bioinnovel Chapter 432 A Year in an Instant!
Chapter 432 A Year in an Instant!
Broken Cloud Valley.
Zhang Yan entered the valley for the first time at nine o'clock in the morning.
The weather was clear, and the temperature outside the valley was 14 degrees Celsius. The strong magnetic field inside the valley began to interfere with the equipment from the entrance.
The system interface flickered twice, then went completely black.
Same as last time.
He took a deep breath and stepped into the valley.
The Thousand-Machine Arm switched to pure mechanical mode, and the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart on the wrist was the only thing still functioning—it did not rely on electronic systems and was unaffected by magnetic fields.
The valley was dimly lit, with towering rock walls on both sides, through which a sliver of sunlight occasionally peeked through the gaps.
The loose gravel underfoot meant that you had to make sure you landed on the right spot with every step.
The vein was deep in the valley; he had marked its location before and could find it from memory.
Forty minutes later, Zhang Yan arrived at the mine.
The Wind-Breath Jade, embedded deep within the rock wall, is pale blue and glows with a cold, fluorescent light under the faint glow of the Heavenly Craftsmanship.
Zhang Yan unfolded the Thousand-Machine Arm, its mechanical knuckles precisely embedding into the gaps in the ore, peeling it away piece by piece.
The efficiency is higher than last time.
He was already familiar with the texture of this mineral and knew which angle to approach it from for the least amount of effort.
Two hours later, the first batch of ore filled the backpack.
Zhang Yan didn't take too much; he packed up his tools and returned the way he came.
When they walked out of the valley, Qin Xiao's men were already waiting outside.
Four special forces soldiers, fully armed, were scattered around the valley entrance.
"Brother Yan." The team leader greeted him, "Did it go smoothly?"
"Successfully." Zhang Yan handed over the backpack. "Return it to Jinghai Laboratory."
The system recovered the moment we exited the valley; the panel lit up and all the data was refreshed.
News of Nie Qingcheng is already being awaited.
"First attempt, done."
Zhang Yan replied with three words: "It's nothing, I replied."
The second time we entered the valley was on the afternoon of the second day.
Same route, same vein.
Zhang Yan's mining speed increased, completing the task in two hours and fifteen minutes, nearly half an hour less than the first time.
There were no abnormalities during the withdrawal.
The third time...the fourth time.
Every entry and exit went smoothly.
The ore vein has abundant reserves, and the mechanical structure of the thousand-arm machine exhibits stability under purely physical conditions.
Zhang Yan's physical strength recovered well during each rest day.
Nie Qingcheng remotely controlled his schedule from Jinghai, specifying exactly when he would eat and sleep.
This is the fifth time we've entered the valley.
Zhang Yan stopped when he reached the location of the mineral vein.
On the ground in front of the vein, there is a fist-sized piece of Wind Breath Jade ore.
It didn't fall from the rock face; it was placed on a flat stone surface, the location too deliberate.
Zhang Yan slowly raised his gaze.
In the shadows to the left of the mine, a pair of eyes were watching him.
Wind Spirit Beast.
It was bigger than Zhang Yan remembered.
It was over two meters tall at the shoulder, covered in short gray-white fur, with thick limbs, and the claw marks were exactly the same as the ones I saw at the valley entrance last time.
Its head resembles a wolf but is not entirely a wolf; its muzzle is shorter and wider, and its eyes are amber with vertical pupils.
It has something in its mouth.
Zhang Yan did not move. The mechanical knuckles of the Thousand Machine Arm tightened slightly, but he did not lift it up.
The wind spirit beast slowly emerged from the shadows.
Its movements were slow, each step carrying a deliberate restraint, as if to tell Zhang Yan that it harbored no hostility.
It walked to within three meters of Zhang Yan and stopped.
Then he lowered his head and put the thing in his mouth on the ground.
Another piece of Wind-Breathing Jade.
It was larger than the one on the ground, and its purity was visibly higher; the pale blue fluorescence almost overflowed from the surface of the ore.
The wind spirit beast took three steps back.
He lowered his head.
Zhang Yan stood still, looking at the giant beast in front of him, which was more than two meters tall, and lowered its head to eye level.
