HBWnovel Chapter 331: Fearless of Curses, the Mine's Transcendent!
Chapter 331: Fearless of Curses, the Mine's Transcendent!
One second, two seconds, three seconds.One minute, two minutes... five minutes!
The stone slab embedded with the Energy-Gathering Redstone maintained a steady energy supply, continuously outputting up to 1,800 watts of power.
Yet, it was precisely this extreme stability that made the confusion in Cheng Ye's heart grow heavier.
According to the law of conservation of energy, no energy device could generate power out of thin air. They could only convert energy from one form to another, such as light or chemical energy into electrical energy.
The stone slab relied on absorbing sunlight to supply power, but the irradiance of sunlight on the ground was inherently limited.
Although it was a clear noon and the solar irradiance was roughly 1,000 watts per square meter, based on the actual surface area of the stone slab, it could absorb a maximum of about ten watts of solar energy.
To stably output 1,800 watts meant that it had to 'create' energy far exceeding its input within a unit of time. This completely violated the first law of thermodynamics and entirely overturned common sense.
Therefore, Cheng Ye immediately ruled out the hypothesis that the stone slab was simply a highly efficient solar absorption device.
Since it was not a simple solar energy absorption device, why did it only emit light and generate energy when exposed to sunlight?
Cheng Ye gripped the stone slab, his gaze locked tightly onto those spiral patterns as he began a meticulous observation.
He first brought the slab into a shaded area deep within the mine. The patterns started to dim from the outermost layer, fading circle by circle until all the light converged at the ending point of the pattern in the center of the slab. The entire process followed an astonishingly strict regularity.
He silently noted this phenomenon and then moved the stone slab back to the cave entrance to be exposed to the sunlight once more.
This time, he watched with exceptional focus and quickly discovered a peculiar detail he had previously overlooked.
Under the sunlight, extremely subtle raised and indented changes appeared within the spiral grooves. The unlit sections were noticeably flatter than the areas that were already glowing.
Moreover, the brightness across the entire Spiral Light Path was uneven, with a clear variance in luminosity.
The closer the light path was to the center, the brighter it shone, whereas the outer sections were slightly dimmer in comparison.
Even more crucially, the spiral patterns surrounding the spot where he had randomly embedded the Redstone particle earlier were noticeably brighter.
However, since the stone slab was already somewhat dazzling under direct sunlight, these minute changes were difficult to catch with the naked eye. He had to repeatedly switch the slab between the light and the dark to confirm this pattern.
"Spiral Light Path... the gradient changes in light intensity..."
A bold thought suddenly flashed through Cheng Ye's mind, causing his fingers gripping the slab to tighten subconsciously. He inexplicably felt that the stone slab in his palm was a bit scalding.
This thing looked like a lifeless, inanimate object, but these subtle phenomena made it seem more like some kind of... living creature!
It was only because its appearance perfectly matched human cognition of a 'stone slab' that he had not associated it with biology from the very beginning.
He suddenly recalled that the Collector's classification for the Stone Sunflower People was actually plant-type.
The moment this thought arose, a flash of inspiration struck Cheng Ye's mind. The Energy-Gathering Redstones on the face of the first Stone Sunflower Person he encountered were not as orderly as those on its counterparts at the cliff top.
Perhaps because they were too few in number, the mere six Redstones on its face had been haphazardly scattered within the stone-like wrinkles of its visage.
'Could it be that this Stone Sunflower Person had grown crookedly?'
'Or did the distribution of the Redstones inherently hold a hidden pattern, and this pattern was the key to increasing energy absorption efficiency?'
Unfortunately, the Redstone particle he had casually embedded into the slab earlier was now firmly fused to it.
Cheng Ye picked at it with his finger, but the particle seemed to have entered a complete State of Symbiosis with the slab. If he forced it out, he would likely have to smash the entire stone slab to pieces.
"If I could just get one more Redstone particle, I could test out different ways of embedding it!"
Cheng Ye set the slab down and looked over at the Stone Sunflower People on the opposite cliff, who were greedily absorbing the sunlight, unable to stop his mind from wandering.
But he also knew clearly in his heart that the Energy-Gathering Redstone's Trait had already been extracted. Even if he killed more Stone Sunflower People to collect their Traits, he did not have enough Recharge Value on hand to materialize them.
He wondered if there was any Redstone that could be directly mined inside this cave?
