Traveling through the second dimension, the joy system encourages me to laugh heartily!

After three or four cycles of challenge, defeat, rest, and challenge again, the six maids finally exhausted all their strength. As if their bones had been removed, they collapsed into a deep sleep and temporarily lost consciousness.

Looking at this group of "overconfident" little cuties, Chen Ming shook his head helplessly and affectionately, and carried them one by one to the soft benches in the rest area by the hot spring pool.

Alpha, back at the open-air hot spring pool, looked at the six maids sprawled out and fast asleep in the rest area, and a gentle smile appeared on his face, as he had expected.

She had already prepared several warm, soft towels in her hands. She walked over gently and skillfully and carefully wiped away the remaining hot spring water droplets from their bodies, especially their hair and areas prone to getting cold.

Then, she took out several fluffy and comfortable velvet sleeping bags from the storage cabinet next to her, and carefully stuffed them one by one into the warm sleeping bags as if taking care of sleepy children, revealing only their peaceful sleeping faces with a satisfied blush.

Looking at the serene expressions on their faces, a mixture of exhaustion and ultimate joy, Alpha guessed that these little ones would probably sleep until dinnertime before waking up naturally.

"So vulnerable..."

At this moment, Chen Ming's somewhat smug voice came from the hot spring pool. Although the volume was not loud, it could be clearly heard at the edge of the quiet rest area.

"I haven't even used my strength yet, and you've already collapsed..."

He clearly borrowed a line from the Monkey King in the sequel to Journey to the West.

Alice, who had watched the TV series, naturally understood that he was making a reference again, so she played along:

"It doesn't matter, I'll take action!"

Then, the legendary, durable Queen Alice stepped forward. She walked a few steps to the edge of the pool, reached out and pulled Chen Ming, who was still soaking in the water, up. Then, without saying a word, she pressed him down onto a comfortable waterproof lounge chair by the pool.

Above the recliner is a horizontal bar installed for exercise and enjoyment, with two sturdy leather rings hanging down.

Alise took a deep breath, leaped into the air, and precisely grabbed the two rings with both hands. With her powerful core strength and flexibility, she gracefully performed a perfect split in mid-air, suspending herself in the air.

Then, she suddenly exerted force with her arms, twisting her waist like a taut bowstring, and unleashed a special move that she had practiced for a long time, combining fighting skills with the flexibility of dance. Its movement was somewhat similar to Chun-Li's famous special move "Spinning Crane Kick" in the fighting game, but the direction of rotation and the technique of exerting force were completely opposite, making it more tricky and fierce!

(P.S.: This is a dangerous move that can break your foot and requires extremely high physical fitness and skill. Ordinary people should never attempt to do this!!!)

Alice's attack descended like a whirlwind, instantly defeating and killing Chen Ming!

That powerful, concentrated, rotating pressure forms the starting stance for a series of combos.

Chen Ming couldn't even withstand the entire combo; under this unconventional offensive, he instantly lost hundreds of millions of lives.

"What...what kind of new move is this?!"

After the offensive subsided, Chen Ming finally recovered from the shock.

"How about that? Pretty impressive, right?"

With a hint of smugness, Alice released the rings, panting heavily, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. "This is my most recently mastered ultimate technique, combining aerial advantage—I've named it [Helicopter Princess: Vortex of Origin]!"

She uttered a name that sounded rather childish, but judging from her current state, this move had clearly taken a heavy toll on her, somewhat like "hurting the enemy eight hundred, but losing a thousand of her own."

"Amazing! Amazing! Absolutely amazing..."

Chen Ming praised her sincerely, while carefully holding her to prevent her from slipping and falling due to exhaustion.

Although Alice had definitely enhanced her body with magic, the ground was still quite cold, and he couldn't bear to let his woman get cold.

……

After a fierce exchange in the hot spring area, Chen Ming used [Instant Teleportation] to send the sleeping or exhausted girls back to their respective bedrooms in the space city, allowing them to rest in peace.

