"What's wrong?"
Han Ling, who had been keeping a close eye on Shen Heng, asked.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding people turned their attention back to him.
Under everyone's gaze, Shen Heng calmly said, "It seems that some smelting process has been completed."
"Can you see what it is?" Wang Hu asked.
"A piece..." Shen Heng's gaze unfocused slightly. He pondered for a moment and said, "A rather large crystal."
"Well, I don't know what it is, but if it could..."
Zhou Xuan paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and looked at Shen Heng.
"Hey, Shen Heng, do you think the Calamity Beast might want to send this thing away? This thing, once collected, might not be for all the Calamity Beast here to use; it's possible they'll gather it up and send it elsewhere!"
"It's certainly possible!" Shen Heng looked at Zhou Xuan and said, "What? Want to see if you can snatch it?"
"Yeah, after all, it's the Calamity Beast's stuff, why not take it if it's too good to pass up!" Zhou Xuan grinned.
Shen Heng did not reply, but he seemed to agree with the idea.
After all, humans and Calamity Beast are inherently enemies. Anything Calamity Beast collects, regardless of its nature, has some research value, but...
"The main objective of the mission was exploration, and we've already achieved that. We're heading back tomorrow, so there's no time for this kind of thing."
"So, as long as it doesn't affect our return trip tomorrow, there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Wang Hu crossed his arms and looked at Shen Heng seriously.
"Indeed, but we have to start our return journey tomorrow. We don't have time to wait for resources that might be transported out at any time, unless..."
Shen Heng paused, sensing that the Fourth Tier Calamity Beast overseeing the work had quickly picked up the resources after they were refined and moved to the side of the sleeping Fifth Tier Calamity Beast.
After a brief exchange, a roar echoed through the underground world.
A moment later, a winged Calamity Beast arrived. After being given a few instructions, it grabbed the crystal and began to approach the ground.
Is this... that every single one produced has to be sent out?... Shen Heng's eyes narrowed slightly, and the importance of this item in his heart increased once again.
"It seems that unless something happens!" Wang Hu's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Huh? Really?" Zhou Xuan looked at Shen Heng in surprise.
"Yes, that item seems to be meant to be sent away once it's completed. It's already been carried up here by a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast," Shen Heng nodded in confirmation.
"So, we can rob it?" Zhou Xuan asked, slightly excited.
"We can try to steal it, but we might not have the chance to succeed," Shen Heng said calmly.
"You mean we might not be able to defeat that Calamity Beast?" Zhou Xuan asked, slightly puzzled.
"No."
What is that?
It's a matter of distance and direction.
"Distance and direction?"
Zhou Xuan frowned slightly, not quite understanding the meaning of those words.
"Does that mean the Calamity Beast might go in the other direction?" Han Ling asked Shen Heng for confirmation.
Because of her fighting style, she is quite sensitive to distance and direction, and immediately realized the reason after Shen Heng pointed out the problem.
Shen Heng nodded slightly.
However, the others were not as perceptive as Han Ling.
Zhou Xuan opened his mouth, "This... go to the other side?"
After Shen Heng gestured, Han Ling turned her gaze back and explained:
"While not entirely accurate, we started from the base and explored in the direction the beast tide was coming from."
"In other words, the two Light Gate are probably in different locations, and we haven't found the location of the other Light Gate along the way..."
"In other words, the Light Gate connecting to the Ruins Realm might be further ahead, in a more distant place."
"And if they're transporting resources, they're likely transporting them outwards, which means..."
"So, that Calamity Beast is likely heading towards the other side?" Zhou Xuan pointed ahead.
Ahead, after crossing the basin below, about twenty or thirty kilometers away, there are those continuous mountain ranges again.
If the Calamity Beast really flies that way, then they might really have no way to deal with it.
After all, the Calamity Beast could simply come up and fly over, making the distance much closer than theirs.
The only way for them to catch up seems to be to fly at full speed and then chase after them.
However, aside from the consumption of Origin Power, if the Calamity Beast roars when it discovers them, they will likely be greeted by a horde of beasts swarming out from below.
"Hmm." Han Ling nodded calmly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but click his tongue, but he didn't know what to say.
If things really develop like this, it seems they have no other option but to prepare to wait on the other side from the very beginning.
"I have a question," Wang Hu suddenly said.
Shen Heng glanced to the side and saw Wang Hu staring intently at him. He said:
What's the problem?
"Why haven't we seen the Light Gate connecting to the Ruins Realm yet?" Wang Hu asked in a deep voice.
"We haven't reached that Light Gate yet, so we haven't seen it!" Zhou Xuan said matter-of-factly.
"But we've been walking for several days already!" Wang Hu turned his gaze to Zhou Xuan.
"Even though we haven't been moving in a straight line these past few days, the distance we've covered is something that low-level Calamity Beast couldn't reach in a short time."
"Uh, this..." Zhou Xuan was speechless.
Shen Heng turned around and glanced at the rolling mountains behind him, then slowly looked away.
"Among the points detected earlier, some should be places where the Calamity Beast temporarily reside."
"For example, that place you discovered before, where there were at most three thousand Calamity Beast?" Wang Hu looked at Shen Heng.
"Hmm." Shen Heng nodded slightly.
"In other words, there are two types of gathering points for the Calamity Beast outside: one is like this, used for resource gathering, and the other is used as a temporary residence to facilitate attacks on the base?" Wang Hu summarized.
"Perhaps there's another way..."
Shen Heng pondered for a moment, then said:
"What headquarters is worried about is whether the Calamity Beast are trying to stabilize the Erosion Zone in some way..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Heng slowly raised his eyes and looked towards the hills in the basin in the distance.
As they talked, the Fourth Tier Calamity Beast was almost at the ground.
Seeing Shen Heng's expression, everyone seemed to realize something and turned their gazes towards him.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, like a trapped dragon ascending to heaven, a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast flew out from underground.
It was a colossal creature nearly twenty meters long, resembling a giant bat that had been skinned and was covered in blood and flesh.
The membrane wings unfolded, becoming almost transparent, exposing the dark red muscle fibers to the air, which pulsated slightly.
They seemed excited, as if they hadn't been out for a while.
It hovered above the basin...