203: Chapter 202 The Relic in the Ring! Even Legendary S-Rank Explorers Have Fallen

Lin Feng leaned against a half-collapsed load-bearing pillar in the lobby of the office building and took the Storage Ring out of the void mithril ring.

The ring lay in his palm, its grayish-white metal surface reflecting a very faint, eerie light in the dim surroundings.

The face of the ring was very narrow, unlike the ornate rings he had seen that were encrusted with gems; it only had a line of small characters engraved on the inner band—the name of the original owner's Explorer team.

The handwriting was very neat, each stroke revealing a military-specific uprightness, very similar to the style of his father's handwriting in the diary.

He held the ring up to his eyes and examined it closely.

The material of the ring was different from his own void mithril ring; it didn't have that peculiar texture between metal and jade. It was pure Explorer standard-issue equipment—a high-quality Storage Ring with an internal space of about several hundred cubic meters, enough to hold several months' worth of supplies for someone traveling abroad.

There were several fine scratches on the surface of the ring. They were very shallow and didn't look like they were caused by weapons during battle, but rather like daily wear and tear over many years.

This indicated that the original owner had worn this ring for a very long time, long enough for the surface to be worn down by countless touches and friction.

"Open it and see."

Xiao Guang poked its head out of his pocket, its golden eyes staring at the ring.

"This kind of standard-issue Storage Ring usually has an identity tag—to prevent relics from being unidentifiable, the Explorer Association embeds a miniature recording module in the internal space, bound to the ring. If the original owner didn't deliberately delete it, his personal information should be stored inside."

Lin Feng extended his consciousness into the interior of the ring.

There was no Seal, no Restriction, completely different from the dark gold Storage Pouch Master had given him—the owner of this ring clearly hadn't set up any protection, perhaps because they didn't need to, or perhaps because they simply didn't have time to set it up before something happened.

The internal space of the ring was larger than he had expected, about three hundred cubic meters, and it contained many items categorized and stored.

The most conspicuous was a long saber placed horizontally in the center of the space. The blade was slender, the spine was thick, and a fine ice-blue pattern extended from the hilt to the tip. Even in the ring space that had been eroded by Void energy for so long, it still emitted a faint, cold light.

Frost Blade, Red quality, extremely high attack power, comes with ice attribute damage and freezing effects. The holder can activate the Frost Shield skill. Level requirement: Rank 50.

A Red quality long saber, and it came with a skill.

The quality of this saber was higher than he had expected—an Explorer who could own a Red quality weapon outside would at least be an S-Rank at the base level.

Besides this saber, there were several bottles of potions in the ring.

They weren't ordinary recovery potions, but special products specifically for use in Void environments.

The bottles were made of special materials that could isolate the erosion of Void energy. The labels read 'Void Resistance Potion' and 'Mana Recovery Potion,' produced by the Federation Explorer Association Headquarters, belonging to limited-ration supplies.

They were out-of-print items that couldn't be bought on the market now.

There were also some Blue and Purple quality standard equipment spares—spare bracers, replacement boots, and several neatly folded combat suits.

In a corner, a stack of military rations was neatly piled. The packaging was intact, but it was clear they had been there for several years; the production date on the outer packaging was so blurred it was almost illegible.

Next to the rations was a first-aid kit containing bandages, hemostatic potions, and several Medicinal Pills for healing. The quality was Purple grade, not top-tier but sufficient for a non-healing class.

Then there were some mission supplies—several used Spirit Stone fragments, an empty energy crystal container, and a set of miniature Void energy detectors.

Finally, Lin Feng found a palm-sized metal nameplate in a corner.

He withdrew his consciousness, holding the nameplate in his hand.

The material of the nameplate was similar to an Explorer badge, a standardized identity recorder issued by the Association, which only S-Rank and above Explorers could be equipped with.

He injected a sliver of spiritual power into the nameplate, and lines of text appeared on its surface.

Chu Han, Rank 50, Talent: Extreme Ice Touch (S-Rank), Physique: legendary grade Extreme Ice Saint Body, affiliated with the Huaxia Explorer Association East Sea Branch.

Below that was a brief remark—Chu Han, formerly a member of the 7th Special Operations Battalion of the Eastern Corps, transferred to the Explorer Association after discharge. Specialized in ice-attribute ranged attacks and Dual Cultivation of melee, main weapon is the Red quality Frost Blade. Calm personality, planned approach, has a habit of detailed pre-mission recording.

