Doomsday Roulette

“Thanks to the rewards from the wind and sand as well as Dream Trace, it's enough, truly enough! Old Huan is already moved to tears, thank you~~”

As they drew closer to the black hole, the desolate land scent emanating from it became increasingly intense.

However, when this gigantic shadow appeared, the scent of desolation was no longer noticed, overshadowed by an earth-shattering pressure that left everyone in awe.

Even Ye Zhongming was no exception.

He finally saw the monster from his past life that had become his nightmare.

The Iron Lock Prisoner!

Standing nearly fifty meters tall, its entire body was covered in dark red, armored skin, making even the tallest humans on Earth look like mere ants in comparison.

Its stout legs stomped onto the ground at Pearl Lake, causing the earth to tremble with a tremendous roar. The three thick legs made it appear extraordinarily bizarre.

Equally strange were its four arms, which grew evenly between its shoulders and ribs; a casual movement would produce a whistling sound that displayed their inherent power.

On its gigantic head was a green horn, with a small sphere of light pulsating at its tip, flickering like a breath. The monstrous presence emanating from this creature was at least half derived from that little orb of light, which seemed to harbor a kind of thunder power.

The most peculiar feature of this monster was the many thick black iron chains coiled around its giant body. These chains comprised numerous oval metal rings the size of bowls, wrapping around its four arms, upper body, and even the upper part of its three legs, clanking loudly as it moved.

At this moment, no one knew what this creature was or where it had come from; its overwhelming power was only recognized by the mountain-like stature it possessed.

But Ye Zhongming knew that this creature, known in later generations as the Iron Lock Prisoner, was one of the few powerful beings that broke through the desolate land's barriers shortly after the apocalypse began.

Its strength was formidable, and its evolution was rapid. Currently, it bore a green magic crystal on its forehead, indicating that it was a level four evolver. In no time, this creature would escalate to level five, six, seven... and after a year of the apocalypse, it would become one of the first few nine-star monsters known to humanity!

And it was a nine-star monster wandering the world!

At that time, when humanity had no nine-star experts, the Iron Lock Prisoner was invincible. It had no specific purpose; it simply roamed the earth, destroying everything in its path. Dozens of survivor bases fell victim to its rampage, and many of humanity's hopes during the apocalypse were killed and consumed by it, leaving humanity powerless.

It wasn't until later that humanity gained nine-star experts and recognized this creature's immense threat, leading to the gathering of three powerful beings to kill it.

Humanity achieved victory, but at a heavy cost. One of the nine-star experts suffered irreparable bodily harm and soon fell in rank, ultimately succumbing to illness within a few years.

This loss meant that humanity had been deprived of a nine-star expert's incredible presence. According to eyewitnesses at the time, this monster had been injured prior to the battle, as it seemed unaware of what it was fighting; otherwise, it was uncertain whether humanity's mission would have succeeded.

Among the three nine-star experts in that battle was one that Ye Zhongming encountered in this life, Mu Xinfey!

That battle was the famous battle of the Murderous Rose!

Later, humanity conducted thorough research on the Iron Lock Prisoner and discovered that this creature was different from other monsters. Other monsters evolved through killing, feeding, and accumulating energy, but upon reaching a certain threshold, they would evolve.

The Iron Lock Prisoner, however, although it had destroyed numerous bases, did not actively seek out slaughter. As long as it wasn't provoked or obstructed on its wandering path, it wouldn't even glance at you. Thus, many researchers speculated that the Iron Lock Prisoner's evolution must be through another method—unsealing.