Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 208 Acquisition of the Crystal Core
Li Xia picked up the "Notice," and it felt heavy in her hand.

It really is gold, but it's mixed with some other metals.

This Arcane Dynasty is strangely extravagant.
He immediately stored it in his personal space and walked towards Aowu.

As expected, Awoo discovered a door embedded in the ground.

Perhaps to keep the lobby floor neat, the exterior was covered with veneers, which are easy to miss if you don't look closely.

And because it was covered by a thick layer of scorched earth, it was difficult to find.

"A dungeon?" Awoo looked on curiously. There used to be a handle on this stone slab, but the wooden handle had rotted away beyond recognition.

Both the short, whimpering paws and the charcoal-black cat paws struggled on the smooth, slippery floor with no foothold.

Unless there is violent destruction.

"It's just one possibility; it could also be a storage room or something similar."

The long spear of the Night Silence was inserted into the analysis. With just a gentle pry, accompanied by a difficult twisting sound, a large piece of floorboards was lifted up and slammed heavily onto the ground.

The wind and waves stirred up mud and scattered it everywhere.

It shot upwards with a whoosh, dodging the mud, and a small umbrella appeared in its hand, seemingly bought at some unknown time.

"Where did all this dark mud come from? Something's not right. It's all in the open air. There's way too much black mud here."

Li Xia remembered the notice and decided to strictly follow its contents.

No, given the Arcane Dynasty's control over the grassroots, they will definitely enforce it strictly.

"This black mud is probably residue from human bodies, but we don't yet know what kind of force could turn a human body into this state."

The floorboards lifted up, revealing a dark entrance beneath, from which air trapped for decades, carrying the smell of decay, surged forth.

He pulled out a powerful light bulb made by an employee from inside the space and clipped it to his belt. Instantly, the intense light illuminated the area below as if it were daytime.

Aowu and Heitan looked at the black mud that was nearly thirty centimeters thick, which almost covered the entire hall.

"These...are all people?"

Li Xia was the first to step into the downward passage and switched to the team channel:
"Hmm, they should be ordinary people. That monster that looked like a tree person was most likely a mage or something."

The introduction to the world of Demon Prison Star clearly states that it is not a puzzle-solving or adventure world.

Awoo clicked its tongue, and after reading the world's description, it thought it meant that some kind of passage had been opened, or that monsters had invaded, and the Arcane Dynasty was powerless to resist, which led to its downfall.

The downward passage wasn't deep, and we soon reached the bottom.

A faint smell of decay still lingered in the air, which, mixed with the existing stench, was somewhat nauseating.

Li Xia looked at the corridor at the end of the passage. It wasn't long, and three doors of different sizes were embedded in the wall.

The ground was still paved with bricks and stones, and the walls on both sides were covered with something similar to tiles.

Perhaps because of the door separating the underground area, the whole place didn't look too bad.

Compared to the ground, it could even be described as 'clean'.

Li Xia casually pushed open the nearest small door, glanced at it, and then looked away without interest.

Well, there's really nothing to see in the toilet.

The second door leads to a small bedroom with very simple furnishings.

Besides the bed, there was only a small table.

It's clear that the people living here are quite frugal, or perhaps not very interested in material life.

At this point, only the final gate remained.

The door looks quite exquisite. Not only is it made of very solid materials, but it also has many intricate patterns on its surface, making it look somewhat like some kind of magic circle.

No, it should be a magic array, but it was damaged by a mysterious energy impact.

I tried pushing the door, but the heavy wooden door didn't budge.

It has a kind of beauty that is 'cannot be opened from this direction'.

Take out the rusty key; it's highly likely that this key is the one used to open the door.

Under the expectant gazes of Aowu and Heitan.

The key was inserted into the lock, though the rust made the process a little bumpy.

So next, all you have to do is turn it —

"Click"

Li Xia stared in silence at the key that had broken in two in her hand.

He suddenly laughed, shook his head, and let out a long sigh.

"I've fallen into a mental rut—"

He casually tossed the key away.

This isn't a video game; if you encounter a locked door, you just have to honestly look for the key.

As long as it can be opened, why be bound by the requirement of unlocking?

A flash of cold light streaked across the silent night.

