Chapter 1065: Black Unicorn Beetle
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Approaching the ruin, Han Sen spotted a well inside. Upon going closer for a look, he noticed it was filled to the brim with water.
Aside from that well, which was in fairly good condition, everything else inside the house was a mess. The place had been in decay for a long time, it appeared.
After putting the ding down, Han Sen watched the beetles gather to pick it back up to carry it themselves. Interested in what they sought to do with the ding, he stood back to observe them.
Splash!
The beetles, after lifting up the ding, chucked it into the well.
Han Sen was not sure what their goal was. Had they gone to all this effort, just so they could throw a ding into a well?
After they did this, though, the beetles formed another path for Han Sen. This time, it led all the way back to the temple. It seemed as if they wanted Han Sen to collect the other two dings.
They were obviously capable of carrying the dings themselves, so it was likely that they were scared of the temple for some reason. And because they were scared, they needed Han Sen to go inside and fetch the dings on their behalf.
Han Sen went into the temple and brought both dings out with him.
The beetles picked them up and led Han Sen back to the house. When they arrived, they lobbed those dings into the well, as well. After that, they all circled the well and kowtowed before it. Han Sen thought it was rather amusing.
Not long after, a noise emerged from the well. The water inside it began to bubble and boil, as steam started to rise.
Han Sen took a step back, surprised by the sight. He used his Dongxuan Aura, but could not discern any lifeforce.
The water of the well suddenly quelled, and silence returned. But then, just as Han Sen thought it was over, something emerged from the water with a big splash.
Something that looked like a black crystal zipped out of the water into flight.
It turned out to be another unicorn beetle, but it was black and not green. It was also larger than the others, and they seemed to worship it. There were symbols etched across its plating, and images of gears. It was actually very similar to the one Han Sen had.
When the black beetle shot out of the water, Han Sen was taken aback. He immediately readied himself for a fight.
But the black unicorn beetle didn't seem to be aggressive. It slowed down and merely hovered in front of Han Sen.
Han Sen then felt a pain surge from his hand. He noticed the symbol of a green unicorn beetle was etched into his hand, which was rapidly starting to crystallize.
"Maybe it wasn't missing, after all? Did the beetle combine and merge with my hand?" Han Sen was shocked, to say the least.
As his hand lit up, the gears on the inside of the black beetle began to spin.
Suddenly, it transformed. Previously, the bug had only been the size of a fist in front of him, but now, it was the size of a truck.
Han Sen was dazed by the spectacle, and all of a sudden, the green light of his hand began to pulsate brightly like a beacon. The black beetle approached slowly and put out its tongue.
Han Sen then noticed its tongue was like a cockpit.
"Is this supposed to be some sort of control room?" Han Sen was rather shocked. The green light flashed continuously.
Han Sen was very curious right now, so he approached the control platform that had emerged from the creature's mouth.
There was a seat there, and when he sat down, the tongue-platform was pulled back inside the beetle. Near his hand, Han Sen noticed a handle of sorts. He pulled it with his hand, and then everything lit up.
He suddenly felt as if the black beetle was becoming a part of his body.
Han Sen wanted to move forward, and when he thought of this, the beetle's legs started to move.
When Han Sen thought of flying, the beetle did just that. It spread its buzzing wings and became airborne.
"Mind control? Nifty." Han Sen was delighted.
Mankind had spent much time trying to develop purely mind-controlled devices, but the technology was still a long way off. Machinery still had to be guided mostly by hand.
But this beetle responded to the directions of his mind. The technology on display here far exceeded the capabilities of humanity.
"This must be an aircraft belonging to the crystallizers. Do they have sensors and weapons, I wonder?" And as Han Sen thought of this, a holographic map was displayed right before his eyes.
"Ah, now this beats radar!" To say Han Sen was pleased would be an understatement. This technology was far more advanced than what humans had. Even the sensor alone was a technological marvel, as he could zoom in on any part of the local geography with incredible precision—all with the power of his mind.
Han Sen scanned the nearby vicinity, and he discovered the presence of another lifeform, a few thousand miles away. It was Bai Yishan.
He was alone, though. With Ji Yanran still missing, he was quite worried.
Han Sen looked elsewhere and found a band of humans and shura together. Further away, he found Ji Yanran. Unfortunately, she was being chased by a few robots.
"I have to get there quick!" Han Sen thought to himself.
Boom!
The black beetle's bum started to spit lasers, and without hesitation, took off flying at an insane speed. It was heading for Ji Yanran.
Han Sen's socks almost left his feet at the blistering speed he was going. The machine was far quicker than any warframe or aircraft mankind had developed.
Chapter 1066: Big Plunder
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ji Yanran's situation was bad. She had not teleported with the others as expected, and she had been left all alone.
