Chapter 145 - 120: The Black Dragon Emerges

Chapter 145: Chapter 120: The Black Dragon Emerges

Thousands of years ago, before the meteorite fell.

At the very center of the island where the Lanyu Kingdom now stands, there was a massive mountain range that covered one-tenth of the island’s total area.

After the meteorite fell from the sky, the mountain range shattered, becoming what is now the Chaotic Star Rock.

In the distant era of colonial corporations, the Chaotic Star Rock was once the island’s largest source of mineral wealth.

It was home to savage and brutal native tribes and gave birth to the enigmatic Black Death Prison.

One could say that the Chaotic Star Rock has always dictated the rise and fall of the entire island.

This remains true even now, with the Black Death Prison gone.

The Lanyu Kingdom’s most recently discovered motherlode of mineral deposits is located right where the Black Death Prison once stood.

In hindsight, this made perfect sense. If not for the terrifying reputation of the Black Death Prison, which struck fear into the hearts of mining magnates, how could they have possibly resisted such a lucrative prize?

How could those mining magnates bear to leave without excavating every last rare mineral on the island?

After Gutaf ascended the throne, the Black Death Prison mysteriously vanished.

Massive reserves of rare minerals were once again exposed to the world, becoming the backbone of the Lanyu Kingdom’s export trade.

Consequently, this once desolate and abandoned land became populated again.

In just a few short decades, surrounding towns sprang up one after another, growing into cities with populations in the millions.

A small city cluster had even formed around the Chaotic Star Rock.

...

’I can’t believe they’re hiding here.’

’Judging by the pointer, it looks like I’ll have to go deeper into the mountains.’

In a small city near the Chaotic Star Rock, Chen Qi slowly brought his car to a stop.

’After getting used to a magnetic levitation sports car, I really can’t stand this snail’s pace.’

’But I still have to be cautious. Heaven knows if the news that I’m in charge of the Blood Salt Case has leaked.’

’My maglev sports car is just too conspicuous; it would give away my location and identity.’

’The case is on the verge of being solved. I can’t let it all fall apart at the most critical stage.’

The reason he had stopped was that the terrain ahead was too rough, unsuitable for a normal vehicle.

Chen Qi couldn’t be bothered to find an off-road vehicle; for him, traveling on foot was more convenient and faster anyway.

With that, Chen Qi stopped taking detours and proceeded straight in the direction the pointer indicated. He only quickened his pace slightly, reaching a speed of 30 meters per second.

To an ordinary person, this would be an astonishing display of Divine Speed. But for Chen Qi, it was truly just a leisurely stroll. He even had time to admire the surrounding scenery.

...

The geography of the Chaotic Star Rock was indeed quite unique, filled with a dense network of ravines and faults.

What was most peculiar was that the magnetic field here was incredibly chaotic.

If an ordinary person unfamiliar with the area wasn’t careful, they could easily get turned around and completely lose their bearings.

But these issues had absolutely no effect on Chen Qi.

Chen Qi had initially worried that this unique geography might interfere with the Compass’s lock, but it turned out he had underestimated the Earth Master.

The Compass’s lock remained perfectly stable, without even the slightest deviation.

An environment like the Chaotic Star Rock, which was incredibly complex in the eyes of ordinary people and even Transcendents, was nothing more than a calm little puddle to a worldly Earth Master. Getting your shoes wet would only be a result of your own carelessness.

...

’So that’s the former site of the Black Death Prison?’

’Business is certainly booming now!’

After crossing a mountain peak, Chen Qi saw a sprawling industrial zone.

Clustered around a large black mountain were mining, smelting, and non-ferrous metal processing operations. The numerous mining companies gathered here had even formed a small city within the mountains.

After learning about the mysteries of the Black Death Prison, Chen Qi had once thought about visiting the legendary prison that had held King Gutaf.

But after some investigation, he learned that it had long since been turned into a mining district. The original massive mountain had been blasted and collapsed.

’They really cleaned it up thoroughly, not leaving a single trace behind.’

He never expected that fate would be so ironic as to bring him here today.

’Hiding in that small city down below?’

’Interesting. They really know how to pick a spot.’

Chen Qi suppressed his power, appearing as an ordinary person, and walked toward the small city below.

...

Black Iron City was only 40 years old, and almost all of its citizens were migrant miners.

This was because the city was located only 5 kilometers from the former site of the Black Death Prison.

And before the Black Death Prison disappeared, no one dared to venture within 50 kilometers of it, aside from the unlucky convicts on death row.

Even the natives who had been lucky enough to survive dared not approach what was once their Holy Mountain.

So, this place had once been completely deserted, right up until the mountain collapsed.

Regarding the collapse of the giant black mountain, or rather, the disappearance of the Black Death Prison, there were two distinctly different rumors.

One was, of course, that the Kingdom’s army had intervened, blasting a path with explosives for the sole purpose of accessing the mineral resources.

The second version was far more mystical: on the day the King ascended the throne, a terrifying Black Dragon flew out from the Black Death Prison within the mountain.

The terrifying Black Dragon tore the mountain apart, thereby exposing the massive mineral reserves.

As for these two starkly different rumors, the residents of the small city, who were mostly miners, naturally believed the first one.

The second rumor sounded like something cooked up by sycophants trying to flatter the King.

...

CLANG! CLANG!

At Black Iron City’s only elementary school, the dismissal bell rang.

Thirty-year-old Hammond finished his teaching duties for the day and started walking home.