However, on second thought, the material of the Redstones on the Stone Sunflower People was completely different from the Redstones mined in the Red River Gathering Place back in the day. Its Trait even had the additional words 'Energy-Gathering', making it highly unlikely to be the same product.
Not to mention, he had already promised Liu Bi that he wouldn't risk entering the mine. The moment this thought popped up, Cheng Ye completely dismissed it.
In that case... he could only target the Stone Sunflower People themselves.
That being said, the Biological Deconstruction Rays emitted by the Stone Sunflower People had already shrouded the gathering place for half the day, showing no signs of stopping. No one knew if it would last until sunset.
Furthermore, based on his previous shooting experience, the Bison Combat Pistol could not penetrate the defense of a Stone Sunflower Person at all.
Even if he hit an Energy-Gathering Redstone, it would only trigger a chain reaction that shattered the other Redstones, erupting in a fatal Deconstruction Ray.
He was unsure if the two Vulcan machine guns on the roof of the Armored Vehicle could tear through a Stone Sunflower Person's defense, but before resorting to such methods, perhaps there were other alternatives to try.
The Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse only provided pure physical strength and the Blink Ability, lacking any extra offensive methods.
However, relying on the two special attacks provided by Little Flame—the Blazing Eagle's Killing Fire and the Earth Fire Power—which could even break through the Demon Eye Sponge's purple light barrier, he might be able to damage the Stone Sunflower People.
Of course, even if these two abilities were effective, attempting it would still be an extreme risk.
This was because Little Flame's power simply could not be attached to bullets. He had to engage the Stone Sunflower Person in close-quarters combat to unleash it.
If the Stone Sunflower Person detected him beforehand and swept a Deconstruction Ray his way, the consequences would be unimaginable.
'I always felt that my current strength wasn't weak, but after coming out to the Wilderness, I've realized that simply stacking stats is completely inadequate in the face of true danger.'
'Being able to control... mechanisms and master the rules is the core key to surviving in this world.'
'Against the shadow puppet giant, crushing it with superior stats was fine. But facing an existence like the Stone Sunflower Person, which possesses an instant-kill ability, I don't even have the confidence to take the risk.'
'What I lack the most right now is a control ability, ideally an unsolvable hard control that can restrict the enemy's movements at critical moments.'
Cheng Ye sat at the cave entrance, bathing in the sunlight that spilled in, quietly contemplating his future path for developing abilities.
Before venturing into the Wilderness, he had been following the route of stacking stats, intending to forge himself into an invincible tanky warrior who could clash head-on with Infected Bodies using a robust physical body.
Yet, when he encountered the Seamless Shadow Puppet, the hidden dangers of this path had already revealed themselves.
Unable to even detect the enemy's traces, he could only be trapped in the courtyard, passively taking hits. It was truly far too passive.
And this time, encountering the Stone Sunflower People directly exposed the weaknesses of a stat-focused build in the early stages.
Until his stats stacked up to a sufficient magnitude, he had to rely on other methods to cover his shortcomings, taking the path of all-around development to make up for his current disadvantages.
He closed the System Panel.
Wiping the hot sweat from his forehead, Cheng Ye felt his throat growing dry and increasingly thirsty, so he naturally shifted further into the mine, hoping to find a cooler, shaded spot to rest.
But the moment he lowered his hand, his gaze inadvertently swept across the back of his left hand, and a dark red Rune suddenly caught his eye.
'The Rune?'
'Withering?'
'Plants?'
As if a mental blockage had suddenly cleared, Cheng Ye abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with astonishment and sudden realization.
How could he have forgotten the Runes given to him by Tan Ming?
How could he have tossed the Life Force Rune and the Withering Rune, which could directly control plants, to the back of his mind?
Since these Stone Sunflower People were classified as plants by the Collector, didn't that mean they were also under Lord Tan Ming's jurisdiction?
Equipping the identity of Tan Ming's Envoy, a faint sense of connection immediately transmitted over.
The two Runes on the back of his hand instantly reacted as well, no longer remaining completely dormant like lifeless tattoos.
However, to unlock the Withering Rune, he needed to extend Tan Ming's power to other regions to gain the authority to use its special powers. To unlock the Life Force Rune, he needed to plant ten acres of fields and complete a single harvest.
According to the Elder, once these two tasks were initiated, he would begin to merge with Tan Ming's Belief.
