81: Chapter 81 Entering the Ruins

After the conference room door closed, the room quickly fell silent.

Commander Ji Yunlan stood at the very front. Behind her hung two freshly printed structural diagrams of the ruins, while the projection screen displayed a blurry topographic scan with many areas circled in red markings.

"This mission is very dangerous."

The expressions of the dozen or so people in the room tightened.

Commander Ji Yunlan swept her gaze over everyone, her voice not loud.

"Not a single person who entered the Northern Ruins earlier has returned yet. Although the perimeter of the Southern Ruins is temporarily stable, the internal situation remains unknown. You are scouts, the first batch of people entering to explore the path, and no one knows what you will encounter."

She paused for a moment and continued:

"Therefore, once you enter, everyone must obey orders. You must maintain discipline during the mission. Do not act on your own, do not leave the team without authorization, and do not rush out just because you see resources, artifacts, or traces of cultivation techniques.

Whoever acts recklessly will not only kill themselves but also implicate the entire team."

She added another sentence.

"Including myself, every team will have two experts from the Hua Hai Realm stationed to ensure your safety."

Upon hearing this, someone in the room visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Hua Hai Realm, in a place like Rong City, could already be considered top-tier combat power.

Commander Ji Yunlan raised her hand and tapped the map.

"With both the Northern Ruins and Southern Ruins being pushed simultaneously, the military has mobilized all the forces it could spare.

You don't need to worry about having no backup after entering; the military has already prepared for casualties."

The situation regarding these ruins has already been fully reported to the higher-ups.

Even if high-level combat power is lost, someone will immediately fill the gap; otherwise, losing four Hua Hai Realm experts at once would be a significant blow to the defense of Rong City.

The conference room was quiet for a moment. Although they had been told about such risks before coming, hearing it from a Hua Hai Realm expert like Commander Ji Yunlan was a different matter entirely.

Commander Ji Yunlan looked at everyone and finally said:

"Our mission this time is to explore the ruins, find the core of the ruins, and establish a stable connection with the outside world. If there are any questions, please speak up now. Once you enter the ruins, it will be impossible to back out. If I discover any behavior that endangers the team at that time, I will eliminate it immediately."

Those who could be called by the military, or who stood up voluntarily, were somewhat prepared. At this point, it was even less possible to back down.

Seeing this, Commander Ji Yunlan nodded directly.

"Good, since there are no questions, let's divide into teams now."

She turned and picked up the list, her voice crisp.

"The exploration team will be divided into Northern and Southern teams.

The roster has already been arranged, distributed according to scouting talent, combat experience, and the current situation of the ruins."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng already had a vague premonition in his heart.

The next second, Commander Ji Yunlan indeed called his name.

"Lu Cheng, Southern Ruins team."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

As expected.

He had dealt with the Southern Ruins before, and the Abandoned City he saw in his dream was closer to the south, so it was normal for the military to put him in the Southern team.

Soon, the entire list was read out.

The Southern Ruins team, where Lu Cheng was assigned, consisted of fifteen people in total.

There were three scouts. Of the other two, one was a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, carrying a detection instrument box; his blood energy fluctuation was not strong, as he possessed a perception-type talent.

The other was a short-haired woman in her twenties, with special bandages wrapped around her wrists. Her gaze was sharp, and her standing posture was always tense, clearly indicating a military background.

There were two Hua Hai Realm experts. One was Commander Ji Yunlan, and the other was a burly middle-aged military officer with an old scar on his face. He stood there like a wall, and the nameplate on his chest read "Officer Zhao Yue".

The remaining ten were all fully armed soldiers of the Source Gathering Realm.

They wore uniform standard-issue combat armor, with ammunition pouches and short blades hanging on their chests, and special firearms on their backs. Their presence was steady and their movements clean; one could tell at a glance they were elites who had spent years on the front lines.

Lu Cheng looked at this lineup and silently calculated in his mind.

Three scouts, two Hua Hai Realm experts, ten Source Gathering Realm soldiers.

This configuration was already luxurious enough...

After the division ended, everyone did not delay and immediately began preparations.

Military boots stepped on the corridor floor, emitting a series of dull sounds.

Some were checking weapons, some were confirming communication headset frequencies, and logistics personnel were jogging while pushing metal boxes, delivering the final batch of supplies.

Lu Cheng also received a set of simple tactical equipment.

Glow sticks, compressed rations, hemostatic spray, as well as a small locator and a self-destruct bomb.

...

An hour later, the convoy set off.

The military vehicles drove all the way to the Southern Ruins area. The streets along the way had been completely cleared, and the intersections were full of armed soldiers on guard. Occasionally, reconnaissance drones could be seen hovering at low altitudes in the air.

When the convoy finally stopped, Lu Cheng looked out through the car window, his eyes slightly narrowing.

The area around the Southern Ruins had been completely controlled by the military.

Layers of blockade lines were spread outwards; barbed wire, armored vehicles, heavy firepower points, and temporary command tents were all set up.

In the distance, several dark Source Energy cannons could be seen, their barrels tilted upwards, aimed in the direction of the ruins.

This place had completely become a wartime zone.

The car doors opened, and everyone got off one by one.

As soon as they landed, the soldiers stationed around them stood at attention in unison and raised their hands in a salute.

The wind blew, the military flags fluttered, and large areas of firearms and armor plates reflected a cold light.

That was not a welcome.

That was a send-off.

It was also the highest tribute.

Lu Cheng's footsteps paused slightly, and the casual smile at the corner of his mouth faded a bit.

Everyone knew that once this team went in, no one could say how many would come out in one piece.

Commander Ji Yunlan said no nonsense, just raised her hand to return the military salute.

