Chapter 229: Fully Equipped

It was only then that Qin Hu was satisfied. He dragged the backpack over and sat down in a meditative position before he started shoving food down his throat.

While he ate, he spoke in a muffled voice. “Brad, I’m goin’ do uze half an ‘our to regulade my breading. Den I’ll restore around fifdy perzend of my bower. Bud now, the bigges’ problem is ‘ow we’re going up.”

Meng Chao walked along the wall for a while. The cliff was more than one hundred meters tall and it was washed by the subsurface stream in the past so much that it was as smooth as a mirror. Slippery moss grew on the rock as well, so there were very few spots they could use as a platform.

If they climbed up barehanded, it would be very difficult for them to make it to the top.

And spirit energy ripples of different frequencies came from the crystal mine in the depths of the cave. They surged forward and filled the space with unseen torrents. They were just like the legendary wind force.

Even Heaven Realm deities who had mastered maglev technology would have a hard time flying in a stable manner while they faced the interference from wind force.

Meng Chao tried a few times to use the Ultimate Style to accurately control his muscles so that he could climb the wall like a gecko.

But at most, he made it only slightly over ten meters before he slid down.

If he fell while he was more than one hundred meters up, the consequences would be really severe.

‘We need to use some kind of tool…’

As a harvester, Meng Chao instinctively thought of the Slit-mouthed Anacondas, the Grade Two superbeasts they had just killed.

He dragged the incomplete carcasses of the Slit-mouthed Anacondas to Qin Hu.

Then, he knelt down on one knee and tore off the four flaps covering the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s teeth-covered mouthpiece.

Then, he swung Bloody Flame. The thin, short, and dynamic saber perfectly separated the mantle on the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s body. Then, he cut it into moderate-sized squares.

Mantles were the skins of mollusca. They had even greater stretchability compared to pelts and shells. They could absorb micronutrients from stones, turning them into sturdy shells resembling limestone. They could be said to be natural ingredients for protective suits that could turn sturdy or soft at will.

Meng Chao brought out a few mining needles from the backpack Lin Chuan had given him, and with his harvesting tools, he quickly pierced rows of neat holes at the edges of the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s mantles.

After that, he brought out the meridians from the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s mouthpiece, which were the softest parts in their bodies, and tore them into four bundles. He bound them together and moved them through the holes in the mantles. He turned them into stretchable ropes and connected them together. The Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s skin became two crude leather armors.

Meng Chao put the leather armor on his body.

He did not even need to tighten his tendons and meridians. The leather armor shrank by itself and fit him perfectly. It would not bother him while he fought.

Meng Chao nodded in satisfaction and threw the larger leather armor to the sitting man.

Qin Hu had watched him move his hands so quickly that they looked like two balls of gray fog. He had worked for ten minutes before he turned the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s mantle into the strange armor. He could not help but ask, “What’s this? They couldn’t even withstand one slash from me!”

“That’s not for you to fend against enemy slashes,” Meng Chao said. “The biggest problem we face when we fight around crystal mines is the spirit energy magnetic field interference. The interference is strongest around the Red Radiance Jade mine we want to search.

“But all things in the world counter each other. There is definitely an antidote to the poison of a venomous creature within seven steps of where it lives.

“Since the Slit-mouthed Anacondas can stay so close to the Red Radiance Jade mine, are so huge, and possess such great offensive power, it shows that their organs don’t face a lot of negative effects from an overexposure to spirit energy radiation. I believe that there must be something strange about their mantles.

“They might be natural anti-radiation coats. If we wear them, we can reduce the effects of spirit energy magnetic field interference and bring out greater fighting power.”

Qin Hu did not quite believe him, but he still put on the leather armor Meng Chao sewed and quietly circulated his spirit energy. Suddenly, he widened his eyes and said in surprise, “You’re right. I feel much better than before. I can create my spirit energy magnetic fields faster, more accurately, and they’re more stable. The pain in my spirit energy meridians also is not so bad anymore!”

Meng Chao smiled faintly and continued with his work. He brought out a few bloody things that looked like rubber from his personal storage bag.

He harvested a few of the acid glands from the Slit-mouthed Anacondas and poured acid over them.

Bubbles appeared on the surface of the rubber-like material, and it soon softened into sticky liquid.

Meng Chao stuck the four flaps of the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s mouthpiece on the soles of his shoes and his forearms with the sticky liquid. At first glance, it looked as if he had four rows of sharp teeth growing on his limbs.

He then pressed his arms and tips of his feet against the wall to test things.

This time, he felt as if he was wearing track spikes and walking on ice. When the teeth dug into the stone, he had a firmer grip on the wall.

Qin Hu stared at him. “What’s that?”

“Sticky liquid from Stone Statue Fungus,” Meng Chao explained patiently. “Stone Statue Fungi are what you ran into earlier. They’re the fungi that spat out sticky liquid when injured, which then became as sturdy as reinforced concrete after solidifying.

“That liquid is not afraid of anything, but when it touches acid, it softens again. Coincidentally, Slit-mouthed Anacondas are monsters that love spitting acid.

“I killed a Slit-mouthed Anaconda while we were on the surface and harvested its acid gland. Once I discovered that the liquid from Stone Statue Fungus solidifies, I realized that it’s a really powerful and convenient glue stick, so I collected some, and they did indeed proved to be useful!

