Chapter Twelve: The Heart of the Mechanisms

Everyone raced forward, the stone walls enclosing them on all sides so they could not tell how far they had run. Only when they finally reached a place where the puppets could no longer pursue did they come to a halt.

Though there were no longer any large figures like the puppets in sight, no one dared let down their guard. As they moved ahead, they scrutinized the surrounding stone walls for hidden traps.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the feet of Jindi, Mao Xuanzi, Feng Shang, and Shui Xi gave way, and in an instant, they vanished before the eyes of Han Tianyue, Fang Zhe, Wang Chong, and Dona.

Han Tianyue rushed forward, only to find the ground had become a thick slab of rock.

Thus, the group of eight was split into two teams: Han Tianyue’s group found themselves in an upper-level cavern, while Jindi, Mao Xuanzi, and the others had fallen into a lower one. The cross-section of the entire Black Mountain’s underground resembled a maze, with countless winding caverns layered atop each other. The caverns occupied by Han Tianyue and Jindi’s groups were but two among these many spiraling tunnels.

“Everyone, stay alert. We mustn’t trigger another trap and get separated again!” Han Tianyue cautioned, ever vigilant.

Fang Zhe, Wang Chong, and Dona hurried to keep close to him.

As they pressed onward, a massive gear suddenly loomed before them.

The four gazed up at the still-turning mechanism, each drawing a deep breath. Dona, more knowledgeable than the rest, cried out in astonishment, “What an enormous control system for the traps!”

Gears stretched as far as the eye could see, all in ceaseless motion.

This was the very heart of the mountain’s mechanical defenses, and Han Tianyue’s group had stumbled upon it by chance. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes had been fixed upon them for some time.

But let us leave Han Tianyue’s group for a moment. After Jindi, Mao Xuanzi, Feng Shang, and Shui Xi tumbled from the upper to the lower cavern, Feng Shang was the first to climb to his feet. He looked up at the stone wall above and exclaimed, “Who could be so devious as to dig a pit in the path and make us fall?”

Jindi replied with a hearty laugh, “Feng Shang, my friend, no use shouting. This is clearly a trap. Be careful, or you might attract the monsters lurking beneath these mechanisms!”

His warning was not in vain, for the ground soon began to tremble.

“I think we’d better run!” Mao Xuanzi sensed from the vibrations that a horde of gigantic monsters was charging toward them.

Feng Shang, too, felt the tremors. At Mao Xuanzi’s words, he was the first to turn and flee.

With a resounding “clang,” the entire mechanism suddenly ground to a halt. In the heart of the trap-laden cavern, Han Tianyue’s group was startled to find the massive gears, after a brief pause, begin to turn in reverse.

The reversing gears did not threaten Han Tianyue’s group, but for Jindi and the others, they cut off all hope of retreat, trapping them as the monstrous pursuers drew closer. The only escape route led straight toward the oncoming beasts.

No matter how fast they ran, Jindi and his group could not shake off the horde behind them.

Meanwhile, Han Tianyue and his companions were already being watched. A ragdoll-like figure suddenly darted forth and landed on the gear before them, shouting angrily, “Intruders must die!”

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