Once these insects smelled blood, they would emit a pheromone similar to that of ants, attracting all their brethren to share the rare food source. This made Nu's earlier suggestion easier to understand: moving in the dark wouldn't trigger the Devil Vines' wild dance, allowing people to pass through quickly. But if someone was bitten by a scarab beetle, they would undoubtedly act as a magnet, drawing all the beetles away, allowing the others to pass safely.
After escaping the Devil Vines' controlled area, everyone felt a sense of relief. When they saw the glowing cave walls again, they realized they had entered a vast, incredibly complex man-made labyrinth of interconnected tunnels! Metal trestle tracks, seemingly defying gravity, twisted and intersected, as if the earth, even the entire world, had been cut into Rubik's Cube-like shapes.
Before them, a metal track, having remained there for countless years, lay silently. The weathered, rusted surface clearly indicated that no one had passed this way for a very long time. The cave walls were lined with huge, rib-like fossil protrusions, neatly and symmetrically extending into the distance. The clear sound of dripping water echoed from all directions, gathering in everyone's ears before dissipating, creating an indescribable sense of awe in their hearts.
"Everyone, rest for a moment," the Metal Mentor said, sitting down first. "I've just checked, and it doesn't seem like anyone has been here recently."
He sighed in relief.
"It seems we're ahead of the Banks Gang."
Fang Senyan was examining the tracks crisscrossing the caves, unable to resist touching them. The tracks were still very solid, clearly reflecting the ancient craftsmen's construction philosophy: rough, direct, and durable. Even the rust-induced breakage was crisp and decisive. At that moment, his Nightmare Mark suddenly transmitted a trade request. It was the Metal Mentor offering a free gift of five thousand universal points! Fang Senyan accepted without hesitation, believing that free money should never be refused.
"This is a reward for everyone's courage." Clearly, after receiving the benefits, the tense and awkward atmosphere within the group eased somewhat. This method of carrot and stick, though common, was quite effective. The Metal Mentor nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"We are now deep within the underground vaults of Gringotts Bank, though it seems to have been abandoned for a long time. Getting here means we've completed more than half the journey!"
Nu unrolled a parchment that looked like it would crumble at the slightest touch, and said in his usual emotionless voice:
"The goblin's magic stone storage room is one of the three major vaults of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. During its construction, a magical 'permanent lock' was used to prevent theft, similar to real-world fingerprint or iris scanners, but even more advanced."
"The only key to that vault door is the builder's genes, including those of his descendants. Therefore, the locksmiths who open Gringotts vaults are hereditary, and no one can replace them. So, stealing the magic stone through normal means is almost impossible—even Voldemort once thought so."
"However, the designers also considered a very real problem: the future is unpredictable. If the builder's bloodline were to die out (if they were to have no descendants), wouldn't the vault be permanently inaccessible? So, they designed the vault with two doors, the first with a magical gene lock, and the second with layers of traps and obstacles. This would ensure that the items in the vault could be retrieved even if the bloodline died out."
"Because Gringotts has been established for so long, even the goblins who now control it have forgotten these past events. But Voldemort learned about this from fragments of ancient documents. The Metal Mentor also obtained first-hand information after a very difficult search. So, now that we've arrived here, we've almost completed half the journey!"
Clearly, this information was the Metal Mentor's real deal, and the likelihood of it being exaggerated was small. Fang Senyan combined it with the information he had previously obtained from the goblin, Mr. Infinite, and could basically confirm many things. Just as Fang Senyan was thinking about this, he suddenly felt that mysterious sensation of being near Gringotts again, even stronger this time!
He also felt that something was amiss with his Nightmare Mark. Upon inspection, he discovered that the severed finger—or what could be called a key—was also heating up, exhibiting intense fluctuations. If the storage space in the Nightmare Space wasn't exceptionally stable, he believed that the anomaly would have already been detected. Fortunately, this abnormal state only lasted for a few dozen seconds before disappearing.
