Chapter 202 - Red Radiance Jade
The light in the pod turned dark, but the layout and the alignment of the underground mines on the screen turned clearer.
Various colors shone. The dazzling crystal mine was a treasure trove worth cities. Whosoever managed to discover a new crystal mine would turn rich overnight and acquire cultivation resources that cost insane amounts of money.
Lu Siya said, “Everyone, you know that the main goal of the northern offense is to explore and excavate the neverending mines hidden under Shattered Starlake to Raging Waves.
“Over the past ten or so years, Sky Pillar Corporation and the other mining companies in Dragon City sent hundreds of mine exploration teams, and we found dozens of mines that contain an astonishing number of crystals and rare metals. If we excavated all of them, it’d be enough to push Dragon City’s technology, industries, and military power to a brand new level.
“But nature remains very generous with its gifts to us. There are still treasures we know nothing about hidden in the ground under our feet. They’re waiting to be discovered by humans who have a good eye, courage, and wisdom. Our clues begin from the Blood Flowers.”
She tapped the table gently, and the screen showed a Blood Flower settlement. It dyed the entire place red like blood-red mold.
“Everyone, you must have heard about the news that a lot of Blood Flower parasites have appeared in the northern battlefield, right? These pseudo-fungus parasites can enter anything they want, and they’re very difficult to deal with.
“But Blood Flowers didn’t evolve all of a sudden from Blood Grass. Over the past few years, while we were exploring Shattered Starlake and Graveyard Forest, we didn’t discover any tracks of Blood Flowers. Why is it that while the northern offense is going on like raging fire, the Blood Grass in the depths of the wild would suddenly mutate into Blood Flowers?
“Sky Pillar Corporation’s biology lab has got itself some Blood Flower bacterial floral to experiment on, and we managed to discover slight amounts of Red Radiance Jade in them. This is it.”
Lu Siya removed her earring and gently opened the metal sheet that was as thin as a cicada’s wings.
It had a blood-red crystal.
Even though it was only the size of a grain of rice, the blood-red light from it immediately filled up the entire room like a flood, and it attracted everyone’s gazes. In fact, it even captured their souls.
The crystal was too beautiful.
Even Meng Chao gulped.
Red Radiance Jade contained the most spirit energy among the hundreds of crystals that Dragon Citizens had discovered to this date. It was also the most suitable crystal for carbon-based lifes and could promote their mutation.
Even if the crystals were of the same grade, the value of a Red Radiance Jade was still worth ten times or dozens of times more than Blue Amphibolite, Lightning Crystal, Metal Dolomite, or any other crystal.
Forget about adding an entire Red Radiance Jade into gene medicine, for even if someone added a tiny pinch of its powder into gene medicine, it would turn normal medicine into miracle medicine.
“Red Radiance Jade can stimulate the mutation of pseudo-fungus parasites. The Blood Grass should have been influenced by the Red Radiance Jade, which is why they evolved into Blood Flowers. We’ve already found more than one hundred Blood Flower infested monsters in Shattered Starlake and Graveyard Forest. There’s a large number of them, and they’ve spread out through a large area. This means that there must be a Red Radiance Jade mine containing a lot of Red Radiance Jades hidden underground!”
Lu Siya smiled faintly and continued. “Here lies the problem. If Red Radiance Jade mine has been hiding underground, why is it that the Blood Grass was never affected by it in the past and only now mutated into Blood Flowers?
“My theory is that in the past, this Red Radiance Jade was deep underground. It was closed off by thick stones and isolated from the world. It couldn’t be used by Blood Grass and other monsters, which is why our mine exploration teams couldn’t find it either.
“But during the northern offense, the humans and monsters’ fierce fights, especially the fights between Deity Realm elites and Apocalyptic Beasts at Raging Waves resulted in a clash between vitality magnetic fields. It stimulated the crystal mine underground and resonated with it, which resulted in a series of chain reactions.
“Everyone, you know that crystals contain a lot of spirit energy. Hence, they’re special materials that are incredibly unstable. While crystals release spirit energy, they usually cause strange changes in the world as well, such as lightning, violent winds, and even earthquakes.
“The storm a month ago, the fog that is still causing us trouble, and the powerful spirit energy magnetic field interference is the best proof.
“So, while the spirit energy ley lines underground have been releasing bursts of energy, which raised the rampaging magnetic fields and all sorts of extreme weather changes, it might have also torn through the stones and changed the terrain. It would have then resulted in the Red Radiance Jade mine being pressed from all sides and being lifted close to the surface. Hence, it was revealed.
“You can’t deny this theory. Otherwise, how could the Blood Grass get into contact with the Red Radiance Jades and evolve into Blood Flowers just now? After all, they don’t have roots and can’t crawl underground.
“Now, everyone, please close your eyes and imagine it. What does the inference I’ve laid out for you entail for us?”
Lu Siya’s voice seemed to contain some sort of mysterious magic power.
