"Xiao Liang, the sun is about to pass over the ridge. We have to go back to eat." In a pothole full of broken stones, a muscular dark man tightened the burlap bag around his waist and stood up. He turned around and shouted hello casually in a direction in front of him.
Immediately among the rocks, there stood a skinny child, about seven or eight years old. He was not tall, his body was not fully grown, and he looked malnourished. However, there is some vicissitudes of life and maturity that are different from other children in that face and eyebrows.
"Okay, Uncle Li." He matured for just a moment, and the child already had a silly and honest smile on his face. He started talking to the man and walked up to him in a few steps.
The strong man didn't say much. He grabbed him under his arm very skillfully and kicked him hard with his feet. He bounced up to about two feet high: "Boy, how was your harvest today?" He asked casually, but They had easily jumped out of the small pothole they were originally in.
There is a vast green pool outside the cave. The clear water can be seen at the shallow bottom, and there is faint steam. It is peacefully located among the scattered rocks. There are occasionally rugged dew rock ledges, but it is just right for holding a child. The burly man could easily settle down and continue to bounce up, speeding towards the shore of the lake closest to them.
"Hey, Uncle Li, I found two pieces today." At this time, the boy didn't look like a child at all when he spoke. He deliberately pretended to be stupid and imitated the tone of a child.
"That's right, that's right. I didn't pick you up for nothing." The man was extremely satisfied after hearing this. Although he was still running around and couldn't see the strange expression on the child's face at the moment, he still did not forget that he was doing well while running forward. His boasting about him showed his fondness for the child.
After all, this doll was the treasure he carried out from the ruins of the cave against all odds. That day, when they found him, the child looked stupid and refused to speak. When they were about to take him back to the tribe, the others looked reluctant.
Unexpectedly, this child was extremely sensitive to fire crystal energy and could see through the treasures hidden in their pockets at a glance. Then, on their way to bring him back to the station, he stupidly jumped from a very hidden place. From the cracks in the rocks, they directly took out two pieces of ore that were buried in the dust and that they had not discovered.
Yes, this is the Huazhou Kingdom’s most mysterious energy mineral location—Fire Crystal Valley. What can be produced is naturally the most important energy supply in the world today - fire crystal mine. And they, a group of coolies who were driven out of the cave to clean up the mess, were a group of 'mining slaves' who were exiled here and lived a difficult life - the only thing they had to do every day was to look for fire crystal ores scattered everywhere.
"You kid, I don't know what kind of luck it is that you are stupid and stupid, but you have awakened such a sensitive perception." The man recalled their experience of discovering this doll the day before, and couldn't help but sigh, "Thanks to you for being here." , so that everyone has not been hungry in the past few days."
Everyone in this Fire Crystal Valley will inexplicably awaken certain special abilities, the most common of which is the varying degrees of increase in physical explosive power. Of course, there will also be very few 'special awakenings' - for example, this child brought by a man: his physical strength has not increased, but his perception of fire crystals is extremely keen.
At this time, in the rocky mountain col, the scorching sun had already tilted to the west, and half of it was intercepted by the flush ridge towering on one side, casting most of the shadow. And the two people who jumped out of the pit were running quickly under the shade of the mountain with the scorching sun above their heads, avoiding the direct sunlight on that side.
Further forward, there is a jagged rocky area, which is rugged and curved and extends upward, rising to a height of a hundred feet. Until it is almost close to the end of the mountain, it is almost level with the mountain. It continues to wind to the left and right, and finally ends up with the mountain behind them. Very far away, they merge into a whole again.
Yes, the place they were in now, although it was called a valley, was actually in a deserted land, in a circular sinkhole that was formed somewhere in an unknown manner.
Everyone living under this huge pit is a mining slave. They are isolated among the rock walls with very limited resources. They rely on the fire crystal ore they have collected so hard and the mechas stationed on the ridge. Camp in exchange for necessary living supplies.
The man took the child and made several more leaps before landing safely on the shore of the lake. As soon as he landed, there was a call from the distance: "Old Li! This way!" When the strong man heard the words, he turned sideways and looked for the voice. He immediately discovered that there were several people on the mountainside not far away. Standing in front of a pothole, waiting for them.
This group of people, two men and three women, vary in age. There are old men with white hair, young men with short mustaches, women with big shoulders and round waists, and young women with light bodies and strong bodies. The only thing they have in common is that they all have strong bodies, and each of them has a small square linen bag hanging on his waist. Some are shriveled or some are bulging. They all look at the people and children who are coming, with expectant expressions on their faces and grinning.
