Captain Xue chose "Yes."
As his choice was finalized, the only thing different from their initial expectations was that they didn't need to walk into the teleportation array one by one; instead, everyone was teleported away simultaneously.
The sensation of teleporting was very similar to entering a "Random Challenge"—they had left their vehicles and were being teleported in their physical bodies, resulting in a slight feeling of vertigo. However, the duration of the transfer to the Dark Beast Plane was significantly longer than a Random Challenge. The dizziness lasted so long that Wei Huan thought he heard the sound of someone retching. Then, the spinning abruptly ceased, and his feet touched solid ground.
Wei Huan immediately opened his teleportation gates while simultaneously scanning his surroundings.
Unexpectedly, this world was not dark. The sky was a pale, emerald green, filled with drifting clouds that looked like gold—their edges appeared as if drawn with a golden pen. Before him were high mountains and forests, much like Blue Star, though the tree trunks were massive and thick, and the gaps between the trees were extremely narrow. It reminded Wei Huan of the "Forest" scenario from the first highway challenge for newcomers; the environment seemed remarkably similar. Even the shapes of some trees were identical to those he had seen there.
His greatest fear did not materialize: Wei Huan confirmed he could see the environment clearly. It wasn't like the previous life, where humans who smuggled themselves through rifts were essentially blind. He had never imagined the Dark Beast Plane would look like this.
"Is this the Dark Beast Plane?" Mu Zhong asked after surveying the area. "It's different from what I imagined. I thought it would be darker, more frantic, more bloody."
Wei Huan nodded; he had thought the same.
Mu Zhong added, "Everyone is here. What's next?"
"What does Iron Heart say?"
"It's a free-roaming adventure for now, but Iron Heart is trying to hack into this world's network—if it has one. Once we're in, we'll know our next move."
"Ignore the Dark Beasts for now. Our priority is to find and rescue our people."
"Agreed. Highest priority."
As they spoke, both of their expressions turned solemn. In a world this vast, finding the 272 missing people was incredibly difficult. Furthermore, their method of entry was certainly not recognized by the world's consciousness. Just like in the previous life, everyone in this world would likely be treated as intruders or "blind spots." The danger level would be doubled.
While Mu Zhong waited for Iron Heart to intercept local intelligence, the others were ordered to wait for further commands. A diviner in the team attempted to use their ability to predict the direction they should take.
Unexpectedly, Wei Huan was the first to speak.
"Moji..." Wei Huan muttered, his expression one of utter astonishment.
Mu Zhong turned to him. "What's wrong with Moji?"
"I feel Moji... in this world..." Wei Huan said, tilting his head as he focused on the sensation.
"What? How? You just summoned your undead." Mu Zhong looked at the undead still filing out of the teleportation gates.
Even the Ghost Crows, the fastest units, had only just reached the five-kilometer mark. For safety's sake, Wei Huan hadn't expanded his perimeter recklessly at the start; he had only ordered the Ghost Crows to use their void-shuttling ability to patrol within five kilometers, with the actual defensive zone set at three kilometers.
Whether the Dark Beasts had received intel or not, they couldn't afford to alert the enemy. The Challenge World had warned that this challenge was extremely difficult. They were only a hundred people in an enemy plane without vehicle support. They had to stay for 24 days, find people, and rescue them. It was best to stay in the shadows while keeping the enemy in the light until they understood the situation.
Thus, the undead were clearly visible, and Mu Zhong was 100% certain that Wei Huan had not summoned a single Shura Horse. In this environment, flying units and ground-crawlers were the most useful. Shura Horses lacked vision, their current combat power was lagging, and their movement would be restricted in this dense forest. Summoning them, especially that lively little undead horse, would only be a hindrance.
"Where is it?" Mu Zhong asked.
Wei Huan focused, looking toward the left-front. "It's far away, beyond my summoning range."
"That's too strange!" Mu Zhong exclaimed. "Is it really not in your Great Tomb?"
"I checked. It's not."
"Have you called it?"
"The distance is too great for communication, but I can sense its location. As long as we get closer, I can summon it." After a pause, Wei Huan added, "I've always felt Moji was special."
"But no matter how special, it shouldn't just appear in the Dark Beast Plane. How did it get here?"
Wei Huan theorized, "I think it happened during the ambush. I assigned a large number of undead to protect Liu Chengzhi and Dou Lin. Perhaps that massive suction that took them took Moji as well. Other undead returned to the Great Tomb the moment they left my summoning range, but Moji didn't."
