20: Chapter 20 Top Eight Dark Horses

The blue dot lit up on the North Mining Ridge, like a piece of meat that hadn't been swallowed in time.

The wind at the rift slope still carried the lingering heat of the grey fire fungus, and the rat swarm that had narrowly escaped death lay panting on the ground, their back fur singed in patches, their wounds smeared with grey fire fungus paste.

The Transport Team was dragging the dead rats toward the thermal fissure, while the Digging Squad used stolen soil-stabilizing paste to patch the second-level cave chamber; black stone rings were erected one by one, and the temporary nest entrance was pressed even narrower, like a throat that only recognized rat claws.

Lu Jin squatted in front of the Breeding Cave and pressed the hatching crystal core into the black stone slot.

As soon as the crystal core touched the thermal vein, it immediately lit up with a layer of soft white light.

The White-Bellied Mother Rat huddled in the nest, her nose twitching; her abdomen, which had only been slightly swollen, gave a gentle tremor, and the surrounding mother rats immediately lowered their heads, tails pressed against the ground, suppressing even the restlessness of fighting for food.

Grey Pupil stood nearby, his grey eyes sweeping over the Breeding Cave, his voice very low.

"They are starting to recognize the nest."

Lu Jin rose, not looking again.

Now was not the time to tend to the nest.

"What's the situation at the North Mining Ridge?"

Grey Pupil's claw tip darted across the grey ground, sketching out a long, narrow ridge and a partially collapsed old mining lift frame.

"A four-person holding squad."

"Zhong Yue, Rock Armor path, front row."

"Xu Rui, Light Lamp path, responsible for watching the cave."

"Qi Fang, Chain Cable armament, sealing the opening."

"And a Ground-Quaking Beetle that can listen to the ground."

He paused, his claw tip pressing heavily on the center of the blue dot.

"Hidden inside the blue dot are old military equipment badges and holding points, totaling eleven to thirteen points."

Lu Jin looked up at the night sky.

[Eighth: Lin Ce, 72]

[Tenth: Lu Jin, 64]

An eight-point difference.

This blue dot was just enough.

"Let's go."

As soon as he spoke, the Ambush Squad moved first.

Dozens of Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats silently slipped into the dark tunnels from behind the rift slope, their tails dragging across the damp ash, leaving only a very shallow trail.

The Digging Squad carried fine iron sand and bone ropes, cutting north along the old mining layer.

The Transport Team divided the remaining fire sandbags, electric sac fragments, and ground-binding crystal nails into three portions, dragging them into different side tunnels.

Grey Pupil didn't rush to follow.

He walked to the thermal fissure, arranged the bodies of the dead rats he had just collected, pressed his forehead gently to the ground, and a series of low, short chirps rolled from his throat.

The rat swarm instantly fell silent.

The injured rats still panting, the Ambush Rats whose fur had been singed—all pressed their heads down.

The black fire in the thermal fissure flickered slightly.

A line of faith, steadier and heavier than before, rose from the Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat swarm, passed through the temporary nest, and fell straight into Lu Jin's Sea of Consciousness.

Like iron nails pulled from a pile of corpses.

The black fire in the depths of Lu Jin's eyes sank slightly, and the divine power that had been empty in his Sea of Consciousness was forcibly replenished by this faith.

Grey Pupil looked up at him.

"They believe you can lead them to survive."

Lu Jin turned and entered the cave.

"Then don't let them believe in vain."

The North Mining Ridge was much narrower than the sinkhole.

A broken mining ridge lay across the night, with collapsed slopes and abandoned shafts on both sides; the wind blew through the middle of the ridge, causing the iron chains on the old mining lift frame to clatter.

The blue dot was hidden at the end of the mining frame, under a partially collapsed holding platform; crystal lamp pillars stood at the four corners of the platform, their pale white light sweeping in circles, illuminating the surface and the shallow soil patterns clearly.

Before he even got close, Lu Jin heard the low humming of the Ground-Quaking Beetle.

The sound rolled along the ground like a large, inverted drum.

The Digging Squad slowed down immediately.

Grey Pupil lay prone at the very front, his ears pressed to the ground to listen for two breaths, then turned back and said: "It's impossible to go directly underneath."

Lu Jin looked toward the left side of the ridge.

There was an abandoned ore chute there, half-buried in the slope; the chute opening had long since rotted, and two broken chains hung beneath it.

As the wind blew, the chains struck the stone wall, crisp like bone.

