"And then we barely survived, and I managed to escape. But my companions were trapped in that world, and I couldn't just abandon them. I had to save them." Bai Ye said in a deep voice. "But when we left that world, the crystals were destroyed by an explosion. I couldn't use those crystals to return, so I left Cowboy City and began searching for them."
Allen asked curiously, "What was that world like?"
"It was like this world, just with more monsters," Bai Ye replied. "If you entered from the City of Ruins, you would still be in the City of Ruins, but I entered Cowboy City at the time."
Allen asked with interest, "And then?"
Bai Ye said, "The city is the same, like a mirrored world. However, the people living there are different. Besides mutated creatures, there are also the mutated people I mentioned."
After speaking, Bai Ye grabbed Allen's wrist.
"Please, help me," Bai Ye said. "I just need to know where those crystals are."
Allen immediately agreed, "No problem."
How could Allen refuse Bai Ye's request?
Ever since he discovered those mysterious crystal fragments half a year ago, Allen had been researching them, but there had been no clues.
In fact, Allen had become a laughingstock in the borderlands.
Once a well-known hunter in the borderlands, he was now studying a pile of crystal fragments, which many considered a downfall.
As for clearing out mutated creatures, everyone scoffed.
If the mutated creatures were cleared out, what would they eat?
They were now the primary food source beneath the wasteland.
Now, Allen had finally learned the secret of the crystal fragments, so how could he refuse Bai Ye? Let alone tell Bai Ye where the fragments were, even if Bai Ye invited him to go, Allen would go without hesitation.
"Wait a moment," the boss interrupted. "If entering Cowboy City leads to another world's Cowboy City, then entering from the borderlands wouldn't that lead to another borderlands?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Yes?"
The boss continued, "But you want to save your friends, shouldn't you go to Cowboy City? Are you sure the other world's borderlands are connected to Cowboy City?"
Bai Ye was stunned. How would he know?
He didn't have any companions!
This was all just something he had made up on the spot.
Bai Ye took a deep breath, summoning all the acting skills he had dreamed of as a movie star, and said in a deep voice, "I don't know, but no matter what, I have to try, even if there's only a sliver of hope to save them."
The boss nodded, then asked, "Second question, does that world have resources? Can they be brought back?"
Bai Ye was startled again, then understood the boss's meaning, and replied, "Yes!"
The boss asked, "For example?"
"I don't know," Bai Ye said. "Let me put it this way, when you enter that world, you'll find it's like going from one borderland to another. There will definitely be resources, just like when the borderland first became a ruin. Humans scoured a large amount of resources, food, energy blocks, and various equipment."
The boss pondered, "So, it's a borderland that hasn't been scoured?"
"Theoretically, yes," Bai Ye said. "After all, there are no humans there. The mutated crystalized people, lacking intellect, act on primal instincts. They wouldn't be engaged in resource scavenging, would they?"
In reality, however, things were different.
The so-called mirrored world was created by the Rhine Corporation.
In recent years, the Rhine Corporation's control over androids had been declining.
More and more androids were becoming dissatisfied with their servitude, defecting from the affluent "Castle" district and hiding in the outer slums.
While it hadn't escalated into a full-blown war between humans and androids as in the past, the situation was more precarious than anticipated.
Therefore, the Rhine Corporation hatched a new plan. They needed to maintain control over the borderlands and required absolute military might.
They realized that the reason for the increasing rebellion among androids was that they were created by cloning humans.
Since that was the case, it was impossible to suppress the androids' consciousness.
As long as androids had consciousness, they would grow and evolve, eventually developing rebellious thoughts.
The Rhine Corporation only needed slaves.
Thus, the Rhine Corporation built the mirrored world and conducted secret research and human experimentation within it. The new warriors ultimately created by the Rhine Corporation were the crystalized people.
Of course, those crystalized people were not yet complete and had many flaws. Otherwise, the Rhine Corporation would have already deployed them to replace the androids.
As for those so-called crystals, they were actually the entrances to the mirrored world.
This was also new technology from the Rhine Corporation, developed to cope with sudden natural disasters like typhoons, tsunamis, and earthquakes in the wasteland.
The City of Ruins was becoming increasingly dilapidated, and everyone worried that a strong typhoon could destroy it at any moment. But by hiding in the mirrored world, they would no longer have to fear such events.
At the same time, to prevent news of the crystalized people from leaking out and causing an android uprising, the Rhine Corporation placed their experimentation grounds within the mirrored world.
After all, if the crystalized people were to replace the androids, the existing androids would have to be destroyed. If the news leaked beforehand, even the androids who hadn't rebelled would be forced to revolt.
Who would want to be destroyed?
However, the Rhine Corporation's new mirrored world technology was apparently not very perfect. During the world's creation, a mistake occurred, and crystals extended outwards around the borderlands.
These crystals could also be considered breaches in the mirrored world, allowing people to enter and exit the mirrored world through unofficial channels.
What did any of this have to do with Bai Ye?
Bai Ye grinned. Soon, it would be directly related to him.
Bai Ye looked at Allen, mentally shouting, "Team me up, team me up! Let's explore the mirrored world together, discover the truth, and you'll become a hero!"
But...
The boss looked at Bai Ye and said seriously, "If you can obtain enough resources, I believe I can assemble a team for you."
"You have received a hidden quest."
"Lead the hunting grounds team into the mirrored world for exploration. This is a time-limited quest, with the duration calculated from the moment you enter the mirrored world until you leave."
"The reward for this hidden quest will be awarded based on the completion level. Upon successful exploration of the mirrored world and departure, the reward will be announced."
Bai Ye's head instantly filled with question marks.
This quest was not what he remembered.