Apocalypse Gachapon

Chapter 1622: Lava Hell

The first thing Ye Zhongming felt upon seeing this object wasn’t joy, but wariness.

To be honest, even during the Ocean King Crown challenge, he hadn’t experienced this level of unease. Back then, his evolutionary level was lower, yet his confidence had been unshakable. But here, with the Mountain Crown Wheel, the very first trial had left him feeling pressed.

And now? He stood one step away from Nine Stars.

This unease manifested most concretely in the statue before him.

He picked it up, examining it far more carefully than the stones or the Human Refining Furnace. Ye Zhongming wanted to unlock its secrets.

But to his disappointment, he couldn’t discern its purpose. No matter how he probed, the stone statue remained unresponsive.

”Boss, do we press on?”

Xiao Min’s question gave Ye Zhongming pause.

He understood her concern. There was no fixed timeline here—no destination to reach, no mandatory tasks to complete. Just forward movement through this expanse.

If time weren’t a factor, waiting a few days for the wounded to recover would restore Cloud Peak’s combat strength.
But no one knew the true nature of this roulette space. What if, during this delay, someone else seized the Mountain Crown Wheel first?

The decision rested on Ye Zhongming’s shoulders.

”We move.”

He sighed inwardly but gave the order.

Advancing now carried risks—but compared to the risk of losing the Mountain Crown Wheel, it was a necessary gamble. Content originally comes from (.)net

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While Cloud Peak’s team marched onward with trepidation, similar scenes played out across this space. Battle seemed omnipresent.

Gyanendra watched wearily as waves of stone cavalry pressed closer. Reluctantly, he ordered the new combat machines in his ranks to unleash their primary attack. Each use required two hours of recharge, meaning his team would lose its most potent area firepower for that duration.

But did he have a choice?

Facing stone cavalry that had already reached Level 8 strength, the answer was clear.

A storm of firepower erupted, vaporizing the surrounding enemies. The team even let out a brief cheer—the prior battle’s pressure had been crushing.

Gyanendra, however, showed no relief. His eyes remained locked on the post-battle rubble, just as Cloud Peak’s members had done earlier.

When the fragments began moving, he closed his eyes in resignation.

The first barrier, and already he had to play his trump card. The road ahead would be brutal.

For the first time, the Saint of West Asia questioned his decision to compete for the Mountain Crown Wheel.

A Level 9 Type V stone cavalry slowly took form.

………………………………

Ruan Xiao and Wu Xiu were eating peculiar beans.

The beans were crimson, about the size of broad beans. The two consumed only three each before carefully storing the rest in an ornate little box.

”I have twenty-one left,” Ruan Xiao remarked abruptly, watching the temporarily quiet battlefield.

Wu Xiu nodded. ”Twenty-three here.”

The two highest leaders of Cannibal Chain exchanged a wry smile.

”Magic Beans are our organization’s highest secret,” Wu Xiu explained quietly. ”They can replace many potions—even some skill scrolls, in our latest breakthroughs. But production remains pitifully low. We each brought thirty-five into this space, and already, we’ve burned through over a third… just to survive the first barrier.”

Had Ye Zhongming been present, he would have been stunned.

In fact, any evolved hearing of the Magic Beans’ effects would feel bone-deep shock.

Just as the world had once reacted to Cloud Peak’s crystal weapons and gene lifeforms, these beans represented a paradigm shift.

Ruan Xiao’s mind briefly wandered. What was Cloud Peak doing now? Were they, like his team, bracing for a Level 9 entity’s emergence? Or had they already cleared this trial, moving on to the next?

A colossal silhouette shattered his thoughts.

Beside him, Wu Xiu and all Cannibal Chain fighters raised glowing hands. Elemental energy coalesced into a gigantic flaming phoenix overhead.

The Magic Beans had restored their strength.

Now, battle awaited.

………………………………

Big Z, his face paint smeared and jester’s garb in tatters, gasped hoarsely as he stared at the oncoming stone tide.

Despair settled in.

His team served Governor Spade, and the mountainous man had treated him well, replenishing lost troops, even elevating Big Z to Eight Stars.

The Z-Type Vengeance Squad was Spade’s loyal hound.

Yet no one had anticipated that inside the Mountain Crown Wheel’s space, factions would be separated. They hadn’t entered alongside Spade.

Though Big Z’s personal combat power was decent, his team’s overall strength was mediocre. Now, facing just a few Type IV cavalry, their formation had collapsed entirely.

Against such overwhelming numbers, losing formation meant only one outcome: slaughter.

Here, there was only forward—no retreat.

With a roar, Big Z charged.

Ten seconds later, the Z-Type Vengeance Squad was wiped out.

Outside, the black portal leading to their camp vanished, leaving only the eternal snowstorm.

………………………………

The Motley Crusaders, the Women Camp, and Governor Spade—every faction competing for the Mountain Crown Wheel faced the same trial.

Some endured. Others, like the Z-Type Vengeance Squad, perished instantly.

This was the price of contending for a ruler-grade artifact—the highest-grade equipment on Earth. Such treasures weren’t meant for ordinary hands. Only the elite of the elite had any right to participate.

The rest? They became stepping stones, though few realized it, clinging to hopes of luck or overestimating their strength.

The result?

Extinction. A final farewell to this cruel yet vibrant post-apocalyptic world.

………………………………

Unaware of the outside world’s struggles, Cloud Peak trekked through the frozen wasteland for nearly two hours before the scenery shifted abruptly.

”Lava… fields?”