Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 44: Knight’s Seed
Sometimes, being willing to risk your life for money isn’t just a personality trait. It’s a state of mind.
After the initial ecstasy over the Crystal Ore, and especially after things started to go wrong, Old Ode had been living in a state of fear, constantly worried about what he might lose.
But now, seeing his gold mine on the verge of disappearing and compounded by several sleepless nights of worry, the shock was too much to bear. He momentarily forgot all about his own safety.
Sprinting wildly, Old Ode seemed to have rediscovered the vigor of his youth, leaving the three policemen struggling to keep up.
"Mr. Ode, stop!"
The officers behind him could hardly believe they couldn’t outrun a man nearly sixty years old. They’d even fallen a few times during the chase, covering themselves in mud.
Stumbling to the edge of the "lake," Old Ode stared, utterly crestfallen, at the pool of murky water.
"It’s over, it’s all over..."
A Black police officer rushed to his side and grabbed him, stopping the old man from jumping in.
"Calm down, Old Ode. The mine just collapsed. The Crystal is still in there! We’ll just have to pump the water out and dig again."
"Yes, yes, that’s right! It’s just a cave-in! Just a cave-in!"
As soon as he heard this, hope flared in Old Ode’s heart. He threw his arms around the officer, thanking him profusely.
"What’s this?!"
The flashlight of an officer who had just arrived swept over something. He jumped, then realized he was looking at a naked person.
"It’s a person!"
"There are more in the pit! Floating!"
The figures floated silently in the water, making the onlookers’ skin crawl. freeweɓnovel.cøm
’So the mine really does swallow people whole!’
"Are those the missing ones?"
The officers fought the urge to turn and run, forcing themselves to carry out their duties.
But looking at the stark-naked bodies, and the way the figures in the water reflected the beams of their flashlights, an irrepressibly eerie atmosphere settled in.
A chill ran up their spines, and they couldn’t stop the goosebumps from breaking out all over.
"F-first, call headquarters for backup!"
This situation couldn’t be explained away by natural weather phenomena.
Truth be told, the weather anomaly—strong winds and heavy rain localized over a small suburban area—had already caught the attention of the local meteorological department, though they were still just in the observation phase.
However, at the edge of the downpour, plenty of citizens were watching the bizarre spectacle.
A violent storm raged within a confined space, while just outside there was only a light drizzle and a gentle breeze. The phenomenon made people marvel at the wonders of nature.
But for the Los Angeles police and the people from Hercules Company who had rushed to the edge of the mine, it was not such a wondrous sight.
In the middle of the night, half the officers in the district precinct had been roused.
Of course, ambulances and high-level executives from Hercules Company also arrived on the scene.
The collapsed section of the mine wasn’t designed to hold water, so with two pumps working continuously, it didn’t take long to drain the large pit.
Those present, whether police, security guards, or medical personnel.
When they saw the corpses, each one covered in crystalline growths, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Indeed, the paramedics had already confirmed it: the seven of them were beyond saving.
Frankly, they didn’t need a professional confirmation. One look at their appearance—with crystals growing out of holes in their heads—made it clear they couldn’t possibly be alive.
However, the six people found on the "shore" were a different story. Though covered in mud and with most breathing faintly, they could likely be saved.
The Los Angeles police chief had also been roused from his sleep and rushed to the scene.
Gazing at the scene and recalling the meteorological department’s report on the anomalous weather, an extraordinary conclusion began to form in his mind.
’The ’mine swallowing people’ theory seemed to be confirmed. Then there was the storm that came and went in a flash, and the cave-in itself.’
"Chief, what do we do about this case?"
His subordinate detective tentatively asked the chief, an old man known for his foul temper.
But any officer with half a brain knew this case was beyond them.
’This was a supernatural event!’
The police tape was up again, cordoning off the entire recycling yard. Old Ode kept yelling that it was his property, but faced with the officers’ firm stance, his own guilty conscience kept him from pressing the issue.
"Notify the Department of Homeland Security. We can’t handle this."
Upon hearing this, every officer on site breathed a massive sigh of relief.
The fate of those Hercules security guards was just too gruesome. Who knew what would happen to anyone who tried to investigate.
However, for a good number of the more experienced detectives, another emotion sparked within them, alongside their fear.
’After the mine swallowed more than a dozen people, and while we all thought it was a simple missing persons or revenge case, some mysterious force appeared. It changed the weather to shield the area from public view and, in a short time, eliminated whatever dangerous thing was originally there.’
Yes, those who suspected this all wanted to believe that the dangerous monster had already been destroyed.
It wasn’t just the state of the scene; it was also the reactions of the officers who had been on watch. The sinister, cold feeling was gone.
...
With four naked men in tow, Su Su took the group directly to her maternal grandmother’s old house.
There was no time for reminiscing. The group hastily laid the four men on the living room floor, pulling dust covers off the furniture to cover their vitals.
"Their souls and bodies have been severely corroded. Medical treatment won’t be able to heal them."
Qin Xiaoxia tossed the small, blue ore enveloped in purple energy to Doudou. With a look of fear, Doudou scrambled to catch it, as if the object might prick his hands.
Only after confirming that Qin Xiaoxia’s Magic Power wasn’t directed at him did Doudou relax and begin to curiously examine the Mother Crystal Ore from the Demonized Crystal Ore.
Meanwhile, everyone else had their attention fixed on Qin Xiaoxia, holding their breath.
A faint purple light gathered in Qin Xiaoxia’s hand. Like heat rising from pavement in the scorching sun, it made the space around him appear to warp under the lights.
Qin Xiaoxia formed his condensed Magic Power into a surging tide. He then gently swept it over the four men on the floor, purging all the foreign matter from their souls and using his own Magic Power to mend them completely.
He had discovered back at the airport that if he projected a specific intent, his Magic Power could produce a healing-like effect on souls—at least on the souls of Earthlings.
Now, because their souls were so badly damaged, the degree of magical repair required was also significant. As a result, their souls began to undergo a certain transformation.
It wasn’t like a true awakening of Magic Power, yet they were no longer like ordinary people.
No one had ever attempted such a thing—at least, Doudou had never heard of it.
Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t be sure how they would change in the future, but they would undoubtedly become much stronger than ordinary people.
’Well, in any case, these four are mine now!’
...
It only took about a minute.
One by one, Jack, Joseph, Baru, and Otto awoke from their comas.
The bright lights made them squint, unable to see clearly. They could only make out the blurry shapes of many people around them.
After a moment, their eyes adjusted. They finally saw where they were and remembered what had happened to them.
’It was a terrifying memory. But now... it seemed they had been rescued?’
They didn’t even notice how calm they were upon waking. Even Jack and Joseph, upon seeing their friends alive and well, felt only a quiet joy, with no overly emotional reaction.
"Hello, newborn Knights!"
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