However, this was not a problem for Wen Jing.
She gave chase, and when the Glazed Tree Frog tried the same trick again, this time she threw the condenser at a different location.
Thump!
The tree frog crashed headfirst into the spherical light net.
Under the Mental Vision, the true trajectory of the Superpower Core was completely exposed to Wen Jing.
With no room to struggle, the tree frog's shadow instantly transformed into a ball of light, which was absorbed into the converging device.
With a click of success, the condenser returned to its original fist size, but the edges of each corner lit up with a light that hadn't been there before, and its weight had increased.
Holding the chord, looking around, it was like a faded painting; the world's depth quickly returned to normal.
The hands and eyes on the ground fell silent. The swamp turned into a concrete surface, and the surrounding twisted steel giants disappeared. The streets, office buildings, and the logo of the Energy Gathering Group all reappeared.
"Three. There are no other survivors. Next, we need to find Wen Jing and Han An to reunite with them..."
An Ya, who had just finished searching the area, looked around and spoke.
Before she could finish speaking, Brandon, who was with her, pointed to the ground that had returned to normal and said, "We probably don't need to look anymore."
Ultimately, all five survivors were safely rescued.
"Beep! World depth has returned to normal. Containment mission complete."
Communication was restored, and all five personnel who carried out the containment mission received notification that the mission was completed. The Academy's Mission Department awarded them 5 credits and 10 Integral.
"Very good, you executed this mission exceptionally well!"
When the five people boarded the aircraft again, the counselor was overjoyed. He had never led a containment mission so quickly and smoothly before.
Sometimes, when containment exceeds its time limit, he is even needed to go in as reinforcement.
This time, not only did they break the shortest record, but they also saved all the survivors, making it a perfect containment operation.
Faced with the counselor's praise, the other four dared not take credit and all looked at Wen Jing, repeatedly saying, "It's all thanks to Wen Jing."
The counselor was not surprised at all. After giving everyone some encouragement, he started the aircraft and took off.
As the aircraft took off, the skyscrapers below gradually shrank in size.
Wen Jing sat by the window and saw that the red warning line marking the out -Out-of-Control Zone that had been drawn when they arrived had been removed.
With her excellent eyesight, she saw that outside the police line, there were quite a few people who looked like office workers already waiting.
As soon as the cordon was lifted, these expressionless office workers swarmed into the office building like worker bees entering a hive, even though just minutes before this place was a dangerous no-go zone.
Wen Jing immediately glanced at the time: 7:23 AM.
"..."
What seemed like an ordinary scene had a far greater impact on her than the distorted landscape she witnessed upon entering the Out-of-Control Zone.
In the past, Wen Jing had come into contact with two cities outside the academy, which were characterized by rampant gangs and "simple and honest folk customs."
Those people were mostly unemployed people without jobs. Those with physical strength risked their lives, while those without resorted to swindling and cheating, hiding from debt collectors like rats.
And these people who have jobs don't seem to be living very happy lives.
Just as Jiang Qin desperately strives to climb the ranks and doesn't want to fall into the level of an ordinary employee, people with jobs also don't want to fall into the level of the unemployed.
In order to avoid losing their jobs, they have no choice but to engage in fierce competition, devoting even more time and energy to their work.
At this thought, a idea flashed through Wen Jing's mind: as fellow F-level Awakened, if he didn't have a character panel, would he follow the same life trajectory as Jiang Qin, and one day fall into the same predicament?
She quickly gave a negative answer.
People think differently. Even with the same life trajectory, a small difference in choice can lead to drastically different futures.
Immediately afterwards, Wen Jing shook his head and smiled.
"Emotions still have a final, albeit slight, influence..."
Because under normal circumstances, Wen Jing would never consider such an assumption.
There aren't that many "what ifs".
Her current self is a product of her experiences after acquiring the panel; therefore, it is meaningless to presuppose a non-existent self.
Similarly, it's pointless to anticipate an unknown future filled with fear, or to regret not choosing another path.
People live in the present moment.
Chapter 126
Deep within the intricate network of underground caves, an atmosphere of extreme cold surged.
The lower-level creatures living in the surrounding food chain, such as silver moles and cold-light fireflies, quickly fled the area. Even the slowest-moving Wilderness Beast, the ice slugs, scrambled away.
The core area of this cave is the nest of the Frost Vein Spider King.
The air temperature here is extremely low; even creatures from the underground world would be affected by such low temperatures.
Layers upon layers of Frost Vein Silk covered the cave ceiling and walls like a curtain, both spider silk and ice.
