Right now, even without the use of a Spirit Sensor, everyone could sense the spirit energy ripples. It washed over their main and branch meridians like waves.
The source of the spirit energy was at the bottom of the cliff, where the subsurface plasma was at its thickest.
But the bottom was too far away. The spirit energy magnetic field interference was strong as well. When the superhumans activated their spirit flames, they swayed and were hard to control. Even Lin Chuan, who had the best flying abilities, did not dare to recklessly go down to investigate.
They could only search the edge of the cliff in hopes of a flight of stairs or a spot where the spirit energy magnetic field interference was not that strong. If they could find a rock stratum that was rather stable, they could lower down ropes or foldable ladders to climb down in a safer manner.
They were in the subsurface plasma, and most of the group was hidden from sight. The mine explorers could only see the backs of their teammates’ heads and the side profiles of their teammates to their sides. All they heard was their heavy breathing and their rapid heartbeats.
If they were the slightest bit careless, they would be split up and find themselves alone in the silent underground world.
The spirit energy magnetic field interference affected their optical and auditory nerves, so quite a number of people began to hallucinate and hear things. Sometimes, when they accidentally turned their heads, they saw their teammates’ faces turning pale because of the torment they went through in the subsurface plasma. They looked strange and unfamiliar, as if they were not a teammate they were familiar with, but a ghost that came from underground.
While endugin the fear of the unknown, the group moved through the subsurface plasma for five minutes. Then, suddenly, someone discovered that something was off.
There were more people.
They were supposed to be a team of around ten people.
But now, they heard dozens of people’s breaths and heartbeats around them.
It was as if there were two mine exploration teams moving in the subsurface plasma at the same time, and they were moving in the opposite direction of each other. But at some unknown point in time, they had mixed together.
This discovery caused quite a number of people to feel chills down their spines, and they instinctively screamed.
Their voices were infectious and spread through the mine exploration team like lightning.
Among the rising and falling screams, nearly half belonged to unfamiliar voices.
No one knew who was the first to attack.
They couldn’t even tell whether they had really seen their real enemy.
Everyone just drew their weapons and went to attack the seemingly unfamiliar people who had suddenly appeared in the subsurface plasma.
With a growl, one of the hunters from Sharp Blade attacked the chest of a hunter from Frenzied Blade with his saber and broke three of that person’s ribs.
That person pushed against the Sharp Blade hunter’s abdomen and fired all the bullets from his mini-submachine gun in one go.
They were spirit energy bullets mixed with superbeast bone powder and embedded with crystal fragments. They left holes in the Sharp Blade hunter’s nano fighting suit and his organs, and he fell in a bloody mess.
One of the mine explorers from Sky Pillar Corporation had just used a foldable mine chisel to stab through a Universe Corporation mine explorer’s temple when another Universe Corporation mine explorer used a flamethrower to turn him into a burning fireball.
These devastating scenes were imprinted in the eyes of the hesitant mine explorers. Now, even if they did not want to fight against other humans, they had no choice. They could only use the tools designed to crush stones to crush other human skulls.
The area descended into madness.
Due to the stimulation provided by the astronomical profit from the Red Radiance Jade mine, the new and old grudges adding fuel to the fire, and the threat of dying without a grave, everyone from the mine exploration teams from Sky Pillar Corporation and Universe Corporation went mad.
Their rationality was gone. Their civilized disguises fell away. They tossed the thought of being judged by morality and the law to the back of their minds and unleashed their desire to murder and destroy. In an instant, humans turned into monsters in human skin. They were even crazier than monsters.
It seemed like only one person maintained his final bit of rationality in the crazed slaughter.
Meng Chao cradled his head desperately and dug his teeth into his lip. He used the pain to fight against the effects of the crystals.
Helplessness and grief rose in his heart.
He really wanted to fly into the air and shout at the top of his lungs for them to stop, because they were fighting among themselves, and if they continued, no one would be able to get the Red Radiance Jade mine. In fact, they would cause the northern offense to end in failure. The plan to develop the new area would go up in smoke, and tens of millions of Dragon Citizens would die in the future!
But both sides had already gone berserk because of the slaughter. Forget about whether they would believe in his words, even if anyone stopped and listened to him, their heads would be cut off the moment their attention wandered.
‘How did things end up like this? Must we fight against each other? Can’t I do anything even if I came back from the future?
‘That’s not right. There’s something wrong. This clash happened too strangely…’
Meng Chao was dazed.
Suddenly, someone shoved him.
It was Lin Chuan.
His face was covered in blood, and he gasped like a monster. He shoved a packed military-grade backpack into Meng Chao’s arms.
“Listen, the mine explorers from Universe Corporation are too strong. We’ll all probably die here. You’re just in Spirit Tattoo Realm, so even without you, nothing will change.”
Lin Chuan grabbed Meng Chao’s collar and said fiercely, “Don’t forget about the thing you promised me. You have to protect your own life. Run while everything is in chaos.
