pjbooks Chapter 238 Abyss Devouring Toad!
Chapter 238 Abyss Devouring Toad!
Xingtian's back armor plate slowly cracked open, and the electromagnetic railgun barrel rose from the inside.
Blue arcs of electricity danced around the cannon barrel.
The Abyss Devouring Toad sensed the gathering of energy.
Its back energy sac expanded again—
The second wave of turmoil.
This time it was better than the last.
Xingtian's cockpit trembled violently.
Neural synchronization delay spiked to 0.8 seconds.
Zhang Yan gritted his teeth.
The charging process was uninterrupted.
78%.
85%.
The Abyss Devouring Toad finally couldn't sit still any longer.
It began to charge towards Xingtian.
The four legs smashed a series of dents into the organic surface.
93%.
It opened its mouth.
Between his teeth, which were covered in barbs, green acid surged up again.
100%.
Zhang Yan did not aim at its body.
The cannon was aimed at its open mouth.
"fire."
Blue beams of light shot out from the cannon barrel.
At a distance of less than fifteen meters.
The beam of light pierced into the gaping mouth of the Abyss Devouring Toad.
The entire cavity was lit up.
The Abyss Devouring Toad's body was illuminated from the inside by blue light. Its skin became translucent, revealing its bones and organs shattering and evaporating in the light.
It made no sound.
The mouth remained open.
But the red light in his eyes went out.
Its massive body tilted forward.
It crashed to the ground.
It stopped moving.
[Xingtian - Energy Reserves: 52%]
Zhang Yan let out a breath.
The bet was won.
The corpse of the Abyss Devouring Toad was still emitting blue smoke.
Zhang Yan did not linger.
He manipulated Xing Tian to step over the corpse and head straight for the crystal pillar.
Xuanxie has cleared out the remaining Hellhounds and Slit-Mouthed Ones, and its energy level has dropped from 81% to 62%.
Now, only two mechs and the dark red crystal pillar that pierces through the sky remain in the entire underground cavern.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of a heartbeat was right next to me.
The surface temperature of the crystal pillar is extremely high. When Xing Tian got within three meters, the coating on the armor surface began to bubble.
Zhang Yan opened the cockpit and jumped to the ground.
A wave of heat hit us.
He took out the Heart of Heaven Disc from his storage space.
The moment the blue light shone, the dark red energy inside the crystal pillar reacted violently—the rotation speed suddenly increased, and cracks began to appear on the surface.
Two energies are in conflict.
The blue of the heart of nature, the red of ruins.
Zhang Yan held the disc and walked step by step toward the crystal pillar.
With each step, a layer of organic ground beneath the feet withers, revealing the rock underneath.
Blue light is driving away red light.
five meters.
three meters.
Two meters.
He attached the disc to the surface of the crystal pillar.
The entire cavity was trembling.
The crystal pillar emitted a sharp hiss.
It was neither mechanical nor biological; it was more like the scream of some kind of will being torn apart.
The crack spread outwards from the point of contact in all directions.
Dark red energy gushed out from the cracks like a burst dam.
However, every wisp of red energy that surges out is instantly swallowed up and purified within the range of the blue light.
The heart of nature is greedily feasting.
[Heart of the Celestial Craftsman Fragment Energy Reserve: +8.3%... +12.7%... +19.4%...]
The numbers are skyrocketing.
The crystal pillar began to collapse.
Starting from the top, large chunks of dark red crystals broke off, smashed on the ground, and turned into ashes.
The light flowing through the vein-like patterns on the dome is fading.
One by one, they went dark.
My heartbeat is slowing down.
Thump...thump...thump.
Zhang Yan stood still, motionless.
The disc emitted an increasingly bright blue light in his hand.
The last heartbeat.
Then--
It's quiet now.
Utter silence.
The crystal pillar shattered into dust, which fell from the sky like a dark red snowfall.
After losing its energy supply, the membrane-like material on the four walls quickly dried up, cracked, and fell off, revealing the gray-black rock layer underneath.
The organic matter on the ground is also shrinking, hardening, and dying.
The entire cavity transformed from a beating heart into a withered corpse.
【Ding! 】
Side quest "Tracing the Threads of the Ruins" - Completed.
