237: The Fisherman's Gain and the Key Mystery

Wen Youyi and the other six people were like frightened rabbits, sprinting with all their might toward the defensive position where the remaining team was stationed.

Behind them, the battlefield between the Scavengers and the Corrupted Wolf King had already turned into a zone of destruction.

Energy beams and filthy shockwaves collided wildly, the explosions deafening.

Relying on his massive size, fearlessness in the face of death, and the corrosive nature of his filthy energy against the Scavengers' energy weapons, the Corrupted Wolf King managed to entangle two Scavengers for a moment, his sharp claws colliding with their energy shields and emitting a harsh, scraping sound.

Meanwhile, another Scavenger was like a cold reaper, precisely sniping those elite corrupted beasts attempting to leap across the rift to support the Corrupted Wolf King.

Black rocks were blasted into powder, leaving scorched craters on the ground.

The entire scene was chaotic and violent.

"Quick! Get in!"

Seeing Wen Youyi and the others rushing over, the personnel at the defensive position immediately opened a gap.

The seven of them scrambled into the defensive perimeter made of giant rocks and makeshift fortifications, all of them collapsing to the ground, gasping for air, their hearts still pounding with lingering fear.

"Good heavens... Boss, that move of yours was too ruthless!"

Zhao Iron Pillar wiped the sweat and blood from his face, watching the earth-shattering battle in the distance, grinning, unsure if it was from lingering fear or excitement.

Wen Youyi also breathed a sigh of relief.

That last move was truly a dangerous gamble; if the Scavengers or the Corrupted Wolf King hadn't taken the bait, they would have really ended up as a sandwich filling.

"Don't lower your guard! Watch out for stray shots and shockwaves!"

Wang Wu reminded them, directing the personnel at the defensive position to reinforce the fortifications to withstand the residual energy waves from the battle in the distance.

Mu Wanqing immediately began emergency treatment for the most severely injured team members, especially the one who had almost been scratched by the Corrupted Wolf King's claws; the wound on his back was already starting to turn black and fester, with filthy energy eroding it.

Taking advantage of this gap, Wen Youyi finally had the chance to carefully examine the hard-won crystal key in his hand.

It was about a foot long, cold and smooth to the touch, and inside it seemed to be sealed a miniature, slowly rotating starry sky, dotted with starlight, deep and mysterious.

Holding it in his hand, he could clearly feel the immense energy contained within, as well as an... indescribable sense of familiarity, as if it were a complete version or a superior form of the star core fragment inside his body.

He tried to separate a thread of Mental Energy, cautiously probing into the key.

This time, there was no violent surge of information.

Inside the key, it was like an orderly library, with information stored in categorized sections.

He "saw" a few core items:

First was an extremely complex star map, whose center point was not the world they were currently in, but a coordinate so unimaginably distant that it was marked as "Return to Ruins · Lighthouse."

That must be the location of the final repository of fire seeds and the homeward beacon left by the ancient civilization.

Second, there was a vast amount of high-level knowledge regarding the application of stellar energy and fragments of blueprints for ancient technology, the ingenuity and advancement of which far exceeded the superficial knowledge they had currently learned from the database, including even how to construct large-scale interstellar teleportation arrays, how to manufacture true starships, and various technical concepts on how to more effectively counter the "spirit net" harvesting and the Scavengers!

Finally, and most importantly, was a piece of information regarding the key itself.

It was not just a key, but also an authorization core and an energy source.

It could activate specific ancient facilities (such as the true "Return to Ruins") and could also provide startup energy for some powerful ancient equipment.

More importantly, it seemed to be able to resonate with specific, scattered star core fragments, conducting... remote energy transmission and information relay!

"Remote energy transmission and information relay?"

Wen Youyi was shaken to his core!

Wasn't this equivalent to a super-enhanced, distance-ignoring "star chain" core?

If they could master this function, wouldn't it mean that even if they were scattered at opposite ends of the Universe, they could still maintain contact and energy support?

The significance of this discovery was no less than finding the star map of "Return to Ruins"!

Just as he was immersed in the shock brought by the key, the battle in the distance was nearing its end.

The Corrupted Wolf King was indeed formidable.

Under the enhancement of filthy energy, he forcibly tore apart the energy shield of one Scavenger, leaving several deep cracks on its silver-white armor, the filthy energy continuously eroding it, causing that Scavenger's movements to become stiff and sluggish.

But the Scavengers' combat power was, after all, far superior to his.

The other two Scavengers seized the opportunity, and scorching beams precisely hit the fleshy growth on the Corrupted Wolf King's forehead, which served as his power core!

"Pfft!"

The growth exploded violently, dark red filthy blood and shattered tissue splattering everywhere!

The Corrupted Wolf King let out a shrill, agonizing howl, his massive body collapsing as if his bones had been pulled out, the filthy energy on his body rapidly dissipating, eventually turning into a puddle of dissolving rotten flesh.

As for the Scavenger that had been severely damaged by the Corrupted Wolf King, due to core damage and filthy erosion, the red light in its eyes flickered a few times before finally extinguishing, and it fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, no longer moving.

The remaining two Scavengers, in relatively good condition, coldly scanned the Corrupted Wolf King's remains and their companion's "corpse."

Immediately, those emotionless electronic eyes locked onto the defensive position where Wen Youyi and the others were located again—or more accurately, they locked onto the crystal key in Wen Youyi's hand!

They had eliminated the biggest source of interference; now, their target remained clear!

"Prepare for battle!"

Wen Youyi quickly put away the crystal key and stood up, his eyes sharp.

He knew that the real test was only just beginning!

They had to successfully evacuate this dead zone while being hunted by these two Scavengers!

(End of Chapter)