Mu Zhong nodded. "True. From the beginning, it has behaved very uniquely. Lately, I've felt it's like a real Shura Horse foal rather than a reanimated undead. Its soul is active, its flowing blood even gives it a body temperature, and it isn't completely under your control."
Wei Huan nodded and made a decision. "If Iron Heart doesn't have a better plan yet, we head toward Moji. He should be with Dou Lin and Liu Chengzhi."
"And perhaps Captain Fang as well," Mu Zhong added with a wry smile. "If that's the case, it's for the best. We can bring back everyone we need to save. Humanity won the opening war; they don't even know the good news yet. They are heroes. I hope they are all safe."
With the plan set, they had to move quickly; so many people were waiting for rescue.
Wei Huan summoned Hidden Demons for the hundred warriors to ride. He also had Dot Mom assign two Burrow Beasts to each person for protection. Wei Huan remained on Dot Mom's back; she had shrunk to a size slightly larger than a normal Burrow Beast, allowing two people to sit comfortably.
They looked like a cluster of drifting dandelion seeds as they floated from the mountainside toward the valley below.
They traveled five miles without incident. After a moment's thought, Wei Huan expanded his undead scouting perimeter to 10 kilometers. Another five miles passed, revealing only endless rolling mountains. The dense forests contained some native creatures, but their combat power was low and they lacked special abilities; they were likely just prey for the Dark Beasts.
Wei Huan expanded the perimeter to 20 kilometers.
At that moment, the "Caw, caw" of Crow Sister echoed in his ears. Wei Huan immediately focused to listen. Finally, something was different.
"What happened?" Mu Zhong heard the cry but couldn't understand it, so he looked to Wei Huan.
Wei Huan reported, "Dark Beasts. A flock of Ghost Crows, nearly a thousand of them, suddenly flew out of the forest to attack our Ghost Crows."
"So this really is the Dark Beast Plane," Mu Zhong said, sounding relieved despite the news. "The Dark Beast population is ten times that of humanity. To have traveled this far before meeting even low-level beasts suggests we are in a very remote location." He then asked urgently, "What's the status?"
"Wiped out." Crow Sister had finished her report, and Wei Huan understood the outcome. "Dark Beasts have star ratings too. The lowest-level Ghost Crows have the intelligence of beasts. Even if they are chosen as Dark Beast Lords, they can't develop territories and thus can't improve their strength. They are easy to kill."
Mu Zhong noted, "True, we've never seen Ghost Crows in the Challenge World."
"You can get them from treasure chests on the initial challenge highways, but nowhere else."
"Regardless, the appearance of Ghost Crows proves we are in the Dark Beast Plane. We must be extremely careful from here on. We need to watch out for cunning Dark Beast Lords who might flee or spread news of our arrival."
"That's why I summoned all the Facehuggers—to prevent exactly that."
"You're one step ahead of me," Mu Zhong smiled. He was about to say more but suddenly said, "Stop here."
Wei Huan didn't know why, but he immediately halted the march.
Mu Zhong jumped from thirty meters up, landing on a treetop as light as if he had wings. He hopped between branches and finally reached the ground. When Wei Huan descended, Mu Zhong was picking up a large, dull yellow stone. Half of it had been protruding from the ground; the other half was buried in the dark soil. it was about the size of a basketball.
"What is this?" Wei Huan asked.
"Material," Mu Zhong replied. "I am still a Driver, after all."
Wei Huan looked at the stone in Mu Zhong's hands.
Mu Zhong smiled. "Manufacturing technological items is Iron Heart's specialty. As long as it's around, I could practically hand-craft a whole vehicle. But since time is limited, I'm prioritizing making some monitoring equipment. You shouldn't be the only one with vision, and we shouldn't rely entirely on you. We must do what we can ourselves."
Knowing Mu Zhong's Driver sequence was approaching Sequence 4 and that crafting items would increase his proficiency, Wei Huan nodded. "Go ahead and craft then."
Mu Zhong: "..."
Mu Zhong didn't waste much time. He went down to the ground three times during the journey, bringing back three different types of ore before letting Wei Huan continue. He sat cross-legged on Dot Mom's back, his hands glowing with red light as he focused intensely on refining the minerals.
The process took a long time, tied to his sequence level. As a Sequence 3, it took him nearly half an hour to refine the largest stone into pure essence.
As they traveled, Wei Huan watched Mu Zhong hand-craft monitoring devices. He refined the ore, then used his fingers to shape the metal into thin wires, plates, or exquisite small components. Occasionally, he would mutter a few words to Iron Heart as if talking to himself. Incredibly, a monitor actually took shape.
