Chapter 357
"Help! Catch them!"
Hearing his boss's shout, Croning's confidants ran up the stairs.
"Don't panic, sir, we're here!"
But when they discovered that the intruder was the mayor's daughter, they immediately became very hesitant.
So, who should we help?
"What are you all standing there for? Get up there!"
Seeing Black standing next to Ceylon, the bodyguards didn't dare to act rashly at all, and said with bitter faces:
"Sir, we can't beat her."
Croning was cut off from his retreat by Ceylon and his men, leaving him no room to escape. He was furious, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage.
"If you can't beat them, are you just going to stand by and watch? You're a complete waste of money, a bunch of useless trash!"
After venting his anger, Croning knew there was no way to escape this situation, so he resorted to emergency rhetoric:
"Are you trying to spread false information about a volcanic eruption to the people of Sistag? Let me be frank, the Obsidian Music Festival must not be interrupted because of this."
Ceylon wanted to reason with him, but Shi Lei raised his hand to interrupt, to save time:
"Don't assume this person is innocent. His first reaction upon seeing you was to arrest you, which means he already knows about the volcano's anomalies. Fortunately, I have some experience in interrogation, so I should be able to handle this kind of person who is pretending to be ignorant. Leave the rest to me."
Having witnessed Shi Lei's abilities before, Ceylon trusted his words implicitly and respectfully replied:
"No problem, then I'll trouble you."
Shi Lei nodded, without saying a word. He walked straight to Croning, grabbed the other man by the collar, and brought him close to the railing:
"I'm giving you one minute to confess what you've been hiding. If you don't, you're out of here."
Croning's lips twitched, his face turning ashen. He still wanted to play dumb, attempting to get away with it:
"I don't understand what you're talking about?"
"8, 9, 10..."
Croning tried to break free, but to no avail.
"18, 19, 20..."
"No, who are you? This is an internal matter for our municipal government, what does it have to do with you?"
"28, 29, 30..."
"I really don't understand. I was clearly doing this for Sistag's own good, so why are they targeting me like this?"
"38, 39, 40..."
"Eldest Daughter, I have shed blood for Sistag, I have rendered service to Sistag. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I have certainly put in the effort. How can you treat me like this?"
"48, 49, 50..."
As the countdown drew ever closer, Croning truly panicked. But he gritted his teeth, betting that his opponent wouldn't dare:
"Eldest Daughter, he's not serious, is he?"
"58, 59, 60, time's up."
After counting to one minute, Shi Lei, like an emotionless machine, casually tossed Croning out of the tower.
"Hey, what are you doing? Let go! Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
The intense feeling of weightlessness sent Croning's adrenaline soaring. He truly hadn't expected that the other party would actually dare to throw him out of the tower.
However, in Shi Lei's opinion, the height of the broadcast tower, which is over 100 meters, is still not impressive enough.
After all, in Kazimierz, he grabbed the Iron Great Position and flew to an altitude of over four thousand meters before letting go. The descent alone could have lasted for several minutes. Now, at only a little over a hundred meters, it's already a bargain for this guy.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"
Seeing that he was about to be smashed into a pulp, Croning let out a howl of resentment.
But the next second, he stopped abruptly when he was only twenty or thirty centimeters off the ground. He could see the remaining stains on the ground clearly, and his heart pounded.
Before Croning could figure out what was going on, he was lifted by the ankle and sent flying back to the top of the tower.
"Huff, huff..."
The experience of escaping death left Croning quite frightened, and now he is taking in more air than he is exhaling.
"Speak up, what are you hiding? I'll give you half a minute to tell me honestly."
Croning felt his mouth go dry and nervously licked his lips. He knew that if he told the truth, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
We have no choice but to tough it out.
Even if we can't bear it, we have to endure it; there's no better way.
"I'll tell you everything! But before that, you have to tell me what you want to know, right?"
Ceylon couldn't tell whether he was good or bad. He stared at Croning for a long time before finally asking:
Why are you going against me?
"Oh, Eldest Daughter. I'm just a lowly acting mayor, what right do I have to oppose you? Are you referring to the news about the volcanic eruption? But there are many people spreading such rumors, and they're always false."
Hearing Croning's unreasonable arguments, she reminded him:
"But I provided the test report, and you didn't even glance at it. What does that mean?"
"Eldest Daughter, I check the data from the volcano monitoring station every day and haven't found any problems. The report you brought is of dubious origin, so I certainly don't believe it."
"Then what are you doing guarding the broadcast tower?"
"Isn't it because those two swindlers ran away with you? If you want to spread rumors, you'll definitely have to go through the broadcast tower, which is why I sent people to guard it."
Seeing that Croning had somehow managed to come back to the point, Ceylon was momentarily speechless. Considering that he had worked under her father for fifteen years, she was unwilling to be ruthless.
"If you don't believe me, then I'll show you with your own eyes. Mister Zhongli, I'll have to trouble you this time."
Shi Lei nodded, then raised his right hand to summon a platform made of black iron. Amidst the utter astonishment of the numerous bodyguards, it carried everyone towards Mount Sistag.
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426 Lord of Earth 3K
"Awoooooo!"
The giant ape-like Ink Specter, in its rage, pounded its chest and beat its heels after crushing the Originium Crawler. It kept letting out strange howls, appearing extremely excited.
There's a limit to the number of Originium Crawler in a volcanic cave. But given enough time to prepare, Zu Xi can create an unlimited Ink Specter Army.