She set out in search of Han Sen but had an unfortunate encounter with crystallizer robots.
Ji Yanran was weak, and only an evolver. For her, dealing with the crystallizer robots would have been nearly impossible. Therefore, all she could do was run.
Eventually, her pace slowed down as she became exhausted. It was at this moment that the robots were able to catch-up and surround her.
Seeing the robots surround her, Ji Yanran's hope for survival was depleted.
The robots raised their hands, each preparing to fire their lasers at Ji Yanran to eliminate her.
But just as she closed her eyes in acceptance of the death she was now to suffer, something big and heavy appeared to crush the robots.
The hulking robots were all shattered in an array of sparks and electrical fires. It was a shocking twist of fate.
But any happiness she may have felt over her salvation soon vanished. Seeing the titan that now stood in front of her, it didn't take long for hope to take its leave once more.
She was unable to deal with the robots, so taking on a giant black beetle was sure to be even more difficult.
Pang! Pang!
A few more robots took to the field. With their arms raised, they fired laser beams at the beetle.
But it was like water spraying the steel hull of a ship. Not a single mark or scrape was left on the shell of the beetle.
Boom!
A horrible light shot out of the beetle's eyes, cutting down the robots in less than a second.
Ji Yanran did not know why the crystallizer machine was attacking its own, but it did not matter. She had accepted the fact she was likely to die there, all alone.
Then, when one leg of the giant beetle pierced the ground directly in front of her, she closed her eyes and thought to herself, "This is all my fault. I pray he can escape this place alive."
Ji Yanran closed her eyes, but the death she expected did not come. After a while, she opened her eyes again.
Ji Yanran believed she might have been dreaming for a second, as Han Sen was there, standing in front of her with a smile.
"Am I dreaming? Or have I died and gone to heaven? Did you not make it out, either?" Ji Yanran lifted her fingers to brush his cheeks.
"Nope. This is just my new aircraft. Want to go for a ride?" Han Sen invited her inside with a cheeky grin.
"Wait a minute; this is your...?" Ji Yanran stared at the giant beetle in utter disbelief.
Han Sen picked her up and took her inside the control room with him.
Boom!
The beetle shot up into the sky, faster than any aircraft they had ever been on.
Han Sen flew around like a jet, blasting any crystallizer robots he came across along the way. As they went, Ji Yanran had to ask, "What is this machine?"
"I found it in a ruin. I can only suspect it was a crystallizer warframe." Han Sen then went on to ask, "Is that a purple crystal core?"
"Yes." Ji Yanran looked happy.
Han Sen fired a light to a purple core down on the grasslands below. In an instant, it was sucked into the beetle.
"Baby, hold on tight. This is going to get a little wild," Han Sen warned her.
Then, the beetle started flying even faster. It spun around and eliminated a few crystallizer guards that were ahead. He zipped left, right, and center, collecting a multitude of purple crystal cores.
When he was done, Han Sen used his holographic map to survey the entire region and track the location of his teammates. Fortunately, none of the others were in any danger.
But they were each traveling at a very slow pace, not wishing to be hasty.
It was most likely due to the fact they had all been split up, and they were each exercising caution by moving slowly but cautiously.
Han Sen paid little mind to this, though. He continued flying on his own, out in search of the purple crystal cores that were their objective.
Unless the beetle attacked first, the guards would not respond to the aircraft. He blended in. So, with no threat, there'd be nothing to slow him down.
He did not want his teammates to see him operate the machine, either. If they did, it'd cause a lot of trouble for him, and the machine would end up being confiscated by the Alliance. Since this all had something to do with his hand, too, there'd be nothing but trouble for Han Sen.
He wouldn't mind Bai Yishan seeing it, but if the others did, the Alliance would most certainly take it away.
As far as the operation was concerned, the only thing Han Sen was unsure about was the purpose of the purple crystal cores. He had no clue what they could be used for.
Before he managed to obtain the black beetle, he'd had no way of hiding some for his own examination. Attempting to swallow a core and smuggle it out that way would've been impossible. He would've been scanned.
But now that he had this beetle, he could collect as many as he wanted and smuggle them out by shrinking down the beetle.
"I'm not greedy, but without this black beetle, I doubt the others will be able to obtain many themselves. It's only fair that I get to keep a few for myself, if it means the bigwigs who ordered this operation also receive far more than they expected to." Han Sen gave himself an excuse that worked.
"Once I've got all the purple cores, I think I'll kill all those shura," Han Sen thought.
"We are cooperating, but we are still enemies. This truce is a farce, and we all know it." Han Sen believed the more he could kill for the Alliance now, the fewer enemies they would have to deal with in the future.
