Across the vast expanse of wilderness, a pair of slightly blurred giant eagles ambled ahead, playfully pecking at stones scattered on the ground. Behind them, three men rode atop enormous crabs, flanked by two hulking black scorpions, poised and ready for battle at any given moment.

Trailing the procession, four enormous Golden Emperor centipedes inched forward, side by side. One amongst them, with only four legs, wasn't so much crawling as it was writhing its way forth.

"Nine, scales, eighteen eyes?"

Lounging atop a giant crab, Mike counted on his fingers, his gaze drifting towards the sky as he pondered, "Does such a creature actually exist?"

Alan, perched on a chair mounted on the crab's back, scrutinized their surroundings as he responded, "There are many in mythology. Furthermore, this 'nine' doesn't necessarily imply nine heads, what if it signifies nine individuals~"

"True enough."

Ming nodded in agreement while checking the introduction to the lock area:

"lock area, no time limit."

"Wish to leave this place? Please explore on your own."

[…]

Alan said, "The instructions are a bit vague. Not to mention the warehouse is locked, we can't even use the light screen map. We're like headless flies at the moment."

Mike, lying on the crab's back, said nonchalantly, "Never mind, we've got the boss with us, nothing to be scared of. Even if we encounter the so-called nine-scaled-eye creature, it's nothing more than a blessing in disguise. We just kill it. Hey~ Alan, what's with your centipede? Why does it have only four legs now?"

ƥandasnovel·ƈom "~"

Alan, feeling a bit melancholic, casually replied, "It wanted to try a different lifestyle."

"Oh~ I thought you'd pulled off its legs to feed your other puppets."

Mike withdrew his gaze and continued lying on the crab's back, crossing his legs, "The sooner this ends, the sooner we can return. My wife said she will make my favorite dish when I get back."

"~"

Ming and Alan simultaneously spat out, "S*H***lovebirds!"

Their journey along the mountain road was punctuated by bouts of idle banter.

A decayed city emerged in the wilderness, appearing even more desolate under the gray sky. Amidst the littered streets, a worn, rain-soaked book lay in the mud, now fragile from drying.

A fair, delicate hand picked it up. The woman dusted off the dirt from the pages and slipped the book into her bag.

"Miss Alice, I had no idea you loved books so much. If you're interested, I have a vast collection. For my brother's sake, I can offer you a 50% discount," said the man wrapped in a cloak, with a smile.

"he is only worth only 50%?"

Alice glanced at the man with flawless, glossy skin. "I should ask him personally if that's accurate."

"~~"

This woman was definitely a match for his brother; she knew how to issue threats. Hurriedly, he said, "Hey, hey, how about I give you ten or eight books? I was just joking earlier. You should know, we folks from 109 have a good sense of humor."

Standing beside them was a scholarly man with brown hair and glasses. A lover of history and geography, he had majored in those subjects in college. He could draw a world map blindfolded and knew all the world's mountains and rivers like the back of his hand.

Sadly, the apocalypse happened just as he graduated. He struggled to survive until he met Alice, who told him that Mr. Gutman needed someone proficient in geography. He came to 109 with her, only to be locked down upon arrival. Life had become challenging again, and the teleportation to this place had naturally left him apprehensive.

David patted his shoulder. "Mr. Wool, don't be so nervous. Once my big brother gets here, things won't be as scary."

"Right."

Wool nodded, though his palms were still sweaty.

"~"

Alice, standing to one side, smiled to herself. You guys don't even know he's Ming. Well, that guy is indeed a great actor.

"Hello, which district are you from?"

A few individuals emerged from around a street corner. The group's leader was a muscular woman with short hair, clad in jungle camouflage pants, hiking boots, a brown leather jacket, a baseball cap, twin knives hanging from her waist, and a black baton in her right hand.

"Hello, David from 109."

"Oh~ So you're the 'David from 109' they were talking about~"I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com

The short-haired woman took off her mask, revealing a prominent scar on her cheek. She nodded, "Christina from 402."

...

The trio continued to travel along the road, flanked by towering mountains, clearly not a path fit for walking. Suddenly, six people emerged from a mountain hollow ahead. Catching sight of the beastly entourage, they spun around to flee.

"!!"

Mike stood up and called out, "Don't run, we mean no harm!"

"…"

The six people didn't stop; they kept running until they disappeared into the mountains. Soon, the three crabs brought them back. Mike approached and inquired, "Why were you running? We're not your enemy."

Hanging in mid-air, the six people's eyes were dull. "Yeah, you're right," the leader, Ogs, stammered, "You're Mike from 109, aren't you?"Mike flashed a smile, "That's me. So you recognize me~"

"~~"

A few moments later, the misunderstanding was cleared, and the Ogs, once again on solid ground, took out a small book and handed it to Ming. "Gutman, I've heard of you for a long time. I didn't expect to see you in person today. Can you give me an autograph? On the second page~ Thanks~"

"~"

Ming looked surprised. He had never anticipated having a fan in the post-apocalyptic world.

After a while, the group began to share information.

"..."

Everyone huddled in a circle, examining each other's information, simultaneously uttering, "Yamata no Orochi?"

Ming scratched his nose in thought. Combining all the information, it was likely Yamata no Orochi: a serpentine body, nine heads, a human face, an ancient fierce deity, extremely fierce.

But the calamity of this area was created by the rules, so it was hard to predict how it would behave. However, if it was created by the rules, it could be killed.

Alan called back his raven from the sky. "According to my observations just now, this area is larger than any we've been to before. We haven't seen the edge of the mist yet."

Mike rested his chin on his knife handle, "So where do we go to find that thing?"

Once back on his giant crab, Ming said, "Since we're here, we don't have to go looking for it, it'll find us. The most important thing now is to find a suitable place to settle."

Immediately, the group continued to move along the highway at a faster pace. Ogs and his group took the lead, gathering other people they encountered along the way.

At this point, everyone lacked direction. Only by joining forces and collecting the information did they have a chance to proceed. In the calamity area, the only way out was to work together. Unconsciously, the group in front had grown to nearly a hundred people.

"Who are those three behind Ogs?"

"The one holding the huge blade is Mike from 109. I encountered him once in another area, he single-handedly fought two five-star kings, very strong."

"The handsome one with long hair is Alan. Those beastly puppets are his. He can control puppets indefinitely without any puppet slot restrictions. His only limitation is himself."

"And what about the one in the white coat?"

"That's Gutman~"

"He's alive?"

"Yes~"

"That's a relief. We should be able to win this time."

"..."

Sniff sniff~

Ming's nose twitched. What's that smell?

"Help!!"

Just then, three individuals - a man and two women - burst forth from a hollow in the eastern mountain. Upon seeing everyone else, they immediately shouted, "There is... a snake demon!!"