The man didn't say much. He jumped up in a few steps and came to the middle of a few people. After putting down the child, he glanced at everyone with a smile, patted the linen bulge on his waist, and whispered: "Today's harvest is not bad, I can probably get it in exchange." Our rations for two days.”
The others naturally felt at ease after hearing this, and the three women among them even grabbed the child, who was about seven or eight years old, and playfully raised and lowered his hands.
The men had no time to pay attention to the grievances of the children at this time. One of the older men pulled Lao Li back, walked directly into the hole that had just been cleared, took out the bulging pockets on his waist, took out a lot of food, and said to the man: "I will eat all your food." It’s already been divided, you and Xiaoliang will be the last to come back, so hurry up and fill your stomachs.”
The man didn't say much, took the food, walked into the inner room of the cave, found a relatively clean place, sat down, and asked while eating: "Brother, there are other things in that cave these days." Discovery?" After saying that, he took out one of the balls wrapped in lotus leaves in his hand and threw it to the child who had just escaped from the siege of a group of women and followed him into the cave in embarrassment.
"Not really." The older man also followed behind the man, walked to the side, and sat down cross-legged on the ground, "I specifically asked Xiao Xu when he came back just now. It has been a long time since that strange bird went crazy last time. Never came back."
The place they are talking about now is the half-collapsed cave where the boy was found. It is also an important place in the valley that all the powerful mining slave groups in the valley will arrange for people to keep a close eye on.
That place is usually guarded by soldiers in red from the mecha battalion, and they are generally not allowed to get close. However, it is different from the officer camp where "intruders will be shot without mercy". Every three to five days here, there will be soldiers on duty who will issue a special mission to the mining slaves wandering around: go into the cave and clean up. Endgame.
This is a good job that can easily be exchanged for supplies - after all, those big-headed soldiers who have no worries about food and clothing don't bother to recycle cards for these useless 'junk things'. All the things that can be found inside, including daily utensils, fire crystals, food, and even the "newcomers" who are extremely rare and unlikely to survive, can all belong to the first mine slave to find them, seize them at will, and recruit them first. , first come first served.
However, since the cave was half destroyed by the big strange bird that invaded from the other side of the ridge last time, it seems to have been abandoned. There have been no mecha warriors on duty for a long time. Without the attraction of the mission, the wasteland would naturally be deserted, and few mining slaves would continue to wander around.
However, it was obvious that Lao Li did not give up. As the man who was lucky enough to enter the cave for the last time and bring back the 'Baby Pimple', the man stopped eating while listening to the elder Wen's story, and suggested: "You'd better let Xiao Xu and the others continue to watch. We've been lucky these past few days and have found a lot of fire crystal mines, so we shouldn't be hungry for a while."
As he spoke, Lao Li saw that his eldest brother looked a bit embarrassed, as if he was still a little hesitant, and then continued: "That giant bird has been fed by their Blood Clothes Camp for several years. It is impossible for him to be like this." If you fly away easily and give up the food that is brought to your mouth every day, you will definitely come back." Yes, he was very confident that the big strange bird that was frightened and flew out would definitely not stay in its comfort zone. From now on Wandering outside.
The older man also nodded, and suddenly thought of something, and whispered: "When I was changing food today, I heard one of their veterans talking about it: The ant nest they were raising in the Blood Clothes Camp seemed to be... Something went wrong, and a lot of bugs disappeared. That strange bird hasn't come back for a long time, I'm afraid it has something to do with this matter." After saying that, he looked at the place not far away from him again.
Mining slaves who can escape from the ant nests have more or less special abilities. For example, the child they had just picked up recently, although he was usually silly, was already the key to their group's search for fire crystal mines and ensuring that they had enough food to fill their stomachs.
However, as the old mining slave who has suffered the longest in the Fire Crystal Valley, this man is always a little uneasy. Even though this silly boy is lowering his head at this time and eating delicious food, it seems that he has not heard anything about the two of them. human speech.
Lao Li is naturally well aware of his elder brother's worries, so these days he, who has the highest combat power in the camp, always takes Xiaoliang with him, going in and out together, one for protection and the other for precaution. At this time, following the elder's words, he glanced at the silly baby who had been with him for a few days, shook his head, and smiled slightly: "Xiao Liang is just a silly kid, and he should not be able to cause such a stir. By the way, Did you remember anything about the little old man who was found by Fatty Wang and the others last time?"
