Chapter 14: Two Pieces of Bad News, Experiment
Translator: Lordbluefire
Lu Yuan hid in a corner and stared at the two black-rune graystone beetles as his gaze flickered.
He had no chance of victory if he fought them head-on. Hence, he could only depend on his intellect.
After that, he glanced at the surrounding environment as he tried to think of a plan.
Not long later, Lu Yuan stared at the dim yellowish sky. He then looked from the top of the stone wall to the surrounding environment before he narrowed his eyes slightly.
A bold thought arose in his mind.
He came before the stone wall and kept the Blacklight Alloy Sword in his hand. He then used his hands and legs to climb to the top of the stone wall.
Climbing a wall of stone. If Lu Yuan were an ordinary person, it would basically be impossible for him.
But Lu Yuan was a gene fighter now. His physical stats in all aspects were greatly superior to an ordinary person. His hands and legs were strong, and the performance of the muscles in his body was well-coordinated. Moreover, he was extremely nimble. In just a few moments, he already scaled the stone wall that was about 30 to 40 meters tall.
However, when his head was outside the stone wall, he immediately felt the whistling ferocious wind brush across his face. The ferocious wind had particles of sand mixed in it, and this caused Lu Yuan’s face to feel pain. After all, his facial skin wasn’t thick enough.
That powerful wind force directly caused Lu Yuan’s head to snap back.
Due to not being prepared, his hands lost their hold on the stone wall and his body fell down.
The stone wall was about 30 to 40 meters tall. Even the current Lu Yuan would surely have an incomplete corpse if he fell from such a height.
At this critical moment, the Blacklight Alloy Sword appeared in Lu Yuan’s hands. He exerted force from his waist and forced his posture upright as he pierced the sword into the stone wall.
Chi!!
The alloy sword penetrated the stone wall. After that, Lu Yuan grabbed its hilt with his right hand and finally managed to stabilize his body.
Lu Yuan panted heavily as a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.
“Damn, I was almost frightened to death. I thought I was a goner.”
After he calmed down, he utilized the strength of his entire body as he climbed up again.
Originally, the sandy wind in this legion was already very powerful, and it was especially powerful since he was tens of meters in the air.
If he was the slightest bit careless, he might be blown away.
The alloy sword in Lu Yuan’s hand slammed into the top of the stonewall. He had to exert force with his feet before he could stabilize his form.
Even so, Lu Yuan didn’t dare to open his eyes. His face felt a stinging pain from the gusting sand.
Luckily, Lu Yuan was prepared.
His lips curled into a smile as a pair of protective goggles appeared in his hands.
This was an item he bought after he read through the information in one of the forum posts for newbies.
The environments of the initial cities in the Land of Origins were all very vile. For Storm City and Sandstone City, raging winds filled the air. So, if he appeared in one of these two cities, protective goggles were naturally a must-have.
After all, everyone was a probational gene fighter who just awakened. They had not reached the extent where their eyes would be uninjured even if someone poured acid in.
As Lu Yuan wore the protective goggles, he exclaimed in admiration for his foresight and good preparations.
(As expected of me!)
After wearing the goggles, Lu Yuan could finally open his eyes.
He then surveyed the surrounding environment.
Because the wind here was too powerful, no graystone beetles could come to this place.
To the graystone beetles, if there was no food, why would they come here and suffer for nothing?
Lu Yuan’s gaze swept past the empty landscape. Uneven dents blotted the surface, and traces of raging wind could be seen everywhere.
Lu Yuan walked forward for a bit and went to the top of the u-shaped stone wall above the cave with a dead-end.
After he arrived at the top of the wall, he stretched his head out and peered downward.
Lu Yuan could clearly see the two black-rune graystone beetles below.
Because the distance was too far, the two black-rune graystone beetles became roughly the size of Lu Yuan’s thumb. The wooden treasure chest was the same as well.
Lu Yuan surveyed the two bugs from the top of the stone wall. The two black-rune graystone beetles showed no signs of abnormal behavior, still chewing happily on the rocks.
Evidently, even elite-grade black-rune graystone beetles’ perception range wasn’t wide enough to reach Lu Yuan’s current position.
This made Lu Yuan feel reassured.
If this was the case, his following plan would become much simpler.
“Let me see if things are the same as I’ve imagined.”
Lu Yuan’s lips curled into a smile.
He went toward a pillar the width of a person. After that, he stretched his hand out and grabbed the protruding part, easily breaking it off.
