Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 42: Almost Buried Alive
The downpour came too suddenly. The various scrap items and junk cars in the recycling yard all seemed on the verge of collapse in the wind and rain.
Just as they stepped out, the simple guard post collapsed with a CRASH. It seemed its foundations had been destabilized by the rain, and it had been struck by debris blown in by the wind.
In the chaos, the three police officers couldn’t see any other path, but Old Ode’s house was faintly visible.
"Go, go, go! Hurry over there!"
"Watch your step!"
"Damn it, it’s all water!"
"My phone is still in the guard post!"
"Forget your phone, your life is more important! Let’s go!"
The weather was already on the cold side for the season, and the rain was now bone-chillingly icy.
Slogging through the mud underfoot, the three officers stumbled and scrambled toward Old Ode’s house.
Out of a certain wariness, Old Ode had sent his family away on vacation. He had made a tidy sum from the Crystals recently, anyway.
Publicly, he said he was worried about an attack from criminals, but only he and his family knew what Old Ode truly feared.
But his greed for wealth made it impossible for Old Ode to abandon the mine pit. Plus, with the police standing guard in shifts, he chose to stay behind.
He had noticed the heavy rain long ago. Seeing the police officers’ flashlights bobbing as they rushed over, he immediately got up, went to the door, and opened it, ushering the three drowned rats into the house.
The door slammed shut with a THUD, and the three officers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This was immediately followed by uncontrollable shivering. It was simply freezing.
Old Ode bustled about, fetching dry towels and old clothes, making hot water, and even lighting the fireplace.
But his gaze still darted to the window from time to time, peering worriedly in the direction of the mine pit through the impenetrable curtain of rain.
For such a violent storm, there wasn’t even any lightning. It had come on far too suddenly.
[...]
In the woods, when the downpour began, the group descended into chaos.
"Oh, damn it!"
"Now you see why we brought rain gear, don’t you?"
"Just shut up and get out the damn raincoats! These umbrellas are useless in this storm!"
"Hey, hey! Don’t snatch!"
Mark, Joey, Jenny, and Su Su were in a tangled mess, scrambling for the gear. Meanwhile, Doudou, who hated water the most, had already put on an oversized raincoat one step ahead of them and was huddled up in a ball, hiding in a tree.
Even with the shelter of the large tree, by the time the four of them had their raincoats on, they were already half-soaked.
But while their bodies were cold, their hearts were blazing.
The four of them weren’t idiots. It was obvious how this rain had started.
Qin Xiaoxia was no longer with them. He must have gone to the mine pit.
So, they turned their excitement toward Doudou in the tree.
This scene was much grander than when he’d saved Haohao. Su Su clasped her hands, her voice trembling—whether from cold or excitement, it was hard to tell.
"Doudou! Has Mr. Qin made his move? Did he go to the mine pit? Will he be okay?"
The other three all looked at Doudou like curious children.
"You know nothing about power! A small mine pit is no match for my big cousin’s Magic Power."
Doudou didn’t show his head, eating a sandwich under his raincoat that he seemed to find quite disgusting.
Su Su broke into a smile. She knew Mr. Qin was the strongest!
Then, she seemed to remember something.
"Uh, right... Jack and Joseph, will they be okay?"
Finally remembering the important matter, Su Su and the others asked with some embarrassment.
"Hehe, that depends on their luck. If they were far enough back in the line~"
There was not a hint of pity for human life in Doudou’s words, and thus no mockery for them forgetting about their friends’ lives.
[...]
He had already knocked over the simple guard post, and the pesky Los Angeles police officers had run off to take shelter from the rain.
The torrential rain automatically parted around Qin Xiaoxia. On the ground beneath his feet, the water currents always flowed around his shoes.
This time, he had used his Magic Power to control his self-created Reaction Technique with unprecedented success and ease, giving Qin Xiaoxia immense confidence.
He stood alone before the mine pit, gazing at the massive hole that looked as if it wanted to devour someone whole.
"Now, it’s just you and me!"