The prey, wrapped in ice silk, hung like beaded curtains on the surrounding stone walls. In the center of the nest was a special suspended spider web made of pale blue Frost Vein Silk, from which the entire hollow nest's web could be seen to spread out.
In the very center, a giant spider, far larger than any of the previous Frost Spider, with its carapace displaying eerie dark gold patterns, lay silently on the throne, its eight eerie blue compound eyes coldly watching the uninvited guest.
Around its throne, countless equally eerie blue eyes shone brightly, and thousands upon thousands of pale, face-sized spider larvae, appearing to have just hatched, surged like a tide.
Countless dangerous gazes seemed to converge into an ocean, and the Spider King was the deepest whirlpool in the center of this ocean.
Wen Jing floated at the cave entrance, his compound eyes Calmness scanning the chilling scene. He wasn't surprised that his invisibility had been seen through.
Compared to other ordinary Frost Spider, the Frost Spider King has an additional golden "[ Ice Domain ]" attribute, which means it will be detected whenever any creature that does not belong to this domain intrudes.
However, since she dared to come here, she must have been prepared for this.
After the incident during the containment mission, Wen Jing continued his exploration of the underground world.
From initially hunting lone Frost Spider to later challenging elite female spiders, it took her nearly a month. Except for a few that escaped during relocation, she had almost eaten all the Frost Spider in the area.
The traits [ Frost Vein Silk Gland I ] and [ Intermediate Cold Resistance ] have been upgraded to [ Frost Vein Silk Gland III ] and [ Advanced Cold Resistance ], respectively.
The strength of Wen Jing's Frost Vein Silk has now reached the level of a standard elite female spider.
The invasion of such a powerful enemy into the underground region finally alarmed the true king of the underground region.
An earthquake revealed an extremely cold passage deep underground, leading Wen Jing to discover the nest of the Frost Spider King.
On her first attempt to investigate, she fled.
Her second attempt ended in failure.
This is the third time she has come here on her own initiative.
"Third time's the charm, and today is it!"
The next moment, the little insect flashed and charged into the nest.
"Hiss..."
At the same time, the Spider King in the center let out a low hiss.
The spiderwebs on the walls and ceiling of the entire nest suddenly lit up with dark golden patterns, and an extremely cold pressure field descended instantly, plunging the entire area where Wen Jing was located into an invisible quagmire.
The surrounding swarm of spiderlings also stirred, surging forward like ocean waves and spraying large amounts of silk threads toward Wen Jing.
These threads are a weakened version of Frost Vein Silk; they would have a mediocre effect under normal circumstances, but when thousands upon thousands converge, there are absolutely no gaps.
Wen Jing had been forced to retreat because of this move before. Once entangled, it would be a snowballing chain reaction in this ' Ice Domain '.
Last time, she used every trick in the book to barely escape from here.
However, the Spider King didn't fare much better either.
Wen Jing took the opportunity to kill many of its offspring, and finally the enraged Spider King chased her all the way to the surface, until she was defeated by the Cold Flame Jellyfish.
Now, after a seven-day interval, she found that many baby spiders had hatched again. If the interval were longer, the number might return to its peak.
"Whoosh--!"
The spiderlings in the ocean sprayed silk that tightly bound the little insect's body.
The Spider King also moved at that moment.
Its ten-meter-tall body moves with incredible speed yet is incredibly agile, traversing the Frost Vein Silk web without creating the slightest ripple.
This is one of the effects of the Ice Domain; within this area, the already powerful Spider King receives a significant boost.
This is why the Spider King rarely leaves its nest unless it is enraged.
Last time, it was Wen Jing who angered the other party, which is why he received this honor.
She originally intended to use the same trick again, but the Spider King was no longer fooled and had no choice but to fight in the nest.
But just as the Spider King charged toward the little insect, a sudden change occurred.
A beam of incandescent light suddenly appeared from another direction, carrying a terrifying heat unlike anything the subterranean creatures had ever experienced, and struck the Spider King and the spider swarm.
"Hiss--!"
The Spider King let out a painful cry, and its giant, scythe-like forelimbs tore apart the 'prey' entangled in its web, revealing that it was indeed empty.
It tilted its head slightly, and its compound eyes caught the Wen Jing of an attack.
"Sizzle!"
The Spider King moved with incredible speed, almost like a series of fluid movements; in a flash, his second attack had already landed.
The surrounding spiderlings also received the silent command and immediately sprayed spider silk in all directions, blocking Wen Jing's path.
"Trash!"
The tiny insect opened and closed its mouthparts, uttering provocative ant-like words to the spider king.
"Swish, swish, swish!"