Chi Yan remembered that it would usually take him about two hours to pass this section of rope. But this time, it took him a full 4 hours, nearly double the time.
By the time Chi Yan got off the rope, the time on the taskbar was already saying 10:30 a.m.
The ground was made of crystals, and the crystals stretched to the far end, where a rolling mountain of diamonds rose to connect to the diamond shield overhead.
Even though over a hundred years had passed, Chi Yan was still able to find his way with great speed.
Even though he hadn’t been here for a long time, muscle memory made him find the way naturally.
But Chi Yan was not excited about this; he was calculating the time.
In the old days, it took two hours to walk the rope, three hours to get off the rope, and three hours to reach the edge of Diamond Mountain.
Then it was a matter of smashing the same spot countless times.
But he had to be careful not to smash with all his strength, as he still had to run back.
The sun would start setting at around five in the evening, and it took more than half an hour for the sun to set and for the sky and earth to turn completely dark.
He would set off at 6.30 p.m. and reach the edge of Diamond Mountain at around 11.30 p.m., after running for around 5 hours. If he was to return to the survival zone by 6 p.m., he had to set off no later than 1 p.m. and move back at a fast pace.
He could only dig the mountain for a compact hour and a half in between.
But now came the problem.
It took him four hours just to walk the rope this time, and if he used the same speed over the same distance, it would take him four hours to go back to the survival zone.
Would he get to the edge of the Diamond Mountains in time?
He did not know what was in the darkness, but he knew what the darkness meant.
It’s not that there weren’t players who didn’t make it back after dark, but he once saw a player who didn’t return at the edge of Diamond Mountain.
The body of the player had been glued to the edge of Diamond Mountain; he didn’t know what he had gone through, but the edge of his body had already turned to diamond.
A quarter of his body had blended into the mountain, but he had not died.
Terrified and helpless, the man could only open his mouth and gasp for air like a dehydrated fish.
Attempts were made to save the man, but unfortunately, the thin layer of diamond remained indestructible.
He could only watch as the man gradually turned into a diamond day by day, completely becoming a part of Diamond Mountain in despair.
Since then, Chi Yan no longer dared to linger and would set off at least half an hour earlier.
He didn’t want to become the next Diamond Man.
Just as Chi Yan was thinking about it, there was a sudden, loud booming sound in the distance.
The deafening sound caused Chi Yan to come back to his senses, and he looked up to see where the sound was coming from.
In the far distance, countless bright and dazzling stars dotted the sky. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were diamonds that had broken into pieces.
What happened?
Chi Yan’s whole body tensed up. Just now, he was wondering if he could get out of there safely, but he ran towards the place where the sound was coming from without a second thought.
Could it be that Bai Lixin was in some kind of trouble?
Why were there so many broken diamonds flying into the air, and what was that loud noise?
Was there a monster out there? How strong could it be, seeing as it could shatter the diamonds with its bare hands?
As Chi Yan ran, one question after another kept flashing through his mind.
The journey that would have taken three hours had been cut down to one and a half hours because he was running without reservation.
During this hour and a half, the tremors in front of him did not stop in the slightest, and broken diamonds were flying all over. From the distance, they looked like a mysterious canopy in the sky.
But Chi Yan didn’t have the heart to appreciate such a beautiful sight. As he got closer, the sound became louder and louder, and only when he came to the place did he slowly stop and stare at the scene before him in awe.
In front of the youth stood a very large piece of machinery, one end of which was a four-sided iron box from which a wooden stake, oh no, a diamond stake, came out.
The diamond stake was rhythmically pounded into Diamond Mountain, and in between each pounding, the youth would use the diamond saw blade in his hand to cut into that place.
One man and one machine, working in perfect harmony.
Each pounding of the diamond stake caused countless pieces of diamond to fly out.
Probably because of inertia, the diamond pieces would remain suspended in the air for a moment, reflecting the light of the sun and forming the magical canopy he saw.
Chi Yan stared blankly at the youth’s back. The youth had already chiseled out two diamond piles with his own strength.
What was even more remarkable was that the depth was not a simple groove but a tunnel that could accommodate one person.
“That’s two fistfuls deep to you?” Chi Yan opened his mouth but found his voice trembling uncontrollably with shock.
There was a slight pause in Bai Lixin’s movements; he glanced at Chi Yan and said, “You’re here, that was fast.”
