Cave Exploration

It was still early.

There was still some time before the party.

Gu Qing found a rock and sat down on it.

He pulled a coin from his pocket.

He recalled the feeling from back then, when the terror of facing life and death had triggered his X-Factor and allowed him to pry at the magnetic field.

He tried his best to focus, and details from the outside world seemed to become magnified.

The autumn wind blowing through the woods made the leaves rustle.

From the abandoned barn in the distance came the sounds of young men and women laughing and playing...

Gradually, Gu Qing sensed something different.

—Whoosh!

The coin shot straight out of his hand.

A wild rabbit beneath a nearby tree suddenly startled.

It turned and fled.

The coin struck the tree trunk instead.

Half of it broke through the cracked bark and embedded itself inside.

The other half remained exposed.

A trace of weariness appeared in Gu Qing's eyes.

With his current strength, he could only control a single coin and send it flying.

And he still could not control its aim with any precision.

He could not even kill a rabbit.

Its power was weak as well.

It could only drive the coin halfway into the trunk.

Gu Qing was somewhat disappointed.

But he quickly pulled himself together.

Because he knew that in Ravenhill, there was a mysterious underground cave.

Inside were strange crystals.

After being exposed to the radiation of those crystals, one could obtain a Telekinesis Seed!

Gu Qing had traveled into the movie version of Magneto.

But in truth, it was the comic-book version of Erik Lehnsherr who truly deserved the title of Magneto.

The movie version...

Was nothing more than Iron Magneto!

Gu Qing did not want to follow Iron Magneto's old path.

He clearly remembered that, in the movies, the military had specifically developed demagnetizing weapons.

They had Magneto completely restrained.

They had even locked him in a plastic prison several times.

Continuing down Erik's old path would only mean repeating the same mistakes.

Fortunately, Gu Qing also possessed the ability to travel between worlds.

His first stop had been the Chronicle World.

He planned to seize a Telekinesis Seed, then use telekinesis to drive the magnetic field.

And attempt Magnetic Field Rotation!

Gu Qing had originally wanted to find the underground cave ahead of time.

But the area was filled with vast stretches of mountains and forests, and the terrain was complicated.

For someone unfamiliar with the place, finding that cave was indeed extremely difficult.

Gu Qing could only wait until nightfall and search for it with Andrew.

Time passed without notice.

In the blink of an eye, night had arrived.

The barn had already been decorated, and dazzling lights flashed continuously.

More and more people began to gather.

The air was filled with the youthful scent of hormones.

Yet Gu Qing remained completely unmoved.

He was like a patient hunter, waiting quietly.

His prey did not keep him waiting long.

Once darkness had fully fallen, Gu Qing saw the man carrying a camera and wearing a dark gray hoodie.

Andrew Detmer!

He was sitting on the grass with a dejected expression.

Gently wiping the camera lens.

He had come to the party with his cousin Matt. Because he had been waving his camera around and filming indiscriminately at the party, he had drawn the displeasure of others.

After being reprimanded, Andrew's already sensitive and insecure heart sank even further.

He could only quietly leave the noisy party and sit alone on the grass, secretly crying as he tried to work through it himself.

"Hey, man, what's wrong?"

Andrew hurriedly wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve.

Pretending that nothing was wrong, he turned around.

"I... I'm fine. I was just..."

Gu Qing smiled slightly. "You just think it's a little noisy in there, right?"

Andrew quickly nodded. "That's right. It's just a little noisy, so I wanted to come out and get some peace and quiet."

Gu Qing sat down beside him. "Guess what? Me too."

Andrew was about to speak when a tall Black man came over from nearby.

"Andrew! Andrew! The guy with the camera! Hey, I finally found you."

Andrew looked at him in confusion.

"What do you need me for?"

The Black man said exaggeratedly, "We found something amazing. We have to record it. Matt said you brought a camera."

"Matt's with you too?"

"Yes, and lots of other people."

"I'm Andrew, but this... alright..."

"Are you okay?"

"I... I'm fine."

Gu Qing said, "I'm curious. What is it? Can I come along?"

The Black man turned to him. "Of course, you can come with us. This is tonight's adventure.

My name's Steve, Steve Montgomery. You look unfamiliar. Are you a freshman this year?"

Gu Qing smiled and shook Steve's outstretched hand.

"Erik Lehnsherr. I heard there was a party tonight, so I came over to join the fun."

Steve laughed. "Oh, sure, no problem. This party is awesome."

He stood up as he spoke. "Come on, guys. They must be getting impatient."

Andrew had not wanted to go, but his timid and insecure personality left him completely unable to refuse.

Seeing that Gu Qing and Steve had already set off, he could only carry his camera and follow them.

The underground cave was not too far away, but it was not close either.

The three of them made their way through a stretch of forest.

"Does that thing of yours have a light?"

By then, the sky was completely dark. Everything around them was pitch-black, and they could not even see where they were stepping.

Steve turned to Andrew.

"Of course. Oh... here it is."

As he spoke, Andrew switched on the light attached to his camera.

With the light, the three of them finally saw the surrounding terrain clearly.

Their pace also quickened considerably.

"A group of people came here earlier, because everyone was fascinated by that thing."

"What exactly is it?"

"Hey, man, don't rush. You'll know when you see it."

Before long, the three arrived at a clearing.

"Matt! Where are the others?"

Matt stood before an underground hole roughly a meter wide.

"Steve, you took too long. Everyone got tired of waiting and left."

"Sorry, man, but look who I found."

Matt greeted Andrew, who was carrying the camera, then shifted his gaze to Gu Qing beside him.

"Hi, I'm Matt, Matt Garrety."

"You can call me Erik."

"Come on, Erik. Take a look at this thing. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

Andrew worriedly asked from the side, "Do you guys remember the way back?"

Matt said, "Don't worry about that yet, Andrew. Did Steve tell you? That strange sound is coming from it!"

Steve looked extremely excited as well.

He lay down at the edge of the hole. "Come listen, guys. This has got to be interesting."

A fiery gleam flashed through Gu Qing's eyes.

The movie version of Magneto had been weakened far too much. Gu Qing was not sure how far he could develop his X-Factor through his own abilities.

So he needed help!

And within this underground cave was a source of help.

A rather powerful one at that!

Just as he was thinking this, a piercing cry suddenly came from inside the underground cave!