Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 65 The Feeders of the Central Pumping Station

Chiba crouched in front of the safe, his fluffy tail sweeping back and forth behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

She held the gray stone in both hands, examining it from all angles, even sticking out her tongue to lick it. Her mouth tasted only of the astringent dust, without any trace of its magical sweetness.

"Boss, please stop keeping me in suspense."

Chiba handed the stone back to Rod, his amber eyes filled with resentment.

As a recognized top appraisal expert in the Rust Harbor black market, she was completely unable to see through the true nature of this broken stone.

"What exactly is this thing? I've turned it inside out, and it's just a stubborn rock used to weigh down pickled vegetables. You say it's priceless, there must be a reason, right? Otherwise, it feels like claws are scratching at my heart."

Rhodes took the core, stuffed it into the bottom of his backpack, and wrapped it in a piece of oilcloth.

When [Analysis View] is off, it is indeed just a useless piece of waste rock.

"The value of some things doesn't depend on their current form, but on their future potential." Rhodes brushed the dust off his hands. "This principle applies to your situation back then. Before you showed your talent, who could have predicted that you would become the top appraiser in Rust Harbor's black market? Right now, it might not even be as valuable as a stone used to weigh down pickled vegetables. But in the future..."

He paused, swallowing the rest of his words.

A complex blueprint slowly unfolded in the depths of his consciousness. It was a single-soldier armor he had seen in science fiction works when he was on Earth, combined with the magical patterns of this world.

This [unactivated Titan core] possesses two extraordinary attributes: [self-repair] and [energy conversion].

If it is used as the core power source, supplemented with [tough rubber] peeled from ghouls to form a sealing layer, and armor is forged with a [hard shell]...

He might be able to create a set of "individual powered armor" that belongs to this world.

At that time, no matter what kind of knightly order or what kind of high-level magical beast, they will all tremble and submit to the torrent of steel in the face of pure industrial violence.

"Let's go." Rhodes stood up, cutting off Chiba's probing questions. "The central pumping station is just ahead. The big guys inside are probably already eager to welcome us."

Without a word, Avira raised her tower shield and moved to the front of the group, using her body to protect the two behind her.

Chiba pouted in dissatisfaction, but despite her burgeoning curiosity, she followed closely behind.

As long as she follows this man, she will always reap rewards; this is the ironclad rule she has come to realize over the past few days.

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The deeper you go, the heavier the humidity becomes, and a nauseating stench of rotting flesh fills your nostrils.

The solid stone ground beneath my feet had become soft and mushy, and with each step I sank deep into it, as if I were treading on a rotten, thick carpet, sticky and sluggish.

The fungi on the wall multiplied and spread, forming an endless fleshy membrane that swallowed all the metal pipes.

Beneath the sarcoma, a tangled network of bluish-purple blood vessels pulsates with each beat, squeezing out the viscous fluid within.

Rhodes stopped and looked around, immediately stopping his [Analysis Vision] and not daring to keep it active any longer.

This area is the source and center of the pollution.

Activating his spiritual vision for an extended period in such an environment would cause an indescribable flood of information to overwhelm his reason.

The fate of Old Hansen, who attempted to uncover the secrets of the ancient gods and ended up burning himself, remains clear.

Rhodes didn't want to become a drooling idiot just because he'd glimpsed something forbidden.

"Watch your step, avoid those red sacs." Rod pointed to the swollen, abscess-like objects on the ground. "Those are high-pressure acid sacs. If you step on them, not even bone fragments will be left."

The three walked cautiously through the corridor made of living beings.

The space in front of them suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious, circular underground cavity.

This is the core of Zone C-4 – the central pumping station.

Dozens of pipes of varying thicknesses converge here from all sides of the cave wall, eventually connecting to the distorted behemoth in the center.

It was supposed to be a spherical alchemical boiler, supplying pressure and high heat to the entire underground pipe network.

At this moment, it twisted into a nightmarish creation.

"My God..." Chiba gasped, involuntarily taking half a step back.

The 20-meter-tall metal boiler had four thick metal limbs growing from its sides, coiled in the center of its cavity like a giant spider.

Its body is covered with a thick layer of dark red keratin, a creation of metal and flesh molten at high temperatures.

The original coal feeding port has been transformed into a giant mouth full of fangs, constantly spewing out thick black smoke and dark red sparks.

It is eating.

A barbed metal tentacle extended from its torso, forcibly tearing a thick copper pipe off the wall and stuffing it into its mouth as if it were gnawing on dry rations.

The metal twisted and cracked between the sharp teeth, the ear-piercing friction sound echoing endlessly, the copper tube was chewed into pieces and swallowed into its belly.

The next moment, the shell on the boiler's surface underwent a slight expansion and reorganization, accompanied by a flow of dark red light, and the newly formed shell was thicker than before.

"This...it's enormous!" Chiba's voice trembled. "How are we supposed to deal with this thing? Trim its pedicure?"

Just then, the monster noticed the intruder's presence.

It stopped eating, and the massive furnace slowly turned around. The row of compound eyes above the furnace opening, which were transformed from pressure gauges, aligned perfectly with the three people at the entrance of the hole.

"roar--!"

A roar mixed with the booming of steam whistles swept through the entire cavity.

The pressure relief valve on its abdomen suddenly popped open, and a ring of scorching steam shockwave exploded outwards.

"spread!"

Rod shouted a warning and rolled to the right to dodge.

Avira raised her tower shield head-on, determined to withstand the impact.

The scalding steam crashed against the shield, scorching out hissing white smoke. Despite the enhancements from the [Hard Shell] and [Dense Structure] attributes, the powerful impact still pushed her backward several meters.

Almost simultaneously, a nimble figure, using the shadow of the pipe, slithered along the wall like a gecko, perfectly avoiding the frontal attack of the steam wave.

"Chiba, try attacking its joints!"

The fox-girl gritted her teeth, and with a flash, leaped onto a high pipe.

The short knife in her hand drew a bright silver arc, aiming straight for the weakest point of one of the monster's limbs.

"when!"

A burst of sparks exploded.

The blade tip could not advance any further, just inches away from the dark red carapace, as if it had hit a high-pressure air wall. The enormous recoil made Chiba's hands go numb.

The monster completely ignored the harmless attack, merely wiggling one of its tentacles casually.

Chiba hurriedly dodged, but couldn't completely avoid it.

She let out a short, mournful cry as she was flung away and slammed heavily against the wall.

"Cough cough... No! The defense is impossible to break!" Chiba clutched his chest, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "It has a high-temperature steam shield on its body; my blade was blasted away before it even touched the solid surface!"