But Lan Jin did not dare to gamble. She indeed had spiritual spring water, and her body had been strengthened by the lotus seed's cleansing, yet who could say whether that would restore her powers? If she drank it and her powers did not recover, if she could not use her abilities for a whole month, then how could they continue along the path ahead?
Besides, even if Lan Jin objected, it would be useless. Ling Jiang and the others were even more cautious than she was. As soon as Brother Zhang spoke, the other three immediately stopped opposing him, and the injection was smoothly delivered into Lan Jin's arm.
…
A few minutes later, Lan Jin felt much better.
Ten or so minutes later, Lan Jin's body had fully recovered, and her abilities once again surged throughout her body, almost exactly like before she had used them.
Lan Jin stretched out her hand and tested her powers. Sparks of lightning flickered across her palm, the "zzila, zzila" sound reminding her that her powers had indeed completely returned.
She could not deny it, official supplies were truly impressive. How long had it been? Barely ten minutes, and she was already back on her feet. Shocked, Lan Jin looked at Brother Zhang. Brother Zhang explained, "This thing was always rare. Without strong connections, you would never get your hands on it."
Seeing Lan Jin fine again, Brother Zhang quickly packed his bag, slung it onto his back, and said, "Since your body is fine, let's continue."
This so-called continuing was not about blasting the forest again, but about retrieving the tier-one crystal from inside the giant lizard's body. At the thought of yesterday's scene when they dug the crystal out of the snake, Lan Jin's face turned pale. Looking troubled, she said, "How about you start first? I… I want to rest a bit longer."
It was not laziness. Even though her body had recovered, her heart had not. That kind of shock needed time to settle. Besides, she was not the only one who could not do this. Ling Jiang could not either.
Ling Jiang was bold, fiery, but still a girl. With no experience and no chance to adapt, who could immediately reach inside a corpse without flinching?
Even though it was the apocalypse now, some things still required time to get used to.
Maybe not this time, maybe next time, or the time after that. If all tier-one or other crystals had to be obtained this way, then both Lan Jin and Ling Jiang would eventually adapt. But today, there was no need to force it.
Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe understood both women well, so naturally they did not push.
Brother Zhang thought nothing of it either. Girls, after all. If they had never done this, let them take their time. So the three men simply got on with it themselves.
…
Brother Zhang, Lao Gao, and Huang Jinghe climbed up and down the giant lizard's body, cutting and digging. Finally, more than two hours later, by afternoon, they managed to find the tiny tier-one crystal hidden inside the creature.
Lao Gao looked at the crystal and could not help but sigh. "It's already this small, and we still have to split it in half. After splitting, can it still be made into jewelry? And if cut in half, won't its effect be weaker?"
"Isn't that normal?"
Brother Zhang wiped the crystal clean, wrapped it, and tucked it into his pocket. He explained, "A complete crystal always has better effect. The one on Lan Jin's ring is whole, so naturally her tier-one weapon is stronger. But that also makes it more expensive. You might think with such strong powers you would not care about contribution points, but buying one is not easy. You all think too simply. In truth, many people cannot afford it."
Though the crystal would be halved, this one happened to belong to the plant-type ability, which was not very useful for them at the moment. So splitting it was acceptable. Fortunately, they still had yesterday's crystal intact. That one was a tier-one fire crystal, perfect for Lao Gao's weapon once inlaid. Using this half-plant crystal as a trade for labor costs, Lao Gao suddenly felt it was worth it after all.
Still, Lao Gao had a question. "If that's the case, then the snake's crystals were all fire-type. Big snake had tier-one, little snakes had tier-three. But this lizard is plant-type. The big one has a tier-one crystal. Why don't the small ones have tier-three? Shouldn't they?"
Brother Zhang did not know either. He had never encountered this before. It was also his first time seeing a plant-type crystal. As for other bases… surely they had them, but no one ever shared such information. Different regions might have different ways of obtaining crystals, who could guarantee it was the same?
"Anyway, at H City Base it's like this. I can't vouch for other places. Maybe the little lizards do have tier-three crystals. We can check later, and if they do, we dig them out."
…
By now everyone was starving. With nowhere suitable nearby, they simply ate a piece of compressed biscuit on the spot, then packed up and set off for their next target.
Perhaps because the giant lizard had been dealt with, the road ahead was smooth. Occasionally vines tried to attack, but Lao Gao's powers easily drove them away.
After the third explosion echoed, half their mission was already complete.
When they returned to where the electrocuted little lizards had once screeched in pain, the creatures were nowhere in sight.
Lan Jin could not help but ask, "We dealt with them too fast earlier. We still don't know their traits."
"What traits could lizards have? Fast movement, strong attacks, travel in groups…" Brother Zhang's words were cut off when another group of small lizards appeared before them, blocking the path.
Lan Jin said, "These lizards' eyes don't look kind. Should I zap them again?"
Lan Jin had just recovered, no one dared let her try. Lao Gao said, "Let me."
He drew out Ashen Blaze and fired a fire round.
The lizards, never having seen such a thing, did not dodge but rushed straight forward.
The one struck in the head screamed in pain, thrashing violently, and in the next instant, all the lizards charged at them.
Ling Jiang stepped up, freezing a thick layer of ice across the ground. The lizards' feet were caught, but their strength was overwhelming, and in moments they broke free. Ling Jiang then activated her bracelet, summoning ice wolf claws, and slashed fiercely at the creatures.
The wounded lizards only grew more frenzied, throwing themselves at the group with even greater force.