Subsequently, she led the Southern team forward.

The blockade lines opened layer by layer, and everyone finally walked to the very front of the ruins.

Lu Cheng looked up, and his breathing paused slightly.

The entrance to the ruins was even larger than what he saw in his dream.

It was a giant stone gate embedded in a crack in the mountain. It was nearly twenty meters high and over ten meters wide. The gate body was dark gray, and its surface was covered with cracks from the erosion of time. The two stone doors were only slightly ajar, and deep within the gap, dim, cold light was slowly flowing.

The stone gate was carved with ancient patterns.

Those patterns were layered, and in many places, they were incomplete or broken, but the overall outline still exuded an indescribable sense of oppression.

On both sides of the door frame stood half-sections of black stone pillars. Thick metal chains were wrapped around the pillars, covered in rust, with their ends deeply embedded into the ground.

The ground in front of the door was paved with large pieces of broken stone tiles, and there were many charred marks on the edges, as if they had been repeatedly scorched by high temperatures.

The air was mixed with the smell of damp earth, rust, and a very faint aura of decay.

Lu Cheng stared at the stone gate, his eyelids twitching slightly.

The gate in his dream and this one before his eyes could almost overlap by seventy or eighty percent.

"Everyone, prepare."

Commander Ji Yunlan's voice came from the front.

The Southern team members simultaneously focused their minds and quickly formed up.

Two Hua Hai Realm experts guarded the front and rear, ten Source Gathering Realm soldiers were dispersed in the middle and on the flanks, and the three scouts were protected in a relatively safe position.

Lu Cheng stood slightly towards the front in the middle, his fingers moving lightly. The origin of his Guiding Technique slowly circulated within his body, and his blood energy was raised bit by bit.

The temperature in front of the stone gate was significantly lower than outside.

The closer he got, the more he could feel a cold aura drilling into his skin.

Fortunately, he had the purification effect of the Dragon Scale Holy Armor on him, so the slight discomfort that had just arisen was quickly suppressed.

"Enter."

With Commander Ji Yunlan's command, the team officially passed through the stone gate.

The moment they stepped inside, the sound of the wind, machinery, and footsteps outside were all cut off behind them.

Only the echoing sound of soles remained in his ears.

Underfoot was a stretch of bluestone steps extending downwards.

The stone steps were very long, sloping all the way to the depths of the underground. The surface had been worn shiny, and in many places, there were still charred brown stains remaining, whether from the accumulation of time or something else left behind, it was unknown.

The surrounding walls were carved with a large number of incomplete murals.

As Lu Cheng walked down, he scanned them. The content in the murals was very mixed.

There were human warriors standing with weapons, banners fluttering behind them.

There were huge exotic beasts trampling mountains and rivers, opening their mouths to spew flames.

There were people wearing robes kneeling on high platforms to offer sacrifices, with flames shooting into the sky.

There was also a huge door suspended in the depths of the starry sky, with light pouring out from behind the door, and many figures walking towards it.

Further on...

Tall buildings falling, the sky splitting, the city collapsing in the firelight, and the streets full of fleeing crowds.

Finally, volcanoes erupting, and all things perishing...

The more Lu Cheng looked, the heavier his heart became.

Especially those murals of the falling city; they had an almost eerie similarity to the Abandoned City in his dream.

"You noticed it too?"

The short-haired female scout next to him asked in a low voice.

Lu Cheng withdrew his gaze.

"These murals." Her voice was very low. "Some of the content doesn't look like things that should be in ancient ruins, but rather closer to a modern city."

Lu Cheng nodded and didn't say much.

The team continued downwards.

The end of the stone steps was getting closer and closer, and the darkness ahead was gradually dissipating.

After walking another few dozen steps, the soldier at the very front suddenly stopped.

Immediately after, a very low gasp came from the front.

Lu Cheng's heart stirred, and he looked ahead, following everyone's line of sight.

The next second, he was completely stunned.

The view before his eyes suddenly opened up.

Deep underground, a huge fragment of a city was actually sealed.

About a kilometer ahead, one could see tall buildings broken and stuck obliquely into the ground. Many building bodies were only half left, and the exterior wall glass was shattered to pieces.

Large areas of the neighborhood had collapsed, with rebar and concrete twisted and piled together. Abandoned tracks extended from the distance, half-buried in dust and rubble.

Further away, one could faintly see a deserted square.

In the center of the square stood a broken statue; its head was gone, leaving only half a torso standing there lonely.

The entire space was astonishingly large.

A layer of gray mist hung overhead, covering the entire space above. The mist flowed slowly and pressed down very low, making it impossible to tell whether it was the sky, a dome, or something even more bizarre.

There were no insect chirps, no sound of wind, no human voices; there was only the occasional echo of metal rubbing against metal from afar, rippling in circles through this dead city.

The Source Energy here was also much denser than the outside world...

Lu Cheng stood at the end of the stone steps, his pupils slightly contracting.

This place was too similar to the Abandoned City in his dream.

A layer of fine chill instantly crept up his back, and the voice of that person saying "I'll wait for you" seemed to ring in his ears again.

"Damn it..."

Lu Cheng moved his throat and cursed lowly.

This place was completely different from what Lu Cheng had imagined. He had originally thought the inside of the ruins would be a closed space similar to an ancient tomb.

He didn't expect it to be a new world...

The bespectacled young man next to him was already dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open for a long time before he managed to choke out a sentence.

"This... what on earth is this place?"

Officer Zhao Yue in front slowly exhaled and tightened his grip on his combat saber.

Commander Ji Yunlan stared at the city under the gray mist in front, her eyes sinking bit by bit.

"All units, be on alert."