Even If a Mountain of Gold Were Placed Before Me, I Wouldn't Give It a Second Look
Russell and Ying Yingying led the way, followed by Jason and the Dog Pack, as they entered the large pit to explore the underground world of Skull Island.
The cave was deep and dark. As they went deeper, the light above gradually dimmed, and soon it was pitch black. Even though Russell used his Magic Power to focus his eyes, he could hardly see the surrounding terrain.
"Jason, add some Magic Power!" Ying Yingying said irritably.
"Um!?"
Russell was puzzled, but he still sent out some Magic Power. Soon, a light appeared before his eyes, shining down like a searchlight.
Seeing Ying Yingying's skillful use of Illumination Spell, Russell felt ashamed. He would be too embarrassed to open his mouth again if he ever introduced himself as a magician.
With ample light, the surrounding terrain immediately became clear. Russell grasped Ying Yingying's hand, as if holding a flashlight, and looked around. The surrounding rock strata were extremely rough, with layers of overlapping rock facets seemingly telling the story of Earth's ancient past.
"How long have we been down here? I saw a fossil that looks a bit like a trilobite." Russell was filled with doubt. What era did the underground world of Skull Island begin to exist? The trilobite fossil alone dates back to the Permian period.
Ying Yingying didn't speak. Russell had given her very little Magic Power, so she had to concentrate on maintaining her balance.
The cave was very deep, and at some point, the vertical cave gradually began to angle, forming a steep slope. Inside the dry cave, the temperature gradually rose, and after a while, red lights appeared in sight.
"We've reached the end, accelerate!"
"Shut up! The battery is low, how can I speed up?"
As the saying goes, "Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," and it took Ying Yingying's little broken donkey nearly ten minutes to reach the end. Outside the cave was a huge space that resembled a karst Cavern, extending in all directions for an unknown distance.
The Cavern is about 200 meters high, with stone pillars that have stood for countless years supporting the sky and touching the earth, steam rising from the ground, and a hot underground river flowing slowly through it.
The smell of sulfur was strong. Russell held his breath. Although the cave was deep underground, the walls and floor emitted faint light, almost like daytime outside.
Light is not necessarily a good thing. Objects that emit light contain radioactive substances, and prolonged exposure can cause illness in the human body.
The two descended slowly. Scattered across the ground were numerous giant skeletons, layer upon layer, resembling a concentrated graveyard. Judging from the triangular skulls, these remains all came from Skull Crawler, indicating that the underground space was their lair.
"Roar roar roar————"
Just then, a giant Skull Crawler leaped down from the wall above, its gaping maw full of fangs opening as if to swallow the two of them whole.
Ying Yingying had keen senses and, the instant the Skull Crawler landed, she dodged to the side. Russell sat cross-legged on her back, took out his Desert Eagle, and fired continuously, turning the Skull Crawler that passed by into a sieve.
Looking at the Mana Bullet, Ying Yingying's mouth watered, and she quickly swallowed back her saliva. "This isn't the end of the underground. There's another pit ahead. Mecha Zord must have left from there."
The pit was about 100 meters in diameter, and the surrounding soil and rocks were dry, emitting heat from time to time. Ying Yingying used Illumination Spell; the pit was straightforward and simple, pointing straight down.
The Supreme God is so boring. If we go any further down, we'll be at the Earth's core. It's just a Team Battle; we can just pick any spot.
Russell grumbled to himself, "It's bad enough that the main god is always messing with the Reincarnator, but now he's getting dragged into this mess too."
"Jason, add some Magic Power, we need to go down."
"Added again? I suspect you've been secretly withholding Magic Power!"
"You're overthinking it, I'm still a child..."
The bottomless pit seemed to truly lead to the depths of the earth. When the Illumination Spell was cast, the surrounding walls reflected Five Colors array of colors. The points of light were astonishing diamonds, ranging from colorless to black, and many were as big as a fist.
Ying Yingying's eyes lit up, and she floated over, her Dogleg Saber flashing as she plucked diamonds one by one and stuffed them into her bag.
Russell couldn't stand it anymore and punched Ying Yingying on the head. "Hey, that's enough. This thing shouldn't be worth much in the Main God Space."
"You don't understand, women have no resistance to sparkly things." Ying Yingying chuckled, holding up the diamonds, and tempted, "Want me to give you two to take back as gifts for your girlfriend?"
"No, money is like dirt to me. Let alone diamonds, even if a mountain of gold were placed in front of me, I wouldn't give it a second glance." Russell said dismissively, reaching into Ying Yingying's bag and taking a handful of money, which he then put into his Space Ring.
"Hey, what happened to the promise that you wouldn't even glance at Kingsoft if it were right in front of you?"
"Action-oriented people, they just take and don't look!"
Hearing Russell's shameless reply, Ying Yingying rolled her eyes, lost interest in treasure hunting, and put away her Dogleg Saber to continue her descent. Just then, a ripple spread through the air, as if the two had broken through an invisible barrier, and their descent speed suddenly increased.
Russell was startled. He placed his palm on Ying Yingying's back and continuously channeled Magic Power into her. "What's going on? Fly quickly!"
"The flight magic has failed; someone has tampered with this place." Suddenly, Ying Yingying plummeted from the sky, her face turning deathly pale.
Russell, unsure of the truth, cut off the Magic Power transmission, looked down at the abyss below, and was about to use the card to save himself Ying Yingying spoke again.
"No problem, I have a rough idea of what the plot is!"
"What?"
"Journey to the Center of the Earth!"
Time seemed to stand still in the darkness, and the two had no idea how long they had been falling. At first, they were filled with terror, but later they became calm and numb.
Russell lay on his side with his legs crossed, supporting his head with one hand. "Did the plot mention how long the fall would last?"
Ying Yingying was bored, sometimes doing breaststroke and sometimes backstroke. When she heard Russell's question, she said listlessly, "It can be hundreds of miles or thousands of kilometers. If the main god intervenes to modify it, it may be even longer."
"It would be fun if it fell to the other side of the world..."
"How is that possible!"
After a long while, Russell suddenly felt a dampness on his cheek, pulled Ying Yingying, who was sleeping beside him, and woke her up, turning on the Illumination Spell.
Water droplets were already appearing around, and thin streams emerged from the stone walls beside them. The sound of water rumbled below, converging into a cascading waterfall.
Russell and Ying Yingying fell with the dense stream of water. Due to the resistance of the water, their descent gradually slowed down. At this moment, the surrounding stone walls began to curve, and the two of them slid down the smooth rock face as if they were on a water slide.
Thump!
Passing through the funnel-shaped tunnel, the two tumbled into the pool at the end. Russell treaded the water and swam swiftly towards the light. The trident strapped to his back malfunctioned again, unable to even control the icy water.
A short while later, he swam to the shallows, walked ashore, and took a couple of deep breaths. He then noticed that Ying Yingying was far behind him, standing in the water and refusing to come up.
Russell frowned. The previous infusion of Magic Power had made Ying Yingying grow two or three years older, officially transitioning her from a loli to a young girl.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you coming up?" Noticing the wariness in the girl's eyes, Russell narrowed his eyes.
Ying Yingying hesitated in the water, fidgeting for a moment before awkwardly saying, "I... my pants are worn through..."
Russell: "..."
Ying Yingying: "..."
After a long silence, Russell broke the silence. "Don't you have Band-Aid?"