284: Chapter 284 Buffer Zone Ruins

That was not natural light, but a morbid canopy formed by the refraction and interweaving of intense energy conflicts, pollution, and the faint, lingering light of Order from high above.

The air suddenly became 'alive'—filled with the pungent scent of sulfur, ozone, burning metal, and an indescribable, sweet, bloody stench, as if the agonized wails of billions of living beings had been crushed and mixed with the deepest malice.

Every breath felt like inhaling scalding, toxic gas mixed with shards of glass, burning the nasal cavity and throat, inducing physiological revulsion and dizziness.

Ling Ye stopped at the exit of the passageway, his body slightly arched, like an unremarkable gray rock embedded in the cliff face.

The hood of his protective suit was pulled low, revealing only a pair of eyes that reflected the cold sky light in the dim environment.

Behind him, Old Shi immediately lowered its body, holding its breath and pressing close to the shadows of the inner wall of the passageway.

The exit was not located on the ridge, but was a huge, irregular, downward-sloping fissure of mixed metal and rock, torn open by a massive explosion or geological upheaval.

The end of the passageway terminated abruptly at the inner wall of this fissure, about ten meters above the broken, undulating ground below.

Beneath his feet lay a chaotic mix of jagged, melted, twisted, and re-solidified metal and rock debris, colored in dark red, deep purple, ghastly white, and even shimmering with ominous, eerie green—an unrecognizable junkyard as if ravaged by a titan.

As far as the eye could see, there were only ruins.

There had once been magnificent structures, massive machinery, and precise energy arrays here.

But now, only collapsed metal skeletons twisted into spirals or completely melted through by some force remained, along with rock peaks that had been crystallized—as if instantly vitrified by extreme heat—and deep, bottomless fissures crisscrossing the land, their edges sparking with dangerous energy.

Some areas were shrouded in churning, eerie-colored thick fog—purplish-black, dark green, or ghastly white—obscuring what lay inside, with only chilling, low, intermittent whimpers and hisses echoing from within, sounding like grinding rocks, scraping metal, or the cries of some non-human entity.

Further away, at the end of the land, the horizon (if such a place still had a 'horizon') was swallowed by an impenetrable, absolute darkness that writhed and boiled like a living thing.

The darkness was so deep, so vast, it occupied nearly half the 'sky,' emitting a cold malice that froze the Soul, a pure, greedy intent to drag all existence into it.

The 'the key' mark on Ling Ye's chest contracted violently the moment it sensed the darkness, immediately erupting with unprecedented, sharp, stinging heat mixed with sadness, anger, and a resolute warning.

It was the core area of the 'abyssal eye' pollution, or rather, the direction of the 'Star Gate'.

That darkness was the pollution itself, like an ever-expanding pustule on the Universe.

And at the edge of that absolute darkness, one could occasionally glimpse a faint, unstable, pale golden light—the light of Order, sharing the same source as 'the key'—flickering like a candle in the wind, a lonely lighthouse in a dark ocean about to be swallowed.

Ling Ye's gaze was locked onto that faint light, his eyes cold and unwavering, filled only with a near-inhuman focus and calculation.

He quickly scanned the deathly ruins before him, known as the 'Buffer Zone,' his brain like the most precise instrument, beginning to analyze, plan, and evaluate.

In this area where even the air was filled with toxicity and malice, unprotected exposure would likely not be sustained for long.

The protective suit could provide basic isolation, but they needed a relatively safe stronghold to provide brief rest, observation, and the formulation of the next route.

"Energy readings?" Ling Ye did not look back, his voice kept extremely low, barely more than the volume of friction from an airflow.

Old Shi immediately concentrated, and the orange-red light of its wrist 'interface' flickered slightly.

A few seconds later, it responded in an equally low voice: "Straight ahead and to the left, about three hundred meters away, beneath those semi-collapsed ruins with relatively intact metal structures, there is a faint, relatively stable remnant of 'Order' energy, appearing to be the wreckage of some small shield generator or Purification device.

To the right, in the shadows of those crystallized peaks, there are strong, chaotic fluctuations of pollution, not just in one place, moving slowly, like... 'nests'.

Behind... in the direction we came from, the energy is relatively 'calm,' but it is also the most barren; it's a dead end."

Ling Ye nodded slightly.

Old Shi's perception roughly matched the energy profile Ling Ye had captured through 'the key'.

That wreckage with the remnant of Order energy was the first choice.

But they needed to confirm its safety, as well as the path to reach it.

His gaze, like the most precise surveying instrument, moved across the rugged, dangerous ruined ground below.

Searching for footholds, evaluating jump distances, calculating climbing routes, and avoiding those areas with eerie colors and unstable energy, especially the potential detection range of those 'nests' under the shadows of the crystallized peaks.