Chi Yan’s expression was subtle, “Two diamond stake fists, are those the fists you meant?”
Bai Lixin pressed two buttons on the machinery beside him, and the diamond stake that was ‘throwing punches’ immediately went off and came to a meek stop.
Chi Yan forgot to even catch his breath as he saw Bai Lixin walk over to the wall at the end of the tunnel and tap it twice, not understanding the intention of this.
Chi Yan: “What are you doing? Seeing if the diamond is loose?”
After asking this question, his eyes fell back on the machine. “How did you make this machine? And these materials—how come I don’t remember Diamond Mountain have any metal?”
Bai Lixin withdrew his hand and turned his head to look at Chi Yan, the curious baby.
He frowned slightly, as if he were torn between which question to answer first.
A few seconds later, Bai Lixin spoke up, “I assembled this machine myself. I had some parts in my backpack, so I assembled this simple pile driver.”
“It’s not accurate, but it’s good enough to use.”
“I use the stake to attack the mountain. The only thing that can cut a diamond is a diamond.”
“I use the diamond saw blade to loosen the gap between the diamonds, and the pile driver will blast the gap open, which greatly improves efficiency.”
Bai Lixin said some truths and half-truths.
No matter how many situations he could predict, he couldn’t account for everything and have it ready in his backpack. He was actually using the crystal ball’s ability.
But it might be that the suppression power of this copy was too strong, so the crystal ball’s ability was greatly reduced. He could construct a large diamond cutter in his mind, but it couldn’t come out in reality.
The only thing that could be constructed was one raw part after another.
And every time the materials were built out, the crystal ball would fall into a three-day cool down period, so it took a long time to assemble the pile driver.
After that, it was a matter of finding the right diamonds to make the staking head from those scattered at his feet. The diamond saw blade was a bit more of a problem, he tried to polish it directly, but it didn’t work, so he had to use the crystal ball and assemble it slowly.
“Oh, and you asked for depth.” Bai Lixin cupped his chin and began to answer Chi Yan’s next question, “Yeah, it’s two fists according to the machine. Huh, I didn’t make it clear yesterday.”
Chi Yan: “.…”
You didn’t just not make it clear! You simply didn’t say anything!
“What else did you ask?” Bai Lixin ‘rubbed his ears, and his voice was a few decibels higher than usual. “it was too loud earlier, and my ears are now buzzing. I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Chi Yan raised his voice at that, saying, “I’m asking you, why did you tap on the walls after?”
Bai Lixin finally heard it this time and tapped twice on the mountain with one hand and said, “I was checking the walls; I’m getting closer. Sit down, and I’ll show you a magic trick.”
With these words, he turned on the machine again and started to work.
Seeing that there was nothing he could help with, Chi Yan obediently found a diamond stone to sit on, his eyes staring at the youth thoughtfully.
In the meantime, he also took the time to look around. This was close to the section he had dug at before, but even if we had chosen the right points to dig out, it would have been impossible to cut such a deep hole.
All those who had dug before him amounted to a groove that could accommodate a grown man’s head.
Looking further away, there was a branch emerging from the mountain. It hung from the cliffs of Diamond Mountain, bearing the fruit that Bai Lixin often brought with him.
Chi Yan froze when he saw the tree.
It turned out that the fruit was growing in such a dangerous place that the slightest carelessness would cause you to fall to your death.
Bai Lixin’s behavior when he brought the fruit was casual, as if he didn’t care for it.
None of them needed food to live. They did not feel hunger or the desire for water.
As he glanced towards Bai Lixin with complicated emotions, Chi Yan suddenly heard an unusual “click, click, click” sound.
Looking over curiously, he realized that the walls of the hole, which looked a little battered earlier, were now covered in a dense cobweb of cracks.
The diamond pile driver gave it a few more punches, and in the next second, the diamond walls, which had been rock solid a moment ago, were now crumbling like a piece of tofu.
There was a loud “boom,” and the wall opened up.
And on the other side of the wall was a long passage!
Bai Lixin was right—there really was a passage at the other end of the mountain!
“Bai Lixin!” Chi Yan exclaimed heartily, “You’re so fucking awesome!”
Bai Lixin just smiled politely, but his eyes fell on the passage.
Unlike the one-man tunnel he had chiseled out, this one was significantly larger.
