Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution - Chapter 117
Chapter 117: Chapter 117 The Three Treasure Chests
The bright light shone down, and immediately, it was clear that the Big Red Bull was below, but the mutated metal rooster was nowhere to be seen.
The hole seemed to be over ten meters deep; besides the top layer of grassy slope and soil, the rest was black rock gleaming with a metallic luster.
The Big Red Bull was standing in the water, which hardly covered its calves and wasn’t very deep.
The light from the flashlight shone on the surface of the water and went straight to the bottom; the water here was clear and you could see right through it.
But that was not the main issue; the issue was that Lin Shen unexpectedly saw bricks that looked like gold in the water.
Yes, bricks, the bottom was paved with golden bricks, almost the same size as regular red bricks, with vague and strange patterns visible upon them.
“Eh, how could there be man-made objects here? Could it be that there truly are natives on Realm King Planet?” Lin Shen had been here several times and had been to some places, but he hadn’t seen any alien creatures resembling humans, other than Base Variant Creatures.
Although some Base Variant Creatures are very intelligent, even smarter than humans, very few of them would make anything.
On the other hand, humanoid lifeforms, such as the Celestials and the Ultra-Burn Tribe, all possess their own technology and manufacturing.
With no danger discovered by the Big Red Bull below, Lin Shen had the mutated Black Armored Centipede go down to check as well, and it also did not find anything dangerous.
“Could it be that the story Tian Xin told about The Ancient Realm King and The Three Treasure Chests is true? Could this be the place where The Ancient Realm King was buried?” Although Lin Shen felt it was unlikely to be such a coincidence, he was still curious.
Since there was no danger below, Lin Shen took protective measures and carefully descended into the hole.
Below was an arched canal, clearly man-made, built entirely of the golden bricks, spacious, almost as big as a subway tunnel.
The water was not deep but was flowing, streaming from one end of the tunnel to the other, and a hundred meters ahead, the current turned a corner.
“The Realm King Cultivation Device wouldn’t transport someone to this planet without reason, and this device’s name seems to match up with The Ancient Realm King. Could there really be something here?” Lin Shen shone his flashlight continually around him.
Where he had fallen was an opening in the arched canal, a large hole had collapsed for some reason, and many gold bricks had fallen into the water.
Lin Shen picked up a gold brick to test it; it was not really gold but had a similar color and texture.
However, this material was much harder than gold; it was probably some kind of alloy.
“To use so much alloy material for such a big project is no small feat.” Lin Shen grew more curious and decided to see what was inside.
Of course, he would not venture in alone; he summoned the White Jade Tiger and had it lead the way.
They hadn’t gone far upstream when they reached the end, where there was just a sluice gate. Beyond the gate was an underground current, and there was nothing else.
Lin Shen had no choice but to turn back and walk downstream, following the canal around a few bends, when the scene suddenly opened up before him.
“What is that?” Lin Shen was utterly astonished by what he saw before him.
The end of the canal led to a massive underground cavern; the canal mouth was situated mid-height on the cavern wall, the water from the canal pouring down like a small waterfall into the cavern inside. Similar canals lined the underground space’s walls, all flowing with water.
The entire roof of the underground cavern shimmered like a starry sky, with glowing crystals scattered throughout that illuminated the whole space.
To the left of the canal stood a towering stone statue, black as ink yet covered with countless glimmers of fluorescence, resembling the glow of quartz illuminated by light.
The statue’s design was strange, a person half-crouching, with both hands and back supporting a starry dome.
The pose seemed to be exerting force, trying to lift the starry vault, captured in the moment before success.
The floor beneath was flooded, but the water didn’t appear to be deep. The current flowed from one side of the underground cavity towards a deeper cave.
Lin Shen’s eyes suddenly lit up when he saw at the statue’s feet a stone pedestal holding three chests that gleamed like gold.
“My heavens, could it be that fortune has come my way, and I’ve accidentally stumbled upon the Ancient Realm King’s Three Treasure Chests that even Tian Xin has desperately sought?” Lin Shen was both shocked and delighted.
“But surely my luck can’t be that good?” Lin Shen dared not be too optimistic, so he sent the mutated Black Armored Centipede down first to check for any possible dangers.
After circling the underground cavity, the mutated Black Armored Centipede found no other creatures or traps, nor any Base Variant Creatures in the water.
Lin Shen then gave another command, instructing it to fly to the stone pedestal.
The mutated Black Armored Centipede landed on the pedestal and slowly crawled toward one of the golden treasure chests, soon making contact with it.
No abnormalities occurred, and Lin Shen felt a surge of joy, hurrying to order the mutated Black Armored Centipede to lift the treasure chest.
The chest wasn’t very large, just a bit bigger than a shoebox. The centipede wrapped its body around the chest and beat its wings, trying to lift it.
However, no matter how hard it tried, the golden treasure chest wouldn’t budge, leaving one to wonder if it was simply too heavy or because of some special design.
Not wanting to take the risk himself, Lin Shen ordered the mutated Black Armored Centipede to try biting the lock on the chest to see if it could be opened and reveal what was inside.
The result was somewhat surprising. The mutated Black Armored Centipede, already a top pet at the Crystal Base Level, couldn’t leave a single mark on the chest.
This made Lin Shen more convinced that perhaps these were genuinely the Ancient Realm King’s treasure chests; ordinary material would definitely not be so hard.
Lin Shen had the mutated Black Armored Centipede try the other two chests with the same result: neither could be pulled nor chewed open.
Lin Shen pulled two keys, akin to Gold Crystal, from his pocket and examined the locks on the chests closely.
“Looking at the size, it really does seem like the keys to open these chests,” Lin Shen thought to himself.
One key was snatched from Tian Xin, and the other was found on Ye’s person.
As for the theory that these keys were indeed for the Ancient Realm King’s treasure chests, Lin Shen was rather skeptical.
“Let’s give it a try; what if they are?” Of course, Lin Shen wouldn’t try it himself. He called the mutated Black Armored Centipede back and had it grab one key with its claws before flying towards the pedestal again.
The mutated Black Armored Centipede landed on the pedestal and, following Lin Shen’s instructions, inserted the key into the leftmost treasure chest’s lock.
After several attempts, the key wouldn’t go in.
“I knew it, how could I be that lucky.” Lin Shen reluctantly instructed the mutated Black Armored Centipede to try another chest.
This time, surprisingly, the key slid in effortlessly, and with a click, the lock on the chest clicked open, and the lid of the chest popped open slightly.
“Open the chest.” With renewed excitement, Lin Shen once again commanded the mutated Black Armored Centipede.
