431: Violation, top-secret file (thanks to Brother Gu Ling Fenghuang for the 10,000-coin reward)

"What?"

Lin Yang looked at Li Shan.

"Your Excellency Lin Yang, actually, more than three hundred years ago, someone was here inquiring about this kind of map."

Li Shan then revealed a secret that startled Lin Yang: "Someone was inquiring about this map?"

"Yes!" Li Shan nodded, then sighed with emotion: "Of course, at that time, even this old man hadn't been born yet. This was recorded by our clan members back then. So, our clan speculates that the treasure land might not have been fully developed and explored after all this time. That's why I wanted to give this map to Your Excellency Lin Yang."

"Otherwise, I, an old man, wouldn't have the nerve to give you something useless to thank you for helping Li Su and our clan just now."

Li Shan looked at Lin Yang, stating the reason for giving him the map.

Lin Yang's help to Li Su just now was equivalent to helping the Li Clan avoid a big problem.

At that time, Li Shan was already thinking about how to repay Lin Yang's kindness.

"It's just that our clan, besides this item, really has no other valuable things. I hope Your Excellency Lin Yang won't mind!" Li Shan explained again.

The Li Clan was, after all, a weak civilization.

And Lin Yang was now a member of the Human Alliance Headquarters. Li Shan thought long and hard, concluding that only this map could be considered somewhat valuable.

Other items from the Li Clan were of no use to Lin Yang.

Hearing this, Lin Yang immediately wanted to return the map to Li Shan.

He had helped Li Su in return for the Li Clan's rescue last time.

Now Li Shan wanted to give him this valuable map, which was really unnecessary.

"Old Patriarch Li Shan, this map has been passed down by the Li Clan for so many years; it's too valuable, I can't accept it," Lin Yang said.

If Li Shan hadn't said that just now, he might have accepted the map.

It was something that had been passed down for thousands of years; whether the treasure land still existed was debatable.

But since someone had specifically inquired about this map three hundred years ago, it indeed proved that the treasure land recorded on the map was extraordinary.

Then he couldn't accept it.

Li Shan, however, stopped Lin Yang from returning the map: "Your Excellency Lin Yang, although the map has been passed down in our clan for thousands of years, our clan is truly powerless to enter the vast Ten Thousand Universes to search for the whereabouts of the treasure land. Even now, we don't know what the treasure land recorded on this map is called, or where it is. Rather than continuing to pass it down, letting it sit useless, it would be better to give it to Your Excellency Lin Yang. Perhaps it can then fulfill its purpose."

Lin Yang was about to say something more.

But Li Shan interrupted him.

Li Shan looked at Lin Yang seriously and solemnly said: "Your Excellency Lin Yang, although treasures are valuable, those that cannot be obtained are always like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water. Furthermore, I, an old man, have some selfish motives in giving you this map."

"Selfish motives?" Lin Yang was startled.

"Yes." Li Shan nodded, sighed, glanced at the map, and sighed again: "Since someone was inquiring about this map three hundred years ago, it proves that there are others who know the secret of the treasure land."

"And according to the records of our clan's ancestors at that time, those inquirers had mysterious and terrifying origins. Our ancestors originally wanted to gather information about the treasure land by reverse-inquiring through those inquirers, but in the end, they gained nothing and even paid a heavy price."

"The specific situation at the time was not extensively recorded by the clan's ancestors, but afterwards, a new rule was added regarding the map: no matter what, the news of the map being in our clan's possession must not be exposed, otherwise our clan would surely face annihilation."

"Therefore, this map in our clan's hands is actually a disaster!"

At this point, Li Shan paused, sighed twice, and then continued:

"Rather than living in constant fear, guarding this treasure that we can't obtain, it's better to simply seek peace of mind. Your Excellency Lin Yang, your current status is noble, and your strength is powerful. Most importantly, you value loyalty. Handing this map over to you, I, an old man, can finally put my mind at ease."

Saying this, Li Shan suddenly bowed to Lin Yang, with a hint of pleading: "Your Excellency Lin Yang, please accept this map. It will also indirectly help our clan solve a big problem. This may seem like I'm giving you a treasure map, but in reality, I'm also adding trouble to you."

"This..." Lin Yang held the map, at a loss for words for a moment.

After a moment of silence, Lin Yang reminded him: "Old Patriarch Li Shan, the speed of technological development will only increase in the future. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the secret of this map can be uncovered by you. Giving it to me now might cause the Li Clan to lose a huge fortune."

However, Li Shan laughed: "Your Excellency Lin Yang, thousands of years ago, our clan probably didn't even have a primary civilization. Things passed down from such a backward era, and to this day we haven't found a single clue. Can we still hope to uncover the secret of this map in the so-called near future?"

Lin Yang was startled.

Li Shan then continued: "We, in any case, don't hold much hope. Although we don't know what method our ancestors used three hundred years ago to keep the secret, those who sought the map's secret will obviously not give up. They might return at any time."