Lin Feng fell silent for a long time after reading the remark.

legendary grade Physique.

S-Rank Talent.

Rank 50.

What level was this configuration six years ago?

Back then, it had only been forty-odd years since datafication. The average Explorer Rank outside was much lower than it is now. Rank 50 plus a legendary grade Physique already made one a top-tier expert—someone who would be cultivated as a core main force anywhere.

Coupled with his background as a special forces soldier, his battlefield experience should have been much richer than other Explorers of the same Rank.

But such an expert, along with his entire team, had all perished in the Void Corridor.

"This person was even stronger than your parents."

Xiao Guang poked its head out of his pocket, looking at the data on the nameplate.

"S-Rank Talent, legendary grade Physique, Red weapon in hand—definitely a first-rate expert outside. But look at the items in his ring: they're all consumables and spares, with no high-level armor. This means that when he entered the Void Corridor, he was wearing all his best equipment. Since even he, wearing his best gear, couldn't make it out alive, it means—the danger level in this Dungeon far exceeded his capabilities at the time."

Lin Feng flipped the nameplate over to look at the back.

A line of small characters was engraved on the back in Chu Han's own handwriting—'If you see this, please tell my family for me that I have finished my journey.'

The handwriting was very neat, no trembling, no scribbling.

This showed he was very calm when he carved this line, perhaps written while leaning in a corner waiting for his teammates to return after being injured, or perhaps a final testament left while trapped somewhere waiting for death.

He had never met this person, but the other's posture in the face of death—never panicking from beginning to end, with not even the handwriting becoming distorted—this level of composure was exactly the same as the style in his father's diary, which calmly recorded the monsters' weaknesses.

He put the nameplate into the void mithril ring and checked the other supplies in the ring again.

He transferred all the potions to his own storage space—those Void Resistance Potions and special Mana Recovery Potions were worth more than any weapon here.

He also took the spares and rations. Although he didn't lack food, military rations could serve as backup supplies in an emergency.

He thought for a moment and left the Frost Blade in the ring—he already had the dragon slaying sword and taixu sword; another Red weapon would just take up space. He could sell it at the shop or give it to the national archaeological research department after he got out.

"Let's go, let's head upstairs and take a look."

He put away the ring and turned toward the fire escape stairs.

The iron door had been deformed by something hitting it, but the gap was large enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.

The stairwell was very dark, with only faint light filtering through cracks in the walls. Broken concrete chunks and several snapped steel rebars were scattered on the floor.

There were more battle traces on the walls—scorch marks, claw marks, and several black marks left after being burned by high temperatures. Judging from the position and angle, someone had cast ranged attack skills from above.

He walked up the stairs floor by floor.

At each floor, he stopped and spread his perception to scan the Void energy distribution of the entire floor.

Most floors were empty—office desks and chairs were overturned everywhere, documents had long since turned to ash, and occasionally, a few faintly fluorescent Void fungi could be seen in the corners.

A few floors had residual scattered Void energy fluctuations, likely where low-level Void Creatures had once nested and then left.

Xiao Guang silently counted the floors on his shoulder.

When they reached the twenty-seventh floor, Lin Feng found an overturned metal office desk in an office at the end of the hallway.

The desk drawer had been forced open, and inside was a notebook with scorched edges.

He picked it up and flipped through it—it wasn't his parents' handwriting, but sketches of the building's structure and some route markings, with memos written in scribbled handwriting on the side.

It was Chu Han's handwriting, identical to the last words on his nameplate.

He paused on this floor for a moment.

The roars of Void Creatures outside the building came from far away, muffled by the vines surrounding the office building and the silence-zone-like Void energy deceleration.

Then he put the notebook back in the drawer as it was and continued upward.

Reaching the thirty-third floor—the last few floors before the upper part of the building tilted—he stopped at the entrance of a large office at the end of the hallway.

The door to this office was the only one completely intact. There were no battle traces on the walls on either side of the door frame, and no dust on the floor.

A long-dried wreath hung on the doorknob. The wreath was woven from some kind of grayish-white vine; its shape was very irregular, but it was clear the weaver had carefully tied a small bow on each loop of the vine.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

This room had been set up as a simple camp: several metal plates were joined together to form a small workbench. On the workbench sat a portable Void energy detector that had long since run out of power and an empty ammo box. A set of numbers was carved into the side of the ammo box with a dagger—the specific mission identification code used by the Explorer Association.

