Remove all restrictions and transform into a bizarre girl.

Chen Nian's gaze swept over the discolored and whitish ores.

He was relieved to find that he couldn't break through his ice vine zone.

Chen Nian could continue cutting, but if she exhausted all her mental energy at once, death would be the only thing waiting for them.

We must proceed gradually.

Although the one-cubic-meter space created by the ice vines was cramped, it was enough for her to see the situation clearly.

"Let's leave it at that for now and take a break," Chen Nian said.

Xu Xue naturally had no objections, as she had absolutely no fighting power here.

Just as they were pondering how to deal with this predicament, suddenly, some faint smoke blew in from the cracks in the rocks.

The smoke was very faint, and you couldn't see it unless you looked closely.

So the two of them didn't pay any attention and were still thinking of a solution.

Suddenly, Xu Xue unbuttoned the top of her collar and said to Chen Nian, "Chen Nian, is it because it's not breathable inside? I feel a little hot."

Hearing Xu Xue's words, Chen Nian also had this feeling.

Just as Chen Nian was about to respond, she suddenly felt a slight dizziness spreading from the back of her head, as if something was gently shaking her sense of balance.

She reached out and touched the ice vine beside her, only to find that her palms were already damp with a thin layer of sweat when her fingertips touched the ice.

Not right.

She immediately held her breath.

However, it was too late; she had also inhaled the poisonous gas.

Feeling intense heat all over her body, she almost without hesitation channeled some of her ice energy back into her body, attempting to suppress the surging heat with the low temperature, but the effect was limited.

The smoke seemed to act not only on the surface of the body, but also began to take effect after entering the body.

She began to unbutton her collar.

His eyes gradually became unfocused.

They both looked at each other, their eyes filled with nothing but pink light.

next moment……

tear...

Chen Nian roughly tore open Xu Xue's work clothes.

then……

Her fingertips rested on the edge of Xu Xue's torn work clothes on her shoulder, the soft sound of the fabric tearing was particularly clear in the small space.

She could feel her breathing becoming rapid and hot, and the burning sensation in her blood was clamoring for her to continue.

This feeling came from within, driven by biological instinct, and Chen Nian had no way to get rid of it.

Time seemed to stand still.

Only the sound of their panting remained.

After an unknown amount of time, perhaps tens of minutes, perhaps several hours, Chen Nian finally felt the temperature inside her body slowly decreasing, and the line of reason that had been stretched to its limit began to spring back.

She slowly opened her eyes, exhaled a breath of air mixed with white mist, and then turned to look at Xu Xue.

Xu Xue remained leaning against the ice wall, her arms wrapped around her torn work clothes. The flush on her cheeks had mostly faded, and there was a clear bloodstain on her lip, from where Chen Nian had accidentally bitten her.

Her breathing was still trembling slightly, but her eyes had regained the clear-headed composure that belonged to Xu Xue.

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Chen Nian spoke first, her voice still a little hoarse: "I'm sorry."

Xu Xue was silent for two seconds, then said, "It's not your fault. It's the cigarette smoke."

Chen Nian nodded and didn't say anything more.

She shifted her gaze to her still slightly trembling fingertips, clenched her fist tightly, and let the icy chill cover her palm again.

The barrier formed by the surrounding ice vines remained firmly in place, keeping the constantly pressing rock walls out.

The smoke had mostly dissipated, and the air had become crisp and dry again.

The two leaned against the ice wall, quietly waiting in the cramped space for their bodies to fully recover.

After a while, Chen Nian felt the lingering heat in her body finally subside completely.

She sat up and fastened the collar that she had loosened, as if nothing had happened.

However, nothing really can happen, since Chen Nian is a girl now, and can only take advantage of her.

Seeing that Chen Nian had finished fixing her makeup, Xu Xue repaired the torn clothes.

After gathering his thoughts, his voice returned to its usual calm: "Yes, we need to find a way out."

Chen Nian nodded, materializing the Miao sword once more. She twisted her stiff shoulders and neck, her expression returning to its icy state.

The space enclosed by the ice vines remained stable, but the pulsation of the surrounding minerals had noticeably weakened.

It seems that the smoke that has just formed is the mine's last resort in this eerie way.

It's time to break through.

Chen Nian gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and an icy blue aura rekindled on the blade. She didn't rush to draw her sword, but instead carefully sensed the condition of the surrounding rock walls.

After identifying the weakest point, strike with a single blow.

The blade encountered less resistance as it sank into the rock than ever before, as if cutting into a piece of dried clay, the fragments crumbling away with a snap. She didn't stop; the second cut followed immediately, widening the incision, then the third, the fourth, each cut deeper and more precise than the last.

The rock face peeled away layer by layer before her, and rubble and dust fell in a flurry, spreading throughout the space enclosed by the ice vines.

Chen Nian held her breath and continued to swing her knife until the tip of the knife suddenly touched a hollow cavity, no longer a solid rock, but empty.

She stopped pushing and kicked away the last few pieces of rubble, revealing an opening about half a meter wide.

The mine shaft reappeared before them.

Having come this far, Chen Nian felt that this strange situation was beyond their understanding, so he led Xu Xue to continue down the path.

The passage was much narrower than before, and the rock strata on both sides were no longer the dark texture that had been infused with energy, but had returned to ordinary gray-white rock with a rough surface and natural weathering patterns.

Chen Nian walked ahead, the beam of her flashlight sweeping back and forth in the passage, but nothing appeared except for rocks and dust.

The dark red light that had flashed briefly in the depths of the crevice vanished completely, as if its last breath had been sucked out.

After walking for about five minutes, the passage suddenly narrowed ahead and ended in a flat platform.

Chen Nian stood at the edge of the platform, the beam of her flashlight sweeping across the remaining calluses.

There were far fewer than in Zone C, only about seven or eight. Each one was shriveled and collapsed, covered with a layer of grayish-white hard shell, as if the thing inside had died and only an empty shell remained in place.

She approached one of them and gently touched it with the tip of her knife. The hard shell shattered, revealing an empty interior. There was a layer of dark, not-yet-dry residue on the bottom, like some liquid that had leaked out but hadn't started to dry yet.

"It's empty now," Chen Nian said. "The strange thing here should have left."

……