146: Chapter 146 A Life-or-Death Game on the Timeline

On the fourth level of the Wasteland, the acrid smoke in the biochemical machine room had not yet dissipated.

Gu Shen stood with his hands behind his back amidst the chaotic metal wreckage, his eyes slightly closed. Deep within the center of his brow, the diamond-shaped AI Crystal was emitting weak electromagnetic pulses at a constant frequency.

The vigilant perception that previously required his full concentration was now perfectly shunted. His main consciousness was like a deity sitting above the clouds, looking down at the twelve parallel and non-conflicting thought commands below.

Under the guidance of these commands, the twelve Cyber Iron Corpses were methodically clearing the wreckage in the machine room. They stripped out valuable special alloys and swept discarded electronic components into the corner; their movements were precise, without the slightest hint of unnecessary sluggishness.

"The combination of a carbon-based Divine Soul and silicon-based computing power truly saves a lot of tedious effort."

Gu Shen opened his eyes, a faint blue stream of light flashing and vanishing in the depths of his pupils. He looked at the mechanical spider on the side and spoke coldly: "Organize the current material reserves and prepare to return to the Great Yu Cultivation World."

Crab's eight mechanical legs tapped rapidly on the console, and its sensor head projected a holographic screen: "My Lord, all Materials have been sealed. The micro-battery reserves are sufficient, and the mutated wood marrow and dark green marrow fluid are in stable condition. We can perform the dimensional jump at any time."

Gu Shen nodded slightly, his Divine Sense slowly sinking into his Sea of Consciousness to touch the ancient [Heaven and Earth Furnace].

As soon as his intent descended, the pale white fire of the Law would engulf him, sending him back to the Great Yu Cultivation World, to that underground abyss known as the Myriad Insect Tomb.

But at the very moment his Divine Sense was about to pull the "trigger," Gu Shen's movements stopped without warning.

The "multi-threaded calculation" ability granted by the AI Crystal spontaneously captured a parameter that was easily overlooked in daily life at this moment.

Time.

"Crab, pull up the exact time record since we entered Shelter No. 7." Gu Shen's voice echoed in the empty machine room, devoid of joy or anger.

The mechanical spider's optical lens flickered twice and immediately provided the data: "From when we started the silent scan in the security room, to you completing the thirty-day extreme medicinal bath, and then to the recasting of the Iron Corpses and clearing of the fourth level, it has taken a total of thirty-five days and seven hours."

Thirty-five days.

Gu Shen's gaze fell on the timeline of the holographic projection; his eyes, like a stagnant pool of water, suddenly congealed with a bone-chilling layer of ice.

Crossing realms with the [Heaven and Earth Furnace] follows two underlying iron Laws. First, the absolute anchoring of spatial coordinates; second, a one-to-one synchronization of the time flow between the two realms.

This meant that while he was smelting the gu king marrow and harvesting resources in the Wasteland for these thirty-five days, time in the Great Yu Cultivation World had also advanced by thirty-five days.

"Wei Lingfeng self-destructed, the underground basin of the Myriad Insect Tomb must have collapsed."

Gu Shen's brain operated at a speed far exceeding that of an ordinary person, sorting through the lines of Karma on the Cultivation World side one by one.

"Thirty-five days have passed; the energy storm from Wei Lingfeng's self-destruction has long since subsided. But this does not mean it is safe."

Gu Shen walked to the broken explosion-proof door, his fingers brushing over the titanium-carbon alloy cut melted by the plasma arc. His tone was calm but permeated with a chilling coldness: "The Myriad Insect Tomb is buried deep underground. That self-destruction with the destructive power of the Foundation Establishment Stage was enough to blow up all the stalactite columns supporting the basin."

"Without support, the millions of tons of rock layers above must have completely collapsed. Not only that, the earth veins have ruptured, and the surrounding underground river water will instantly backflow, filling the entire Myriad Insect Tomb into a high-pressure underground reservoir."

Gu Shen turned back and looked at the mechanical spider: "If my current spatial coordinate is three hundred zhang underground, and that location is currently completely filled with collapsed solid rock layers and backflowing underground water, what would I face if I instantly teleported there?"

Crab's electronically synthesized voice stuttered noticeably, and its cooling fan emitted a sharp whistling sound, clearly performing a physical simulation under extreme load.

Three breaths later, a glaring red model appeared on the holographic screen.

"My Lord... if you were to respawn directly in that solid coordinate in your Physical Body, according to the Law of conservation of matter, your body would need to instantly displace an equal volume of solid rock. This would generate an immeasurable reaction force."

"In layman's terms, you would endure water pressure equivalent to the bottom of a ten-thousand-meter deep sea, as well as the physical crushing force of millions of tons of rock layers. Furthermore, those backflowing underground waters are mixed with highly concentrated toxins from the decay of the dead creatures in the Myriad Insect Tomb."

Crab's sensor head drooped, reaching a conclusion: "Even if the hardness of your bones has surpassed special alloys, in solid rock layers without any buffer space, your internal organs would be crushed into meat paste in 0.1 seconds. The toxic water would follow the gaps created by the pressure and turn your bone marrow into a puddle of pus."