The core of the lair has been destroyed. The energy network of the ruins in this area has collapsed.
[Reward: Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart Fragment Energy +25% (Automatically calculated).]
[Current completeness of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart fragment: 52%]
Zhang Yan put away the disc.
There was a thin layer of sweat on the back of my hand.
It's not because of the heat.
It was because, in the instant he pasted it on, he "saw" a scene deep within the crystal pillar through the perception of the Heart of Heaven.
An endless expanse of deep space.
A giant eye that is slowly opening.
The iris of that eye was a dark red spiral nebula, and the pupil was a black hole devoid of light.
It's watching him.
Separated by 30,000 years, and by an unknown distance of countless light-years.
It's watching him.
Zhang Yan stood there, silent for a few seconds.
Then he locked that image, along with the chill that ran down his spine at that moment, deep into the recesses of his mind.
That's not something I should be thinking about right now.
He looked up and gazed around at the emptiness.
Most of the organic matter has died, revealing the original appearance of the rock face.
The Black Scorpion's searchlight swept across a corner of the dome.
Zhang Yan's gaze stopped.
There was something embedded in the rock face.
It's not big, about the size of a fist. It was previously wrapped in a membrane-like substance, but now the membrane has fallen off, and it's exposed.
A pale blue light.
Faint, but strikingly conspicuous in this dead cave.
Zhang Yan walked over.
The black scorpion lowered its body and carefully used its pincers to pry the object out of the rock wall.
A crystal.
The size of a fist.
Its shape was irregular, but the energy patterns flowing inside were exactly the same as the fragment of the Heart of Heaven in Zhang Yan's pocket.
He held it in his hand.
The system will automatically pop up an authentication request.
[Item identification complete.]
[Name: Fragment of the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship (Fourth Piece)]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Note: This is a fragment of the auxiliary energy component of the Mo Clan's interstellar ark "Gui Xu" from 30,000 years ago. It sank underground after being corroded by the energy of the Ruins, but its core structure remains intact.]
[Note: You have currently collected 4/7 of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart fragments. Fragment completeness has been updated to 61%.]
Zhang Yan held the shard, his fingers tightening slightly.
Four pieces now.
He stored the fragments in his storage space.
The cavity no longer exhibits any energy response.
The scan results are all green.
Clean.
Zhang Yan flipped over and climbed onto the back of the black scorpion.
"withdraw."
Xuanxie and Xingtian started simultaneously, climbing upwards along the vertical shaft they had come from.
This time, without the slippery organic inner wall, the rock surface was rough, making it much easier to walk on.
Light seeped down from above.
moonlight.
Zhang Yan climbed out of the hole and stepped onto the ground.
The white tiger was still lying by the cave entrance, the electronic eye's brightness turned down to the lowest setting, as quiet as a real feline taking a nap.
Sensing Zhang Yan's appearance, the white tiger raised its head slightly.
Its tail swept across the ground.
Zhang Yan patted its armor.
"Thanks for your hard work."
He straightened up and looked around.
The dark red substance on that circular open space had completely withered, turning into grayish-brown debris that was scattered by the night wind.
The cracks in the ground are still there, but the red light within them has disappeared. Only ordinary rock fissures remain.
The smell of rust and rotting flesh in the air is fading.
The jungle is regaining its original scent—earth, decaying leaves, and damp wood.
The chirping of insects resumed.
In the distance, a night bird is calling.
Zhang Yan stood above the dead nest and listened to the sounds for a while.
Life is coming back.
He took out his phone.
There is an unread message on the screen. It was sent by Nie Qingcheng thirty-two minutes ago.
"Have you finished working overtime?"
Zhang Yan typed a few words.
"It's over."
send.
The reply arrived in nine seconds.
Do you know what time it is?
"...2 a.m."
"The 'overtime' you're talking about, is it the kind that doesn't finish until 2 AM?"
"I'll be earlier next time."
"Zhang Yan".
"Um?"
"I don't believe any of your 'next time's'."
"..."
"When you get back, you'll be punished by cooking for two weeks."
"it is good."
"One month."
"it is good."
"And you have to wear an apron."
"..."
"The kind with ruffles."
He stared at the screen for three seconds without replying.
Put your phone away.
The curve of her lips was out of control.
Fortunately, no one saw it.