A waterproof map was pinned to the wall, marked with dense routes and symbols in red marker.

He walked closer to look. Those symbols weren't exactly the same style as the analysis symbols in his mother's diary, but the logical thinking was identical—using different colors to mark different levels of Void Creature activity zones, dashed lines for safe evacuation routes, and solid lines for explored routes.

In the bottom right corner of the map was a line of handwritten text—'The route to the circular building has been marked. Thanks to the two Seniors. If those who come after reach here, follow the red line.'

Chu Han's handwriting.

His team had referenced the route markings left by Lin Feng's parents.

Next to the map was a cot, covered with a long-faded military blanket, folded neatly.

An open notebook lay by the pillow, along with a dried-up ballpoint pen and half a piece of unfinished military ration.

He flipped the notebook over to look—it was full of equipment maintenance records and daily battle briefings.

The last entry was dated nearly six years ago, and the content was very short: '3:00 PM. Void energy fluctuations detected in the direction of the main gate. Suspected Boss-level or higher creature approaching. Preparing to move to the rooftop for battle.'

And then, there was nothing more.

Lin Feng put the notebook back by the pillow and stood in this carefully arranged barracks for a few seconds in silence.

This Explorer he had never met, who had fought alongside his parents, had guarded this place alone for an unknown number of days and nights.

Until the very last moment, he was still prepared to move to the rooftop to continue the fight.

Finally, he turned and walked out of the barracks, continuing up the stairs toward the rooftop platform.

The iron door on the top floor was ajar, the door panel dented from impact. The concrete above the door frame had snapped into several sections, and several steel rebars protruded from the ceiling, blocking the doorway.

He squeezed through the gap sideways and walked onto the rooftop platform.

The platform was large, the floor covered in grayish-white waterproof coating, and the wind had blown the years of accumulated dust clean off the platform.

In the center of the platform was a collapsed water tank stand, with several long-rotted wooden planks pinned beneath it.

Some of the surrounding railings were bent from impact, but most were still intact.

A few empty potion crates were piled in a corner.

He walked to the edge of the platform and looked out over the entire city.

The view here was excellent; no matter which direction he looked, he could see most of the ruined urban area.

The circular building was right in front, not far away. Lin Feng closed his eyes and sensed the location for a moment.

He walked to the side of the water tank stand and knelt down to carefully examine the ground.

There were several faint carvings on the waterproof coating. They were very shallow, likely carved with a hand knife; they had become somewhat blurred after being blown by the wind for so long, but the shapes were still recognizable—it was a main title formed by two characters joined together, with a line of very small subtitle next to it that read, 'Our routes shall meet here.'

The handwriting wasn't the neat semi-cursive script of his parents, but rather slanted hard-pen script, completely consistent with the shorthand handwriting he had just seen in the tactical notebook.

Left by Chu Han.

Six years ago, he had waited for his parents' arrival on this platform and carved these words as a commemoration.

Lin Feng lightly traced the carvings with his finger.

Standing at the edge of the platform and looking out from the height, he could see that the low-level Void Creatures that had bypassed the building had already regrouped in the distance, faintly surrounding this area tightly.

The thing hidden deep within the circular building must still be waiting.

But he finally had a clear direction now—the map notes left by Chu Han, his parents' route markings, and this line of text were all telling him: this path was viable.

He turned and walked to a relatively level patch of ground next to the water tank stand, opened the void mithril ring, and lifted Xiao Jin out from the Resting Soil.

Xiao Jin yawned, its six golden legs stretching in the air, with half an unfinished purple Spirit Stone still in its mouth.

It had just woken up, but its antennae had already automatically stood up, waving rapidly in the air.

The residual Void energy in this place had significantly diluted the scent of the treasure it had smelled before, but it still remembered the direction.

"It's right here. Take another careful probe."

Xiao Jin hopped down from his palm and crawled slowly across the platform floor.

The purple light patterns on its antennae were brighter than ever before. After crawling around the platform once, it stopped in front of the collapsed wooden planks under the water tank stand and repeatedly tapped a seam on the ground that was so thin it was almost invisible with its front legs.

Then it looked up at Lin Feng and let out two short squeaks.

The meaning was clear: the thing was right underneath, and very close.