"Demonic Beasts like collecting things." Chen Siyao turned over a few of the stones to examine them. "These are natural spirit crystal ores. Good quality, but not much use to us."
Yang Wanqing picked up a purple one and held it to the light. "Pretty."
The livestream chat debated the value of the glowstones. A few verified accounts analyzed their mineral composition and potential rare-metal content.
Chen Siyao made another circuit around the hollow. Glowstones, broken bones, fragments of some unknown material... there was nothing else.
No black hole.
Fu Zhaojie followed her over, searching everywhere. "It's not here... that black hole where day and night alternated isn't here..."
"Last time, you saw it in the outer cavern," Chen Siyao said. "It's already gone from that rock wall."
"But it really was there before..."
"I'm not saying you lied," Chen Siyao interrupted. "It might have dissipated naturally, or perhaps..."
She stopped short.
Because the ground beneath her feet was trembling.
Very faintly. At first, the tremor was so slight they could only feel it by leaning against the rock wall. Then it grew more pronounced.
"Buzzz..."
The entire underground cavern began to shake.
These weren't the transverse and longitudinal waves of an earthquake, but a resonance pressing in from every direction at once. The walls shook. The ceiling shook. The ground shook.
The purple glowstone fell from Yang Wanqing's hand. "What's happening..."
Boom!
The cavern ceiling cracked. A two-ton boulder plunged from twenty meters overhead, smashing down beside Tianwu's corpse and sending fragments flying.
Chen Siyao retreated two steps. A second rock fell. Then a third.
This wasn't a cave-in—the entire geological structure was disintegrating.
Rumble—
A muffled crash came from the passage they had entered through. Chen Siyao turned to look... the rock above its entrance had already collapsed.