"Cut in from under the chute."

"Leave two fake openings for it to listen to."

Once the order was given, the Digging Squad immediately split into three groups.

Two groups deliberately dug directly beneath the holding platform, their claws striking heavily, sending rubble rolling.

Another group stepped as lightly as possible, drilling inward along the bottom of the abandoned ore chute.

The Transport Team buried all the ground-binding crystal nails and fire sandbags on both sides of the chute opening, leaving only two thin bone ropes leading into the ash.

The people on the platform soon heard it.

"There's something underground!"

Xu Rui's voice rang out first, carrying a hint of tension.

She raised her hand, and the four crystal lamp pillars turned simultaneously, white light sweeping into the ground, revealing the fine soil patterns in minute detail.

A Ground-Quaking Beetle the size of a millstone also crawled out from under the holding platform.

This creature had a dark yellow carapace covered in tiny holes, and as it crouched on the ground, the entire mining ridge seemed to tremor slightly.

Zhong Yue stood at the front, carrying a Rock Armor heavy shield, and sneered.

"It really is him."

"Who else would be interested in the underground at this time, besides that nest of rats?"

Qi Fang swung out three chain cables, the chain heads nailing into the ground, stretching out a semicircular locking net that was positioned right in front of the holding platform.

"Don't let the corpses touch the platform."

Xu Rui pursed her lips, her voice dropping.

"It's being rumored everywhere that this person uses dead rats and dead people to raise things."

"If he really manages to touch it..."

"What are you afraid of?" Zhong Yue scoffed. "The Unified Exam monitoring mirrors are still in the sky. If he dares to play with evil paths, he'll be the first to die."

Lu Jin heard it clearly.

He wasn't angry, just raised his hand and tapped the bone clacker.

The fake cave openings exploded first.

Two shallow rat tunnels that had been deliberately left behind suddenly collapsed, and a dozen Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats emerged from the soil, rushing forward toward the white light of the crystal lamp pillars.

They charged fiercely, but didn't bite the people; they squeezed toward the locking net, the lamp pillars, and the feet of the Ground-Quaking Beetle.

"Seeking death."

Zhong Yue stepped forward, and his Rock Armor heavy shield smashed down.

Bang!

An Ambush Rat was crushed into mud on the spot.

Xu Rui raised her hand and released six crystal lamp fireflies; the white light converged, pinning the shadows of the rat swarm to the ground, clearly showing which one was about to drill into which crevice.

The Ground-Quaking Beetle was even more direct; with a dig of its forelimbs, the entire ground flipped upward.

The two fake tunnels were instantly overturned, and the Tunneling Rats buried underneath couldn't even dodge, four of them being crushed to death by the flying rubble.

Qi Fang laughed heartily.

"So that's all the ability he has."

The words had barely left his mouth when the abandoned ore chute under his feet suddenly made a sound.

It wasn't a collapse.

It was a tension.

Two broken chains that had been rusted for who knows how many years were pulled tight from the ash without warning.

"On the left!"

Xu Rui's expression changed, and just as her crystal lamp fireflies were about to turn, the ground-binding crystal nail buried at the edge of the chute opening lit up.

A wisp of black fire drilled into the crystal nail along the bone rope.

Crack!

The stone skin under the entire ore chute cracked open simultaneously, the fire sandbags exploded with a roar, and hot, spicy grey fire sprayed up, carrying broken chains and iron sand.

Xu Rui's two crystal lamp fireflies were blown into light dust on the spot.

The Ground-Quaking Beetle had it even worse; it had been lying on the ground listening to the cave, and the first mouthful of grey fire and iron sand was poured almost directly into its back holes.

The giant insect stiffened violently, let out a piercing screech, and its entire carapace swelled up.

That was when Grey Pupil pounced out.

He followed the narrow dark tunnel beneath the abandoned chute—only wide enough for one rat to turn sideways—and rushed under the belly of the Ground-Quaking Beetle in one breath, his black, shiny claw tips digging into the softest joint of the opponent, and he pulled violently.

Snap.

Half a mass of yellowish-brown insect sac, still pulsing, was ripped out.

The Ground-Quaking Beetle flipped over on the spot, its six legs kicking wildly.

"Defend the point!" Zhong Yue roared, throwing himself to the left with his heavy shield.

His reaction was already fast, but Lu Jin was faster than him.

Lu Jin didn't touch the holding platform, but instead pressed one palm against the side slope of the mining ridge.

