The blade's edge touched the white filaments, and in that instant, these threads began to move.
The entire cave was filled with white filaments, and their movement made the whole cavern seem alive. The web vibrated back and forth, causing Talking Lady within it to sway like driftwoodâmuch to the black cat's alarm, which instinctively tried to reach its master.
However, the white filaments moved with incredible speed. The black cat failed to dodge in time and was immediately struck, letting out a pained yowl.
Originally positioned near the cave wall, the cat had rushed into the web of white filaments. After the first hit, it lost its balance and was battered repeatedly within the net. By the time it was flung out, its body was covered in wounds.
Ye Zhongming knew just how strong this black catâwhich seemed no different from a house cat aside from its extra demon crystalâtruly was. Even he couldnât have inflicted so many injuries on such an agile creature in such a short time.
Yet these white filaments had done it.
While the black cat suffered, Ye Zhongming wasnât faring much better. As the instigator, the white filaments didnât spare him either. After his blade strike, the threads shot toward him at a speed completely unlike their earlier stillness. Fortunately, Ye Zhongming was near the entrance and retreated swiftly upon sensing danger, causing most of the attacking filaments to strike the stone wall instead. The hard rock was pierced like tofu, leaving deep holes in its wake.
Soon, everything settled, and Ye Zhongming stepped back into the cave.
He wiped his left cheek, where a small wound had appeared. It wasnât seriousâonly a trickle of blood, already clotting.
But the Cloud Peak Kingâs eyes now held a newfound caution.
The white filamentsâ attack had come without warning, their speed leaving almost no time to react. Ye Zhongming didnât know how sharp the threads piercing Red Hairâs body were, but the ones that had struck at him felt comparable to a purple-grade weapon.
He was also puzzled. These white filaments had allowed the black cat to peel away the gray substance to expose their magic crystal, yet wouldnât tolerate any attack on their threads?
This behaviorâfreely revealing their core while fiercely protecting peripheral partsâwas bizarre.
The black cat limped to Ye Zhongmingâs feet, badly wounded but alive.
Neither the cat nor Ye Zhongming looked at each other. Both were fixated on the white filaments.
After the earlier assault, the threads were gradually calming. Some retracted their protruding tips, others slowed their vibrations, and even Talking Ladyâs movements gentled.
It seemed everything was returning to normal.
But on the threads that had struck the black cat, and on the one that had pierced Ye Zhongmingâs cheek, their blood remained.
As the filaments settled, small bulges formed where the blood had touched, slowly absorbing it.
Within seconds, the blood vanished entirely. The caveâs filaments returned to stillness, and in the hollow the black cat had exposed, the magic crystal took another step toward becoming fully silver.
Ye Zhongming used a healing crystal on the black cat, then frowned at the scene ahead, searching for a solution.
A direct assault seemed impossible. Given how the white filaments reacted earlier, his strongest attack would likely fail.
So, how could he free Talking Lady?
After being healed, the black cat felt slightly better, though as a mutated creature, the healing crystalâs effects were weaker on it than on evolved humans.
It lay on the ground, licking its wounds, occasionally glancing at the still-unresponsive Talking Lady with deep concern.
Ye Zhongming sat down as well. He took items from his spatial storage one by one, examining and then returning them, searching for anything useful.
But nothing seemed viable.
During this time, he tested further. He had the black cat retreat, then tried attacks with the hammer from the Blue Secret Realm and his demon crystal weapon. Both attempts only provoked counterattacks, yielding no progress.
Ye Zhongming had hit a dead end.
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While Ye Zhongming searched underground in Yakutsk for a way to save Talking Lady, another battle between humans and mutated creatures erupted on the surface. Once again, the humans were the aggressors, launching a four-pronged assaultâthree feints to scatter the enemy, with the main force concentrated in the east.
The fight lasted hours before ending with the humansâ voluntary retreat.
Though brief, it was the largest engagement in the past week. While the human forces suffered over a thousand casualties, they inflicted nearly ten times the losses, including several level-seven and one level-eight creatureâa substantial haul.
This was why the human army refused to leave despite the freezing wilderness: such a rich hunting ground was too rare to abandon.
Daily yields of tens or even hundreds of thousands of magic crystals and materials kept everyone invested.
Thus, deployment rotations among the allied forces were hotly contested, sparking frequent arguments between factions.
But in the rear camp, this issue seemed irrelevant. Since Pei Jia and his squad were assigned guard duty, theyâd been stuck there. Though provisions were steady and they received occasional shares of spoils from the front, it wasnât enough to sustain the entire squad, fueling growing discontent.
Pei Jia listened to his subordinateâs report with a faint smile.
"Let them vent. After such harsh conditions, donât our people deserve an outlet? Even in the pre-apocalypse, men and women fooled aroundânow? Itâs nothing."
His dark face curled into a knowing grin.
"Besides, dear Adair, donât you think these Easterners are loaded?"
Adairâs eyes flashed with greed, quickly replaced by worry.
"But their group is strong. Their leaderâs likely an eight-star evolved, with capable subordinates and high-level combat beasts."
Pei Jia laughed heartily.
"Alone, we wouldnât stand a chance. But remember where we areâand whatâs happening! Would these Easterners dare fight all of us?"
He paused, then added, "That redheadâs quite the catch, donât you think, Adair?"
Outside, the sounds of unrest grew louder. Pei Jia could almost see the demon crystals piling up before him.