After the third tremor, a crack appeared in the top of the tunnel.
Boone looked up for a long time, his face gradually darkening. "At this rate, forget about restoring the road; this entire section will collapse before tonight."
"Leave with your men first," Lin Yuan said.
"But the tools are still inside."
Tools won't be killed by stones.
Boone didn't argue further and told the workers to retreat along the original route. Lin Yuan touched the spatial markers he had left behind one by one, shortening the distance between them and the exit bit by bit.
Mira remained standing there after the last worker left.
"Am I not a person?" she asked.
"You are a fellow mage."
"Come on. You clearly wanted me to leave too."
"The tunnel could collapse at any moment."
Mira reached out and tapped his shoulder. "That's why you need a partner who can shield you from stones."
She completed the full-body Take Over and took the lead into the depths of darkness.
Lin Yuan had no choice but to follow, seeing the pair of demonic wings.
The closer you get to the area of vibration, the denser the abandoned miners' lamps become. Many lampshades are broken, yet a faint blue light still lingers inside. Thick metal pipes are also buried along the walls, extending deep into the mountainside.
"This is not an ordinary transport tunnel," Mira said.
"People used to mine Magic Crystal here."
Lin Yuan pulled a broken section of wire from the rock wall. The metal surface was engraved with blurred magic runes, and faint magic power was rhythmically pulsating within them.
With each jump, a slight tremor would be felt beneath my feet.
The two continued forward, and after bypassing a collapse point, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
Hidden inside the mountain is a huge circular cavity.
Dozens of metal pillars lined the rock face, with a house-sized yellow Magic Crystal suspended in the center. Below the crystal were six sets of gears and drills, the rusted machinery still slowly turning.
Each time the gears mesh, yellow ripples spread from the crystal, through the rock layers, and throughout the entire Frozen Rock Mountain.
boom--
A deep, resounding boom echoed once more.
This time, the two could see it clearly. It wasn't something turning over in the mountains, but rather the entire rock layer being pushed outwards by True Magic ripples, shifting a small distance.
"Spatial True Magic?" Mira asked.
"No." Lin Yuan reached out to sense it. "It was using vibrations to separate the rock layers, making it easier for the drill to extract the material. It's just that after the device malfunctioned, the tunnel also loosened."
Tools left behind by the third repair team were scattered next to the control panel. A newly replaced magic cable had been connected to the old circuit, and the copper wires were still shiny.
Mira picked up the wrench. "When they were fixing the miners' lamps, they reconnected this thing too?"
"Very likely."
"Just pull it out, won't that solve the problem?"
She grabbed the magic guide thread and pulled hard.
The circuit snapped, but the central Magic Crystal suddenly lit up. All the gears accelerated simultaneously, and yellow ripples crashed against the rock wall in concentric circles.
Mira looked at the broken thread in her hand. "I was just trying."
"Every time you say that, things will break even faster."
"At least it proves that pulling the wire didn't work!"
A series of cracking sounds came from above.
Huge rocks fell from the dome. Mira spread her wings and soared into the air, crossing her arms to catch the first boulder. The second one followed closely behind, which she kicked toward the edge of the hollow.
" Lin Yuan, hurry up!"
Lin Yuan approached the control panel. There were six pointers on the old instrument panel, five of which were already in the red zone, while the last one was still slowly rising.
Directly destroying the Magic Crystal would cause the accumulated magic power inside to erupt instantly. Moving the entire device out was also impossible; he hadn't yet analyzed such a massive structure, nor could he find a safe landing point that could withstand it.
It can only stop the vibration.
He spread his spatial perception along the yellow ripples.
The first layer of ripples connects to the central cavity, the second layer extends towards the transport tunnel, and the third layer penetrates deep into the original lair of the Rock-Armored Beast. The further out you go, the more branches there are, like a giant spider web buried in the mountain.
This device has been operating for countless years, and the entire rock strata of the mountain have become its resonant nodes.
Mira caught another boulder and asked through gritted teeth, "Did you find the switch?"
"Found it."
"Then press it!"
"The switch is stuck at the very back; the control panel is inoperable."
"Then I'll open the casing!"
It will explode.
Can you suggest a working solution?
Lin Yuan stared at the central crystal. Each vibration was transmitted along a fixed path; if the key node was severed, the device would lose its complete circuit.
The problem is that those nodes don't just exist in front of us.
The six closest ones are scattered around the cavity, while the furthest one is located on the other side of the mountain peak, beyond the range where he can now fold stably.
Another crack pierced through the dome.
Lin Yuan looked up at Mira.
How long can it last?
"Stop talking nonsense, and I can hold out a little longer!"
Lin Yuan squatted down and placed his palm on the ground. Black and silver magic flowed upwards along the yellow ripples, and his spatial perception was constantly torn apart and reconnected amidst the vibrations.
Soon, the outline of the entire Frozen Rock Mountain appeared in his mind.
Tunnels, nests, mine shafts, and countless fissures are all connected by the same True Magic circle.
He finally understood why every time he repaired one place, another would immediately collapse.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
"The device isn't hidden in the mountains."
Black and silver magic suddenly lit up along the patterns beneath their feet.
"The entire mountain is within its True Magic circle."