Soon, the rescue operation got underway in an orderly but urgent fashion.
Soldiers kept a wary guard around the perimeter, while medical personnel and volunteers hurried between the buildings, calling out, searching, and carrying the injured.
The cries of those who had survived the disaster, the joyful shouts of people finding their loved ones, and the calm instructions of the medical staff all mingled together—a noisy scene filled with hope.
Lin Yi did not take part in the actual rescue work. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the spot where the three Abyss Pythons had just been slain.
By now, their enormous bodies had long since turned to ash and scattered, leaving behind only three Spirit Radiance Crystals shimmering with a gray sheen and his Abyss-Splitter Spear, still stuck at an angle in the ground.
Lin Yi focused his thoughts.
An invisible yet precise force instantly took hold of the spear.
The Abyss-Splitter Spear gave a faint hum and flew toward Lin Yi through the air like a bird returning to its nest. As it flew, it quickly shrank, eventually becoming a miniature model that slipped neatly back into the weapon slot on the armor at his waist.
The three Spirit Radiance Crystals, meanwhile, seemed to be held up by invisible hands. They floated steadily over to him and hung motionless in front of him.
The crystals still had gray bases, but unlike the slightly murky glow of ordinary gray crystals, their color was much deeper.
More importantly, within that deep gray, fine but distinct golden threads slowly flowed like living things.
"Gold-Veined Crystals, a specialty of Leader Rank beasts."
Understanding flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.
These crystals only dropped when one killed a Leader Rank Abyss Beast whose strength far surpassed that of others in its rank.
Although they