BXBX NOVEL Chapter 135: 135: Ice Frost Cave
Not just Zuo Qingmeng, but other Mutators of the Sword Alliance and those from the Xu Family looked at Lin Shen, who was holding his diary and standing there, with bizarre expressions.
Ouyang Yudu’s words “Lin Shen, I’ll be waiting for you” really led to wild speculation.
Just like a thousand people have a thousand different Hamlets, this phrase took on different interpretations when heard by different people.
Some believed that Ouyang Yudu meant he was waiting for Lin Shen at the Crystal Base Level, hoping for a battle after Lin Shen’s promotion to Crystal Base, a challenge from the Purple Forbidden Pinnacle.
Others thought that there was an indefinable relationship between Ouyang Yudu and the playboy; the playboy’s background must be alarming and not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Even Ouyang Yudu felt the need to be obsequious.
Then there were some people, like Zuo Qingmeng, who had another kind of interpretation, and it was this interpretation that made their looks towards Lin Shen turn strange.
No wonder there were all sorts of interpretations; even Lin Shen himself couldn’t figure out what Ouyang Yudu really meant.
If Ouyang Yudu had come straight up to slap him, Lin Shen would have found that normal. In fact, he thought it was very like how it’s shown in movies: romantic rivals meeting with intense jealousy, a fight was inevitable.
Of course, Lin Shen didn’t consider himself to be Ouyang Yudu’s romantic rival; he just thought that’s how Ouyang Yudu saw him.
Now, with Ouyang Yudu playing this card, it left Lin Shen utterly confused.
He had given him cultivation insights and said to seek him out if he needed help, leaving with that last phrase that threw Lin Shen into total befuddlement.
“What on earth does this Ouyang Yudu mean?” Lin Shen was also unclear; he didn’t understand the meaning behind his last words.
Lin Shen had just started to shed a bit of the blame, but because of Ouyang Yudu, he ended up shouldering it firmly again.
Even Xu Tiange came over and whispered to Lin Shen, “Shen, does your family have any relatives who have dealings with the Ouyang Family?”
“No,” Lin Shen said with a mixture of laughter and tears.
“Ouyang Yudu is even more fearsome than I initially thought,” Tu Xiaodao said seriously.
“What do you mean?” Xu Tiange asked curiously.
“His offer to share cultivation insights and even help Lin Shen with ‘Talent Theory’ to his utmost ability is because he possesses a confidence so strong it’s terrifying. He believes that even if they practised ‘Talent Theory’ the same way, even if Lin Shen had his experience, even if Lin Shen worked hard in every possible way, he wouldn’t care, and would actually be more pleased.”
“He wants an opponent, someone who could be a worthy adversary. In other words, he doesn’t consider anyone a challenge right now; no one in this world qualifies to be his opponent. He feels lonely and is yearning for such an opponent to emerge.” The more Tu Xiaodao spoke, the sharper his gaze. He felt overlooked, ignored by someone he considered a rival, which made him uncomfortable.
Xu Tiange was astonished, “Is that really how it is? Are there people like that in the world?”
“If there are, then that person must be Ouyang Yudu,” Tu Xiaodao spoke gravely.
“Shen, this opponent of yours… is a bit twisted,” Xu Tiange remarked.
Lin Shen couldn’t care less about their opinions; whether Ouyang Yudu was twisted or not didn’t concern him, as he hadn’t mastered ‘Talent Theory’ anyway.
From Ouyang Yudu’s reaction, it looked like he wouldn’t be causing any trouble for a while, which was good for Lin Shen.
Once the misunderstanding is cleared up in the future, no matter how twisted Ouyang Yudu becomes, it wouldn’t relate to him.
Should Ouyang Yudu insist on entangling with him in a mess, Lin Shen wouldn’t mind letting Ouyang Yudu taste the Sacrificial Halo that he hadn’t used for a long time.
