The safety zone of District 14 was packed with people. Many of them had the names of major guilds written on their chests and wore the War God Hall's insignia.
The ore tide outbreak would still take a few more days to arrive, so Jiang Kai and his group stayed in the safety zone to rest.
The people of District 14 seemed long used to the sudden appearance of powerful players like them — it looked like this happened quite often before.
Ruan Yu was busy starting a fire and cooking, with Xia Hua and Dong Xue helping him on the side.
Across all the camps, thin wisps of cooking smoke curled up into the air.
Hu Yan sat down beside Jiang Kai, and the two watched the densely scattered camps around them together.
"Captain Kai, you know, I actually like the safety zone quite a bit." Hu Yan looked around with gentle eyes. "I remember my dad once said that when they were little, their parents would take them out on picnics — hiking, sightseeing, camping. I guess it must've felt kind of like this."
Jiang Kai nodded. At his age, he didn't know much about the era before the Age of Beast Gods.
But as he looked at the mountains and hills filled with people, Jiang Kai did indeed find himself liking this feeling too.
Recently, his profession progress had completely stalled. He'd been expelled from the War God Hall's special training program, failed to grasp the Eighth Step of Battle in the Wilds, and couldn't solo a King-level Boss.
It could be said that during this period, Jiang Kai had encountered a fair share of setbacks.
Yet sitting here now, watching the busy figures all around him, hearing the noise and chatter, he somehow felt a quiet calm deep inside.
He realized that he wasn't the only one walking this path — there were countless others like him, guarding the defense lines, striving to grow stronger, seeking the secrets of the Ghost Star, and searching for Earth's future.
"I like this feeling too." A faint smile appeared on Jiang Kai's face.
After a while of silence, Hu Yan took a deep breath.
"Too bad… the safety zone might be called 'safe,' but it's not truly safe."
Jiang Kai smiled slightly. He agreed. Obviously, both of them had just returned from the peaceful world of longing back to reality.
It was fine to rest a little along the way, but they still had to keep moving forward.
"By the way, Old Hu, when are they planning to fight the Guardian Lord in District 18?"
"I heard it'll start in two or three months. Now that we have the National Soul, everyone's strength has increased significantly, so the military decided to move up the schedule."
Jiang Kai nodded. Yeah, the National Soul was even stronger now than it had been during the National War. With its boost to critical hit rates, it gave a big edge against Boss fights. The Huaxia nation's progress in exploring the Ghost Star had clearly accelerated.
"If we can reach the Transcendent tier before Huaxia takes over the Taiping Mountain Path, we'll have a better chance of winning. Then we can take Dong Li and leave Taiping Mountain Path."
Hu Yan suddenly sighed. "Captain Kai, if Dong Li leaves… then Huaxia will lose a Wild Totem."
Jiang Kai's expression grew serious. After a pause, he said, "That's nothing to worry about. There's still the hidden map. Last time, after we killed the White Tiger Demon King, a summoning skull appeared on Taiping Mountain Path. If we can find another hidden map Boss next time, we can make up for it."
Hu Yan still looked worried.
He sighed again and said, "I feel like Dong Li is like a living person trapped here… Of course, I know she's not human, but I can't help feeling that she really exists."
"My strength's too weak right now. I'm really afraid I won't be able to protect her when the time comes."
Jiang Kai patted his shoulder. "I can tell Dong Li really likes you too. It seems like she's willing to leave Taiping Mountain Path just for you."
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to help you rescue her."
Hu Yan looked at Jiang Kai, and when he saw the determination in his eyes, he nodded heavily. "Captain Kai, I believe you."
At that moment, Ruan Yu walked over. "Dinner's ready."
Jiang Kai smiled and clapped Hu Yan's shoulder. "Let's go. Eat more. The ones fighting over the ore this time are all monsters — we'll need every bit of strength."
Luo Ping had sent Jiang Kai a message, including a detailed map and information about the ore tide's outbreak.
