Chapter 45. The Two Realms of Rock and Flame (End): ...
For the next month or so, all teams below S-rank focused their efforts on eliminating all the monster hordes that were being besieged.
Two SS-level teams chased the BOSS for over a month before finally annihilating all three (diamond-level) BOSSes that appeared in the West District.
I thought that after defeating all the bosses, the battlefield would be restored to its previous state, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
After the three diamond-level bosses in the West District were defeated, there were two peaceful days, followed by endless earthquakes.
Every ten minutes, there would be a two-minute earthquake with an amplitude of almost 8.0 Mw, making it impossible for people to stand on the ground.
Not long after, many large and small, deep fissures appeared on the ground.
Lin Xiaoxiao gazed at the fissures below the mountain and recalled some unpleasant memories. It was in such fissures that she and Xiao Weizhi had lived underground for several days.
Xiao Wei put his hand on her shoulder and said gently, "Yi Jin cooked Sichuan food today. Didn't you keep saying that the food was too bland and your mouth had no taste?"
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the person next to her with annoyance. The food was bland and tasteless. Who gave the order to do this?
Xiao Weizhi ignored Lin Xiaoxiao's resentful gaze, smiled, and led her to the dining table. Since he started abstaining from spicy food, he had seen this kind of look many times and had gotten used to it.
Compared to other teams that were struggling to stand and eat properly, the Dragon Fang and Tiger Roar teams ate heartily and slept soundly.
The reason is that when Xiao Weizhi was preparing supplies, he prepared a [(Bronze-level) Folding Floating Camp Terrace].
[Folding Floating Camp Terrace (Bronze Level): When unfolded, it is a 36m*36m square special metal terrace, which can be adjusted to float up to 2m off the ground. Even an earthquake will not prevent you from resting comfortably in the wild. It consumes one piece of advanced energy every 6 hours.]
After the earthquake began, Xiao Weizhi asked Lin Xiaoxiao to take this prop out of her spatial storage.
Gu Qingqi's eyes widened to the size of cowbells, and his tone was sour it sounded like he had just eaten dozens of lemons: "I also want an A-level talent in logistics for a super-large space."
Did the professionals who entered this dungeon not know that an earthquake would occur?
In fact, everyone knows that the information provided by the operations department states that earthquakes may occur occasionally.
However, given their limited space, their priority was survival supplies; followed by various medicines and remedies; and lastly, items to improve their lives.
However, even foldable tools that can improve life are not small in size and take up a lot of space, so under normal circumstances, people try not to bring them and rely on their bodies to overcome all kinds of extreme environments.
Xiao Weizhi scoffed: "You can go find someone, as long as you think it through and decide which professional player in the team should leave."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqi immediately fell silent.
Tiger Roar's team has a more complete personnel configuration than Dragon Fang's team. Removing either one would cause the team's combat power to drop significantly.
Longya lacks support-type aura masters and long-range archers; they only have Cheng Cheng as a priest, and they haven't even managed to gather the maximum number of 12 people for their squad.
Therefore, Dragon Fang is a well-known eccentric team in the capital, not only with high combat power but also with a capricious class configuration.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi strolled toward the dining table, chatting as they walked.
Cheng Cheng sat at the table and waved to Lin Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, come here quickly. Brother Yi Jin made Sichuan cuisine today. It looks delicious and looks amazing."
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly walked to the empty seat next to Cheng Cheng and sat down. Looking at the bright red food on the table, she picked up the chopsticks placed to the side and swallowed.
Xiao Weizhi poured a cup of dark tea and placed it next to her, smiling as he reminded her, "Drink this after you finish eating."
At the same time, an identical cup of tea appeared next to Cheng Cheng.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Cheng Cheng exchanged a glance, their resistance about to materialize and overflow.
Chen Yijin's specially blended "cooling tea" has an immediate effect within two hours of drinking one cup. Apart from being so bitter that your internal organs feel like they're all crumpled up, it has no other problems.
Gu Qingqi, who was not far away, couldn't help but tease, "Weizhi, you only pour drinks for Xiaoxiao, but not for your brother?"
Xiao Weizhi paused in putting down the teapot, then replaced it with a large 1-liter cup, filled it to the brim, and placed it in front of Gu Qingqi: "Drink it all."
Gu Qingqi was somewhat surprised that Xiao Weizhi would actually pour him a glass.
He assumed Xiao Weizhi was concerned about his image in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, so he picked up his glass and laughed wildly: "No problem, brother will definitely finish it, um, cough cough cough cough."
Gu Qingqi choked on the tea he had just drunk and sprayed it out, even spilling some of the food in front of him.
Those in the Dragon Fang Squad who knew the inside story burst into laughter.
From the moment Gu Qingqi said he wanted to finish the tea, they even held their breath, afraid of being discovered. Gu Qingqi refused to drink it (because the Dragon Fang Squad had all drunk it).
Seeing Gu Qingqi being teased by Xiao Weizhi, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but burst into laughter as well.
When Xiao Weizhi saw Lin Xiaoxiao's smile, the corners of his mouth also curled up slightly in a pleasant arc.
