Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB] Chapter 178

After a whole night of talking nonsense, the sun still rose the next day, though it felt a little different. The weather wasn't great. The sea breeze had picked up and carried a chill.

"Bring thick clothes, just in case."

Uncertain whether the temperature would suddenly drop below zero, both Logan and Ethan packed thick coats into their backpacks and wore long-sleeved tops. Then, only the two of them disembarked from the Goddess of Dawn.

After stepping ashore, Ethan tapped the side of his glasses and imdiately heard Diana's voice.

"Everything is normal. If communication is lost for more than ten minutes, I'll co and save you both."

Diana stayed on the ship as their final trump card. With her strength and flight ability, she was even more effective than Ethan at rescuing people.

"Rember, there's a remote activation for the ntal stimulation device in my glasses. If you lose contact with for over ten minutes, trigger that first. If it still doesn't work, then co out."

It seed like a minor adjustnt, but the effect was similar to soone stabbing him with a needle to forcefully wake him from an illusion.

With that, plus the amulets he had made, he had enough confidence to step onto the island again.

"That Cleo went ashore too."

Logan and Ethan walked slowly toward the interior of the island. This ti, Logan was also wearing a pair of glasses with the sa functions as Ethan's, and he carried several amulets as well.

He was much more cautious now. Although he knew their opponent was an invisible force, he still habitually scanned his surroundings, which allowed him to notice that Cleo had disembarked from the Eternal and entered the island earlier.

"He didn't bring anyone with him."

"That was a wise decision."

Ethan had already seen that Cleo's gear could resist ntal interference and energy attacks to so extent, but his crew lacked that kind of equipnt. Bringing them would only make them a burden.

Before figuring out the source of the island's mysterious power and how to deal with it, numbers didn't an much. Ethan simply wanted to resolve the issue, then cooperate with the Eternal to gather materials. At that point, their manpower advantage could co into play.

Deliberately slowing his pace to wait for Cleo to catch up, Ethan exchanged a quick greeting before handing over a few amulets.

"Keep these on you to block the ntal disturbance."

Cleo didn't question Ethan's words. He just curiously examined the inconspicuous items in his hand. If Ethan hadn't explained their purpose, he would have assud they were random junk picked up from the grass. They looked so ordinary. He could probably find stones that looked better.

"Thanks."

"We're exploring this island together now. I don't want to suddenly end up without any backup."

The group once again headed toward the island's center. Periodically, Ethan would receive check-in prompts from Diana, and he would tap his glasses in response.

They couldn't be sure everything was truly normal, but it did seem they had traveled farther than any of their previous attempts.

Looking at the tall grass now reaching waist-height, Ethan gradually felt a particularly intense fluctuation.

"This place is overflowing with life."

He stopped and looked around. Unlike last ti, he didn't see the coastline. From here, he could clearly see the island's edge. Although the entire island was covered in grassland, it wasn't small. The open view allowed them to see to the edges in either direction.

"We're getting close to the center."

"The grass ahead looks even taller."

Logan made a rough observation. He was the tallest among them, but even he found that if they kept going, he might also be swallowed by the grass.

"It's like a sea of grass."

Ethan didn't respond to Cleo's remark but crouched down and brushed his hand across the soil. He could sense that the life energy in the ground was even more abundant than what he had detected near the hole they previously dug up. It was stronger than the clear water they'd found before.

"I think we're close to the true heart of the island."

He wasn't sure if this overflowing life energy could be harnessed. In theory, unclaid life force like this should be usable. But when he tried to extract so, he found that the energy couldn't be controlled and remained rooted firmly in the soil.

"Should we keep going?"

"We've co this far. Of course we keep going."

Logan nodded and took two machetes from his backpack. In this situation, the safest thod was to cut through the grass ahead. It would clear a path and also leave a visible trail, making it easier to retrace their steps later.

As Logan continued chopping down the grass, the three of them moved closer to the island's center. But just ten ters ahead, Ethan glanced back and grabbed Logan, signaling him to stop.

"What's wrong?"

Ethan pointed behind them. Logan looked and imdiately understood why Ethan had stopped him.

The grass Logan had cut down was regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The ones he had trimd farthest back had already returned to their original height and rged seamlessly with the surrounding vegetation. There was no sign of any disturbance, as if Logan and the others had never been there.

Even the grass they had just cut began to regrow quickly. Soon, even the ground beneath their feet was covered in fast-growing grass. Within monts, the three of them were surrounded by dense growth. They could no longer see each other clearly and couldn't even be sure of their companions' locations.

"The life energy here is extrely strong. After you cut the grass, the life energy stored in the soil reacted violently, replenishing the vitality needed and restoring everything to how it was."

"That sounds a little familiar."

Ethan and Logan were standing relatively close. Ethan extended a finger and tapped a spot on Logan's belt. Logan imdiately understood. Wasn't this similar to the 'big health potion' Ethan had made using his own genes mixed with a recovery potion?

Their actions were subtle, and with the tall grass providing cover, Cleo didn't see any of it. He remained focused on the speed at which the grass regrew and the information revealed in Ethan's explanation.

"Life energy?"

Cleo looked down at the soil beneath his feet. He couldn't analyze energy like Ethan, but he could feel the massive power flowing under the ground.

Ethan glanced at the amulet he was wearing and saw that its energy was depleting rapidly.

"The more we move, the faster the amulets are drained. Their effectiveness is much lower than I expected."

Now they were at a loss. They had finally reached the island's center, but the grass had grown so tall that it almost reached twice a person's height. The group had to speak constantly to confirm each other's locations and avoid getting separated.

In this kind of environnt, determining direction was also a challenge. Fortunately, the glasses worn by Ethan and Logan had multiple built-in functions that helped keep them from straying too far—or at least allowed them to correct their course quickly if they did.

When they finally reached the island's center, Ethan was stunned.

"What is this?"

The center was still covered in grass, but there was a small spring in the middle. The water was crystal clear, yet the bottom of the spring couldn't be seen.

"About one ter in diater. The water is clear, but I can't see the bottom. No idea how deep it goes."

Ethan pulled out an analysis device. He expected the sa result as before, but this ti, the reading indicated that it was pure water, completely different from the previous sample.

"Clear water? Are you sure?"

Because of what had been dug up earlier, Logan had felt uneasy about drinking water lately. It always felt like eating rather than drinking. He hadn't expected Ethan to reach this conclusion.

Cleo was curious about the strange tools Ethan used, but he didn't speak. He simply observed quietly, waiting to see what Ethan would do.

Ethan stared at the spring. He knew he couldn't waste too much ti here. A decision had to be made quickly.

"Wait a mont."

He took out a small object, a spindle-shaped piece of tal about the size of a fist. Neither Logan nor Cleo knew what it was. Before they could ask, Ethan tossed it into the spring and tapped the fra of his glasses.

It was a small underwater probe.

This was a highly technical device, designed to concentrate multiple functions into a tiny package while still transmitting data reliably. Even with Tony Stark's abilities, it took ti to build sothing like this. Ethan had brought it with him out of habit, not expecting he would actually need it.

Through his glasses, he received the visual feed from the probe. He found that the spring was much deeper than expected. The device continued descending for half an hour before suddenly encountering a burst of light. Then, it fell into an open cave.

He didn't question why the probe had fallen into a dry cave after descending underwater. All of Ethan's attention was drawn to the strange object that appeared in the feed.

"Looks like a plant?"

(To be continued.)

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