Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 503 - 498: Black Magnet Mountain

As they approached Black Magnet Mountain, the compasses everyone carried became increasingly unreliable, with some even experiencing their needles spinning rapidly before breaking.

Masha, somewhat frightened, clung to Ji Ning, tugging at her clothes and said, "Master sister, there are lots of particularly dark gases ahead, perhaps we should take a detour."

Particularly dark gases?

Ji Ning, curious, halted and her pupils began to deepen.

After a while, her pupils returned to normal.

She reached out to stroke Masha’s soft hair, reassuringly saying, "It’s okay, just some venomous creatures."

She then commanded, "Everyone, be on guard! There are hundreds of dormant mutant venomous snakes in the sand ahead."

Upon hearing this, Masha felt her scalp tingle and was reluctant to continue forward.

"Stay close to me, don’t wander off," Ji Ning looked down at her again.

Masha’s hands were firmly gripping her sleeve, her face marked by concealed fear.

The Twelve Guards, experienced as they were, formed a circular protective formation around Ji Ning, Masha, and Ye Xingyan, cautiously moving forward, finally bringing their heavy weapons into use.

Upon entering a particular area, the sound of the wind around them suddenly vanished.

Even the starlight in the sky disappeared.

The ground seemed shrouded in darkness, as if they truly entered hell, stepping into the Devil’s realm.

Ji Ning felt Masha clutch her sleeve tighter and suddenly said, "Everyone, stop advancing."

The captain at the forefront lowered the foot he had lifted.

Fixing his gaze, he finally noticed just three steps ahead, a black venomous snake lying in wait.

Quietly blending with the surroundings, it would go unnoticed without careful observation.

Ji Ning raised her arm, palm towards the sky.

The surrounding magnetic field gradually became agitated, causing the black snakes on the ground to awake, raising their slender bodies and slowly opening their cold eyes, like hell’s reapers, watching them coldly.

Even the battle-hardened Twelve Guards felt their scalps tingle, their hair standing on end, as they aimed their weapons at the nearest black snake.

In Masha’s eyes, black gases came from all directions, rapidly swirling into an increasingly thick tornado in Master sister’s palm.

The dense blackness resembled the terrifying energy of a pre-storm black whirlwind.

Masha knelt again, praying devoutly for God’s protection of their safety.

The sand on the ground seemed to come to life, starting to dance.

The black snakes, upright, their pupils becoming vertical, twisted restlessly.

Suddenly, in the silent sky, a breaking female voice rang out.

"Get lost—"

Hundreds and thousands of venomous snakes suddenly seemed to understand human language, retreating to the sides, even leaving an empty circular barrier around the Twelve Guards.

The Twelve Guards, tense to the point of cold sweat pouring down, feared any movement would provoke the snakes a few centimeters away to attack.

They had never seen so many venomous snakes in their lives.

It was like a massive migration, densely emerging from the sand and stone crevices, relinquishing their old lairs to them.

Those with trypophobia would faint at the sight.

When they thought the snake swarm had left, finishing the ordeal, they were unexpectedly approached by a group of thumb-sized desert army ants, which from afar appeared like a vast expanse of black cement, pouring down from the dunes.

The captain was already pale, internally pleading: Ancestors appear, ancestors protect.

He desperately wished to switch places with the Commander.

The black "cement," upon reaching them, seemed to encounter an insurmountable mountain, splitting, quickly departing to the sides.

But it wasn’t over, as the dancing sand beneath their feet appeared pushed outward by an invisible force.

The dunes they stood on began to slowly collapse downward.

Collapsing more than a meter high, revealing black rocks.

***

Two hours later, the group set up tents, lit fires, and cooked meals on a patch of black rocks.

The Twelve Guards faced Ji Ning with even greater reverence than before.

Even more respectful than towards Ye Xingyan.

Ji Ning seemed to meditate by a small campfire.

The Twelve Guards, along with Masha, sat by another larger fire, cooking and eating.

Nobody dared disturb Ji Ning, even the talkative Lao Qi and Shi Er were unusually silent, nibbling on dry rations.

Masha alone gazed curiously at Ji Ning.

She noticed the black gas surrounding them had significantly lightened, seemingly absorbed by Master sister.

She was still absorbing this black gas.

Ji Ning realized her earring particularly liked the magnetic energy here, even actively capturing energy during her manipulation of the magnetic field.

Could this energy have a special attribute?

Ji Ning infused her spiritual power into the earring, feeling the energy inside gradually becoming pure and gentle, integrating it into her body, slowly digesting it, merging with her superpower.

Since awakening her superpower, she had been doing this daily.

The purified energy from the earring could slowly enhance both her physical condition and spiritual power.

Enabling her to perceive the world, acquiring unknown superpowers one after another.

She had a premonition that the magnetic energy absorbed this time would be significant in the future.

...

Unaware of how long passed, Masha, sleeping in the tent, was suddenly awoken by the blinding sunlight.

Dazed, wrapped in her sleeping bag, she sat up, observing the oppressive black gases had vanished, replaced by the familiar earthy yellow gases of the desert.

Ji Ning, who had sat meditating for two consecutive days, was already up, exercising nearby.

Even exchanging dozens of moves with the Captain of the Twelve Guards.

Time appeared to be unreadable, assuming the day finally broke, seemingly oblivious to the night’s length.

After cooking again, the group decided to set off, hoping to leave this uncanny place quickly under the hot sun.

From the map, passing through Black Magnet Mountain would lead them to a water source. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

They needed to replenish water there, but the electronic maps were unusable, and the compasses were dysfunctional.

Everyone could only silently look at Ji Ning, following wherever she went.

Soon, after half a day following Ji Ning’s path, they spotted a small oasis.

As a Water Ability User, Shi Er rushed towards the oasis faster than Lao Qi.

The icy lake water reviving her.

To Masha, this aunt’s blue energy became increasingly vibrant.

She too loved water...

"Shi Er, bring out everything capable of holding water."

The Twelve Guards fetched water by the lakeshore, while Ji Ning absorbed water on the other side.

It wasn’t until the water level dropped by half a meter that she stopped.

The other eleven of the Twelve Guards all looked at Shi Er, eyes filled with longing.

Shi Er felt immense pressure, hastily shaking his head.

He couldn’t manage this.

And instantly, he felt the siblings’ sharp gazes, falling out of favor for the first time in the beloved team, becoming resented.

Shi Er felt wronged.

But the Commander’s superpower was indeed tempting.

He wished to learn...

Eventually, beside Ji Ning stood not only Lao Qi but also Shi Er.

***

After departing the oasis, they hurried for three more days, Ji Ning suddenly noticed many familiar electromagnetic waves in the air.

This energy density usually appeared in cities.

She quickly climbed a dune, using a high-powered telescope to peer ahead.

The distant sky resembled the initial Black Magnet Mountain, shrouded in clouds.

The ions within the clouds were extremely dense.

Occasionally, lightning rolled across the clouds, the distant thunder faintly audible despite the distance.

Suddenly, she smiled slightly, saying softly, "Found you, Smart Brain."