“I used the sticky liquid from Stone Statue Fungus to stick the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s fangs on my leather armor and combat boots, which increased my friction. Like this, we can climb this smooth wall. When we return to the cliff, our fighting strength will be reduced to at most 50% because of the anti-radiation armor, while the Heaven Realm fighters will have their fighting strength reduced to barely 20% or 30%. Mr. Hu, when you round off the numbers, your chances of winning will be pretty good.”

Qin Hu scratched his moustache and mumbled, “Brat, you sure know a lot of deviant tricks.”

Meng Chao grinned. “Are you regretting being too indulgent of your brother-in-law’s wilfulness now? With such a genius harvester like me around, Prosperous might have become really powerful and climbed to great heights.”

Qin Hu cackled and said smugly, “That’s where you’re wrong. Even though I find it a slight pity, I don’t regret my actions at all. Even if that bastard Shen Rongfa really causes Prosperous to go bankrupt, I won’t care.”

Meng Chao was dumbfounded. “Why?”

“You don’t understand. My wife knows her brother’s character. The more trouble Shen Rongfa causes, the more she will feel as if she let me down, and she’ll be gentler to me!”

Qin Hu looked at him smugly. “For years, my wife had the say in my house, and it has been especially so during the past two years, when she went through her menopause. Those days were hell.

“But over the past half a year, it was revealed that her brother had created a foul atmosphere in the company. She knows that he’s in the wrong, so I became in control of the house again, and now, I can stand up straight in front of her.

“Anyway, harvesting is just my part-time job. My main job is still taking missions and killing monsters. Using a measly company to get harmony in the family is such a good deal that you don’t know how worthwhile it is. I’m living the best of my life right now, so why should I regret it?”

“…” Meng Chao sucked in a deep breath and said, “You’ve stated multiple times in the harvesting circle that you’re in a terrible fix because of me and my dad and that your company is suffering major losses. You even said that you want to kill us. What’s with that?”

“Duh. If I didn’t say that, how would my wife know just how many problems her brother caused me? How would she be as gentle to me as she was when she was seventeen?”

The more Qin Hu spoke, the more vigorous he became. “Besides, if I make it sound like the company’s financial situation is really bad, my wife will know that we’re going through harsh times, and she won’t buy handbags on a whim all the time!

“Anyway, this is the survival wisdom that middle-aged men gain. You don’t understand it, do you? Hahahaha!”

Meng Chao fell silent. He buried his head and continued to work.

Soon, he created two more anti-radiation leather pieces that were covered by the Slit-mouthed Anaconda’s sharp teeth.

Qin Hu jumped up full of life.

At that moment, they heard an explosion above their heads.

Boom!

The sound of the earth-shattering explosion pierced through the layers of obstruction formed by the subsurface plasma and reached their ears. It sounded like a rumble of thunder during an afternoon in summer.

The two of them looked at each other, and they could see the shock in each other’s eyes.

Qin Hu mumbled, “They even used the crystal bombs to explode crystal mines?Aren’t they afraid of making the cave collapse or burning through all the oxygen? They’ll just make everyone die together!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Soon after the explosion, five burnt corpses fell from above and landed in the depths of the subsurface plasma.

They were all swept down by the explosion on the cliff.

The Slit-mouthed Anacondas which had been patrolling in the subsurface plasma immediately pounced forward and fought each other over the corpses. They tore them apart and ate them.

As they watched numerous Slit-mouthed Anacondas squirm around while they ate, Meng Chao and Qin Hu felt chills crawl down their spines.

Then, they thanked their lucky stars that they had not thought about fighting against each other. Otherwise, neither of them would have been able to escape becoming the Slit-mouthed Anacondas’ food.

At that moment, another mutilated corpse fell down.

Meng Chao moved quickly once he saw it. He flung his chain saber forward and pulled the corpse in midair before the Slit-mouthed Anacondas—they were already looking up—could get it.

A few Slit-mouthed Anacondas opened their mouths at them in displeasure and hissed in a show of force.

“Damn it! Do you really think that I won’t dare to cut all of you down, trash?!” Qin Hu glared at them and took a step forward. He brought his saw-toothed saber above his head and gave off a really fierce presence.

The Slit-mouthed Anacondas hesitated for a moment before they dragged the food they had obtained back into the subsurface plasma.

Qin Hu sighed in relief. He turned his head around and said, “He’s dead, and a corpse is just a pile of foul-smelling flesh. There’s no need for you to grab a corpse and stir up the fierce nature of so many Slit-mouthed Anacondas.”

Meng Chao nodded. “I know. Mr. Hu, look. Who is this?”

Qin Hu drew closer. He spat into his palm and rubbed the corpse’s contorted face. Then, with a grave voice, he said, “Li Xin?”

That was right. The mutilated and badly battered corpse was the ace gunslinger Li Xin, who was a four-star superhuman.

He was dead.

Even if he had reached Heaven Realm, he was still cut in half at the waist and badly battered by the explosion. He was even swept off the cliff by the impact wave, which led to his organs spilling out. There was no way he could have survived that.

Even a Heaven Realm elite died in the dark world.

There were only a few who could survive the battle on the cliff.

Meng Chao couldn’t care less about that right now.

He removed the Sam Brown Belt bound around Li Xin’s chest and back to check how many guns and bullets he had in the rifle case made of tanned superbeast leather.

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