"And then we barely survived, and I barely managed to escape," Bai Ye said in a deep voice. "But my companions were trapped in that world. I couldn't just leave them. I had to rescue them."
"But when we left that world, the crystals were destroyed by the explosion. I had no way to return to that world using those crystals, 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, it would still be the City of Ruins. However, I entered Cowboy City at the time."
Allen said with interest, "And then?"
Bai Ye explained, "The cities are the same, like a mirror world. But the people living there are different. In addition to mutated creatures, there are also the mutated humans I mentioned."
After Bai Ye finished speaking, he grabbed Allen's wrist.
"Please help me," Bai Ye pleaded. "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 without any leads.
He had even become a laughingstock in the borderlands.
Once a renowned hunter in the borderlands, he was now researching a pile of crystal fragments, which many considered a downfall.
As for clearing out mutated creatures, everyone scoffed at the idea.
If the mutated creatures were cleared out, what would they eat?
They were the main source of food beneath the wasteland.
Now that Allen had finally learned the secret of the crystal fragments, how could he possibly refuse Bai Ye? Let alone tell Bai Ye where the fragments were, he would even follow Bai Ye without hesitation if invited.
"Wait a moment," the proprietor interrupted. "If entering Cowboy City leads to another world's Cowboy City, then wouldn't entering the borderlands lead to another borderlands?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Yes?"
The proprietor continued, "But you're trying to save friends, so shouldn't you go to Cowboy City? Are you sure the other world's borderlands are connected to Cowboy City?"
Bai Ye was taken aback. How would he know?
He didn't have any companions!
He had just made that up on the spot.
Bai Ye took a deep breath, summoning his acting skills as if he were a movie star, and said solemnly, "I don't know. But no matter what, I have to try, even if there's only a slim chance of rescuing them."
The proprietor nodded, then asked, "Second question, does that world have resources? Can they be brought back?"
Bai Ye was surprised again, then understood the proprietor's meaning and replied, "Yes!"
The proprietor pressed, "For example?"
"I don't know," Bai Ye said. "Let me put it this way, after entering that world, you'll find it like going from one borderland to another. There must be resources, just like when the borderlands first became ruins. Humans scavenged a lot of supplies, food, energy blocks, and all sorts of equipment."
The proprietor pondered. "So, it's a borderland that hasn't been scavenged?"
"Theoretically, yes," Bai Ye said. "After all, there are no humans there. The mutated crystallized humans, lacking any thought, act on beast-like instincts. They probably wouldn't be scavenging for resources, would they?"
But what was the reality?
The reality was quite different.
The so-called mirror world was actually created by the Rhine Company.
In recent years, the Rhine Company's control over the artificial humans had been declining.
More and more artificial humans were becoming dissatisfied with their enslavement. They defected from the wealthy district known as the "Castle" and secretly hid in the outer slums.
While it hadn't escalated into a war between humans and artificial humans like in the past, the situation was more dire than imagined.
Thus, the Rhine Company devised a new plan. They needed to maintain control over the borderlands and required absolute military force.
They realized that the reason for the increasing rebellion among artificial humans was that they were created by cloning humans.
Since that was the case, it was impossible to suppress the artificial humans' thoughts.
As long as artificial humans had thoughts, they would grow and evolve, eventually developing rebellious ideas.
The Rhine Company only needed slaves.
Therefore, the Rhine Company built the mirror world and secretly conducted research and human experimentation within it. The new warriors the Rhine Company ultimately created were the crystallized humans.
Of course, those crystallized humans were not yet complete and had many flaws. Otherwise, the Rhine Company would have already deployed them to replace the artificial humans.
As for the so-called crystals, they were actually the entrances to the mirror world.
This was also a new technology developed by the Rhine Company 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 about when a strong typhoon would destroy it. However, by hiding in the mirror world, they wouldn't have to fear such calamities.
At the same time, to prevent the news of the crystallized humans from leaking and causing an uprising of artificial humans, the Rhine Company chose the mirror world as their experimental site.
After all, if the crystallized humans were to replace the artificial humans, the existing artificial humans would have to be destroyed. If the news leaked beforehand, even the artificial humans who hadn't rebelled would have no choice but to do so.
Who would want to be destroyed?
However, the Rhine Company's new mirror world technology was clearly not perfect. When creating the world, a flaw occurred, and crystals extended outwards around the borderlands.
These crystals could also be considered breaches into the mirror world, allowing people to enter and exit without going through the official channels.
What did all of this have to do with Bai Ye?
Bai Ye grinned. It would soon become very relevant to him.
Bai Ye looked at Allen, mentally shouting, "Team me up, team me up! We'll explore the mirror world together, uncover the truth, and you'll become a hero!"
But...
The proprietor looked at Bai Ye and said seriously, "If enough resources can be obtained, I believe I can assemble a team for you."
"You have received a hidden quest."
"Lead the hunting ground squad into the mirror world for exploration. This is a timed quest. The time starts from entering the mirror world until leaving it."
"The reward for this hidden quest will be based on the completion level. Upon successfully completing the exploration of the mirror world and leaving, the rewards will be announced."
Bai Ye was instantly bewildered.
This quest was different from the one he remembered.