Cheng Ye had never dared to rashly start the tasks, not daring to casually open these two Pandora's boxes. He had only been hoping to wait until his Inspector Rank in the Collector was high enough to collect the Runes and modify the task requirements before making any plans.
But apart from directly activating the Runes to obtain their complete power, Little Flame had actually inherited a portion of Tan Ming's abilities as well.
It possessed both the Ring of Life Force, which could extract Vitality from plants, and the Ring of Death, which could convert a special Bloodshadow Legion.
With a thought from Cheng Ye, the Little Flame mark between his brows instantly flickered, and the sensory connection to the two Runes on the back of his hand became increasingly clear.
An inexplicable power spread along his arm and through his entire body. He subconsciously closed his eyes to sense the Vitality.
Just like before in the Rongdong, even with his eyelids closed, the world before him did not plunge into darkness.
Amidst the chaos, streaks of light continued to flicker incessantly. Each streak of light precisely corresponded to the Stone Sunflower People absorbing sunlight at the mine entrances on the cliff face.
The higher up the cliff, the more blazing the light became, tinged with a bizarre, blood-red hue.
The further down, the dimmer the light grew, gradually fading from blood-red to a pale pink.
Starkly different from the green Vitality normal plants should possess, each Stone Sunflower Person resembled a ball of burning, illusory flame, seemingly not fully under Tan Ming's jurisdiction.
Suddenly, Cheng Ye's heart stirred, and he subconsciously looked down at his feet.
This single glance shook his mind tremendously. He saw dense, illusory sensory threads drilling down into the earth from beneath his feet. The thick mountain mass isolated most of his perception, but as the threads extended further and further, an increasing number of light specks began to flash wildly at the ends of the threads.
These specks of light were no longer the fiery red of the Stone Sunflower People, but had morphed into a spectral green, like clusters of erratic will-o'-the-wisps.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to have transformed into an inverted starry sky, with swaths of spectral green lights flickering in and out of existence. Every flicker emanated a terrifying, eerie vibe.
'My God, beneath this mine, these spectral green lights... Could they all be Stone Sunflower People?'
Cheng Ye's heart pounded incessantly, nearly bursting out of his chest.
But just as he was about to concentrate and investigate carefully, a flame so blazing it stung the eyes suddenly erupted from within that 'starry sky'!
Like a volcanic eruption, it frantically spread upward along those illusory sensory threads, aiming straight for his location!
'Holy shit!'
'This underground monstrosity can actually sense someone spying on it?!'
Almost the instant the trail of fire spread along the sensory threads, Cheng Ye didn't even have time to think. He snapped his eyes open, instantly exiting the Symbiotic State, and simultaneously unequipped the identity of Tan Ming's Envoy entirely.
The two Runes on the back of his hand dimmed in a flash, reverting back into the dull, blurry tattoos they usually were, as if they had never stirred in the first place.
However, just two or three seconds later.
Boom!
The entire mine suddenly trembled violently. Broken stones tumbled down from the rock walls, smashing into the ground with a dense clatter.
Even more terrifyingly, the tremors grew stronger and more frantic. It was as if some colossal Giant Creature was rampaging wildly underground, threatening to break through the mountain at any moment and grind the entire mine, along with everyone inside it, into dust!
"Quick, run!"
"Brother B, get on the Flying Wings!"
Cheng Ye roared, the scalp-numbing sensation rushing through his entire body once again.
'Here we go again!'
He hadn't expected to experience such a life-and-death escape consecutively within the span of a single day.
He fiercely dashed into the cave, activated the Flying Wings first, and then bent down to grab Zhang Daping and Yin Ruofeng, who hadn't yet reacted, hauling both of them onto his shoulders.
At the exact moment he hoisted the men up, Liu Bi and Niu Fu, who were dozing just a second ago, scrambled to their feet the next, staggering and tilting their bodies to stand on the side edge of the Flying Wings.
With five people standing on the Flying Wings at the same time, it was instantly overweight!
The bionic wings on both sides flapped frantically, emitting an overwhelmed creaking sound. Every flap was accompanied by violent shaking, but fortunately, its balance could barely be maintained.
But at this moment, no one cared about any of that. Everyone's attention was captured by the increasingly terrifying tremors behind them.
The Flying Wings struggled to break free from the cave entrance's confines, desperately climbing up along the steep cliff face. Every inch of movement was incredibly difficult, as if an invisible giant hand were tightly dragging it down from below, trying to pull it back into the abyss of the collapsing mine.