The Metal Mentor's initial gesture of generosity, followed by heartfelt words, undoubtedly increased cohesion. They began to walk along an old cave to the side, with Nu, holding the map, leading the way. After circling continuously for more than ten minutes, everyone felt dizzy.
At a fork in the road ahead, Nu suddenly stopped, frowning and carefully examining the parchment. Just then, Fang Senyan suddenly felt a powerful threat approaching! Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to warn them aloud, but he secretly prepared for defense. However, only half a second later, Deco cried out in alarm:
"Be careful, danger!"
Deco's words
had barely faded when the cave walls to the left and right exploded violently, sending stone fragments flying everywhere. Immediately afterward, two white humanoid creatures, at least three meters tall, lunged out simultaneously, heavily impacting Nu's burly body. Nu didn't even utter a sound before being sent flying far away, rolling several times on the ground. A fountain of blood sprayed from his mouth, painting a wide, magnificent arc in the air.
Attacking them were two statue-like soldiers, their entire bodies carved from a white stone material. Their movements were mechanical, yet not stiff. They held shields in their left hands and longswords in their right, quickly closing in. At this moment, the Metal Mentor swept his robe aside, and his metal-gloved hands rapidly waved in the air, drawing several mysterious intersecting lines. Immediately, two face-sized fireballs shot out, howling towards the statues.
With a deafening explosion, the two fireballs detonated, sending the two statue soldiers staggering backward with tremendous force, losing their balance and falling to the ground. However, they quickly stood up again, continuing their mechanical advance. The surface of their shields was scorched black, but not a single crack appeared.
Fang Senyan's eyes flashed, and he immediately charged forward, hacking an axe at one of the statue soldiers. Sparks flew from the axe, but it only chipped off a small piece of stone from the statue's body. The statue soldier retaliated with a sword strike, and Fang Senyan timely blocked it with his axe. However, he heard a faint, grating "kaller" sound, and then the "Butcher's Bone Scraper Axe," for which Fang Senyan had paid a considerable price, shattered into more than a dozen fragments of varying sizes, flying in all directions, completely destroyed.
At the same time, Fang Senyan received a prompt from his Nightmare Mark:
"Warning: Your weapon, Butcher's Bone Scraper Axe, has reached zero durability and has been destroyed. Please replace it immediately!"
"Warning: Your weapon, Butcher's Bone Scraper Axe, has reached zero durability and has been destroyed. Please replace it immediately!"
"Warning: Your weapon, Butcher's Bone Scraper Axe, has reached zero durability and has been destroyed. Please replace it immediately!"
"Damn it!"
This sudden event was something Fang Senyan had not anticipated.
For him, infiltrating the Symbiosis Society and using his wits to contend with these people was an exhausting endeavor. He simply didn't have time to attend to these small details, and now a problem had arisen at this moment! Several sharp fragments of the axe grazed his cheek, leaving a burning and sharp sensation. Meanwhile, the other statue soldier raised his shield and delivered a ferocious sweep! Caught off guard, Fang Senyan couldn't dodge in time. He felt as if a gale had swept across his face, making his eyeballs ache. Then, he felt a buzzing sensation in his head and lost consciousness.
When Fang Senyan regained consciousness, he felt excruciating pain all over his body. He had been thrown against the cave wall five or six meters away and bounced back. His left face was completely numb and devoid of sensation! Staggering to his feet, he took a few shaky steps and vomited a mouthful of blood, which contained several teeth. Only then did he realize that his legs were weak and unable to support his weight. The Nightmare Mark also sent a message, saying that he was in a state of concussion, reducing his movement speed by 50%.
Fang Senyan checked the combat log and realized that he had lost nearly 120 points of health from that "Shield Bash"! Firstly, because he was caught off guard, the 10 points of extra stamina from the Obsidian Fossil Anchor hadn't been added, sharply reducing his defense. Secondly, the statue soldier had actually dealt crushing damage! This indicated that their strength was at least 27 points or higher! Moreover, the attached concussive state was a special effect of that "Shield Bash."