"What’s the Crimson Abyss like?"
Sitting in the passenger seat of the armored vehicle, Sasa turned to look at Yan Luo in the driver’s seat.
To protect Sasa, Yan Luo didn’t use a motorcycle to take her into the Abyss; instead, he spent a lot of money to rent a state-of-the-art Abyss-specific armored vehicle.
The vehicle has optical camouflage and can emit electromagnetic waves to prevent Demons from sensing it from a distance. It features a complete 360-degree camera system, with functionality that previously required Yan Luo to piece together various items.
The compact design allows the armored vehicle to navigate the Abyss smoothly. The manufacturer has tried everything possible to retain strong performance while minimizing mechanical size, resulting in considerable interior space for movement and storage.
The maximum speed can reach 358 kilometers per hour, and if the driver possesses the Engraving of [Connection], they can link with the vehicle to unlock the speed limit, activating vector nozzles under the car for levitation, boosting the speed up to Mach 2.
This vehicle is great except for its steep price; renting it for a single Abyss hunting trip costs as much as 200,000, with additional charges for energy consumption and wear and tear.
However, that’s not a fault of the vehicle but a limitation of Yan Luo himself.
Upon hearing Sasa’s question, Yan Luo snapped out of his inspection of the armored vehicle and answered, "You should know that the Crimson Abyss is perpetually in night. There’s always a red moon hanging in the sky. The connection point between Crimson No.2 and the Abyss is located in Dark Forest, a vast forest region."
Sasa conducted research into the Abyss’s ecosystem. Although she knew what the Crimson Abyss was like, having seen many photos and videos taken by Hunters and read extensive research materials, she hadn’t witnessed the precise appearance of the Crimson Abyss.
From Yan Luo’s words, she couldn’t quite picture the exact appearance of the Crimson Abyss. Fortunately, they were about to head there soon.
"Fasten your seatbelt," Yan Luo reminded her.
Sasa fastened her seatbelt and looked at Yan Luo with anticipation.
Yan Luo adjusted the armored vehicle’s driving mode through the eyepiece, reducing the speed to slow, then started the armored vehicle.
Although it was slow, it was still 100 kilometers per hour.
Before passing through the spatial membrane, Yan Luo glanced at Sasa in the passenger seat, confirming she had worn the external skeleton armor properly, and looked at the trunk, packed with his equipment.
Among them lay a briefcase incongruous with the surrounding weaponry. That’s the reward the Hunter’s Guild gave Yan Luo.
The pass rate for candidates who attended the supplementary class was 82%. The remaining 18% failed mainly due to nervousness during practical testing, which hindered their performance. As for the written test, everyone passed.
Even though half of them could pass the Hunter exam originally, Yan Luo’s supplementary class lifted everyone to a passing level.
Yan Luo nodded slightly and pressed the accelerator to let the armored car pass through the spatial membrane, entering the Crimson Abyss.
Sasa widened her eyes, wanting to see what the real Crimson Abyss looked like.
Red moonlight filtered through the glass and fell on Sasa, causing her to subconsciously hold her breath.
In the silent, dark forest, strands of deep crimson moonlight passed through the gaps in foliage, forming light spots on the ground and tree trunks.
This slight glow spread between the trees, extending Sasa’s vision to about twenty meters, while beyond that was completely shrouded in darkness.
Even where there was moonlight, she couldn’t see anything.
In this forest, every tree grew exceptionally tall, with unexpectedly wide spacing between them. Not only could an armored vehicle drive through, but even a tank wouldn’t face any obstacles.
"Next, we’ll follow the plan—first find a spot to test my physical capabilities, then I’ll remove the external skeleton armor and rely solely on my physical strength to hunt Demons. During this time, you’ll use equipment borrowed from the team to research Demons and the Abyss, is that right?"
Yan Luo held the steering wheel, constantly keeping an eye on the surroundings.
The radar on the armored vehicle emitted waves of electromagnetic radiation, scanning the vicinity.
Sasa nodded, "Yes, cough...That’s right."
They had prepared a plan before entering the Abyss, and they just needed to act accordingly once inside.
Yan Luo gripped the steering wheel, searching for a hidden spot, but at that moment, he noticed some distortion in Sasa’s breathing.
After considering several possibilities, Yan Luo quickly found a reason fitting Sasa’s condition and said, "Inject the anti-magic serum; you’re not adapting to this environment."
Sasa was stunned, surprised that Yan Luo noticed her physiological distress faster than she did.
Opening the storage box on the passenger side, Sasa took out the anti-magic serum and looked down at herself but couldn’t find the pre-designated injection port on the external skeleton.
With no other choice, Yan Luo pointed it out to her, finally revealing the injection port.
Aligning the jet injector with the port’s slot, Sasa pressed the release button, allowing the serum to enter her body and gradually be absorbed.
After two minutes, Sasa began to feel comforted, with discomfort slowly subsiding.
Unlike Yan Luo, Sasa’s Magic Power adaptation was moderate, lacking any Engraving, which might cause discomfort due to the abrupt increase in Magic Power concentration in the environment, hence the early preparation of the anti-magic serum.
As long as Magic Power adaptation temporarily diminishes and becomes insensitive to Magic Power, even if the effects wear off and adaptation returns to its original level, she can adapt gradually during recovery to the Magic Power concentration in the Abyss.
Behind the entrance lies an empty stone vein, where the Scarlet No. 2 Hunter’s Guild might have deployed personnel long ago, so Yan Luo didn’t drive in that direction.
The previous Abyss hunt was prematurely terminated due to an accident, so the exploration of the Blood Lake area wasn’t completed. This time, Yan Luo planned to head towards Blood Lake.
En route to the Blood Lake area, Yan Luo found an isolated spot with minimal danger and parked the vehicle.
Opening the driver’s side door, Yan Luo stepped on the ground, took a deep breath, and pressed the release button of the external skeleton.
The chest and back armor separated front and back, and the connection points of the half armor and belt area were severed.
Yan Luo first opened the arm armor then removed the upper half of the external skeleton.
Unlike the upper body armor, the lower half of the external skeleton opened front and back and was divided into hip, thigh, knee, and calf sections.
After removing the external skeleton armor piece by piece, Yan Luo straightened his back and took a deep breath.
Strangely, he felt a sense of ’freedom.’
This was Yan Luo’s first time taking off the external skeleton inside the Abyss, bringing an inexplicable exhilarating feeling.
For Hunters, the Abyss was perilous, manifesting in their constant vigilance and the external skeleton worn on their bodies.
The external skeleton was like a cage, separating Hunters from the Abyss. Although it served to protect Hunters, it could evoke resentment.
—Why should the Abyss strip me of my freedom?
Even if shedding the external skeleton was far from conquering the Abyss, Yan Luo could still feel that he was free, with fulfillment filling his heart.
After removing the heavy external skeleton, Yan Luo felt light, as if a tiny jump would launch him skyward.
It was an illusion, yet Yan Luo’s jump ability was genuinely robust.
Yan Luo moved the external skeleton armor to the armored vehicle’s trunk, then took out his weapons—hatchet, long knife, shotgun, and a weapons belt loaded with explosives.
Sasa stayed inside the vehicle, advising Yan Luo on which equipment to use, then remotely operated those devices to test Yan Luo’s physical limits.
Even if she wanted to come out, Yan Luo wouldn’t allow it, as Sasa was essentially powerless; even ordinary Demons could defeat her, let alone dangerous-level Demons.
Yan Luo strapped the test instruments onto himself and took a deep breath, glancing up at the branches above, crouching down.