“Where are they?” Lin Zhen asked with a look of intense focus. He knew that Yun Che was not a man given to exaggeration.
If he was saying this, it meant he was somewhat certain.
Not only that, he had used the word “we,” suggesting that Yun Ruoxi was on the same page as him. That made the possibility even more plausible.
He clenched his fists, feeling an inexplicable surge of tension. He was terrified of hearing that the metallic elements weren’t on the planet at all.
“The metallic elements on this planet…” Yun Che began, “you’ve actually already seen them once.”
“Seen them?” Zi Jiu asked, puzzled. “If we’ve seen them, how could we not know?”
“Because none of you were paying attention!”
Yun Che pointed toward the sky. “Do you remember the planetary ring orbiting the planet and those dense clusters of meteorites?”
“I remember!” Zi Jiu nodded.
Lin Zhen froze for a moment, then realization hit him. His mouth fell open in disbelief. “Are you saying those meteorites are actually Samira-21’s metallic elements?”
Yun Che nodded.
“I only just thought of it. Look, the surface and the underworld both share a unique characteristic—the surface world has no prominent mountain ranges or rocks, and the underworld has no plants!”
“This is completely illogical, yet it matches the beliefs of their two races perfectly!”
“This makes me suspicious,” Yun Che said, lowering his voice.
“Is it possible that due to the effect of the Star Core, since no one worships the God of Metal, all metallic elements were driven off the planet by the core’s power?”
[It’s true. I just skipped back to check, and those things really weren’t in the shots.]
[The foreshadowing runs deep.]
[If that’s the case, then that Star Core is pretty amazing—it’s rule-based.]
[Otherwise, why would the Sacred Hands be trying to snatch it?]
“Then if no one on this planet worships the God of Water, why hasn’t the water been driven off the planet?” Zi Jiu countered.
“I don’t know!” Yun Che shook his head. “My theory still has many unresolved issues. Perhaps the Star Core’s power is limited, or perhaps plant growth requires water.”
“Regardless, there’s likely an explanation. After all, when you were in space, did anyone see an ocean on this planet? No, right?”
“But if your theory is correct, isn’t our plan still doomed?”
Zi Jiu worriedly twirled a strand of her hair with her pinky finger.
“The metallic elements are all in the rings outside the planet. We have no way to harvest them.”
Lin Zhen’s expression turned grim as well.
“That’s not necessarily true!” Yun Ruoxi spoke up. “There are meteorites on this planet!”
“Kaos and I saw one once!”
“What? Where!” Lin Zhen snapped his head up.
“The Divine Stone of Megalith City!” Kaos said, sounding stunned.
“Yes, that’s the one!” Yun Che’s expression was dead serious.
“I only made the connection after hearing Kaos talk about Megalith City. That’s why we have to go there. If the Divine Stone is a meteorite, a stone that size should contain a massive amount of metallic ore!”
“Where is Megalith City? How far away is it?” Lin Zhen asked urgently.
Yun Ruoxi immediately activated her wristwatch and leaned in close to Lin Zhen to show him the map.
In the entire team, only she and Kaos had been to Megalith City and recorded its location.
“That far?”
Lin Zhen looked at the map and estimated the distance. The straight-line distance between the Royal City and Megalith City was over 3,000 kilometers.
“Over 3,000 kilometers… without an earth dragon, the journey alone would take nearly 10 days.”
“It won’t take that long. Brother Lin Zhen, you’ve probably never been to a green elf city, so you wouldn’t know—the Green Elves have a mode of transportation called the root pathway!” Yun Ruoxi said softly.
“The speed of the Root Pathway is comparable to an airship. With it, we can get there in at most 1 day!” Zi Jiu spoke rapidly.
“Combined with the time spent returning to the surface, we’ll still have a full 7 days to prepare everything!”
“Haha.”
At that moment, Lin Zhen suddenly burst into laughter. “I’m so glad I spoke up earlier, and I’m glad I have you all by my side. I could never have done this alone without your help!”
“It’s too early for that!” Kaos laughed, patting Lin Zhen on the shoulder. “Wait until we’ve actually returned to the Positive Universe before you give your victory speech!”
“Now, it’s your turn to give the orders, Boss!”
[Kaos is really setting flags with these details.]
[The characters in this show who set flags don’t seem to have failed yet. Kaos is being quite thorough.]
“Boss?” Lin Zhen shook his head. “I’m not worthy of that title!”
“How are you not worthy!” Yun Ruoxi suddenly hugged him tightly, her voice sweet and soft. “We all came together because of you. Brother Lin Zhen, you’ll always be the best in my heart—my incredible big brother!”
[So cheesy.]
[A heartfelt confession.]
[Isn’t she just friend-zoning him? How is this a confession?]
[True. Lin Zhen is probably numb to it by now.]
[Wait, doesn’t Ruoxi’s tone sound a bit like a ‘green tea’ girl?]
‘Big brother…’ Lin Zhen’s lip twitched slightly; he felt inexplicably annoyed.
Seeing this, Zi Jiu suddenly stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged them both. Then, Yun Che came over, followed by Kaos.
They huddled together in a group hug, surrounding Lin Zhen in the center.
[At a time like this, whoever isn’t there is the one who’s awkward.]
[Haha, true.]
Lin Zhen’s eyes immediately grew moist. He tilted his head back, refusing to let his tears fall.
The ambient light of the underworld blurred his reddened eyes.
He clenched his fists and accepted the responsibility of being the boss.
“Let’s go. Let’s go build our own Noah’s Ark!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the background music kicked in at just the right moment, and countless comments scrolled across the screen.
[Damn, that’s hype!]
***
After the revelation, knowing that building the ship was the top priority, Yun Ruoxi and the others gave up on their plan to cooperate with the yellow elves and prepared to return directly to the surface.
In the underworld, there were countless paths leading to the surface.
This was the result of the yellow elves’ thousands of years of persistent infiltration.
Lin Zhen hadn’t been idle during his time in the underworld; he knew of three or four passages near the Royal City alone, and one of them bypassed the central hub entirely.
After a brief discussion, they decided to take that path immediately.
After all, there were too many guards at the central hub, and it would be easy for an accident to occur.
1 day later, under Lin Zhen’s lead…
Yun Ruoxi and the others successfully returned to the surface without alerting any Yellow Elves.
They mimicked green elves once again and rushed toward Guan Kelai’s home.
By now, only 3 days had passed since they left; they hadn’t yet reached their agreed-upon deadline.
They used invisibility to climb into the yard and head up to the second floor, where they found Allie and Anvil keeping an eye on Guan Kelai.
Allie’s face lit up with joy when she saw Lin Zhen arrive. She was about to say something.
But just then…
A crisp, melodious horn blast echoed throughout the city.