The Concern of Not Killing
The Dragon Beast have already set their sights on this land.
Despite their lingering doubts, Linsey and Red embarked on their journey to leave without any hesitation.
In front of the two of them, the entire Crystal Valley became a thing of the past.
Just hours ago, the Underground World, including the Sixth Stage Lizard Dragon Leader and other underground races active there, all vanished into thin air under the overwhelming power.
Linsey and her companion would never put themselves in such a dangerous situation.
They sped away from there, their hearts filled with worry as they drove.
Once the Dragon Beast launch an attack on them...
However, just as they left the underground, the Dragon Beast's destructive attack arrived.
They were not attacked on the rest of their journey.
More than a month later, after advancing through the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest, Linsey and Red's journey returned to a stable routine.
There were no attacks or threats from the Dragon Beast.
"Time, it's winter, or perhaps it's spring..."
They arrived at another towering stone forest, where Linsey set up camp alone while Red went out hunting.
In Crystal Valley, he used up all the stones he had saved in desperation.
This leads to ambiguity in the recording of time.
The Dragon Beast's abilities also cause abnormal temperatures in the Black Mountain World, making it largely unaffected by seasonal changes.
Therefore, determining the accurate time becomes quite difficult.
Linsey is now quite adept at setting up camp. As usual, he picked up a stone, stored it after Resource Conversion, and then took out various materials from his bag, and a simple outdoor cabin was set up.
"Call--"
Linsey breathed a sigh of relief.
With his physical strength, doing this kind of work is not strenuous at all; this kind of stretching is more like a habit engraved in his body's memory.
Turning around and grabbing the cushion, Linsey took out her radar while starting a fire.
[Oddity/Material: Handheld Radar]
[Equipping this item enhances perception; every ten seconds, the Handheld Radar will automatically scan the surrounding terrain; it can also be used as material to craft other items.]
[Excellent reconnaissance equipment, reasonably priced.]
After the second level of synthesis is performed.
The new radar is the type that activates automatically and no longer requires hearing.
Compared to large-scale map exploration, radar reconnaissance is superior in its small scale and precision. Linsey will conduct reconnaissance separately after setting up the camp.
"Um..."
"There are only scattered Devil Beast nearby, and the terrain is not dangerous."
That's all for today.
Linsey put away the [Handheld Radar] and subconsciously glanced at the Workbench on the attribute panel.
There is also a subsequent synthesis formula for the [Handheld Radar].
And it's the kind of thing Linsey really cares about.
[1 Handheld Radar + 1 Weather Forecasting Instrument + 1 Permanent Magnet Compass = Sky Compass]
"The synthesis route for the Sky Compass..."
Linsey murmured to herself.
The next step in crafting the Forest Brooch requires the Sky Compass and the Surging Tide Conch, and now we're finally getting some progress on the former.
The Weather Forecasting Instrument is unknown, but the Permanent Magnet Compass has been found to be the key.
Linsey had already synthesized the compass while Hidden Borderlands.
The corresponding formula is as follows.
1 compass + 1 Eternal Magnet Stone = Permanent Magnet Compass
In Linsey's mind, the term "permanent magnet" in the conventional sense is actually a rather one-sided view.
Permanent magnets can only maintain their magnetism for a long time under appropriate conditions.
However, they can lose their magnetism if the time is too long or under certain special circumstances.
It is not truly permanent in the sense of never demagnetizing.
"In this world, can Eternal Magnet Stone possess true permanent magnetism?"
Linsey's experience told him that this should be a mineral affected by Essence.
If he could reach a large human city, he might not even need to mine; he could simply buy the material directly.
At that moment, some faint sounds came from outside the camp.
Linsey's current perception is now able to clearly capture these faint pieces of information.
Snap—Snap—
The sound of continuous footsteps.
Sa—
The sound of feathers being blown by the wind.
call--
Soft, unhurried breathing.
With the help of the [Decryption Game] ability, important clues are extracted from the chaotic background noise.