“I’ve collected survival and mine exploration tools into this bag. There are mini crystal explosives here that can blast away stones, compressed MRE that you can eat for three days, and the most detailed map here.
“Take this bag, bypass the cliff, and look for a place to climb up. Return from where we came from. Find the place where the wall collapsed and see whether there is a crack. Then, climb over it or use those bombs to blast open a path.”
When Meng Chao saw that Lin Chuan had already prepared everything beforehand, he shuddered.
He stared at Lin Chuan. “Big Brother Lin…”
Lin Chuan misunderstood his meaning and punched his chest. “I’m not asking you to run from the battlefield. I’m giving you a very difficult task. You have to live and escape from the underground. Go to the Supernatural Tower to report all that happened here. You have to tell the truth. It’s Universe’s Shen Yulong who attacked us first. We had no other choice and were forced to fight back.
“This way, even if Shen Yulong manages to get the upper hand for the time being, he will definitely be judged by the law. You, and all the family members of those who will die here will gain benefits when they get the right to mine the place first.
“Do you understand? Don’t stand around in a daze, hurry up and go! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!”
Lin Chuan sounded really honest. He even had a sincere look on his face, as if he treated Meng Chao like a brother he really loved.
Meng Chao gulped and said, “Big Brother Lin, if I leave, what will happen to you?”
Lin Chuan smiled heartily. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Don’t forget. My beast soul is the Undying Bird. I’ve been in countless fights where I danced at the line between life and death in the wild. There are even a few times where I had one leg in my coffin, but I managed to get out.
“Shen Yulong is just a good-for-nothing rich man’s son. He isn’t strong enough to take my life. Enough with the nonsense. Go. Otherwise, I’m going to disown you!”
Meng Chao gritted his teeth and came to a decision.
“Alright. Big Brother Lin, please listen to one last thing from me, and I’ll immediately go.” He stared into Lin Chuan’s eyes and spoke rapidly. “The fungus that spews out that sticky liquid after it’s injured is known as Stone Statue Fungus. It’s named after the fact that its liquid can turn its victims into unmovable statues.
“The arthropod-type monsters that lurk in the depths of the Stone Statue Fungus troop are known as Ten Thousand Blade Flying Spiders. Just as their name suggests, their spider webs are like thousands of invisible blades.
“As for the largest creature, it’s a spider that has a Stone Statue Fungus growing on its back. It’s known as Demonic Stone Statue Spider. It’s a rarely seen evolved creature, and it’s the leader of the Stone Statue Fungi and Ten Thousand Blade Flying Spiders.
“This is knowledge that I once saw on the monster forum. You have to remember it!”
Lin Chuan was stunned, and he said in puzzlement, “… Alright, I’ll remember it. But why did you suddenly mention this?”
Meng Chao felt as if his throat was stuffed full of ice, and his voice instantly became colder. “It’s nothing.”
Without batting an eyelid, he tightened his grip over his chain sabers and adjusted all the muscle fibers ub his fingers to ensure that they were at the perfect state to execute power.
Gunshots rang out around them.
Bullets traveled even faster than the sound. One arrived in front of them like a fierce bolt of lightning.
This was from the opponent’s four-star superhuman, solo gunslinger Li Xin!
“Move!”
Lin Chuan’s pupils swiftly shrank until they were only two dots. He endured the pain, and his Undying Bird instantly grew to its largest. It opened its burning, bloody wings and formed an arc-shaped energy shield to protect Meng Chao.
Boom!
The crystal bullet was filled with Li Xin’s powerful energy. It clashed fiercely against Lin Chuan’s Undying Bird, and blinding sparks rose from it.
Both of them were four-star superhumans and Heaven Realm elites.
Li Xin had been lurking for a long time while observing them, forming his plans, and locking down on them.
But Lin Chuan had to protect Meng Chao, who was only a one-star superhuman. He was caught off guard, and he suffered for it.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face instantly turned stark pale. Even his Undying Bird’s bloody wings turned dark.
“Why aren’t you gone yet?!” Lin Chuan roared at Meng Chao.
His expression was so fierce that he looked like a savage demon who had crawled out of the depths of hell. Then, he turned his back to Meng Chao and pounced at his greatest speed in the direction of the gunshot to close the distance between him and Li Xin.
While Meng Chao hesitated for a moment, Lin Chuan and Li Xin disappeared in the depths of the subsurface plasma.
It was a fight to the death between Heaven Realm elites, and his current self was not strong enough to do anything about it.
He could only watch dumbly as Lin Chuan’s back vanished from his sight. With trembling fingers, he pressed against his eyeballs with everything that he had so that he could try and rub away the notification that Kindling gave him at the top of his vision.
[Special citizen Lin Chuan received your guidance, and his understanding toward unidentified monsters increased. Increased contribution points by 1.]
‘I knew it.’
Meng Chao’s heart clenched in pain.
Lin Chuan, his neighbor, senior brother, and idol had turned from a pseudo heroic citizen to a special citizen!