The burly and fierce men and women in camouflage uniforms actually shut their eyes obediently, and greed as well as longing appeared on their faces.
“That’s right. We have before us a mine that has an astonishing amount of Red Radiance Jades, which is incredibly easy to mine, and might be open to mining at any moment we want!”
Lu Siya snapped her fingers, which created a pleasant and clear sound that seemed to snap the people out of their beautiful dreams. But she soon brought them into another dream that was even more practical.
“Everyone, if we are the first to discover the Red Radiance Jades, all that you want—money, fame, status, and power—will be in your grasp. No matter how crazy your dreams are, you can turn them into reality without much effort. In fact, you might even be able to end this war early and become a hero in everyone’s eyes.
“This is the reason why I asked all of you to gather here. Are there any further questions?”
“Yes,” A woman with a hot figure and a mohawk spoke up. She was chewing gum and wore an army green vest. “Red Radiance Jades are worth cities, and we might not be the only ones who know of them. Perhaps many other mine exploration teams have already headed into the depths of Graveyard Forest and are searching for this Red Radiance Jade mine. How can you be certain that we will discover it ahead of them?”
“That’s right. There are already more than ten mine exploration teams searching around in the depths of Graveyard Forest, and once Sky Pillar Corporation learns of the existence of the Red Radiance Jade mine, it will send three more mine exploration teams. There’re also the other mining companies involved. We have a lot of competitors, but compared to them, we have at least three advantages.” Lu Siya pointed at her own eyes and said calmly, “First of all, I’m a Spirit Sensor.”
Quite a number of the elites who were hired temporarily were stunned. Then, they started talking in excitement.
Meng Chao narrowed his eyes at the back of the group.
The full name of Spirit Sensors was Spirit Energy Sensors. They were born with incredibly sharp senses toward spirit energy. Despite being normal people, they could see the colorful, wispy spirit energy ripples floating in the air. Once they awakened to supernatural powers, they could also detect the faint changes in spirit energy.
There were only a handful of Spirit Sensors, and there were less than one-one thousandth of them among superhumans. They might not be very strong in combat, but they were very great support classes or researchers. They also often become harvesters, etherealized plants botanists, mine explorers, crystal specialists, and spirit energy academicians.
With the help of a Spirit Sensor, searching for an underground mine that was exposed to the air would indeed be much easier.
“Second, I invited Weeping Reaper Lin Chuan to join this operation.” Lu Siya grinned and looked at Lin Chuan. “Not only does he have great combat powers of a four-star superhuman, he has been exploring Shattered Starlake, Graveyard Forest, and Raging Waves for years while hunting and training. A large part of the military-issued map and virtual sandbox that the northern offense is using was drawn based on the data he provided.
“He knows the area better than anyone else, and with him as our guide, we will naturally move ahead of the others and be the first to discover this Red Radiance Jade mine!
“Third, I have your help. You’re all experts from various fields that I have selected meticulously. You’re even better than the private squad from Sky Pillar Corporation!”
Lu Siya’s voice became grave and filled with an enchanting power. Her gaze was intense as she looked at the people.
“Among you are veteran hunters who have fought for more than ten years in the wild and killed tens of thousands of monsters.”
She looked at a built man with a moustache.
The man instinctively puffed out his chest.
“There are also machine elites who have tens of thousands of blueprints stored in your heads and can instantly build more than one thousand guns and machines.”
A small man with arms going past his knees and really long fingers wrapped his arms across his chest with great pride.
“Some of you are crystal experts who have been in the field for decades.”
A middle-aged man with messy hair and a red electronic prosthetic eye in his left eye socket smirked a little.
In an instant, everyone nodded subconsciously due to Lu Siya’s reasoning.
But a handful of them remained puzzled. “But will there be Blood Flower settlements near the Red Radiance Jade mine? Would they have infested more monsters because of it? We’re not strong. At most, we’ve just entered Heaven Realm. Most of us are only at the peak of Earth Realm. If there are many creatures infested with Blood Flowers, we might be able to handle them.”
“The chances of that aren’t high,” Lu Siya said. “Even though Red Radiance Jades can promote the evolution of carbon-based life, if something gets too close to a Red Radiance Jade mine, their magnetic fields will run wild. The radiation is too strong there, and carbon-based lives will have a hard time spending long periods of time in the area.
“It’s just like how plants require water but will die if they get too much of it. Humans need fire, but if they jump straight into a fire, they will be burned to death. This is the same logic.
“As long as we can find the Red Radiance Jade mine, there will not be many Blood Flower settlements around it.
“And since the Red Radiance Jade mine has just risen from the depths of the ground, the high-grade superbeasts who reside on the ground should not have had the time to discover its existence. As for the pests underground, even if they have a certain degree of chance to mutate, they won’t be too strong.
“Of course, there will be risks, but riches only come to those who take risks. All powerful people obtain their status by leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. I will be going underground with all of you. There is nothing for you to be worried about.”