After Gu Qingqi recovered, she insisted on pouring Xiao Weizhi a large glass as well, making him drink with her, otherwise she wouldn't drink anymore...
The meal passed by amidst laughter and chatter from the group.
After the meal, the two teams sat together and chatted. Because of the earthquakes that had been happening for the past few days, not only were the professionals unable to leave, but even the monsters couldn't get through.
For a time, everyone settled into a state of resting at the campsite, but they were more comfortable because of the folding suspended terrace.
Wang Hao and Jiang Tao lay sprawled in their chairs, looking utterly bored.
Li Junxuan, Liu Huihui, and the three old men from Huxiaoli went to a corner of the terrace to squat down, smoke, and chat.
Lin Xiaoxiao, Cheng Cheng, and several female professionals from the Tiger Roar team gathered together to chat about small topics among girls.
Xiao Weizhi, Chen Feng, Gu Qingqi, and Jiang Bufan (Deputy Captain of Tiger Roar) sat together to discuss possible future situations and make various pre-planned decisions.
Seven days passed quickly. During this time, the earthquakes became more and more obvious, and the cracks in the ground increased. Not a single monster could be seen outside.
This anomaly has put many professionals on edge, creating a sense of impending doom.
At around 4 a.m. on the 10th day, an unprecedented tremor struck.
Even the Dragon Fang and Tiger Roar teams, who were on the floating, folding terrace, sensed something was wrong.
The first thing Xiao Weizhi and the others did after getting up was to quickly pack up all their belongings and then head to the meeting point in the West District.
Upon arriving at the meeting point, standing at the entrance of the residence halfway up the mountain and looking down, all the well-informed professionals couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
The open space below the mountain was completely covered by fiery red lava, with only some scattered fragments of land floating on the lava.
There was also an extremely large cylindrical body rolling in the magma. The thick body was at least eight or nine stories high when viewed directly. Only the huge body was slowly moving, with no head in front and no tail behind.
With each roll, the white scales on it became even more dazzling under the baptism of the lava, reflecting specks of seven colors.
Lin Xiaoxiao frowned and looked down, her gaze passing through the faint heat waves to the giant snake leader BOSS, while the sound of a flute could be clearly heard in her ears.
She also discovered a strange pattern: the snake boss was twisting and turning in sync with the flute music. Whenever the flute music pitch rose, the boss's turning movements would become even more exaggerated.
Xiao Weizhi watched for a while, then lowered his voice and instructed the big guys in the Dragon Fang: "This BOSS is beyond our ability to handle. Follow instructions. When we say run, run back immediately without hesitation."
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this boss's level is definitely no lower than epic.
The team members had no objection to Xiao Weizhi's arrangement and nodded in agreement.
A moment later, a stern middle-aged woman's voice blared from the loudspeaker: "All teams of professionals below S-rank, leave immediately and head towards the exit of the secret realm! Leave right now..."
The Dragon Fang and Tiger Roar teams immediately mounted their respective flying vehicles and headed towards the exit of the secret realm without looking back.
The flying car hadn't gone far when it heard a deafening roar. Lin Xiaoxiao turned her head and saw a huge black panther locked in a fierce battle with the leader snake BOSS.
The black panther looked even bigger than the snake boss, with a huge bronze bell hanging around its neck. With each swipe of its paw, it could tear off a large chunk of flesh and scales from the snake boss.
The snake boss roared and tried to wrap its tail around the black panther, but the black panther opened its mouth and tore several bloody wounds inflicted on it. After several attempts, the snake boss decided to escape and lay down to dive into the scalding lava.
The black leopard jumped down as well, as if the temperature of the lava was just lukewarm water to it.
In just over ten minutes, the leader snake BOSS was bitten to death by the black panther. Countless gold coins and equipment sprayed out from the BOSS's body, forming a magnificent rain of gold coins that fell into the scalding lava.
Along with the gold coins, a purple-gold treasure chest and a large patch of golden mist were also found.
The black panther stood in the lava, its emerald green pupils scanning the surroundings before finally focusing precisely on the flying car where Lin Xiaoxiao was. Its tail flicked casually, unintentionally blowing the mist in the air directly in Lin Xiaoxiao's direction.
The mist, carrying a hint of gold, flew straight toward Lin Wei'an's location as if it had a clear objective.
A moment later, Lin Xiaoxiao sat in the flying car, behind Xiao Weizhi, her expression somewhat strange, because:
[Quest request from S-rank dungeon: Realm of Rock and Flame, Boss: Serpent (Epic):]
Please leave this secret realm with its only offspring (an epic-level beast egg) and deliver it to the designated person.
[Quest Reward: 10,000 points of Medium Faith (Unclaimed)]
In her hand she held a beast egg shrunk to the size of an egg, and the power of faith contained in a crystal ball.
Lin Xiaoxiao is now certain that the giant black panther is an old acquaintance—the Black Cat Boss (Terra).
Before Lin Xiaoxiao left this secret realm, the black panther Terrar remained crouched in place, its tail swishing back and forth, stirring up countless streams of lava.
