Yun Luohe observed from the side and quickly noticed that the mechanical spider’s body wasn’t as durable as she’d expected.The metal plating around its abdomen was relatively thin.She immediately aimed at this weak point and thrust her hunting knife with full force.The blade sank into the spider’s belly with a dull thud—but then got stuck. She couldn’t pull it out.In that critical moment, Yun Luohe let go of the knife, retreated quickly, and switched to her bow.But even when her arrows struck the mechanical spider, they couldn’t inflict any noticeable damage.Standard weapons were useless. If she had something higher-grade, maybe it would’ve worked.But right now, she didn’t.The mechanical spider charged forward, shaking the ground with each step.The pets didn’t hesitate. Without fear or retreat, they rushed to meet the threat head-on.Yúntūn in particular arced through the air, spraying a thick stream of silk directly at the spider’s legs, trying to immobilize it.But # Nоvеlight # the spider’s exoskeleton was incredibly tough. The silk merely slowed it slightly, and it broke free in an instant.The mechanical spider shrieked with a sharp screech, raised its front limbs high, and slammed down toward Yúntūn.Yúntūn reacted fast—its agile body twisting aside at the last second.It narrowly avoided the blow, though its small body wavered slightly.Yúntūn steadied itself and fired another blast of silk, this time wrapping the threads around the spider’s joints to hinder its movement.But the spider’s brute strength was overwhelming. With a sharp jerk, the silk snapped apart.It immediately launched a second wave of attacks with its bladed mechanical claws.Yúntūn dodged left and right, but still got grazed—a few shallow cuts marked its body.It was clear that in a one-on-one fight, Yúntūn was slowly being overwhelmed.Just as Yúntūn was beginning to falter, Roubao charged in with a roar.It leapt high, swiping its sharp claws straight at the spider’s eyes.The spider’s attention shifted instantly.“Meow! What are you spacing out for? Get out of the way!”Roubao positioned itself in front of Yúntūn, its voice urgent.But Yúntūn insisted, “I’ll finish this thing with you!”It didn’t want to let Yun Luohe down—it had to win against this strange spider.Roubao didn’t say much. Even though they constantly competed and bickered, it never let Yúntūn down when it really mattered.Sensing danger, Roubao twisted its body and unleashed its full barrage of attacks on the spider.But the spider deflected everything with its armored shell.Roubao’s strikes kept missing. It growled in frustration, unwilling to yield.Lin Zhu’s Flamingo took to the air again, its brilliant wings sweeping out wide before diving like a red bolt of lightning toward the spider.It jabbed at the spider’s joints—those mechanical connection points that were prone to failure.The spider swung its legs wildly, trying to knock the Flamingo away. For now, the bird could only dodge mid-air, unable to find a clear opening.Thankfully, Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu weren’t just standing around. They were carefully observing the spider’s movement, analyzing its rhythm for any sign of weakness.Seizing a window, Yun Luohe fired several arrows at its abdomen and joints. Even if they didn’t deal real damage, they disrupted its attack flow.Yúntūn took the opportunity to unleash another dense wave of silk, further restricting the spider’s movements.Under their joint onslaught, the mechanical spider slowed down. More and more damage appeared on its body.A crack split open in its exoskeleton. Its attacks grew disjointed, and the silk wrapped around its limbs tightened like a net.Then Yúntūn pulled from all directions, trying to rip it apart.As the wounds multiplied, they noticed a glowing red core inside the spider’s body.Yun Luohe sensed that this core was radiating powerful energy.Yúntūn sensed something strange from it too—its eyes flashed, and it lunged forward, biting into the spider’s shell.It sprayed silk deep into the spider’s body, wrapping around the core and trying to pull it free.The core dimmed rapidly, covered in silk.The moment the spider lost its core, it went limp.Yúntūn and Roubao launched their final assault, and the spider crashed to the ground—collapsing into a heap of scrap metal.Before they could even react, Yúntūn had already swallowed the core piece by piece, its body beginning to change in strange ways.It grew larger. Its shell thickened, its color shifted, taking on a cold metallic sheen. Its previously slender spider——At last, the threat was over. Both Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu let out a sigh of relief.Seeing Yúntūn devour the core, Yun Luohe muttered:“…Was that even edible?”She knew Yúntūn was using its [Devour] skill to absorb the spider’s power—and clearly, it was going to get even stronger.Still, Yúntūn probably wouldn’t be able to fight again anytime soon.She quickly stored it in the pet satchel, letting it rest and digest the core properly.They divided the leftover scrap metal between them.Time was getting tight—they had already spent quite a while down here.