77: Chapter 77 As long as I'm not embarrassed, stealing from someone in charge is just fulfilling my duty!

Golden light flowed over the runes on the stone gate, and the heavy stone wall slid inward, revealing a narrow staircase extending downward, wide enough for only one person to pass.

There was no wind, only the thick scent of ancient dust rushing to meet them.

Section Chief Han Zheng and his team instinctively took half a step back, raising their firearms a few degrees higher.

But the two masked figures did not look back.

One after the other, they stepped into the bottomless darkness.

"Section Chief Han?"

A soldier lowered his voice, asking for instructions on the next step.

Section Chief Han Zheng's gaze was fixed on the slowly closing stone gate, his brain running through several simulations in a fraction of a second.

Pursue? The disparity in strength was too great; it would be suicide.

Wait? They had already gone in; waiting here was meaningless.

The only choice—

"Continue the exploration."

Section Chief Han Zheng's voice regained its composure, though a hint of impatience, which he himself hadn't noticed, pressed against the tail end of his words.

"Professor Zhou, scan for residual energy again, using the dead tree as the center!"

Professor Zhou snapped out of his daze and immediately directed Chen Yiming and Zhao Xiaohe to set up the high-precision spectrometer, aiming it at every detail of the dead tree.

Wang Hao, clutching the bronze piece that had already turned cold again, walked around the altar in circles, trying to capture that faint resonance once more.

Section Chief Han Zheng did not move.

He stood in place, his gaze sweeping over every inch of the altar's stone bricks and every crack like a hawk.

The people from Kindling had left; it was temporarily safe here.

And an absolutely safe, extraordinary relic that had existed for over two thousand years and had just been visited by Kindling members—

For humanity, this was an unprecedented treasure trove.

He had to find the key here that could unlock the future.

His gaze eventually settled near the gnarled roots of the dead tree.

There was a pile of debris covered by withered branches, leaves, and gravel, which looked completely unremarkable.

But Section Chief Han Zheng's observational skills were terrifying.

He noticed that the edge of one of the gravel pieces seemed smoother than the surrounding sandstone and carried a hint of metallic reflection.

He walked over, crouched down, and used his fingers to brush away the loose soil and debris from the surface.

A palm-sized bronze object, half-buried in the soil, was revealed.

It was not a bronze piece, nor was it a weapon.

It was a compass.

The surface was mottled with rust, the needle was long gone, and the markings were blurred.

Section Chief Han Zheng dug it out completely from the soil and flipped it to the back.

His pupils contracted sharply.

On the back of the compass was a complete and clear totem of spark!

Flames held up a star, the tips of the flames split into three petals, with a hexagram embedded in the center.

It was exactly the same as the pattern on Wang Hao's bronze piece and the emblem on Liu Yuyan's armor!

"Found it!"

Section Chief Han Zheng didn't say these two words out loud, but Wang Hao, who was following behind him, understood his look.

Wang Hao's breathing stopped instantly, and an unbelievable ecstasy erupted in his eyes.

Section Chief Han Zheng's reaction was extremely fast.

He didn't make a scene but quickly gave Wang Hao a look.

The meaning in that look was simple and clear—put it away, don't make a sound!

Wang Hao understood in a second.

He immediately took off his jacket, carefully wrapped the compass, and deftly stuffed it into the deepest part of his backpack, covering it with two other pieces of clothing.

The whole process was smooth and fluid, with a tacit understanding as if they had practiced it hundreds of times.

Section Chief Han Zheng stood up, patted the dust off his hands as if nothing had happened, and coughed.

"The exploration is about done, and the spatial structure here is unstable, so let's withdraw first."

Professor Zhou was pulled up from the ground, looking reluctant, still holding a bag of newly collected soil samples and protecting them like a treasure.

The group quickly withdrew through the light gate.

Less than ten seconds after they left, the golden light gate flickered, slowly dissipated, and turned back into that unremarkable sandstone cliff.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

...

Meanwhile, inside the secret chamber.

On both sides of the narrow staircase extending downward, the stone walls were covered with runes that Lin Xiaoman could not understand.

But her perception could "read" these runes.

They were not decorations; they were independent energy circuits,

Together, they formed a massive "Faraday cage" that prevented energy from dissipating.

The further down they went, the denser the free energy particles in the air became.

At the end of the corridor was a circular stone chamber about ten square meters in size.

