“What about these two?”Yun Luohe looked at the other two; they were already begging for mercy.“Hand over your stuff too, and you live.”Anyone who made it out here had to be doing well. And with a teammate that rich, these two wouldn’t be shabby either.They hated it, but they complied.Their haul was solid—not much in basic materials, but plenty of Volcano Island supplies and all kinds of tools and gear.Even if she didn’t need it, she could flip it for Sea Coins.She happily took the lot. Her backpack was full, though, so she only kept half; Yu Chenjin took the rest.Once they’d stripped them, she told the three to get lost.She and Yu Chenjin still needed to finish collecting lava stones. There were a few left in the river.The trio couldn’t leave fast enough.After they were gone, Yun Luohe and Yu Chenjin met eyes and cracked up.“This scepter’s a bonus—fits you,” she said. A monk’s staff and a scepter weren’t far off in form.“No need. I can’t use it. My trait doesn’t work with shadow-aspect weapons. You take it.” He passed the scepter to Yun Luohe.“Really giving it to me?”“Mm. Take it.”“It’s probably part of the Bat King set. I already have one piece—this could complete a set. Tell you what: I’ll swap you with materials. Tell me what you need and I’ll send it over.”“Works.” He glanced at the Lava River. “Let’s finish the rest and keep tight on time.”They headed back to the river.Yun Luohe walked toward midstream. The Earthvein Black Boots stamped black footprints in the magma; each step briefly congealed the lava for a few seconds.The farther in she went, the darker the magma ran—orange-red deepening toward near-black crimson.It hadn’t looked like this last time.Maybe {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a seasonal shift.She reached into the dark flow and fished out a palm-sized stone.[Obsidian Lava Stone x1][Obsidian Lava Stone: Contains extreme geothermal energy. Usable to craft Cold-Resistance Cores; core material for winter thermostatic devices.]“Whoa—an even higher tier. This is better than before.” She stowed the Obsidian Lava Stone. “Yu Chenjin, get over here.”He waded in and flicked up a similar piece with the staff—different shape, roughly the same size.“Obsidian Lava Stones should heat living quarters.”“I need a lot. The NPC residences need them too.”Fenfen kept circling low over the river, too scared to get close—worried the lava would singe his pretty feathers.He suddenly chirped toward a spot.She followed his point—nothing obvious to the eye, but her senses pricked as well.She hurried over and felt out an irregular stone.Lifted from the magma, it gleamed in rainbow hues.“What’s this?”[Spatial Heat Crystal: Holds both spatial and geothermal energy. Can craft a Heated Storage Box that preserves items and maintains a constant temperature—ideal for winter food storage.]“A spatial-aspect material.” Her eyes lit at the crystal. “With this, we can heat food on the go in winter.” That meant no more stuffing meals into the personal backpack slots. She could park them in regular storage gear and reheat before eating. In killing cold, food chilled instantly; this was a lifesaver.“Didn’t expect spatial-aspect materials on Volcano Island,” Yu Chenjin said, surprised.Yun Luohe looked at Fenfen. “Credit to his sharp eyes. The river masks its signal—you’d miss it without a close look.”Fenfen puffed his chest, flitted onto her shoulder, and chirped nonstop. “I’m useful!”They sped up. By noon, the river’s lava stones were picked clean.Plus the loot from the three idiots, both backpacks were crammed, and the spare storage pouches stuffed.“Hot spring zone next.” She eyed the sky—perpetually gray here, volcanic ash everywhere, dimming the light.“I’ve been there,” Yu Chenjin said. “Easy to find.”The springs lay near an obsidian cliff—not far—and this time they could skirt around instead of climbing.“Good. Quick rest, then move.”She scanned around, spotted fire lizards nearby, and released spiders. “I’ll bag a few—lizardhide’s useful.”——Fenfen led overhead.The rift pitched steeply downward; the air turned hotter and wetter. The closer to the volcano’s heart, the higher the heat.The ground shifted to black volcanic crust with occasional jets of steam from cracks.Sheer rock walls loomed on both sides, all jagged outcrops; underfoot, soft ash and scorching gravel.Fenfen flew lower and lower, chirping: “…so hot… popsicle…”Yun Luohe sighed, tossed him a nut popsicle, and watched him scurry under Yu Chenjin’s cloak for shade—the Flameforce Cloak absorbed heat yet blocked most of the hot air, a decent parasol.“Springs ahead,” Yu Chenjin pointed to a steam-veiled basin. “Heavy vapor.”Sweat slicked their brows.In autumn, it had been a long time since they’d felt heat like this.Yun Luohe felt the energy currents. “Springs are below… more than one.”Down in the valley, the sight perked them up.Several sulfur springs of different sizes bubbled, tracing bright yellow and white mineral streaks across the gray-black rock. The sulfur reek hung thick.She beamed, hurried to a larger pool. The water was crystal-clear, fine white mineral mud settled on the bottom. She tested the temperature—warm at the rim, scalding at center.“Definitely hot springs—but we need the core heat source, something that sustains output.”Fenfen called from above: “Chee! Master—white, flossy stuff on those rocks to the left!”She rushed over. A relatively soft rock face was blanketed in thick, asbestos-like white fibers. She carefully scraped with a collection net.