Chapter 22: Lessons from a Book
Controlling Lisa's body, Syndicate furrowed its brow as it surveyed the massive underground cavern illuminated by the glow of luminous fungi. With electromagnetic micro-adjustments to the muscles and the convergence of life energy, the girl's pupils began to contract and shift at an inhuman speed. In an instant, under the effect of 'Current Drive,' Lisa's eyes transformed into superhuman organs comparable to high-precision telescopes, taking in everything from near to far at a single glance.
Current Drive—actually, calling it by that term now wasn't quite appropriate. Back in the Chronos World, both Lisa and the Flame Demon had already pushed the Current Drive taught by Joshua to its limits. Through numerous trials at Winterfell, they had nurtured a new power, one that could vastly enhance any of a person's attributes—hearing, vision, grip strength, and even the ability to smell every scent within hundreds of meters.
Intending to surprise Joshua, the two hadn't yet told him about this development or given the power a name. Now, under the effect of this enhanced Current Drive, Syndicate could peer at least five kilometers into the distance in the dim, subterranean light. But what shocked the Flame Demon was that it still couldn't see the end of this underground cavity.
"So big?! This is definitely no ordinary underground cavity—it really might be part of the 'Underground World' the master mentioned!"
A slightly odd, girlish tone rang out. High on the edge of the underground world, a dark hole could be seen continuously spilling sand and gravel, while the surrounding luminous fungi had dimmed. That was where the group had fallen through after digging too far. Syndicate, failing to see the end, turned its gaze back to its side: "There are fungi, insects, and I can sense the ultrasonic waves of bats... There's life here, not just a dead, silent cavern."
Just as Syndicate was deep in thought and analysis, with a harsh, scraping metallic sound, Chu Hao slowly stood up. Its lower body, originally transformed into a massive shield-drill excavator for tunneling, now saw the silver steel writhe like a living creature, re-condensing into a giant, armor-like form.
"Click."
As if a switch had been flipped, a beam of light, sharp as a sword, shot out into the underground world, extending into the distant darkness. Chu Hao's massive single eye now emitted a blinding white light, sweeping around like a searchlight. It too was scanning its surroundings, assessing the situation, but the result matched Syndicate's judgment: this was a vast, seemingly endless underground world with a certain amount of life.
On the high rock walls and the ground, the luminous fungi dimmed under Chu Hao's light. Countless cockroach- and centipede-shaped insects scurried behind the fungi or into rock crevices. In the distance, large flocks of bats could be seen frantically fleeing the light's sweep. Syndicate noticed these bats were smaller than their surface-dwelling counterparts, their skin not black but a dry, grayish-white, with luminous fungi clinging to their hides, flickering with various faint lights.
Not far away, a turbulent underground river flowed. The Flame Demon sensed the swift current and adjusted its eyes' focus to observe the water: "Poor water quality, lots of suspended particles, murky, but with clear metallic particles... Is there a mineral vein nearby?"
Syndicate also spotted underground fish and some peculiar aquatic creatures in the river. It judged that this river wasn't isolated but part of a massive underground water cycle.
"Bats prey on insects, insects gnaw on fungi, fungi feed on the corpses and droppings of insects and bats... plus the nearby underground river—a basic cycle."
This thought flashed through its mind, but the red glow in Lisa's eyes was gradually fading. Syndicate reached out, pressed its hand to its forehead, and said somewhat helplessly, "Waking up, are you?"
The next moment, as Lisa's movements stiffened, the red light in her eyes completely dissipated, and her somewhat odd Common Tongue accent turned into a fluent complaint: "Ugh, my head's spinning... I feel sick!"
"Your physical condition isn't that bad. Hold it in."
Inside Lisa's body, Syndicate's cold voice sounded. It turned to communicate mentally with Chu Hao: "We can start a preliminary exploration. Be cautious—there might be intelligent life."
Although, on the edge of this underground world with only fungi, insects, and bats, the weak ecological chain meant powerful underground magical beasts shouldn't appear, there were no such restrictions for intelligent beings like Gray Dwarves or Dark Elves. Through their unique ability to cultivate fungi and herbs, they could survive anywhere underground.