The dome was a single, uncarved golden crystal that emitted a soft, warm light, illuminating the entire secret chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber, on a stone platform half a person's height, sat a rectangular bronze box.

The box was not large, its surface covered in ancient green rust, yet that could not hide the fine, flowing Kindling runes on it.

A similarly rusty bronze lock secured the lid.

Deep in Lin Xiaoman's pupils, silver-blue data streams flashed rapidly.

That was no ordinary lock.

Its core was an energy recognition device connected to two energy signatures inside the box.

And those two energy signatures...

"Professor,"

Lin Xiaoman's voice carried a hint of surprise,

"The things in this box seem to... be prepared for us."

Henry also felt it.

The Kindling within him was resonating faintly with one of the energy signatures in the box.

The two looked at each other and hesitated no longer.

They simultaneously took their bronze pieces out of their pockets and pressed them against the box lid.

"Click."

The bronze lock sprang open in response.

The lid slowly lifted, without a speck of dust rising.

Two sets of neatly folded dark gray combat uniforms lay quietly on the silk lining at the bottom of the box.

That was not fabric.

The material was between metal and fabric, and under the light of the crystal, one could see countless hair-thin rune patterns slowly flowing on the surface.

Lin Xiaoman reached out and gently touched one of the sets with her fingertips.

A warm pulse, carrying a faint electric current, traveled from the patterns of the combat uniform, along her fingertips, and surged into the Kindling within her.

"This is..."

Lin Xiaoman's eyes shone like two light bulbs,

"It's talking to me!"

Henry also touched the other combat uniform.

There was no sound of gears; what his fingertips felt was a warm, peaceful, and vibrant energy pulse, as if he were touching a life that was sleeping peacefully.

The two picked up the combat uniforms.

"Let's go."

Henry packed the combat uniform away, his voice steady and powerful.

Lin Xiaoman hugged her set, a wide grin spreading across her lips, and nodded vigorously.

"Going home!"

When the two returned to the altar, it was already empty.

The presence of Section Chief Han Zheng's team had vanished completely, and even their footprints had been smoothed away by the wind.

"They ran pretty fast."

Lin Xiaoman muttered to herself, clutching the precious combat uniform, and walked through the stone corridor with light steps.

Henry followed behind, adjusted his glasses, and a very slight arc also curled at the corners of his mouth.

The first mission was successfully completed.

...

The Gobi under the night sky.

In the tent of the temporary camp, seven people sat in a circle, the atmosphere eerily quiet.

Everyone's gaze flickered intentionally or unintentionally toward the center of the table.

There, the bronze compass, wrapped in a piece of gray jacket cloth, sat like a hot potato, radiating a deadly temptation.

No one spoke.

The wind blew against the tent, making a howling sound.

Finally, Zhao Xiaohe couldn't hold it in anymore; she twisted the hem of her clothes and asked in a voice as quiet as a mosquito,

"Are we... are we considered... stealing from ourselves?"

With that one sentence, the window paper was pierced.

Everyone, including Professor Zhou, had their weathered faces flush red in unison.

Section Chief Han Zheng coughed heavily, breaking the awkwardness.

He picked up the compass and spoke righteously.

"This is an ownerless relic found on the ground of the ruins; it does not belong to any individual or organization."

He paused and emphasized his tone.

"We are an archaeological exploration team officially approved by the state; collecting samples and recovering artifacts is our duty!"

Beside him, Chen Yiming immediately nodded in agreement, his voice loud and clear.

"Right! It's our duty!"

Everyone looked at each other, the expressions on their faces changing from embarrassment to a sudden realization of "so that's how it is," and then they all breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

Right, duty, duty.

Section Chief Han Zheng nodded with satisfaction and placed the compass solemnly on the table.

He stared at this ancient object that might contain extraordinary secrets, then subconsciously glanced at Wang Hao's chest.

"Wang Hao, previously at your home, the bronze piece and the scroll were activated together."

His voice dropped, carrying a hint of uncertainty and great anticipation.

"Do you think this compass... might also need that bronze piece to truly activate?"

Wang Hao's hand suddenly pressed against his backpack.

His gaze passed through the tent flap and was cast toward the cliff of the Rose Ancient City that had already returned to dead silence.

The bronze piece... was still in that stone crack, maintaining the entrance to the ruins.

And those two Kindling people had already left.

On this Gobi, the only one who could take out a Kindling bronze piece now was him.