Therefore, high-level life forms cannot withstand the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area, unless they undergo surgery to remove parts of their brains.

Yet plant seeds and low-level arthropods can survive the scorching of the mysterious energy without harm.

This may be a curse on higher life forms.

Or perhaps we are merely a flock, driven forward by the Forbidden Area, like grazing livestock.

Old Liu said this planet is expanding, and now the Equator exceeds forty thousand kilometers. Where we currently stand is the old Equatorial length, and the violent movement of the crust has caused most of the underground shelters to disappear without a trace.

We've currently excavated less than 5% of the shelters. The rest, small and medium-sized ones, are not in the previously recorded locations. Perhaps one day in the future, they will resurface, bringing the survivors in hibernation back to the present world.

Old Liu said his daughter and wife are still in the Taishan Shelter behind Lao Mountain, so he comes every year, though the hope is slim.

In the one hundredth year of the Wasteland Calendar, six hundred years later,

this water source supply point has completely dried up, meaning we need to delete this marked point.

Old Liu is unwilling to do so. He hopes that when his wife and daughter awaken, they can be rescued by a passing team, rather than face the harsh wasteland and leave in agony.

I promised him that I would come every Wasteland year, but he knew more clearly that once our generation passes, our descendants will find various reasons and excuses to abandon or forget this habit.

So in this year, he chose to sacrifice himself, integrating with the exotic beast genes, erasing the structure of his brain, at the cost of degenerating into a low-level life form, staying in the Rift Cave to excavate and clear the underground river.

To ensure that this water source can last forever,

until the shelter reappears and reopens that day.

As one of the few remaining old friends, I originally wanted to persuade him a bit, but Old Liu had made up his mind.

At our last farewell, he told me that the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area might contain an evolutionary path different from Earth's life forms, and it could also be the key to breaking the curse.

He entrusted me with reminding Old Yang, as the City Lord, to always keep an eye on the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area.

Once there appears, someday, an existence that can adapt, even if they can only briefly leave the Forbidden Area, it will be a terrifying disaster for the migrating humans outside the area.

It will release the flares of the Scorching Sun,

ignite the fire of wisdom, and burn high-level civilizations to ashes.

As newcomers, do not gaze at the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area for too long.

The curse is ever-present, and it will etch itself into your brain tissue through the lens of your eyes, becoming firewood.

After reading these descriptions, Lin Feng fell into deep shock, standing still for a long time.

He couldn't help but feel a burst of fear for his earlier rashness. After all, his eyes had already begun to sting. If he continued to look, he might be assimilated into firewood...

And self-combust to death!

The stone inscription, over a thousand words, ends here, spanning a full six hundred years from the first time stepping foot here to the present.

The awakened ones with their wisdom and tears carved paths for global migration for those who would come after.

And they left behind the invaluable experience before your eyes, warning future generations of the true dangers of the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area.

Lin Feng had never understood before why the survivors, once awakened, did not remain in the shelters, relying on the intervals of sunlight to gather and store enough resources to endure the two-year high-temperature zone of the Scorching Sun.

Now it seems the real danger is not temperatures of seventy or eighty degrees, perhaps even over a hundred degrees, but the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area itself.

The curse exists in the form of energy waves, and the region shrouded by the Scorching Sun Forbidden Area is essentially a giant electromagnetic furnace. Exposure is the trigger for the curse of spontaneous combustion.

Surviving through it is incredibly difficult, and one must be wary of the unknown entities that have been assimilated within the Forbidden Area—truly a hellish level of difficulty.

After digesting the ancient warnings left by the pioneers from thousands of years ago, Lin Feng rose and searched through the pile of rocks at the mountain top, confirming there were no missed spots.

Then he lay in the shade behind a large rock, waiting for the Clan Leader-level Rock-Horned Horse below to vent its fury and leave.

The Scorching Sun Forbidden Area in the distance was steadily approaching.

The temperature on Giant Peak Mountain was also constantly rising.

