Chapter 50: Battle in the City of Ruins
The next day, it was “bright and sunny.”
Even the Sea of Ice Lava, usually ebullient, seemed to have quieted down, its placid surface resembling a lake.
Traveling through the Underground World was a unique experience: the light didn’t come from above, but streamed up from the lava sea below.
Thus, the girls’ shadows were cast upon the ceiling… This made Mi Xue Zhou feel slightly unsettled, as she had an illusion that her underpants were being exposed.
Fortunately, after yesterday’s fright, the girls now had some resilience against “unexpected situations.”
Although Isumi, the senior, still barked like a dog, and Elus maintained her wise demeanor, at least… everyone was safe, weren’t they?
Today, her job was to take care of Lonis, replacing Elus.
“Lonis, my junior, don’t move around. I’ll feed you.”
“Mew, mew!”
Looking at the little fox lying on the ground before her, Mi Xue Zhou’s cheeks involuntarily flushed.
Lonis was simply too adorable at this moment!
Soft fox ears, a pure white tail~~ and eyes as clear as a child’s, unblemished by any impurity.
(Ah, if only my sister were this adorable. Honestly, she worries me all day.)
In truth, Mi Xue Zhou had brought Su Ling Zhou out with the intention of giving her some training.
This way, she could grow or learn something… but Mi Xue Zhou hadn’t anticipated that her companions on the ship were all stranger than the last!
Even the usually mature and black-hearted Elus had turned into a little loli, which had completely misled Su Ling.
…
“Ah, but I have no right to say anything. I spend all day flirting with cute juniors at school, so it’s time for me to mature a bit?”
Mi Xue Zhou sighed, then poured milk into a plate for Lonis.
“Mew!”
Although the white-stockinged little fox’s eyes lit up at the sight of the milk, she didn’t lick it. Instead, she looked pleadingly at Mi Xue Zhou, as if asking for something.
As a master of romance, Mi Xue Zhou immediately understood her concern: “Don’t worry, Elus is on duty today and has gone to the cockpit.”
“Woof woof…”
“I can’t take Lonis with me because it will be busy over there today… Little fox, you can’t not drink because of this. If you’re disobedient, I’ll tell your master.”
“Wuwu mew, wuwu woof!”
Although still appearing a bit concerned, the little fox still lowered herself and began to lick the milk with her tongue… However, one of her longer side bangs got milk on it, and her silver hair also got smudged.
“Ah, honestly, not even being careful?”
“Woof…”
“Never mind, junior. You finish drinking first, and I’ll wipe you clean later.”
Mi Xue Zhou gently gazed at Lonis’s cheeks, preparing to pinch the little fox later.
But no one expected…
…
Clang!
…
With a loud impact, the entire ship’s floor shook violently.
The little fox was drinking milk and didn’t expect this to happen… She couldn’t dodge in time, and the milk splashed all over her face.
“Mew, woof!”
The little fox had never been so startled. She immediately jumped onto a cupboard in fright… and spilled milk everywhere.
Although Senior Mi Xue Zhou wanted to hug and comfort the little fox, she understood what was happening on the ship at this moment…
Her worst fear had come true.
The Time Shuttle had been ambushed by an enemy!
…
——————————-
…
A quarter of an hour earlier,
The Time Shuttle was sailing on the vast Sea of Ice Lava, and the City of Ruins was clearly visible in the distance… It was cylindrical, rising from the Sea of Ice Lava like a giant cake, reaching all the way to the ceiling of the Underground World.
Although not clear from so far away, the architecture of the City of Ruins had a distinct post-apocalyptic wasteland style. Many buildings were made of steel pipes and discarded sheet metal, with dark yellow liquid flowing from the pipes before slowly pouring into the Sea of Ice Lava.
(Is that one of the enemy’s… main bases?)
Looking at the distant buildings, Luo Zhi Sheng couldn’t help but feel nervous. In fact, for nearly a thousand years, no one had ever been able to venture deep underground to truly experience the appearance of the Underground World.
Therefore, Luo Zhi Sheng was unaware of any dangers they might encounter.
However, with Elus by her side, she felt much more at ease…
“Senior Elus, should we continue advancing?”
“Yes, of course. The enemy’s main force has been defeated by me at Ice Rock Fortress. Let’s press on directly into the City of Ruins.”
Elus’s decision was decisive, but just then…
“It’s the frost mosquitoes. Those frost mosquitoes are coming out again.”
“Hmph, don’t mind them! I’ve already activated the heating engines, so we can just charge through~~”
A vast swarm of frost mosquitoes charged out from the City of Ruins, numbering over 200.
They rushed towards the ship one after another, attempting to block the Time Shuttle’s advance…
But no matter how many mosquitoes there were, they were still just mosquitoes.
Even though their bodies were huge and they had the unique ability to absorb heat, they could not gain any advantage against the well-prepared Time Shuttle.
On the contrary, the Time Shuttle was very fast, and dozens of mosquitoes were smashed into powder by the violent impacts—calling it a “mantis trying to stop a chariot” would be an exaggeration for these frost mosquitoes. They could only try to swarm the ship from all sides and absorb heat.
However, the Time Shuttle’s heating engines were also activated, and they hadn’t wasted much energy along the way. Therefore, the indoor temperature quickly returned to normal after dropping by only about ten degrees.
These frost mosquitoes had no significant impact. Even if they exhausted themselves, they only managed to delay the Time Shuttle’s advance.
“We broke through! Captain Elus, we succeeded!”
…
However, the moment the girls rejoiced at breaking through the frost mosquitoes…
The vast Sea of Ice Lava suddenly began to boil.
A massive vine spread out from the lake and struck the Time Shuttle directly from below.
There was no time to react. The vine’s movements were so swift that it immediately branched out, engulfing the Time Shuttle.
Although the massive ship almost broke free from this vine instantly,
However, right after…
Three, six, and countless more vines sprang from the ground, wrapping around the Time Shuttle like a coiling serpent.
Each of them carried the chill of the Sea of Ice Lava, eerily unnatural as if not belonging to this world. And no matter how indestructible the Time Shuttle was, its forward momentum was restricted.
Countless vines then exerted their force, attempting to drag the entire ship into the boiling Sea of Ice Lava.