Several cuts silently appeared on the gate, creating an opening large enough for a person to pass through.

Li Xia was the first to go inside, and the bright light illuminated the entire room.

"This is... a laboratory?"

Aowu looked at the bottles and jars on the table in front of him and the tall bookshelves on the wall.

There was even an exceptionally detailed model. Even though Li Xia wasn't a mage, he could roughly tell that it was probably the simplest and most basic spell model.

"Ah."

No wonder this room has the tightest security; the corrupted mage up there must be a research fanatic.

He even moved his bedroom right next to the research lab.

Li Xia's gaze swept around the laboratory, which was over a hundred square meters in size, but paused slightly in the middle.

We walked straight inside.

After passing the large wooden table and the exquisite celestial model, you will find a skeleton curled up in a corner at the very back of the room.

The skeleton was not large; on the contrary, it was rather small.

Li Xia's eyes flashed; this was the first time he had ever seen bones.

"Same as always, Awoo Black Charcoal, go look for clues over by the bookshelf."

Let me check the bones—

The two little ones obeyed and left. Li Xia turned his attention back to the skeleton, now very curious about why it hadn't turned into black mud.

Was it because it was underground? Or was it blocked by a magic circle on the door?
Or perhaps there are other reasons we don't understand?

However, it's strange that another person appeared in this research lab.

Logically, everyone should be up there watching the emperor light the ceremonial fire and waiting to ascend to heaven.

Li Xia stroked his chin, his gaze darting back and forth across the skeleton.

The bright spotlight illuminated the entire skeleton in a pure white light, and suddenly a glittering light seemed to shimmer on the skull's head under the illumination.

Li Xia's expression hardened, and he gathered his true qi in his hand, slowly approaching the skull.

Finally, he grabbed me suddenly, and a shrill, invisible howl echoed in my mind.

Pure white flames ignited from his hand, enveloping the skull, and the howling gradually subsided.

Li Xia pointed his fingers like knives and plunged them directly into the skull's eye sockets.

Slowly, an irregularly shaped crystal, about the size of a pigeon egg, was picked out.

This crystal is crystal clear and reflects magnificent colors under the light.

It was precisely because of the brilliance it had just emitted that Li Xia caught it; otherwise, it would have been very difficult to notice. More importantly, the moment he touched the crystal, a notification from the Hall of Light popped up.

[Executioner, you have successfully obtained a crystal core.]

Crystal nucleus?

Is this the crystal nucleus?
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Xia's eyes. He had never imagined that he would obtain the items for the first stage of the main quest so soon after arriving on Demon Prison Star.

【Pure Crystal Core】

[Quality: None]

【Origin: Demon Prison Star, Howling Basin】

[Type: Material]

[Evaluation: From the deepest black can white be born, and from filth can purity be nurtured. This crystal core is extremely pure and is an important material for activating the purification pool.]

After staring at the panel for a while, Li Xia thoughtfully put away the crystal core.

Awoo and Black Charcoal also made a success; they found a copy of "The Travel Guide to the Northern Frontier of the Empire."

It has a map that isn't very precise, but shows the general terrain.

Li Xia easily located the Fertile Plain on the map, as well as the equally sizable Song Basin next to it.

If I'm not mistaken, these are the 'Wailing Basin' and 'Barren Plains' mentioned in the mission.

Aowu couldn't help but complain, "This is really unnecessary. Why does the Temple of Light have to change the place name? Why not just use the original one?"

"Was the place name changed by the Hall of Light?"

Li Xia stared at the map for a while, getting a basic understanding of the terrain, and casually asked a question.

"No, usually it's the first apostle to arrive here who decides on it, but it must be related to the original name."

Awoo whispered:
"Most people wouldn't change place names randomly, but some people—tsk."

Li Xia nodded, no longer dwelling on the place name.

Unfortunately, we still haven't found out the name of this town or its location, otherwise the task would be much easier.

"Let's go, there's nothing of value here anymore."

Motorcycles sped through the desolate wilderness.
The landscape is a scorched wasteland, with only the dense network of rivers and branches reaching towards the sky offering glimpses of what must have been a beautiful place in the past.

The empire's territory is vast, and magic is sometimes faster and more convenient than science.

Teleportation portals linking different provinces, super-large airships flying in the sky, and magical trains all facilitate communication between people.

