Dark Moon Era

Tang Ling had questioned it from the very beginning and he thought about it a lot more after watching Anthony’s battle.

Of course, he could think of all this as an effort to defend against the danger behind the Cliff of Hope. Those zombies and wild beasts sieged the Cliff of Hope day and night, and they certainly threatened the safety of the sector.

However, why would the zombies and wild beasts siege the Cliff of Hope? Would it not be better for them to circle the cliff and flank the sector from both sides? Both sides of the sector were covered in forests connected to the cliff anyway.

Due to the sheer number of defenses needed behind the cliff, no warriors were stationed in the forests at the flank of the sector as Instructor Thuja said.

If that was the case, why not concentrate the forces at the flanks and build defensive structures around it?

Even though the beasts and zombies were difficult to control, their target was still the Cliff of Hope. Should the humans not flank them from both sides and clean them up once in a while? Would that be a better option?

Why would the sector decide to build a Hope Barrier behind the cliff and engage in endless skirmishes? Why would they lie to the people of the sector using the 3D holographic projection?

It was factually proven that both the zombies and wild beasts were led by a leader with intellect. They would not siege the thousand-meter tall Cliff of Hope endlessly either unless…

The answer was coming out of the water after some careful thought, but it was still clouded by mystery.

There must be a problem with the logic behind all this that even an idiot would notice. If Safety Sector No. 17 really wanted to expand and develop, the better option was definitely the other side of the cliff.

It was unnecessary to spend so much manpower and resources on this side of the cliff.

So, what would the answer be?

“Good question.” Tang Ling’s query attracted some attention from the command center and his fellow mates’ deeper thoughts.

Yang Kong acknowledged Tang Ling’s question, and it seemed like it was one of the important points that he planned to explain in this class—what was the reason behind the existence of the Hope Barrier?

Yang Kong did not linger at the command center anymore. He led the young warriors who were in deep thoughts to one side of the circular hall. There was a ladder that led upwards to the roof of the command center.

If he ought to explain it to them, he would have to show them the answer first!

******

At the top of the Watchtower, the air was dusty. If one stayed up there for any longer, one’s mouth would be filled with dust.

The blood in the air was rather subtle. It was not that noticeable once the nose got used to it.

It was a norm here and the dusty air was unique to the Hope Barrier. Anyone who came up to the roof would have to get used to the air and the smell.

Yang Kong told the young warriors so once they got up to the roof, but after that, he went silent.

It was not necessary because everything was clear up here. All the young warriors had to do was observe the battlefield and the sea of ruins beneath them. As long as they were not idiots, they would have noticed where the problem was.

Tang Ling was also observing quietly.

Thankfully, he was able to adapt to the battlefield back in the command center. The battle that he watched provided him with a buffer and he was not overly shocked when he saw the battlefield before his eyes. He even walked to the edge of the Watchtower to get a better look at the world behind the Cliff of Hope.

The dust and dirt were thicker while the coppery stench in the air felt very real like they themselves were soaked in blood, but none of that mattered because they could sense a strong energy wave from a giant rock less than 20 meters away from the Watchtower.

The giant purple rock was as big as Glory Hall and stood 14 meters tall.

Indeed, the first thing they saw was the purple rock looming quietly on the sea of ruins. It glowed a vague purple and the light it cast formed an irregular circle that covered a large area around it.

The light from the purple rock even covered the whole Hope Barrier.

Without Yang Kong’s explanation, no one knew what the purple rock was, but their instincts were tingling when they walked closer. They felt very naked before the rock, and every cell in their body thrummed with life as if they were newly born.

Even the abstract parts within them such as their spirit and willpower felt clear excitement. It positively boiled their blood and devoured their fear.

The feeling was not all too unfamiliar. When Tang Ling felt the trace of purple light back at the command center, he also felt every cell in his body come alive and become battle-aroused.

Now, looking directly at the rock, the feeling was even more pronounced.

He got a better look at the battlefield, or more precisely, the fights that revolved around the purple rock. With a closer look, he realized that whether it was the zombies, the beasts or other strange-looking monsters, their target seemed to be the purple rock.

Safety Sector No. 17 segregated the battle areas around the purple rock accordingly, and the areas basically formed a 360° defense line around it.

Tang Ling was very sensitive towards the color purple anyway.

Whether it was what Kun said about the ominous Purple Moon unintentionally or that time when Su Yao let the big secret of the Purple Moon slip out of his mouth, all those increased Tang Ling’s sensitivity towards the color.

Therefore, when he saw the purple rock, he knew that the answers that he had been seeking were right there.

With his Precise Instinct, he could feel every single change in his body and even in his spirit better than anyone.

He unconsciously walked closer to the purple rock, trying to find out what it really was. What was the meaning of the purple glow? What did it have to do with the Purple Moon up in the sky?

Tang Ling could not get anything by simply gazing at the rock, so he used his Precise Instinct on it.

It was a brand new attempt and the first time that he was using his Precise Instinct in an entirely different way. Up until now, the specialty of his Precise Instinct was to calculate and not analyze components.

Of course, the Precise Instinct was also highly sensitive towards danger and threats, but whether it was his own instinct or one of the Precise Instinct’s abilities, he still did not understand, let alone master it.

Regardless, Tang Ling started to use his Precise Instinct to study the purple glow. He could feel a very vague energy wave. It was not enough for Tang Ling to know what kind of energy was emanating from the rock, or what kind of reference he could make in order to form a conclusion.

So, he boldly concentrated his spirit and sensed the giant purple rock with his Precise Instinct.

It was a split second, but Tang Ling felt like his body had fallen into a pot of boiling water. The purple rock seemed to resonate with what he sensed as well, the tremendous energy gushing over in an instant.

Tang Ling could not help but grunt. His brain was very dizzy as he stopped Precise Instinct from further sensing the rock just in time. If all the energy from the rock gushed into his body, he would surely explode.

It seemed like his decision to stop sensing the rock was the right call. After his Precise Instinct was stopped, that volatile energy calmed down, but the dizziness he experienced made him wobble at the edge of the Watchtower.

Yang Kong grabbed Tang Ling quickly and saw that his face was flushed and his eyes were red.

Yang Kong asked, “You… What have you done?”