Divine power poured in, the fine iron sand buried at the bottom of the slope collapsed inward violently, and the entire row of mining supports that had been hollowed out in advance by the Digging Squad crumbled instantly.

The thickest support timber on the left side of the holding platform "cracked" in half, and the entire platform tilted with it.

It was this moment that caused Qi Fang's chain cable net to miss.

The Ambush Rat swarm poured in through the gap that had opened up.

Biting ankles, biting fingers, biting the nodes of the tension cables, biting the spiritual stone slots at the base of the lamp pillars.

They rushed up like a grey tide, squeezing toward the most valuable places even though they knew they would die.

Qi Fang scrambled to pull back the chains, but just as he tightened one, two Ambush Rats had already climbed onto his shoulders along the chain, biting into the side of his neck from left and right.

Blood sprayed out instantly, staining the chains red.

Xu Rui retreated rapidly, forming hand seals with both hands, and the remaining four crystal lamp fireflies pressed down, covering Lu Jin's head in white light.

The light was toxic.

The movements of the Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats caught in it all slowed by a beat, and even the corners of Grey Pupil's eyes were scorched with a wisp of white smoke.

"I see you."

Xu Rui stared fixedly at Lu Jin, her voice trembling but fierce.

"You thing playing god, come out!"

Lu Jin did come out.

He stepped onto the mining ridge from the cracked side slope, with only Grey Pupil and a dozen bone-thin but fiercely bright Ambush Rats behind him.

The white light shone on half of his face, making his expression look very cold.

Zhong Yue charged with his shield.

This man followed the toughest Rock Armor path; once he moved, it was like a whole wall smashing over, and the ground trembled.

But just as he charged two steps, a grey shadow suddenly darted out from under his feet—it was that Red-Eyed Rat that Lu Jin had left at the very front.

It didn't bite the person, only biting a leather buckle on the edge of Zhong Yue's lower leg armor.

As the buckle snapped, Zhong Yue's steps faltered slightly.

Lu Jin had already raised his hand.

"Bury."

The last bag of fine iron sand on the right side fell with a roar, smashing right between Zhong Yue and the holding platform.

A bag of sand wasn't enough to kill a person, but it was enough to blind the eyes.

Zhong Yue's vision went black, and he was gnawed by Ambush Rats at his feet; just as he was about to raise his shield, Grey Pupil had already pounced in from behind the sand curtain, his claws slashing diagonally across his wrist.

A line of blood opened up.

The Rock Armor heavy shield smashed onto the ground with a "bang."

Zhong Yue's face turned pale; his first reaction wasn't to pick up the shield, but to go for his emblem.

Lu Jin was more decisive; he flicked his toe, and the heavy shield flipped up, the edge of the shield striking Zhong Yue's wrist bone.

Crack.

The bone broke.

Zhong Yue screamed and knelt down.

Xu Rui's expression changed completely, and she turned to retreat behind the holding platform. As she retreated, she stepped right into the corner of the platform that had been hollowed out in advance by the Tunneling Rats.

Her entire leg sank into the soil on the spot.

Two Transport Rats emerged from underneath; they didn't bite her, but grabbed the leather bag containing the points badges at her waist and dragged it toward the cave.

"Let go!"

Xu Rui screamed.

Lu Jin walked over and stepped on her other hand.

"What were you saying just now?"

Xu Rui's face was deathly pale, and her lips were trembling, but she still stared fixedly at him.

"You... this is an evil sacrifice."

"Feeding the rats with corpses, the monster things you've raised—the Temple won't let you off."

Lu Jin looked at her, his eyes terrifyingly flat.

"Get out alive, then speak for the Temple again."

As soon as he spoke, the bone clacker tapped again.

The grey tide completely submerged the holding platform.

Qi Fang was the first to crush his emblem, and when the white light swept him away, half of his ear had been bitten off by the rat swarm.

Zhong Yue still wanted to hold on, but after Grey Pupil slashed a second bloody wound, he finally gritted his teeth and crushed his.

Xu Rui was the last; before leaving, she still glared fixedly at Lu Jin, as if she wanted to carve his face into her bones.

The holding platform instantly became empty.

The night wind poured in, and the blue dot immediately lit up blindingly.

The old military equipment badge box hidden under the platform was dragged out by the Transport Team; once the seal on the box corner was broken, three deep blue points badges, a palm-sized old military equipment master badge, and an unopened pack of spirit-stabilizing potion all rolled into the ash.