They were equally tireless, launching attacks again and again, tearing apart the defenses built up by the Originium Crawler time and time again.
After more than forty minutes of fierce fighting, the Ink Specter Army had advanced to the depths of the volcanic cave.
After the high- Originium Crawler self-destructed, the number of Originium Crawler that came to fill the gap decreased visibly.
Finally, Xi arrived at the end of the cave.
Before us lay a vast, open area with numerous small, ring-shaped volcanic craters beneath the surface. Thick lava occasionally erupted from them, mixing with the dark brown rocks, and appeared to be extremely hot.
If we compare these relentless Originium Crawler to ants, then the 'queen ant' they are protecting is this large, volcano-like infected creature below.
Looking down from the high place, Xi estimated that the Originium Crawler was about three or four stories tall.
Its body surface not only has the distinctive red markings of Originium Crawler, but it also emits golden magma. This alone tells you how high the temperature is, making it difficult to approach.
Xi guessed that this guy was a mutated individual born in a special high-temperature environment like a volcano.
"Pfft pfft~"
Upon discovering the intruders' arrival, the giant Originium Crawler dragged its massive body slowly forward. Wherever it passed, the rocks were left with traces of scorching lava.
Xi calmly watched this scene, speaking to herself in the language of Yan:
"Did you cause the dormant volcano to become active, or did the active volcano give birth to you?"
Her words echoed in the empty cave.
Even though it was Xi asking and answering herself, the giant Originium Crawler seemed to understand her.
Instead of launching an attack, it emitted a gurgling sound, similar to a deflated ball, from its mouth overflowing with magma.
"Pfft pfft~"
The sounds of the "poof" rose and fell, seemingly conveying some meaning. Xi controlled the Ink Specter to be quiet, carefully sensing and experiencing a mournful emotion.
"Interesting, so you know what fear is?"
The giant Originium Crawler seemed to understand what Xi was saying, and it made a very strange gesture.
Its body shape originally resembled that of a large snail. It moved forward by crawling on the ground using its underside.
But the giant Originium Crawler is now lying on the ground, stretching out its limbs, like a human prostrating himself.
Xi never expected that this infected creature, born from a volcano, would possess a certain degree of intelligence.
At the same time, the other high -Originium Crawler surrounding the giant Originium Crawler seemed to be summoned. Their upright legs all bent down, assuming the same posture.
"Is this someone begging for mercy?"
Xi stared at the giant Originium Crawler, a hint of unease creeping into her mind. But the volcanic eruption problem also urgently needed to be solved so she could earn Shi Lei's praise.
Just as Xi was hesitating, considering how to deal with the giant Originium Crawler.
But she discovered that the dying Originium Crawler behind her were also in the same pose. However, they were facing the cave exit, not towards her.
In other words, these Originium Crawler weren't worshipping Xi, but other creatures. She just happened to be standing at the cave's only exit.
Thinking of this, Xi suddenly turned around!
Shi Lei maneuvered the Xuan Tie platform, carrying the group away into the Yu Kong. Only the bodyguards on the broadcast tower remained, standing bewildered on the spiral staircase.
Croning was somewhat afraid of heights, and crouched on the edge of the black iron platform, too afraid to look down. He nervously closed his eyes, wondering if what he was seeing was all an unreal dream.
But the whistling wind rushed into his ears, making him disbelieve it, yet he had no choice but to believe it.
Croning glanced at Shi Lei twice, and only one thought popped into his mind.
Who exactly is this man?
Before long, the Xuan Tie platform flew to the vicinity of the suspected activated volcano. Because it flew through the air, it did not need to pass through the lush vines and branches at the foot of the mountain.
Shi Lei shielded everyone with Jade Shield to protect them from the volcano's intense heat. Upon reaching the mountainside, he discovered a cave.
At the cave entrance lay countless corpses of Originium Crawler. The various severed limbs and yellowish-green slime created a gruesome scene. There were also widespread craters left by an explosion, suggesting a major battle had just taken place here.
Ceylon only glanced at it before quickly covering her mouth and squatting down. Such a scene was far too graphic for a wealthy Miss studying abroad.
Skyfire and Provence looked tense and extremely grave. If they hadn't saved Ceylon, they might have been able to reach the mountainside and witness the current situation.
The two were very curious about what had happened inside the cave.
Her face was dark, and her expression was equally serious. She stared at the horrific scene before her, her brows furrowed.
Seeing that the others' reactions were not quite right, Croning forced himself to overcome his fear of heights and climbed up to check.
Upon seeing the corpses of Originium Crawler scattered all over the ground, his expression instantly turned grim, and he wanted to flee immediately.
The Sistag volcano monitoring station was filmed using drones taken from a high vantage point. He had absolutely no idea there would be such a cave halfway up the mountain.
But now he's at their mercy, like a fish on a chopping block. If Croning wants to survive, he has no choice but to keep acting.
As the black iron platform docked beside the cave, Croning revealed a smile that was more like a grimace:
"Um, can I not go in?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Lei glanced at him and decisively refused:
"Didn't you insist that there was nothing wrong with the volcano? Since you want evidence, we'll take you inside to see."
Croning was speechless, unsure how to retort, and stood there dumbfounded. After being brandished by the Mechanical Crossbow, he helplessly stepped off the platform.
"No, I can't do it anymore."
Ceylon couldn't stand the yellowish-green mucus and covered her mouth, looking like she was about to vomit.