Chapter 45: Isabelle's Painting

When the helicopter alarm went off, the fuel gauge on the control panel quickly dropped, plummeting to zero within ten seconds. The engine lost power.

The helicopter, like a bird with broken wings, plummeted out of control.

The soldiers in the cabin swiftly strapped on parachutes and leaped out of the cabin door.

Just as they thought they would be riddled by the barrage of thorns, a massive explosion flung them away, a terrifying mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

Countless thorns were consumed by the flames.

That was Major Lisa's blast, and it was this terrifying explosion that flung them away. Though some sustained internal injuries from the blast, it was better than being skewered by the thorns.

Finally, they escaped the range of the thorn attacks. As parachutes bloomed in the sky, the joyous laughter of the female officer echoed above.

"Exciting, isn't it?"

Lisa laughed boldly, her fiery and wild beauty illuminated by the flames. Her chestnut short hair danced in the wind, making her look like a spirit of fire, "This is the battlefield. You face the fear of imminent death but also experience the joy of survival. Enjoy it, soldiers. Welcome to the world beyond the barrier. Keep your eyes wide open!"

At that moment, the sun rose, sweeping sunlight across the world.

The dark wasteland was illuminated in an instant.

When Mike arrived in Avalon City, he had crossed the mountains from the land of the dead, seeing only lush forests and city ruins along the way. But this moment shocked him.

He had crossed a deep fissure and, from mid-air, saw the ice layer illuminated by the sunlight.

Jagged ice mountains glowed golden under the sunlight, their ridges adorned with crystalline trees, as if from a myth or fairyland. The bottomless ice gorge seemed to lead to the Earth's core, with cold winds carrying ice shards across the sky, resembling falling snow with the shadows of white bears within.

The river's surface was frozen, covered with ice crystals and snowflakes.

This tragic beauty felt like the end of the world.

The howling wind, however, carried a taste of freedom.

The threat of death was gone. The terrifying aberrant tide was left far behind, now just a dark mass of waves when viewed from a distance.

Now awakened from his cocoon, Mike had gained power and no longer feared this new world. Free from the city's rules, he embraced the world for the first time.

Five hundred years ago, the pressure of survival had crushed him, never giving him a chance to explore.

But this scene seemed to wash away the shadows of his past eighteen years.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Lisa was beside him, speaking against the wind, "I don't know what your world was like, but the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was this. I grew up on the battlefield. As high-energy beings, we can't enjoy the comfort of the city like others. But those in the city never have the chance to explore such a world."

"Five hundred years ago, ancient trees rose from the ground, and the ecological environment forcibly changed. The disasters that ravaged for centuries also brought new life to this world. Some say humans are the virus of this world, and that nature should thrive without human interference. Places like Shennongjia, the Bermuda Triangle, the Amazon Rainforest, the Sahara Desert, and the Himalayas, are all different now. Aren't you curious?"

She shouted, "The legacy of the gods, the deities and aberrants, the truth of evolution. As long as you become strong enough, you can travel to every corner of the world. See all kinds of beautiful landscapes, witness amazing creatures, and fight powerful monsters!"

This female officer seemed like a different person outside the wall, like a wild child, cheering and reveling in the beauty of nature.

Mike understood. She seemed like the kind of girl with a wild spirit.

She wouldn't be confined within the walls, naturally running wild on the ice field.

Perhaps humans shouldn't be bound by mundane life and heavy work. If one day you could let go of the values others imposed on you and boldly experience the world's beauty, you might truly understand the meaning of living.

At that moment, you are free.

"For this reason, some people in this world choose to live outside the barrier. The Federation calls them wanderers or scavengers, but I envy them."

Lisa said softly, "Because they are free."

She pointed to some ruins on the ice field and explained, "These are the traces of wanderers' lives. They establish tribes in the wilderness, living a primitive life of hunting and herding."

Mike was suddenly taken aback by her words.

Because this scene seemed somewhat familiar.

Oh, right, Isabelle’s painting!

The sun, the plains, the mountains.

The frozen river, the remnants of cabins, the rotting fences.

If Isabelle originally lived in the world outside the barrier, then it all makes sense.

But there was no time to think about it now.

As they landed smoothly their parachutes folded and fell away.

Lisa stomped around in the snow, not at all like someone who had just escaped death.

Jack and the others, however, weren't so composed. Each looked as if they had narrowly survived, making the sign of the cross and thanking the gods for their salvation.

"Where are we?"

"The northwest side of Avalon City, Sunset Snowfield, coordinates 356.547!"

"Isn't this the territory of those primitive remnants?"

The officers were buzzing with conversation.

Lisa raised her eyes, surveying the wasteland, and shook her head, "It seems they're no longer here. I don't know if it's because they’re avoiding the aberrant tide. Even if not, they might be hiding from us. After all, Avalon City's leadership has always been troubled by the issue of these remnants—whether to assimilate, expel, or ignore them. There's still no definitive answer."

Mike curiously asked, "What are the primitive remnants?"

