They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 25 Crystal Core, Consciousness Space

"Could you describe the crystal cave you mentioned earlier in more detail?"

Cheng Xu took the initiative to speak.

When Hu Zhou first met Kaga, he explained the organization, the Interstellar Mineral Research Institute, to him.

According to Director Hu, the Institute of Minerals was one of the earliest research units to be stationed on Golun Star, and has been dedicated to exploring and discovering minerals on Golun Star for many years.

"All the mineral samples that can be found on Golun Star are backed up in the research institute." These are Hu Zhou's exact words.

In theory, the prospectors at the Mineral Research Institute are among the people who have the deepest understanding of the various rock veins on Golun Star.

The unusual crystal rock variety, which the explorers had never seen before, caught Cheng Xu's attention.

"You mean that cave? There's not much to say about it, but the texture of the crystal rocks inside is quite different from what I usually see."

The gray-haired man took the initiative to respond to Cheng Xu's words.

"Looking back, I feel a little regretful that I didn't mine a few pieces to bring out, but at the time I was only thinking about how to survive and didn't think about these things at all."

Cheng Xu pondered for a moment, then looked up at him: "I want to go and take a look inside the cave you mentioned."

During their conversation, Liang Lin, Bi Yan, and the rest of the exploration team learned from Cheng Xu everything that had happened outside the shelter.

This includes how Cheng Xu and Fields broke through the Crystal Rock Man's blockade and entered, as well as how Cheng Xu fired a large number of optical signal flares before breaking out.

If all goes well, the space command that detected the signal will soon dispatch a team to the refuge point.

Based on the distance estimated on the map, the exoskeleton mech should arrive in about 4-5 hours.

Liang Lin and Bi Yan exchanged a glance, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Cheng Xu's idea.

Although they didn't know what research significance the crystal cave held, they knew the energy shield outside the shelter wouldn't last long.

If the lured-away crystal rock people return and continue to attack the shelter, taking refuge underground along the path the exploration team took could be a viable strategy.

The exploration team members had no objections. After a brief discussion, they finalized their next course of action.

Cheng Xu and Fields will accompany the two team leaders of the two exploration teams to the special crystal cave first.

The others remained inside the shelter, taking stock of useful supplies and monitoring the movements of the Crystal Rock People outside the refuge, retreating into the underground passage as needed.

Upon entering the dark underground passage once again, Fields was clearly reminded of unpleasant memories from before, and his demeanor became somewhat hesitant.

During the previous exploration, beacons were set up along the way. The two team leaders found the one that pointed to the target location from several forks in the road.

Twenty minutes later.

"This is it."

The cave Cheng Xu was looking for was located on the side of an underground passage, an independent space attached to the passage.

It is said that when the exploration team members were advancing through this passage, the rock wall beside them faintly emitted a colorful luster. Only after working together to dig through the passage did they discover this crystal cave.

After a brief exploration of the cave, the exploration team found it to be a dead end and retreated.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, Cheng Xu quickly understood what he meant by "different texture of crystal rocks" that he had heard earlier.

Having been on Golun Star for so long, Cheng Xu has seen all sorts of crystal rocks and minerals.

Their surfaces resemble cooled volcanic glass, displaying different colors and iridescent halos under light, while possessing both the roughness of rock and the smooth cross-section of crystal minerals.

But what appeared before Cheng Xu now was a mineral with a texture similar to jade.

At first glance, it has many similarities to ordinary crystal rocks, but its luster is more lustrous and more understated, reflecting a colorful sheen.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Two exploration team leaders waited outside the cave to provide support, while Cheng Xu led Fields into the cave.

The cave is small, only about ten square meters. The surrounding cave walls look clean and smooth, without the rough edges of other caves.

Standing in the center of the cave, under the cold light, a clear human figure can be reflected on the rock wall.

Apart from the entrance dug by the exploration team, no cracks or openings were found inside the cave.

It's as if some force hollowed out the center of a solid block of crystal, creating this cave space.

With the naked eye alone, Cheng Xu and Fields did not find anything special.

A laser dagger popped out from the right arm of Cheng Xu's combat uniform. He crouched in front of the rock wall, attempting to cut off a sample with the laser dagger.

He planned to bring these samples back to the temporary camp for analysis when he rejoined the main force of the Administration, to study their differences from ordinary crystal rocks.

To Cheng Xu's surprise, this special crystalline rock seemed to possess remarkable material strength.

The laser sword, which could easily cut through ordinary crystal rock, could only leave a wound a few centimeters deep on the crystal rock wall.

While Cheng Xu focused all his attention on the cutting motion, Fields, standing behind him, seemed to notice something amiss.

The instant the laser sword first touched the rock wall, he felt as if the surroundings suddenly brightened.

Fields rubbed his eyes, thinking it was his imagination.

When he looked around again, he saw specks of light emerging from the depths of the rock wall, drifting towards him like fish swimming from the deep sea to the surface.

Cheng Xu, whose vision was filled with the light of the laser sword, was completely unaware of this.

"Brother Cheng..."

"Phew, finally managed to cut off a piece, that was really tough."

Fields had barely opened his mouth when Cheng Xu finally unearthed a special crystal rock the size of a fist.

The next second, the light spots in the rock wall seemed to be accelerated, drawing countless streaks of light on the rock wall before finally converging into the gap that Cheng Xu had just dug.

Before Cheng Xu could react, a viscous liquid of light burst through the wall and covered the surface of the crystal rock in his hand.

In an instant, the crystal rock burst forth with dazzling, multicolored light, completely engulfing Cheng Xu's vision.

"Which heartless bastard fed me this?!"

This was the last thought in Cheng Xu's mind.

After an unknown amount of time, his consciousness slowly returned, and he "opened" his eyes.

Before them stretched an endless white sky, while beneath their feet lay the same crystalline rock ground with its unique texture.

He could feel his body was light and airy, as if it had no substance, and he always had the feeling that he was dreaming.

"Where am I?"

The doubts in my heart materialized and floated in the vast and boundless space.

A sound with the texture of rubbing rocks answered him.

"According to your human terminology, this is the consciousness space within the core of the crystal rock."

"Who?!" Cheng Xu exclaimed in shock.

A colossal phantom slowly appeared before him.

It was a crystal rock humanoid that was over five meters tall and had to be looked up at.