Chapter 358

"I'll wait outside; I won't go in."

Shi Lei did not insist, and raised the Xuan Tie platform into the air to prevent Originium Crawler from jumping out from the shadows and causing trouble.

He took the lead, guiding the others deeper into the cave.

At first, the ground was covered in slime, and each step made a nauseating sound.

Like Croning, Provence was having second thoughts. If her idol hadn't been there, she probably wouldn't have wanted to go into the cave at all.

The cave was pitch black due to the lack of sunlight. To see the way forward, the group took turns using their cell phone flashlights.

Shi Lei doesn't need these; he can scan the outline ahead using his expanded Psychic Power.

It's a pity that Exusiai wasn't here this time. With her portable light source, there would be no need for a phone to provide illumination.

After advancing for a few minutes, the number of Originium Crawler corpses began to gradually decrease.

Some of the Originium Crawler that weren't quite dead yet all assumed strange, prostrate positions.

For some reason, Skyfire was startled.

She gripped her staff tightly, wanting to Originium Arts to smash these guys to pieces!

Provence noticed the key point and began to speak:

"Have you noticed that the heads of these Originium Crawler are pointed, and they all seem to be pointing towards the same person?"

Hearing her say that, Skyfire and the other two realized the abnormality of the Originium Crawler and were extremely surprised.

Almost all the Originium Crawler that were still alive had their heads facing the man in front of them.

Is this a coincidence, or is there a deeper meaning?

The five continued deeper and discovered living, uninjured Originium Crawler. They were also lying prone on the ground, their heads constantly moving in Shi Lei's direction. The meaning behind this action remains unknown.

A short while later, the group arrived at the end of the cave.

Ahead lies a vast open space, dotted with ring-shaped craters that spew lava.

Shi Lei stopped in his tracks because he saw an acquaintance there.

Xi, who had previously excused herself from the team and returned to the hotel to rest, unexpectedly appeared here.

It's obvious that she probably sneaked over here to try and solve the problem of the volcanic eruption.

The corpses of those Originium Crawler at the cave entrance were probably the work of Ink Specter.

Shi Lei smiled knowingly and asked the question:

What are you doing here?

After discovering that these Originium Crawler were not kneeling before her, Xi guessed who was outside the cave.

There's no need to hide this; it was meant for Shi Lei to know anyway. Since he didn't play beach volleyball and came here, he can just wait where he is.

"I just came here because I had nothing better to do, so I came to investigate the truth about volcanic activation."

"So, how's your investigation going?"

"Not bad. When I came in, a large number of Originium Crawler had already been eliminated. But there's an even bigger one here. How do you plan to deal with it?"

Following the directions, Shi Lei discovered a gigantic Originium Crawler. Magma oozed from its body, making a bubbling sound like a deflated balloon.

But when this content reached his ears, it was automatically translated by the Hedgehog Cat System.

"Lord of Earth... please... spare... us... humans... mining... obsidian... we... have no... space... to... survive... so... we... migrate... the volcano..."

Although his speech wasn't as fluent as human language, Shi Lei understood the general meaning:

"So that's how it is."

A seemingly random remark led Xi to discover something amiss.

She glanced at the giant Originium Crawler, then looked back at Shi Lei, and suddenly realized what was happening.

Is the ability to communicate with these mutated infected creatures a unique ability of the Dragon King?

I'm so envious.

Provence didn't understand and asked:

"What? So that's how it is?"

Shi Lei was about to explain, but then he remembered that the Hedgehog Cat System's translation capabilities were rather unique. After a moment's thought, he abandoned the idea.

No matter what he said, the other party only heard his own language. With Croning, an outsider, present, it was inconvenient to communicate with the giant Originium Crawler.

"It's nothing. You guys go to the cave entrance and wait. I'll discuss with Miss Nian how to deal with this giant Originium Crawler. We'll come out when we're done."

"Oh."

The group didn't understand what he meant, but they still obeyed and left.

Croning had long wanted to leave this place and couldn't wait to get out as soon as possible.

Shi Lei used his Psychic Scan to confirm that the four people had gone far away before turning to look at Xi and saying:

"How about I discuss something with you?"

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427 The Universe Within a Painting (4K)

Upon hearing Shi Lei say he wanted to discuss something with her, Xi immediately guessed that it was related to the giant Originium Crawler.

I've been hearing it making popping sounds somewhere, but I can't understand what it's saying at all.

"There's nothing to discuss. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Having received an affirmative answer, Shi Lei stared into Xi Hong's red eyes and asked:

"Can you use a special ability to keep these Originium Crawler trapped in the World in the Painting for an extended period of time?"

"Yes, but it will take more time to reinforce the seal. Either I will release them, or they will break through the seal and come out on their own."

Thanks to the system's simultaneous interpretation, even the giant Originium Crawler could understand him.

Upon learning that the Lord of Earth had no intention of destroying the Originium Crawler swarm, it excitedly made a "poof" sound:

"Being able to... survive... we... are happy... we won't... run away... we are grateful."

Although the giant Originium Crawler have developed intelligence, they rarely use language. They communicate with other Originium Crawler through a swarm consciousness established between their groups.

