Chapter 283. Traitor Among Us (2/3)
They reached a clearing where the Abyss mist thinned slightly, offering the group a fleeting respite. Maxwell surveyed the area, gripping his staff tightly, while the others huddled together, pale and exhausted from their harrowing escape.
Charla slumped to the ground, her shoulders quivering as she fought to suppress her sobs. Tyler knelt beside her, his expression calm but resolute. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Survive now. Mourn later," he said, his voice steady but carrying a hint of compassion.
Charla nodded, hastily wiping her tears, and pushed herself to her feet. Despite their brief reprieve, everyone knew the Abyss wasn’t finished with them yet.
One of the group members broke the tense silence. "Is there any Abyss Monster capable of turning people into zombies?"
"As far as I know, only Ancient Liches or powerful Abyss Fiends have such capabilities," another replied. "There’s also a tale about an Immortal Practitioner who returned from a zombie-infested world and accidentally brought the virus back. But the virus weakened in this environment, and they managed to eradicate it quickly."
Maxwell frowned. "We buried Lian Fu, and yet he rose again. This reeks of Abyssal influence. Likely, Abyss Fiends have breached the area and are trying to stop us. They targeted our engineer with the scanner device for a reason."
"Seems like they don’t want us finding the new Spatial Rifts," Tyler said, his tone contemplative.
Maxwell nodded. "Regardless, we’re not stopping. According to reports, Void Stone fragments might be near the Abyss Crack. If we locate even a small piece, this mission will be worth it."
The mention of Void Stones made everyone’s eyes widen. The rarest and most valuable material in existence, even a tiny fragment could fetch 500 million Lydia on the black market.
"Is that information reliable?" someone asked, skepticism mixed with excitement in their voice.