Chapter 353: The Savior and the Power of Corruption

During the descent, Lin Zhen had already observed the entire Dark Swamp.

The only places here that could hide a person were, apart from Small Luoding City in the center, the ring of twisted jungle outside the giant pit.

And compared to Small Luoding City, which was clearly the center of pollution, the outer jungle with its noticeably lighter pollution was more suitable for long-term habitation.

But since the Interstellar Security Office was also pursuing Chatosi, and they held the advantage of geography and manpower, to avoid missing him, they would most likely conduct a carpet search from the periphery inward.

According to the date of the email they had found on the star network domain, they should have been searching the Dark Swamp for at least three or four days by now.

This outermost area had certainly been searched already.

Even if Chatosi had been hiding on the periphery back then, he would most likely have been forced to flee into Small Luoding City by now.

So after landing, Lin Zhen headed straight for Small Luoding City without any hesitation.

He trusted his judgment.

He was gambling, betting that Chatosi was hiding in Small Luoding City.

Suddenly, an explosion came from beyond the sky screen.

Lin Zhen knew this was the sound of the Saints’ hand society people breaking through the sky screen.

They didn’t dare delay, speeding up and running all the way to the end of the field path.

At that moment, a strange black pool emitting black mist appeared before them.

He didn’t know the origin of these bubbling black liquids, but they inexplicably gave Lin Zhen an extremely dangerous feeling.

Lin Zhen remembered that in the Cosmic Academy’s courses, it was said that this vague feeling came from the sixth sense strengthened by star energy, a kind of hint given to star energy users.

It was said that high-level star energy users could even rely on their sixth sense to find the person they were looking for in the vast universe. This hint would continuously strengthen as the Stellar Energy Index increased.

‘A dangerous feeling… perhaps it’s the manifestation of pollution…’

Lin Zhen didn’t dare touch it, nor even approach the pool.

He thought for a moment, and to be safe, simply led the group off the dirt path, giving it a wide berth.

And this detour led them into a jungle.

Although this jungle was said to be suitable for living, it was also home to a large number of polluted carapace creatures.

After walking only a short while in the jungle, Lin Zhen and the others encountered over a dozen of them.

Although these giant monsters didn’t give him the same intense feeling of danger as the black pool, time was tight, so avoidance was the priority.

Only when they were directly confronted with no way to avoid it would Lin Zhen choose to engage, and he would go all out to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.

Even so, it took them over ten minutes to traverse this twisted jungle.

After passing through the jungle, the giant pit came into view.

But before Lin Zhen and the others could continue forward, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble.

The next second, a crab about the size of a three-story building climbed directly up from the pit.

This crab somewhat resembled the crab steed they had rented, but it seemed to be a military version.

Not only was it several times larger, its pincers, each the height of a person, gleamed with cold light and made a clanging sound like metal colliding when they snapped together. Moreover, it looked more ferocious, with its shell covered in spikes.

Five burly men dressed in shell armor sat cross-legged on top of this crab steed.

The man holding the two protruding rod-like structures on top of the crab, presumably the crab steed’s control sticks, pressed down.

The crab steed came to an abrupt halt directly in front of Lin Zhen and the others.

“Are you the four people Little Fish Doctor mentioned?”

The man with green shell armor, presumably the leader of the five, stood up and said calmly.

These five were driving such a powerful crab steed and had appeared deep in the Dark Swamp at Small Luoding City.

They seemed to be the Pursuit Team of the Interstellar Security Office…

But, Little Fish Doctor already contacted them for us?

I didn’t expect that even though she said no, she still helped in the end.

Just as the citizens said, she really is a very, very kind little girl.

Lin Zhen narrowed his eyes and stood up.

“If no one else has asked Little Fish Doctor for help today, then that should be us.”

“Little Fish, saying no with your mouth but being honest with your body?”

“Lao Zhen, look at the kind of wild words you’re saying!”

“Little Fish has never had dark and heavy secrets! She’s all light and cheerful!”

“Tsundere loli, I’m eating it up.”

“Very well, I am Zachary. I understand your request. If we capture Chatosi later, I’ll let you interrogate him a bit, but ahead is the pollution core. You stop here.”

Zachary waved his hand, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument.

“We are all second-level star power users from the Cosmic Academy. We can help you capture Chatosi!”

Lin Zhen said with utmost sincerity.

If they only had to face the eight Combatants of the Saints’ hand society, Lin Zhen was confident the four of them could handle it.

But if Xiao Xi really were to come, then it would be hard to say.

If they could cooperate with this Pursuit Team that had already been crawling around the Dark Swamp for a while and was familiar with the terrain, perhaps they could find Chatosi before the Saints’ hand society Combatants arrived.

The identity of an Academy student was indeed useful.

Plus, the four of them were all second-level star power users.

Zachary’s face clearly showed a hint of shock, but then he gently shook his head.

“No! The pollution core is too dangerous. Without a holy relic, you have no way to resist the pollution.”

“We’ve already agreed to your request and haven’t held you accountable for climbing over the crab wall without permission. Don’t push your luck.”

“It is strictly forbidden for any star energy user to enter the Dark Swamp without authorization. This is a decree issued by the King himself!”

When he said the last sentence, Zachary’s tone was quite cold.

A second-level star power user who was an Academy student was indeed formidable.

But he was also a noble of the carapace race, a second-level star power user, and in comparison, he was not weak at all.

“Holy relic?”

Lin Zhen frowned.

“What is that? Is it really necessary? Chatosi doesn’t have a holy relic, hasn’t he been staying here for this long?”

Zachary saw that Lin Zhen and the others were willing to cross the crab wall just to personally go after Chatosi, and he knew that unless he explained the real dangers, he wouldn’t be able to dissuade them.

So after thinking for a moment, he picked out a few things he could say.

“Heh, the holy relic was created by Her Highness the Salvation Saintess. Only with it can one resist the pollution erosion from the Earth Abyss.”

Zachary let out a cold laugh.

“As for Chatosi, he indeed doesn’t have a holy relic, so he has probably already been corrupted by pollution.”

“And that’s why we must find him!”

“A polluted star energy user becomes much more powerful. We must capture him before he learns how to use the power of pollution, or else he will be the next…”

At this point, Zachary paused and did not continue.

But his face clearly showed a hint of wariness.

Even a trace of fear.

‘The Salvation Saintess and the power of pollution…’

‘Wait.’

‘What if Chatosi is really already polluted? Would he still be his original self?’

‘What if after being polluted, he loses all his memory?’