"And after so many years of stable Life, the younger generations of our clan haven't experienced much hardship. I'm afraid they really won't be able to continue keeping the secret. So, Your Excellency Lin Yang, please don't refuse anymore. Only by entrusting this map to you can I, an old man, feel at ease."

Li Shan was very open-minded and thought far ahead.

Lin Yang valued loyalty, which was why he dared to reveal the map's secret.

Otherwise, if it were someone else, revealing the map's secret would likely lead to the risk of being silenced.

As for wealth?

Wealth that couldn't be obtained, could it still be considered wealth?

To constantly bear the risk of clan annihilation for a vague, so-called treasure was too uneconomical!

This map, in Li Shan's view, was a hot potato within the clan.

Handing over the map was a true liberation.

Lin Yang was silent for another moment, looking at Li Shan's pleading eyes, and after much deliberation, decided to accept the map: "Since that's the case, then I won't refuse."

"Haha, Your Excellency Lin Yang, you wouldn't think I, an old man, am trying to pass trouble on to you, would you?" Li Shan laughed heartily.

"How could I?" Lin Yang shook his head.

Although this map was prone to cause trouble and crisis.

But as Li Shan said, in Li Shan's heart, he believed that Lin Yang had both status and strength, and certainly had the ability to guard this map.

So, in Li Shan's view, handing this map to Lin Yang could both reduce a big problem for the Li Clan and allow Lin Yang to gain a fortune, which could be called a win-win situation.

Lin Yang naturally understood the logic behind it.

"Your Excellency Lin Yang, then I, an old man, won't delay your time. Please rest assured, the secret of the map ends with me. After I, an old man, pass away, this secret will be buried with me forever. You don't have to worry that if you truly find the treasure, our descendants will come to you to claim it," Li Shan suddenly said.

"Old Patriarch Li Shan, you've really said things that leave me speechless..." Lin Yang was a bit dumbfounded.

Li Shan had thought too much and too comprehensively.

"Haha, wealth moves hearts. Some things and some words are better said clearly. I, an old man, give you this map, but I don't want to ruin the friendship between you and our clan because of an unknown treasure," Li Shan smiled.

"Rest assured, Old Patriarch, my friendship with the Li Clan will not change due to any external factors," Lin Yang solemnly stated.

"With Your Excellency Lin Yang's words, I, an old man, can close my eyes in peace right now, and my heart will be content."

Li Shan replied, then bowed slightly and said: "Your Excellency Lin Yang, please go about your business. I, an old man, will go handle Li Su's burial arrangements."

"Old Patriarch, if you need anything from me, you can contact me at any time." Lin Yang gave Li Shan a communication method.

Direct cross-universe communication was naturally unrealistic.

The communication method he gave Li Shan would allow Li Shan, when he needed to contact him, to first relay the message to the Alien Management Bureau, and then contact himself.

Afterwards, Lin Yang left the Li Clan and returned to the Alien Management Bureau.

The situation was urgent now, and the personnel within the Alien Management Bureau were insufficient. He had already received a new task assignment.

However, for some reason, the new task assignment was directly terminated by Song Qingfeng, who told him to return to the Alien Management Bureau first.

Ten minutes later.

On the eighteenth floor of the Alien Management Bureau Headquarters building, inside Song Qingfeng's office.

"Director, is there another special mission that needs to be specifically assigned to me?" Lin Yang asked directly.

The task assignment in the mission system had just been terminated by Song Qingfeng, and he was told to return for a face-to-face discussion. He didn't think Song Qingfeng had called him back to give him another vacation.

Song Qingfeng, however, smiled faintly and shook his head: "Not for now."

"Ah? No mission?"

This answer was beyond Lin Yang's expectation.

"It's not for now; you just wait a moment," Song Qingfeng corrected him.

"Uh... Is it something special?" Lin Yang was a bit confused.

"These are some files on the Unknown Space. You can take a look first."

Song Qingfeng didn't answer but handed his device to Lin Yang.

On it were confidential documents about the Unknown Space.

Lin Yang was immediately startled and couldn't help but look up at Song Qingfeng: "Director, I shouldn't have permission to see these, should I?"

What Song Qingfeng showed him were top-secret documents that only the Director had permission to access. Ordinary members would absolutely not be qualified to see these documents.

"That's why I asked you to come. You indeed don't have permission to view these document contents right now, and I can't send them to you, so I can only have you come over and view them on my device," Song Qingfeng nodded.

Lin Yang was somewhat astonished and couldn't help but glance at the omnidirectional surveillance equipment installed in the office, whispering: "Director, isn't this against the rules?"

Some rules of the Human Alliance Headquarters were very strict. Even for someone of Song Qingfeng's status, there was surveillance equipment in his office directly supervised by the Human Alliance main brain system.

This was to prevent high-ranking officials from abusing their power for personal gain or leaking confidential information that shouldn't be revealed.

And Song Qingfeng's current actions were clearly a violation.

Openly transferring his Director's device in the office for him to view top-secret documents could lead to punishment.