"Alright, I'll hold it in..."
"Zzz, zzzz." (Understood, Mr. Syndicate.)
Chu Hao was also quite respectful toward the Flame Demon, mainly because it sensed a trace of Joshua's Steel Force within the Flame Demon's essence. Coupled with the Flame Demon's richer life experience, Chu Hao had no psychological barriers.
From another perspective, human relationships had nothing to do with it as a Steel Elemental anyway. As long as the other party was worth learning from, it would naturally be full of respect.
Having spent years traveling through Dwarf settlements, Chu Hao had experience, so its footsteps didn't cause too much vibration. It carried Lisa and Syndicate, slowly moving around. Cautiously, the trio didn't go far, using the hole they fell through as a starting point for a semicircular survey.
But even this short distance yielded discoveries that shocked them.
"Aren't those 'Jilan Crystal Grasses,' long extinct, growing in symbiosis with these glowing mushrooms?!"
From Chu Hao's head came a good news!
"Speaking of which, could Crystal Grass and Moonlight Crystals be related?"
Since many Jilan Crystal Grasses grew around the birthplace of Moonlight Crystal veins, and the names were somewhat similar, Lisa had some guesses. But neither Chu Hao nor Syndicate were experts in this field, so they could only say it was possible.
"If it's true, that's another major find. Compared to the relatively common Moonlight Crystals, Jilan Crystal Grasses are truly priceless but unavailable."
At this point, Lisa, Syndicate, and Chu Hao calmed down.
"Should we continue exploring further?"
Syndicate communicated mentally in a deep voice: "We've only explored a few kilometers around this small area and already made such gains—Jilan Crystal Grasses and Moonlight Crystal veins could bring in a lot of money, thousands of credits, and special contribution rewards... If we really want to continue exploring further, we could follow the river downstream."
The Flame Demon's tone neither endorsed continuing nor suggested immediate return. There might be more discoveries further away, and if they reported back to the academy first, the initial harvest wouldn't be theirs. But continuing exploration also carried some risk, though based on the current situation, it seemed very slight.
It intended to let Chu Hao and Lisa decide for themselves.
"Zzzz... zzzzzzzzz, zzzz."
(I don't know... but the half-mysterious voice in my head is getting louder. It's still calling me.)
Crouching slightly, Chu Hao looked down at the Dragon Girl, its single eye's light shining like a spotlight on Lisa. But Lisa didn't feel uncomfortable. Chu Hao hesitated and said, "Zzz. Zzzz, zzz." (I want to keep looking. Sister Lisa, what about you?)
"That goes without saying."
Completely opposite to the somewhat confused Chu Hao, the Dragon Girl raised her head, opened her eyes wide, and met the steel giant's intense single-eye gaze. Lisa said in a righteous, loud voice, "Of course, we go back early and tell Teacher Joshua the good news!"
Speaking in a firm tone that delivered a rather unexpected line, Lisa then continued in a serious tone that seemed beyond her age: "Accidentally discovering a mysterious area full of treasures, then, driven by curiosity or greed, delving deeper and deeper, going mad, and falling into danger... Just this week, Miss Ying recommended three books with that exact plot to me!"
—What the hell? How does just exploring make you go mad? Syndicate, who usually slept during boring times and hadn't read along with the girl, silently complained in its mind.
"Humans dwell on a small island of ignorance in a dark ocean. This ocean is vast and boundless, hiding countless secrets, but we should not sail too far or delve too deep—unless you are strong enough!" Repeating the book's content, Lisa's tone was somewhat emotional: "Since coming to the Mycroft World and reading so many exploration and horror stories, I, Lisa, have learned one lesson—never do things beyond your capability when you're not strong enough!"
—Don't use that adult tone! Sensing a familiar vibe from the girl's words, Syndicate continued its silent complaints.
"The mysterious voice in Chu Hao's head, the ability to block your mental scan, Mr. Syndicate, the abnormally rich yet endless, unknown underground world—anyone with common sense would find it unusual... I'm not stupid enough to explore such a dangerous place alone!"
