Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1018: Chapter 568: Secret in the Dome (Part 2)

"You’re certain that the teleportation device you mentioned is metal, right?" Wei Shishi immediately asked Xu Ying as the two women approached.

"It should be..."

"What do you mean by ’should be’?" Wei Shishi frowned immediately, "You don’t know either?"

"I do know! At the beginning, it was indeed a metal pillar, but... I’m not sure if it still is now." Xu Ying glanced at the people exploring around, "If it hasn’t changed much from when I saw it, then it should be made of metal."

Wei Shishi nodded slightly and then looked at Li Wenxi, who was scanning the surroundings: "Li Wenxi, you can find metal ores, but you can’t detect finished metal tools?"

"It’s not that I can’t." Li Wenxi continued to observe the surroundings, "The location of metal ores is relatively clear, but the perception of finished metal products is much weaker, probably to prevent me from mistaking finished metal products for mineral resources. However, there’s still some perception, though it’s rather vague."

"Oh?" Xu Ying looked at Li Wenxi in surprise, "Sister-in-law, you can even sense finished metal products? I didn’t know..."

"Yes, but..." Li Wenxi stopped surveying the area and shook her head, "At least I can’t sense the kind of massive metal pillar you mentioned around here. If it were really that large and close to the surface, I probably wouldn’t miss it."

"Let’s start with a methodical search," Wei Shishi suggested, "Since the perception is vague, it’s not accurate. Regarding what Xu Ying mentioned, I need a definite answer."

"You seem... very concerned about this matter?" Xu Ying looked at her and asked, "I was actually worried you might think I was talking nonsense and ignore me. I didn’t expect you wouldn’t be skeptical at all."

Wei Shishi’s expression changed slightly.

"Have you... already found some clues?" Xu Ying looked directly at Wei Shishi, "Did you discover something earlier?"

Xu Ying had only proposed a hypothesis to Wei Shishi just now. Was it necessary to gather so many people and dig three feet deep in the middle of the night while others were asleep?

Those team members seemed a bit listless, clearly having been woken up from their sleep.

Since she took it so seriously, she must have thought of something, feeling that there’s a certain possibility in Xu Ying’s scenario, prompting such urgency for verification.

"...Let’s verify the truth of what you said first."

Xu Ying moved closer to her: "Is it related to your parents... I’m sorry, don’t look at me like that, it’s scary..."

Seeing the coldness in Wei Shishi’s eyes, Xu Ying immediately raised her hands in surrender and stepped back two steps, finally saying, "This matter concerns the fate of all humanity. I hope you think it over and that there’s no concealment."

Wei Shishi didn’t speak.

Time passed by second by second, and about half an hour later, over a hundred team members completed their tasks and regrouped.

No discoveries were made.

"It seems your hypothesis doesn’t hold water," Wei Shishi said to Xu Ying, her expression much more relaxed.

"...Are you sure there were no mistakes in your detection?" Xu Ying frowned.

"Although our Wei Family isn’t specialized in resource gathering, our tools can detect metals about ten meters below the ground. To avoid errors, I had them scan this area three times."

Xu Ying had also tried that detection tool, finding it effective.

"If that’s the case... could I really have been mistaken?" Xu Ying wondered, "But... if it’s not the teleportation device, what’s going on with this polluted area? Could it be mutated creatures?"

She then looked at Li Wenxi, who hadn’t said a word: "Sister-in-law, do you have any thoughts?"

Li Wenxi then raised her head to look at the dome of the underground world.

"Is there something up there... Ah!" Xu Ying clapped her hands, "Right above here, it’s near that mineral point!"

Wei Shishi also looked up.

The dome above was dotted with countless white, luminous crystal minerals arranged haphazardly.

It seemed no different from other areas.

But this place was indeed very close to the mineral point Li Wenxi mentioned!

Very close!

"That’s the mineral point," Li Wenxi murmured thoughtfully, "The dome’s mineral point is extensive, occupying a considerable area, and right above here, it’s near the edge of this mining area."

"Do you think there’s a possibility... that the teleportation device isn’t underground but rather..."

Li Wenxi looked at the two women, then pointed upwards with her finger: "In the sky?"

"...Very possible!" Xu Ying replied immediately, clearly, "It’s even more likely than being underground!"

"Why?" Wei Shishi turned her head to ask.

"Because this is already the underground world, and there’s this layer of separation from the surface," Xu Ying pointed to the dome, "If the teleportation device were also buried underground in the underground world, it might... have poor reception."

"But if it were embedded in the dome... perhaps it could solve those issues." Xu Ying squinted her eyes as she looked up at the dome two or three thousand meters away, "After all... your dome is like their ground."