Back in the Mine

"Clang, clang..."

The sound rang out, continuous and intermittent.

A figure stood in the mine tunnel, staring blankly at the dark rock wall in front of him.

Is this... someone who's back? Why?

With a solemn expression, Shen Heng withdrew his gaze and looked to the side.

Narrow mine tunnels, dim light, and figures constantly raising their claws to dig.

He did indeed return to the mine.

but why?

With a thoughtful expression, Shen Heng withdrew his gaze.

In my mind, the memory from the previous second was still in the forest, and the next second I was back here.

Clearly, something is wrong.

The last time something similar went wrong was because a Calamity Beast mentioned the name ' Jörmungandr '.

What about this time?

Have other, new, taboo behaviors emerged?

Or was it that some of the later-arriving Calamity Beast were captured and then uttered the name ' Jörmungandr ' again Calamity Beast, leading to this? Was it a further deepening of adaptation this time?

Or perhaps it's true that this world is inescapable, and if any Calamity Beast attempts to leave, it will trigger a similar situation?

Shen Heng lowered his eyes, trying his best to calm his emotions.

None of these three situations can be considered good; in fact, they can be described as extremely bad.

Especially at this time of year.

The previous plan worked because those Black Rat hadn't experienced the simultaneous uprising of the Calamity Beast below, but now...

The clanging, clanging sounds of mining echoed incessantly in my ears.

After a while, Shen Heng stopped thinking and looked to the side.

In the field of vision, an unfamiliar Sickle-Claw Beast was panting heavily as it dug.

In any case, there are three main things to do now.

Confirm the current situation, find the Stone and Qin Yu, find the Two-Horned Lizard...

"... How much did you dig up?"

Questions rang out.

The Sickle-Claw Beast, which was mining, stopped.

It didn't turn its head, but remained in the same position as before it was asked, with its right paw resting on the rock face.

What's going on here?... Shen Heng looked at this scene with some confusion, and just as he was wondering whether to ask any more questions, he saw the Sickle-Claw Beast finally turn its gaze towards him.

It stared at Shen Heng, somewhat stiffly.

The weariness and liveliness in his eyes were quickly being replaced by a new numbness and sluggishness.

Shen Heng paused, his expression turning completely somber.

"Clang, clang..."

The sound of mining could be heard all around me.

The Two-Horned Lizard blinked, its vision straining as it scanned the surroundings.

What came into view were those familiar mining guys.

Damn it, what the hell is this? How did I suddenly get back here? Wasn't I outside? What am I now...?

One question after another flashed through its mind.

But naturally, there is no answer.

The Two-Horned Lizard frowned, recalling the red light it had seen spreading from the horizon before returning.

Damn it, was that red light the cause? What happened? Could it be that those despicable humans ran away and caused this?

Several more questions followed.

But again, no answer was received.

The Two-Horned Lizard frowned, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

In that situation, getting out would have been extremely difficult.

And now, they've suddenly pulled this stunt and brought it back!

It goes without saying that getting out now will be even more difficult.

"Damn it, am I going to be stuck here?"

"No, I should have chosen the other path and tried to climb out to see if I could escape!"

"I wonder if those humans managed to escape. If they did..."

The Two-Horned Lizard cursed inwardly, somewhat angrily.

After a while, it finally calmed down, its gaze turning angry and heavy as it looked to the side.

A repressive environment, silent mining.

Damn it, what do we do now?

The Two-Horned Lizard frowned as it thought.

Just as I was pondering this, a shout suddenly rang out from a short distance away.

"Report! There's someone trying to escape! Report! There's someone trying to escape..."

The Two-Horned Lizard paused for a moment, its gaze instinctively drifting over.

Several other Calamity Beast along the way also heard the sound and looked over.

Following their gaze were two Calamity Beast.

A Scalearmor Lizard stood there, somewhat bewildered.

The other ordinary Calamity Beast kept shouting, and the sound was coming from it.

"Wait, why is one of them trying to escape?" The Two-Horned Lizard looked around, somewhat bewildered.

Not only were they stunned by the sudden situation, but they were also bewildered by the content of the accusations.

A Calamity Beast is trying to escape?

It recognized the Scalearmor Lizard.

It's impossible not to recognize them; during the previous riots, there were only a dozen or so left.

But that's precisely the problem.

Having survived all those previous ordeals, how could the Scalearmor Lizard possibly talk about running away when suddenly faced with this new Calamity Beast?

He absolutely wouldn't believe it if I told him!

Whether you believe it or not, it really happened right before your eyes.

Therefore, the Two-Horned Lizard stood there somewhat bewildered.

It wasn't the only one bewildered; the Scalearmor Lizard itself stared blankly at the Calamity Beast.

In the mine tunnel, only the Calamity Beast continued to howl.

Before they could react, a figure suddenly descended from the mine tunnel and stopped beside them.

"Who wants to run away?"

"Report, it's this Scalearmor Lizard!" the identified Calamity Beast said.

Upon hearing this, the Scalearmor Lizard finally realized what was happening and hurriedly began to explain:

"No, I just asked what time it is now!"

Without arguing, the Calamity Beast looked at the approaching Lord Black Rat.

The arriving Black Rat seemed uninterested in arguing with the Scalearmor Lizard; it looked at the Calamity Beast and asked,

"Is this really it?"

"Yes!" The Calamity Beast nodded.

Upon hearing this, the Black Rat turned its gaze and walked over to the Scalearmor Lizard.

Seeing this, the Scalearmor Lizard panicked even more. "Wait, I really didn't mean to run away! I just asked about the time, asked about the time..."

"Click, snap..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

The Two-Horned Lizard stood there, staring blankly at the scene before it.

Just as they were stunned, the Black Rat, holding the limp, scaled Scalearmor Lizard in one paw, swept its gaze over.

Cold and indifferent.

The Two-Horned Lizard tensed up, and just as it was about to look away, its gaze was suddenly drawn back to the Calamity Beast that had also been looking over.

Unlike the usual mining Calamity Beast, its eyes held no superfluous expression, only numbness and apathy.

The Two-Horned Lizard paused, frozen in place.

The sound of a corpse being dragged across the ground rang out as the Black Rat, dragging the dead Scalearmor Lizard, disappeared into the mine tunnel.

Then, after a brief pause, the sound of mining resumed.

The Two-Horned Lizard, at some point, also started mining.

But the scene from just now kept replaying in my mind.

Damn it, what was wrong with that guy just now? He didn't seem alive!

And what's this Scalearmor Lizard? Was it reported and killed because it spoke?

The Two-Horned Lizard remained calm, and the force in its hand increased even more.