—They moved quickly through the next passage, entering an industrial wastewater zone. The air here was thick with toxic gas—dangerously so.Fortunately, they were prepared. Yun Luohe had just pulled a Multi-Function Toxic Gas Mask from a supply box, and it came in handy immediately.The pets had already been packed away.So crossing the zone wasn’t difficult.The moment they stepped out of the cave, scorching sunlight poured down unfiltered.The air was so hot it felt suffocating. Every breath burned like fire. Sweat burst from their foreheads and spines, soaking their clothes in seconds, which clung tightly to their skin.They now realized they were inside a deep, narrow canyon.Sheer cliffs rose on either side. Though it was close to dusk, the sun remained blisteringly hot, its light reflecting off the smooth, metallic rock walls and bouncing directly into the cave’s mouth.It made the cave entrance feel like it could ignite at any moment.It was like standing in a solar magnifier’s focal point—unbearably hot.The coolant they had applied was the only reason they didn’t combust on the spot.They hurried away, and once they got some distance, the heat became more bearable.—Not long after entering the canyon, Yun Luohe suddenly halted.She activated [Scanning Eye] and said excitedly, “There’s a copper ore vein here.”Following her direction, they spotted green-blue mineral veins running faintly across the rock face.Lin Zhu looked just as thrilled.They both knew how valuable copper ore was.If they found copper, they could upgrade the Reef Base.They rushed to the deposit. Lin Zhu pulled out his Obsidian Pickaxe and started mining.The Obsidian Pickaxe worked fast.Within minutes, they had collected dozens of ores.But the extreme heat rapidly drained their stamina. Breathing became labored, and every swing of their tools was increasingly difficult.It was just too hot.Lin Zhu sounded exhausted. “Maybe we should find some shade. Come back after dark.”Yun Luohe nodded. “Yeah. If we keep going like this, we’ll collapse.”Her throat was burning dry.She found a relatively flat area and took out the Solar Shade Canopy.They ducked under the shadow, and the relief was immediate.They replenished their strength and hydration, scarfing down food and drinks.After a satisfying meal, they sat and rested for half an hour—planning to resume mining once the sun set.With such a large vein here, there was no need to return tonight.Yun Luohe checked the time: 5:30 PM.Another hour, and the sun would set—they could resume digging.At their current pace, they could mine at least 100 copper ores per hour.If they worked through the night, they could easily break a thousand.Besides, it wouldn’t be as hot at night. They’d work faster.Soon enough, the sky darkened.A sudden gale swept through the canyon, throwing dust and sand in their eyes.Worse, the wind carried strange metallic objects that slammed into the canyon walls with sharp metallic clinks.The storm grew stronger. Yun Luohe realized—these weren’t just random debris.They were metallic flying insects.Small but numerous, they circled Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu, occasionally diving in to peck at their gear.Yun Luohe pulled out her Insect Repellent Spray and sprayed it everywhere—it worked.The metal bugs were repelled.Surprisingly effective.Relieved, Yun Luohe applied some coolant to herself and her gear.A wave of coolness seeped through her skin, dispelling the stifling heat and clearing her head.As darkness deepened, they needed light. She pulled out a lantern made from fluorite, drove an arrow into the rock wall, and hung the lantern for illumination.Now they could see clearly even at night.As night fully fell over the canyon, more metallic insects swarmed to disturb them.The wind howled through the narrow mountain pass, its wailing sound unsettling.It was hard to feel at ease.But neither of them had any thought of retreating. These copper ores were worth it.By the dim yellow light of the fluorite lantern, Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu kept digging.They paused to rest when exhausted, drank when thirsty.Around midnight, drained and drowsy, Yun Luohe drank two cups of Fogveil Tea to stay awake—forcing herself to push through.After a full night of mining—plus help from Roubao—they’d gathered over a thousand copper ores, along with some rare metals.Including superconductive copper ore, magnetite, and several bronze gears.With these, she nearly had everything she needed to build a Tidal Windmill—only sharkskin remained.Yun Luohe felt a surge of excitement.Now she could not only upgrade the Reef Base—she might finally achieve power generation and irrigation.She couldn’t wait to get back.

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