Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

"Alright then, shall we wait a bit?"

Arachne said, "Okay."

Liu Nian didn't just wait around. He left the goblin coordinate device there and teleported back to the floating city with Arachne.

Arachne went to direct the engineering robots to do their work, while Liu Nian idly browsed the chat channel for a while.

This was the first time he had ever calmed down and taken a proper look.

There are many chat channels, but the world channel messages made Liu Nian feel more like he was in a game.

For example, some players will be collecting materials, some will be offering bounties, some will be arguing with each other, some will be recruiting team members, some will be offering high prices to hire people to help them level up, and some will be selling equipment that drops...

Many of the materials are needed to repair the floating city, and there are also many missions that require bodyguards with surprisingly high hiring fees. Some missions also require specific materials or specific dungeons.

However, Liu Nian's level is too low right now, so he can't get the "Word Command Orb" and can't speak at all.

In contrast, the situation in the race channel is different; it's more like an alliance mutual aid society.

The six race channels during the Ascension War are basically filled with mutual insults.

The goblins were the most trash-talking among them; no one could out-trade them because they were the most numerous and basically dominated the entire channel, talking most of the time...

After waiting for about half an hour, Liu Nian and Arachne were teleported underground again.

Fortunately, Arachne found three coordinates this time, which means that at least three dwarfs are asleep.

"Let's go," Arachne murmured.

Ripples spread across the space around Liu Nian, the colors slightly distorted. The next second, he felt his body lighten, as if gently "pulled" by an invisible force, and the scene before him instantly changed!

When Liu Nian's feet touched solid ground, he found himself on a floating rock, with five dwarfs resting together in front of him.

They were slightly thinner than Mekkatorque, but had the same distinctive large eyes and dexterous hands.

Three dwarfs huddled in a corner, covered with tattered blankets, emitting soft snores—they were the ones issuing "coordinates" in their dreams.

The other two dwarfs, forcing themselves to stay alert, stood back to back, armed with modified engineering rifles, their eyes bloodshot and faces etched with exhaustion.

Behind them, a metal box secured with thick insulation material and multiple locks stood out.

Liu Nian was slightly surprised when he saw the five dwarfs.

Oh wow, these five dwarfs each have their own names, which means these five are not ordinary dwarfs, but special NPCs like Mekkatorque.

And the box behind them, after Liu Nian looked over, also displayed a name—

【Deep Root Project - High-Energy Geological Shock Bomb (Not Activated)】

The box was remarkably well-preserved, even having a shimmering, magical coating on its surface for insulation.

Liu Nian's sudden appearance startled the two dwarfs on duty, but soon, Liu Nian's popularity among the dwarfs made them lower their guard.

After Liu Nian explained his purpose, they became excited and told him that they had been trapped there for a long time because there was a "big guy" under the floating rock.

Liu Nian peered down and saw that the "ground" below was not rock, but a writhing aggregate of countless dark red, seemingly molten, hot ores!

It resembles a slowly flowing mass of magma, or a giant, pulsating heart, with sharp crystalline spikes occasionally protruding from its surface, or a small stream of scorching air gushing out. Invisible heat waves and chaotic energy fields distort the surrounding air.

【Ore Vein Essence Aggregate (Lv.75 Elite)】

The five dwarfs had also woken up by this time. Their level was less than 60, so they didn't have any good way to deal with the level 75 behemoth below.

"It's...it's what's trapping us!" a dwarf whispered. "It's blocked all the stable exits, and the space keeps shifting; we can't escape! And it seems...it's absorbing the remaining energy from this vein, becoming increasingly active!"

"We dare not act rashly; the space here is very unstable, and turbulence could easily occur!"

Liu Nian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the mineral vein essence.

He wasn't afraid of this thing, but the problem was that his moves were too powerful and might make the space here even more fragmented.

At this moment, Arachne, with her silver hair, starry eyes, and ethereal temperament, raised her hands, her slender fingers plucking invisible strings in the void.

"Element Cutting!"

"Static position".

Countless arcane spider threads, thinner than a hair and shimmering with a faint light, burst forth from her fingertips in an instant. First, they easily sliced ​​the aggregate into pieces. Then, before the monster could explode, she quickly wove a three-dimensional network of varying density and constant change around the floating rocks.

Once this network took shape, the distorted light, disordered gravity, and restless energy around it seemed to be "filtered" and "stabilized." The spatial fluctuations around the rocks noticeably weakened and became relatively "normal."

"Spatial anchoring complete. You can move about safely now, Master," Arachne said calmly.

The dwarfs were dumbfounded; such effortless spatial manipulation was far beyond their comprehension.

"Who...who is this lady?" They looked at Arachne in awe.

It is clear that ordinary NPCs are awestruck by these units that possess divine auras.

Liu Nian gave a brief introduction: "My partner, Arachne." Then he got straight to the point, "How's the bomb? Is it still usable?"

The five dwarfs immediately became serious upon hearing the mention of bombs.

One of the dwarfs, nicknamed "Screw" and wearing thick glasses, carefully patted the metal box: "Well preserved! The detonator and energy core are both in a secure lockout state. Just release the safety, set the detonation parameters and delay, and it's ready to use!"

Another sturdy, dwarf-like man nicknamed "Wrench," with a face covered in soot, added, "While we were trapped here, we were also collecting geological data about the surrounding area. The energy readings below are terrifying. After calculations, we believe it definitely connects to a huge lava lake, or even... a volcanic chamber!"

"And..." The gnome named Probe hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, "We suspect that the goblin fortress was built on top of something other than just the mine. We found very primitive, definitely not goblin-style rune markings on the rock walls of some ancient mine tunnels... Those runes, to my sense, were like... 'suppressing' or 'guiding' something."

Liu Nian's heart stirred.

Special NPCs are indeed different; many of their words reveal a lot of useful information.

The fact that these five dwarfs could survive such a desperate situation, preserve the bomb, and gather information speaks volumes about their uniqueness and value.

"The data and speculations you've gathered are very useful," Liu Nian said. "You can evacuate now; leave the rest of the tasks to me!"

"No! Mr. Liu Nian!" Screw immediately shook his head. "'Operation Deep Roots' is our mission! We should be responsible to the end! We are more familiar with the procedures and parameters for planting and detonating the bombs than you are!"

"Yes! We can help!" The other dwarfs echoed, their eyes filled with determination.

But Liu Nian really doesn't need it!

Taking them with you to complete the mission is possible, but the problem is that it's a hassle to get away.

He'd set up a delayed detonation so he could teleport directly back to the floating city. What about these dwarves? Should they follow him into the explosion?

The problem is that these little guys are very serious and responsible, or to put it bluntly, stubborn! You'll have to come up with some good reasons to persuade them.

Looking at them, Liu Nian suddenly thought of a possibility and asked, "Are you interested in the restoration of a... 'floating city'?"

The five dwarfs were all taken aback: "A floating city?"