"Keep a three-meter interval from me, and pay attention to my footholds and hand gestures.

If you encounter anything, prioritize concealment and wait for my signal." Ling Ye gave the brief Order without any explanation.

Old Shi nodded firmly, gripping the traction rope in its hand.

Ling Ye took a deep breath (despite the terrible air), and then, his body, like a gray shadow without a single wasted movement, leaped silently from the edge of the ten-meter-high fissure, landing precisely on a relatively stable, normally-colored dark red metal plate, bending his knees to absorb the impact without making a sound.

The moment he landed, he was already in a half-crouch, his gaze scanning the surroundings sharply; confirming there was nothing unusual, he made a 'down' gesture to Old Shi behind him.

Old Shi followed closely behind, its movements equally light and agile, thanks to the coordination enhancement provided by the 'interface'.

The two moved one after the other, beginning a silent trek through the shadows and debris of the ruins.

Every step was precisely calculated, avoiding loose gravel, bypassing energy sparks that exuded ominous auras, and using collapsed metal beams as cover and jumping points.

Ling Ye's speed was not fast, but his rhythm was stable, and his anticipation of danger was terrifyingly precise.

Sometimes he would stop suddenly, his body completely still, his gaze locking onto a direction like a hawk, and only after confirming it was merely the natural sound of weathering in the ruins or harmless energy phosphorescence drifting in the distant fog would he continue forward.

The three-hundred-meter distance would take only a moment on flat ground, but in these treacherous ruins, it felt like a long trek.

They encountered several false alarms—a loose metal plate suddenly sliding, a column of corrosive dark green gas erupting without warning from a ground fissure, and a blind, centipede-like aberrant creature, its form magnified a hundred times with its carapace covered in pollution crystals, crawling silently through a gap in the ruins above them (it seemed insensitive to 'Order' energy, as it crawled straight past without discovering the two in the shadows below).

Finally, they arrived at the target area.

It was a dark silver metal building ruin, half-embedded in the ground with half its dome collapsed, resembling a small Warehouse or outpost.

The surface of the building was covered in traces of energy burns and physical impacts, most of its entrances buried, leaving only a slanted, downward-leading gap half-covered by a twisted metal doorframe.

The interior of the gap was pitch black, but at the edge of the gap, one could see several small Purification runes, damaged but still embedded in the metal frame, emitting an extremely faint, stable white light.

It was these runes that emitted that remnant of 'Order' energy.

Ling Ye crouched behind a broken metal pillar outside the gap and signaled Old Shi to hide.

He did not enter immediately.

His gaze carefully inspected every inch of detail around the gap—were there traces of traps? Were there footprints of recent activity (biological or mechanical)? Was the structure inside the gap stable?

After confirming there was no obvious immediate danger, he pointed to himself, then to the gap, made an 'enter, recon' gesture, and signaled for Old Shi to keep watch outside and pay attention to the surroundings.

Old Shi nodded, gripping its tool pliers, and shrank deeper into the shadows.

Ling Ye, like a true ghost, slid silently into the dark gap.

The internal space was not large, only about twenty square meters.

The air was filled with heavy dust and the smell of metal rust, but miraculously, it was almost devoid of the pungent pollution scent from outside, replaced only by a faint smell similar to that of aged electronic equipment cooling down.

It seemed those Purification runes, though weak, were still functioning.

By the pale sky light filtered through the distortion of the gap overhead, Ling Ye could see the interior clearly.

The floor was scattered with some long-rusted, unrecognizable metal parts and broken crystal plates.

In the corner lay a half-human-height, dark silver cylindrical device, its shell severely deformed but its core seemingly still intact, connected to several broken energy conduits.

The faint white light was emanating from several cracks in this device.

On the surface of the device was a palm-shaped identification panel, its style similar to certain ports of the 'Furnace' node, but older and rougher.

Was it some kind of portable or fixed, small-scale 'Order' Purification/shield generator?

And it seemed it could also respond to specific 'permissions' or 'interface'?

Ling Ye's gaze fell upon that palm-shaped identification panel.

He pondered for a moment, not attempting it immediately.

Instead, he first carefully checked every corner of the room to confirm there were no hidden threats or mechanisms.

Then, he walked to the damaged device, crouched down, and gently placed his hand on the identification panel.

He did not immediately inject energy; he simply made contact and mobilized the 'the key' mark deep within his Soul, emitting the weakest, most fundamental fluctuation of the same source.

"Hum..."

Inside the damaged device, there came an extremely faint, low, dying resonance.

On the identification panel, a few dim, almost invisible, pale golden energy lines lit up extremely slowly and laboriously, outlining the contour of an incomplete, unrecognizable symbol.

