107: Leaving a Gift in an Empty Valley and Shedding One's Shell

Lijian Valley fell silent at an astonishing speed.

In just a few short days, the valley, which was once bustling with people and full of life, had become completely deserted.

The crops in the spirit fields stopped growing, the lights in the Research Hall caves were extinguished, and only the sound of whistling wind remained in the War Hall's training grounds.

Only Wen Youyi, along with the last remaining Zhao Iron Pillar and Senior Brother Zhang, were still busy in this base that was about to be abandoned.

Wen Youyi's so-called "little gift" was no joke.

Taking advantage of the final moments, he combined the "source code" fragments regarding energy structure instability deciphered from the chaotic jade slip with some special Materials from Senior Brother Zhang's Research Hall inventory, and tampered with several key yet concealed nodes of the "ark" network.

He did not set up any killing formations—that would be meaningless in front of the "Scavenger".

Instead, he set up several extremely ingenious "energy disturbance traps" and "information pollution sources".

Once external energy exceeding a specific threshold (such as the "Scavenger's" scanning waves or aggressive energy) forcibly intruded into these nodes, it would trigger a chain reaction.

It wouldn't explode, but it would instantly release a large amount of chaotic, disordered, and disguised junk information streams and distorted energy fluctuations.

This thing didn't have much lethality; its main purpose was "disgusting people" and "confusing the situation".

Wen Youyi's goal was: if the "Scavenger" really came to scan Lijian Valley, the data fed back after these traps were triggered would be a complete mess, full of contradictions and false information.

This could interfere with the opponent's judgment, perhaps buying a little more time for their evacuation, and it could also, like stepping in dog shit, slightly disgust those high-and-mighty "cleaners".

"Done!" Wen Youyi clapped his hands, looked at the trap nodes disguised as ordinary rocks or broken Formation Base, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Boss, this trick of yours... is truly vicious." Zhao Iron Pillar grinned; although he didn't quite understand the principle, he felt that being able to make the people "above" suffer a muffled loss was very satisfying.

Senior Brother Zhang looked full of admiration: "Using the instability of energy structures to create information pollution... Youyi, this line of thinking of yours is truly imaginative!"

"Just a small trick, it won't delay them for too long." Wen Youyi smiled, then said seriously: "We should go too."

The three of them inspected the home they had built with their own hands one last time, their eyes revealing reluctance.

Every blade of grass and every tree here condensed their hard work and sweat.

"Let's go. If a home is gone, it can be rebuilt, but if people are gone, they are truly gone." Wen Youyi took a deep breath and turned around first.

They quietly left Lijian Valley along the most secret route planned in advance.

The thin layer of "Five Elements Bewilderment" at the valley entrance, in its "standby" state, was the last camouflage they left behind.

Less than half a day after Wen Youyi and the other two left.

Above Lijian Valley, the air twisted slightly, and three figures wearing silver-white battle armor with expressionless faces appeared quietly like ghosts.

It was those three "Scavengers"!

Their cold gazes swept over the seemingly desolate valley below, and invisible scanning fluctuations, like mercury pouring onto the ground, instantly covered every inch of land.

The scanning waves touched the nodes that Wen Youyi had tampered with.

"Hum—!"

The preset traps were triggered instantly! There was no earth-shattering explosion, but streams of disordered, distorted information flows and chaotic energy fluctuations, like mental pollution, erupted violently, interfering with the normal scanning feedback!

The movements of the three "Scavengers" paused simultaneously.

The data they received instantly became contradictory: the energy reaction here was weak, fitting the characteristics of abandonment, but certain nodes still had abnormally active distorted fluctuations; there were no signs of life here, but the information stream was mixed with a large amount of meaningless interference noise...

[Target Area: Lijian Valley. Scan Results: Low-level energy residue and information interference present. Signs of Life: None. Energy Activity Level: Extremely low. Assessment: Suspected abandoned anomalous node, unknown information pollution present. Cleanup Priority: Downgraded. Recommendation: Mark, continue observation.]

A cold judgment was generated within their internal System.

Because no obvious threats or high-value targets were detected, coupled with that annoying information interference, the "Scavengers" did not immediately carry out physical clearance.

Instead, they followed procedure, marked Lijian Valley as a "low-priority observation area," and then their figures slowly faded and disappeared into the air.

They came silently and left without a trace.

At this moment, Wen Youyi, who was already in a hidden cave dozens of miles away, vaguely captured the fleeting, familiar cold fluctuation from the direction of Lijian Valley through the extremely weak sensing of the star core fragment in his bosom.

"They came... and left again." Wen Youyi said in a low voice; while he breathed a sigh of relief, his heart also felt heavier.

The "Scavengers" had indeed come! Their early evacuation was the right choice.

And those "little gifts" seemed to have played a small role.

"Boss, where are we going next?" Zhao Iron Pillar asked.

This cave was only a temporary foothold.

Wen Youyi spread out a simple map, on which several scattered symbols were marked, representing the several shelters established by Wang Wu, Senior Brother Li, and the others.

"We are going to Point 3." Wen Youyi pointed to a marker located deep in the Qinglan Mountain Range, near the edge of the "Black Swamp".

"The environment there is complex and easy to hide in, and it's not far from the Black Swamp ruins where we previously discovered the ancient murals; perhaps we can find more clues about the 'source code'."

A cunning rabbit has three burrows; they were now the rabbits forced to leave their nest and had to make good use of every burrow.

"Also," Wen Youyi looked at Senior Brother Zhang and Zhao Iron Pillar, his eyes firm, "notify all scattered members to maintain minimal contact using 'Star Language'. We are entering a 'dormancy period'."

"Before we have sufficient strength, we must hide like hibernating snakes, accumulate power, and wait for the next opportunity to break through the soil!"

The cicada had already shed its skin, and the road ahead remained uncertain.

But the seeds of fire had already been scattered.

As long as a single spark remained unextinguished, there was hope for a prairie fire.

(End of chapter)