Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 597 - 64: The Ignored Problem_1

Chapter 597: Chapter 64: The Ignored Problem_1

"Alright, I don’t want to deceive you." Pannis shook his head, "I really don’t think the goblins have the power to build a research center here. My previous assumption was too naive, underestimating the severity of this place’s environment. Now, it seems that building a research center here, especially in regions below the eighth level, is beyond even the capabilities of the deities, let alone the goblins of the Silver Age."

Vivian gave a calm smile, lifted her arm, and gently stroked Pannis’s expressionless face with her insensible hand, seriously saying, "Thank you for not trying to soothe me with lies. I was determined that if you lied to me, even if I knew it was well-intentioned, I would not speak my heart to you for the rest of my time here."

"Don’t thank me yet, wait until I’ve finished." Pannis gently tapped on the top of Vivian’s head, causing her to squint comfortably, looking like a curled-up kitten. "Though I don’t believe they could have possibly established a research center here, I also don’t believe the research center doesn’t exist. Yes, you heard right, they lack the capability, but the research center still exists here, and I still firmly believe in this."

"Don’t you think what you’re saying is contradictory?" Vivian gave a helpless smile, but even she didn’t realize that her heart was as contradictory as Pannis’s words. She thought she had given up and reconciled with the situation, but she had overlooked the spark of anticipation and excitement that flared in her heart upon listening to Pannis’s words.

"Contradictory? Perhaps it sounds that way." Pannis shrugged, "But you have to learn to trust a demigod’s intuition."

"That’s such a silly thing to say." Vivian rolled her eyes in exasperation, "What are you trying to say?"

"Actually, ever since I entered Earth’s Scar, I’ve been pondering along the way." Pannis said, no longer joking, "There must be something that neither I, nor we, have thought of. Only by finding this blindspot can we successfully locate the research center. The goblins might often have crazy ideas, but I don’t think they’re insane enough to joke about their tribe’s most important Code Disk. So, the existence of this research center is not in doubt. Next, we need to consider the issues that we’ve overlooked in our thought process."

"What issues?" Vivian showed interest, suddenly sat up straight, nearly knocking into Pannis’s chin, "What do you think it might be related to? Is there a range at all?"

"If I knew what it was related to now, it wouldn’t be considered overlooked." Pannis shook his head, smiled helplessly, and said, "However, give me some more time, and trust me, I will be able to solve this mystery."

"Alright, alright. I’ll reluctantly give you some more time, but I’m not expecting anything from you. It’s only because you pleaded so pathetically that I agreed to give you more time." Vivian squinted her large eyes and laughed merrily, "What do you think? Don’t I resemble how Lina sometimes is? I think my imitation is spot on."

"Be careful, if she finds out, she might pinch your face." Pannis playfully poked Vivian’s slightly pale cheek with his index finger, teasing, "Then when you two start a ruckus, Catherine will beat both of you up, and by then, both of you will behave."

"I’m not afraid of them." Vivian claimed defiantly, all the while sneakily glancing at the sleeping girls, "Alright, once again you’ve managed to ignite hope in me. I hope this time it won’t be cruelly taken away again. Perhaps I can sleep well tonight. The air here is really comfortable."

"Rest well, give me a few more days to ponder, I will definitely pinpoint the problem and solve it." Pannis leaned back against the wall again, watching Vivian get up gleefully and walk towards her blanket with a small smile. Just as she was a few steps away, Pannis’s ears twitched, and his expression changed drastically. He sprang up, rushed to Vivian’s side, and forced her to crouch down, cautiously eyeing the deep entrance of the eighth level. Although their resting place was enveloped within numerous magical barriers preventing any sounds, sights, or smells from escaping, Pannis still prevented Vivian from moving around, fearing that the ground vibrations caused by her footsteps might be detected from outside.

"What’s wrong? Enemies?" Vivian whispered into Pannis’s ear, her breath lightly brushing against his face questioning in a soft voice, "Did a creature come up from the lower level?"

"Yes, something’s there." Pannis nodded, his eyes never left the deep entrance, answering in the same soft voice, "Just one, and it’s not very big. It looks like a magical beast that came up from the lower level for food, but..."

"But what exactly?" Vivian whispered, "Is there something odd going on?"

"It might surprise you quite a bit," Pannis replied, trying to hold back a chuckle, "Once you see it, I bet you’ll be as thrilled as if you’ve run into a dear old friend! Hehe."