In his vision, the waves of Magic Power radiating from Qin Xiaoxia were like powerful whips, scattering the surrounding "smoke" that was originally invisible to the naked eye.
At this moment, an incredibly alluring song emanated from within the mine pit.
Like a soft whisper, like an enchanting moan.
The sound was only a melody, yet it conveyed a meaning beyond words.
"Come~ Come~ You can have everything you desire. Come~ Come~ Come here, your strong body and pure soul will merge with me~~ I will give you everything~~ everything~~"
Qin Xiaoxia smiled.
A Demonized Crystal Ore that had yet to fully form, reacting like some wild animal when it sensed danger. Too bad this preemptive strike had no effect on him.
"That’s right, you’re a mine. Running away would be a bit difficult for you. In that case, as you wish, I’m coming in."
He strode into the mine pit.
The converging rainwater became the best guide, pouring down into the low places and seeping into every crevice of the mine pit.
On the surface, the tunnel wasn’t deep; it was a dead end no more than twenty meters in.
But the true core was elsewhere.
"Underground!"
As the word fell, so did Qin Xiaoxia’s right fist, gathering Magic Power.
"BOOM!"
A mix of debris and water exploded outward. Under the pull of gravity, Qin Xiaoxia fell into the space below along with the rubble.
"Hrrk—" "Hrrk—" "Hrrk—"...
Roars like the last gasps before suffocation echoed all around.
By the time Qin Xiaoxia straightened up from his crouch, he was surrounded by more than a dozen naked human figures.
For Qin Xiaoxia, whose night vision was as clear as day, certain parts of these creatures were quite an eyesore.
Seven of them were particularly unusual.
Their bodies refracted a faint light even in the darkness, and some parts of their skin were even growing Crystals. freewebnσvel.cøm
’These seven are already beyond saving.’
Qin Xiaoxia silently made his judgment.
’As for the others...’
He glanced at the other ten shadows. ’I just hope Jack and Joseph are among them.’
Qin Xiaoxia got into a stance, intending to knock these "people" over first. But before he could make a move, all the "people" around him roared and charged, much faster than he had anticipated!
That’s right, all seventeen figures rushed him at once, completely ignoring the lack of space to maneuver.
Qin Xiaoxia was no grandmaster of combat, after all. He also subconsciously didn’t want to strike these people too hard, and the underground space wasn’t very large to begin with.
So he only had time to send three of the crystallized figures flying with a "BANG! BANG! BANG!" before he was "buried" under the remaining dozen or so people.
"CRACKLE~ CRACKLE~"
Qin Xiaoxia, at the bottom of the pile, tried to push himself up. Under the immense strain, a series of cringe-inducing sounds emanated from the bones and muscles of the figures on top of him.
These things were much stronger than he had imagined. With his current strength, he found himself temporarily unable to break free without crippling them.
The "CRACK~ CRACK~" sounds came from above and all around him.
A muscle in Qin Xiaoxia’s eyelid twitched violently.
’Holy shit! This damn mine pit is trying to bury me alive!!’
[...]
The people in the distant woods and those in Old Ode’s house could all feel a slight tremor in the ground, but the sound was masked by the loud roar of the rain.
They had no idea what had just happened.
Only a few seconds passed.
A massive "BOOM!" exploded, immediately followed by a violent shaking of the ground.
Old Ode and the three police officers were thrown off balance inside the house. Bottles and cups fell to the floor, and the glass panes rattled nonstop in their frames with a CLATTER-CLATTER-CLATTER.
"Damn it, it’s an earthquake!! Get outside, quick!"
[...]
In the woods, Doudou was shaken right out of the tree, only to be caught by the quick-reflexed Su Su.
His small hands pushed back the raincoat hood blocking his view as he stared in the direction of the mine pit.
The sky was filled with burning purple tentacles.
He shrank back in fear, then started frantically patting Su Su’s head.
"My big cousin did it! Quick, quick, go back him up! I’ll hold down the fort here!"
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