He knew that Hong had returned.
They could even guess what kind of prey the girl had caught that day. "Hong, are we having roasted bird meat again today?"
Hong skillfully pushed open the camphouse door:
"Your ears are getting more and more pointed."
She plopped down on the ground, and the Steel Spear with the pheasant hanging from it was thrown over, stopping right in front of Linsey, perfectly positioned.
The Wood Poison Javelin kills its prey, leaving it with a deadly poison.
So Linsey made a special iron spear for Red to use for hunting.
Linsey skillfully disposed of the corpse and prepared dinner for the two of them, while Hong began to talk about her current thoughts. "It seems that the Dragon Beast doesn't take us seriously at all?"
"We've been on the run for over a month now, and that guy hasn't shown any other reaction."
Linsey replied seriously:
"The Dragon Beast's power comes from that underground cave."
"But, Red, you once fought against the Righteous Walker in that cave and were even killed by them."
Red, of course, understood what Linsey meant.
She had no intention of discussing things tactfully, and instead asked directly, "You mean, the Dragon Beast is coveting some kind of power within me?"
"That's impossible!"
"That guy had been keeping me imprisoned in a swamp far from Black Mountain. If he really coveted my existence, there's no reason for him to throw me so far away!"
Linsey nodded slightly.
He had a guess in his mind.
But seeing Hong's eyes gazing at the campfire, and recalling their journey and adventures over the past six months, he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.
But that's the truth.
Besides her impulsive personality, Hong is also very intelligent, and she quickly came to a new conclusion.
The girl suddenly opened her eyes wide.
She braced herself on the ground with both hands, leaning over Linsey so their faces were almost touching. "Wait! Linsey, I've thought of something!"
"Perhaps the power the Dragon Beast gained is related to me. The reason it treats me this way is probably because my death will cause it to lose its power?"
"..."
What Hong said was also the result Linsey had guessed before.
I guessed it after all.
Linsey sighed inwardly.
He then forcefully pressed Hong back down to sit. Since she had also considered this possibility, he had no further reservations.
"If this deduction is true, the Dragon Beast certainly doesn't want anything to happen to you, which is why it secretly sealed you away."
At this moment, Linsey was thinking about her experience in the swamp.
The underground volcano triggered by the Dragon Beast was not hot enough to incinerate the Source Isolation Ice Jade; it would only bury the red within the earth.
This aligns perfectly with the speculation.
Sitting obediently in front of the campfire, Hong continued to speculate, following her train of thought:
"If that's all there is to it, sealing me away would be enough; there's no need to send me to such a faraway place."
Linsey continued nodding:
"I think it's because there's something that can really threaten it near Black Mountain. It doesn't want your biggest weakness to be exposed, so it transported you to the other side of the world."
The Fairy Girl from the Starshine Forest made a accusation before she died.
—The Dragon Beast was threatened by humans and had to make many changes against its will, such as its hasty choice to break through to the Eighth Stage.
Red's attention, however, shifted entirely to another aspect.
Her tone was even somewhat cheerful. "But if that's the case, wouldn't we be able to just charge straight to Black Mountain?"
"Anyway, the Dragon Beast definitely wouldn't dare let me die!"
Linsey retorted without hesitation, "Any intelligent being will try to protect itself or eliminate its weaknesses."
"You can't guarantee that it hasn't found a way to resolve this potential problem."
"Rushing headlong into Black Mountain like this might be a sure Broad Road, but it could also be a trap."
Just then, the barbecue on the campfire was finished, and Linsey handed over dinner.
Hong took it and took a big bite. "But if you don't try to challenge yourself and just obediently wait to die, then you've given up even the right to fight!"
"Linsey, you're not thinking of running away, are you?"
"Go ahead and eat yours!" Linsey rolled his eyes without any politeness. He glanced at the [Glorious Bullet] in his bag, his tone resolute, "What do you think I came here for?"