CHAPTER 128: CHAPTER 128: SEARCH, ESCAPE, ENCIRCLE

Lin Yue looked at the yarn in his hand and then at the beach.

We didn’t take a wrong turn.

Where’s the door? Where’s my door? Is it just yarn left?

Could it be...

He grasped the yarn and quickly sprinted along the beach, glancing at the now clearer full moon as a sense of unease began to flood inside him.

The end of the yarn was tied to a spear deeply embedded in the sand, which Lin Yue picked up and gazed forward.

In the direction where the Ancient Secret Realm Gate should have been, now only waves beating against the beach remained.

Approaching the water’s edge, Lin Yue indeed found his Ancient Secret Realm Gate, but it was only the uppermost stones left, completely submerged in the seawater.

"Boink boink!" Bai warned Lin Yue about what might happen if he entered the water, and Lin Yue indeed did not step forward.

Through the telescope, there was something densely packed among the distant white waves, their white tentacles dancing tirelessly in the water.

Moreover, the waves were pushing them further towards the shore!

"Let’s go! Bai, we can’t stay here any longer!"

It’s about to rise with tide, who knows what will happen if we stay longer? What on earth are those dense tentacles?

When he first got here, he was indeed worried about the possibility of a rising tide, but now that it was actually happening, he didn’t have any time to lament how unlucky he was to encounter this.

At most, there were one or two hours left, and the sky would completely fall into darkness. At this moment, Lin Yue could already see the sun at the far western edge, with only a small distance from the horizon.

Staying near the beach was absolutely not viable; those unknown things might crawl onto the shore...

Lin Yue quickened his pace towards the road while continuously thinking.

Should he find an extremely secluded spot to rest for the night and then decide? Or perhaps...

He actually remembered another route, but it was more arduous and difficult, yet it was much safer than staying in this Secret Realm devoid of any assurance of avoiding emerging monsters.

"Boink boink?" Bai didn’t understand where its master was heading, following him closely, always fulfilling its duty and keeping a constant lookout.

The human and his pet returned to the front of the apartment complex, but it was just as it was before with no difference.

Lin Yue looked towards the bank.

The vault inside was actually a good place.

Before he entered there, with its three-layered alloy anti-theft door seal, the inside seemed like time had stopped, without any changes over the decades.

What if he used walls and an alloy door to seal it again inside?

Inside there, it could be exceptionally safe, but upon emerging the next morning, he might encounter yet another scene.

The tentacle monster and Monster Winged Dragon corpses on the street would definitely draw more terrifying monsters out, that was certain and guaranteed to happen.

Even if hundreds of Monster Winged Dragons showed up, he couldn’t handle them.

Lin Yue shook his head.

This was the backup plan, the worst-case scenario, if he indeed couldn’t find what he wanted, he really wouldn’t have any choice but to stay inside.

"Boink?" Bai looked at the charred monster corpses, eager to swiftly depart from here, urging Lin Yue to make a decision quickly.

Lin Yue took a deep breath, walked past the tentacle monster’s corpse, and arrived at the shop where Du Ping and his group initially hid.

They should have come from that direction, so perhaps, over there would be what he wanted to find—Ancient Secret Realm Gate!

The Secret Realm Gate led to the Otherworld, this was beyond doubt, regardless of how dangerous it might be; it was primarily a bunch of mutated creatures.

Raising several walls could basically guarantee safety.

And inside this unknown Secret Realm, anything could happen.

He didn’t believe there were only so many monsters here, not to mention the spiders he hadn’t seen; maybe a centipede or scorpion would show up, or a giant crab could emerge from the ocean.

And don’t even mention another tentacle monster.

"Bai! Can you smell anyone else’s scent? Or the scent of the Ancient Secret Realm Gate?" Lin Yue walked around the shop, realizing it was a travel agency, not containing anything he could use, extremely empty, and naturally without the Ancient Secret Realm Gate.

"Boink boink?"

Lin Yue wished to have a comprehensible dialogue with Bai, but it seemed extremely difficult, especially now when Bai seemed to not understand what he was saying at all.

But scouring like a headless fly was akin to finding a needle in a haystack, leaving him relying on Bai, a creature with a highly keen sense of smell.

"Can you smell humans?" Lin Yue pointed to himself, mimicking a sniffing action.

"Boink!" Bai widened its eyes, seemingly understanding, leading Lin Yue to hastily sprint along the alleyways between apartment buildings.

Lin Yue kept marking the path with a dagger, closely following Bai.

The sky grew increasingly dim.

Lin Yue glanced back and saw the setting sun had gradually turned daylight into an expanse of red.

This sea might indeed offer a great view of the sunset, provided there’s no danger.

"Boink!" Suddenly, a joyful sound from Bai filled the air, Lin Yue quickly went over, and indeed discovered an Ancient Secret Realm Gate wrapped in green vines and red bricks!

"Ancient Secret Realm Gate! Bai!" Lin Yue was overjoyed, now safe!

However... what would be on the other side, and would it be Du Ping’s companions after opening the gate?

Or perhaps...

"Boink." Bai indicated there wasn’t any danger outside the gate, and Lin Yue nodded.

Forget it for now, they’ll go inside first!

Pushing open the Ancient Secret Realm Gate, Lin Yue and Bai quickly went in.

A familiar warmth enveloped Lin Yue, with the sun of this Otherworld hovering above him.

Somewhat safer now.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Moreover, he spotted a towering, solid wall a hundred meters away from the Secret Realm Gate!

For a moment, he thought he was near his shelter, but upon opening the map, it seemed otherwise.

This location was extremely far from his shelter, and to his surprise, this wall enclosed over twenty shelters, even marking numerous red arrow symbols indicating people nearby. Lin Yue counted sixty-five in total!

What luck, was he entering a big team’s den?

But was this Du Ping’s shelter, or elsewhere?

Lin Yue decided to stay away from here, at least before dusk.

No one provoked him, so he saw no need to fight them.

However, with people all around this massive village-like shelter, he seemingly had no way to break through.

Was it really necessary to fight?

"Survivors, put your hands up from near the Secret Realm Gate!" Suddenly, numerous red arrows swiftly turned and approached his location, someone shouted loudly!

Lin Yue knew he had no choice; quickly, he stacked three walls around, wrapping himself and Bai at the center, climbed the ladder, and grabbed the alloy compound crossbow aimed at the dozens who surrounded him!

With an exoskeleton, bone armor underneath, and an iron helmet atop, Bai—much faster than any human—stood by him, with no reason for him to lose!

However, just as tensions were escalating, one of the dozens grasping archery weapons suddenly called out to him.

"Are you... Lin Yue?"