Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Tenth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
There was a skylight in the RV, and a ladder was designed so one could climb directly onto the roof.
On the roof, there were also two folding chairs welded to it. The woman, the nomad's leader, had sat on it earlier to eat barbecue. After Matthew went up, he sat on the chair, his gaze surveying the front and surroundings.
This was a good spot to survey the surroundings while the convoy was on the move and to act quickly if necessary.
After he left, the few people in the carriage immediately relaxed.
Matthew's aura was simply too strong, coupled with his previous godlike performance… ordinary people truly couldn't breathe in his presence.
"Sister Paige." Mason Cooper's daughter immediately ran to Paige's side.
Paige hugged her cousin with one hand, but seeing the fear in her cousin's innocent eyes, she felt a pang of heartache.
"Tilly, it's alright. Don't be afraid." She said.
"Tilly, come over quickly. Don't disturb your sister Paige's rest." The aunt who was cleaning said.
This aunt was Mason Cooper's elder sister-in-law, and also Paige Cooper's paternal aunt, a middle-aged woman in her forties.
"It's alright, Auntie, I'm not very sleepy yet." Paige Cooper said, a hint of worry in her eyes.
She had lost an arm now, making her half-crippled. What would she do in the future? In this apocalyptic environment, her disability would inevitably lead to her being eliminated.
At this moment, Natalie suddenly said, "Paige, a normal person with an injury like yours would probably have fainted long ago. It's amazing that you've held on until now."
Paige immediately said, "I have to thank April for the Corpse Crystal you gave me back then. After eating it, I found my physique greatly strengthened and my speed enhanced. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have lasted until now."
Natalie remembered Paige mentioning the same thing when she returned to the basement where she was hiding, but they hadn't had time to discuss it then.
"Oh?" Natalie asked, "Is the Corpse Crystal's effect that good?"
When cleaning up the battlefield earlier, the survivors had found many Corpse Crystals from the corpses of those nomads and handed them all over to Natalie.
"Yes. It's a waste to give such a good thing to me. April, you should be the one to eat it," Paige said.
Natalie didn't say anything more, only saying, "You should rest." After saying that, she also climbed onto the RV's roof.
"Hmm? Nat, why did you come up too?" Seeing Natalie, Matthew smiled and said, "Come over and sit."
At this moment, the vehicle was moving very slowly, about 30 km/h. Although the weather was cold, the wind on the roof was not strong.
Driving so slowly was naturally for safety's sake. Who knew what dangers might appear ahead in this apocalyptic world? Driving slowly allowed timely reactions.
Natalie heard him and sat down in the other folding chair next to Matthew and said, "Matthew, are we going to send these survivors to Sacramento next?"
"Yes. Isn't that what you want?" Matthew asked with a smile, "What? Is there a problem?"
Natalie shook her head and said, "When we get closer to Sacramento, we need to control the speed of the convoy. It's best to arrive in Sacramento after eleven days."
Matthew understood Natalie's meaning as soon as he heard it.
It had been exactly ten days since they entered the tenth layer of the Supernatural Realm. And in another eleven days, all the supernaturals remaining in this world would turn red-eyed and attract monsters to themselves.
At that time, the major shelters would certainly not take in supernaturals like them.
"Nat, are you afraid that there are supernaturals mixed into the Thunder God Shelter currently? Are you afraid that if these survivors go there early, they will leak our information?" Matthew asked.
Natalie nodded and said, "Your plan of being low-key has only two months left. We must be careful as much as we can."
Although doing so might endanger these survivors, Natalie had to do it to prevent Matthew's information from being leaked.
After all, her kindness was situational. In her eyes, Matthew was clearly much more important than these survivors.
If Matthew's safety was threatened, she could disregard the lives of these survivors.
"Okay, I understand." Matthew smiled and said, then thought, 'I'm a really lucky man.'
"There's one more thing," Natalie said, taking out a small transparent bag. In the bag, there were more than a hundred Corpse Crystals of varying sizes.
Matthew had seen those survivors hand over these Corpse Crystals to Natalie before, so he curiously asked, "What is this thing? It seems to contain a special energy?"
Although he had been in the tenth layer for ten days, he had been constantly traveling and fighting and had not yet encountered any information about Corpse Crystals.
"This thing is called 'Corpse Crystal' by the locals. It's an energy crystal that only appears in the bodies of mutated zombies and monsters."
Natalie explained, "According to the information I've gathered, local ability users desperately need these things because they can enhance the strength of their abilities. Also, ordinary people can also strengthen their bodies by consuming it, and in some cases, they can even awaken an ability."
"Oh? There's such a good thing?" Matthew asked, surprised, "Can we supernaturals eat it too?"
Natalie shook her head and said, "Unclear. However, the professor never told us about this thing. Since the professor didn't say anything, there are only three possibilities. First, the professor truly doesn't know. Second, someone deliberately concealed the existence and effects of the Corpse Crystal."
"And third, the energy in the Corpse Crystal conflicts with the energy in our supernatural bodies, and eating it would lead to poisoning and death."
"I personally lean towards the third option."
