I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 497: Ant King’s Treasure Chest

After listening to the colossal golden ant’s words, Song Jian hesitated. He could feel a lack of sincerity from it, thus insisting to hear the details of the task before making the decision whether to accept it or not.

It had been a long time since he joined the game, and Song Jian had realized how merciless the game’s tasks could be. Moreover, not all tasks could potentially be completed with his current strength – many of the NPCs which assigned tasks often had ill intentions.

“Young human, this really is an extremely simple task, particularly for you. I can sense that you have a strong power within you,” said the golden ant.

The golden ant eyeing Song Jian, slowly closed its emerald eyes and spoke, “This rift is a passage for the Abyssal Land to violate the Space Law and invade reality. If overlooked, it will continue to grow larger, eventually forming the Abyssal Gate. By then, the abyssal forces will keep showing up here…”

“To seal this rift, a treasure with the power of space is necessary. This black lake was originally my dwelling place, but it has transformed into its present state due to the invasion of Abyssal Power…”

“I need you to delve into this lake, and find a necklace from within. Only by finding the necklace, will it be possible to mend this spatial rift…”

System: Do you wish to accept the commission from the Legendary creature, Torros the Progenitor of the Golden Ant King? Find the Temporal Spatial Chain, Time Limit 1 hour. Penalty for Mission Failure: Level drops by 1;

“One hour? This lake is so big, it’s impossible for me to retrieve a small necklace from the bottom of the lake within such a short time!” Song Jian looked at the system notification. Surprisingly, the giant creature before him was the Progenitor of the Golden Ant King. This revelation caused quite a surprise, but seeing the time limit and punishment for the task, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

“In reality, you won’t need the full hour…”

“The item is at the depths of the lake under my feet. You just need to dive down following this islet and circle around it at most once to find the necklace. Moreover, there are other treasures along with the Temporal Spatial Chain. If you find them, they are all yours as a gift…”

“Just circling around the bottom of this small island lake?” After eyeing the piece of black rock under Torres, the Progenitor of the Golden Ant King’s feet, Song Jian mulled it over for a long time. Finally, he nodded and agreed.

Upon seeing Song Jian’s agreement, a heavy burden lifted from Torres. A smile spread across his face, human-like. Even though his eyes were shut, he still managed to nod towards Song Jian.

Currently, all his energy was being used to resist the erosion of the Abyssal Power. Any movement would drain his energy significantly, which was why he dare not move at all.

System: You have accepted the commission from the Legendary creature, Torros the Progenitor of the Golden Ant King;

As Song Jian saw the countdown appearing in his task bar, he leapt into the black lake.

Torros opened his eyes, watching Song Jian dive into the lake, stirring ripples in its wake. His eyes held a trace of expectation.

The Abyssal Power concentration in the lake matched that of the real Abyssal Land, threatening to corrupt any creatures that entered and rob them of their consciousness, turning them into creatures of the abyss.

Only Song Jian, who could control the Abyssal Power, could leap into the lake unscathed and search for the Temporal Spatial Chain at the bottom.

Upon entering the lake, Song Jian could barely see his own hand in front of his face. It was as though he had jumped into a vat of ink.

Furthermore, the lake was full of Abyssal Power. After entering, he could even feel the water around him turning into countless tentacles, trying to wrap around him.

However, as these tentacles approached him, they sensed the aura of his Abyssal Demon Armor and retreated instantly, leading Song Jian to sigh in relief.

With the help of the Abyssal Demon Armor, Song Jian managed to descend to the bottom of the lake without any hiccup.

The Vertical Eye on Song Jian’s forehead emitted a faint light about three inches long. It was barely enough for him to see his surroundings within a meter’s radius. In such a low visibility environment, finding a necklace was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Thankfully, Torres had given Song Jian the search parameter, otherwise, even if he were to search the lakebed for three days and nights straight, it would be impossible for him to locate the quest item.

Song Jian arrived at the bottom. He seemed to have stepped on something, which on closer investigation turned out to be a crispy and brittle skeleton.

“Ant King?” Song Jian was startled and he focused on it intently.

Indeed, underneath him was the skeleton of an Ant King. It was unclear how long it had been dead – its flesh had completely decomposed, only leaving the shell covering its body. The shell, however, had already been eroded by the Abyssal Power, becoming brittle and rotten. A simple touch would cause a massive hole.

Suddenly, Song Jian recalled the Golden Ant Kings dragged into the lake by the water. It seemed as though not all Golden Ant Kings had been transformed into demonized Ant Kings. Many had simply perished in the lake.

Upon realizing this, Song Jian was taken aback. Within his field of vision, at the bottom of the lake, lay a thick layer of Golden Ant King skeletons. It seemed that many Ant Kings died here without turning into demonized Ant Kings.

Song Jian shook his head slightly. Just one Abyssal Rift had wreaked such havoc upon an enormous species. Should such a rift appear in the Doomsday City, the whole city might eventually become Abyssal Land.

“No, it’s not like there aren’t any Abyssal Rifts in the Doomsday City. It’s just that those places have evolved into instances of special Dungeons Limit in the game, securely restricting the scope of the Abyssal Rift, preventing it from spreading out like it has done here…”

Song Jian thought of the towering columns of black demonic fog he had seen before, and of the black pyramid in the middle of the city, which caused him to shudder involuntarily.

“I have no clue where the Temporal Spatial Chain is. Fortunately, this island isn’t large. It should be easy to search…” Song Jian started to look around slowly, moving along the huge black rock beside him.

Torros had mentioned that the Temporal Spatial Chain and a pile of treasures were together, and would be conspicuous. Now, Song Jian had no other choice but to broaden his search as much as he could. After all, he could only rely on his Vertical Eye for now.

Soon, Song Jian circled to the back of the island. On an outcropping rock, he saw a golden treasure chest over a foot tall, radiating dazzling light. Amidst the black lake water, it shone like a radiant sun.

“I’ve found it!” A look of elation crossed Song Jian’s face.

…