return to Lingyang City in the future...”

An Wen explained, “Once you officially choose your dungeon territory, other functions in the app will unlock, and you'll find a way to summon the bus through it.”

“That's good then,” Zuo Lin'an said.

He knew this supernatural world was massive, but habitable areas only made up a small fraction of it. He had never known the reason why until now.

“Instructor, why are there so many places in our world that are uninhabitable for humans?”

An Wen sighed. “Remember what I said in class before? Our world's source energy is incomplete. We need to constantly erode and assimilate other worlds to obtain energy and make it whole.”

“I remember. Is it because our source energy is incomplete that most parts of our world are uninhabitable?”

An Wen said, “Exactly! Plus, when the new World Master ascended two years ago, the energy inside the World Furnace hit rock bottom. There was an urgent need for a large number of dungeon bosses, which is why they lowered the application standards.”

“Otherwise, you wouldn't have had the chance to come to the training base, let alone enter Sin Hunter City.”

Zuo Lin'an's eyes widened. “The World Furnace? Energy hitting rock bottom?”

During class, An Wen had only mentioned that this world was at a critical juncture of survival, but he hadn't explained this much.

An Wen said, “The World Furnace is where our world stores its energy. As for why it's running on empty... that's very complicated, so I won't go into details. Just remember one thing.”

“If we fail to assimilate this martial arts world, our supernatural world won't have any spare energy to search for the next one.”

“When that time comes, everyone in the world will just have to wait for death.”

Unless... they captured a massive number of specters and threw them into the World Furnace to provide some energy.

But the energy required to search for a new world was immense, and An Wen had no idea how many specters would need to be captured to make up the difference.

Once they ran out of specters to capture, the various dungeon bosses would be next.

Such an action would be no different from killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.

But if things truly reached that point, the World Master who had taken over this mess would probably have no choice but to make that decision.

He didn't say these words out loud... nor could he.

Fortunately, Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou didn't press further.

They were currently only One-Star dungeon bosses, so knowing too much wouldn't help anyway.

It was better to focus their minds on how to wipe out the players.

As for everything else... once their strength and status were high enough, they would naturally learn what they needed to know.

An Wen drove for about half an hour before arriving at a dead end.

He slowly parked the car.

“Get out of the car.”

The two dragged their luggage out of the car. They saw the flat road beneath their feet suddenly cut off ahead. Beyond it lay a wild, overgrown forest that didn't look passable at all.

However, a bus soon drove up from behind them, eventually coming to a steady stop right in front of them.

The doors opened, and An Wen walked over.

“Get on.”

Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou looked at the bus with curiosity. It looked no different from the buses they used to see in the city, except there was no driver in the driver's seat.

Once everyone was aboard, the doors closed, and the bus slowly started moving.

Zuo Lin'an watched the outside and realized the bus was heading straight forward, even though there was no road ahead.

But after a moment, he realized he had overthought it.

As the bus advanced, a pitch-black, flat road would automatically materialize ahead. Once the bus passed, the road behind it would vanish.

Before long, a thick fog began to envelop the bus. The forest scenery that had been clearly visible just moments ago instantly became hazy and obscured.

An Wen asked, “What do you think of this bus?”

Zuo Lin'an glanced at the fog outside. “It's not bad. How long will it take to get there?”

An Wen replied, “If I remember correctly, it should take about half an hour.”

Zuo Lin'an nodded. “A three-to-five-day drive cut down to half an hour is pretty fast. It seems traveling back and forth between the dungeon and Lingyang City will be very convenient in the future.”

The bus drove for about half an hour before slowly coming to a halt, and the white fog surrounding them gradually dispersed.

Zuo Lin'an looked out the window.

Outside, the sky was dim, and a chilling wind howled. It was as if even the air itself had been dyed a dusty gray-black.

Undulating mountains stretched out endlessly. Within their field of vision, the entire landscape was covered in withered trees.

The trees varied in height.

The tall ones reached dozens of meters, while the short ones weren't even as tall as a person.

Yet, these trees brought no sense of life whatsoever. They were all completely dead, without a single leaf on their branches.

The branches and trunks were twisted and desiccated, resembling the claws of struggling fiends. Their bark was rough and rotting. As the doors opened, a distinct stench of decay wafted inside.

The place was completely devoid of any signs of life. Not a single insect or bird could be seen.

It was dead silent.

Xu Youyou was stunned by the sight.

“Instructor, is this...”

An Wen stood up. “Let's go. Get off first.”

The two had no choice but to follow him off the bus.

The bus didn't leave. Instead, it waited there, presumably waiting for An Wen to get back on to take him back later.

They had gotten off at the peak of a mountain.

An Wen took out his phone and opened a map.

“Come over and take a look.”

The two leaned in. A map appeared on the screen, showing the Withered Forest and Barren Mountains before them.

An Wen gave a brief introduction.

“The Withered Forest and Barren Mountains consist of eight hundred and eighty-three mountains in total.”

“The mountains vary in height. According to the standards, this place is divided into ten equal zones. The terrain and number of mountains in each zone are slightly different, but it generally ensures fairness.”

Zuo Lin'an said, “In other words, each dungeon zone occupies roughly eighty-eight mountains?”

An Wen nodded. “Yes.”

“However... you are currently only One-Star dungeons, so your dungeon territory can only occupy one-tenth of a zone's center for now.”

“As you add more rules and your dungeon levels up, increasing its difficulty tier, your territory can expand outward. At most, it can encompass the entire zone assigned to you.”