Among them, Tia, Taldo, and Maho, although each of them has their own spacious and beautiful independent room after arriving in Space City, they still prefer to live together as before, sharing each other's companionship and sense of security.

Chen Ming then escorted them all back to Tia's room.

After an unknown amount of time, Tia slowly awoke from her exhausting slumber and found herself back in her familiar bedroom, on her soft, large bed. She blinked, adjusting to the light, and then saw on either side of her, Taldo and Maho's two little faces, filled with curiosity and inquiry.

"Tia fell asleep again while soaking in the hot spring. She must be exhausted."

Maho spoke first, her tone laced with a mischievous smirk. Her skin was fair with a cool undertone, but her cheeks were flushed with excitement and curiosity.

"Hey, Sister Tia, tell us, what's it like to do a 'ten-pull'? Isn't it exciting?"

Taldo also winked and pressed Tia, who had just woken up, for answers, using rather sophisticated language, clearly indicating that she knew quite a bit.

Chen Ming always thought that Taerduo and Mahe were still young, their minds were as pure as blank sheets of paper, and they were still ignorant of the ways of the world, especially about certain "adult" matters, since they had not yet experienced such things.

But he clearly underestimated the influence of the environment and the girls' curiosity.

In fact, they were exposed to this every day, and with all the intimate conversations they had with Tia, they had long since mastered the "theoretical knowledge" and "practical experience" that they should and shouldn't know!

The reason they followed Alpha away from the hot spring area was simply to feign ignorance and avoid interfering with the "battle."

As soon as Alpha left, they immediately sneaked back and hid behind some secluded ornamental plants to "observe" the entire exciting scene of Alice's battle against Chen Ming, claiming it was to "broaden their horizons and learn from their experience"!

This is the moment for them to "exchange experiences" and satisfy their curiosity.

Tia's awakening became the first target of their "interview".

As their close "best friend," how could Tia not know about the two girls' little schemes?

Her fair cheeks flushed a beautiful blush as she spoke honestly, "It felt like...like being electrocuted, all my strength was drained away...and now, I still feel a tingling sensation..."

Tia paused, her voice heavy with weariness and a hint of inexplicable shyness, "I'm sorry, I'm still a little sleepy, I'll sleep a little longer..."

After saying that, she seemed to have used up her last bit of courage, slid her whole body down, covered her head and face with the blanket, and tried to get away with it by being cute.

However, Taldo and Maho, who had just been aroused by her vivid descriptions and had endless curiosity and longing, were not about to let her off the hook.

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with the same excitement and determination. Almost simultaneously, Maho swiftly yanked back the blanket Tia had been using to "huddle," letting in the cool, fresh air; while Taldo reached out her small hand and gently shook Tia's smooth shoulder. They both shouted in unison:

"No sleeping, get up and party!" *2

The blanket was pulled back, and Tia knew she wouldn't be able to sleep.

She opened her eyes reluctantly, her intelligent gaze sweeping over the two pretty faces filled with "curiosity," instantly seeing through their little thoughts. A knowing smile curved her lips: "What, you're thinking about it too?"

Having their thoughts exposed, Taldo and Maho were taken aback at first, then nodded frantically like chickens pecking at rice, their eyes sparkling with anticipation and longing.

"Mmm! Sister Tia, we also want to try... that, 'ten-pull' feeling!" Taldo's voice trembled slightly, whether from cold or excitement, it was hard to tell.

Seeing their innocent and adorable appearance, Tia's initial frustration at being disturbed vanished, replaced by a sense of responsibility as an older sister.

She took a deep breath, trying to sound more reliable, then patted her chest and assured them, "Okay, leave it to me! I'll sound them out for you tomorrow!"

Her promise was like a reassurance, instantly bringing smiles to the faces of the two girls, filling the room with a joyful atmosphere.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side,

Chen Ming had just escorted the girls back to their respective bedrooms when he suddenly received an urgent message from [Crimson].

The contents are shocking—a city has vanished.

This time, the demons pulled off a major stunt; instead of launching an attack from the ground or the sky, they chose to strike at the heart of the problem.