"I'm the one violating the rules, not you. If there's any punishment, it'll be for me. What are you worried about? I told you to look, so look, quickly!"

Song Qingfeng, however, didn't say much more but urged Lin Yang to quickly read the top-secret documents.

"..." Lin Yang was speechless.

Although he wondered why Song Qingfeng would so blatantly violate regulations to show him top-secret documents.

But since Song Qingfeng had said so much, he naturally put aside all questions for the time being and quickly began to read the documents.

In fact, he had briefly familiarized himself with some basic information about the Unknown Space on his way back.

That was an area completely unexplored and unmastered by the Universe Alliance.

According to the Universe Alliance's speculation, there might be other cosmic bubbles within the Unknown Space.

In other words, there might be many other universes within the Unknown Space that have not yet been detected.

The Universe Alliance had always arranged specialized Universe Exploration Teams to investigate the Unknown Space, but the exploration process was not smooth.

Mysterious dangers constantly emerged in the Unknown Space, easily tearing apart even ninth-level battleships.

So, to this day, the Universe Alliance's exploration of the Unknown Space could be said to have made no significant progress.

It was only in very peripheral areas.

The above was the basic information about the Unknown Space that Lin Yang's authority allowed him to query.

However, within Song Qingfeng's authority, the top-secret documents in front of him showed that the Universe Alliance and other powerful alliances of various races in the Ten Thousand Universes had conducted multiple joint explorations of the Unknown Space.

And the scope of these explorations was at least a hundred times larger than what was shown in the basic information.

In other words, in reality, the Universe Alliance and various top races had already conducted what could be considered relatively in-depth explorations of the Unknown Space.

Of course, this so-called "in-depth" was only based on current understanding.

Whether they had truly delved deeply into the Unknown Space remained questionable.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that the top-secret information showed that multiple relatively in-depth explorations had discovered some terrifying and mysterious things in the Unknown Space.

For example, towering and terrifying stone statues stood, some even large enough to rival a small universe.

There were also some dilapidated ruins suspected to have been inhabited by intelligent Life forms.

However, the exploration teams of the Universe Alliance and various top races had never truly entered the interior of these ruins.

To be precise, they had entered, but everyone who entered died, without exception.

There had never been any survivors!

Once inside the ruins, there was no chance of luck!

So, what the interior of the ruins was like remained unknown to this day.

After entering, it was even impossible to transmit information to the outside world through any equipment.

In addition to these, there were also some living Life forms.

Some of these Life forms lived within the Unknown Space, attacking various exploration teams and causing terrifying deaths.

These Life forms could not be easily killed even by the energy weapons of a ninth-level civilization.

Some of humanity's top powerhouses had also entered for exploration. Even with the blessing of Extraordinary power and the configuration of ninth-level combat equipment, it was very difficult to survive there.

However, they were better than the exploration teams, as they had captured some of those Unknown Life forms.

But the research results were not satisfactory.

Research results showed that some aspects of the physical structure of those Unknown Life forms exceeded the basic biological cognitive range. Their genetic molecules were very peculiar and strange, making them difficult to decompose for in-depth research.

At the same time, Lin Yang also saw some related illustrations and video footage.

Some of the Life forms living in the Unknown Space were extremely hideous and terrifying, even the word 'monster' wasn't quite fitting.

But some were incredibly cute, showing no signs of lethality, yet these cute Unknown Life forms had even more terrifying combat power.

Cuteness was just a facade and a disguise.

Some Unknown Life forms could even mimic the appearance and even the aura of any creature they saw, evading detection and infiltrating exploration teams to carry out massacres.

The top exploration teams of various races had suffered huge losses at the hands of these Life forms.

These Life forms were colorless and formless, their true bodies being completely transparent, making them almost impossible to detect. Existing detection instruments were ineffective against them.

Once they targeted someone and disguised themselves, it was a terrifying thing.

In addition, there were various other strange dangers, any one of which could cause a Super Gene Warrior or even an Extraordinary Warrior to perish.

Lin Yang's brows furrowed.

The various things in this Unknown Space were perhaps a bit too bizarre and terrifying.

Suddenly--

Lin Yang felt the device in his hand being taken away.

"You've seen enough. Did you remember everything you just saw?" Song Qingfeng pulled back the device and asked with a serious expression.

"I remembered." Lin Yang nodded, then asked: "Director, why are you showing me these...?"

He already had a faint guess in his heart.

But he couldn't be sure.

--

This chapter is 4500+ characters, a combined chapter.

Thank you, Brother (Sister?) Gu Ling Feng Huang, for the 10,000 Qidian coins reward. Xiao Hu is truly overwhelmed with unexpected favor!

Many thanks for your support, Brother (Sister). I wish you great wealth and success in everything! I bow to you!!

Thank you to all the brothers and sisters. Xiao Hu and national treasure can go further with everyone's companionship and support. I bow to all the brothers and sisters too!

It's the end of the month, asking for votes, asking for monthly votes! (End of chapter)