The message said that in past ore fights, competition had been fierce. During the ore tide, there was an unwritten rule: as long as the ore hadn't entered anyone's inventory yet, it was fair game for anyone to grab.
Another thing — during the outbreak, large numbers of wild beasts would rush into the area.
And one more thing — strange profession holders would appear too!
In short, the ore tide was both an opportunity and a deadly risk.
Two days later, the teams heading for the Fallen Mine Zone all set out one after another.
The Fallen Mine Zone lay in an uncharted region outside District 14. After a week-long trek, Jiang Kai and his group finally reached its boundaries.
When they arrived, they found the terrain to be bizarre.
All across the area were hundreds of pits of varying size and depth. The soil on the surface was black and barren, with no vegetation.
Some of the deeper pits had already exposed the bedrock below.
Between the pits ran a network of irregular tunnels — they didn't look like they were dug by any organized military, but more like they had been hastily broken through by people.
A white mist hung over the entire zone, limiting visibility.
As soon as they entered the Fallen Mine Zone, Jiang Kai noticed that other teams weren't rushing in. Instead, they set up camps around the perimeter.
Jiang Kai's team also found a spot and built a temporary camp.
That night, they felt the ground beneath their feet shake violently, continuing throughout the whole night.
Xia Hua said it was caused by some kind of underground energy fluctuation, triggering a tectonic movement.
It was precisely this movement, she explained, that caused the subterranean ores to surface.
"Some people think these craters were created by falling meteorites, and that the ores deep underground formed rich, high-grade deposits. But what's strange is — Ghost Star is supposed to be virtual, so how could meteorites fall from the sky? That's why this theory's never been confirmed," Xia Hua said.
Jiang Kai was a bit surprised. "You know about the ore tide outbreak?"
"Of course I do." Xia Hua replied coolly. "I used to be one of the candidates trained by the Black Tortoise stronghold. And I was part of the War God's preparatory camp — this kind of information isn't secret to War Gods."
"Oh right, the night after tomorrow, there'll be a massive earthquake. These craters will randomly switch between two states — eruption and swallowing."
"When a crater's in the eruption state, there's a chance it'll spew out rare ore. But remember — you have to grab the ore quickly. Never stay directly above a crater for too long."
"Otherwise, once it switches to swallowing mode, you'll get sucked in."
Jiang Kai frowned. "If someone gets sucked in, can't they just get spat back out later?"
Dong Xue answered next, "Spat back out? Dream on! If you get sucked in, who knows where you'll end up… People who've been swallowed before usually die and log out within ten days."
Hu Yan furrowed his brows. "It sounds like these craters are alive — luring prey with ores."
Xia Hua nodded. "A lot of people think that too. And they don't just eat human players — they take beasts as well."
"But anyway, that's all speculation. Nobody's ever actually seen what's beneath the surface. For us, the goal's simple — grab as much ore as we can. No need to overthink it."
After Xia Hua and Dong Xue's explanation, the five of them had a clearer understanding of the ore tide outbreak.
The next night, everyone in the camps packed up their tents.
Tension filled the air — enormous riches and enormous danger stood side by side. Nobody dared to relax.
Then the massive quake hit, shaking the ground like the world was ending.
But the terrain itself didn't change much. Jiang Kai just felt like he was standing on a ground vibrating at such a high frequency that his head spun and his vision blurred.
The shaking continued all night.
By dawn, every team charged into the Fallen Mine Zone.
There were so many craters — and every one of them might erupt with ore.
While Jiang Kai's team was still searching for one with fewer people, hundreds of craters across the zone suddenly erupted with deafening roars.
Next came a rain of rocks and soil shooting out from the holes.
The scene looked like hundreds of volcanoes erupting at once — except instead of magma, they spewed rocks and dirt.
Those rock-and-dirt jets shot straight into the sky like hundreds of stone pillars.
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