"boom--!"
The earth trembled violently, as if a giant beast were rolling underground.
The ruins and crumbling walls groaned with a sickening groan as they trembled, and rubble rained down.
Those black tentacles that were originally slowly wriggling now grew wildly as if they had been injected with chicken blood, waving around and crushing everything around them into dust.
The air was filled with a pungent, fishy stench that made people want to vomit.
The owl stood at the center of its tentacles, its purple pupils gleaming with excitement.
He opened his arms as if embracing the destructive power: "Feel despair, master of time and space! Even if you possess the ability to manipulate time and space, you cannot stop the Dark Abyss's devouring power!"
Lin Yi stood atop the broken tower, the wind whipping his robes, making them flutter loudly.
His expression was solemn, and the cinnabar patterns on the talisman in his hand emitted a dazzling light, as if a fire dragon was coiling around his wrist.
"Want to devour this world? Did you ask me?" he said in a low voice, his tone icy.
The tentacles surged forth like a tidal wave, moving at an astonishing speed.
Long Wu roared, his body shimmering with dragon patterns. He swung his giant axe and cleaved several tentacles, but more tentacles clung to him like maggots, making him unable to move.
"Boss, there's too much of this stuff, I can't take it anymore!"
The others fared no better; faced with this overwhelming offensive, they were forced into retreat, and their defenses were on the verge of collapse.
Chu Yao's voice rang in Lin Yi's ear: "Warning! The energy shield is about to collapse! Immediate action recommended..."
"No time to explain, brothers, hold me tight!" Lin Yi roared, the talisman in his hand burned to ashes, turning into starlight that merged into his body.
The power of spacetime surged around him, distorting the surrounding space and forming a huge vortex.
At the center of the vortex, a spherical barrier emitting a soft light slowly appeared, enveloping Lin Yi and his companions.
The tentacles struck the barrier with a dull thud, but could not budge it in the slightest.
"Phew..." Long Wu wiped the sweat from his face and patted his chest with lingering fear. "That was close, I almost died here."
Inside the shelter, everyone finally got a chance to catch their breath.
Lin Yi sat down cross-legged, regulating the chaotic spacetime power within his body.
That last strike had almost exhausted all his strength.
Chu Yao then used the device she carried with her to scan and analyze the surrounding environment.
During the rest period, she continuously collected data, trying to pinpoint the location more accurately.
“Strange…” She frowned slightly, looking at the data displayed on the screen. “The residual energy fluctuations here… are very similar to the energy characteristics of the ‘Seven Keys of Creation’.”
"The Seven Keys of Creation?!" Upon hearing this, Long Wu immediately perked up. "Boss, if we find these things, will we be able to uncover the truth behind this damn game?"
Lin Yi opened his eyes. "Perhaps," he said, looking at Chu Yao. "Can you pinpoint the location of the 'Seven Keys of Creation'?"
Chu Yao shook her head. "The signal is very weak and extremely unstable. However, I have just made a new discovery through further data collection." She paused and pointed to a red dot on the screen. "According to preliminary analysis, one of the fragments of the 'Seven Keys of Creation' is very likely located nearby."
"Alright!" Lin Yi stood up, his eyes shining with determination.
He quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind, realizing that obtaining the Seven Keys of Creation was key to uncovering the truth of the game, and thus made up his mind.
"Long Wu, get ready, we're off!"
Long Wu grinned and patted his chest: "Hehe, boss, I've been waiting for this for ages! This time we're going to find these junks and see what secrets they hold!"
Lin Yi nodded, his gaze drifting towards the outside of the shelter, where the rolling black tentacles and the owl's ferocious face stood.
The real challenge has only just begun.
He took a deep breath and gripped the Time-Space Blade tightly. "Go!"
"Wait a minute," Chu Yao suddenly said.
Lin Yi and Long Wu stopped and looked at her in confusion.
Chu Yao pointed to another flashing red dot on the scanning device, her expression grave: "Here... there seems to be another fragment of the 'Seven Keys of Creation'..."
"What the hell? Are you kidding me? Buy one get one free?" Long Wu's eyes widened as he stared at the screen Chu Yao was pointing at, and he couldn't help but swear. "Are these 'Seven Keys of Creation' bought wholesale?"
Lin Yi frowned as well.
One fragment is difficult enough, but now two have suddenly appeared. The difficulty has gone from hard mode to hell mode!
"It seems Night Owl is determined to cause trouble." Lin Yi sneered, his gaze piercing through the barrier and landing on Night Owl's distorted face in the distance.
Night Owl seemed to sense that Lin Yi and the others might be making a move inside the shelter. His sinister smile instantly stretched to his ears, his purple pupils revealed a fierce glint, his hands twitched wildly, and he made a sharp, piercing sound like the cry of a night owl.
The already rampant black tentacles seemed to be infused with an even more evil power, their growth rate increasing exponentially. They intertwined like black pythons, surging towards the shelter with overwhelming force.
The tentacles attacked at a dizzying speed, each impact causing the shelter to shake violently and creak under the strain, as if it would be completely shattered at any moment.
"Boss, we can't hold on any longer!" Long Wu roared, he could feel the energy in the shelter rapidly decreasing. "This protective shield is about to shatter!"
Chu Yao's voice also carried a hint of anxiety: "The energy output has reached the critical value! If this continues, the shelter can only hold on for three more minutes at most!"
Lin Yi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He quickly shared his thoughts with his companions: "To uncover the truth and obtain the Seven Keys of Creation, backing down now would mean all our previous efforts were in vain. 'Fortune favors the bold!' To obtain the Seven Keys of Creation, we must take this risk!"
Upon hearing this, Long Wu scratched his head and said hesitantly, "Boss, this is too risky. Are we really going? If we die here, everything will be over."
Chu Yao also looked worried and said, "Lin Yi, I'm worried that with our current state, the chances of success are slim. Should we think of another way?"
Lin Yi looked at his companions, his gaze resolute, and said, "We don't have much time left, and this may be our only chance. Only by obtaining the Seven Keys of Creation can we uncover the truth and save this world. I believe we can do it!"
Upon hearing this, Long Wu gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "Alright! Since the boss has said so, what am I, Long Wu, afraid of? Let's go for it!"
Chu Yao took a deep breath and nodded: "Alright, I'm going to start the time-space jump now!"
"Understood!" Lin Yi replied, his gaze fixed firmly on Chu Yao.
"Three, two, one... Begin the jump!"
The moment Chu Yao finished speaking, the shelter suddenly began to shake violently.
A thick, pillar-like purple beam of light descended from the sky, striking the barrier with immense force.
"Snap—!"
A small but alarming crack appeared on the shelter's barrier.
"Oh no! Night Owl has discovered our plan!" Chu Yao exclaimed.
Lin Yi's face instantly turned ashen.
"It seems he doesn't intend for us to leave alive..."
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