Carving words
Suddenly, Shen Heng paused and glanced ahead.
Is he finally coming to his senses?
The first time, it lasted nearly two hours; this time, it lasted nearly four hours...
Did it double in price? Or did it rise every two hours? Or was it an irregular rise?
Shen Heng couldn't be sure.
Two attempts are not enough to establish a pattern. To form a roughly identifiable pattern, at least three attempts are needed.
But it's clear he won't intentionally trigger a third time.
There's no need to actively trigger it; you'll naturally understand once the third 'adaptation' occurs.
Now, what needs to be done is...
Shen Heng remained seated, continuing to wait.
A slightly panicked and confused voice sounded in my ear, but it quickly calmed down.
"Well, never mind, I'll just ask Lord Shen Heng when I go out tonight!"
"..."
Shen Heng sat silently in place.
He didn't go immediately, but waited, waited...
Time ticked by, second by second.
After waiting for nearly an hour, Shen Heng finally stood up from the ground.
We've waited so long, and the next round of 'adaptation' hasn't even started yet. It seems we can rule out the first, automatic scenario?
Shen Heng let out a soft breath.
Although, in the worst-case scenario, the second scenario would be far worse than the first.
But personally, he still prefers the second option.
After all, in the first scenario, they are completely powerless to stop it. All they can do is watch as 'adaptation' comes wave after wave, and try to find a way to escape this world within that time.
The second type, while potentially allowing them to become fully integrated into this world more quickly under human influence, is at least something that can be influenced!
Furthermore, other Calamity Beast, once they know the situation, will certainly do their utmost to avoid it as well.
Therefore, Shen Heng prefers the second, more influential option.
Without further thought, he lifted his leg and stepped forward.
Soon, as if they heard the commotion coming from his side, the person who had been lying down to rest immediately started digging.
Shen Heng didn't pay any attention and continued forward.
Soon, as he turned the last corner, a new scene appeared in his field of vision.
The dark mine tunnel, illuminated by the Starlight Stone, stretched forward before disappearing halfway through, never reaching its deepest point.
The deepest part of the mine was pitch black because it had lost the illumination of the Starlight Stone.
At the edge where the light covered the area, a figure was digging.
Seemingly hearing a sound, it cautiously looked over.
Then, he paused and turned his head.
The Stone came rushing over.
"Lord Shen Heng, why did you come down here?!" Stone ran up to Shen Heng quickly.
Then, before Shen Heng could reply, it seemed to remember something and quickly said:
"By the way, Lord Shen Heng, I just..."
"Alright, I know what you're going to ask." Shen Heng interrupted Stone, then looked at it and said, "Do you remember what that Steel-Tailed Beast that claimed to be Mountain-Climbing Ape caused this morning?"
"Uh... I remember, what's wrong?" Stone looked up and recalled, asking with some confusion.
"Do you remember what it said at the end?" Shen Heng asked.
"Uh, it seems so..."
"Alright, since you remember, then remember that the name of that Court Council Speaker cannot be mentioned. Mentioning that name might trigger a reaction from the power it left behind in this world, leading to the situation just now!" Shen Heng interrupted again.
Stone instinctively wanted to nod, but before he could fully nod, he suddenly stopped and asked, somewhat puzzled:
"But didn't it just happen again?"
"That time it must have been because some Calamity Beast from other mines, unaware of the situation, brought it up again, which caused that 'adaptation' to happen again!" Shen Heng explained.
Is it suitable? It seems quite fitting... Stone pondered for a moment, then nodded, looking at Shen Heng with some concern.
"What if other Calamity Beast appear later?"
"We can't control it during the day, but at night, I've given the other Calamity Beast a hint to go find other Calamity Beast and inform them of this. All you have to do is ignore them when they go to find other Calamity Beast, and just act like an ordinary Calamity Beast in this world. Also, remind yourself to avoid getting stuck in the adaptation process again and not waking up for a long time," Shen Heng said.
"Uh... a reminder?" Stone blinked, somewhat confused.
"Yes, you can do what I did and carve words on your arm. When you get used to it later, if you see them, you'll naturally think about why there are those words and then realize it." Shen Heng slightly raised his right forelimb and showed it to Stone.
"Oh~"
Stone stared blankly at the words on Shen Heng's skin.
"Note that the characters shouldn't be too large. Ideally, they should be easily visible to the stone once you've adjusted to the size, yet still discreet." After confirming that the Stone could see them, Shen Heng lowered his raised forelimbs.
"Hmm, what should I carve?" Stone asked.
"Whatever. As long as you become aware of the problem, think about it, and eventually wake up," Shen Heng said casually.
Upon hearing this, Stone paused and cautiously glanced at Lord Shen Heng.
It wanted to ask what the specific words were engraved, but it was worried that it would be scolded by Lord Shen Heng if it asked.
After hesitating for a moment, it glanced casually at the words on Shen Heng's leg, then raised its paw and began carving in the same spot on itself.
'1. You are Calamity Beast, not a human...'
"..."
Shen Heng was completely dumbfounded.
He raised his hand to stop the carving on the Stone, then spoke up to correct him.
A moment later, several lines of tiny characters appeared on the Stone's forelimb.
1. This is a fake world.
2. This world is trying to distort my perception, making me believe that I belong to this world. Remember, you do not belong to this world; you are Stone-Armored Beast, not Shadow Wolf.
3. If you really can't remember, find Lord Shen Heng! Find Lord Shen Heng! Find Lord Shen Heng!
Shen Heng looked at the few lines of text and nodded in satisfaction.
He paused for a moment, then continued:
Let's add another line.
"Ah?"
"Add one more line of information, so you might wake up more easily," Shen Heng said calmly.
"No need, Lord Shen Heng, I feel this is enough!" Stone quickly shook his head and said.
On the one hand, it really feels that this is enough.
On the other hand, it felt that if it wrote too much, wouldn't it make it seem stupid?
"Add it!"
Shen Heng, expressionless, pointed to its front paw.
"I must go out and find Lady Han Ling! Find Lady Han Ling! Find Lady Han Ling!"