Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot-Chapter 1574 - 660 Earthquake_2

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wang!"

When everyone heard that Wang Tao was going outside to investigate, they weren’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, they were quite pleased. If possible, they didn’t want to leave here either. The earthquake was truly bizarre, and they couldn’t find the cause. Wang Tao was strong, so maybe he could discover something different. If there really was another reason, staying put would be preferable.

Thus, Wang Tao instructed Han Youlin and the others to prepare themselves, ready to evacuate at any moment if he found nothing.

While Han Youlin and the rest prepared, Wang Tao directly hopped onto the Golden Eagle, Xiao Jin, and flew into the sky.

"Xiao Jin, did you notice anything unusual about the earthquake just now?"

Wang Tao asked bluntly.

In most cases, animals generally have keener senses than humans, and some can even predict earthquakes. Thus, Wang Tao posed the question, though he wasn’t holding out much hope of a significant discovery. However, he was surprised when the Golden Eagle promptly chirped.

"Chirp~"

"Hmm? You actually noticed something? Quickly, tell me!"

"Chirp~"

Listening to the Golden Eagle’s explanation, Wang Tao’s expression suddenly grew serious.

"So you’re saying the epicenter of this earthquake is 10 kilometers southwest? Isn’t that exactly where those two Disaster-level monsters’ cave was before?"

A coincidence? Wang Tao thought it unlikely!

"Maybe... this earthquake was caused by some monster in the cave!"

Wang Tao felt this was highly plausible.

Although earthquakes, being natural disasters of such magnitude, seem unlikely to be caused by monsters, not all earthquakes are the same.

The recent earthquakes at Hongfeng Base, though initially frightening, had been relatively low in magnitude. What everyone feared wasn’t these minor tremors, but the possibility of larger ones to come!

If the earthquakes remained at this level, they weren’t actually dangerous—their buildings could withstand them, and there hadn’t been any casualties...

The more Wang Tao thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed; perhaps some monster with the ability to shake the earth was behind this! novelbuddy.cσ๓

Wang Tao instantly directed the Golden Eagle to fly towards the location.

Soon enough, they arrived at the spot where the cave was located.

Due to the angle, Wang Tao didn’t initially spot the cave. It wasn’t until the Golden Eagle landed in front of it that Wang Tao exclaimed.

"Holy crap! What a massive cave!"

Han Youlin and the others had mentioned the cave before but hadn’t gone into detail about its appearance. Thus, Wang Tao had assumed it was just an ordinary cave.

But on seeing it now, he realized that the cave was half embedded within the mountain and half extended beneath the ground. At first glance, it almost resembled another rift. The cave was dark, winding downward, like a tunnel leading straight to hell...

Meanwhile, waves of heat streamed out of the cave, causing the surrounding temperature to rise by at least five degrees!

"This is... Fire Element, isn’t it?"

Feeling the heat radiating from the cave entrance, Wang Tao closed his eyes, faintly sensing a fiery aura within the waves. It had to be Fire Element!

"Xiao Jin, wait here for me. I’ll go down and take a look!"

Wang Tao turned to Xiao Jin and instructed.

The cave was large, but it was evident that it couldn’t accommodate the now enormous Golden Eagle, so Wang Tao had to venture in alone.

"Chirp~"

The Golden Eagle rubbed its beak against Wang Tao. It conveyed that it felt a hint of danger emanating from the cave, cautioning Wang Tao to be careful.

"I will." Wang Tao patted Xiao Jin with a smile before leaping directly into the cave.

Thud—

The ground inside the cave was harder than Wang Tao had anticipated, seemingly made of solid rock. His landing made a muffled sound. The cave was pitch-black, but this darkness was merely an absence of light. It wasn’t the oppressive black mist caused by Dark Elements that he’d encountered in the rifts. Thus, Wang Tao didn’t need to use his [Heart of Darkness] Awakening. His Night Vision Ability alone allowed him to see the entire cave clearly.

"Barren... nothing here at all..."

Scanning around in all directions to ensure there were no issues, Wang Tao continued heading downward.

At the first corner, he cautiously used his spiritual power to probe the area. In his previous outings to rifts, places like corners often concealed mutated plants, and one misstep could result in a nasty surprise. Wang Tao’s habit of vigilance hadn’t faded.

After confirming there was no danger, Wang Tao proceeded. Soon, he encountered the second corner.

As before, he scouted the path carefully before moving ahead.

"Still no signs of monsters... but the Fire Element seems to be getting denser!"

Wang Tao felt increasingly excited.

At this point, Wang Tao was 99% certain there was a Fire Attribute monster inside the cave. From the pervasive Fire Elements around him, it was highly likely to be a Sixth Rank Disaster-class creature! Furthermore, it likely possessed Basic Law Force!

"Seventh Level..."

Taking a deep breath, Wang Tao calmed his rapidly beating heart before continuing downward. Still, he didn’t encounter any monsters, but the Fire Element grew increasingly intense.

Having visited areas rich in Dark Elements before, Wang Tao knew they could form black mist that obstructed vision. Night Vision was useless against such obstacles; only Awakening users adept in dark attributes could disperse the black mist.

When Dark Element densities were extreme, they could even poison individuals with [Poison of Dark Element], plunging them into a state of weakness. The higher the concentration, the more potent the weakness, rendering one virtually powerless. Wang Tao had witnessed people weakened to 99%, essentially reduced to a vegetative state. However, those who possessed Dark Awakening would be empowered rather than weakened, their Dark Attribute attack power amplified in such environments.

Conversely, Wang Tao speculated the Fire Element might cause similar positive or negative effects depending on its density.

For now, the Fire Element wasn’t overwhelming—it merely made Wang Tao feel warm. He wondered what changes would occur as its density increased...

Lost in thought, Wang Tao kept descending.

After countless twists and turns, he still hadn’t encountered any monsters.

As the Fire Element thickened, Wang Tao grew increasingly cautious.

Suddenly, Wang Tao halted, a grin spreading across his face.

"Finally, a monster!"

Around the next bend, a mutated plant resembling a red tendril was rooted in a crack in the rocks.

"Just a Sixth Rank Lord, and it doesn’t possess Basic Law Force..."

Without hesitation, Wang Tao drew a broadsword and charged forward.

A few swift blows reduced the red tendril to pieces.

"More ahead!"

After collecting the spoils of war, Wang Tao turned the corner and saw more mutated plants in the distance—all Sixth Rank Lords, none bearing Basic Law Force.

"Guess I’ll use you to stretch my muscles!"

Since he’d encountered them, Wang Tao wasn’t about to let them go.

After stealthily taking down one of the mutated plants, Wang Tao suddenly noticed his vision blur. The world turned gray.

"Huh?"

Wang Tao initially thought he’d been caught in an illusion and paused in confusion. With his current level of spiritual power, could he really fall into an illusion so easily?

As he glanced around, he saw the mutated plants nearby wither, crack, shrink, and vanish—millions of HP reduced to zero in an instant, turning to ash.

Instinctively, Wang Tao looked down, realizing he couldn’t see his body at all—only a shadowy gray figure.

An unprecedented wave of fear surged through Wang Tao!

It finally dawned on him: he wasn’t trapped in an illusion. Rather, his [Shadow Protection] state had triggered automatically—

[Shadow Protection: When death is imminent, transform into a non-corporeal shadow for 1 minute. In shadow state, recover 2% HP per second and gain a 1000% speed boost. Once triggered, the Shadow Protection state disappears.]

In other words... he had unknowingly "died" once!