Lisa's expression was serious, but a hint of cunning flashed in the Dragon Girl's eyes. She continued with a righteous air: "Besides, these materials were all discovered underground in Moldavia. In other words, they're all Teacher Joshua's property. We shouldn't even think about taking advantage!"
"...The master would be very pleased." Syndicate was somewhat speechless, but then it shook its head and chuckled bitterly: "Sigh, I actually don't recommend continuing either, but I didn't expect you to come up with such a reason..."
(Still, though overly righteous, Lisa like this is pretty cute.)
Running to Chu Hao's foot, Lisa stood on tiptoe and patted the steel giant's boot side. She said sincerely, "Chu Hao, digging holes underground can be fun, but this isn't playtime anymore. You have to watch out for danger and not rely on luck."
"And that voice in your head—it's time to tell the teacher about it."
"Zzzz... zzzzz, zzzzzz." (A bit regretful... but I'll listen to you. I'll go find the master when we get back.)
Hearing the Dragon Girl's voice, the steel giant hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. It reached out, scooped the Dragon Girl into its palm, and placed her on its head. Chu Hao stood up, turned around, and walked toward the collapsed hole they had come from.
"Rumble rumble..." With a loud noise, Chu Hao, now transformed back into its shield-drill excavator form, carried Lisa and Syndicate back along the same path.
...
In the silent underground world, luminous fungi flickered with dim light. The bats that had fled from the bright light gradually returned to their familiar nests, nervously using ultrasound to probe for traces of the huge intruder.
Splash splash...
A strange sound rose from the underground river.
On the surface of the turbulent, murky river, patches of black shadows suddenly emerged. These shadows were huge and deep, as if naturally absorbing the surrounding light. The nearby underground fish quickly scattered, but many were still swallowed by the shadows, leaving only pale blue bloodstains spreading across the water.
Splash! With the sound of water striking, the shadows surfaced. Under the light of nearby glowstones and luminous fungi, their true forms could be seen—
They were massive, iron-black 'giant pythons.' Their scales were pitch black, and their eyes glowed with a pale gold light. The lead python chewed on an unlucky underground fish, its sharp teeth grinding as pale blue blood dripped into the water.
Splash splash splash—
The pythons slapped the water surface, looking around as if searching for something. The lead python swallowed the fish, crawled onto the riverbank, coiled its body, and widened its golden snake eyes, observing the unusual movements in the surrounding space. Due to their angle, they didn't notice the slightly mismatched rock wall on the edge of the underground world—the three accidental visitors had, before returning, intentionally sealed the hole and cleaned up the traces around it.
After a moment of silent communication, these pythons returned to the water and swam away with the current into the distance.
No one knew they had been there.
No one knew they had been there.
On the other side of the world, in Redwood City, Joshua, who was playing Fairy Cards with Ying and Lin in a bar, suddenly received a message.
"What's wrong?"
Suppressing his presence and compressing his Aura of Despair to within a centimeter of his body, Joshua was enjoying a pleasant card-drawing game with human drinkers and Dwarves who didn't recognize him. Just as he was reminiscing about playing this game with friends in his past life, Ying tugged at his sleeve and told him something had happened.
"Let me see..."
Stepping out of the crowd to a corner of the bar, Joshua took the Silver-Haired Girl's hand. Through the information terminal in her body and the distant magic net connection, the warrior instantly understood why the academy was urgently contacting him.
"An underground world... In my past life, I never heard of such a thing beneath the Northern Lands. Chu Hao, just where did you dig to?"
Muttering to himself, Joshua pondered for a moment, then said, "Tell them to continue the underground cave exploration mission, but don't rush to explore that underground world for now. Seal off that passage, and I'll check it out when I get back."
An underground world that could block mental and magical detection?
Squinting slightly, Joshua whispered, "Interesting."
And the Silver-Haired Girl standing before the warrior, Ying, was very familiar with what the expression on her master's face meant at that moment.
It meant the warrior had truly become 'curious.'