Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

just in case.

Chen Hao squatted down next to the crystal pillar and examined it from head to toe for a long time.

The pillar exuded a chilling aura, and Chen Hao hissed in shock.

"Brother, look inside, it looks like something is flowing, and it's moving very fast."

"It's energy, isn't it?"

"Yes—this one is much more active than the previous one; the energy concentration is at least three times higher."

Chen Hao pushed up his glasses. "And—"

"and?"

"And it's extending underground."

Chen Hao tapped the ground next to the crystal pillar with his finger.

The ground suddenly echoed with a hollow sound—bang, bang.

"Did you hear that? It's hollow underneath. This pillar is probably just the tip of the iceberg; what's connected to it below is probably..."

It's probably quite large.

For Chen Hao, the easier it is to obtain something good, the greater the corresponding danger it will be!

However, to Ou Yun, these words were like a wolf falling into a flock of sheep, his eyes lighting up: "I guess there are even bigger ones?"

Good heavens, does that mean we'll never run out of Abyss Crystals?

And this is a high concentration!

From now on, we won't just be able to use this crystal to make greatswords, but also shields, bulletproof vests, helmets, all kinds of long, medium, and short swords, and bullets—

They could even build a house directly from crystals—not to mention the entire forbidden area, it would at least be the sturdiest house in the forest, practically comparable to a fortress.

This has really messed up Europe's fortunes.

Chen Hao: "Theoretically, that's correct. But we don't have large mining tools right now, so if we just dig by hand—"

"Who said we were going to dig?"

Ou Yun dusted off his hands and drew that awesome sword.

"Let's pull out this small one first. If there's a bigger one down there, we'll call Captain Leng and ask him to bring a few helpers over."

"Mmm..."

Chen Hao was about to say something, but seeing that his older brother had already started rolling up his sleeves, he had no choice but to swallow back the words he was about to say: "What if we trigger some kind of mechanism?"

Ou Yunxian gripped the crystal pillar with both hands, took a deep breath, and began to pull upwards with force.

As expected, it couldn't be pulled out.

Heh heh.

The European Games added 20% more effort.

It still doesn't move.

Ou Yun assumed a horse stance, wrapped his arms around the energy pillar, and with a grunt, exerted all his strength, causing the veins on his neck to bulge.

at last.

"squeak--"

The crystal column finally made a dull thud and moved up about one centimeter.

Chen Hao, watching from behind like someone enjoying a spectacle, exclaimed, "It moved! It moved!"

"Of course I know it's moving! If you don't come out and help, it really won't be able to move!"

Chen Hao chuckled twice before heading over.

The two of them hugged the pillar together.

"One, two, three—Go!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch—click!

The crystal column was pulled out completely, just like a radish.

At the bottom, there was even a root-like crystal protruding from it—purple liquid was still dripping from the broken edge.

At the same time, the instant the object was pulled out, a purple light spread out in all directions like waves along the cracks in the ground.

Then the entire cave shook, and some small, unidentified crystal fragments fell down from the cave walls.

This scene... it looks so familiar!

And there are clear signs that something big is about to happen!

Chen Hao remained motionless, his pupils dilating rapidly.

Oh my god, could he really be right?!

The two men stood there, clinging to the pillar, not daring to breathe.

After about ten seconds, the vibration stopped.

The two immediately looked around.

Thankfully, only some crystals fell down.

I went outside to look, but there was nothing happening outside—

There's been no movement at least for now.

"...That's it?"

Then the older brother immediately became smug, "It didn't collapse, did it!"

He then turned to Chen Hao and said, "Wait, let's take these scraps with us, don't waste them."

Chen Hao responded with an "oh," his alertness already at its peak.

"Hey bro, didn't you think that vibration just now was a bit...?"

Ou Yun said he understood, then quickened his pace, "Alright, let's finish this quickly and get out of here!"

There must have been some kind of commotion, but at least there isn't any right now, right?

In Ou Yun's view, since the cause has already been sown, he might as well make a quick profit before the effect comes!

Chen Hao listened attentively and quickly came over to help, but he still nervously swallowed, "The vibration is spreading outwards, not upwards, it's outwards—"

"Never mind that, let's pack things up first."

Ou Yun deftly stuffed the slag crystals on the ground into his spatial ring. "Take these back and throw them in the furnace. Maybe we can forge another father."

"Storm Blackhawk already has one father; it might not be able to handle another one."

"Then forge one for the ice bird."

"..."

The two of them left the cave, chatting amongst themselves, and started walking back the way they came.

When Ou Yun came out, he also closed up the fern foliage again, covering the entrance of the cave completely, as if nothing had happened.

*

It was already quite dark, and the light in the forest had become dim and hazy.

Ou Yun turned on his flashlight and led the way, with Chen Hao following behind, drawing a distribution map of the specimens collected that day in his notebook as they walked.

"We had a pretty good day..."

"Yes, the forbidden area is a treasure... It's a pity there aren't many that can be deployed at a multiplier of 10,000, otherwise the country could also enjoy the benefits."

"It's alright, the country might not even need our help anymore—"

However, as he walked, Ou Yun suddenly stopped.

"Brother Chen."

"Um?"

"Don't you feel... something's not right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Hao immediately looked up and shone his flashlight around.

The trees are still the same trees, and the fern leaves are still the same fern leaves.

Markers indicating when they arrived can still be seen on the ground.

"It seems...to be quite normal?"

Chen Hao looked at it more carefully.

The markers are all there, and the direction is right. Logically, it should only take another 15 minutes to reach the river.

"Yes, the markings are all correct, and the direction is also correct."

Ou Yun frowned. "But—"

He pointed to the top of his head.

Chen Hao looked in the direction he was pointing.

The beam of the flashlight pierced through the layers of the tree canopy, illuminating the haphazardly laid branches.

The branches are thick, the leaves are large, and it looks exactly the same as when they arrived.

"What's wrong with the tree?"

"The tree is fine."

Ou Yun's voice turned unusually serious. "The problem is—we came in backlit, so the sun should be setting in the west now, right?"

"right."

"The shadow should be leaning eastward, right?"

"right?"

"Look at the shadows of those tree branches, which way do they lean?"

Chen Hao raised his flashlight again and carefully examined the shadows cast by the branches overhead.

"...!!"

A chill ran down his spine.