Immediately, an extremely faint but definitely present, clearer, and stable small-scale 'Order' energy field spread out from this damaged device, barely enveloping the small space, completely isolating the pervasive, malicious pollution scent from outside.

At the same time, Ling Ye felt a connection established between his 'the key' mark and this device—an extremely faint one of 'permission confirmation, energy replenishment, information read request'.

The device seemed to have automatically activated its last remaining functions after 'recognizing' him (or rather, the 'the key' he carried), attempting to draw energy from 'the key' to sustain itself, while also appearing ready to transmit something.

It worked.

A temporary, relatively safe stronghold.

Ling Ye released his hand, and the device's light did not immediately extinguish, but maintained that faint yet stable state.

He turned around, returned to the gap, and made a hidden 'safe, enter' gesture to Old Shi outside.

Soon, Old Shi also squeezed in silently, feeling the reassuring, faint 'Order' energy field inside, and noticeably breathed a sigh of relief.

"This place can temporarily block the pollution; the Purification runes are still working, and that device seems to respond." Ling Ye said concisely, "Rest first, and observe.

You keep an eye on the movements outside, especially in the direction of those 'nests'.

I will try to read any information that might remain in this device."

Old Shi nodded and immediately returned to the inner side of the gap, finding a position where it could observe the outside without exposing itself, and began to keep watch with full concentration.

Ling Ye returned to the damaged device.

This time, he did not just make contact; he injected a wisp of pure 'Order' energy, guided by the 'the key' mark, slowly and steadily into the identification panel, while focusing his mind to try and 'receive' the information the device might transmit.

"Bzzt... data transmission protocol initiated... high-Order Order beacon detected... permission confirmed: Seventh Star Gate maintenance sequence - highest level... attempting to read... storage unit severely damaged... data recovery in progress..."

Intermittent, cold streams of consciousness, accompanied by blurred, fragmented, and noisy images and text segments, flooded into Ling Ye's consciousness.

He 'saw' the scene of this area before it was completely destroyed—busy automated maintenance units, shuttling small aircraft, and in the distance, the massive, precise, and complete silhouette of the 'Star Gate' emitting a soft, golden light of Order...

He saw a terrifying, indescribable energy storm, like a black tide, erupting from deep within the 'Star Gate,' devouring, twisting, and polluting everything...

He saw countless units of the 'Court of World Purification' throwing themselves forward, trying to seal and repair the 'Star Gate,' only to fall silent, collapse, or be corrupted and mutated one after another in the pollution...

Finally, the image froze on the 'Star Gate' being covered by a huge, irregular, dark, living-like 'scar,' and the golden light of Order completely extinguished.

Then came a silence so long it was despair-inducing, and the area around the 'Star Gate' gradually being infiltrated and eroded by the tentacles of the 'abyssal eye,' turning into the blurry, fast-forwarded image of how it looked today...

The information was not much, but it was enough to verify many guesses and gave him a more intuitive and despairing understanding of the current state of the 'Star Gate'.

"Information reading complete. Device energy is about to be exhausted. Warning: Detected continuous increase in pollution activity in Buffer Zone A-7 (this area). 'abyssal eye' sub-entities are active and trending toward converging on this node. Recommendation: Evacuate immediately. Repeat, evacuate immediately." The cold stream of consciousness issued its final warning.

Ling Ye's eyes narrowed, and he immediately cut off the energy injection and stood up.

"Old Shi, what's the situation outside?"

Almost at the same time he asked, Old Shi, who had been keeping watch, turned its head sharply, a trace of imperceptible panic on its face, and said in a low, urgent voice: "Something is coming! From the direction of those crystallized peaks! Many of them! They're fast! Their target... seems to be us!"

Ling Ye stepped to the edge of the gap, turned sideways, and peeked out at the smallest angle.

In the shadows of the crystallized peaks shrouded in pale mist in the distance, dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of deformed, moving black shadows of various sizes and shapes—all exuding a thick aura of pollution, their carapaces or bodies covered in purplish-black crystals, shimmering with eerie green or blood-red light, and looking like a crude combination of insects, reptiles, and all sorts of indescribable objects—were surging toward the ruined building where they were hiding, like a school of piranhas that had caught the scent of blood, in a manner that was crazy and chaotic, yet carried a unified malice!

It was the things from those 'nests'! They had been activated! And their target was clear!

The temporary stronghold they had just found was, in the blink of an eye, about to become an isolated island in a desperate situation, besieged by countless polluted monsters.

In Ling Ye's eyes, there was no panic, only a cold, almost cruel clarity.

He quickly scanned the approaching swarm of monsters outside, then glanced at the Purification device behind him that was about to run out of energy, and at Old Shi, whose nervousness was difficult to hide.

"Prepare for battle." His voice was calm, yet carried a steel-like will that cut through all hesitation.