A gentle warmth spread through my chest, not as a warning, but as a resonance.
Zhang Yan slowly squatted down and picked up the piece of ore.
It feels heavy in the hand and its temperature is much lower than that of ordinary wind-breathing jade.
He looked up at the wind spirit beast.
There was no fear or fawning in its amber eyes.
There was something that Zhang Yan couldn't describe.
It's as if they know.
Knowing what he's doing, knowing the state of the door network, knowing what's behind those doors.
As Guan Xing once said, the Wind Spirit Beast is extremely sensitive to high-dimensional energy.
When the Ruins were sealed, it set off from Broken Cloud Valley and headed straight for Jinghai. After the Ruins were sealed, it turned back.
It can sense doors.
Zhang Yan stood up and nodded to the Wind Spirit Beast.
The wind spirit beast did not respond.
It turned and walked back into the shadows, disappearing without a sound.
Zhang Yan looked down at the ore in his hand.
The system screen remains black, and he is unable to scan.
But the resonance of the divine heart told him that the quality of this ore far surpassed any he had ever mined himself.
He put the ore into his backpack and continued mining.
This is the sixth time we've entered the valley.
The Wind Spirit Beast has reappeared.
Same position, same posture.
With a piece of ore in its mouth, it put it down, stepped back, and lowered its head.
The seventh time... the eighth time.
Each time, the Wind Spirit Beast would appear.
Each time, he carried a piece of extremely high-quality Wind Breath Jade raw ore.
By the end of the eighth attempt, Zhang Yan's total collection had exceeded expectations.
The task that originally required nine attempts was completed in eight attempts thanks to the "contribution" of the Wind Spirit Beast.
On his ninth trip into the valley, Zhang Yan did not bring any mining tools.
He walked to the mine, where the Wind Spirit Beast was already waiting.
Zhang Yan stopped in front of it.
"The last time," he said.
There was no echo in the valley; his voice was absorbed by the magnetic field and the rock walls, like a pebble falling into a deep pool.
The wind spirit beast looked at him, its amber eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light.
It did not carry any ore.
It took one step forward, just one step.
Then it raised its right front paw and gently touched the location of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart on Zhang Yan's chest.
The paw pads feel dry and warm to the touch.
The light of the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart shone for a fleeting moment.
Then the wind spirit beast retracted its claws and turned to walk into the darkness deep within the valley.
Zhang Yan stood there, watching the direction it disappeared in.
The system recovered when we exited the valley.
A scan record popped up on the panel; the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship had automatically recorded the energy characteristics of the Wind Spirit Beast the moment it touched it.
Zhang Yan looked at the data and paused for a moment.
The high-dimensional energy sensing organ within the Wind Spirit Beast's body has a frequency that is completely consistent with the reference frequency of the gate network.
It wasn't by chance that it could sense the door.
It is part of the door.
Zhang Yan dialed Nie Qingcheng's number.
"We've collected enough, more than expected."
"A wind spirit beast?"
How did you know?
"Your tone is off," Nie Qingcheng said. "We'll talk about it when we get back. I've already prepared all the materials for the Sky Anchor. The Star Gazing Team will arrive in Jinghai tomorrow."
Zhang Yan nodded and got into the car.
On the way back to Jinghai, he kept looking at that set of energy data.
The frequency of the Wind Spirit Beast is consistent with the gate network.
It offered up high-quality Wind Breath Jade voluntarily, and showed no rejection when it touched the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship.
It knew that Zhang Yan was repairing the door.
It's helping.
Zhang Yan leaned back in his car seat and closed his eyes.
Thirty thousand years ago, someone built a door; one hundred thousand years ago, something tried to break it down; three hundred years ago, someone recorded it; and now, a beast is guarding the door.
A door is more than just a device.
It is the immune system that this world has developed on its own.
He was merely an operator of the current version of this system.
My phone vibrated; it was a message from Nie Qingcheng.
"What are you thinking about? Let's eat when we get home. There's some beef shank you bought last time in the fridge; I've had it stewed."
Zhang Yan typed two words and sent them.
"OK."
Then he added another sentence.
"I'll cook noodles for you when I get back."