92: Living Skeleton

The journey was a bit long, stretching over a thousand meters.

The track wound its way to a very spacious area.

This space was as large as a stadium, with all the ore carts from all directions converging here. Then, a crane lifted the carts and dumped all the ore inside into a giant vat.

Rumble!

Rumble!

Everywhere echoed with the roar of mechanical operations.

This place was like a massive ore processing factory, with countless huge mechanical devices and furnaces arranged all around.

The collected ore was first crushed, then the powder entered the furnaces. The high temperature of the furnaces melted the powder into extremely hot liquid, which was then separated and cooled.

There were even some Nameplate (nameplates) on these mechanical devices.

Han Huohuo looked at them one by one, confirming that he didn't recognize a single word; it wasn't the common script.

He turned to look at Han Xin.

Han Xin shook his head; he had never seen this kind of script either.

This was undoubtedly a factory, but where was the control center?

Han Huohuo scanned the area and saw a passage on the side. Other passages had tracks leading to them, but only this one didn't.

Therefore, the path without tracks must be for people to walk on. Entering from here should lead to the control room.

He led his troops inside. As soon as they entered the cave, it suddenly lit up.

This was... a room?

But, was this really ancient times?

A semi-circular screen lit up in the room, with many sub-screens showing the mining scenes in each ore field. Those puppets, like diligent little bees, were all mining.

The console was still very rudimentary, with a row of buttons, in the rough style of the industrial age. Han Huohuo's heart stirred... There was a huge green button on the side, and the words on it were also particularly large.

Based on experience, this thing should be the master start switch.

If he pressed it, would he be able to control this strange ore field?

Han Huohuo walked up and placed his hand on the button, hesitating for a long time, but he didn't press it.

Han Xin suddenly said, "The puppets here are truly impressive. Without human control or maintenance, they can work by themselves for hundreds of years without making mistakes?"

Han Huohuo sighed, withdrew his hand from the button, and didn't dare to press it.

Everything here was too strange.

Han Xin was right. Han Huohuo also didn't believe that an ore field could operate by itself for hundreds, or even thousands, of years without maintenance or making mistakes.

Neither technology nor magic made this possible.

The most important question was.

Where did the finished products of these ore deposits go?

Han Huohuo hadn't even seen a warehouse. With continuous production for hundreds or thousands of years, where were the finished products piled up?

Han Huohuo felt like he had overlooked something.

He retreated from this room and returned to the industrial area from before, the place where the ore was smelted.

But where was the smelted ore?

He used Earth Perspective, but still saw nothing. It seemed that other than the mining shafts, the surroundings were solid.

Something's wrong!

Han Huohuo frowned and began to inspect these production facilities, one after another.

He checked along the assembly line all the way back.

He kept looking until he reached the water cooling after smelting.

Walking to the end of the production line, Han Huohuo saw a conveyor belt sending the smelted ore into a metal cabinet, and it never came out again.

The opening of the metal cabinet was too small for a person to enter. Han Huohuo took out his Ice Dagger and scratched the outer wall of the metal cabinet.

He tore off the cabinet's sheet metal.

After dismantling this metal cabinet, a hole in the ground finally appeared before his eyes.

There was a conveyor belt continuously sending the smelted ore down into the ground.

Han Huohuo's mouth twitched, knowing where the problem was!

He had used Earth Perspective just now, but he couldn't see the cave below at all.

In the magical field of vision, this pit was just a solid rock layer, but in reality, it was a cave that went further down.

Therefore, the main control room just now was a trap. Once he pressed the green button, he didn't know what mechanism would be triggered.

Feeling the terrifying magical power, Han Huohuo shook his head; this place was shielded.

It was shielded by a profound magician, whose magic power far exceeded his own.

Perhaps!

It wasn't just this one pit that was shielded.

"Let's go down!"

Han Huohuo took the lead and jumped down from the opening.

Following the direction of the conveyor belt, they went down another dozen meters, and an underground dark river appeared. The conveyor belt carried the ore and kept sending it deeper along the dark river.

No wonder the cave was humid; it turned out it was built above an underground river.

They reached the end and finally saw a huge warehouse.

The conveyor belt sent the ore into this warehouse, where it was stacked in piles, extending as far as the eye could see. There was no telling how much had been stockpiled.

There was a stone door on the side at the end.

Han Huohuo walked over, pushed open the stone door, and the light inside was a little dazzling.

Floating Turret flew in first, and Han Xin raised the rusty sword in his hand, pointing it at a black-robed figure.

Han Huohuo was the last to enter.

The person they were looking for was inside.

This was the real main control room. In the center was a control console, and a black-robed figure sat with his back to Han Huohuo.

The black robe slowly turned around.

Han Huohuo's breathing almost stopped.

Inside the black robe was a skull, with two clusters of ghost fire in its eyes.

Meeting a dead person so deep underground, and having him look at you so affectionately, made Han Huohuo feel uncomfortable.

"You... are very cautious."

The voice, as grating as a broken gong, was immediately recognized by Han Huohuo as the same voice that came from the yellow paper puppet in the tavern.

In other words, this skeleton in front of him was the master of the giant python in the Tongtian River?

As Han Huohuo was scrutinizing the skeleton, the skeleton was also scrutinizing Han Huohuo.

"Strange!"

The skeleton, like a dog, sniffed with its non-existent nose, sensing that something was off about Han Huohuo.

Han Huohuo asked, "Who... are you? Why do you insist on commanding the giant python to oppose us in Tongtian City?"

The skeleton cackled, "I've been here for about a thousand years, haven't I? The Tongtian River is mine. You've only been here for a few days, and you dare to snatch the Tongtian River from me!?"

Han Huohuo was unmoved, "I don't know who you are, but I just want to mine in the Tongtian River and have no desire to be your enemy. I suggest, how about we both take a step back?"

Han Huohuo's gaze scanned the entire room, feeling a strange fluctuation. The source of this fluctuation was hidden inside the skeleton's robe.

The fluctuation was very weak, but Han Huohuo was a Space-Time Walker, and he was all too familiar with this kind of fluctuation that could penetrate space-time.

This was...

Han Huohuo stared at the skeleton, extremely shocked!

The skeleton pulled out a chair, "You've come a long way, have a seat and let's chat."

Han Xin stepped in front of Han Huohuo. He felt that this bizarre skeleton in front of him was far too dangerous.

In this world, he had never heard of a living skeleton!

Han Huohuo smiled, "It's alright, I'll chat with Sandru."

He walked over and sat on the chair.