Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 866 - 859: North Lead Corridor

Chapter 866: Chapter 859: North Lead Corridor

The bullet entered Xilia’s forehead, and after her body convulsed violently, her pupils diluted, and she was utterly devoid of life. Upon hearing the gunshot in the room, the two knights outside couldn’t help but rush in, encountering the shocking scene before them.

"Apologies, Your Highness, we will leave immediately," the two knights finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Melia unharmed, retreating while stuttering out their words.

"You’re right on time, take her out, and bury her," Melia said indifferently, subtly moving her gun-holding hand behind her.

She didn’t want anyone to see that her gun-holding right hand was trembling uncontrollably.

Upon hearing Melia’s order, the two knights exchanged a look, then stepped forward to drag Xilia’s body out, leaving a long streak of blood on the ground as it oozed from her.

Melia stepped over the sticky pool of blood, closed the door with one stride, and then leaned against it as she took a deep breath. As she exhaled, her body shook incessantly.

She walked dazedly to her desk, then raised her handgun with composure, ejected the magazine, and racked the slide again to remove the bullet from the chamber. As the bullet ejected, the slide caught on an empty chamber.

After she had finished, Melia suddenly flung her handgun toward the corner of the room, as if in a loss of control, and made a sobbing sound while covering her face with both hands.

She slowly collapsed, kneeling in front of her desk, supporting herself with it, shaking all over. It has to be said, this was Melia’s first time killing someone.

Truly, she had indeed indirectly caused the deaths of many people, but to personally take a person’s life was her first, that’s why she was so repulsed by and fearful of the handgun she had just used to kill.

Melia breathed rapidly, surrounded by a thick stench of blood in the air that wouldn’t fade, making her stomach churn, and she couldn’t help but retch.

Though nothing came out in the end, this nauseating feeling still made her very disheveled, with tears, snot, and saliva pouring uncontrollably.

"I hate you, Luo’er..." Melia wiped away her snot and saliva forcefully, grinding her teeth as she whispered to herself, "Why did you let her return, why didn’t you kill her yourself, and left me to clean up your mess? Do you know, this is the first time I’ve killed someone, I killed for you for the first time..."

But Luo’er obviously couldn’t hear her words because by the time Xilia had returned to Melia’s camp, Luo’er and his party had already entered the frigid North Lead Corridor.

The further north they went, the colder the weather became. Although they had set out at the beginning of spring, every hundred kilometers north they traveled, the temperature dropped by several percentage points. By the time they reached the entrance of the North Lead Corridor, the temperature had already plummeted to freezing, and the sky was filled with heavy snow.

However, although the temperature had clearly dropped, the humidity in the air had also significantly decreased, and the snow falling from the sky did not seem much colder than a damp rainy environment.

The Advance Team members were wearing specially tailored winter gear, a new product from the headquarters’ Otherworld Weapons Research Center, designed to ensure that the temperature would not easily escape and were much more effective than traditional winter clothing.

The Otherworld Weapons Research Center, located in the Haiya Academy zone, is officially known as the Origin Project Otherworld Weapons and Equipment Research Center, which, as the name implies, specializes in research on weapons and equipment used in the Otherworld.

Although many of the things these people research aren’t very reliable and require constant improvement through rigorous testing before becoming close to perfect, many of their inventions are quite useful.

The Origin Project established a total of three main research departments: the foundational department for the project, the Otherworld Human Racial Gene Engineering Research Department, and two departments related to the Otherworld, the Otherworld Weapons and Equipment Research Center and the Otherworld Magic Theory Research Center.

The latter two departments, the first of which specializes in researching weapons that can exert power in the Otherworld with representative works like the Magic Crystal Revolver and various types of magic bullets. The output of the Magic Research Center may not be as extensive as that of the Weapons Research Center, but it is an important source of the theories behind the Weapons Research Center’s output.

Although these two departments are different, there is considerable overlap in their work, and they essentially function as one, collectively known as the Otherworld Magic Weapons Research Department. The Weapons and Equipment Research Center is responsible for practical output, while the Magic Research Center mainly handles theoretical discussions and the work of deriving records related to magic.

Don’t underestimate the Magic Research Center with its lack of physical outputs; it encompasses most of the world’s researchers in the field of magic, and its publication of papers related to magic accounts for about two-thirds of the world’s output.

It is beyond doubt that within just over thirty years, Earth has made breakthrough research in the magic of the Otherworld, and this department has played a significant role.

When discussing the Origin Project, one must mention the institutions related to this project. Among them, the Gene Engineering Research Department, which specializes in breeding hybrid humans, is the most secretive. While its headquarters are located at Haiya Academy, its presence is surprisingly low.

This department also encompasses world-renowned experts in the field of biochemical science, but unlike semi-open departments like the Otherworld Magic Weapons Research Department, the Gene Engineering Research Department is one that must be absolutely concealed and cannot be made public.

As the Origin Project is about to conclude, all the files and documents of this department will be archived, awaiting the day when the years will allow them to be declassified. Currently, this department is mainly responsible for the final work of the Origin Project. Of course, what will become of these people after the project ends is unknown.

Returning to the Advance Team, in the North Lead Corridor, they have to face not only the low temperatures and the endless falling snow but also the relentless northwest winds that almost never cease.

The North Lead Corridor is a canyon between the Northern Domain Mountain Range and the Winter Mountains and is the necessary route for land travel to the Snow Domain. It spans more than six hundred kilometers, with its widest point exceeding one hundred kilometers. The narrowest part of the gorge is the ancient fortress of the North Lead Corridor, with a width of only around a thousand meters.

Of course, with the split of the Aud Empire, the Aud people eventually gave up their rule over the Snow Domain, and thus the liberated Snow Elves also gave up the idea of continuing to defend the fortress, entering a peace that has lasted for hundreds of years.

Flowing from the Winter Mountains through the midst of the gorge, the Ebia River runs across Masya’s entire expanse and eventually pours into the sea from the northeast to the southwest, with its mouth being Masya’s largest and only port city, Luofu Port.

Traveling in the North Lead Corridor, the fierce northwest winds blow constantly, forcing the members of the Advance Team to slather on thick grease to prevent their skin from cracking and to apply lip balm to ensure their skin does not become chapped.

Upon entering the North Lead Corridor, with the temperature dropping below zero and the cold winds battering them, Luo’er felt some concern about this part of the journey. Even with careful calculation, the supplies they carried would only last a month; considering the circumstances, he pessimistically estimated that they might not even make it out within that time.

The North Lead Corridor was covered in thick snow, and when the sun shone directly on the dazzling snow during the day, they had to wear protective sunglasses to avoid snow blindness.

During this period, Luo’er made a discovery that was both expected and surprising. He noticed that Eve, being a hybrid of the Snow Elves, did not seem to fear snow blindness very much, and even Ziang, who had only a part of Snow Elf blood, was not very afraid.

It appeared that the corneal structure of the Snow Elves protected them against some of the UV reflection, and when faced with a blanket of white snow, they would contract their pupils to ensure not too much light entered their eyes.

Ordinary people could only squint to minimize sunlight entering their eyes, but the Snow Elves could keep their eyes open and still reduce the amount of light hitting their retinas.

Of course, the reason this was within reason is that if Snow Elves did not possess such an ability, how could they possibly survive in the Snow Domain? After all, they are called Snow Elves, not any other kind of elf.