195: Chapter 195 The Door Behind the Mineral Layer

Lin Ye and Zhao Mengmeng were slammed into the fissure above by the shockwave.

The two of them tumbled more than ten meters through the narrow stone passage.

Zhao Mengmeng hit the side wall first.

The Rhino Beetle Carapace Shield absorbed most of the force for her, but it also split into two pieces.

Lin Ye fared worse.

He shielded the backpack in his arms, but his back took the full brunt of the residual heat from the fire wave.

The tattered animal hide scorched into black flakes on the spot, and the old injury on his shoulder tore open again.

Zhao Mengmeng got up, bracing herself with the broken shield, and the first thing she did was pull on Lin Ye.

"Lin Ye!"

Lin Ye lay on the stone slab, his fingers still clutching the backpack straps.

He moved slightly.

"The bag is fine."

Zhao Mengmeng's voice was fierce.

"I'm asking if you are okay, and you're giving me a report on the bag?"

Lin Ye rolled over and sat up, his mouth stained with black ash.

"I'm still in one piece."

"One more smart-aleck remark, and I'll shove you back in to get roasted."

Lin Ye didn't respond.

He opened the backpack.

The dark gold dragon bone nail was intact.

The dormant valley seed was intact.

The fragments of the frost-patterned stone box were intact.

The Source Energy Magnetic Storm Grenade construction blueprint was also protected by the tree resin seal.

The only loss was the star-flow gold beads, with only the one on the saber hilt remaining.

And even this last one had dimmed significantly due to suppressing the Blood Vine and detonating the pipeline earlier.

Zhao Mengmeng looked at the empty side pocket, her expression complex.

"Those two are gone."

"Trading them for your life, it wasn't a loss."

Zhao Mengmeng's throat moved, the curse on her tongue unsaid.

She looked down and detached the cracked Rhino Beetle Carapace Shield.

The inside of the shield had been scorched soft. If not for this thing, Lin Ye would have lost at least half a layer of skin off his back.

"This shield is ruined."

"We can still cut two heart-guard plates out of it."

Lin Ye tapped the remains of the shield with his horizontal saber.

"Even scrap has to be squeezed for value."

Zhao Mengmeng wiped the blood and ash from her face.

"You're quite ruthless with scrap, and just as ruthless with yourself."

Below the fissure, the sea of fire was still rolling.

Blue-white flames mixed with blood-red acid flames scouring the insect nest.

A large number of parasitic Blood Vines were burned into black ash. Insect eggs burst in succession.

But the fire could not spread to the fissure above.

Both sides of this stone passage were lined with gray-white mineral layers. The mineral layers emitted a pale green glow, cutting off the heat waves and toxic miasma.

Lin Ye's Left Eye opened and closed rapidly once.

After confirming there were no remaining Blood Vines, he finally let go of his horizontal saber.

The light screen appeared in his right eye right on time.

［Insect nest hub destroyed］

［Partial ecological chain of the Rot-Fluorescence Insect Abyss severed］

The audience in the Great Xia Live Stream finally dared to exhale the breath they had been holding for so long.

［They're alive! They're really alive!］

［When that fire wave surged up just now, my hands were numb.］

［Two star-flow gold beads are gone, it hurts to see, but Sister Mengmeng is back.］

［You can't calculate this trade; I'd save the person too.］

［Brother Eye's first reaction was still checking the backpack. I'm impressed, he really has the national destiny tied to himself.］

Inside the stone passage, Zhao Mengmeng treated the burns on Lin Ye's back.

She scraped the last bit of residual gel from the edge of the shockproof bag.

When the gel was applied to the wound, the muscles on Lin Ye's back tightened suddenly.

Zhao Mengmeng paused.

"If it hurts, make some noise."

"Will making noise reduce the pain?"

"No."

"Then I'll save my energy."

Zhao Mengmeng applied a bit more pressure.

Lin Ye's temple twitched.

"Are you treating my injury or getting revenge?"

"Both."

She pressed the last bit of gel onto the edge of the wound.

"Who told you to charge in like you didn't value your life earlier."

Lin Ye sat against the stone wall for a brief moment.

Zhao Mengmeng flipped the broken Rhino Beetle Carapace Shield over and used the bronze rod to forcibly pry off two armor plates that could still be used.

