His spiritual power casually spread out, unexpectedly sensing human figures approaching from all directions.
“Are they the martial arts fanatics Zhan Hongyu and Luo Zhen mentioned earlier, those who went mad in the catacombs?”
Lu Sheng, through his spiritual power, saw their appearance and demeanor.
Indeed, they looked somewhat deranged.
But he didn’t take it too seriously.
Let them come, I’ll deal with them all at once, so they don’t bother us on the way back. It would be annoying … Lu Sheng thought casually, suddenly increasing the use of his spiritual power.
The mithril mine shook violently, making a louder rumbling sound.
In the thirty layers of the cave filled with black mist, the sound was particularly clear, spreading far and wide.
Attracting some unknown presences from the darkness … Strangely, the Tiger Scorpion team members, who had been extremely cautious before, didn’t notice Lu Sheng’s “reckless” act.
They were busy stuffing the smelted and compressed mithril into bags, their faces filled with joy, their eyes blazing …
A faint rumbling sound came from a distance.
In the darkness, a figure sitting cross-legged suddenly opened his eyes. These eyes were extremely bright, illuminating the surrounding darkness in an instant. However, they were filled with red blood vessels, looking very frightening and creepy.
A tall, slender figure walked out of the darkness, stepping on a pile of scattered bones. Some were from exotic beasts, others from humans.
The figure’s black alloy boots crushed the bones underfoot. He pressed his body tightly against the black stone wall beside him, closing his eyes as if listening to something.
The rumbling sound echoed again.
The blood-red eyes opened again.
The figure found the exact location of the sound through the vibration of the stone wall.
He licked his lips, his eyes showing intense desire, and he made a hoarse, raspy sound.
The mithril mine was dug into a space of over one hundred cubic meters. It was almost the size of half a classroom for a high school class. Removing the stones and impurities, smelting, and compressing … All the bags brought by the Tiger Scorpion team were filled, with a large pile left over.
Each of the four members of the Tiger Scorpion team was carrying large and small bags, holding as much as they could. However, it only appeared bulky and cumbersome, not heavy. After all, they were all Masters and Star Generals, and this weight was nothing to them.
Lu Sheng looked at the roughly smelted mithril cubes, piled together like a small mountain.
He thought to himself, I’ll use spiritual power to transport these out … So much mithril, even after refining, should be enough for me to forge an inner wheel blade. It won’t be enough to forge the entire Devotion Wheel Blade, and I still owe some merit … This mithril mine has been half-excavated, the remaining fragments are troublesome to extract, and I’ll need to find another mithril mine.
Thinking this, Lu Sheng glanced at the four members of the Tiger Scorpion team he had brought as labor, and said, “If we successfully transport this out, I’ll give your team a ten percent share. How about it?”
The four members of the Tiger Scorpion team exchanged glances, their faces showing delight. Such a large amount of mithril, even just ten percent, was worth a lot. And all they had to contribute was a bit of time and effort.
“Thank you for your generosity …” Zhan Hongyu showed a struggling expression but ultimately firmed up and shook her head, saying, “But we don’t deserve it, we shouldn’t accept it.”
Lu Sheng’s eyes were calm as he said lightly, “I don’t care if you feel undeserving. Since I’m offering it to you, you have to accept it.”
Zhan Hongyu trembled slightly and quickly changed her words, “Yes. Thank you, sir.”
“You are so generous, sir!”
The four members of the Tiger Scorpion team repeatedly expressed their gratitude.
Only then was Lu Sheng satisfied.
“A strong person’s goodwill cannot be refused. Before, others treated me this way; now it’s finally my turn to treat others this way …”
A strange sense of satisfaction filled him.
“Sir, let’s go quickly.”
Zhan Hongyu glanced around, her expression becoming slightly solemn.
“I have a bad feeling. We made such loud noises while mining just now, yet no exotic beast was attracted. After all, this is the thirtieth floor of the cave, almost deserted normally. We could make a few more trips …”
The other three members of the Tiger Scorpion team also sensed something was wrong. The area was shrouded in black mist and eerily silent.
Their instincts as martial arts masters told them—this was very abnormal.
But Lu Sheng remained calm.
He glanced at his communication wristband and said casually, “Wait another half a minute.”
“Wait another half a minute”?
The four members of the Tiger Scorpion team blinked, puzzled.
But since Lu Sheng said so, they had to comply. They stood in place, waiting patiently.
Time passed second by second.
The half minute was over in a flash.
Almost as soon as the last second ticked away, the black mist around them suddenly surged.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh …
The sound of rapid footsteps echoed in the silent space.
The four members of the Tiger Scorpion team instantly tensed up, each grabbing their cold weapons, facing the direction of the sound, ready for battle.
But the light footsteps soon came from elsewhere.
In front, behind, left, right … Footsteps were approaching from all directions, surrounding them.
The slowly flowing black mist was stirred up.
In the black mist, a thin figure quietly appeared.
Then a second, a third, a fourth …
In less than two breaths, figures surrounded them.
Shadows moved, encircling them.
A quick glance showed no fewer than twenty or thirty people. Regardless of their appearances, almost all of them had a gloomy aura and were thin. Their skin was deathly pale from long lack of sunlight, their eyes bloodshot. Their clothes were tattered, many unrecognizable.
These people looked like starving refugees, like beasts, like zombies, like monsters … Yet each one was brimming with energy, with columns of smoke-like Gang-qi rising from their heads.
They were clearly … genuine Martial Masters!
The faces of the four members of the Tiger Scorpion team changed drastically. They were shocked and terrified, instinctively retreating step by step.
“Masters, they’re all Masters!”
“No kidding, can anyone but Masters survive here this long?”
“All the maniacs from the twenty-fifth to the thirtieth floor must be here …”
Zhan Hongyu’s face was grim as she said with difficulty, “The ones who attacked the Hongluo (Red Snail) team, causing a Star General team to lose contact, were probably these guys. Damn, these beasts even eat their own kind, and now they know how to cooperate and act collectively?”
“In such situations, there’s usually only one possibility …”
A voice rang in the ears of the four members of the Tiger Scorpion team, making them turn to look. They saw Lu Sheng’s calm profile.
Lu Sheng looked in one direction and said lightly, “Among these people, there’s someone with the absolute power to lead them … a king!”
Zhan Hongyu and the others were stunned.
The next second, a crisp clapping sound came from where Lu Sheng was looking.
The black mist quickly parted, and a tall, slender figure walked out.