The city of Birno was silently and completely hollowed out deep underground, creating a massive void. Without support, the entire city collapsed under its own weight in a very short time, swallowed whole by the earth.

The high-precision telephoto camera carried by the "Sky Eye" satellite clearly recorded this terrifying scene.

On the site of Birno, a massive sinkhole, several kilometers in diameter and hundreds of meters deep, has replaced the once bustling town. The sinkhole walls are steep and jagged, with some architectural ruins still visible, as if silently recounting the tragedy that occurred in that instant.

After watching the replay of the surveillance footage, Chen Ming felt somewhat fortunate for his decision to relocate everyone from Half Mountain Manor to Space City.

While the FAST satellite surveillance network is powerful and can provide a global overview of Earth's surface dynamics, it has difficulty probing deep underground.

Therefore, the defense system of Half Hill Manor is not perfect.

Only by relocating to the Tiangong Space City can we truly rest easy.

After quickly informing Alpha and Alice about the demon attack, Chen Ming immediately decided to set off.

Ripples spread across the space in front of him, and the next moment, his figure had already arrived above Birno.

Beneath our feet lies the sinkhole that swallowed the city...

Chapter 281: Bio-armor

Chen Ming hovered in the air, his wings of light slowly unfurling behind him, emitting a soft and steady glow that illuminated the darkness at the bottom of the pit.

Judging from the twisted, broken, and layered remains of the buildings, they collapsed in a very short period of time.

Chen Ming made the most realistic judgment in his mind—the residents of the city probably wouldn't even have time to react and would die on the spot; even if there were survivors, they would be finished off by the demons…

What a vicious demon race.

With a gentle flap of his light wings, Chen Ming began to descend, hovering directly above the massive sinkhole.

Beneath his feet lay a bottomless abyss of darkness, like a gaping maw that had swallowed tens of thousands of lives, exuding a chilling stillness and the stench of earth. A cold wind swept up from the bottom of the pit, ruffling the hair on his forehead, but it could not dispel the icy resolve in his eyes.

He slowly raised his hands and began chanting ancient and obscure incantations.

As the syllables flowed, the surrounding air began to tremble, and invisible magic converged wildly around him like a vortex. The tone of the incantation grew higher and higher, like the sigh of a sea god, yet carrying the immense pressure before a storm.

This is precisely the precursor to the activation of the water-based magic [Cataclysmic Tsunami].

Chen Ming chose this spell not for destruction, but to "lure the snake out of its hole".

As far as he knew, among the remaining four demons, only the "Dragon of the Earth" was capable of and accustomed to using such "engineering-style" methods to quietly hollow out the entire city's underground and create a collapse.

The name sounds imposing, but its actual appearance, according to records, resembles a brownish caterpillar magnified millions of times, with a body length exceeding one hundred meters. Even more unsettling is that its enormous body is covered with countless constantly wriggling pink tentacles, which serve as both organs for digging and sensing, and extremely troublesome weapons.

In terms of direct combat ability alone, this demon is easy for Chen Ming to deal with now.

The real trouble lies in the fact that the earth dragon is extremely cowardly and cunning. Once it senses a danger that could threaten its life, it will instantly burrow deep into the ground and flee.

Being able to move freely underground is indeed an overwhelming advantage.

This means that no matter what seemingly hopeless situation you find yourself in, as long as you burrow underground, you can easily escape and make a comeback from another unexpected place at any time, making it impossible to defend against.

For example, if we were to use the ultimate weapon—a hydrogen bomb—as we did against the first demon, most of the hydrogen bomb's power would be absorbed and blocked by the thick strata of the earth, greatly reducing its effectiveness. It would likely just be a futile effort to renovate the surface without harming its core.

Chen Ming had reviewed the historical records of this world and found that previous heroes had also found the Earth Dragon extremely troublesome. Conventional methods were insufficient to completely kill it, and they could only resort to an extreme tactic of putting themselves in a do-or-die situation—willingly being swallowed by the Earth Dragon, entering its body, and then launching a fatal attack from within.