Ten deaths, no chance of survival.

This was the physical death trap set by the Heavenly Dao of the Cultivation World.

The Opportunity to cross between two realms was never without a price. The blind spot brought about by the time difference was a double-edged sword. It allowed Gu Shen to avoid the direct damage of the self-destruction and the subsequent investigation by the Blood Fiend Sect, but it also forced him into a grave buried alive by the great power of nature.

The machine room fell into a long, dead silence.

The twelve Cyber Iron Corpses stood quietly, like soulless grave keepers.

Gu Shen did not panic.

Emotion is a burden for the weak when facing a desperate situation. Under the enhancement of the AI Crystal, his thinking stripped away all fear, leaving only pure deduction to break the deadlock.

A Physical Body cannot withstand the crushing pressure of the earth's layers; this is a physical Law.

But in the Wasteland, what is least lacking is the industrial crystallization to counter physical Laws.

"If flesh and blood cannot withstand it, then use steel to withstand it."

Gu Shen's gaze passed over the wreckage covering the floor and landed on the polymer explosion-proof door outside the machine room, which had been violently dismantled and was eight hundred millimeters thick.

"Crab."

Gu Shen waved his large sleeve, and the thunder pattern gold-slaying blade fell into his palm, "Start all heavy cutting equipment. Mobilize all Iron Corpses."

"My Lord, what is your plan?"

"Since the rules of the Cultivation World want to bury me alive, then right here, I will build a coffin that even a mountain range cannot crush."

Gu Shen carried his saber and walked toward the remains of the explosion-proof door, the blade dragging a trail of dazzling sparks across the steel floor.

"Cut open this titanium-carbon alloy door and extract the polymer energy-absorbing gel inside. Combine it with the refined steel we scavenged earlier to weld me an absolutely sealed physical defense capsule."

"I want to lie in this coffin and cross realms."

The mechanical spider's eight legs shivered, and red and blue lights flickered alternately, revealing an almost insane level of execution.

"My Lord, your line of thinking completely conforms to the Wasteland survival rules! As long as the yield strength of the outer armor can withstand the initial ten seconds of rock layer crushing, the stress of the geological structure will reach a new balance!"

"Start working!"

Gu Shen did not waste words.

The twelve Iron Corpses strode forward at the command. They tirelessly carried the heavy armor fragments. The plasma cutting gun emitted a blinding white light, cutting the indestructible titanium-carbon alloy into six thick armor plates.

Gu Shen sat cross-legged in the center of the workshop, where sparks were flying.

The knowledge of Formations from the Cultivation World and the Materials science of the Wasteland collided wildly in his mind.

He pressed his fingers together like a sword, forcing out Geng Metal Sword Qi, and engraved the most basic yet practical 'Foundation Consolidation Formation' and 'Water Defense Formation' of the Great Yu Cultivation World on the inside of each titanium-carbon alloy plate.

The physical armor of the Wasteland was responsible for resisting the instantaneous crushing of millions of tons of rock layers.

The Formations of the Cultivation World were responsible for isolating the pervasive gu king toxic water.

Three days later.

A polygonal metal capsule, about nine feet long and three feet wide, with a dark metallic color throughout, lay quietly in the center of the machine room on the fourth level.

Its outer shell was seamlessly welded from eight hundred-millimeter-thick titanium-carbon alloy, the inner layer was filled with half-a-foot-thick polymer energy-absorbing gel, and the innermost layer was refined steel engraved with defensive Formation patterns.

It looked ugly and cumbersome, but it exuded a heart-palpitating sense of violent industrial beauty.

Gu Shen walked to the metal capsule.

He put all the remaining pure water and iron-sealed meat paste into his Storage Ring, then glanced at the mechanical spider on his shoulder.

"This trip is dangerous; your shell cannot withstand the geological water pressure." Gu Shen wiped with one hand, cutting off the power to the mechanical spider, and together with the terminal iron plate serving as its core, stored it into the stasis space of his Storage Ring.

Finally, he turned to look at the twelve Cyber Iron Corpses.

"Enter the cabinet."

Gu Shen issued the final command.

This metal capsule was designed to be spacious enough not only to accommodate Gu Shen but also to have slots reserved on the edges. The twelve Iron Corpses, like interlocking building blocks, clicked into the external slots of the metal capsule head-to-tail, using their mutated bones and armor to form the outermost buffer layer of this "coffin."

After doing all this, Gu Shen lay down in the center of the metal capsule.

The two-foot-thick capsule door slowly closed, pushed by mechanical bearings.

Click.

Locked.

The inside of the capsule fell into absolute darkness and silence. Only the faint yellow light emitted by the Formation patterns illuminated Gu Shen's calm-as-water face.

"Rise."

Gu Shen closed his eyes, his mind touching the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

The [Heaven and Earth Furnace] emitted a dull roar. The pale white fire of the Law ignored the barrier of the physical armor and instantly engulfed the entire metal capsule along with the twelve Iron Corpses.

The countdown, ended.

Crossing realms.