Chapter 226

At the entrance of the earthquake-resistant cave, Su Jing checked the last piece of equipment—the defensive shield of the improved temperature-resistant manganese crystal suit was activated, the third-tier lightning laser gun was fully charged, and the emergency medical kit and spirit fruit essence bottle at her waist were neatly arranged.

She raised her hand and patted Xiao Jin's head. Xiao Jin immediately jumped onto her shoulder, its little ears standing straight up. It had already taken in the energy fluctuations within a 1.5-kilometer radius: "Su Jing, there are only two aftershocks left outside per hour. Most of the monsters are gathered at the edge of the landslide. There are only three third-tier monsters in the direction of the mine dungeon!"

Su Jing nodded, activated her spatial ability, and the silver-gray flying car instantly appeared on the open ground at the cave entrance, with the doors automatically opening.

She bent down and sat in the driver's seat, while Xiao Jin skillfully grabbed the passenger seat. The holographic navigation automatically lit up, and the route for the western suburban mine dungeon was marked: "Distance 38 kilometers, estimated travel time 30 minutes, the route has avoided high-risk landslide areas and monster gathering points."

"Manual driving, low-speed flight, focusing on detecting energy fluctuations in the ore."

Su Jing switched driving mode, stepped on the energy pedal, and the flying car slowly took off, maintaining a stable posture 8 meters off the ground, and sped off towards the western suburbs.

As soon as they flew out of the cave, the devastation on the ground came into view—the ruins after the earthquake were in complete disarray, the collapsed building debris was piled up like mountains, the reinforced concrete was twisted into strange shapes, some areas were soaked by seawater, and the components exposed above the water were covered with rust. Every hundred meters, there was a ground crack several meters wide and bottomless, and occasionally, gravel would slide down from the edge of the crack, making a dull sound.

During the flight, Su Jing's intuitive perception and Xiao Jin's detection worked in sync.

The terrain, monster locations, and energy fluctuations within a 3-kilometer radius were clearly presented in my mind: "There is a Tier 3 Rock Armor Beast 2 kilometers to the left front, gnawing on the metal in the building ruins."

There is a risk of ground subsidence 1.5 kilometers to the right; detour 50 meters.

Three kilometers directly ahead, a faint energy fluctuation of mineral was detected, with a purity of approximately 90%, consistent with the characteristics of hematite!

Xiao Jin's voice was urgent and clear, and his little paws pointed to a collapsed mine entrance ahead.

Su Jing immediately lowered the flight altitude, parked the car on the hard surface next to the mine entrance, turned off the engine, and activated the defensive shield.

The entrance to the mine tunnel was blocked by a landslide caused by the earthquake, leaving only a half-meter-wide gap. It was pitch black inside, but a faint warmth could be felt – this was the unique energy fluctuation of hematite.

"You stay here and keep watch, I'll go in and investigate."

Su Jing instructed Xiao Jin, gathering mineral energy at her fingertips to form a pale blue energy lamp in front of her, illuminating the road ahead.

She bent down and squeezed into the crevice of the mine tunnel. The space inside was more spacious than she had imagined. Collapsed rubble piled up on both sides, forming a narrow passage.

The walls of the mine tunnel were covered with fine cracks, and water was still dripping in some areas. The water droplets fell on the gravel on the ground and made a crisp sound.

Su Jing's intuition extended to its limit; no energy fluctuation in minerals within a 3-kilometer radius could escape her detection. Soon, a relatively dense energy fluctuation appeared 100 meters ahead: "95% purity, it's hematite!"

She quickened her pace, skirting the pile of rubble, a faint reddish-brown glow appearing in the darkness ahead.

Upon closer inspection, a fist-sized hematite crystal was embedded in the rock wall. The crystal surface shone with a lustrous sheen, and its purity far exceeded that of the low-grade hematite collected earlier. Although the natural energy it contained was not as concentrated as that of the gold crystal, it was stable enough and met the system's definition of a "natural core".

Su Jing raised her hand to activate the mineral's special ability. The pale green spiritual energy seeped into the rock wall, and with a gentle pry, the hematite crystal fell off the rock wall and into her hand.

"The first one!"

Su Jing placed the crystal into the "Natural Core Area" of her space, where 93 cores were already neatly arranged. After the red iron crystal was placed in, the number automatically updated to 94.

Just as she was about to continue deeper, Xiao Jin's voice suddenly came from outside the mine tunnel: "Su Jing! There's a Tier 3 demonic beast coming this way from 800 meters to the left rear. It's the Rock Armor Beast we sensed earlier!"

Su Jing immediately held her breath, turned the brightness of the energy lamp to the lowest level, and used her intuition to sense the approaching mine tunnel—the aura of the Rock Armor Beast was getting closer and closer. It seemed to be attracted by the energy fluctuations of the red iron crystal and was walking towards the entrance of the mine tunnel.

"We can't let it block the entrance." Su Jing turned and retreated deeper into the mine tunnel, activating her third-tier lightning ability at the same time. Deep purple lightning gathered at her fingertips, preparing for battle.

The rock-armored beast's footsteps were heavy and slow, each step causing the mine tunnel to tremble slightly and loose rocks to fall.

Its massive body squeezed into the mine entrance, its rock armor gleaming coldly in the darkness, and its scarlet eyes fixed on Su Jing's direction, clearly having spotted her.

"Roar—" The rock-armored beast roared and pounced on Su Jing, its huge claws whistling as they struck her head.

Su Jing dodged to the side, simultaneously condensing her lightning-type ability into a lightning blade, and slashed fiercely at the rock-armored beast's weak point in its abdomen.

With a "whoosh," the lightning blade pierced through the rock armor, and the rock-armored beast let out a shrill scream, staggering backward as pale red blood flowed from the wound on its abdomen.

Su Jing pressed her advantage, activating her fourth-tier ice-type ability. A pale blue ice blade shot towards the rock-armored beast's wound, freezing its blood vessels and preventing its energy from recovering.

The rock-armored beast went completely berserk, ignoring its injuries, and rammed its head into Su Jing.

Su Jing activated her mineral powers, conjuring a manganese crystal shield in front of her. With a "crack," the shield shattered, and she was thrown back by the enormous impact, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

But she didn't flinch. She channeled all her remaining spiritual power into the lightning blade and struck the rock-armored beast's head once more. The lightning blade pierced through the armor and into its brain. The rock-armored beast's body twitched one last time before collapsing heavily to the ground, completely still.

Su Jing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, breathing heavily. The third-tier rock armor beast's defense was stronger than expected, consuming a lot of her spiritual power.

She took out a bottle of spiritual fruit essence and drank it. The pale green spiritual energy quickly repaired her damaged meridians, and her spiritual perception also returned to its peak state.

"Keep searching for crystals."

She turned and ventured deeper into the mine tunnel. Xiao Jin's voice came through: "Su Jing, one kilometer deep in the mine tunnel, there are six dense energy fluctuations from the ore, all with a purity of over 95%!"

Following Xiao Jin's guidance, Su Jing discovered a small hematite vein deep within the mine.

The earthquake exposed a mineral vein that was originally buried deep underground. Seven fist-sized hematite crystals were embedded in the rock wall, arranged in an arc. Their energy fluctuations intertwined, forming a faint reddish-brown halo.

Su Jing carefully used her mineral-related abilities to remove the crystals one by one. Each one was lustrous and full, with a purity of 95%, meeting the requirements of a natural core.