Han Sen would be able to pin their deaths on the crystallizers with ease, and killing them would be swift and painless with the beetle, anyway.
Chapter 1067: Really Rich
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before he did anything else, Han Sen wanted to collect as many purple crystal cores as he could. When the operation's timer ran out, it'd draw suspicion if he was to remain and not leave.
But he had plenty of time, and for the next four days, he stayed in his beetle and went around collecting as many purple crystal cores as he could find. On this fourth day, he discovered quite the staggering landmark: it was a giant hole in the ground, or rather, a crater left by some meteorite.
It was fifty miles in length, and after a preliminary scan, Han Sen was able to detect the presence of more architectural ruins at its center. This must have been the heart of the entire crystallizer region they had come to examine.
Save for that one temple Han Sen found, there was nothing complete there anymore. Everything around was in various states of decay.
"It looks like something horrible befell this place. And judging from the crater, that might be literal," Ji Yanran said, as she stared at the monitors.
"What could cause something like this?" Han Sen thought the crater was rather ominous, and it was teetering on the brink of being absolutely frightening.
The crystallizers weren't known for cheap construction. They built their civilizations to last, and their structures were incredibly hardy. Average buildings of theirs had been known to withstand atomic bombs.
But the city there was in absolute ruin, and the landscapes all around were ravaged and desolate.
"There must be a trace or lead we can follow up on. We should go out in search for it," Ji Yanran said.
Han Sen scanned the ruins with the gizmos in his beetle, but he couldn't find anything to indicate what had caused the devastation.
What Han Sen was able to detect, though, was the presence of more purple crystal cores. There were lots of them, and Han Sen hypothesized the region they were in now had to be some sort of warehouse for them.
Han Sen used the beetle to dig them up, and with the abundance that were there, it took a few hours to collect them all.
"We are going to be rich! There's over a thousand of them." Han Sen was very enthusiastic over the result.
Han Sen poked about some more, but couldn't find a lode that contained as many as the one he had just unearthed.
When Han Sen returned from that place, though, everyone had left already. It was supposed to be a ten-day operation and now, with the timer expired, people were happy to leave.
"D*mn. I was going to kill those punk shuras." While that was disappointing, he didn't let it weigh on him. The riches he had found more than made up for the lack of shura-killing.
"We have to go now. If we remain any longer, it might draw suspicion." Ji Yanran looked at the vast number of cores they had collected, and went on to say, "What are you planning to do with them?"
Ji Yanran knew Han Sen wasn't the sort of person to so willingly hand out what he had collected.
"I'll think of something. But you should take a few of them with you." Han Sen then took Ji Yanran back to her spawn point.
After that, he rode his beetle back to where he had spawned in.
He put away the black beetle, which reverted to the size of a small green beetle, and gave it a scan. Nothing could be detected, and certainly not the massive amount of purple crystal cores that were still inside it.
After pocketing the beetle, he teleported back. Everyone was there, waiting.
Han Sen handed in eleven of the crystals, and after a scan, he was free to go.
The researchers did frisk and find the little beetle, but it released no energy. Therefore, they did not care.
Feeling relief, Han Sen was happy he was able to get away with the motherlode, scot-free.
"You and Ji Yanran are our best soldiers, no doubt," General Reg complimented Han Sen, following the hearty load he had delivered.
Looking over towards the shura, their faces seemed glum. He wondered what had happened to them.
Back on the aircraft, Bai Yishan told Han Sen that they had not managed to collect many at all.
They claimed it was because there was something wrong with their teleporter, and so everything they had prepared had been rendered useless. As such, they were only able to bring back one or two each.
One of the shura had managed to collect three, but there were none with a higher amount than that. The name of the shura who had collected these was Gu Na.
The shura were initially happy with the amount they retrieved, but their faces quickly turned sour when they saw Ji Yanran return with eight. Their faces practically curdled when they later saw Han Sen come back with eleven.
"I shouldn't have handed in that many. It may seem a bit suspicious," Han Sen thought to himself.
For a dozen cores to make the shura incredibly jealous, Han Sen realized the items were more precious and valuable than he initially thought them to be.
When his thoughts returned to the fact that he had collected well over a thousand, though, his heart started to pound with an uber amount of excitement.
"First off, I need to find out what exactly these purple crystal cores are." Han Sen made that his primary objective.
But before Han Sen went off to find out what they were, Ji Yanran approached him with the knowledge already secured. And she was well aware he had kept the rest of the purple crystal cores they had collected.
The roulette no longer worked now, and it prevented anyone else from entering. That, combined with the shura already knowing, meant the Alliance had no reason to withhold the information from Ji Yanran.
When Han Sen heard what she had to say, he started to cackle like a madman.
"A thousand? I'm going to be rich! I'm going to be really rich!"