Scrutiny
Neither Zijin nor Su Ming paid any attention to the chickens leaping and bounding outside the window.
In Dragon Valley, it's normal for dragons to utter strange roars, even if the source of the sound sounds like the elegant and self-possessed lady, Dragon Zhimeng.
[The hidden danger of Magic Power pollution still needs to be resolved as soon as possible.] Su Ming continued, with a hint of helpless headache, [When we upgraded the core runes in the Northern Lands last time, the White Bone Mark was clearly optimized to be quite stable, but you have modified it repeatedly during this period, and its internal structure is almost a tangled ball of yarn!] He couldn't help but complain.
"[I had no choice.]" Zijin explained, "[In order to adapt to the recent changes in my ability structure, especially after fusing with the Faerie Dragon's " Elemental Resonance " bloodline, how could the structure of the White Bone Mark not be adjusted accordingly?]"
Zijin was indeed a true genius. Her imaginative ideas contained astonishing inspiration that surpassed computational deduction, constantly expanding the boundaries of the White Bone Mark, which made Su Ming increasingly alarmed.
As the alchemist Newman privately complained, Miss Bay Owl's style was capricious and she never cared about standardization. The code she wrote—if those magical runes and incantations could be called code—was always as chaotic as a raging storm.
However, Su Ming is currently too busy to sort out the structure.
He suspected that this was actually Zijin's revenge—for example, that he had secretly cracked the full access to the White Bone Mark and tried to hide it from her; or that Su Ming had modified the White Bone Fortress structure to be incredibly complex, making her dizzy every time she connected?
But Su Ming had no evidence.
As the two communicated through their telepathic connection, the flesh and blood of the three assassins in front of Su Ming had almost completely decomposed. They had all flowed into a brownish liquid, with grease seeping out and floating on the surface, revealing the pale bones underneath.
The remaining bones, as if licked by an invisible flame, began to soften and collapse on the surface, oozing a viscous, waxy substance.
Su Ming stood up. "I'll take care of things here first, we'll talk later."
[Come on!]
****
At the end of the passage ahead of Su Ming, a dazzling light suddenly shone without warning. Immediately afterward, a large fireball the size of a human head, as if propelled by an invisible hand, drifted in from a side fork.
Su Ming reacted swiftly, sending several jet-black Withering Orb shooting out with a flick of his wrist. The orbs struck the fireballs precisely, exploding in mid-air into billowing black mist that annihilated them all.
This Ms. Nastaya, after all, is an assassin. Whether she practices magic as a side skill or casts spells using magical items, her level is no match for Su Ming, a full-time mage.
However, while the fireball drew attention, a glass bottle filled with a viscous liquid was secretly thrown out, smashing onto the assassins' melting corpses with a "crack" and exploding into a pool of burning oil.
The fat released from the decomposing corpse ignited instantly, and blazing flames shot several meters high with a loud "boom," crackling and popping. The sudden burst of light illuminated the passage, and Su Ming then realized that the surrounding cave walls were a deep crimson.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Although many ores here are not worth mining, it doesn't mean they don't contain cinnabar; it just means the content is substandard.
Cinnabar, also known as vermilion, is red in color.
Su Ming observed the area. Although it was indeed a relatively enclosed tunnel, due to its abandonment, the wooden support structure of this section of the mine had long been completely dismantled, leaving only a few scattered, rotten broken piles, and no other combustible materials.
The oxygen consumed by the burning of the fat from the three corpses alone was far from enough to create a fatal suffocation environment.
Moreover, Su Ming was still nearly a hundred meters away from the raging fire. Although he would be choked by the thick smoke, he would not suffer any real harm.
But as the raging flames licked the crimson rock walls on both sides of the passage, countless tiny silver droplets began to seep from the dark red mineral components. They began to meander and drip down the uneven cave walls, turning into small beads as they landed.
Mercury!
Su Ming's pupils contracted, and he instantly realized, "It's sulfur dioxide!"
Cinnabar is mercuric sulfide, which decomposes when heated, releasing mercury and highly toxic sulfur dioxide gas! The latter is extremely irritating and corrosive; even a concentration of only one ten-thousandth in the air is enough to be fatal!
Su Ming immediately tore off a piece of his clothes, quickly soaked it in the water on the ground, and tightly covered his mouth and nose. Then, like an arrow released from a bow, he ran wildly towards the bonfire.
