Chapter 2 The First Salvage of the Cosmic Graveyard

This was space.

But it wasn't the kind of space Lin Yuan had ever seen in any science documentary.

No twinkling stars, no gentle nebulae, only an endless, pure darkness, as if even light could not exist here.

In this absolute silence, countless bizarre wrecks floated about.

Some looked like giant warships cut in half, with solidified traces of melted metal still remaining at the breaks. Others were fragments of grand cities, where collapsed towers and shattered domes could be seen. Further away, there was even an unimaginably massive biological skeleton suspended quietly in the void, like a dead god.

Lin Yuan's "vision" was the perspective of a small drone. He could see the drone's two simple mechanical arms and a small claw used for grabbing things.

This was scavenger no. 1.

He felt as if he had merged with the drone; with a single thought, the drone drifted slowly forward. It was a strange feeling, like playing a VR game with 100% immersion.

"This is... the Cosmic Graveyard?"

Lin Yuan was beyond shocked by the sight before him. Any one of these floating wrecks represented a civilization that had once been glorious. Now, they were all just trash in this dead sea of stars.

He controlled the drone, cautiously weaving through the debris like a tiny ant entering a giant's graveyard.

On the system interface, the energy reserves were dropping at a slow but steady pace.

[99/100]

[98/100]

"Energy is time," Lin Yuan understood immediately. He had to find something valuable and return successfully before the energy ran out.

But there were too many things here; it was simply dazzling. Which one should he choose?

He saw a stone shimmering with faint runes, seemingly a relic of some magical civilization. But he didn't dare touch it—heaven knows what those runes were for; what if they were a curse?

He also saw a damaged mechanical creation with seemingly complex pipelines inside. But it was too big; his puny drone couldn't possibly drag it.

"The load capacity is only 50 kilograms... I need to find something small but impressive-looking."

Lin Yuan muttered while controlling the drone, his gaze scanning countless wrecks. His advantage was that he was a junkyard owner and had a professional intuition for various materials. He could roughly tell what metal was valuable and what structure was sturdy.

Just then, his "gaze" was drawn to an inconspicuous bit of dark metal in the distance.

It was the wreck of a massive warship, its hull covered in terrifying claw marks and craters. On the edge of one of the breaches, a piece of armor plating about half a meter square and a palm thick was hanging precariously.

The color of this armor plate was very special—a deep, non-reflective black with strange, flowing patterns on the surface. Most importantly, the savage claw marks and explosion traces around it had stopped; only this armor plate remained intact, without even a single scratch.

"Good stuff!"

Lin Yuan's heart warmed instantly. To remain intact in a battle of this magnitude, the strength of this armor must be extraordinary! Plus, its size was appropriate, and its weight was likely within the 50-kilogram load limit.

This is it!

He immediately steered scavenger no. 1 toward the armor plate.

As the distance closed, he could see it more clearly. The warship's wreck was as massive as a mountain, and the piece of armor he had targeted was like a fingernail on a giant.

The drone approached slowly and extended its small mechanical claw.

Lin Yuan held his breath, highly focused. This was his first pot of gold; nothing could go wrong.

[Scanning...]

[Target: Unknown Alloy Armor (Fragment)]

[Energy Signature: Low]

[Structural Integrity: Extremely High]

[Analysis: Suspected Oracle-class interstellar marauder outer armor, featuring energy absorption and structural adaptive properties.]

Seeing the scan results, Lin Yuan's heart beat even faster.

Oracle-class interstellar marauder? Even the name sounds domineering!

This is it!

With a thought, the mechanical claw firmly gripped the edge of the armor plate.

[Commencing retrieval...]

[Warning! Retrieval will generate energy fluctuations, potentially attracting unknown threats!]

The system prompt popped up again. Lin Yuan's heart tightened, but the arrow was already notched; he had to fire.

"Fast! Faster!"

The drone's engine power was pushed to the maximum as the mechanical claw gripped the armor plate tightly and pulled outward with force.

"Creeeak—"

A slight sound, as if of twisting metal, rang out in the dead silence of space, sounding particularly abrupt.

The armor plate was peeled away bit by bit from the warship wreck.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Lin Yuan saw something move in the deep darkness in the distance.

It wasn't an illusion.

An indescribable sense of terror, as if being stared down by a top predator, instantly seized his soul. He felt his "back" instantly drenched in cold sweat.

He abruptly turned the drone's perspective toward that direction.

In the distant depths of the darkness, a "void" even deeper and purer than its surroundings was slowly writhing.

The thing had no fixed shape, like a living, ever-changing shadow. It had no eyes, but Lin Yuan could clearly feel that he was being "watched."

A shudder from the depths of his soul made him want to abandon the mission immediately and run.

"Void Devourer!"

The name exploded in his mind.

[Warning! High-intensity spatial distortion detected! Void Devourer has been attracted!]

[Threat Level: Lethal!]

[Recommendation: Abandon the mission immediately and initiate emergency return!]

On the system interface, red warnings flashed frantically, emitting a piercing alarm.

Lin Yuan's scalp tingled with fear.

Give up?

He glanced at the armor plate that was mostly pulled out, then at the "shadow" rapidly approaching in the distance. He gritted his teeth and made a desperate decision.

Wealth is found in danger!

"Come off!"

He roared, pouring all his mental energy into controlling the drone.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound, the black armor plate was finally completely torn off and floated in space.

"Hold on tight!"

Lin Yuan immediately ordered the mechanical claw to grip the armor plate firmly while turning the drone around, preparing to flee.

But it was too late.

The movement speed of that Void Devourer was beyond imagination. It had been in the distant darkness just a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, it had closed more than half the distance. Wherever it passed, the massive warship wrecks—whether metal or rock—disappeared silently into its "body" as if erased by an eraser.

No explosions, no sound—it was pure, conceptual "devouring."

Lin Yuan was scared out of his wits. If he were caught, his soul would likely be eaten as a snack!

"Return! Return immediately!"

[Return sequence initiating... 3 seconds required for spatial localization...]

[3...]

The shadow was already close at hand. Lin Yuan could even "see" its writhing interior, seemingly composed of countless suffering faces.

[2...]

An irresistible suction came from behind. The drone's speed began to drop uncontrollably, as if it were being dragged into that void.

The drone's energy reserves were plummeting!

[40/100]

[30/100]

[20/100]

"Hurry up!!!"

[1...]

[Return successful!]

Just an instant before the drone was about to be swallowed by that shadow, a flash of white light occurred, and Lin Yuan's "vision" was instantly replaced by pure white.

Immediately after, a tearing pain came from deep within his brain, as if countless steel needles were ruthlessly stabbing his nerves.