"I believe that over the years, there must have been some supernaturals who obtained Corpse Crystals in this world. Perhaps they couldn't resist the temptation to become stronger and consumed the Corpse Crystal, resulting in their death by poisoning here, which is why the information has never been transmitted."
Matthew nodded upon hearing this and said, "Nat, your analysis makes sense. However, there must also be supernatural individuals like us who encountered this information and didn't take the risk. Furthermore, even if everyone who took the risk died, some of them might have teamed up with others."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm a little confused. No matter how we look at it, the information from these crystals should have leaked out." Natalie said.
"That means there's a fourth possibility," Matthew said.
"Did something just occur to you? What is it?" Natalie asked.
"If this information is erased from everyone's minds when they leave here, it makes sense that no one would know the properties or harms of this substance," Matthew said.
"You think the Supernatural Realm erases some information from people's minds when they leave this layer? But the tenth layer isn't an amnesiac realm," Natalie said.
"Just a guess," he said, extending his hand towards Natalie. "Give them to me for a while, Natalie."
Natalie handed him the bag, and as soon as Matthew took it, a notification appeared in his left eye.
[Amnesiac supernatural substance detected...]
[You can access this information because you have resistance to the amnesiac effects of the Supernatural Realm.]
[Apocalyptic Energy Crystal: The crystallized form of energy that seeped into this world as a result of a galactic entity targeting this world to take over. Monsters and zombies can become stronger and mutate by consuming these crystals. Normal humans can strengthen their bodies to a limited extent and might awaken an ability by mutation.]
[Warning: This substance poses an extreme danger to supernatural individuals if consumed, causing their bodies to explode and be destroyed.]
[Note: It has been detected that you have a skill that can be strengthened with these crystals. The Heat Rays(1) Innate Kryptonian Skill can be upgraded to level 5 with these crystals.]
[Apocalyptic energy crystal required to Level 5: 1 kilogram (100 grams for Level 2, 200 grams for Level 3, 300 grams for Level 4, 400 grams for Level 5)]
[You have enough energy crystals to upgrade your Heat Rays skill to level 5. Do you want to upgrade the skill? This upgrade carries no risk.]
Matthew was momentarily surprised by these notifications. It seemed his predictions were correct, and information about this substance was normally erased from everyone's minds at the end of this layer.
But Matthew's previously acquired Amnesiac Remember Card reward not only prevented him from missing this opportunity but also gave him access to information normally unavailable to everyone.
'It seems it's good that the Amnesiac Remember Card automatically merged with me. Otherwise, I might have missed this opportunity,' Matthew thought.
Perhaps, because this substance could enhance his skill, the Supernatural Realm might offer him the Skill Enhancement option again, but Matthew wouldn't have access to other information.
And the knowledge that this substance could enhance his skill could have misled him. In that case, Matthew might have gotten the impression that this substance was useful for supernatural beings.
He didn't even want to consider the consequences if he or Natalie were to consume this substance. But it seemed that luck was on their side this time.
Then his thoughts turned to the galactic entity targeting this world. This was something Matthew wasn't unfamiliar with. Especially in universes like Marvel, there were many entities targeting planets. The Celestials and Galactus were just a few examples.
Matthew was curious whether a galactic or cosmic entity had targeted his own solar system, and if so, whether this entity would turn its attention to their planet after finishing with their sun.
But Matthew soon stopped thinking about it. Just like in the past, these weren't questions he could simply think about and find the answer to.
All he could do was consider the worst-case scenario and prepare for it. And that could only happen by becoming stronger.
So, without further delay, he answered "Yes" to the question before him. The next moment, slightly more than a third of the crystals in the bag he was holding disappeared.
At the same time, Matthew could feel the power of his Heat Rays skill increasing from his eyes. For a moment, he even considered using the skill at full power to relieve the itching in his eyes, but then he restrained himself.
There was no need to create another problem for themselves.
Instead, Matthew immediately opened his attribute panel.
.........
Race: Human
Trait: Ageless
Constitution: 3605
Mental: 4251
Strength: 3605
Agility: 3605
Ability: Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Kryptonian Bloodline [Steel Body (5), Super Strength (5), Super Speed (5), Super Mind (6), Super Flight (5), Super Sense, Heat Rays(↑5)]
Skills: [Fist/Galaxy Impact], [Haki (Supreme)], [Demon God's Descent], [Inventory], [Danger Sense]
Attribute Points: 0
.........
Although his attribute panel was almost identical before entering the tenth layer, there was a slight change among the Innate Skills of the Kryptonian Bloodline.
The "Heat Rays" skill had now reached level five. This meant that the heat rays could reach a temperature five times his mental attribute.
Considering Matthew's mental attribute of 4251, this meant his skill could reach 21,255 degrees Celsius.
The sun's surface temperature was around 5,500-6,000 degrees Celsius, and Matthew could now triple or quadruple that. However, considering the heat of the sun's corona or core, Matthew still had a long way to go.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.217: Bone Core
Ch.218: Awakening – Humanity's Savior
Ch.219: Our Worlds Are Quite Similar