The activation time for the Realm King Cultivation Device was approaching. The Sword Alliance members gathered everyone by the lake, all the Mutators ready to travel to the Realm King Planet, huddled together waiting for the teleportation to commence.
At the scheduled time, the Realm King Cultivation Device indeed activated once more. As the crystal rings turned, they morphed into a portal, sucking in everyone by the lakeside.
Lin Shen, already accustomed to the process, landed steadily on the ground.
Most of the Xu Family members and the people from the Sword Alliance were nearby, only a small part were separated, but they should not be too far away and still within the surrounding area.
Everyone was sizing up their surroundings, but they found themselves at a loss.
“What is this place?” Xu Tiange asked in surprise, looking around to find that they were in a massive frosty cave.
The cave was filled with thick ice crystals, emitting a bone-chilling cold.
Within the ice crystals, there were specks of light; the dark blue glow rendered the crystals even colder and more sinister.
Soon, everyone discovered that the strange frosty cave had no exit and was just an elliptical enclosed space.
“This isn’t good. Although the space here is quite large, there is no air circulation. With so many of us here, the oxygen will soon be depleted,” Zuo Qinglong, the young leader of the Sword Alliance, said with a grave voice.
Lin Shen and the others were also aware of the problem as they looked around, hoping to find some glacier cracks.
If there were cracks, air could flow through, and they could survive. Once the three-day limit was up, they could return.
However, everyone was soon disappointed to find that there was not a single crack in the frosty cave; it was covered entirely by thick ice crystals, with unknown depth enveloping the cave.
“It seems there is a fissure here,” someone exclaimed excitedly.
People hurriedly gathered to see many cracks on one spot of the ice crystals, radiating outwards like the petals of a chrysanthemum.
By this time, everyone was feeling stuffy and knew that they were indeed in an enclosed space. If they didn’t find a way out or break through soon, they would all suffocate to death here.
However, they dared not smash the ice crystals randomly, fearing that they might be under an enormous glacier. If the frosty cave collapsed, they would all be buried alive inside.
“Let me try,” Zuo Qinglong pondered for a moment, took out a Pet Launcher, but did not fire it immediately. Instead, he took out a Pet Capsule and a key, and only then activated it.
Lin Shen and the others saw a large metallic earthworm appear in front of Zuo Qinglong. Zuo Qinglong explained, “This is the Alloy Level Alloy Burrowing Dragon. It specializes in tunneling through mountains and the earth. Because of its unique body structure, it does not easily cause collapses when burrowing into rocks and soil. However, I have never seen it drill through ice, and I don’t know if it might trigger a glacial collapse. Should we give it a try? Let’s all make a decision together.”
No one objected because no one had a better idea.
Everyone utilized their Base Mutation powers, protecting their bodies with carapaces to guard against accidents.
Then they watched as Zuo Qinglong controlled the Alloy Burrowing Dragon, drilling towards the area with the cracks, which was the most likely connection to the outside.
The tip of the Alloy Burrowing Dragon contracted, forming a cone shape like a drill bit, and then slowly drilled toward the center of the crack.
No sooner had the Alloy Burrowing Dragon touched the crack on the ice crystal when everyone suddenly felt a violent tremor under their feet.
Not only the ground, but the ice walls around them also began to shake.
No, it wasn’t shaking—it was squirming. The ice crystals seemed to become soft, contracting and undulating.
The cracks suddenly widened, forming a huge opening. In their panic, everyone wanted to rush toward the opening.
But the next second, everyone heard a strange screech, and then saw something like a tidal wave pouring in from the opening, knocking everyone over in disarray.
“Damn it… Are we inside the belly of some Base Variant Creature…” Lin Shen cursed inwardly, feeling a sense of foreboding.
At this moment, the others probably had the same thought as Lin Shen, but no one had the chance to speak. The wave-like liquid kept pouring in, quickly filling up the space.
“Ah!”
Someone cried out in agony, not because of crashing into the ice walls, but because their protective carapace had disintegrated. The liquid turned out to be highly corrosive.