Chapter 2722: Ore Vein and Seed Vine
The Golden Eye Player's just-relaxed nerves instantly tensed up. He stared at Xu Huo, seemingly trying to see through the helmet to gauge his expression, and quietly clenched his hand, ready to act at any moment.
However, Xu Huo simply sidestepped to make room. The instrument's needle did not follow his movement; it still pointed in the same direction.
The Golden Eye Player chuckled. "I thought the instrument was broken."
"Oh?" Xu Huo said meaningfully.
The instrument definitely wasn't broken. It had indeed pointed at him just now, but it was unclear what kind of energy this device was targeting—Nuwa Stone, Super Item, or Pure Heart?
That didn't matter, though. In this environment, he could easily influence the Golden Eye Player's judgment.
"What are you using that box for?" Yan Jiayu already knew someone was inside. "Hiding in the box can avoid the effects of mental energy? But you can't move while hiding in it either."
"This is a specially made box. It has some resistance to interference and has no side effects for players," the Golden Eye Player said. "Hiding inside at least gives you a breather."
Yan Jiayu didn't comment but said, "Besides holding people, it should be able to hold other things too, right?"
"Didn't you say a Super Item was left here? If this district's situation is related to a Super Item, it might carry mental energy far exceeding other places in the district. Without a suitable container, it's hard to take it away. This box should be just right."
She then turned to look at Xu Huo. "Maybe we should find one too."
Xu Huo smiled. "Isn't there one right here?"
The Golden Eye Player immediately said, "The box is a trivial matter. I can leave it in your care."
Xu Huo didn't confirm or deny. "Enough. Let's go."
They set off again, following the instrument's guidance along the long underground passage for about half a day before finally discovering some obvious traces.
Compared to the state of the ores and Mutant Plants in the previous passages, the ores and plants at their current location had undergone tremendous changes. First, the ores—there was a clear improvement in quality, reaching the raw material level for making Advanced Items. As for the Mutant Plants, even though they were only small specimens, they grew so lushly in such a deep cave that they almost blocked the entire passage, indicating the soil here was special.
"Be careful. It's full of fungi here," the Golden Eye Player warned. "Many of them are poisonous."
As he spoke, he accidentally touched a nearby Mutant Plant. Several vines quickly retracted, causing the surrounding plants to tremble. The fine fungi were shaken loose, scattering large amounts of spores, quickly filling the narrow, one-person-wide passage.
To avoid waking more Mutant Plants, they moved very cautiously from then on. After another ten-plus minutes, the path suddenly opened up, and a massive ore cave appeared before them. It seemed the digging had reached a point where it couldn't go further, so there were many traces of drilling. Where the rock skin had fallen away, colorful ores were exposed.
"We're rich!" Yan Jiayu exclaimed.
Indeed, they were rich. This was an underground ore vein. Although Xu Huo's perception couldn't fully penetrate these rock walls, just the area he could detect was at least several hundred meters thick.
"Let's mine," Yan Jiayu said enthusiastically. "Let's make a small fortune before we leave!"
Xu Huo naturally didn't object. He took out several mechanical robots and set them to mining.
Seeing that he seemed to intend to stop here, the Golden Eye Player said, "Aren't we going further? We haven't found any trace of the Super Item yet."
"If such an ore vein can appear, it means there might be Primordial Stone underground," Xu Huo said. "The cause of the district's mutation might not be a Super Item. A Super Item's energy is strong, but its size is limited. It would be more reasonable if it were a Primordial Stone. What do you think?"
Having come this far, the Golden Eye Player naturally couldn't give up easily. "I'll take a look around nearby."
"Go ahead." Xu Huo found a place to sit down, looking as if he really wasn't planning to move.
The Golden Eye Player called out another companion from the box, leaving the one who had fainted inside. Naturally, the box was left behind as well.
Yan Jiayu picked up ores nearby and said, "Leaving the Primordial Stone behind to look for something else—this guy isn't being honest."
"Maybe he thinks there's no Primordial Stone here," Xu Huo said. "Or maybe he thinks the Super Item is more valuable and easier to take away."
Yan Jiayu didn't care. She'd take the immediate benefits first.
Such a large ore vein couldn't be fully mined in one go, especially since it was so deep—too much activity could easily cause a collapse.
Still, it was a good place to plant something.
Xu Huo took out the potted plant from the Luggage Compartment. The seed had already sprouted. It was hard to expect it to have its own consciousness like the Goddess Vine, so he couldn't just leave it here to grow, afraid he wouldn't be able to find it when he came back.
Finding a crevice in the rock wall, he stuffed the whole pot and soil inside, along with the nutrient soil and fertilizer he had obtained earlier, dumping everything on it.
"What's this?" Yan Jiayu leaned in to look.
"A Mutant Plant," Xu Huo said. "Dug out of Dou Shengnan's eyes."
Yan Jiayu was a bit surprised. "The Eerie Sound Knights really dare to do anything. They don't even cherish their eyes."
"What will it grow into? The patterns on the small leaves look a bit like eyes."
"Probably a vine-type plant," Xu Huo thought for a moment. "I don't know its name. Let's just call it Goddess Vine."
"Once it grows, I'll transplant it to my residence. It should be fine for guarding the house."
Or he could put it into an Instance.
Yan Jiayu crouched down. "It's growing so fast. New leaves are sprouting again."
Just a few words, and it had already changed.
Xu Huo was also surprised. "It seems it really likes it here."
After a moment's thought, he buried the Nuwa Stone in the soil as well. Just as he pressed down two handfuls of dirt, he felt an unusual stickiness on his palm. Taking off his glove, he saw fine fungal filaments oozing from his fingertips.
Yan Jiayu glanced at it and went back to her own work. Xu Huo's poison had already been cleared, so there was no need for the King Fungus to grow extensively. But unexpectedly, even though he had distanced himself from the Nuwa Stone, fungal filaments kept seeping out of his skin. Soon, his protective suit became unwearable.
Helpless, he had to return to the Goddess Vine's side, take off his protective suit, and keep only his helmet.
Yan Jiayu helped set up a metal protective shield against the rock wall, mainly to block the view. "You handle your business. I'll take care of the outside."
Fortunately, the rampant growth of the King Fungus didn't cause any discomfort. It was probably just that his body, as a container, could no longer hold so many filaments, so they were being expelled.
The King Fungus didn't change much, but as soon as the Goddess Vine grew, it assimilated with the surrounding environment and actively released mental energy.