Lisa glanced at him and explained calmly, "Let me give you a little lesson, rookie. Wanderers, as the name suggests, are individuals who roam outside the barriers. They usually travel alone or in small groups, and their numbers are not large. Their strength varies greatly. They lack legal status and are typically fierce and very dangerous."

"As for scavengers, most are gathered in large groups, often hiding in the ruins of cities. They can be seen as low-level gangs from novels. They exist sometimes as offshoots of resistance organizations. For instance, the Necro Cult is a type of resistance group, but they’re not considered a major threat for now."

She paused, "The primitive remnants are different. During the cataclysm five hundred years ago, a portion of humanity that wasn’t sealed survived by chance. They struggled against natural and biological disasters using Earth's existing resources, seeking a way to survive in the gaps."

Mike was stunned; he had thought those people from five hundred years ago would have perished.

"Years later, these people developed beliefs, worshiping the forces of nature. They no longer relied on technology but returned to a primitive way of life. In this process, they explored the secrets of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, venturing into forbidden places never touched by others."

Lisa sighed, "You could say that the establishment of modern civilization owed much to their early assistance. Even the first Sacred Sovereign evolved with their guidance. The founding of the Akashic Records was also thanks to the extraordinary knowledge they provided."

Mike roughly understood, "So these people couldn't adapt to the rebuilt civilization, thus choosing to live independently in nature instead of joining the Federation?"

Lisa nodded.

"No wonder they’re called primitive remnants."

Mike looked around, seeing only a desolate ruin.

"We were lucky to land in their territory."

Lisa crossed her arms, "These primitive remnants care deeply about the natural ecosystem. They might know something that could help us capture the aberrants. However, they may not be friendly to us. Previous attempts by Avalon City to communicate with them have had poor outcomes."

"Major Lisa."

Jack said sternly, "What should we do now?"

The officers looked at each other in the barren wasteland, surrounded by nothing but white ice.

Occasionally, some animals were seen, but no aberrants.

Unless they risked going back to find the aberrant tide.

"Since we’re here, let’s look for those remnants."

Lisa’s direction was more guesswork than strategy.

But the others had no choice; she outranked them.

A handy fact: tribal settlements are usually near rivers.

This explained the many traces of habitation by the river.

In extreme environments, survival is possible if one digs a deep pit, builds a wooden house, lays waterproof cloth insulates moss, and constructs a stove with an external chimney. The indoor temperature could reach over thirty degrees.

Mike had watched many survival videos and found some underground shelters by the river ruins. However, they hadn't been inhabited for a long time.

There wasn’t anything valuable inside, just a lot of trash.

It was clear that the remnants had migrated.

"There's a trail here!"

Someone shouted, "Damn, a body!"

Everyone turned towards the sound and saw skeletons hanging eerily in the jungle.

They wore tattered clothes and emitted a musty, decayed odor.

"A sacrifice?"

Everyone looked towards the female officer.

Lisa was silent for a moment, hesitating to speak.

She slipped away to a corner, took out a notebook from her pocket, and after flipping through it for a while, seemed to find what she was looking for. Returning confidently, she said,

"This isn't a sacrifice. It's the primitive remnants' unique burial ritual. Who knows what they believe in, but whenever one of their kin is killed, they hang the body on a tree to return it to nature. If they die naturally, they get a proper burial."

Lisa asserted, "So, these people were killed."

"Killed by aberrants?"

Mike doubted it.

If it had been aberrant, the bones wouldn't be so intact.

"There's a stone tablet here."

Jack said in a deep voice, "It seems to be a tombstone."

Mike went over to look, but he couldn’t understand a single word of the inscription.

However, the totem on the stone looked familiar.

It was a totem outlined like numerous blood vessels.

It was precisely the core part of the Genesis Nest!

"This is the unique script of the primitive remnants. Each tribe's writing might be different, but they all originate from the same source, created based on the patterns of the Divine Tree."

Lisa hesitated for a moment, "Secretary Xia once taught me, I think it's called Sa…"

"Sasha, Abalua?"

Mike guessed blindly.

Everyone looked at him, surprised that a rookie would know this.

Lisa was startled, "That sounds right."

"Yesterday, the Necro Cultist we captured was muttering about it."

Jack shook his head, "Nothing surprising."

Mike smiled, "Then how about you translate it for us?"

Jack's face stiffened.

"It means 'Immortal Faith.'"

Mike shrugged, "Instructor, who’s useless now?"

The current clues led him to believe that this group of primitive remnants might be related to the little girl at home because the natural totem they worshiped was precisely the Genesis Nest.

He wondered if it had any connection to the Holy Mountain.

And the reason he found this place was because of that painting!

Instructor Jack's face turned ugly.

This rookie's repeated provocations were infuriating him.

At that moment, an arrow suddenly shot out from the jungle.

Thwack.

Lisa caught the arrow with her bare hand and sneered, "What's the saying about showing off before a thunder god?"

Mike corrected, "Showing off your hammer in front of Thor, overestimating oneself."

The next moment, dozens of arrows shot out from the dense forest.