56: Chapter 56 Alien Ruins Discovered in the Wasteland? Quick, let's scavenge!

In the Far North Ice Fields, the cold wind cut like a knife.

The temperature here remained at minus sixty degrees Celsius year-round, freezing water instantly. Even the mutant beasts, known for their tenacious vitality, would freeze into ice sculptures upon reaching this place.

But at this moment, before a towering glacial crevice, a fully armed team stood ready.

Jiang Wanqiu stood at the very front.

The black nano-combat suit she wore shimmered with a cold, eerie light in the blizzard. Although it looked thin, thanks to the built-in temperature control system, she felt no cold at all; on the contrary, she was burning with excitement for the upcoming "treasure hunt."

"The Father God is watching us."

Jiang Wanqiu pressed the communicator at her ear, her voice clearly transmitted to every soldier's ears via bone conduction: "Everyone, be on high alert! This is not just an exploration; it is to offer the best sacrifice to the Father God!"

"Yes!"

Grand Commander Lei Zhen, shouldering a heavy laser cannon, bellowed in a gruff voice, "Whoever dares to slack off, I'll throw them into an ice hole to feed the fish!"

"Open the door!"

Following Jiang Wanqiu's command, the silvery-white metal door, half-buried in ice and snow and engraved with a strange spiral emblem, slowly slid open to both sides amidst a low rumble.

There was no musty, stale smell, nor any expected radiation alarm.

A breath of fresh air, even carrying a faint scent of ozone, surged out from behind the door.

On this side of the screen, Jiang Chen lay on his bed, staring fixedly at his phone, holding his breath.

This was an alien ruin!

If he could scavenge a laser sword, or even an anti-gravity skateboard, he would be rich!

"Enter!"

With a gentle tap from Jiang Chen on the screen, Jiang Wanqiu led her team into that unknown territory.

The world behind the door stunned everyone.

There were no rusty pipes or exposed wires common in the Wasteland, nor that rough industrial style.

It was a long corridor built entirely from some unknown white material. The walls were smooth as mirrors, glowing with a soft, milky-white halo, and one couldn't even see where the light source was.

Minimalist, sophisticated, and full of futuristic vibes.

"Beep—beep—" The radiation detector in Grand Commander Lei Zhen's hand remained deathly silent.

"Your Majesty, the radiation level is Zero."

Grand Commander Lei Zhen looked at the dashboard, his face filled with disbelief, "The air quality... it's better than our air purification room! It's even purer than... the bottled water bestowed by the Father God!"

Jiang Wanqiu didn't speak; she gripped her gun vigilantly and advanced step by step.

Passing through the corridor, they found a huge circular hall.

The hall was filled with all sorts of strange-looking equipment; some looked like giant metal eggs, while others looked like rows of transparent crystal pillars.

"What is this?"

A soldier curiously approached a table that looked like a console and reached out to touch a metal ring floating in mid-air.

"Don't touch it!"

Jiang Wanqiu was about to shout a warning, but it was already too late.

"Hum—" The moment the ring was touched, it automatically lit up, projecting a holographic screen.

On it jumped countless strange characters that neither Jiang Chen nor Jiang Wanqiu could understand.

Immediately after, the ring split open and spat out a... crystal-clear blue cube, only the size of a palm.

[Ding!] Jiang Chen's phone suddenly vibrated, and the system's appraisal information popped up:

[Item: High-Energy Compressed Energy Cube (Civilian Version)]

[Description: A universal battery from a high-level civilization. One cube can power the lighting for a medium-sized city for ten years.]

[Evaluation: Although it is civilian trash, in this backwater Earth, it barely counts as a treasure.]

"What the f*ck?!"

Jiang Chen jumped straight up from his bed.

A battery? Powering things for ten years?

This is called civilian trash? This is simply a holy relic of an energy revolution!

With this thing, why would I bother building a nuclear fusion reactor? If I just pry this battery out, won't I be able to bring my wife home?

"Quick! Wanqiu!"

Jiang Chen's fingers were trembling with excitement as he typed rapidly, "That blue cube! Take it! That's good stuff!"

"And that cabinet next to it that looks like an oven! That's a Matter Synthesizer! Move it out!"

