hsntnovel Chapter 65 The Golden Salamander and the Tree of Life
Chapter 65 The Golden Salamander and the Tree of Life
Meanwhile, Whistle Valley is hidden underground in caves.
"Old B, take a break."
Gunner, the leader of the bounty hunters, patted the short, middle-aged man leading the way, and then signaled the whole team to rest on the spot.
Everyone crouched down, panting, and sucked in the nutrient solution through the tubes inside their masks.
In addition to water, the liquid also contains potions that can quickly replenish physical energy and stimulate supernatural abilities.
No one dared to sit directly on the ground, because the ground temperature was so high that it could bake an egg.
After a short rest, the team set off again.
The man nicknamed Old B walked at the front, constantly using his earth-based abilities to carve out a dark and cramped winding tunnel.
The leader, Uncle Gun, who was following closely behind, glanced at the instrument in his hand, which showed that the distance to the ground was 1109 meters.
Because the tunnel extends downwards at an angle, and one has to avoid rocks that are too hard, it took nearly an hour and a half to travel just one kilometer.
"It's fucking hot! Holy crap, 62 degrees Celsius!"
The young man named Awei cursed under his breath, panting heavily, and continued moving forward with a hunched back.
The group of seven struggled to move forward underground. Each breath created a thin layer of mist on their masks, which was quickly dried by the high temperature outside.
Everyone wore full-protection helmets, and all their equipment, including temperature-controlled suits, gloves, shoes, backpacks, and firearms, were expensive, ultra-high-temperature resistant custom-made products.
The information provided by the employer indicates that the closer to the target, the higher the temperature.
The underground cave where the target was located had a temperature exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, making it practically an oven. Without this equipment, even a fire-type ability user would have difficulty escaping unscathed unless they reached Rank A.
This hunting operation was the most expensive Gunner had ever undertaken in his twenty years in the business. Of course, the employer's offer was also extremely attractive, with a deposit of ten Newt dollars, or seven million.
The employer spent so much money because the operation was extremely dangerous and the value of the target was unimaginable.
Seven bounty hunters received their electronic seals yesterday and left the city early this morning, heading straight for Whisper Valley.
The employer stated that locators were placed on the target and along the route to the underground bunker where the target was located. The signal strength clearly indicates that only military equipment could achieve this level of coverage.
On the way here, Wai-jai guessed that the employer must be a high-ranking military official. Gunner immediately reprimanded him, saying that as a bounty hunter, one must never inquire about the employer's identity. In this line of work, it's all about exchanging money for goods; curiosity will only harm oneself and even one's teammates, costing one's life.
"arrive!"
Uncle Gun raised his hand to signal, and the hunters immediately turned off the lights on the top of their helmets.
Old B raised his hand and pressed it against the charred stone wall in front of him. The hard stone trembled slightly, and small pieces of stone kept falling off like dust.
Finally, the entire rock wall was pierced, and the solid soil fell down like quicksand.
Completely exhausted, Old B leaned weakly against the stone wall, panting heavily, and then gulped down the nutrient solution.
Uncle Gun hammered the winch he had prepared into the solid rock, wrapped a rope around his waist that was resistant to high temperatures and friction and could withstand great strength, and then turned and jumped down from the cave entrance.
The other five team members followed closely behind, slowing down vertically.
After the six untied their clasps, led by Uncle Gun, they walked deeper into the cave. About five minutes later, a bright orange-red light appeared in the darkness ahead.
Uncle Gun quickly made a few hand gestures, and everyone immediately adjusted their masks, switching from transparent mode to anti-high exposure mode.
The six people moved quickly, and the firelight grew larger and larger until it finally revealed to them an endless expanse of lava.
The group of experienced bounty hunters all stared wide-eyed.
"My God!"
"W-Is that a dragon?!"
Tony almost shouted out loud, but luckily he remembered Uncle Gun's reminder in time, but he still couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
The group stood at a fault line in the earth's crust. About ten meters below, in the orange-red magma, a creature that looked like it came from mythology was curling up its huge body, its eyes closed, in a deep slumber.
Golden Salamander
Gunner controlled the volume on the communication channel and said in a deep voice, "A variant of the Black Dragon Salamander. This one is estimated to be nearly 20 meters long, and it is already at the level of a Beast King."
The information provided by the employer was basically consistent with the information about the abnormal creature in front of them, which could almost be called a dragon.
But seeing it with his own eyes, and at such close range, even Uncle Gun was deeply shocked.
As a seasoned hunter, Gunner quickly adjusted his emotions and entered hunting mode in a second.
"All personnel, prepare yourselves! We will commence operations in five seconds!"
...............................
"arrive"
As the hooded girl finished speaking, the military off-road vehicle, which had already slowed down, came to a precise stop at the edge of a cliff.