"Wh... what's going on?" Liu Bi asked, completely dumbfounded, because this time, he hadn't sensed the slightest premonition of danger.
But before his words could fall, a thick, rainbow-like crimson beam of light abruptly pierced through the rock face of the mine entrance they had just occupied, stabbing straight toward the opposite cliff!
That beam of light was so dense it looked almost tangible, carrying a suffocating pressure. Wherever it passed, the air itself was scorched and distorted.
No!
It wasn't just the entrance they were just at!
At this moment, every mine entrance on the cliff without a Stone Sunflower Person stationed at it was spewing out equally thick, crimson beams of light!
Some entrances faced each other directly, causing the light beams to violently intersect in midair, coagulating into an energy tunnel radiating an eerie red glow.
Other entrances were slanted upwards, and their light beams struck the mountainside, projecting a massive Stone Sunflower emblem.
Boom!
An unprecedented sense of crisis instantly erupted. Liu Bi's entire body trembled violently; his legs gave out, and he almost tumbled right off the Flying Wings!
Fortunately, Niu Fu had quick reflexes. Reaching out with his uninjured right hand, he firmly seized Liu Bi by the hair, forcefully yanking him back.
The Flying Wings tilted sharply, and the two men slung over Cheng Ye's shoulders almost slid off.
Luckily, the two weren't exactly ordinary people. Hovering on the line between life and death, they forcibly suppressed the terror in their hearts and desperately clutched onto Cheng Ye's clothes. Not daring to make any large movements, they barely managed to stabilize themselves.
After another two or three seconds, the Flying Wings' automatic balance system finally kicked in, slowly leveling the chassis.
Cheng Ye tightened his arms slightly, squeezing the two upwards to prevent them from falling.
"In... Inspector Cheng..." Yin Ruofeng's face was as pale as paper. With trembling lips, he used his eyes to gesture for everyone to look down.
Following Yin Ruofeng's gaze, the beam of light surging from the cave entrance was shockingly positioned less than half a meter directly beneath the Flying Wings!
Looking up, at a height of merely three meters, another equally dense crimson beam was shooting over from an entrance on the opposite cliff, stopping just above their heads like an invisible barrier sealing off their path.
With a light beam blocking the way above and a lethal light beam below, the group was trapped in this narrow gap, unable to advance or retreat.
The Flying Wings was still shaking violently due to the excess weight. The flapping sound of the bionic wings grew increasingly grating, as if they would completely snap in the next second, causing them to lose power and plummet into the light beam below.
"Don't be afraid! This red light won't last too long!" Cheng Ye said in a deep voice.
Regardless of how long it would actually last, they absolutely could not panic now. Steadying morale was the priority.
Moreover, at this very moment, he finally understood why some cave entrances had Stone Sunflower People stationed at them while others were empty.
Every entrance occupied by a Stone Sunflower Person had no red light spraying out, nor was it illuminated by any red light.
But all the empty entrances were filled with dazzling light beams.
'Could it be that the entity underground is intelligent and knows to avoid its own people's entrances?'
'No, wait, could these Stone Sunflower People... also be melted by the Biological Deconstruction Rays?'
Cheng Ye thought about it and suddenly felt a wave of delayed fear.
If they hadn't learned this piece of information, and the legions from Happiness City had truly sent people to investigate, rashly descending into the mine tunnels...
Once the light beams erupted, wouldn't the soldiers in the tunnels be instantly annihilated?
'Damn it, this thing is simply terrifying to the extreme!'
For a place like this, humanity might truly have no choice but to seal it away completely, letting it turn into an untrodden Wasteland, forgotten for all eternity, never to be entered again.
Anyone seeking to explore it would have to face a deadly trap at every turn, where every single step could result in an instant kill.
Time flowed unusually slowly; every second dragged on like a century. Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
Fortunately, such a ferocious eruption of light beams inevitably consumed a massive amount of Energy and couldn't be sustained for long.
About half a minute later, the brilliance of the light beams gradually dimmed and contracted, and the heart-palpitating tremors from deep underground subsequently vanished.
Cheng Ye immediately adjusted the Flying Wings, cautiously flying back to the mine entrance where the group had just been staying.
The Flying Wings touched down, but the feeling of having their feet back on solid ground brought no sense of relief whatsoever.
Even the usually composed Liu Bi showed a rare look of agitation, his gaze fixed tightly on the depths of the mine.