Lin Feng believed it wouldn't be long before the Rock Armor Giant Beast could no longer endure and would give up the chase and leave this place.

Moreover, it had to catch up with the departing Rock-Horned Horse Herd.

Sure enough, two or three hours later, the sounds of impacts and gasps from below had vanished.

After replenishing with water and food, Lin Feng had recovered most of his strength, so he got up and headed down the mountain.

Afterward, at the longevity platform on the hillside, he saw the Rock Armor Giant Beast had already left Giant Peak Mountain, chasing the migrating herd over ten kilometers away.

Nearby, there was no sign of the Rock Horse Battle Car.

Lin Feng felt at ease and started descending the mountain.

The slope he had climbed before was completely destroyed by the raging giant beast.

This creature intended to trap Lin Feng at the mountain top, eventually to be burned to death by the scorching sun.

But a drop of a dozen meters and a seventy-degree slope posed no difficulty for Lin Feng in his Tier One Mid-Stage Evolution.

With a quick climb, he successfully jumped to the ground below.

By the time Lin Feng reached the foot of the mountain at a brisk pace, the giant beast's figure had already disappeared from the scenic area.

It was time to reunite with the team members.

Cautiously walking out of the Laoshan Scenic Area, Lin Feng stood on a small mountain at the edge, unable to spot any trace of the giant beast.

It was likely it had caught up with the migrating beast herd and left a hundred kilometers away.

As for Lin Feng, having lost contact with Chen Shanshan's group, he could only head back to the waterway behind the Rift Valley to see if they were staying nearby.

The vast ruins covered at least a hundred square kilometers, making it difficult to find each other within.

Lin Feng entered the city ruins, heading westward.

Before long, he keenly heard a series of barks.

It was the sound of the Divine Dog.

"I'm here!"

Lin Feng immediately climbed to a higher section of the ruins, waving and shouting aloud.

More than a hundred meters away, Ding Yi and Liu Qian, holding the Divine Dog, also climbed atop a pile of ruins.

The two parties quickly reunited.

Well-fed these past few days, the Divine Dog had grown to the size of a village dog, its strength elevated to Level 2 Enhancement.

At this moment, it excitedly circled Lin Feng's feet, wagging its tail and wiggling its hips.

Ding Yi approached with an excited expression:

"Thanks to this little one, its nose is so sharp."

Lin Feng patted its head, then looked at the two:

"Where are the others? Did you catch any prey?"

Liu Qian stepped forward and said:

"We brought them back. A total of seven Rock-Horned Horses, including two Mid-Tier One male leaders, four Early Tier One females, and one Early Tier One male. My brother successfully captured it alive and has already paralyzed it with venom."

"The battle car camp is at the edge of the bay, and someone needs to keep an eye on the live horse while Ah Lian and the others handle the horse carcasses."

"So they sent Ding Yi and me to look for you."

Lin Feng nodded:

"Let's go, time is short. After finishing up, we need to head back to Oasis Town promptly."

Three humans and one wolf quickly returned to the camp.

Seeing Lin Feng return safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and expressed delight.

After all, they had seen the departure of the Rock Armor Giant Beast and believed Lin Feng had met with misfortune.

Yet the narrowly escaped Lin Feng showed no signs of post-crisis relaxation. Instead, he tirelessly dropped his backpack, drew a knife and machete, and began assisting in dissecting the horse carcasses.

"Less than twenty hours left, speed up."

Lin Feng glanced at the time and urged.

Liu Qian promptly joined the dissection team.

Beside them, Ding Yi began processing the fresh horse meat for dehydration.

Lin Feng inspected each part in succession.

Fortunately, among the two Mid-Tier One male leaders, one was a Level 15 evolved.

It could allow him to level up once more.

At this moment, the previously bustling Wild Rift had gone utterly silent with the Migrating Beast Herd vanished.

The wilderness had returned to tranquility.

The hunting season was over.

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