Richest Rag-picker

He quickened his pace, climbing upward even faster.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, just as Fang Chenyi was beginning to wonder if he had climbed in the wrong direction again...

With a SPLASH, Fang Chenyi’s head burst through the surface of the lava.

But the moment he emerged, Fang Chenyi was dumbfounded. ’How is this place different from before?’

Puzzled, he turned his head and looked around.

Fang Chenyi realized he was no longer in the previous lava pit.

Instead, he was in a place that resembled a well.

Lifting his head, he saw an opening hundreds of meters above, like the mouth of a well.

Fang Chenyi was completely baffled. ’Where in the world am I? How did I end up here?’

Although he was filled with questions, the most important thing now was to get out. So, Fang Chenyi stopped worrying about where he was.

He grabbed the nearby rock wall with both hands, intending to climb. To his dismay, however, Fang Chenyi discovered the rock face was exceptionally smooth. And with no lava above him, it was impossible to use its buoyancy to swim upward.

Just as Fang Chenyi was wondering how to get up, his fingers suddenly CRUNCHED and dug right into the rock wall beside him.

"Holy crap, what’s going on? Is this wall that soft?"

He pulled his hand back in confusion, looked at his own unharmed fingers, then at the five small holes in the rock wall.

Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but shake his head. ’Looks like this rock wall isn’t very sturdy.’

’I just wonder if it can support my weight?’

With that thought, Fang Chenyi reached out his hand again. With another CRUNCH, it dug into the rock wall. At the same time, he quickly extended his other hand and grabbed a hold higher up.

As expected, his fingers sank deep into the rock face.

He pushed with both arms, and in the next moment, Fang Chenyi’s body shot out of the lava.

Once clear of the lava, Fang Chenyi examined the stone wall in front of him and muttered again:

"This rock wall is pretty sturdy, huh..."

Then, Fang Chenyi suddenly froze, as if he had just figured something out.

’That’s right! Could it be that the wall isn’t weak, but my hands are just that hard? The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. After all, something strange happened when my hands touched that small asteroid.’

Thinking back on it now, Fang Chenyi felt like he was onto something.

This wasn’t the time for thinking, however. Fang Chenyi didn’t linger, using his hands and feet to grip the rock wall and rapidly scramble upward.

Finally, after a few minutes, Fang Chenyi reached the top, hundreds of meters up. Sitting on the rock at the summit, he scanned his surroundings again and was once more stunned.

"Holy crap, is this a volcano??"

That’s right. As Fang Chenyi’s gaze swept the area, he realized he was sitting hundreds of meters in the air, and right beneath him was what looked like the crater of a volcano.

’What the hell is going on? Wasn’t I in the desert? How did it turn into a volcano?’

The night sky was gone. In its place, the sun hung high overhead. He lifted his wrist and checked the time: 12:03 PM. Clearly, it was already noon the next day.

Of course, that wasn’t the important part. The important part was, how had this place become a volcano?

Looking back at the churning lava inside, it was obvious that this was, without a doubt, a volcanic crater.

However, when he gazed out into the distance, he was surprised to find that not far away, it was all desert!

This was a completely different scene from when he’d arrived last night.

When he arrived, it was a massive sinkhole. But now, it was a towering volcano. ’What on earth happened here overnight?’

He shook his head helplessly, decided not to dwell on it, and turned to climb down the volcano.

BZZT BZZT BZZT.

"Brother Fang, come in, please respond. Come in, please respond."

Fang Chenyi, who was halfway down the volcano, suddenly heard the walkie-talkie in his pocket crackle to life. From the sound of the voice, it was Qi Xiaotian.

Since he was currently on the mountainside, Fang Chenyi didn’t reach for the walkie-talkie.

He figured he would get to the bottom first. After all, there was no telling how many survey vehicles might be around, and it wouldn’t be good if he were caught on camera.

The voice on the walkie-talkie stopped after that first call, but just two minutes later, it came through again.

It was clear Qi Xiaotian and the others were calling him every two minutes.

Shaking his head helplessly, Fang Chenyi still didn’t respond.

His whole body moved like a rock climber as he scaled his way down backward.

Finally, after a few minutes, Fang Chenyi’s feet landed steadily in the thick volcanic ash at the bottom.

He lightly dusted off his hands. Even though they weren’t dirty, it was an instinctive, subconscious gesture.

Only then did he reach for the walkie-talkie, press the button, and speak into it:

"I read you, Xiaotian. I’m fine over here, don’t worry. What’s the situation on your end? Did Vajra make it back?"

Back in the central desert area, Qi Xiaotian and the others let out a long, collective sigh of relief when they heard Fang Chenyi’s voice come from the handheld radio.

They hadn’t been able to contact Brother Fang all night. Even though they knew he was incredibly capable, the commotion over there had been just too massive.

A volcano had erupted, blowing its top several times in a single night and forming a tall mountain.

From their camp, they could even faintly see the constantly rising plumes of volcanic ash.

This had left them incredibly worried about Fang Chenyi.

They became even more concerned when they saw Vajra rush back during the night. After all, if a place was too much for even someone with Vajra’s strength to handle, how dangerous must it be?

Starting from when Vajra returned last night, Qi Xiaotian had been calling Fang Chenyi every half hour.

But he got no answer all night. So, starting this morning, the half-hour calls became ten-minute calls.

Later, that changed to every five minutes, and finally to every two minutes, which just showed how anxious Qi Xiaotian and the others were.

"Whew, it’s great that you’re okay, Brother Fang. Everything’s fine on our end. Vajra got back last night. How are you doing now? Do you need our support?"

Even though he knew they probably couldn’t be of much help, Qi Xiaotian still asked worriedly.

Hearing that everyone was safe and that Vajra was already back at camp, Fang Chenyi’s heart was finally at ease.

To be honest, he was really starting to regret bringing these people along with him.