As seen on the map, the Wailing Basin covers a large area, but has very few urban clusters.

In an area spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, only four city clusters are marked, making it a sparsely populated region.

The basin is many times larger than the neighboring fertile plain.

Taking advantage of this rare free time, Teacher Ao started teaching Black Charcoal again.

"Meow?"

"No, although we have obtained the crystal core, we will not leave the basin. Instead, we should search for the city ruins."

Awoo patiently explained that the kitten was very clever, but in Monster Hunter, everyone was hunting, and at least most of the frontline staff were quite naive.

"Look, the mission description says: obtain at least one crystal core, right?"
Although the specific function of the crystal nucleus and the task of the next step are unknown, it is obviously necessary to obtain more crystal nuclei.

Furthermore, judging from the process of obtaining the first crystal core, it is highly likely that the surviving remains contained a crystal core.

Awoo raised a paw: "Now, think outside the box. What conclusions can you draw based on these conditions?"

"Meow?! Meow meow!"

Black Charcoal suddenly barked happily a few times.

"You're a promising student!" Aowu nodded in satisfaction: "That's right, the more people there are, the higher the probability of crystal cores being produced, which naturally means that large cities have the largest populations."

Furthermore, we need to rely on major cities for positioning, and the goals of both are the same.

Therefore, our action is absolutely necessary!

Black Charcoal let out a surprised "meow," its eyes filled with admiration for Teacher Ao.

Satisfied, Aowu let Heitan ponder on his own and began to quietly discuss the mission with Li Xia.

"Your Highness, if the first ring is so simple, then what about the rest—"

Li Xia nodded; he had also thought of it. The difficulty rating of this world was BS.

The difficulty rating standard is based on the average level of the apostles.

Rank B difficulty means that it is considered difficult for mid-level apostles.

It was indeed quite easy for me.

"The difficulties ahead may exceed our expectations."

"Crack~"

The fire in the stove flickered gently, and the firewood made a soft popping sound.

Flames licked at the small pot above, causing the broth inside to boil and bubble continuously.

A rich aroma wafted out through the cracks, lingering around the nose, making the stomach feel like a lickslingering dog invited by a goddess.

They became restless and unruly.

"How much longer are we going to stay in this godforsaken place?"

The female apostle, dressed in a white dress like a white flower, crossed her legs, her toes, painted with red nail polish, bobbing up and down in strappy stilettos with her movements.

Her name is Jasmine, and she is the support member of this small team. Although there are not many people in the team, she has completed many difficult tasks.

With the captain distributing resources relatively fairly, the strength of all team members improved rapidly.

She even had the resources to purchase expensive high-end cosmetic surgery services, which were completely different from those offered by employees.

Similar to genetic adjustments, it won't revert to its original form after injury and repair, which is what Jasmine likes most.

"It's hard to say—we've already obtained three crystal cores, and we need at least two more to meet the requirement of one for each person."

The captain, who was sitting in a chair maintaining his weapon, smiled:
"Cherish this peaceful time. The first stage is so easy, but the later stages won't be easy. If the difficulty is balanced, I'm afraid I might be able to get an S+ in the end!"

“S+?” A hint of surprise appeared on Jasmine’s beautiful face. The highest difficulty they had ever experienced was only S-.

That time, everyone narrowly escaped death and only managed to pass the mission thanks to good luck and their desperate efforts. One team member almost didn't make it back to the Hall of Light.

The captain sighed softly, a shadow falling over his face.

When they landed, there happened to be a small town right in front of them, and while searching the town, they unexpectedly discovered the skeletons.

The astute captain naturally wouldn't miss the crystal core inside the skull.

The ease with which they obtained the crystal core immediately made him think about the difficulties ahead—they might actually die here.

Thinking of this, he repeated it again:

"Everyone must be careful. The original world and the derivative world are completely different, and information about the advancement battles is prohibited from being traded."

If anything goes wrong, we could be completely wiped out—

He wanted to say something more, but his perception-based teammate suddenly whispered:
"Boss, 'Red Sparrow' has found something, possibly the boss?"

Boss?!
The captain had a sudden thought and immediately stood up:

"Send me the image!"

That would be great if he really was the boss!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)