Chapter 131: Blue Crystal Vein

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Blue Crystal Vein

Qin Yao blinked.

"That Level 6 mutated beast wasn’t targeting us?"

"Right."

Lin Ji nodded.

"Judging from the wind’s range and duration, it seemed more like a warning, or..."

He looked toward the depths of the jungle.

"...it was driving away intruders."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinglan’s eyes lit up.

Suppressing her physical weakness, she asked:

"Captain Lin, are you saying the Apocalypse Guild people provoked that mutated beast?"

"Very likely."

Lin Ji said.

"And judging by the wind’s intensity, that mutated beast should still be deep within the island and hasn’t actually come out."

"Otherwise..."

He shook his head.

"That gust of wind just now wouldn’t have been as simple as just toppling a few trees."

Everyone fell silent.

Lin Ji continued:

"So, this is actually our opportunity."

"While that mutated beast’s attention is drawn by the Apocalypse Guild..."

Lin Ji looked toward the depths of the jungle.

"...we can take advantage of the chaos to gather more crystal ore."

After speaking, he directly strode forward.

His movements were crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"Let’s go."

Lin Ji said without looking back.

The women were momentarily stunned.

Then, Su Qingyue was the first to follow.

Shen Manyun also quickly followed, her hand lightly grasping the hem of Lin Ji’s clothes.

Qin Yao smiled and stepped forward as well.

On the Rose Society side, the female members looked at each other.

Finally, they all turned their eyes to Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan gritted her teeth.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up straight.

"Follow them."

She said.

Her voice was still somewhat weak, but her tone was firm.

Granny Fu leaned on her cane, slowly following at the very back.

Her cloudy eyes remained fixed on Lin Ji’s back, lost in thought.

The team set off again.

This time, everyone moved with great caution.

The jungle was quiet.

Only the rustling sound of footsteps on fallen leaves and dust.

But occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow through.

The wind wasn’t strong, yet it carried a piercing chill.

Every time the wind blew, the women would instinctively shrink their necks.

Then, unconsciously move closer to Lin Ji.

Gradually, the team formed a very natural formation.

Lin Ji walked at the very front.

Behind him, Su Qingyue, Shen Manyun, and Qin Yao followed closely.

Further back were the female members of the Rose Society.

They huddled together, almost walking shoulder to shoulder.

Everyone’s positions vaguely formed a triangle.

And Lin Ji was at the tip of that triangle.

Like a ship’s bow cutting through wind and waves.

Every time a breeze blew, it would first hit Lin Ji, then split and flow past him on either side.

The women standing behind him felt noticeably less wind.

Even Granny Fu sensed it.

She had been walking with some difficulty, leaning on her cane.

But following behind Lin Ji, those piercing cold winds seemed to be blocked by something invisible.

Granny Fu narrowed her eyes.

She watched Lin Ji’s back, deep in thought.

The team walked through the jungle for about twenty minutes.

Suddenly, Lin Ji stopped.

He raised his hand, signaling those behind him to halt.

"Let’s stop for a moment."

Everyone immediately stopped.

He even lightened his breathing.

Lin Ji stood in place, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

The Eye of Insight was already activated.

In his field of vision, the surrounding scenery began to change.

Soil, rocks, trees...

Layer by layer, they grew hazy.

Then, about three meters underground, Lin Ji saw a patch of dark blue glow.

The glow was dense.

Scattered underground like stars.

"This is the place."

Lin Ji spoke up.

He pointed to the area beneath his feet.

"There are minerals underground here."

As soon as the words fell—

Whoosh—!

Another gust of wind blew past.

This time, the wind was colder than before.

The women all shivered.

But the wind soon stopped.

Lin Ji looked in the direction from which the wind had come.

His expression didn’t change much, but his eyes darkened slightly.

"That mutated beast is still active."

Lin Ji said.

"But it’s very far from us."

"Let’s hurry."

He looked at Ye Xinglan.

"President Ye, do any of your people have detection-type talents?"

Ye Xinglan was taken aback.

Before she could answer—

"President!"

A crisp voice rang out.

It was the girl with twin ponytails, Xiao Ling.

She squeezed out from the group and trotted over to Ye Xinglan’s side.

"President, I sensed it!"

Xiao Ling’s eyes sparkled.

"There’s a very dense energy reaction underground here!" ℴ

"There must be ore!"

After saying this, she instinctively glanced at Lin Ji.

Her eyes held surprise and curiosity.

Ye Xinglan also looked at Lin Ji.

Her gaze was even more curious.

Xiao Ling’s talent was C-grade [Vein Perception].

Although the grade wasn’t high, it had a decent effect in detecting minerals.

This was also why Ye Xinglan had brought her along.

But Xiao Ling had only just sensed the minerals underground.

As for Lin Ji...

He had pointed out the ore deposit almost the moment he stopped walking.

Just how strong was this man’s perception ability?

A wave of intense doubt surged in Ye Xinglan’s heart.

But she didn’t ask further.

She simply nodded.

"Alright."

She looked at another girl in the group.

She was a somewhat shy-looking young woman, wearing an earth-yellow combat uniform.

"Xiao Ya."

Ye Xinglan called her name.

"You do it."

The girl named Xiao Ya nodded.

She walked to the front of the group, took a deep breath.

Then, crouched down.

Placed both hands on the ground.

Hum—!

A surge of earth-yellow energy flowed from her palms, sinking into the ground.

Immediately after, the ground began to tremble slightly.

The soil layers loosened.

The soil seemed to come alive, churning upward from underground.

Rustle—

A large amount of soil was overturned.

Mixed within were some light blue fragments of stone.

Those fragments shimmered faintly under the sunlight.

"It’s raw ore!"

Xiao Ling said excitedly.

A faint smile also appeared on Ye Xinglan’s face.

But she quickly composed her expression.

She looked at Lin Ji.

"Captain Lin."

Ye Xinglan said.

"As agreed, we’ll each dig our own share."

"Whoever digs how much gets how much."

"No interference."

As she said this, her tone was calm.

But there was a hint of wariness in her eyes.

Clearly, she was afraid Lin Ji would go back on his word.

Hearing this, Lin Ji smiled.

He didn’t speak immediately.

Instead, he bent down and picked up a piece of light blue raw ore from the overturned soil.

The ore was about the size of a fist.

Its surface was rough, with faint crystalline textures visible inside.

Lin Ji weighed the ore in his hand.

Then, he looked at Ye Xinglan.

"President Ye."

Lin Ji spoke.

His voice was very calm.

"Even if you dig out this much raw ore..."

"How much can you actually take back?"

Ye Xinglan was taken aback.

She furrowed her brows.

"What does Captain Lin mean by that?"

Lin Ji pointed to the raw ore in her hand.

"How much High-Energy Crystal Ore can be refined from one ton of this raw ore without processing?"

He paused.

"President Ye should know this well, right?"