Lin Ye took the armor plates, and the secondary filaments of the Abyss Thorn unfurled.

The electromagnetic cutting easily sliced through the hard insect armor, and the two heart-guard plates were trimmed into an arc suitable for fitting against the body.

She stuffed one inside Zhao Mengmeng's chest armor.

He inserted the other into the outer layer of his own backpack.

Zhao Mengmeng stared at his actions.

"You're not protecting your own heart?"

"The backpack is the priority."

"That makes me really angry to hear."

Lin Ye tightened the straps.

"If the backpack breaks, Great Xia loses."

"What if you break?"

"I'll try my best not to break."

Zhao Mengmeng stared at him for two seconds.

"Fine, you'd better keep your word."

The stone passage was extremely narrow.

The two of them rested for less than a quarter of an hour before they heard a low rumbling collapse from the sea of fire below.

A loud bang.

A huge piece of the insect nest's flesh wall fell into the fire.

The entire fissure shook along with it.

Lin Ye opened his Left Eye and quickly scanned the fissure.

Below, it was all fire.

At the edge of the sea of fire, some residual deep red light was struggling frantically.

But they were blocked by the mineral layer and couldn't get up at all.

"Not right now."

Zhao Mengmeng's expression grew even worse when she heard these two words.

"You really know how to leave a back door in your words."

"People who don't leave back doors here die quickly."

Lin Ye stood up.

From ahead in the stone passage, a cold wind blew slowly.

There was no sweet smell of rot in the wind. Nor was there the pungent smell of insect acid.

It was mixed with the heavy scent of rust and the freezing aura of frost-covered earth.

Zhao Mengmeng noticed it too.

"The temperature ahead has dropped."

"Mm."

"Does this insect nest connect to an ice cellar?"

Lin Ye did not answer.

He raised his horizontal saber.

The golden light of the last remaining star-flow gold bead on the hilt was faint, barely illuminating the end of the stone passage ahead.

There stood a heavy, massive bronze door.

The two walked along the stone passage.

Under their feet, the surface changed from wet, slippery flesh membranes to smooth stone slabs.

The stone slabs were covered with ancient carvings. Gray-white frost patterns remained in the carvings.

The further they went, the fainter the bloody smell of the insect nest became.

What followed was the cold metallic air that had been sealed away for countless centuries.

The Great Xia Live Stream chat erupted again.

［Wait, there's a door behind the Insect Abyss?］

［The style of this door is wrong, it's different from the ruins before!］

［Frost patterns? Rust? Could it be connecting back to the ancient battlefield system?］

［Don't worry, Brother Eye checked the backpack first; as long as the bag is there, there's hope.］

Lin Ye checked the hidden buckle of the backpack again.

Zhao Mengmeng saw it and didn't make any snide remarks.

She also touched her own inner chest pocket.

The Pure Body Crystal Core was still there.

Two fragments of the remaining bronze arrowheads were still there.

The bronze rod was a bit shorter, but it could still barely be used for fighting.

At the end of the stone passage, the massive bronze door stood three zhang high.

The door face was covered in thick rust, and beneath the rust, intricate ancient frost patterns were faintly visible.

Those frost patterns originally had no light, but they cracked gently when Lin Ye approached.

Lin Ye stopped three steps in front of the door.

Zhao Mengmeng held the broken bronze rod horizontally in front of the door.

"Use normal methods first."

She tapped the side of the bronze door with the tip of the rod.

Clang.

The sound was extremely deep. The space inside the door was huge.

No living thing responded.

Lin Ye raised his hand and pressed directly onto the frost patterns on the door.

The light screen in his right eye did not display any danger warnings.

As soon as his palm touched the bronze door, the frost patterns on the door surface cracked rapidly outward from his fingertips.

Crack, crack.

A huge sound of gears meshing came from inside the door.

The sea of fire below was still roaring, and the insect nest behind them had already collapsed.

Yet the massive bronze door in front opened in response amidst this chaotic dead zone.

A burst of freezing white mist surged out from the crack in the door.

Zhao Mengmeng gripped the bronze rod tightly.

Lin Ye fastened his backpack again, his horizontal saber hanging diagonally at his side.

The crack in the door widened.

Large chunks of rust peeled off and fell to the ground. The ancient frost patterns revealed their menacing, complete outline in the darkness.

The massive bronze door opened.