During this time, Wei Huan's undead army frequently encountered attacks from native Ghost Crows. These crows were like animals, lacking intelligence but possessing a very strong sense of territory. Wei Huan's 20-kilometer perimeter was constantly brushing against their territories, leading to non-stop attacks. Of course, the Ghost Crows were no threat; five or six Level 5 undead crows could easily wipe out a whole flock. However, the frequent fighting created a sense of urgency.
When another battle broke out, a flying camera no larger than a fist arrived at the scene. Under the gaze of that cold, mechanical "eye," the battle footage was transmitted back. Instantly, everyone in the team with smart data-eyes saw the combat footage. This was a great opportunity to understand the Dark Beast Plane, so everyone studied it closely.
Wei Huan's data-glasses also received the feed. It wasn't as useful as the Eye Demon Lord, but it was sufficient as a means of observation.
Mu Zhong continued crafting a second camera. "Refining materials is the time-consuming part; the assembly is easy. It seems the Dark Beasts have never been interested in high technology. These rich mineral deposits can be used to make many items from the Challenge World. Once the war is over, I reckon this plane will be our greatest spoil of war. When these resources are mined, we'll even be able to build spaceships."
Wei Huan laughed, but he liked the vision.
As they chatted, Crow Sister returned and cawed again. Both immediately fell silent and looked over focused. Crow Sister was a Hero-rank Ghost Crow. After advancing to Level 5, her intelligence was very high, and after frequent training, her situational judgment had reached the level of a "Scout Captain."
Once Wei Huan had determined that the native Ghost Crows were a low threat, he had told Crow Sister not to report every encounter unless there was something unusual. Since she had returned, it meant either the crows were acting strangely or something else had happened. Mu Zhong knew this command as well, so he watched Wei Huan, waiting for the translation.
After a brief exchange, Wei Huan said, "She found Swift Wolves—a small pack. I wanted to leave one or two alive to observe them, but the Ghost Crow army already killed them all."
"The Ghost Crows killed Swift Wolves?" Mu Zhong was surprised. In Wei Huan's army, the Ghost Crows were the weakest, having been moved out of the combat rotation and used only for scouting and opening chests. He hadn't expected them to be able to kill Running Wolves. Thinking about the strength of Dark Beasts that weren't Lords, he smiled. "Your Ghost Crow army isn't going to sweep everything and become 'War Gods,' is it?"
"They aren't weak to begin with," Wei Huan said, not underestimating them. "The Dark Beast population is more than ten times ours, but the Dark Beast Lords that appear on the battlefield have a high-end combat power similar to ours. They treat low-tier Lords as mobile batteries and only care about plunder. Thus, we only ever see the strongest portion. Think about the ordinary citizens of Blue Star; if a single Level 5 Swift Wolf entered Blue Star through a rift, think of the destruction it would cause."
"You're right," Mu Zhong nodded. "There's a world of difference between a Lord and an ordinary beast, and ordinary beasts will always be the most numerous on their own planet. Just as we try to gather our strong together for training and management, I assume the Dark Beasts do the same."
"Moji's location is still far away. we need to speed up. The Challenge World only gave us 24 days."
"In such a vast and unknown world, we can't conduct an extermination strike against them. If the Dark Beasts really hunt us, we have plenty of room to maneuver. For now, this is a reconnaissance mission. If we didn't need to save people, we could use this to better understand the societal structure of the Dark Beast race."
"I'm very worried about Liu Chengzhi and Dou Lin. I hope they are with Captain Fang."
As they talked, they still hadn't had a chance to see any "locals" of this world. Ordinary beasts were too fragile, and to avoid complications, Wei Huan didn't have the undead hold back. Usually, by the time they received news, the beasts were already dead.
Before they knew it, half a day had passed. As everyone's stomachs began to growl, they missed Liu Chengzhi even more. Eventually, Brother Chui stepped up to roast the Running Wolf meat.
Normally, Dark Beast meat is inedible; their bodies are filled with dark energy, which is like poison to humans. However, as everyone's strength improved, the meat was no longer instantly fatal. With proper cooking, it could even boost a Challenger's "Vitality."
"Vitality" wasn't a stat listed by the Challenge World, but experience showed that with sufficient vitality, one had more strength, better endurance, higher agility, and a clearer mind. Vitality was like a "Satiety" meter; being well-fed naturally led to better performance than being hungry.
Later, after Liu Chengzhi joined, he loved researching gourmet food. His grandmother had spent a fortune to buy a cookbook produced by the Challenge World, which opened a new world for him. Even the government was promoting the effects of food therapy. Usually, Brother Chui, who was quiet and kept a low profile, would help in the kitchen. Handling food for a hundred people wasn't a major problem for him, though the taste was inferior and the attribute bonuses were negligible.
