Volume 1, Chapter 52: Legendary Origin Crystal, Buried Alive

With azure-blue eyes, a mutated crab stood five meters long, its massive claws stretching a full seven to eight meters.

However, what truly stirred an impulse within Zhang Wei was the iridescent, seven-colored glow pressed beneath its body.

It was a source crystal emitting a seven-colored radiance.

What did the seven-colored light represent?

A legend!

Zhang Wei was extremely excited; he had not expected to encounter a legendary-grade item once again so soon.

No matter what kind of treasures this source crystal could yield, it would bring immense upgrades to Zhang Wei.

As for why the mutated crab had not swallowed this legendary-grade source crystal itself, that was beyond Zhang Wei's comprehension.

Just as Zhang Wei was thrilled, the mutated crab brandished its giant claws and charged at him, leaving the source crystal it had been pinning right where it was.

The mutated crab's speed was nearly twice that of an ordinary crab, and its strength was roughly doubled as well; unfortunately, compared to Zhang Wei, it still fell far short.

When the giant claw struck, Zhang Wei thrust out the spear in his hand. The spear collided with the claw, causing the mutated crab to stagger back five or six meters.

That was right, merely repelled.

Because the mutated crab's claws were so long, Zhang Wei could not reach its main body with the spear.

And since both relied on pincers as weapons, Zhang Wei held no particular advantage in weaponry.

Yet Zhang Wei was not flustered in the least, for he held an absolute advantage in sheer strength.

Even if they kept up this stalemate, it would not take long before the sheer shock impact would beat the mutated crab to death.

Soon, however, Zhang Wei discarded this strategy upon noticing an ordinary crab preparing to swallow the legendary-grade source crystal.

If that source crystal were swallowed by a common crab, Zhang Wei figured he would lose his mind.

The next moment, the spear flew from Zhang Wei's hand, transforming into a javelin.

The throw was dead-on, and the ordinary crab daring to approach the legendary-grade source crystal was pinned firmly to the ground by the spear.

At this point, Zhang Wei could no longer afford to worry about energy consumption. He retrieved a thermal greatsword from his cargo hold, disregarding whether the underground space might collapse. Wielding the greatsword, Zhang Wei instantly activated Extreme Thunder Shatter the Heavens.

A sphere of light formed at the tip of the thermal greatsword, and with a single sweeping slash, the light ball hurtled toward the resting place of the legendary-grade source crystal.

The light ball detonated, instantly clearing out a ten-meter radius.

Following that, Zhang Wei charged forward with his sword raised, driving the mutated crab back with a single blow while leaving a gash over twenty centimeters wide on its giant pincer.

As the mutated crab was forced back, Zhang Wei pressed his advantage, driving relentlessly forward. Whenever any ordinary crab dared approach the legendary-grade source crystal, Zhang Wei would clear the area using Extreme Thunder Shatter the Heavens.

The already unstable underground space was now brought to the verge of collapse under Zhang Wei's violent devastation.

Seeing that the cavern was about to cave in, Zhang Wei could no longer hold back. He dropped prone, crawling forward on all fours deep into the underground space.

Anything else could be lost, but this legendary-grade source crystal must not be abandoned under any circumstances.

What good would it do if it remained buried underground? What if he could never find it again?

Any thoughts of cultivation or breeding had long since been cast to the winds; right now, his eyes held only that legendary-grade source crystal.

Zhang Wei's actions offered the mutated crab a glimmer of hope for victory.

Within the cramped underground space—too confined for Zhang Wei—he could mount no effective resistance.

When the mutated crab's massive pincer clamped down upon Zhang Wei, the creature knew the balance of victory was tipping in its favor.

"You really do pack a punch." The force transmitted through the mutated crab's claw was indeed formidable, not only damaging the armor on Zhang Wei's shoulder but actually halting his forward progress.

"Super-energy combat power enhancement."

Zhang Wei activated the enhancement without a moment's hesitation.

His combat power doubled instantly.

A formidable surge of power erupted.

Combined with the thrust of his boosters, Zhang Wei's body lunged forward violently.

Caught off guard, the mutated crab was sent flying by Zhang Wei's charge, and one of its giant claws was even left behind on Zhang Wei's body permanently.

Zhang Wei paid no heed to such minor details; he was already very close to the legendary-grade source crystal.

"Squeak!!" The mutated giant crab let out a shrill cry.

The remaining crabs heeded the giant mutant's call, abandoning their attacks on Zhang Wei entirely and scrambling frantically toward the exit, including the smaller crabs.

"So that was your real goal!" Zhang Wei understood instantly.

"Just a mutated crab, yet it has evolved such a high level of intelligence?"

Zhang Wei marveled inwardly.

Yet he felt no sense of being played.

If this counted as being played, Zhang Wei prayed that someone would come to play with him every single day.

A legendary-grade source crystal a day would suffice; Zhang Wei declared he was not greedy at all.

As the crabs fled in a panic, Zhang Wei successfully flung himself over the legendary-grade source crystal.

Just as Zhang Wei gathered the source crystal and prepared to retreat from the underground space, the mutated crab flew into a rage.

Although a few small crabs remained scattered within the cavern, the mutated crab could no longer spare them a glance. Wielding its remaining giant claw, it began frantically destroying the structural integrity of the underground space.

"Quite vindictive, aren't we? So devoid of martial virtue. I wasn't even planning on burying you alive, but look at you—you're trying to bury me instead?"

Zhang Wei recognized the mutated crab's intent.

Yet he merely uttered a casual complaint without a shred of genuine anger.

A collapsing underground cavern was a catastrophic blow to the crabs, but to Zhang Wei, it was nothing more than a light drizzle; he figured he could claw his way out with just a bit of effort.

He had already secured the legendary-grade source crystal, so what if he had to exert some effort?

"Boom!"

The underground space began to cave in.

Massive quantities of rock crashed down.

Zhang Wei glanced in the direction of the exit, then very prudently hugged his head and flattened himself obediently against the ground.

Countless boulders pelted Zhang Wei's body, but with a height of only four or five meters and the cushioning effect of the river water, the damage from the falling rocks was entirely negligible. The only issue was that as more rocks piled up, the weight became rather heavy.

When Zhang Wei felt the vibrations overhead subside, he knew it was time to dig himself out.

Zhang Wei tested his limbs; his hands and legs could still move, though it took some effort.

"Good thing I have plenty of source crystals in the cargo hold, otherwise I might actually have ended up buried here."

Zhang Wei muttered a sigh, and the mecha began consuming source crystals to restore its power.

As the power reserves recovered sufficiently, the thrusters roared to life. Propelled by the force of the thrusters, the rubble resting atop Zhang Wei began to shift.

Because the rubble shifted, a fresh wave of pressure formed from above, and Zhang Wei, who had just managed to rise slightly, was pressed flat against the ground once more.

"Now this is annoying. A twenty-meter layer of stone—the weight really is hard to bear."

"Right, floating turrets, open fire."

Zhang Wei abruptly deployed his floating turrets.

A cryogenic projectile was fired, immediately colliding with the piled rubble.

However, the frozen shells achieved the exact effect Zhang Wei needed: the rubble and the surrounding river water began to freeze solid.