Chapter 44

Holding his breath, Luo Di squinted his eyes, trying to calm his mind. He muttered to himself, "This trash monster, back in the day, I couldn't kill you with three arrows," to bolster his courage and prevent the spreading fear from overwhelming his mind.

The massive head of the Chimera was just a dozen meters in front of him, swaying slightly. Its mouth was slightly open, and it looked extremely agitated. Clearly, the sound of the mine cart's brakes had greatly displeased it. Luo Di could see the air distorting in its mouth, as if it were about to breathe fire at any moment.

Its steps seemed slow, but each one covered at least two meters. When its imposing body reached the mine cart, the torchlight seemed to confuse it. It paused, tilting its head to look at the torch on the cart. Just as Luo Di swallowed a mouthful of saliva, it suddenly opened its mouth.

"Boom!"

Luo Di didn't dare to move a muscle, allowing the scorching gas to blow past him without flinching. At that moment, he was grateful he had chosen a good spot...

If he had been just a few meters closer, he would have become the modern-day Qiu Shaoyun!

His mind flashed with scenes of revolutionary martyrs from his Chinese textbooks, his eyes wide as he stared at the flames passing in front of him, feeling as if the air he breathed could burn his lungs. But fortunately, the torch and the iron rod were almost instantly melted by the Chimera's extremely hot breath, without setting the mine cart on fire.

Luo Di glanced at the "status bar" that others couldn't see; the Stealth skill had only ten seconds left.

Hurry up and run! What the hell are you hesitating for!?

Luo Di shouted in his mind, but after the torch was melted, the surroundings instantly darkened, making it impossible to see clearly. Fortunately, a few seconds later, the sound of the Chimera's steps gradually faded away as it lumbered back into the cave.

"Rustle."

With each step of the massive Chimera, Luo Di could hear the sound of something hitting the ground. He didn't dare to move, not even breathing for a few minutes after the Stealth skill ended. Only after confirming that the Chimera had returned to the cave did Luo Di shift his stiff body, touching his face, which had narrowly avoided being scorched by the hot air, and feeling relieved to have survived.

He turned his head and reached out toward the narrow opening where Sally had disappeared, whispering, "Sally?"

A few seconds later, his fingertips touched Sally's cold hand. Luo Di was about to say something when he felt the little girl suddenly grip his fingers. In the darkness, he heard a faint, almost tearful whisper, "You... you're still alive?"

Clearly, the terrifying flames had made Sally believe that Luo Di was surely dead.

"Pretty lucky... and of course, thanks to your quick thinking. But now isn't the time for chitchat. We need to clear the obstacles, but be careful not to make any noise, or that big guy will come back."

The surroundings were too dark. Luo Di looked back at the cave entrance, which was now barely visible, with only a few flickering embers left from the Chimera's flames. It was clear that the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it would be. They needed to leave as soon as possible.

Sally immediately started moving the debris on the other side. In the darkness, the two of them worked in silence, like modern-day愚公 (Yu Gong) moving mountains, using their hands to slowly clear the rocks and wood blocking the tunnel. After two hours of continuous work, they finally cleared the tracks and created a gap wide enough for the mine cart to pass.

Both Luo Di and Sally had many cuts on their hands, but in this situation, he didn't show any machismo by letting Sally rest. Time was of the essence, and if the Chimera suddenly woke up and came out again, they wouldn't be able to withstand its wrath.

After checking the mine cart, Luo Di confirmed that it was only slightly blackened by the flames and not significantly damaged. He prepared to leave with Sally, but as he lit a newly made torch, he noticed something shiny on the ground.

Luo Di stopped, gesturing for Sally, who was already sitting in the cart, to wait. He took a few steps toward the shiny objects, picked one up, and was completely stunned.

"Aged Chimera scales"

"Magical material"

"Chimeras grow stronger with age, and so do their scales."

Luo Di was familiar with these scales. As a former master tanner, he knew the value of these materials. Before reaching level 30, the most precious leather armor materials came from these wild bosses. Typically, these materials were one grade better than white, classified as excellent "green" materials. If the Chimera was killed, its skin would be classified as "blue" or even "purple" for epic quality. These pieces of skin could be made into outer and inner armor, which could fetch sky-high prices.

The scales in Luo Di's hand were marked as "blue" excellent quality. This unexpected find made his heart race. If green fragments could enhance equipment attributes by 130%, then blue fragments could boost them by 200% and even add extra attributes with a certain probability!

Could it be that this Chimera was shedding its scales two years early?

With this thought, Luo Di began searching for more scales on the ground, moving as quietly as possible. He emptied the bag that had held the bread and, like a prospector, frantically collected the scales, only to find that many were of lower quality, with 70% being green and some even being worthless white.

Should I go into the cave?

Luo Di squinted, looking at the Chimera's lair, weighing the pros and cons. The scales he had weren't enough to make a full set of armor. If he went deeper, he could gather enough for one or even two sets. But that would mean risking waking the Chimera.

However, in his memory, the Chimera wouldn't wake up easily. As long as one didn't step into its "absolute alert zone" or make loud noises, even low-level players wouldn't wake it.

This wasn't enough to make Luo Di continue, but then he saw that his Stealth skill on the mysterious necklace had cooled down. After some thought, he decided to head into the cave.

With the faint light from the distant torch, Luo Di could see where the shiny scales were. The deeper he went, the more scales he found. After about fifty meters, he saw a large area of thick scales on the ground.

This was a pleasant surprise. It seemed the Chimera had scratched itself while shedding its scales. Luo Di even found some "purple" epic quality scales!

Feeling like he had struck gold, Luo Di threw out the lower-quality scales from his bag and carefully selected a large number of high-quality ones. After finishing, he carefully retraced his steps along the cave wall, the darkness making it difficult to see. Just as he was about to leave the cave, his foot was suddenly tripped by something.

Luo Di stopped abruptly, his foot suspended in the air. Looking down, he could only see a vague human shape.

It looked like a dead person.

Luo Di hadn't noticed this person when he came in, and now his foot was right above the person's head. Although he hadn't stepped on it, the touch told him it was a thoroughly decayed skeleton.

Without hesitation, Luo Di bent down to search the body, a skill he had honed over years of gaming. Even in reality, he felt no discomfort from the decayed body, which had lost its stench.

The clothes were already rotten and crumbled at the slightest touch. Luo Di pressed the chest, which caved in easily. From the charred remains, he deduced that the unfortunate person had died from the Chimera's flames. Given the location, it was likely a miner. Luo Di didn't expect to find anything, but he carefully searched and found a ring on the decayed finger bones.

Surprised, but not interested in checking its properties right away, Luo Di quickly returned to the mine cart, threw the bag of scales onto it, and started pushing it.

"Get down!"

The wheels of the mine cart began to turn, and the noise filled the cave. Luo Di knew he had to leave immediately, or the Chimera would come after them. The initial part of the tunnel was relatively flat, so even though Luo Di pushed the cart frantically, it didn't accelerate much.

"Thud!"

A sudden thud told Luo Di that the Chimera had woken up and was charging toward them. He ran as fast as he could, turning back to see the Chimera already at the cave entrance!

"Ol'kahla!"

Without thinking, Luo Di activated the Stealth skill, his body disappearing behind the cart. Sally, who had lowered her body, remained hidden. The Chimera's vision was poor, and when it appeared, it first noticed the mine cart moving mysteriously.

The Chimera's intelligence wasn't enough to understand why the obstacle had disappeared. Its head tilted in confusion, and it paused for over three seconds.

Those three seconds saved Luo Di and Sally's lives.