"Sigh, that fat thief better be alive," Xu Qingqiang grumbled. A criminal sequence user who could eat the corrosive fluid of a Carrion Bear and say it tasted like mustard-flavored tofu was missing Liu Chengzhi's cooking—a testament to the fact that good food is always good food.
After a makeshift meal, Mu Zhong distributed drinking water collected by a water harvester. In an environment where the vehicles couldn't follow, the benefits of the Driver sequence were becoming apparent. Mu Zhong easily solved everyone's water and food problems and could even craft items for reconnaissance and combat.
Xiong Yi, Xu Qingqiang, Captain Xue, and Captain Wang Ming formed a decision-making group; marching and logistics had to be handled properly. Only Mu Zhong could craft life essentials, and with a hundred people waiting for food, water, and hygiene, he had to do it even if he found it tedious. Only after being well-fed and rested would they have the strength to fight.
Time passed in an blur. They only knew the sky was darkening. It seemed this place was like Blue Star, with day and night, dusk and dawn. The emerald sky turned dark and eerie, and the golden clouds were faintly tinged with a burnt red.
Mu Zhong looked at the alien sky. "The hour of demons. This is the true hour of demons."
"Night is coming."
"Yes, and the Dark Beasts will become active."
That was right. Since arriving at the Dark Beast Plane, they had been moving while the beasts were resting, which was why everything had gone so smoothly. Dark Beasts were nocturnal; they were stronger and more ferocious in the dark. The night here would not be easy.
Before the sky turned completely black, Mu Zhong threw out small spheres he held in his hands. Under Iron Heart's control, these spheres flew to everyone's side, lighting up with a shimmering glow, looking like something out of a dream.
"Wow!"
The group let out exclamations of wonder. In such a tense battlefield, seeing such a romantic sight was rare.
Mu Zhong said, "We lose our vision in the dark, but we also attract the gaze of the Dark Beasts. I think the darkness is more annoying than the fighting. So, get your combat gear ready. Don't be afraid—even if Dark Beast royals come, they're just extra snacks for us!"
"Hoo-rah! I like snacks!!"
"Hahaha, make the lights brighter! It's better to attract all those bastards here."
"Wait, you mean we get to mob-grind again?"
"Quick, put them higher, even higher! Let them come to us so we don't have to go looking for them one by one."
The crew's arrogant attitude and words made Xiong Yi and Wu Ning do a double-take, but then they remembered this was Wei Huan and his crew—it didn't seem so arrogant after all. The strongest of the human race should be this fearless and valiant, laughing as their enemies were reduced to ashes.
Mu Zhong's purpose for the lights was, of course, to achieve the "mob-grind" feat again. Not letting everyone lose their vision was just an excuse; the actual core of the plan was quite bloody.
Thus, the lights were very bright, visible from a distance like spotlights. There were many flying lights; some flew in the air, while others landed on the undead, illuminating the surroundings for a mile. Some lights flew even further, landing on beasts at the very edge, further expanding the "aggro" range of Wei Huan's undead.
After completing this, Mu Zhong poured himself a cup of water and drank it slowly, finally easing the inexplicable sense of urgency. He said, "Alright, everything that needs preparing is prepared. The rest depends on our luck."
By "luck," he didn't mean he was worried about being besieged; he was hoping they could slaughter a few more Dark Beast royals along the way—wouldn't that be wonderful? As for being besieged by royals—sorry, after Wei Huan's abilities improved again, even a hunt of the previous magnitude wouldn't be able to catch them easily, even without the "vehicle mob-grind" technique.
So, what everyone needed to think about instead was: since they had made the rare trip here, they should kill their fill.
Mu Zhong was thinking ahead, using the night lights to attract beasts. Wei Huan had known this plan all along. After Mu Zhong lit the fires, he had the Hidden Demons and Eye Demon Lords resting on the Facehuggers take flight again, preparing for battle.
Less than three minutes later, a pack of Carrion Bears, looking as if they had just woken up and crawled out of their dens, charged from the depths of the forest and attacked Wei Huan's undead.
Even before Crow Sister could return to report, Wei Huan had already sensed the anomaly. He stood up and looked toward the distance.
"Some undead have been killed back to the Great Tomb."
Mu Zhong was excited. "Did we meet a Dark Beast Lord?"
"I suspect so," Wei Huan replied with a smile. Finally, some prey with actual value.