Chapter 48: Returning to the Sinkhole to Unearth Gems

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
Tang Ziran summoned two wild wolves to stand guard in front of her, watching Shen Xin with wary eyes.
“Don’t be nervous. We’re from the same village. I’ve heard about you for a long time. Since it’s the holiday today, I came especially to find you and take you to the city for work.”
Tang Ziran scrutinized Shen Xin, clearly skeptical. “Which team are you in?”
“The Chushui Team. My name is Shen Xin, currently studying at Niucheng University, and I also have a good part-time job.”
“Chushui Team, Shen Xin… Oh, I remember now. Is your father Shen Haibin?”
“Yes, yes, that’s my dad.”
Tang Ziran withdrew her wolves, smiled apologetically. “My home is really rundown, and I have nothing to offer you. Let me pour you some water.”
Shen Xin waved his hands quickly. “Ziran, I came here today to invite you to my house for the Dragon Boat Festival. Come on, the meal is ready, just waiting for you.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…”
“Let's go!”
Without giving her a chance to refuse, Shen Xin grabbed Tang Ziran’s small hand and led her to the motorcycle.
“Hey, hey, I haven’t closed the door yet.”
“It’s fine, no one comes around here anyway.”
Soon, Shen Xin brought Tang Ziran home.
Shen’s mother was grinning from ear to ear, whispering, “Son, so you’ve already found yourself a girl, no wonder you bought so many things!”
Shen Xin explained, “Don’t misunderstand. This is Tang Ziran. I just recognized her as my god-sister. She’s as close to me as my real sister Shen Lan!”
“I know, I know. Mothers always know. God-sister, huh!”
Shen Xin didn’t bother to explain further. After lunch, he took Tang Ziran to town, bought her a pile of clothes and daily necessities.
When Tang Ziran had showered and changed into her new clothes, he hired a taxi that night, taking her to the grand courtyard in Niucheng.
He didn’t even meet his sister Shen Lan this time; he planned to wait until after her college entrance exam to gather together.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, it was just as before—only Chen Jiawang was there.
This time, Shen Xin said directly, “Wang, this is my sister. Her superpower is summoning—she can call forth any animal she’s seen with her own eyes.”
Chen Jiawang sized up Tang Ziran several times, had her demonstrate her ability, then led them to the second basement floor. Tang Ziran summoned a white tiger and successfully joined.
In the following days, Shen Xin stayed at the courtyard, cultivating his visualization techniques and digesting his Qi and Blood Pills.
During the holiday, he called Yu Yanan, relieved to hear she was obediently staying at home.

He also called He Xuantong, who was safe and sound.
Tang Ziran diligently tended to her five exotic beasts.
Five days later, Sister Dan finally returned, everything proceeding just as last time. Sister Dan gave Chen Jiawang a pair of Vajra Claws, handed Shen Xin a flying dagger, transferred thirty thousand to Tang Ziran, then announced her seclusion.
Shen Xin was a bit more at ease—at least everything was as before.
That night, lying in bed, Shen Xin quietly pondered how to quickly enhance his strength.
Although he’d reset once, he hadn’t gained much fortune.
His best option now was to go to the sinkhole in Xiaowang Village, Snake City, to mine gemstones. Those stones could aid his cultivation and were quite valuable.
But the risks remained; last time, he’d been inexplicably attacked.
Thankfully, he hadn’t encountered any superhumans that time.
He decided to head to the sinkhole for gemstones.
Early the next morning, he took a taxi to Snake City, bought a quality hiking backpack, a miner’s lamp, and a pickaxe. He also picked up some provisions and again hired a car to Xiaowang Village.
By the time he arrived, dusk had fallen, and it was already past seven.
He didn’t enter the village directly but skirted around before heading up the mountain. Having been there twice before, he quickly found the sinkhole.
Standing at the edge, he surveyed his surroundings to ensure no one was around, then teleported straight down, using his phone’s light to swiftly locate the entrance to a cave.
Once inside, he switched on the miner’s lamp, and not long after, found the gemstones in the cave.
Though it was his third time seeing those brilliant, galaxy-like stones, he couldn’t help but feel awed.
“Let’s get to work!”
Until four in the morning, he finally filled his backpack. Hoisting it onto his back, he estimated it weighed more than a hundred pounds.
Luckily, he’d taken two Qi and Blood Pills—otherwise, carrying it would have been strenuous. The pills greatly boosted his strength, so lugging the heavy pack was effortless.
After exiting the cave, he used his teleportation four times in succession, easily returning to the top of the sinkhole.
His teleportation was mostly intact, but one thing hadn’t carried over—his mental power hadn’t increased.
Before resetting, he could teleport over a hundred meters at once; now, it was still the same, but he could only do it twenty or thirty times in succession.
He also retained spatial distortion, though its power was much diminished.
He remembered that before resetting, he’d only used spatial distortion once to crush four high-level vampires into blood.
That was no longer possible.
Now, he could shatter wooden objects within a five-meter cube.

The effective range was about thirty meters.
For ordinary people, it’d likely cause their bodies to burst in less than a second.
He checked the time—five in the morning, dawn just breaking.
Taking advantage of the early hour, he quickly descended the mountain, reached a nearby town, and boarded a bus to Snake City. Once aboard, he hugged his backpack and closed his eyes to rest.
He returned to Niucheng smoothly, hurried back to his rented room, stuffed the backpack under the bed, covered it with suitcases and other things, keeping only a dozen gemstones on him.
The rental had anti-theft windows and doors; security shouldn’t be an issue. He’d been living there for over a year without being robbed.
Still, nothing was absolute. He planned to rent a house near the courtyard in a few days.
The urgent matter was to sell some gemstones for cash.
But he had no connections; after all, he was just a regular rural college student, with little network in Niucheng. If it were Chen Jiawang, he’d have plenty of channels.
Yet, he couldn’t reveal the gemstones for now, as there were missions ahead, and explanations would be tricky.
He had only one option: ask Sister Dan to register them in advance as bounty hunters.
So, he secured his doors and windows, went to the courtyard to find Sister Dan and explained his intentions.
Sister Dan thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and called all members together to discuss the team name.
Once everyone was present, Sister Dan said, “I plan to rename the squad. Does anyone have a good suggestion?”
Chen Jiawang raised his hand first. “We should have had a team name long ago. I propose ‘The Unstoppable Squad’—it’s fierce and imposing!”
Old Mo almost choked on his saliva, coughed a few times, then said, “Jiawang, you’re too unruly. I suggest ‘Blood and Iron Heart Squad’.”
Sister Dan turned to Shen Xin. “Shen Xin, you’re a college student. What’s your opinion?”
“Um, let’s call it ‘Red-crowned Crane Squad’.”
Tang Ziran and Old Mo nodded in agreement, thinking it was a good name.
Sister Dan smiled with satisfaction. “Since there’s no objection, ‘Red-crowned Crane Squad’ it is! Old Mo, please go register the name this afternoon, and have the identities registered as well.”
“Alright, no problem.”
Old Mo agreed readily.