These answers seemed disorganized at first glance, but Shi Lei could still deduce their general meaning:

"If you move out of this cave, will the volcano's activity stop immediately?"

"The volcano... underground... is not... we... have decided... we will not... stop."

Shi Lei spends only about two or three months a year in Liyue City.

He didn't want to see the Qianyan Army suffer heavy losses if some unscrupulous forces tried to raid his base in the future.

With this giant Originium Crawler assisting in the defense, it can block a large number of ground troops.

After hearing its reply, Shi Lei turned his head to look at Xi:

"Then I'll trouble you to put them in the World in the Painting. They can guard the house when I'm not in Liyue City."

Xi was surprised that he dared to do such a thing. But then she thought about it again and felt that it made sense.

The fact that these Originium Crawler can move in unison indicates a high degree of unity within the group. Given a suitable space, these giant Originium Crawler might eventually give rise to an even larger army.

If this trend continues, it will inevitably make any country on this land feel wary in the future.

By then, the strategic significance of this giant Originium Crawler will be many times greater than it is now.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Xi nodded in agreement. Using her left hand as the painter and her right hand as the brush, she began to add seals to confine the painting and prevent escape after completing the artwork.

During this break, Shi Lei continued to communicate with the giant Originium Crawler. He learned that they feed on obsidian and do not eat any humans or human food.

Having confirmed that the Lord of Earth wouldn't kill it, the giant Originium Crawler actually apologized. It explained that it was this Miss who had attacked, forcing it to retaliate. Earlier, when people came to the mountain, it only sent high- Originium Crawler to drive them away, without devouring or harming them.

As for whether it's true or false, we can verify it when we get back.

If the Originium Crawler only eat obsidian and nothing else, then raising them couldn't be simpler—just feed them all sorts of obsidian.

Seeing that Xi was still forming hand seals, Shi Lei jumped down from the high place and came to the front of the giant Originium Crawler.

"Do you have any obsidian in this cave? Let me see what it looks like?"

The giant Originium dared not be negligent and scooped out a stone with a black gem-like luster from a pool of lava.

Is this obsidian?

Shi Lei held the scorching hot obsidian in his bare hands, carefully feeling its texture and structure. Soon, with a wave of his right hand, he created a large pile of obsidian out of thin air.

The giant Originium Crawler appeared extremely shocked and became even more devout towards Shi Lei.

The Lord of Earth's generous gifts saved their race from the embarrassing situation of having no stones to eat. This was the key to the survival of the entire Originium Crawler race.

Minerals like obsidian are currently only found in volcanoes within the Sistag region.

The giant Originium Crawler were originally self-sufficient. However, human over-exploitation of obsidian gradually squeezed their food sources and living space.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to move their entire tribe here. Their drilling and other activities weakened the Earth's crust, indirectly causing a dormant volcano to become active again.

"We... are we... willing... to pledge allegiance... to... the... master... of... the earth...?"

Shi Lei held the scorching hot obsidian in his hand, carefully feeling the smooth texture of its surface, and grinned:

"Heh, that's exactly what I mean. As long as you're willing to move to the World in the Painting, I'll provide you with enough obsidian regularly to help you multiply. If you break the seal without permission, I won't let you off easily."

"We... are willing... to go in... and won't... just... run out."

Even if you're full at every meal, you can still distinguish between giant Originium Crawler.

The Lord of Earth now provides brand new dwellings and an unlimited supply of food.

Why bother breaking through the seal when such a good thing has happened?

Before long, Xi finally completed the sealing reinforcement.

Shi Lei acted as the translator, guiding the giant Originium Crawler and the high- Originium Crawler into the painting.

Once they were all inside, the entire cave was quiet except for the sound of lava erupting.

"Xi, I'm entering the World in the Painting now. Can you pull me out in a little while?"

"OK."

Having received an affirmative answer, Shi Lei slipped into the frame.

When he opened his eyes, he was astonished to find that the World in the Painting was a picturesque mountainous region. Apart from a large group of Originium Crawler in front of him, there were no other living creatures.

With a wave of his hands, obsidian blocks began to fall in a torrential downpour, eventually piling up to the height of a hill.

Even since the giant Originium Crawler mutated, they had never seen so much obsidian. They couldn't help but feel immense admiration for this man who possessed the aura of the earth.

Countless Originium Crawler relaxed their limbs and lay on the ground, respectfully seeing off the Lord of Earth as he gracefully departed from the World in the Painting.

After Shi Lei came out, Xi rolled up the painting into a scroll and handed it to him with both hands:

"If they break the seal, I will know immediately. Also, burning the scrolls from the outside will break the barrier and release them."

"Xi, thank you so much for today."

Once back in Liyue City, Shi Lei will put the painting away in the Inner City where he lives, making sure no one else touches it.

Receiving thanks, Xi lowered her head happily.

"I've received so much kindness from you over the years, but I've never had a chance to repay your kindness. It's wonderful that I was able to help you this time. When we leave later, should we tell them what happened here?"

Shi Lei pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"There's no need. Letting outsiders know that I'm raising infected creatures will give them something to talk about. You can keep this as a little secret between us and don't tell anyone else."

A little secret between the two?

Xi opened her mouth, a feeling she couldn't describe welling up inside her, making her extremely happy:

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."