"Why?" Fu Xiyao asked, trembling.

"Yaoyao, from today onwards, Mommy can no longer protect you. You must learn to survive on your own."

The mother's voice was as weak as a candle flame about to go out, seemingly filled with deep regret. With her last strength, she glanced at Fu Xiyao.

"No, Mom. Don't go." Fu Xiyao cried out in anguish, tears streaming down her face.

After saying this, the mother dragged her weak body and stumbled into the torrential rain. Her figure gradually blurred until it disappeared into the vast darkness.

Don't abandon me.

Fu Xiyao tried to catch up, but with each step she took, it seemed as if she were walking into endless darkness.

The sky over the entire area suddenly became increasingly dark.

It was as if we were completely covered by a vast, boundless black curtain, and plunged into a chilling silence.

In areas without light, it was almost completely dark, and it was difficult to see anything.

Within Linshui Town.

Several soldiers hurriedly looked up, their faces instantly turning deathly pale, a sense of foreboding washing over them.

"The sky has become even darker; this is the Nightmare Beast's power."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Turn off the lights immediately!" the captain ordered urgently.

He knew that any sliver of light could attract the attention of that terrifying beast, leading to annihilation.

As soon as the order was given, the lights in Linshui Town were quickly extinguished.

"I heard that even the commander sent by Qingcheng was no match for the Nightmare Beasts," a soldier said cautiously in a low voice.

"The commander of Qingcheng may have underestimated it."

"Last time the sky darkened, it's said that the Qingcheng expeditionary force suffered a great loss," another soldier whispered.

"In my opinion, the reason it went dark this time is probably because the Nightmare Beast discovered the group of refugees," the captain calmly analyzed.

"Then they're doomed."

"Shh, everyone be quiet."

The entire town was plunged into darkness and became unusually quiet.

Beside the railway tracks.

The soldiers and refugees began to exhibit more unusual behavior.

Many people seemed to have lost their sense of self and stood up uncontrollably.

Like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, it staggered and swayed slowly into the depths of darkness.

"Is the air toxic?!"

Wang Qinshui instantly noticed the strange behavior of those around him. Without hesitation, he held his breath, trying to resist the invasion of the poisonous gas and thus delay the time of poisoning.

Suddenly, Wang Qinshui's eyes widened in disbelief.

Even though he was holding his breath, he could still smell that tempting aroma.

"It's an illusion, how could it affect my senses!" This was the last shred of clear consciousness in Wang Qinshui's mind.

"Patriarch Wang, welcome to the shelter. Your room is ready."

A voice rang out, and Wang Qinshui slowly opened her eyes. Before her appeared the incredibly luxurious room inside the shelter.

Wang Qinshui suddenly felt incredibly tired. Recalling the soft and comfortable blankets in the shelter, all he wanted to do was go there immediately and get a good night's sleep.

His body began to move out of control, as if drawn by some force, slowly walking into the darkness.

On the other side, Ma Yuanbai's consciousness was also gradually fading, and his body was completely under control.

"Shelter 6899 is repaired. Welcome back, Ma Yuanbai. Everyone is waiting for you."

"I'm back?" Ma Yuanbai walked step by step toward his family in the shelter.

Not far away, Black Sand stood motionless, his body trembling, because he saw a mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

The moment the shockwave hit, Black Sand's brothers rushed over, slapped him, and shouted, "Transfer!"

Black Sand's vision went black as he disappeared into the shockwave.

When he came to his senses, he saw his brother's back appear not far ahead.

"Wait for me."

Black Sand rushed forward quickly, his mind filled with too many questions.

The fragrance was everywhere, permeating the heavy rain.

"Oh no, it's a hallucination!"

Several awakened individuals with psychic abilities resisted the numbing effect of the fragrance using their mental power.

It was only then that they realized the fragrance was not the real attack method.

The group tried to create distance and quickly retreated.

They galloped off like wild horses, but when they looked back, they were horrified to find that they were getting closer and closer to the darkness.

"Oh no, I've been infected!"

The group looked terrified. No matter how desperately they tried to escape, the darkness swallowed them one by one.

On an open space not far away.

A fragrant aroma instantly filled Li Yu's nose.

Before I could even smell what it was, the vortex in my abdomen started spinning like a whirlwind.

"Looks like we need to absorb energy again."

Li Yu glanced at the remaining crystal cores and sighed helplessly, since both of them and the horse needed the energy from the crystal cores.

"At this rate, the consumption of beast cores is really huge," Li Yu couldn't help but complain, completely unaware of the subtle changes happening around him.

Li Yu looked up and saw something shining.

"That's... a monster crystal core!" Li Yu rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

He actually saw a strange beast crystal core lying quietly on the ground in front of him.

Moreover, it looks much larger than the one from the Tsunami Shadow Beast we encountered before.

Judging from the dazzling light it emitted, the energy contained within this crystal core must be enormous.

Li Yu rushed forward and swiftly picked up the crystal core with lightning speed.

Li Yu was overjoyed to have found such a large beast core for free.

"With this crystal core, the upgrade of my superpower will definitely be accelerated by a whole level."

Suddenly, Li Yu froze again, her eyes filled with disbelief, staring blankly ahead.

Because not far ahead on the ground, there was an even larger monster crystal core.

"How is this possible?" Li Yu muttered to herself, her voice filled with astonishment.

His feet moved forward involuntarily, his eyes fixed on the larger crystal core.

When Li Yu picked up the alien beast crystal core, the icy touch was clearly felt.

"It's actually true."

Only then did he finally believe that he had actually found two powerful alien beast cores.

As his gaze swept ahead, Li Yu's heart raced again; he could hardly believe his eyes.

"besides?"

The two crystal cores in his hands were still emitting a faint light, while the crystal core in front of him was even more dazzling, as if it contained incomparably powerful energy.

"The third one."

Looking at the larger and more dazzling alien beast crystal core in front of him, Li Yu was already feeling quite lightheaded, as if he were in a dream.

Li Yu quickly stepped forward and picked up the large, bright crystal core of the strange beast, his face filled with extreme excitement.

Today is absolutely his lucky day!