Hearing the hurried, heavy footsteps approaching from Su Ming's direction, Nastaya's laughter, tinged with a triumphant madness, rang out through the thick smoke, "Haha, you didn't expect me to have this trick up my sleeve!"
Before her laughter subsided, she suddenly coughed violently. The fire was closer to where she was hiding, and the pungent smell of sulfur dioxide had already enveloped her.
Although she had activated the anti-poison rune, it was by no means enough for her to breathe freely and without restraint!
Su Ming made no response, but instead buried himself in the thick smoke and sprinted forward.
The heavy footsteps grew closer, and Nastaya's eyes flashed with a fierce light. She hurled another small bottle towards the source of the sound. The bottle smashed against the cave wall in front of Su Ming, exploding with a "bang" and instantly releasing a dazzling, intense white light!
A blinding light flashed, and Nastaya immediately opened her eyes, turned around without hesitation, and dashed into the mining tunnel like a ghost!
Beside the fire in front of her, a blurry figure had already rushed over and was trying to extinguish the flames.
Nastaya's killing intent surged, completely ignoring any potential counterattack she might face. She activated Shadow Jump, appearing behind the figure with incredible speed! Without the slightest pause, the poisoned dagger in her hand, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, unleashed a desperate, all-out thrust!
Clang!
The tip of the dagger pierced the figure's back, producing a dull thud like metal clashing.
Su Ming was clearly wearing extremely sturdy armor, but Nastaya's attack, which combined all her strength and speed, still pierced through the armor and went deep into the hilt!
Nastaya's arms went numb from the immense force of the impact. She gritted her teeth and tried to move the dagger to widen the wound, but found it wouldn't budge. Without hesitation, she drew her off-hand dagger from her waist with lightning speed, its cold light flashing as it aimed straight for the figure's throat!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of deafening gunshots rang out from the darkness at the far end of the passage!
Nastaya's movements came to an abrupt halt. The magical shield around her burst like a soap bubble, and then the amulets she wore shattered into dust!
The fifth bullet struck her right elbow joint, tearing her entire forearm off. Broken bone fragments and splattered flesh, along with the weapon, fell onto the filthy ground.
Su Ming showed no mercy and continued to pull the trigger. Another short burst of fire sent the whistling bullet severing Nastaya's remaining left arm, rendering it useless!
"Ah----" Nastaya opened her mouth in pain, but was only choked by the thick smoke and coughed violently. Her body lost its support and collapsed to the ground like a broken sack.
****
A stream of water rushed down the floor of the passage, quickly engulfing the burning remains. Oil floated on the surface, still stubbornly burning with numerous flames.
Runes Undead Summoning flew in, and the bones that had not yet been completely decomposed struggled out of the soaking corpse, creaking as they pieced themselves together and stood up unsteadily.
Despite their unstable posture, as if they might fall apart at any moment, these newly formed skeleton warriors faithfully carried out Su Ming's orders, mechanically pounding and stomping on the flames on the water's surface.
The thick smoke was gradually dissipated by the water and the thrashing of the skeletons. Su Ming's figure emerged from the depths of the passage. He carried the heavy machine gun and waded through the murky water that was over his ankles as he walked step by step.
Su Ming's face was tightly covered with a simple breathing mask made of alkaline-impregnated activated carbon and strips of cloth.
These activated carbons, which target sulfur dioxide, were summoned from the earth using wood chips scattered in the tunnels.
He stopped when he reached the humanoid android that had just been pierced by the assassin's dagger and was now lying paralyzed in the sewage.
The one that rushed towards the fire was not Su Ming himself, but a bionic robot.
Su Ming reached out his hand, and a faint light of "Summoning of All Things" flashed. The damaged machine on the ground immediately reassembled, returning to its previous large mechanical dog form. He placed the heavy machine gun in his hand back onto the weapon rack on the mechanical dog's back, and with a click, it was inserted into the slot.
Return it to its rightful owner!
Although this heavy mechanical dog is already number two.
Nastaya, who had collapsed in the cold sewage, struggled to lift her head and witnessed the whole thing, finally understanding the deception completely.
She meticulously planned to lure Su Ming closer with flames, attempting to kill him before reinforcements arrived.