"What a nuisance." Vivian jabbed her elbow into Pannis’s chest, then rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, out with it. What’s so strange? It’s a good thing it’s not Lina here, or you wouldn’t be getting an elbow but a hammer for her rising curiosity."

"Sounds quite vicious. I wonder if all your past teammates were scared away because of such terrifying behavior. Or did you frighten them to death?" Pannis joked. Suddenly, he pointed his chin at the entrance to the eighth floor. "Heads up, it’s about to come out. When you see it, you’ll understand what I meant."

Having had her curiosity piqued by Pannis’s words, Vivian focused her gaze on the slightly dark entrance to the eighth floor. The gateway to the eighth floor was a slowly spiraling down ramp, clean and smooth, as though cleaned daily. But obviously, cleaning was out of the question. The most likely explanation was the occurrence of frequent water flow. Vivian was highly focused, yet she found it strange that she couldn’t hear the creature’s footsteps. If she didn’t have absolute trust in Pannis’s perception, she might have started to question whether there was a monster there at all.

Fortunately, she wasn’t kept waiting too long when a silent monster began to stealthily climb up from the eighth floor. As she turned to look at the beast, Vivian’s eyes widened with surprise and she almost burst into excited cheers. The creature climbing up from below was a monster the size of a black bear. With its strong muscles layered thick with fat and fur offering considerable protection and stability, short, sturdy limbs, and a neck that was an unusually flexible thirty centimeters long, it could perform 360-degree rotations. The creature’s distinct head, almost as wide as its neck, made it difficult to tell where the neck ended and the head began. Crowning this small head was a sharp, bird-like beak comprised of keratinized skin so hard it seemed almost metallic. On top of that, two sharp blades of keratin protruded from the sides of both of its jaws, looking like crowbars that could easily pry open many a hard insect shell. When it opened its mouth, rows upon rows of sharp teeth could be seen, suggesting that a bite from this monster wouldn’t merely tear off a chunk of flesh.

"Really, it isn’t an insect anymore?" Vivian’s eyes widened with astonishment as she laughed with glee, "Finally, we won’t have to mingle with those hideous gigantic insects anymore. Oh my god, this is such a rejoice. We ought to celebrate this. I can’t wait to get the girls up to share this great news. But, what kind of animal is this? It looks so strange."

"Hold your horses. What if it senses ground vibrations?" Pannis held back Vivian’s impulsivity, speaking in a low voice. "I’ve never seen such a creature, perhaps it’s from an ancient period. Judging by their mouths, it seems to feed mainly on insects. It’s unclear if this is due to its adaptation to underground life within the Earth’s Scar or it was always like this."

Unaware of their conversation, the magical beast continued to climb out of its lair unnoticed. Its bear-like pads emerged first, followed by its head peeking out of the passageway. Then, after a quick survey of its surroundings, upon finding everything normal, it finally emerged fully. It raised its head to sniff the air, glancing over at the camp’s barrier as if sniffing some residual smell in the air. However, it didn’t seem concerned. After ascertaining that there were no threats, the creature started moving its short, sturdy legs and trudged its way deeper into the seventh floor, ready to satiate its empty digestive system with the succulent giant insects.

"Phew!" Vivian let out a sigh of relief not until the strange creature was out of sight, as she elatedly remarked, "Does this mean there’re no more insects from this point on? Most are normal monsters like this?"

"Going by what Ike said, I’d say you’re right." Pannis nodded in agreement, "Mostly, we’ve descended into the territory of beasts."

"Fantastic! Two bits of good news in one night – I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep at all," Vivian said with joy. She was eager to share her happiness with the girls, though she wasn’t irrational enough to wake them for this. Still smiling blissfully, she waved to Pannis, "I’m going to bed, good night. And, thank you."

Pannis shrugged nonchalantly as he sat back against the wall.

But even after Vivian had gone back to sleep, she didn’t realize that Catherine and Freya, laying face to face as they slept, had silently opened their eyes. After exchanging an unspoken moment of reassurance with each other, they drifted back to sleep - deep and peaceful. (To be continued. If you like this novel, you are welcome to support through votes or by becoming a monthly patron on Qidian. Your support is the greatest motivation for me. Mobile users can read by logging in to m.qidian.com.)