"Sri Lanka No. 1!"
Kyogoku Hiko jumped out of the car, glanced at the less than 20-centimeter gap between the front of the car and the cliff, and couldn't help but exclaim, "AA, you're truly the best driver!"
The girl in the driver's seat looked to be about 20 years old. She had her long hair tied up in a high braid and was 170 cm tall. Her smooth silver-gray leather suit made her limbs look even longer and more slender.
What's unusual is that the girl wasn't wearing a breathing mask; her entire face was exposed without any cover.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Kyogoku."
The girl, referred to as AA, opened the door and got out of the car, her face expressionless the entire time, and her voice was so calm that there was no emotional fluctuation.
The bearded man and a rather burly young man got off the bus one after the other; both were wearing federal military uniforms.
"Looks like we've finally found the right one this time."
The young military officer named Yuansheng looked with delight at the endless greenery in front of him.
Beyond the cliff, it is almost completely submerged in lush greenery. Viewed from above, it is almost a high-rising and extremely regular sphere.
It was as if a giant green umbrella had been raised on the earth.
This is not a landscape artificially pruned or deliberately planted, but a masterpiece of nature.
"Walk."
The hooded girl was the first to leap off, jumping straight to the bottom of the cliff.
AA's movements were almost synchronized with the girl's.
Kyogoku Hiko, Motokatsu, and the bearded uncle followed closely behind, all jumping down.
The cliff looks very deep, but it is actually less than three meters deep, and the bottom of the cliff is a tall grassy area.
The five people swam swiftly through this green ocean, like five fish.
When the hooded girl parted the last patch of grass, the magnificent scene that unfolded before her was so beautiful that she almost forgot to breathe.
Dots of green light, like fireflies, float among the dense forest.
No, those weren't trees, but aerial roots that had fallen from the sky and were deeply embedded in the soil. Any one of them was almost as thick as an adult male's calf.
Besides the seemingly ordinary green leaves, each aerial root also bears clusters of drooping, off-white flowers. The sweet fragrance emanating from the flowers attracts countless butterflies and insects.
As the five people walked through, the insects and butterflies, who were absorbing nectar and nutrients, seemed completely oblivious to the approaching creatures, continuing to suckle on their own.
The further you go in, the denser the aerial roots become, and more small, light green flowers appear among the branches and leaves. What these flowers secrete is not a dense bloom, but rather a firefly-like green light floating around.
The five people swiftly traversed this magical, green wonderland.
"Pollution index 10 points lower"
AA gave the hint expressionlessly, and the hooded girl immediately quickened her pace.
Finally, the five of them arrived at their destination.
"miracle!"
Kyogoku Hikaru's narrow, squinting eyes widened to their most extreme extent ever: "How could..."
The bearded man following closely behind, his mouth agape, his jaw practically dislocated, exclaimed: "It's actually true!"
Looking ahead at an incredibly thick and massive tree, Yuan Sheng couldn't help but gasp, then exclaimed excitedly, his body trembling slightly, "This is... the Tree of Life!"
Although it does not appear to tower into the clouds from the cliff, with the highest point estimated to be about 40 meters, it covers an extremely wide area, with a diameter of at least 2 kilometers.
The aerial roots that passersby saw all came from this enormous tree.
One tree, and a forest.
The hooded girl looked up at the giant tree, and the hood naturally slipped down, revealing a head of light blue, ear-length short hair.
The girl's mask reflected the evenly distributed branches.
And on those branches, countless creatures dwell.
"Fire-feathered raven, blue stork, three-headed falcon, short-tailed leopard, golden-spotted jaguar."
Kyogoku Hiko's voice rose higher and higher, finally pointing to a thick tree branch about ten meters above the ground, and exclaimed, "That...that's a Zouwu!"
Although this unusual creature lived in a relatively secluded place, its colorful patterns and long tail that could wrap around itself three times made it hard to go unnoticed.
"It resembles a tiger but is not a tiger, with a tail longer than its body; it is the Zouwu."
Yuan Sheng stared intently at the strange, unusual creature, unable to look away.
Danger level C does not mean it lacks combat strength, but rather that it will never launch an attack unless absolutely necessary. It is named after the Zouwu, a mythical beast from the Dragon County legend, which bears a striking resemblance to it in appearance (90% similarity).
"AA, Origin Stone."
As soon as the hooded girl finished speaking, a mechanical pod suddenly popped out from AA's left waist.
After taking out a broken stone that looked like it could be found anywhere by the roadside from the storage room, the girl walked straight to the base of the giant tree.
The girl raised her hand, and the Originium floated up from her palm, defying gravity, and slowly rose.
At the same time, a faint white light slowly emerged from the enormous trunk of the giant tree...