With Dila joining them, their travel speed increased dramatically.
It took them only tens of minutes to reach the Building Graveyard. There, Ming Kai—who rarely spoke but possessed outstanding hands-on skills—rigged up a tactical vest for Dila.
Tail also designed weapons that Dila could use.
By tugging a rope with his small claws, for instance, he could drop weapons from the sky.
This was destined to have terrible accuracy, however, and it wouldn't kill an enemy unless it smashed right through their brain.
In the end, Li Ban decided against installing it.
Setting off from the Building Graveyard once more, Li Ban had essentially packed up and taken all the waste elements from the area, replenishing what he had consumed to save Dila.
Afterward, they flew at high altitude at extreme speeds, sweeping past Cliffside Camp and Underwoods Camp.
Since there were almost no flying humans or monsters at the edge of the continent, the people below didn't notice the giant dragon soaring overhead.
A massive canyon appeared before Li Ban and the others, stretching out like the horizon itself.
Even Ming Kai and Tail, who had been here before, were utterly shocked. It was their first time gazing at the White Strait from this vantage point.
The White Strait wasn't particularly wide—not even as wide as the River of Forgetfulness or the River of Helplessness—but it was incredibly deep.
White clouds and mist piled up within it, truly resembling seawater.
As the mist occasionally parted to reveal the scene below, the group looked down but couldn't see the bottom at all.
"Fly straight across," Li Ban said, patting the black dragon beneath him.
Dila stared at the White Strait with a trace of fear. "I want to fly a little higher. That place is too deep. I'm a bit scared of heights."
Li Ban couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. "You—"
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly spotted a group of people near the edge of the White Strait on their side.
For some reason, one of them had actually looked up and discovered their presence.
Li Ban had already recognized the people below.
"It's Guo Kao from Underwoods Camp, and Shu Yu from Red Fruit Camp. Shu Yu has already swapped to a new body; it looks like she surrendered."
Right at that moment, the people below seemed to recognize the passengers on the black dragon's back as well.
Guo Kao lowered his binoculars and waved his arms exaggeratedly.
Li Ban patted the black dragon. "Dila, let's go down and take a look at those people."
Almost no one around him had any recent experience living on the opposite side of the White Strait.
Even Tail, who ran around everywhere, didn't have a deep understanding of the situation over there since she rarely stayed in camps.
Originally, Li Ban had planned to cross over first and then find a relatively friendly camp to ask for information.
But now, it seemed he had a new option.
Dila was a bit shy around strangers, but he tried his best to straighten his back and maintain his dignity as a giant dragon. Adjusting his two pairs of massive fleshy wings, he slowly lowered his altitude.
He could have actually executed a high-speed dive landing, but he wasn't very skilled at it yet and was afraid of plowing his chin into the ground again.
Pressing down on his hat, Guo Kao looked up at the giant black creature slowly flapping its wings. As it landed a hundred meters in front of them, he let out a soft, "Wow."
"I thought there were no spirit beasts left on this side of the White Strait," Shu Yu said, staring at the black dragon in disbelief.
I wonder if they'd mind taking us across with them, Guo Kao thought hopefully, then trotted over.
"Hello! My god, it's actually you!"
Seeing Li Ban's group, Guo Kao acted as surprised as if he had only just recognized them.
"I didn't expect you to get such a powerful spirit beast right after leaving Cliffside Camp. No wonder Gu Sa and the others couldn't make you stay."
Guo Kao addressed this primarily to Li Ban.
He more or less knew the others present, including Tail.
Therefore, he firmly believed that this black spirit beast belonged to the newly arrived and highly mysterious Li Ban.
"We're heading to the opposite side of the White Strait," Li Ban said.
"That's great. Could you give us a ride?" Guo Kao turned and pointed at the churning mist of the White Strait. "The Thread Bridge that crosses the strait is currently covered by fog. We might have to wait anywhere from a few days to a few months to cross, but I need to report back to Black Beast Camp as soon as possible."
"You're from Black Beast Camp?" Tail's expression immediately turned ugly.
Guo Kao smiled and spread his hands. "But I'm not part of Vice Leader Chang Hai's faction. We advocate for voluntary participation rather than forcing people to undergo beastification modifications. So, we aren't enemies."
Li Ban glanced back at Tail. He figured that the destruction of Tail's actual tail might have been the work of certain people from Black Beast Camp.
"Should we take them?" Li Ban asked Tail.
