"The races fighting on the battlefield correspond perfectly to the races in reality," said the Ancient Mine Race.

"Then why was I part of the Olivine Race?" Mo Ling asked, confused.

"Because the stimulation signal couldn’t detect your race, you were randomly assigned one."

The Ancient Mine Race pointed to the map and began to explain.

He had divided the mineral veins on this battlefield purely for convenience. Rare minerals were distributed on the outskirts, while common minerals were gathered in the center.

Therefore, these Mineral Races first fought amongst their own kind. Then, they battled others from the same faction, and finally, they faced enemies from the opposing faction.

At first, the pressure from combat was low, and it caused little fear. But as the battle progressed to its later stages, that fear gradually intensified.

The farther they were from their home mineral veins, the stronger their fear became.

This disparity in fear subconsciously influenced these descendants, resulting in the strange factional divisions we see in reality.

The method of destroying mineral veins also remained in their subconscious, leading to the emergence of the so-called "extinction tactic."

"They don’t know the root of their fear, but from the moment they first struck, war became inevitable."

The more intense the war, the more ingrained the fear became, ultimately leading to the current situation in the Thorn Stone Forest.

Now that he knew the cause of the war, Mo Ling was still puzzled about something. He asked, "Why does the stimulation signal grow stronger as the fighting subsides?"

The Ancient Mine Race explained, "Because in my dazed state, I sensed that my descendants had lost their vitality, so I would gradually strengthen the signal. I can’t control it myself."

Hearing this, Mo Ling finally began to piece together the events that had transpired in the Thorn Stone Forest.

But Mo Ling realized many things still didn’t add up.

’Why was I affected by the stimulation signal, and why didn’t I forget what happened on the battlefield?’

’Where did the fifth generation of descendants go?’

’And how did that red cloth suddenly appear among the Natural Gas Race?’

...

Mo Ling wanted to ask more, but the Ancient Mine Race had already risen to its feet.

"There is one last thing to do, to give all of this a perfect ending."

It then glanced at Mo Ling and added, "Don’t get in the way."

The words had barely faded when everything collapsed again. A flash of darkness, and Mo Ling was back inside the Stone Ball.

"He didn’t even finish," Mo Ling grumbled.

Just then, he saw Shibeng standing beside him, seemingly sensing something.

’Have his memories of the battlefield vanished?’ Mo Ling wondered, studying Shibeng, but he couldn’t see any difference.

As he was pondering the meaning of the Ancient Mine Race’s final words, Mo Ling felt the entire Thorn Stone Forest begin to tremble. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The violent tremors were even causing the passages inside the Stone Ball to collapse.

Seeing the entrance was now open, Mo Ling and Shibeng scrambled out of the Stone Ball.

Cixing was waiting anxiously at the bottom of the steps.

Seeing Shibeng emerge from the stone, Cixing hurriedly shouted, "Shibeng, my friend! What did you experience inside the Stone Ball?"

Mo Ling also looked at Shibeng expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"The stimulation signal pulled me into a virtual battlefield. I went through a battle," Shibeng answered earnestly.

’He didn’t forget either!’ Mo Ling was surprised.

’What is that Ancient Mine Race trying to do?’

The tremors grew more violent, shaking the very earth. Rocks rained down from above. Cixing’s expression grew grave. He crouched down, placing a hand on the ground to feel the vibrations.

A moment later, he said in shock, "It’s a massive earthquake!"

’A massive earthquake?’

’Does the Ancient Mine Race intend to destroy this generation of descendants too? Is this the "perfect ending" it mentioned?’

The group hastily retreated from the black stone pillar. By now, most of the buildings in Neon Village had completely collapsed, and its support columns were in ruins.

The prisms that once refracted sunlight had been shaken to the ground, plunging all of Neon Village into darkness.

Then, from behind a stone pillar in Neon Village, a gray creature suddenly burst forth.

It was the Ancient Mine Race from the virtual battlefield!

’Not again!’

The moment the Ancient Mine Race appeared, it charged the group, forcing them to scatter. It then immediately gave chase, heading straight for Shibeng.

A light swirled in its eyes, and a familiar, seven-colored beam erupted toward Shibeng.

Its only target was Shibeng!

Struck by the intensely hot beam, Shibeng immediately transformed into his molten lava form and charged the Ancient Mine Race.

’Looks like Shibeng really does remember what happened on the battlefield.’

’His combat experience was retained.’

Shibeng dodged toward the Ancient Mine Race, then suddenly raised an arm, spraying magma to envelop his opponent.

But the Ancient Mine Race simply stepped forward, shedding its magma-covered body and instantly reforming a few feet ahead.

’Such incredible recovery speed!’

"Lava is not enough!" a booming voice emanated from the Ancient Mine Race. "You need more!"

A fist whistled through the air as it smashed down toward Shibeng. He had no choice but to cross his four arms and take the heavy blow head-on.

Fortunately, the Ancient Mine Race’s strength wasn’t overwhelming, and the blow didn’t cause Shibeng any real harm.

However, something frightening happened. A golden sheen spread from the point of impact across Shibeng’s entire body. Realizing something was wrong, Shibeng immediately shoved the Ancient Mine Race away.

But the golden tide was unstoppable, quickly crawling over Shibeng’s entire body.

"This is gold! Feel it. Though soft, it is very resilient," the Ancient Mine Race boomed.

After a brief pause, the Ancient Mine Race charged Shibeng again. Before Shibeng could fully adapt, it landed a punch on his chin.

A crystalline material instantly spread from Shibeng’s chin, then transformed his entire body.

"This is diamond! It is incredibly hard and can withstand most attacks," the Ancient Mine Race shouted at Shibeng.

Shibeng adapted much faster this time. After briefly familiarizing himself with his new diamond body, he charged the Ancient Mine Race once more.

However, a thin, seven-colored ray shot out, striking Shibeng in the abdomen.

Upon impact, Shibeng’s diamond body was instantly filled with mottled colors. He was frozen in place, completely helpless.

"Incredibly hard, but it has poor high-temperature stability and is prone to uneven heating," the Ancient Mine Race explained, shaking its head.

It slowly walked up to the immobilized Shibeng, tapped him on the shoulder, and changed his body into yet another material.

The Ancient Mine Race seemed to be toying with Shibeng, constantly altering his body while lecturing him on the properties of various minerals.

...

"Natural gas. Flammable."

The Ancient Mine Race changed Shibeng into natural gas. A seven-colored light swirled in its eyes as it fired another thin, high-temperature ray.

But this time, when the seven-colored ray struck Shibeng, the expected inferno never came.

A solid black plate of rock had appeared at the point of impact, blocking the high-temperature ray.

Seeing this, a look of gratification flashed in the Ancient Mine Race’s eyes. It immediately followed up by firing countless more seven-colored rays at Shibeng.

Then, it raised the two fists on its right arm, turned them to diamond, and lunged toward Shibeng to strike.

But with two muffled THUDS, the hard fists were stopped by a large, golden shield. The fists sank into the shield, unable to move.

A small opening then appeared in the center of the shield. A jet of gas sprayed out, coalescing in mid-air to reform Shibeng’s body.

A whip-like kick swept out, sending the Ancient Mine Race flying into the distance.

But in the blink of an eye, the two were clashing once more, the materials of their bodies constantly shifting.

And the Ancient Mine Race’s resonant, powerful explanations continued to echo across the battlefield.