The lava would always fall into certain places at crucial moments, blocking the steps of some people who wanted to follow Lin Xiaoxiao.
Only after Lin Xiaoxiao's flying vehicle left the secret realm did the black panther sneeze, pick up the epic treasure chest dropped by the BOSS, and jump into a twisted vortex. Its huge body disappeared directly into the secret realm.
With his hands behind his back, Mu Dongye floated in mid-air, watching the sky begin to crack and crumble after the black panther disappeared with the treasure chest in its mouth. He sighed helplessly, "What a pity! This secret realm is ruined too. Let's all evacuate from this secret realm and stop wasting time."
The middle-aged man standing on the hoverboard behind Mu Dongye had regret in his eyes: "Yes, we will arrange for everyone to evacuate immediately."
Mu Dongye waved his hand behind him, signaling them to hurry up and make arrangements. He stood in mid-air for a while, calming his regretful emotions.
More than two years have been wasted like this, and in the end, nothing was gained. Sigh! If only they could have one...
On the other side, floating in the air, stood two men dressed in strange clothes, their exposed bronze skin covered with blood-red patterns.
One of the slightly younger boys clenched his fists tightly, gazing unwillingly in the direction where the golden mist had finally disappeared, his voice filled with resentment: "Uncle, aren't we going to chase after it?"
Another man, holding a bizarrely shaped bone flute pieced together from various twisted bones, twirled the flute in his hand, staring sinisterly at the direction where the black panther had disappeared. His voice was calm and steady: "Don't chase after it. Don't forget the rules. Once you're out of the secret realm, the outcome is already decided."
The boy clenched his fist and punched the air several times. Damn black panther, he ruined their plans again. This has happened several times now.
In several hidden corners of this secret place, similar conversations to those between the middle-aged man and the boy were taking place, but everyone's attitude was unusually consistent: they would not pursue.
The news of the impending collapse of the S-rank Secret Realm: Rock and Flame Realms spread rapidly throughout the entire capital within a few hours. All of humanity was overjoyed, as another secret realm that could have ravaged the world was gone.
Only a small number of people who knew the truth (including: high-ranking officials, some sixth-tier professionals, seventh-tier and above professionals, and some well-informed family leaders...) secretly felt it was a pity.
This secret place appeared two and a half years ago, but it was only a year ago that the public became aware of it.
Unbeknownst to the public, in the year preceding their capture, they had actually made many efforts within the secret realm, attempting to intercept its core, but unfortunately, they ultimately failed.
By this time, all the Dragon Fang members had returned to their respective homes and were resting.
Lin Xiaoxiao sat on the small sofa on the balcony, her slender fingers tapping her notification panel as she pondered recent events:
Name: Lin Xiaoxiao
Age: 21
Occupations: Treasure Chest Merchant [Hidden Occupation], [Divine Agent]
Destined Bound Person: Xiao Weizhi [Effect: Shared Life and Death]
Level: LV61 (...) [Currently retained experience points: 5475]
Job Skills: Daily Treasure Chest [0/10] (10,000 Gold/each), Luck Treasure Chest (refreshes daily), Experience Treasure Chest [3/3] (100,000 Gold/each), Sacrifice to the Goddess of Fortune (once every six months)
Other skills: Divine Eye (Diamond Level), Gathering (Intermediate), Hearing the Voice of All Things
Talents: Extra-large storage space, Lucky Libra, [Negative Buff: Experience Points -50% (Permanent)], [Negative Buff: Stamina -20% (Permanent)], [Identity Concealment Buff (Permanent)]
Special Contacts Module: Currently recorded contacts: [1/1] (List collapsed)
Task modules: [Task 2 (please expand to view details)], [Task 3 (please expand to view details)]
He obtained a contact method from the 'wild man' Mao Chang who appeared in this S-level secret realm, thus gaining a new special module, as well as many perplexing questions.
Then, before I could finish Task Two, I inexplicably got Task Three.
But it's not without its advantages; at least now we have some faith power in our hands.
My level has also increased to 61. If I keep working hard for a while, I should be able to reach level 70 and start the quest to advance to the fourth job advancement.
Thinking of the epic-level pet egg in her space and the crystal ball containing an entire race, Lin Xiaoxiao felt a faint ache in her temples.
These tasks keep piling up, but there's no sign of them being completed. It's giving me a headache...
As she pondered this, she half-reclined on the small sofa and fell asleep.
Half an hour later, Xiao Weizhi came to call Lin Xiaoxiao to come downstairs for dinner, only to find her already asleep on the small sofa on the balcony.
He stood a meter away from the small sofa, gazing at her. Behind his glasses, his eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions that others couldn't understand.
A moment later, Xiao Weizhi reached out and bent down to pick up Lin Xiaoxiao horizontally, gently placing her on the bed. After removing the prosthetic leg from her right leg, he covered her with a thin blanket and then gently brushed away the hair that was covering her face.
His slightly rough thumb gently stroked her cheek, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Sweet dreams."
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