Tail was now a member of their squad; whether or not they brought Guo Kao along to establish a connection with Black Beast Camp wasn't particularly important.
Besides, there were definitely other camps on the other side of the White Strait aside from Black Beast Camp.
Black Beast Camp was also quite far from the center of the continent, so they wouldn't be staying there long anyway.
However, Tail wasn't as angry as Li Ban had expected. She turned her head away. "Up to you."
Did this mean she didn't harbor much ill will toward Guo Kao's group?
Just as Guo Kao had said, Black Beast Camp was divided into several factions. Guo Kao's faction was likely opposed to Tail's true enemies, which was why she was more willing to help the enemy of her enemy.
But Tail didn't explicitly ask Li Ban to help her enemy's enemy; instead, she handed the decision back to him.
Because Li Ban was the true leader of this squad.
Li Ban smiled, turning back to Guo Kao and the others who had just run over. "Dila's carrying capacity is limited. We can only take two people across."
Guo Kao beamed. "That's perfect. Just take me and Shu Yu. The others can wait for the Thread Bridge to appear before crossing the White Strait."
Having considered the possibility of other members joining in the future, Ming Kai had intentionally designed two extra seats on the dragon's back.
As it happened, Guo Kao only needed to bring Shu Yu back to report as soon as possible.
Shu Yu looked at the black dragon, a flash of fear passing through her eyes.
She was actually a bit afraid of heights.
It had been fine inside the buildings, as the structures—filled with partitions, windows, and vines—gave her plenty of places to find her footing.
But once she got on this black spirit beast and ascended into the clouds, there truly wouldn't be any buffer between her and the ground.
However, Shu Yu was no longer the one calling the shots here.
Guo Kao led her onto Dila's back. The two tied the safety ropes Ming Kai had crafted around their waists, then grabbed the straps meant to secure their bodies—Guo Kao with novelty, Shu Yu with trepidation.
Seeing Li Ban sitting at the very front of Dila's back, Guo Kao used a wheat flatbread to trade seats with Ed, then asked considerately,
"This must be your first time going to the opposite side of the White Strait, right?"
Li Ban nodded. He knew that with Guo Kao's emotional intelligence, the man would know to repay his help without needing a reminder. "Yes."
"I'll first explain the distribution of power on the other side. Let me know if you have any needs."
Guo Kao tactfully began to help Li Ban understand the situation.
"In the area across the White Strait, there are a total of four major camps."
"They are Red Fruit Camp, which guards the red fruit forest and controls the sales channels; our Black Beast Camp, which raises spirit beasts; Bell Tower Camp, which possesses long-range attack capabilities; and lastly, Canyon Camp, which is closest to the White Strait."
Next, Guo Kao explained the relationships between the four camps to Li Ban.
Because they were all living beings struggling to survive in the Recycling Station, on the surface, the four camps watched out for and helped one another.
But in reality, their internal dynamics were incredibly complicated.
Guo Kao openly told Li Ban that their Black Beast Camp also played the role of the bad guy among them.
"The reason we targeted Red Fruit Camp this time is actually quite simple," Guo Kao said with a bitter smile. "Red Fruit Camp monopolizes all the red fruits and strictly controls the amount sold externally. When cases of accidental human flesh consumption happen in our three camps, this prevents us from saving them in time. And recently, a large amount of white fluff has appeared at the borders, which means the fog is going to expand again. The continent's habitable area will shrink, and monsters will become even more concentrated."
It wasn't just starving people who would consume the flesh and blood of their own kind.
Among them were warriors who accidentally had the severed limbs of their comrades knocked into their mouths during battle, stalwart defenders dragged down to hell by despairing individuals who had given up all hope, and repentant souls who momentarily slipped into the abyss but quickly regained their senses—
The red fruit could give them a second chance.
Life in the Recycling Station might be bleak and hopeless, but they still wanted to live.
Sitting behind Guo Kao, Shu Yu alternately frowned and lowered her head, seemingly aware that everything he said was true.
She was only a mid-level leader in her camp, so she could only follow her superior's orders.
Now that she had become the enemy's captive, she could actually relax and let things run their course.
Li Ban nodded, withholding judgment on the behavior of the various camps.
He had only heard Guo Kao's side of the story; it was unclear whether there were other hidden details involved.
After that, Guo Kao described the characteristics of the four camps to Li Ban, inevitably slipping in a bit of praise for Black Beast Camp.
He believed that since Black Beast Camp controlled spirit beasts and unified with them—allowing them to advance and attack or retreat and defend—they would become the strongest camp near the White Strait once the voices of the different factions were united.