"Don't let that thing that looks like a robot vacuum cleaner go either! That's a Universal Repairman! Move it all out!"

Upon receiving the divine oracle from the Father God, Jiang Wanqiu's eyes changed instantly.

The exploration, which had initially been somewhat cautious, instantly turned into a crazy "Zero-dollar shopping spree."

"Did you all hear that?!"

Jiang Wanqiu pointed at everything in the hall, exuding dominance, "The Father God has spoken! These are all treasures! Even if it's just a screw, pry it off and take it with you!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers instantly transformed into industrious movers.

The originally solemn exploration of the ruins underwent a sudden shift in style, turning into a heated "scavenging" convention.

Grand Commander Lei Zhen slung his heavy cannon onto his back and, using both hands like pulling a radish, forcibly ripped the "Matter Synthesizer" that was fixed to the ground right out.

"Hey! This thing is pretty heavy!"

Grand Commander Lei Zhen grinned, "It looks like a big iron cabinet; I hope it can be traded for some of the Father God's divine wine to drink!"

On his side of the screen, Jiang Chen watched, feeling both pained and amused.

"Easy! Go easy, you brute!"

"That's a precision instrument! Don't pull so hard! Oh, my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys..."

Just when everyone was having a great time moving things.

"Your Majesty! There's a discovery over here!"

The lead scout, Zero, suddenly stood in front of a huge, semi-transparent door at the end of the hall, shouting with a trembling voice, "The energy reaction here... is off the charts!"

Jiang Wanqiu's eyes sharpened, signaling everyone to be on guard, and then she walked over quickly.

It was a crystal door that stood ten meters high.

Through the semi-transparent door, one could vaguely see a circular secret chamber inside. In the center of the chamber floated a huge sphere emitting a soft white light.

And below the sphere was connected an oval-shaped pod.

It looked like... a coffin? Or perhaps... a stasis pod?

"Open it."

Jiang Chen issued the command on the screen. Intuition told him that what was hidden inside was the true secret of this ruin.

"As you command."

Jiang Wanqiu took a deep breath and stepped forward.

This door didn't seem to be locked, or rather, its security system had long since failed with the passage of time. Jiang Wanqiu just lightly placed her hand on the door, and it slid open silently.

A bone-chilling cold air rushed toward them.

Everyone walked into the secret chamber.

It was terrifyingly quiet here, with only the floating sphere emitting a slight buzzing sound.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the oval-shaped pod.

It was a semi-transparent stasis pod, with faint flowing light on its surface, looking just like a huge piece of amber.

Jiang Wanqiu moved closer and shone her flashlight into the pod.

The next second, she froze.

Even as an Empress who had seen all kinds of mutant creatures and deformed freaks, she couldn't help but gasp at this moment.

"Is... is this a human?"

Jiang Chen, in front of the screen, also saw clearly what was inside.

It was indeed a person. Or rather, a young girl whose appearance was infinitely close to that of a human.

She looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, with waterfall-like pink hair, floating quietly in the light blue nutrient solution.

Her skin was fair to the point of being almost transparent, and her features were exquisitely unreal, looking just like a 2D anime figure crafted with top-tier CG technology.

But eerily, her body was filled with all kinds of tubes.

Some of those tubes connected to her spine, some were inserted into her limbs, and there were even a few extremely thin optical fibers embedded directly into the back of her head.

And at her neck, there was a striking serial number: [Type-α: Ikaros]

"Ikaros?" Jiang Chen frowned, "Why does this name sound a bit familiar? Is this an... angel?"

Just at this moment, seemingly sensing the presence of living people, or perhaps because the stasis program had finally reached its end.

The originally dead-silent stasis pod suddenly emitted a crisp alert sound. "Beep—"

"Carbon-based lifeform detected."

"Stasis mode disengaged."

"Waking up the main unit..."

Accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of mechanical operation, the nutrient solution began to recede rapidly.

The "figurine girl," who had been asleep for who knows how many years, twitched her eyelashes slightly.

Then, in the deathly silence where everyone was watching, she slowly opened her eyes.

Those were a pair of... mechanical eyes, with no whites, entirely a deep emerald green, and with precise gears slowly rotating in the center of the pupils.