“My essence, energy, and spirit are decreasing by three degrees. I have half an hour left to function normally. If I exceed this time, I will become a madman.”
Xue Changming, wearing a specially made body-length shirt, stood beside a pile of blue crystal ore, his eyes fixed on the shaking instrument in front of him. On the round clock dial, the red pointer trembled as it moved towards the other side.
Only half an hour of activity time left. He thought to himself, his eyes constantly looking outside the cave.
He was waiting for the bell to signal the end of work.
Time seemed to pass slowly but actually went by quickly, until the moment the pointer was about to hit the bottom, when the heavy bell rang.
Xue Changming breathed a sigh of relief, threw down the hoe in his hand, and ran towards the outside.
There were many others like him, all wearing long shirts, their faces hidden from each other.
“Hurry! Hurry!”
Gathering at the tightly guarded fence of the construction site, guards holding long spears checked everyone's identification. Xue Changming skillfully handed over his card, his gaze falling on the long spear. He had seen many spears resembling halberds, but rarely had he seen such a special one. It was like a spear with a scythe attached, its shape incredibly bizarre.
“Here you go, next.”
Taking the card handed to him by the guard, Xue Changming put it away and walked towards the interior of the construction site. Not far away, he saw the mechanical long car parked at the platform.
Feeling slightly relieved, he climbed onto the long car and plopped down on it.
He took off the mask he was wearing on his head and took a deep breath of fresh air.
“Hey, you kid are still normal.” A middle-aged man's voice came from his ear, and Xue Changming turned to look at him.
It was a dark-skinned, rugged-looking uncle.
“You're going back soon, right?” Xue Changming shrugged, not questioning the statement.
“After finishing this month, I'll be able to leave this damn place.” The uncle's voice was full of joy, and Xue Changming could hear his happiness.
After working for another month, he would be able to return to a normal life. This was what everyone here hoped for in their hearts.
“What about you? Do you miss home?”
Me? Miss home? Xue Changming was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then forced a twitch of his lips. With the shaking of the long car, he looked up at the sky.
Above that firmament, a giant hand rested in the clouds.
Home? Xue Changming looked at the giant hand in contemplation. He also wanted to go back, but he probably couldn't.
He was not a person of this world.
He had just unfortunately fallen here, and then been sentenced by the people of this Yu Cloud Capital in the name of blaspheming the Holy King, becoming a prisoner.
Fortunately, he met a kind long-bearded uncle, otherwise he wouldn't know how to survive in this place full of prisoners.
Xue Changming regained his thoughts and rubbed his aching eyes. Sure enough, he was still not very adapted to such a terrifying and strange landscape.
“Don't stare at that thing in the sky, who knows, one day you'll go crazy too.” The uncle lay on the car, closing his eyes to rest.
Hearing the uncle's words, Xue Changming lowered his head. He knew that the uncle's words were right, this was an abnormal world. Just like that giant hand in the sky, eerie and full of temptation.
Xue Changming didn't know what this hand was, he only heard from the uncle that it seemed to be a hand called the Holy King.
It didn't know when it appeared in the sky.
Because of its appearance, the entire Yu Cloud Capital was full of madmen.
Fanatics called it a divine descent, attributing everything to the gods' love for the world.
The memories were interrupted by a sudden noise, and Xue Changming looked towards the source. He saw a line of Yu Cloud soldiers holding long spears, searching and interrogating everyone one by one.
“What happened?”
“I don't know either.”
The miners whispered, feeling panicked about this situation. After all, those who came here were prisoners, and these Yu Cloud soldiers would not be too polite to them.
The uncle who was lying down also opened his eyes, his eyes filled with tension.
Xue Changming noticed his strangeness, and his heart thumped. He leaned close to the uncle and whispered in his ear: “Uncle, is this related to you?”
The uncle heard his words, and after a moment of silence, nodded. His eyes looked at the Yu Cloud soldiers, and the voice he spoke was only audible to the two of them: “When I came back from the mine, I conveniently brought back two Holy Spirit Stones.”
Holy Spirit Stones? Xue Changming couldn't help but frown when he heard this. He had been captured to this mine for some days, and he naturally knew what the Holy Spirit Stones were.
That was the ore that appeared in the world with the Holy King's hand. Whether as energy or for other uses, the Holy Spirit Stones had unparalleled advantages, it was simply an all-purpose object. Even the long spears in the hands of the Yu Cloud soldiers should be called Crystal Stone Spears.
Every Holy Spirit Stone in the mine had strict monitoring methods, and the number collected would be compared with the stock in the mine. Once any discrepancies were found, they would be immediately discovered by the managers of Yu Cloud Capital.
Xue Changming didn't know how the uncle managed to get through the inspection, and even dared to carry the Holy Spirit Stones on his body.
“Uncle, how dare you.” Xue Changming calmed down and asked.
“I have no choice either. You know, I promised Tiger's request.” The uncle showed a helpless expression, looking at the approaching Yu Cloud soldiers and said somewhat urgently. “Help me later, I'll leave one behind, and give you the other one.”
“Okay.” Xue Changming nodded, agreeing without hesitation. He knew about the matter the uncle was talking about. In order to keep him in this mining area, the uncle had made a deal with the mine foreman named Tiger.
However, Xue Changming didn't expect that this deal would actually involve Holy Spirit Stones. Did Tiger not understand the consequences of privately possessing this thing?
Before he could sort out his thoughts, the Yu Cloud soldiers had already walked up to him. Several people looked at Xue Changming with cold eyes, their hands tightly gripping the Crystal Stone Spears.
“Search him.” The leader said indifferently.
A Yu Cloud soldier stepped forward, not caring about Xue Changming's thoughts at all. He strictly searched every part of him, even the most hidden places were touched all over.
Xue Changming closed his eyes and simply didn't want to think about these things, anyway, even if they touched him, nothing would happen.
“Nothing.” The search personnel replied.
The others ignored Xue Changming and turned their attention to the uncle next to him.
Thinking of what he had just promised the uncle, Xue Changming felt somewhat nervous. He didn't know how the uncle would give him the Holy Spirit Stone, it would be easy to be discovered being so close.
Before Xue Changming could come back to his senses, he heard a stern roar from the Yu Cloud soldier: “Privately possessing Holy Spirit Stones! It's you! It's you!”
“Hold him down!”
“Lord Wuji Warrior! I'm wronged! I'm wronged!” The uncle let out a miserable plea for mercy, but at this moment, he had already been pressed to the ground.
Watching the uncle struggling like a dying fish, Xue Changming felt the pressure.
Xue Changming didn't dare to look at his hand, he knew that the thing he was holding at this moment was enough to make him work here for another twenty years.
