98: Black Wind Vault and "Encrypted USB Drive"

Zhao Iron Pillar led the team to explore Black Wind Mountain again, and the process went even more smoothly than expected.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; Black Wind Mountain now only had a few stragglers left.

Seeing the group of fierce gods like Zhao Iron Pillar return, they were so scared that their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and anyone who could run had already vanished without a trace.

The few remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled captives almost wept as they pointed out the locations of the cult's secret warehouses.

The War Hall Disciples were like bandits raiding a house—oh wait, they were like righteous Scavengers—plowing through Black Wind Mountain from top to bottom.

The harvest was fruitful!

In addition to finding dozens of unused "blood crystal"s, they also discovered a large amount of Medicinal Pills, Materials, and Spirit Stones used by low-level Cultivators, as well as some Jade Slips recording the Blood Fiend Cult's Cultivation Technique and miscellaneous news.

These things were not too precious to the current Mutual Aid Society, but mosquito legs are still meat, and filling the warehouse is always good.

However, the greatest harvest was discovered deep inside the secret chamber where Bloody Fierce used to meditate, hidden in an extremely clever secret compartment.

It was a palm-sized box, completely pitch-black, neither gold nor wood, and ice-cold to the touch.

The surface of the box was as smooth as a mirror, without any seams, as if it had been carved from a single piece of material.

Zhao Iron Pillar tried every method, even smashing it a few times with his heavy sword, but the box remained motionless, not even leaving a mark.

"Boss, this thing is evil. We can't open it, but I feel like there's something good inside!"

When Zhao Iron Pillar returned to report, he presented the black box to Wen Youyi like a treasure.

Wen Youyi took the black box; it felt heavy in his hand, and he examined it carefully.

He also tried to probe it with his Mental Energy, but was blocked by a gentle yet tough force.

He tried to impact it with Spiritual Qi, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean.

"This thing... is not simple."

Wen Youyi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Bloody Fierce had hidden it so deeply, it certainly wasn't an ordinary object.

He tried moving the star core fragment in his bosom closer to the black box.

The moment the star core fragment approached, a strange change occurred!

The black box, which had been completely unresponsive, suddenly lit up with countless fine, spiderweb-like silver patterns on its surface, as if it had been activated!

Immediately after, the lid made a "click" sound, and it actually slid open a crack on its own!

An ancient, vicissitudinous aura, carrying a hint of the vastness of the stars, emanated from the crack.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the opened box.

There were no glittering Magic Treasures as imagined, nor were there Medicinal Pills overflowing with Spiritual Qi; there were only two things inside.

One was a crystal the size of a pigeon egg, completely round, presenting the colors of the deep starry sky.

Inside, it seemed as if nebulae were slowly rotating, emitting Star Power that was of the same origin as the star core fragment, but purer and more majestic!

"This is... a more complete star core?" Senior Brother Zhang exclaimed, his eyes almost popping out.

Wen Youyi was also shocked in his heart!

He could feel that this starry sky crystal came from the same source as the fragment in his bosom, but the energy it contained and that feeling of "completeness" far exceeded the fragment in his hand!

If the fragment in his hand was a broken USB drive, then this crystal was a complete, high-capacity mobile hard drive!

He suppressed his excitement and looked at the other item.

It was a chaotic jade slip, thin as a cicada's wing, translucent, and covered with countless complex patterns so fine they were hard to distinguish with the naked eye.

These patterns were not static; they were slowly flowing and changing, as if they were alive.

"What is... this?" Wang Wu asked in confusion.

Wen Youyi carefully picked up the chaotic jade slip; it was cool to the touch.

When he tried to probe it with his Mental Energy, a massive, chaotic stream of information fragments rushed into his mind like a broken dam!

It was no longer thoughts or language, but a more primitive, larger "data stream"!

It was mixed with countless incomplete patterns, distorted symbols, broken energy trajectory paths, and some fragments of coordinates with unclear meanings...

The amount of information was too large and too chaotic.

Wen Youyi felt as if his head had been hit by a heavy hammer; with a buzzing sound, his vision went black, and he almost fainted.

He hurriedly cut off the mental connection, his face pale, still shaken.

"How is it?" everyone asked with concern.

Wen Youyi took a few breaths, rubbed his stinging temples, and smiled bitterly: "The amount of information is too large, and it's all jumbled up, like a hard drive that has been formatted countless times and then had a bunch of garbled code stuffed into it..."

His description was a bit strange, but everyone understood what he meant—there was a lot of information recorded in this chaotic jade slip, but it was extremely chaotic and difficult to interpret.

"However," Wen Youyi looked at the starry sky crystal and the chaotic jade slip in his hand, his eyes shining with excitement, "I think I have an idea of what this is."

"What is it?"

"This black box is likely an... encrypted storage device!"

Wen Youyi used an analogy, "And this complete star core crystal is the 'key' to open it! This chaotic jade slip is the 'data' stored inside!"

He speculated that Bloody Fierce likely also obtained this black box and the star core crystal that served as the "key" by accident, but he couldn't interpret the information in the chaotic jade slip, or perhaps only interpreted the surface level (like obtaining a remnant of the "Cultivation Technique"?), which is why he regarded it as the most important secret and hid it away.

"In other words, this chaotic jade slip might record important information about the 'star core,' about the 'Creation Heavenly Court,' and even about how to resist the 'harvest'?"

Senior Brother Zhang's voice trembled with excitement.

"Very likely!" Wen Youyi nodded.

"Although it looks like a mess right now, as long as we find the correct 'decoding' method, we might be able to gain unimaginable harvests from it!"

This discovery was of immense significance!

This was not just an extra "power bank" (the complete star core crystal), but potentially a "knowledge treasure trove" containing ancient secrets or even the Legacy of the resistance!

"Immediately list these two items as top secret!" Wen Youyi ordered solemnly.

"The black box and the chaotic jade slip will be kept and studied by me personally."

"This complete star core crystal..." He pondered for a moment, "We will leave it untouched for now, to be used as a strategic reserve and for future research."

He felt that his work focus for the next period, besides continuing to perfect "Star Language" and expanding the "ark," would have to add another arduous task—deciphering this "encrypted USB drive" from ancient times (or a higher dimension)!

The road ahead was still full of unknowns, but the dawn of hope seemed to be getting brighter and brighter.

(End of Chapter)