However, Chen Ming did not intend to imitate this method. Although the success rate was very high, it was too risky and did not suit his cautious and steady personality.

Placing himself inside a monster's digestive tract and entrusting his life to the monster's inability to digest him instantly involves too many variables and risks far exceeding his tolerance limit.

Therefore, he decided to take a more cautious and more in line with his style strategy: to force the subterranean dragon out of its lair!

The method is very simple—flood it with water.

Historical records describe how the brave warriors were caught in a fierce battle, even resigning themselves to defeat and death. However, an unexpected storm changed the course of the war. The rain soaked the earth and also drenched the earth dragon, causing its movements to visibly become sluggish and stiff.

This is an extremely unreasonable phenomenon.

Demons possess near-conceptual immortality, so theoretically they shouldn't have a basic weakness like being "afraid of water."

This contradiction, combined with the deeper secrets Chen Ming knew, pointed to a truth: the Earth Dragon was not the demon race itself, but merely a giant "biological armor" piloted by the demons! The true demons were hidden within the body of this colossal creature.

In the original story, when the protagonist Lugo was fighting the earth dragon, he noticed a key detail—when the tentacles were severed, they would bounce on the ground, and new flesh would quickly rise and grow from the cut surface, rapidly restoring the original state.

This is completely different from the regeneration mechanism of the demon race.

True demonic regeneration is closer to the conceptual ability of "reverting to the state before injury." Severed limbs are only conceptually negated, thus "disappearing" and instantly returning to the original body.

What the earth dragon exhibits is more like the "super-fast regeneration" of normal physiological functions; the severed pieces of flesh left on the ground are completely inconsistent with the regeneration method of the demon race.

This subtle difference reveals the truth—the demon who controlled the earth dragon was exceptionally timid, and it went to great lengths to create this enormous biological armor that provided it with excellent protection.

Although this armor possesses the ability to regenerate at supersonic speed, it is ultimately just a replica and is far inferior to the true immortality bestowed upon the demon race by the gods.

Therefore, it has a fatal flaw—it is afraid of water.

The tentacles of the subterranean dragon are covered with a special layer of mucus. This mucus is of great significance; it can not only melt objects it touches, but also evaporate into a deadly poisonous mist. When a blade strikes, the smooth nature of the mucus makes attacks slippery and difficult to land accurately. It can be said to combine offense and defense in one.

However, this layer of mucus is easily washed away and lost once it comes into contact with a large flow of water. The earthworm has a physiological habit of constantly secreting mucus from its inside to replenish its losses. If it is continuously drenched in water, the rate at which it replenishes mucus will not keep up with the rate at which it loses it, eventually leading to its body surface becoming dry and hardened, its functions significantly declining, and even complete weakness.

Knowing all this information, the method to force it out from underground becomes obvious.

Chen Ming's chanting was nearing its end, and the magical power gathering around him surged like a blue ocean. His eyes shone brightly, locking onto the dark abyss below, and he finally uttered the completed incantation.

"With the power of water, unleash the fury of the tides—[Cataclysmic Tsunami]!"

In an instant, it was as if a portal connecting to the water elemental plane had opened above the sinkhole!

An endless torrent of liquid, radiating a pale blue magical glow, surged forth from the void with a deafening roar, like the Milky Way bursting its banks, and poured into the enormous sinkhole!

Rumble—!

The powerful flow of water crashed against the pit walls with a deafening roar, and the entire sinkhole trembled. The turbid muddy water, carrying rocks and debris, formed a destructive torrent that rushed towards every crevice and cave at the bottom of the pit.

If it were just the next storm, it wouldn't achieve this effect at all.

First, the amount of water is simply insufficient to fill this giant pit, which is several kilometers in diameter and hundreds of meters deep, in a short time, let alone pour it into the narrow, labyrinthine passages dug underground by the subterranean dragon; second, the long time required for the effects to be seen will give the cunning monster enough time to react, whether it is to reinforce its nest or to relocate and escape, it will be able to deal with it calmly.