[Volcanic Rock Wool x1][Volcanic Rock Wool: High-grade insulation. Traits: excellent heat insulation, high temperature resistance, lightweight. Uses: building insulation layers, clothing fill.]“Perfect!” Top-tier greenhouse insulation. She had spiders spool and bundle it with silk.Yu Chenjin found something too—by a steaming spring, a special, lustrous black stone half-submerged. He crouched; the staff tip touched a dark red stone and it felt pleasantly warm.[Geothermal Warmth Stone x1][Geothermal Warmth Stone: Holds mild geothermal energy and releases heat slowly over long durations. Suited for small-area heating, e.g., greenhouse seed beds, small hot-spring pool floors.]Not a true spring-core, but just right for key greenhouse zones or compact baths.They combed the area, taking everything worth taking.She also uncovered gray-black mud that lifted in rich slabs with a shovel—and shifted color on the ground.[Healing Mud (High-Grade): Usable for recovery potions; topical application rapidly closes wounds.]“Chee-chee! Something here! Warm air behind this big rock!”Fenfen dropped onto a massive volcanic boulder at the rift’s deepest niche and hopped in excitement.The boulder plugged a recess; its face was polished-slick.Yun Luohe hurried up; heat pulsed from behind the stone.Yu Chenjin tapped it with the staff. “Hollow.”Together they levered it aside.Boom—enough of a gap to slip through, and a blast of heat far hotter than outside, heavy with sulfur and vapor, slammed into them.A hidden pocket cavern.At its center, a livelier spring churned with bubbles; the water ran blue.In the very heart lay a red crystal, about the size of a baby’s head, resting steady on the bottom.It resembled a red variant of a lava stone, but golden fire streamed inside it. It radiated shocking heat and a stable energy pulse, painting the chamber blood-bright.Delighted, she reached to take it—and it didn’t budge.It was scorching to the touch; without gloves, she’d have burned.“Needs a special method.”She studied it, frowning. “It’s… grown into the basin. Forcing it might fail.”“Yeah. Might damage it.”Yu Chenjin tested with the staff; a faint gold glow ran the shaft.She closed her eyes and sensed—fine golden lines webbed the rock under the spring, with magma hues flowing beneath.“The spring ties into the earthveins.” She thought a moment. “Maybe we need a like-aspect catalyst?”“Try the Obsidian Lava Stones,” Yu Chenjin said.She set one on top—nothing.She added two more.With three Obsidian Lava Stones nested against it, the crystal thrummed—alive.“It’s starting. There’s a response.” She fed heat from the stones in a slow pulse.The golden lines flared.“Got it.”Blistering hot, but she didn’t let go.[Heart of Geothermal x1][Heart of Geothermal: Hot spring core. Brimming with geothermal power. Core heat source for building a large hot-spring pool; continuously outputs stable high heat.]Excellent. With this, they could build a full-scale hot spring. When winter hit, soaking would be pure bliss. There was only one, though—they’d decide ownership after.They swept more premium spring mud around the core, plus larger warm stones.After a couple of hours, the spring zone was about tapped.“Time to head back,” she said, gauging the light. “Once we’re home, we sort and split.”—By the time they reached the reef, it was dark. She was about to pull out the motorcycle when Yuntun’s emotions spiked hard through the bond.Her heart jumped—spider egg activity.She sprinted to the Spider House.The door swung open to Yuntun crouched by the golden egg, tapping the vessel in anxious little beats.Yuntun’s forelegs brushed the egg.A crack traced across the shell, gold light leaking through.Cracks spidered over the surface; a tiny shadow wriggled inside.“Is it hatching?” Her pulse climbed to her throat as she rushed over.Yuntun hissed in soft reliance—the moment Yun Luohe arrived, it calmed.[Golden Silverback Wolf Spider Egg Hatching Progress: 90%.]“So fast?” Her eyes went wide.Tonight was colder than before.It would only get colder. Hatching before winter hit would be perfect.Which meant—she’d see a baby spider any second.As she leaned in—pop—a soft snap. The shell split.A spider the size of a fingernail crawled out.She froze.Too sudden.Its carapace shone silver-white, dotted with gold specks; eight legs fine as silver threads. The eyes were the most striking—Amber irises with a faint golden glow.The baby didn’t scatter like an ordinary hatchling. It marched straight to Yuntun’s foreleg and booped the fur with its head.[Golden Silverback Wolf Spider Juvenile hatched successfully.][Golden Silverback Wolf Spider Juvenile (Lv.1): Queen gene activated. As it levels up, it can inherit the Broodmother’s skills concurrently.]Yun Luohe stared, caught between awe and warmth.So cute.Yuntun’s baby.So well-behaved.Yuntun hissed and chittered nonstop, conversing with the little one.She understood: it was telling its baby the human before them was their master.After listening, the baby spider toddled to Yun Luohe, tapped her finger with a foreleg, and looked up, motionless.Adorable overload.She didn’t blink, hammering the light-screen shutter—photos and captures, all of them.A newborn baby spider—absurdly cute.Judging by other spiders’ growth, this one would shoot up fast—changing day by day—so she had to preserve its first photos now.Too bad she couldn’t send them to Yu Chenjin.Different districts.She could at least ping him on the Conch Communicator.She hated to part with it.Sigh…But she’d promised long ago.Still, Yu Chenjin’s side was a good home. He’d never kept a pet—he’d been waiting for Yuntun’s child.

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