The underground space was utterly silent.
After a long pause, Wang Hu's voice finally rang out.
"Don't worry, we don't want to die either!"
"... Um."
After he finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent once again.
Cao Yiyi stood in the darkness, her eyelids slightly lowered.
Family, children...
Although she knew the Erosion Zone was brutal, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation. In the past, even when she had seen similar cases, they were mostly wounded and dead; she had never delved into their circumstances before death. Now...
Cao Yiyi slowly raised her eyes and scanned everyone present.
Are those within the Erosion Zone —not just the inspectors, but every soldier—facing this situation?
Han Ling turned her gaze back to Zhou Xuan.
" Zhou Xuan, how much longer until we reach the ground?"
"It'll be a while. The Profound Crystal Griffin is up there; we can't go directly up. We have to take a long detour, and..." Zhou Xuan paused, his gaze slightly unfocused, as if sensing something.
" The Profound Crystal Griffin has now realized we're heading upwards. Instead of coming straight at us, it's... starting to chase us upwards as it goes!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Chase while going upwards?" Wang Hu repeated in a deep voice.
"Yes, it's based on our movements that we determine which way to go, and then we start heading in that direction!" Zhou Xuan replied.
"In that case, is it still possible to get to the ground before the Profound Crystal Griffin arrives?" Wang Hu asked, raising his eyes.
The people around him were also waiting for Zhou Xuan's answer.
However, under their gaze, Zhou Xuan did not reply immediately. Instead, he opened his mouth and let out a very low inhalation.
Seeing this, everyone's expressions became even more serious.
"We're not going to be trapped underground by the Profound Crystal Griffin before we can even get up there, are we?" Wang Hu asked.
"No, it's not that bad!"
"What is it like?"
"We can definitely get up there, but if we go straight up, we might be facing Profound Crystal Griffin that pounces on us!" Zhou Xuan replied.
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
This is better than being trapped underground, but the outcome is the same.
"If that doesn't work, can we just lure the Profound Crystal Griffin over? Can we fight it underground?" Cao Yiyi immediately came up with a solution.
Beside him, Wang Hu frowned, about to retort, when he heard Zhou Xuan suddenly say,
"No, no need, I've thought of a way!"
"What method?" Cao Yiyi quickly looked over.
"I... well..." Zhou Xuan paused, then grinned and said, "It's hard to explain in a short time, you'll find out soon enough!"
As he spoke, he pressed his hands on the ground, causing more Origin Power to surge towards the ground beneath his feet.
Method?... Han Ling glanced at Zhou Xuan, then silently waited in place.
Seeing this, the people around hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe Zhou Xuan and waited.
The dull rumbling continued, growing ever closer.
By anticipating their movements, the Profound Crystal Griffin further closed the distance between them.
Soon, the once peaceful underground space began to shake, and sparse lime began to fall downwards, while the rumbling sound grew ever closer.
Cao Yiyi glanced at Zhou Xuan subconsciously, hesitated for a moment, and then turned her gaze to the others first.
Captain Han's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything to interrupt; Captain Wang, standing beside him, frowned and stared warily at the source of the voice.
The other two, though less composed, did not ask any questions.
Seeing this, Cao Yiyi had no choice but to suppress her anxiety and wait.
However, this trend has not slowed down; on the contrary, it is accelerating even faster.
At a certain moment.
"Roar--"
The roar came through the soil, its sound somewhat muffled.
However, no one cared about the timbre of the voice; they only cared about the distance between the two sides represented by the sound behind them.
I'm afraid... it's less than fifty meters!
If Zhou Xuan hadn't been controlling the space around them to move rapidly, the Profound Crystal Griffin would probably have appeared before them in three or four seconds.
It was at this moment that Jiang Yue finally couldn't help but ask,
"I'm asking you, is it really possible to reach the ground before the Profound Crystal Griffin arrives?"
Everyone looked at Zhou Xuan, but they didn't ask any questions, which didn't mean they didn't want to.
only...
Zhou Xuan did not answer the questions from the crowd.
He lowered his head, his eyes slightly unfocused, but his expression was incredibly serious, and his Origin Power surged wildly downwards.
Seeing this, everyone had no choice but to suppress their anger and continue waiting.
After all, regardless of whether the Profound Crystal Griffin can catch up, they are still underground and have no way to do anything about it.
However, the rumbling sound was still approaching.
Forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters...
Just as everyone was about to prepare for battle, Zhou Xuan finally made a move.
He grinned.
"Haha, keep attacking the ground! I'll show you what's good for you!"
After saying that, he turned his hands, which were pressed against the ground, around.
Then, the soil layer that had remained unchanged and shrouded everyone suddenly began to change.
The ground beneath their feet still carried them, but the soil on their sides had changed, beginning to shift to either side.
The location has changed; we're up here now, so we don't need to worry about the cave collapsing anymore?... Han Ling glanced at Zhou Xuan, her eyes flickering slightly.
Those around also noticed this, whether they understood its implications or not, but they certainly felt it—their movement speed began to increase dramatically.
Large amounts of soil are moving to both sides.
Subsequently, the distance that the Profound Crystal Griffin had initially closed began to widen again.
Thirty meters, forty meters, fifty meters, seventy meters...
The distance isn't vertically separated; it's more horizontal.
finally.
"Whoosh--"
Everyone felt as if their vision had suddenly brightened.
The seemingly thick layer of soil that had been blocking our view has vanished!
They returned to the ground.
Han Ling squinted slightly, adjusting to the suddenly brighter light while also observing her surroundings.
Compared to before, towering mountains have appeared all around. Although there aren't any trees over a hundred meters tall on them yet, the terrain has at least changed from what it used to be, and...
Her gaze shifted slightly downwards, looking towards the direction from which the sound came, hidden beneath the mountain.
Could it be that by artificially controlling the situation, placing them at the foot of the mountain and the Profound Crystal Griffin on the mountainside respectively, thus causing an difference in the thickness of the soil above them, and further delaying the Profound Crystal Griffin's catch-up time?
To be honest, that's very clever, but what's more important now is...
Han Ling turned her head and looked at Cao Yiyi.
" Inspector Cao!"
"Wait a moment, I'll draft a Contract!" Cao Yiyi replied.
Immediately, she raised her finger and slid it through the air.
As her fingertips traced the path, pale golden marks began to rapidly appear in the air...