Su Ming, taking advantage of her desperation, used an alchemical puppet to create a disturbance while he calmly lay in wait in a safe position, delivering a fatal blow to her with that powerful evil god weapon.
"Actually, if you had stayed at the entrance, there might still have been a sliver of a chance." Su Ming's voice sounded somewhat muffled because of the simple breathing mask.
Following his direction, Nastaya saw where he had come from, where the water was surging in continuously, rising higher and higher, almost completely submerging the assassin lying on the ground.
Clearly, something's wrong with the rocks on that side.
Nastaya's eyes widened in anger, filled with resentment. The sound of flowing water echoed throughout the mine, and she couldn't discern the unusual commotion a hundred meters away.
The main reason is that she wasn't a miner and had no concept of the changes in the hydrology in the mine. Su Ming, on the other hand, had at least come into contact with it during this period.
Su Ming raised his hand, and several beams of magical light of different colors flew out one after another, binding Nastaya's broken body like shackles. Only after confirming that the binding spell had taken effect did he cautiously approach.
Nastaya desperately tilted her head back, trying to sink herself completely into the murky water and seek to end her life.
"Want to die? Not so easy!" Su Ming sneered.
With a flick of his wrist, the Thorn Long Whip shot out, binding her tightly like a rice dumpling.
Physical restraints must also be added!
Immediately, Su Ming manipulated the several wet skeletons to step forward and clumsily drag Nastaya out of the water. He even used binding magic to roughly tighten the gushing wound at her severed arm, barely stopping the bleeding.
"----You bastard----" Nastaya spat out two words filled with hatred through gritted teeth, her voice hoarse.
"Thank you!" Su Ming said.
A crashing sound came from inside—the sound of the blocked passage being dug away!
Su Ming looked in the direction of the sound and saw a pink-haired figure rushing towards him like an arrow, breaking through the obstruction amidst the billowing smoke and dust.
****
Ten minutes later, Su Ming reappeared on the surface of the Red Ridge Mine.
The entire mining area has been completely sealed off, and a somber atmosphere permeates the air. At least ten giant dragons hover in the low sky, their shadows sweeping across the ground; hundreds of mine managers, guards, and related staff have been temporarily detained in several mine warehouses and are undergoing detailed questioning one by one.
Su Ming's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Ruixiuli's pale face, his abdomen still tightly wrapped in gauze.
Despite Rupert's report claiming that Ruixiuli suffered three holes in his stomach during his fight with the druid last night, these were considered routine external injuries.
However, Ruixiuli looked even more haggard than when he was rescued from the Divine Might Prison.
"Why are you here looking like this, instead of staying in the hospital?" Su Ming asked.
"Don't do that again next time." Ruixiuli wanted to let out a long sigh, but as soon as he managed to catch his breath, a sharp pain pulled at his abdomen, causing him to gasp and his voice to weaken. "If something really happens to you, the morale we necromancers have just managed to build up will likely dissipate completely, and we'll be back to those days of fear and despair, like stray dogs."
"I'll talk about my reflections later," Su Ming replied, unfolding his tablet and starting to operate it. He quickly issued instructions, beginning to restore order to the Ruby Base, which had been thrown into chaos by his attack, while simultaneously arranging for the excess support personnel to return to their original posts.
Jielusi walked over quickly. She glanced at Ruixiuli, a hint of worry flashing across her face. She had clearly treated the external injuries properly, but Ruixiuli's current appearance—covered in cold sweat and with pale lips—didn't look like he was alright at all.
"Besides Shiquan and the traitor Shenyan, we also found the bodies of five dwarves," Jielusi reported to Su Ming on the progress of the investigation. "The assassins' infiltration route has been identified. It was the traitor Baroque Shenyan who led them. The five assassins used Polymorph to disguise themselves as the murdered dwarven miners and infiltrated the mine before you arrived, hiding deep inside and waiting for their chance."
"Polymorph?" Su Ming frowned. "Where are the guards on duty? Why didn't they notice anything unusual?"
"The investigation is still ongoing," Jielusi replied. "One of the guard mages at the Final Bone Mad Machines is directly suspected of negligence; he insists he didn't notice anything unusual at the time."
"Bring him under control." Su Ming's voice was devoid of any warmth. "Use whatever means are necessary, and find out the truth as quickly as possible. Negligence of duty and treason—he must be held accountable for either!"
"Clear."