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Back in the I Watch the Divine Domain studio—
Sienna Blake received a fresh dossier from the production team.
She scanned it twice… and her expression changed at once.
Even before she said a word, everyone could tell she'd just read something that didn't belong in a "lucky break" story.
"What is it?" someone blurted out.
Sienna Blake didn't drag it out. She raised the document and spoke straight into the silence.
It turned out the D-rank resource Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw had stumbled upon… wasn't the first time it had been found.
Earlier, a pair of competitors from another country had reached the same deposit first.
At the beginning, their reaction was exactly like Dragon Nation's chat: ecstatic.
Because it was a D-rank resource.
And more importantly—back then, the news about Dragon Nation'sE-rank oasis hadn't fully spread yet.
If those two could claim this D-rank deposit—especially with the Points Challenge Event doubling points—then their country's score would rocket up overnight, crushing past Dragon Nation and seizing Rank #1 on the Points Leaderboard.
And in the world now, "Rank #1" didn't just mean pride.
It meant status.
It meant survival.
It meant being called the world's number one nation—whether Miracle Nation liked it or not.
For a small, unknown country, it was a dream so huge it bordered on madness:
Take this D-rank resource… and rise in one leap.
Become a national hero carved into history.
So they didn't hesitate.
They began probing for a way to secure the deposit—
And that was when they met the guardian.
Back to the livestream
That massive shadow that had swallowed Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw a moment ago made the entire chat's blood run cold.
"WHAT THE—?!"
"What is that?!"
"Is that the guardian?! Look at that silhouette—how big is this thing?!"
"That has to be a D-rank beast!"
"It's over, it's over—Raven Shaw can't possibly beat a monster like that!"
As if answering the chat's fear—
Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw turned at the same time.
And the moment the beast stepped fully into frame—
the Will of Blue Star spoke.
[Dragon Nation'scompetitorsAdrian Vale and Raven Shaw have encountered a Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone creature. Analyzing… analysis complete.]
[Name: Wasteland Strider Ape (D-rank)]
[Traits: D-rankDivine Domain: Forbidden Zone creature. Solitary. Omnivorous. Once part of a forest-dwelling ape species that lived in groups—until certain outcasts were rejected by their troop. Unwilling to bow their heads, they left the jungle to see the wider world… searching for a place that would accept them.]
The moment that description appeared, foreign chat sections lit up with glee.
"HAHA! D-rank! I knew a D-rank resource wouldn't be that easy!"
"Today we finally get to watch Dragon Nation collapse!"
"D-rank creature? You two look way too soft—good luck, hahaha!"
"How about this—join our great Eastern Isles while you still can!"
"Spare me. A tiny island dares run its mouth?"
The stream instantly turned into a trench war of insults and counterinsults.
But Sienna Blake didn't stop—because the file in her hands contained something worse than words.
It contained proof.
A real example of what the Wasteland Strider Ape could do.
The earlier pair of competitors who found this D-rank resource first weren't weak.
They came from a small African nation known worldwide for extreme environments and deadly fauna.
Their country specialized in toxins.
And their trump card was exactly that:
A state-developed super-poison—advertised as "something no creature on Earth can resist for even one minute."
They used it.
They landed it.
It entered the ape's body.
And it did… nothing.
Not a flinch.
Not a slowdown.
Then came the second nightmare:
Guns. Explosives. Ammunition.
None of it pierced its armor-like hide.
The end wasn't dramatic.
It was simple.
They were crushed—literally—into paste.
As Sienna Blake spoke, Dragon Nation's chat started to crack.
"So scary… should they run?"
"Run? You think you can outrun a D-rank creature?"
"Then what? Fight and die, run and die?"
"No hope. Just wait for the end…"
"GG…"
But inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone—
neither Adrian Vale nor Raven Shaw looked remotely panicked.
The Wasteland Strider Ape advanced with savage eyes, step by step, closing the distance like a sentence being read out loud.
Raven Shaw folded her arms and—shockingly—leaned back as if she were watching a show.
Her gaze slid toward Adrian Vale, amused and curious.
She wanted to see it.
She wanted to know what this "interesting little freak" was really capable of.
And yet—
Adrian Vale didn't move either.
At first glance, he almost looked… blank. Like he'd frozen.
For the first time, Raven Shaw felt a flicker of doubt.
Did I misjudge him?
No… impossible.
That sense of danger he gave her wasn't just physical. It was deeper than that—like something hungry was sleeping behind his skin.
But she didn't have time to chase the thought.
Because the ape was already within three meters.
Close enough to kill them in a single breath.
Raven Shaw's slim fingers slid to the hilt of her combat saber.
She was about to cut the problem in half—
When—
WHOA!
A streak of black shot forward.
Faster than Raven Shaw.
Faster than the viewers could process.
A blur.
A shadow.
And it struck first.
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