However, seeing Li Ban's unmoved expression, Guo Kao scratched his chin, knowing his subtle persuasion had failed.
"Are you going to continue toward the center of the continent? It's more dangerous over there, and there are plenty of flying monsters."
"I'm heading to Wanghai Cliff first. I heard there's an Observer there." Li Ban didn't hide his current goal.
Riding the black dragon Dila increased their travel speed, but it also meant they had become a very conspicuous target.
The people on the opposite side of the White Strait had already started paying attention to the activity in the sky.
And if Dila flew too high, his teammates wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Ah, I know the Observer. Some people heard he calls himself Director. What a nostalgic title," Guo Kao recalled after a moment of thought. "If you're going to Wanghai Cliff, I can give you a recent map."
"Although most people in the Recycling Station stay in their own territories and live cautiously, there are also adventurers who travel back and forth between different regions for trade or simply for adventure."
"Among these people, there are those specifically responsible for updating maps. They mark down monster gathering spots, distribution patterns, general strength levels, famous nearby camps, and notable landmarks."
So, only the people living on the borders of the continent had truly given up on leaving the Recycling Station. The closer one got to the center of the continent, the more people there were who still hadn't given up hope.
The corners of Li Ban's mouth curled up slightly. He felt this was exactly how it should be.
People were always both prone to despair and reluctant to abandon hope.
Previously, influenced by Zhu Yao's depression and the atmosphere of Cliffside Camp, he had thought the overall tone of this world was entirely gloomy and hopeless.
Of course, just because there was hope didn't mean their actions would go smoothly.
The obstacles before them wouldn't diminish just because hope existed.
Li Ban had already mapped out his next plan in his mind.
He would go to Wanghai Cliff first, recruiting some valuable team members along the way.
Then he would find the Director.
The man was far from simple.
Whether it was the Swing Vines with communication capabilities or the machines that consumed Priests to cultivate White Seeds, he had created them all.
Perhaps this Director, who had even made the Great Wizard Faceless One sigh in admiration, knew the deeper secrets of the Recycling Station.
And this would be Li Ban's first time meeting the real Director.
Thinking of this, he even felt a little nervous, as if he had returned to his first time entering the Laboratory.
There were too many unknowns.
"Do you have the map on you, or do we need to go to your camp to get it?"
"I own it, but it's in my room at the camp. I left it there and didn't bring it with me."
While the two were talking, the black dragon Dila had already flown over the White Strait.
The seemingly insurmountable chasm had been effortlessly crossed.
Up close, the mist churned wildly, but from a distance, it looked completely still.
It looked like a static white line dividing two continents.
Sitting on Dila's back, Li Ban gazed as far as his eyes could see.
Suddenly, he faintly made out a patch of black on the horizon.
That patch of black was too far away; even when Li Ban squinted, he couldn't see it any more clearly.
Just then, Guo Kao spoke with a hint of anxiety. "We're nearing Bell Tower Camp. It's best if we land and proceed on the ground. If they see a black dragon flying over, they might think it's a monster attacking."
"Go down," Li Ban said, patting Dila's neck.
Dila shook his head and began to beat his wings.
Perhaps because there were more people on his back, Dila noticeably stumbled twice when he landed.
Li Ban leaped off the dragon's back early and raised a hand to support the black dragon's small claws.
"Woo woo woo, thank you, Lord Priest."
Dila lowered his head, seemingly wanting to nuzzle Li Ban with it, but he was rebuffed.
Although this giant dragon was less than a day old, his head was truly massive.
His attempt to nuzzle Li Ban didn't look like an act of affection at all; instead, it felt like a truck barreling toward him.
With Li Ban's help, Dila landed safely. Except for Zhu Yao, everyone else hastily unbuckled their safety belts and slid down the giant dragon's thighs to the ground.
Even though they knew there were two Priests beside them, meaning they wouldn't actually hit the ground if they fell off the dragon's back, they still felt weak in the knees. They just wanted to plant their feet firmly on solid earth.
Surprisingly, the one who adapted the fastest here was Ed.
Even Tail's expression was a bit stiff.
Perhaps it was because Ed's brain was simply incapable of imagining the scenario of falling off the dragon's back, allowing him to purely enjoy the thrill of high-altitude flight.
"Let's go this way." Guo Kao took out his binoculars, took a look, and then chose a slightly longer, roundabout route. "There are people fighting ahead."