Lu Yuan then used some strength and squeezed it, causing the rock to break down into fine grains of sand and smaller pieces.
Lu Yuan furrowed his brows and whistled.
Wind erosion.
Under the barrage of raging winds, even tough and durable rocks couldn’t withstand the power of nature.
Water could penetrate a rock, let alone the raging wind.
The plan in Lu Yuan’s heart inched slightly more toward perfection.
“Let’s test the reactions of those two fellows.”
Lu Yuan stared at the two black-rune graystone beetles below and frowned. There was a hint of heaviness in his expression.
At the next moment, he found a rock that hadn’t eroded yet. It was roughly the size of a basketball.
Lu Yuan then went to the spot above the black-rune graystone beetles. He drew in a deep breath and exerted force with his right hand, throwing the rock at the ground that was roughly 200 meters away from the black-rune graystone beetles.
Bang!
The stone landed and emitted a loud sound of impact.
As a result, the two black-rune graystone beetles raised their heads at the same time and stared in the direction of the sound.
They exchanged a mutual glance as their antennae twitched.
A few moments later, the black-rune graystone beetle on the right side began to rush in the direction of the sound.
The other black-rune graystone beetle didn’t move and remained where it was.
Lu Yuan who was on the top of the stone wall couldn’t help furrowing his brows when he saw this.
There were two pieces of bad news.
Firstly, a commotion of such a scale could only draw one of the black-rune graystone beetles away. Despite the number of guards for the wooden treasure chest having been reduced by one, he still wouldn’t be able to get close to it.
The second piece of bad news was that why was the running speed of the black-rune graystone beetle so fast?!
Lu Yuan did a comparison. Its speed was about 40% to 50% faster than the common-grade graystone beetle.
Given their speed, if Lu Yuan was discovered, he could only close his eyes and wait for death. Even immortals wouldn’t be able to save him.
Both types of graystone beetles ate rocks to grow up, so why was the difference between them so great?
Lu Yuan couldn’t understand this no matter how he thought.
As for the second problem, Lu Yuan might have a solution to resolve it. But the first problem was somewhat hard for Lu Yuan.
As he pondered, the black-rune graystone beetle that ran toward the commotion had arrived at the region where the rock fell.
After seeing the shattered stone on the ground, the black-rune graystone beetle screeched sharply. It lifted its head and glanced at the surroundings as its antennae moved, observing the situation.
A moment later, as the black-rune graystone beetle didn’t discover the presence of any enemies, a look of bewilderment could be seen in its eyes.
It screeched a few more times and ran back to its original location.
After the black-rune graystone beetle returned, Lu Yuan stared at the two black-rune graystone beetles who once again began eating. He contemplated and revealed a smile.
“Let’s get started on the second experiment.”
This time around, Lu Yuan found two rocks the size of a basketball.
He clutched the rocks with both hands and separately tossed them toward the tunnels on the left and right.
Boom! Boom!
Two loud sounds rang out again.
The two bugs, who had just started eating, once again paused and lifted their heads as they screeched in a frenzy.
They were naturally unhappy at being interrupted continuously.
Their sharp claws skittered across the ground, leaving behind scars on the tough surface.
Once again, the two black-rune graystone beetles matched gazes as their antennae moved.
This time, the bug on the left rushed out, while the bug on the right remained behind.
Not long later, the black-rune graystone beetle that rushed out arrived at the first drop point.
Its behavior was the same as the previous black-rune graystone beetle. It first glanced at the surroundings. After discovering no enemies, it screeched a few times and ran to the second location for a look. After not discovering any enemies in the second place, it began to shriek loudly in a frenzy.
Ji, ji, ji!
As it shrieked, its claws brushed past the shattered rock on the ground as its sharp mouthpart chewed on them, causing crunching sounds to echo out.
It only ran back in satisfaction after it finished eating the fragmented rock.
Lu Yuan frowned and began the third experiment.
This time, Lu Yuan directly tossed three rocks in three directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The heavy thudding sound rang out again.
The black-rune graystone beetles who were preparing to resume their meal lifted their heads together at the first instance.
This time around, the two bugs didn’t communicate with each other. They screeched at the same time and began to rush in the direction of the commotions.
Looking at this, Lu Yuan’s eyes brightened as he revealed a smile.
The first problem was resolved.
As for the second problem, it was targeted at why the black-rune graystone beetle’s speed was so quick.
After luring the black-rune graystone beetles away, how could he open the wooden chest and escape successfully?
Lu Yuan already had a plan of sorts with regard to this problem.