14: Chapter 14 Da Chun's First Soul Skill
"I didn't expect the authorities to have already built a stronghold inside the secret realm."
Lin Mo looked around and discovered that they, the students, were standing in the center of the stronghold.
The stronghold wasn't very large. To guard the entrance to the secret realm, a ring of not-too-high walls had been built around it.
Several rows of soldier barracks were neatly arranged beneath the walls.
Soldiers armed with live ammunition patrolled the city walls, exuding a stern and murderous aura.
The students hadn't had time to look around carefully yet.
A loudspeaker hanging on the barracks wall suddenly blared, emitting a dignified and steady voice:
"Students, I am Li Jianguo, the camp officer of the Wasteland Secret Realm stronghold. Welcome to the Wasteland Secret Realm."
The loudspeaker repeated that set of boilerplate phrases again.
The content was almost identical to what the school teachers had advised.
It was nothing more than reminding everyone to pay attention to safety, and if bitten by a monster, to use the antidote immediately.
In case of danger, one could ask the stronghold soldiers for help, and so on.
Listening to these words, Lin Mo felt even more certain.
The trickiest danger in the Wasteland Secret Realm was likely not those monsters, but the invisible and intangible viral infection.
"Alright, that's all I have to say."
The voice in the loudspeaker paused, carrying a hint of expectation, "I hope you students can train well in this secret realm and accumulate practical experience to welcome the upcoming college entrance examination."
"Next, everyone is free to move around."
As the voice faded, the stronghold suddenly became lively.
Students gathered in twos and threes, discussing their next routes, their eyes filled with both nervousness and a hidden, eager excitement.
After all, from this moment on, they were about to face their first real battle since awakening their Martial Soul.
The three of them, Lin Mo, toured the stronghold.
Soon, they discovered that although the stronghold was small, it was fully equipped.
Not only were there shops buying soul crystals, but there were also shops selling soul tools and supplies.
It seemed this stronghold was also open to the general public...
"Alright, let's set off! I really want to see what the hell this secret realm is!"
After looking around, the three arrived at the entrance of the stronghold.
Walking out of the city gate, a wind mixed with rust and dryness rushed towards them.
Lin Mo subconsciously squinted, his gaze passing over the open ground outside the city.
It landed on the undulating outline of ruins in the distance.
The broken walls and ruins there looked like the skeletons of giant beasts, exuding an indescribable oppression under the gray sky.
"Brother Mo, which way should we go?"
Lin Mo looked around and finally pointed in one direction.
"Let's go check that side."
A few kilometers in the direction he pointed, the outline looked irregular, like the ruins of a city.
"Alright!" Niu Dachun replied, taking the lead and walking in front.
Lu Mengmeng tugged at the corner of Lin Mo's shirt, trotting happily behind him.
Although the three hadn't practiced specifically, they subconsciously placed Lin Mo in the middle of the formation.
Who asked him to be a support type?
The three walked for over an hour.
Finally, they reached the outskirts of the ruins.
"It really is a city ruin!"
Seeing those broken walls, Lin Mo still felt a bit surprised.
Especially from the ruins, they all appeared to be modern-style buildings.
Lin Mo was even more astonished in his heart.
He vaguely began to speculate: Could this so-called secret realm be another world?
While thinking, he walked towards the depths of the ruins.
But even after walking to the center of the ruins, apart from occasionally encountering some bloodstains, they didn't see any monsters.
"Didn't they say there are many humanoid monsters in this Wasteland Secret Realm? Why haven't we seen a single one?"
Lu Mengmeng complained impatiently from behind.
"If I'm not mistaken, the monsters within twenty kilometers of the stronghold have all been cleared by the official soldiers."
Lin Mo answered Lu Mengmeng's confusion while carefully observing the surroundings.
"Let's keep going; I think we can encounter monsters twenty miles out."
The three continued to walk deeper.
Along the way, there was more and more broken glass and steel bars.
Occasionally, they could see car wreckage half-buried in the gravel.
On the rusty metal, there were still scratch marks.
Suddenly, Niu Dachun, who was walking in front, paused.
"Brother Mo, there seems to be something on the window of that building."
"Hmm?"
Lin Mo looked in the direction Niu Dachun pointed; it was an office building that was tilted and half-buried.
He saw a black shadow faintly flash past behind a broken window on the seventh floor, moving extremely fast.
"Everyone, pay attention!"
Lin Mo quickly signaled the two to step lightly.
He picked up a stone and threw it towards the window.
With a "clang," the stone hit the window frame and shattered into several pieces.
The black shadow did not appear again; the surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the wind remained.
Lu Mengmeng turned her head back and forth, seeing nothing.
Just as she was about to speak, Lin Mo suddenly grabbed Niu Dachun and Lu Mengmeng in front and jumped backward.
Almost simultaneously, a gray shadow swooped down from the roof, slamming into the ground in front of them with a "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust.
The three finally saw the true appearance of the attacking monster.
It was a creature covered in grayish-white, with a spiky tail similar to an alien's, and overall looked like a hairless monkey.
At this moment, it was baring its sharp teeth and drooling at the three.
This thing was exactly the Tier 1 monster the authorities had introduced.
"This must be the Corrupt Walker the authorities introduced."
Niu Dachun had already activated his Martial Soul, holding a Gilded Frying Pan in his hand.
"Come over if you have the guts! Let you taste the power of Grandpa Niu!"
The Corrupt Walker made a strange "hissing" sound in its throat.
Its spiky tail swept back and forth on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It seemed to be enraged by Niu Dachun's provocation.
It kicked off with its hind legs, pouncing over like a gray cannonball, its sharp claws aiming straight for Niu Dachun.
"Well come!"
Niu Dachun did not retreat but advanced, holding the Gilded Frying Pan horizontally in front of him, injecting Soul Power into the pan, which emitted a faint golden light.
"First Soul Skill: Great Sumeru Pot!"
Niu Dachun's Frying Pan suddenly enlarged, slapping towards the rushing Corrupt Walker.
With a "bang," the Corrupt Walker was slapped away directly.
The Corrupt Walker hit a broken wall like a torn sack, making a dull thud. The wall collapsed on one side, and broken bricks buried half its body.
It struggled to get up, the "hissing" sound in its throat becoming more urgent, its spiky tail flailing wildly.
"Second Soul Skill: Four-Claw Pierce!"
Lu Mengmeng also excitedly slapped the ground.
Energy surged from her hands.
"Awooo!"
The next moment, the Corrupt Walker, which had just struggled to get up from the rubble, hadn't even had time to charge again.
Four black spikes suddenly shot out from underground.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!"
The spikes pierced directly through the Corrupt Walker's body.
The Corrupt Walker's roar came to an abrupt end.
Its body twitched violently on the spikes a few times before completely going still, its grayish-white hard skin gradually dimming.
The four black spikes slowly retracted back into the ground.
Leaving only four bloody holes, the oozing dark green liquid corroded small pits into the ground.
"Sister Mengmeng, your Soul Skill is too strong!"
Niu Dachun stared with wide eyes, "It's much more powerful than my Great Sumeru Pot!"
Lu Mengmeng proudly raised her chin, dusting off her hands.
"Heehee, your Frying Pan isn't bad either; to be able to repel a Tier 1 monster at just level three."
Lin Mo ignored their mutual flattery.
He took out his notebook and walked towards the Corrupt Walker's corpse.
He needed to record the Corrupt Walker's data to feed into the AI in his brain later.