Chapter 88 – Gods, or Ghosts
Xie Xu silently looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and his face returned to its usual calm expression.
Forget it, he decided not to argue with her.
Resting the long sword on the ground, he gripped the hilt.
“In the Threshold, besides the alien species, there is another type of creature. You can think of them as supernatural beings. They dislike firearms, so whenever you face them, all guns will fail.”
Xie Xu paused to ensure Tu Ran understood, then continued, “When you encounter them, the only weapons you can use are cold weapons.”
Tu Ran frowned. “Why can they disable firearms? Why call them ‘supernatural beings’? Why haven’t I encountered any of these creatures before? Have you met them?”
Xie Xu answered her questions one by one.
“The world inside the Threshold is inherently inexplicable. Most of the physical laws that apply in our world simply don’t work there.”
“It can be described as a magical world. Those unnatural beings possess abilities that humans cannot have. You can think of them as gods or ghosts. Once you stand before them, you must accept their rules.”
Xie Xu spoke slowly, unveiling another world unknown to most people.
“The number of supernatural beings is very small. Compared to the various alien species, they are more like higher rulers. The chances of encountering them are very low. So far, your pioneer team hasn’t brought back any information about them.”
“As for why I know about them, it’s because I encountered one. A year ago, when I went to the Threshold, I met a ‘human.’ He looked no different from a human, but his way of speaking and mannerisms were completely different.”
Xie Xu gazed at the distant lights, recalling that inexplicable encounter.
“I judged it wasn’t human and fired a shot at it, but the gun malfunctioned at that instant. When I pointed the gun elsewhere, it worked again. After repeating this several times, I knew that this thing wasn’t something that could be dealt with using a gun.”
Tu Ran listened intently to his story, her heart beginning to race.
The strange and terrifying creatures in the Threshold were already enough to make her fearful of entering. Now there was this mysterious entity that seemed both human and ghostly. How was she supposed to survive?
Seeing her anxiety, Xie Xu said, “You don’t need to worry too much. They simply possess a certain ability that disables firearms. Other than that, they have no special attributes and are even less threatening than a large alien species.”
But it still sounded eerie, and Tu Ran felt a wave of distress.
In her mind, the world inside the Threshold now seemed like a haunted house. Opening the door and walking in, she wouldn’t know what kind of monstrous being might appear.
“Pull yourself together. I’m telling you this to motivate you to learn swordsmanship, not to discourage you,” Xie Xu said sternly.
Tu Ran glanced at him briefly before lowering her head again.
He reminded her of her high school homeroom teacher, urging her to study hard to get into a good college.
Seeing his sincere efforts, Tu Ran gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands and raised it.
During her basic training, she had been taught some techniques for using cold weapons.
However, due to the Federation’s disregard for cold weapons, those classes had only lasted a month.
Now, holding this sword, she wasn’t very proficient.
Even her muscle memory was gone.