Grey Pupil pressed down on the master badge, his grey eyes lighting up slightly.

"Can be dismantled after the war."

"Iron parts, cable parts, lamp bones—they can all be used."

Lu Jin grabbed the three points badges first and looked up at the sky.

The points leaderboard in the night sky seemed to have been flicked by someone.

[Tenth: Lu Jin, 64]

[Ninth: Lu Jin, 69]

[Eighth: Lu Jin, 75]

A golden line flashed, and the top-eight border that had originally framed Lin Ce shifted down directly, encircling Lu Jin's name.

The entire mining field went quiet for a moment.

Following that, it exploded.

"Lu Jin has entered the top eight!"

"Which Lu Jin? The one from the Dead Ash Mine?"

"He flipped the North Mining Ridge holding point? Isn't Zhong Yue's team specialized in defending against underground tunnels?"

"I just watched the monitoring mirror replay; he cut in from under the ore chute!"

"No, didn't you hear Xu Rui shouting? This guy uses corpses to raise rats; his path is extremely evil!"

"Evil, what's evil? The monitoring mirror didn't judge it as a violation, and the points were given as normal, which means he didn't cross the line!"

In front of the observation light screens at Shenmen Plaza, the crowd surged forward as if splashed with hot oil.

In the stands of Qinglan No. 3 Middle School, the group of freshmen who had previously treated Lu Jin as a joke all stood up, their faces filled with shock that they hadn't had time to retract.

Some had their mouths open for a long time without closing, while others rubbed their eyes twice, as if they didn't believe that the golden frame would fall onto Lu Jin.

In the higher-level observation seats, a middle-aged man in a black robe had remained silent.

He wore the grey-gold emblem of the Federal Temple on his chest and held a thin recording slate in his hand, on which there were only four characters.

[Lu Jin, File for Record]

An academy mentor beside him frowned and spoke: "Sacrificial recycling is not the same as an evil sacrifice."

The black-robed middle-aged man tapped the slate lightly with his fingertip.

"I didn't say he violated the rules."

"I just want to know what exactly he is feeding that fire of his."

On the North Mining Ridge, Lu Jin didn't look at those voices outside the sky.

He squatted by the holding platform, smashing open the spirit-stabilizing potions bottle by bottle, and handed them to the Transport Team to drag back to the cave chamber.

The old military equipment master badge was put away by him separately, placed in the same spot as the incubation pool remnant map and the hatching crystal core.

Grey Pupil was already taking stock of the battle damage.

"Thirty-one dead."

"Twenty-six seriously injured."

"Ninety-two still able to run."

When he said this, his voice remained calm, but his tail was pulled very tight in the ash.

This battle was won beautifully, but it also really hurt.

Lu Jin raised his hand, picked up an injured rat that was still panting from the blood, and pressed it to the spirit-stabilizing potion.

"Injured rats enter the fire room first."

"The White-Bellied Mother Rat gets an extra portion of compressed biscuits, and raise the crystal core heat by another level."

"Dismantle half of the military equipment badges, keep half, don't put them in the furnace."

Grey Pupil looked up at him.

"Keeping them for the livestream?"

Lu Jin pressed the deep blue master badge into his bosom, his eyes very faint.

"Only things that can make others jealous are valuable."

He didn't ask again, just lowered his head to obey the order.

But just at this moment, the night sky suddenly lit up again.

Brighter than the ranking lock just now.

A magnificent, almost cold voice slowly pressed down from above the entire Collapsed Star Mining Field.

"The top eight list for the Unified Exam has been locked."

"Ji Mingxiao."

"Lu Jingyao."

"..."

"Lu Jin."

Each time a name was read, the golden frame in the sky became heavier by a fraction. By the time Lu Jin's name was read, the crowd outside Shenmen Plaza exploded again, and even many mentor seats experienced a slight commotion.

Yet the voice did not stop.

"The original mining points phase has officially ended."

"The rules for the final battle are now announced."

The red dots, blue dots, and golden dots across the entire mining field extinguished simultaneously in an instant.

Replacing them were eight huge light flags, which slowly unfolded from the night sky and inserted into the projections of different areas.

The flag colors were different, the locations were scattered, and once the flag shadows fell, even the terrain map changed accordingly.

Lu Jin's eyes narrowed slightly.

The voice coldly dropped the final sentence.

"Six hours later, the top eight participants will be transferred to the livestream battle zone."

"The final battle mode has been changed to..."

"Flag-Capturing God War."