For this light beam eruption, he hadn't sensed a single premonition; he didn't realize the danger until the light beam was already firing out.
This meant that if Cheng Ye hadn't decisively led the group to flee just now, everyone would probably have been completely annihilated by the erupting light beams.
Liu Bi turned his head, his tone solemn. "No, this place is too dangerous. We need to leave tonight."
"Yes, as soon as the red light disappears, we'll leave immediately," Cheng Ye nodded in agreement.
After sensing the existence of that colossal behemoth underground, he completely abandoned the idea of turning the mine into a temporary research base.
This place was simply too perilous. Even sleeping outdoors in the Wilderness would be ten, a hundred times safer than staying here.
Moreover, if it had only been him just now, whether it was escaping quickly on the Flying Wings or using his Blink Ability to hide in another mine, he could have gotten away leisurely.
But with four wounded men tagging along, even the slightest mishap could force everyone into a fatal predicament.
After sitting down on the ground, Cheng Ye lost all desire to study the stone slab. What kept flashing through his mind was that densely packed cluster of starry light dots deep underground, along with the scorching blaze that had abruptly surged from the center.
He could be absolutely certain that the master of that flame must have already reached the Transcendent tier.
And it was definitely no ordinary Transcendent fodder. There was a high probability that it had already stepped into the Transcendent Normal State, perhaps even touching the threshold of the Inverse State.
An existence like that was fundamentally beyond his current ability to investigate. Even if the legions of Happiness City came, they would likely have to walk on thin ice, probing bit by bit before they dared attempt Containment.
There were still four hours left until sunset.
This time, no one dared to close their eyes. Everyone sat in a circle around the Flying Wings, guarding the cave entrance with taut nerves, staring out at any movements and ready to flee at a moment's notice.
Fortunately, as long as the thing underground wasn't provoked, it didn't erupt with Deconstruction Rays again. The canyon temporarily returned to an eerie tranquility.
As the sun sank little by little toward the horizon, its light gradually dimmed, and darkness began to shroud the entire Red River Gathering Place.
The Stone Sunflower People on the cliff walls seemed to receive some silent command. They collectively retracted the red light covering the ground, and then, under Cheng Ye's watchful eyes, turned around and slowly walked towards the depths of the mines.
For some inexplicable reason, a phrase popped into Cheng Ye's mind:
'Work at sunrise, rest at sunset.'
In stark contrast to the Stone Sunflower People's terrifying lethality was their absurdly healthy daily routine.
These stone-headed beings were indeed no longer animals; they were infinitely approaching the nature of plants.
The reason they were 'infinitely approaching' was because they just so happened to be stuck in a loophole in Tan Ming's mechanics.
Even though they were classified as plants by the Collector, they didn't rely on absorbing the soil's Vitality to survive. Instead, they transformed Energy by absorbing sunlight.
Tan Ming's power could restrict the Vitality of this land, but it could not strip them of their ability to harvest sunlight.
It was precisely because of this that the creature underground had dared to launch such an unbridled attack when it sensed Tan Ming's power.
Riding the Flying Wings, Cheng Ye made two round trips, ferrying the four men down.
Once back inside the Armored Vehicle, Niu Fu consciously slid into the middle seat, while Liu Bi took the passenger seat.
Cheng Ye gripped the steering wheel and gently stepped on the gas pedal. The Armored Vehicle drove along the desolate road toward the vast Wilderness.
It wasn't until they drove out of the canyon's shroud that the four men in the car collectively breathed a sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere inside the vehicle finally relaxed.
Even though they were currently in the perilous Wilderness, as long as they weren't in that canyon, a grounded sense of security quietly welled up within them.
Cheng Ye lightly tapped the brakes, parked the Armored Vehicle on a relatively open high slope, and pulled the handbrake.
Watching the last glimmer of light on the horizon be swallowed by the darkness, only the two beams of light cast by the vehicle's headlights remained in the Wilderness.
He suddenly let out a long sigh, taking his hands off the steering wheel and leaning back into his seat, completely unwinding.
"Tired?" Liu Bi turned his head.
"Exhausted!"
Cheng Ye nodded honestly. An unprecedented wave of mental exhaustion swept over him, draining away even the strength to think. He only wanted to empty his mind completely.
"I'll take the night watch tonight. Get a good sleep," Liu Bi's voice carried a hint of gentleness.
"Mhm!"