220: Chapter 220 "Are they...humans?"

When those last few words met everyone's eyes, time seemed to stand still.

In the air, only their heavy breathing remained, along with the approaching mechanical footsteps outside, like a death knell.

"Tomb Guardian... Torch Dragon..."

Song Yiqing murmured to himself, his face filled with unbelievable shock.

"If 'Kirin' is the traveler and warrior of the Tomb Guardian clan responsible for wielding the 'key', then 'Torch Dragon'... in legend, is the High Priest responsible for observing time and space and deducing the future! The 'eyes' of the clan!"

"This... this is information left by your clan's ancestors?" Fatso stared wide-eyed at the weak Zhang Qilin.

Zhang Qilin's gaze was fixed intently on that passage of text.

In his fragmented memories, he had no clear impression of the title "Torch Dragon," but the desolation and resolve belonging to the Tomb Guardian bloodline permeating the lines made him feel a resonance from the depths of his soul.

A predecessor... or a group of them, with the same bloodline as him, had also been trapped here, and in their despair, had found that slim, ethereal... chance of survival.

"The Creator? The Purifiers' Creator?" Lin Tianyi quickly grasped the most critical information, his brain working rapidly. "This sounds like a cliché story of an AI rebellion. These 'Purifiers' betrayed their creator and suppressed Him?"

"Very likely."

Song Yiqing nodded, a faint light reigniting in his eyes.

"In any case, this is our... only clue for now, and our only hope."

The only hope, yet potentially... a trap leading to deeper despair.

To reach the center of this massive ruin meant they had to cross the entire blockade of the Mechanical Legion.

And awakening a "The Creator" suppressed by its own creations—no one could predict whether what was awakened would be a savior or another... even more terrifying demon god.

"No time to hesitate."

Wang Xianzhi's cool voice interrupted everyone's thoughts.

She pointed outside the gap in the metal plate.

A squad of five humanoid mechanical soldiers had already reached the area where they were hiding; the red cyclopean eyes on their heads were scanning the surrounding ruins inch by inch like searchlights.

"They're conducting a carpet search. We'll be discovered soon."

"Damn it, let's do it!" Fatso gritted his teeth and hardened his heart. "We're dead either way. Instead of waiting here to die, we might as well go to the center and see what's what! Say, if that 'The Creator' wakes up, maybe seeing as we're his saviors, he'll send us home?"

"I agree." Lin Tianyi's gaze was resolute. "Waiting for death isn't my style. We must act."

Everyone's eyes focused on Zhang Qilin.

He was the de facto core of this team.

Zhang Qilin took a deep breath, the smell of sulfur and rust irritating his weak lungs.

He looked at the now-dim "Resting Soil" in his hand, then at the vigorous handwriting on the metal plate.

The ancestors' blood had not yet cooled.

The Tomb Guardians' mission was not yet over.

He had no reason, nor the right, to fall here.

"Go."

He spoke only one word, but it contained unquestionable determination.

He carefully tucked the nearly depleted "Resting Soil" into his robe, then used the tip of the black gold ancient blade to carve a small, almost imperceptible mark below the message.

It was a Qilin totem.

This was the way Tomb Guardians passed information—he wanted to tell those who came after that he had been there and would continue forward.

"How do we go?" Fatso asked in a low voice. "It's full of those tin cans out there. The moment we step out, won't we be sitting ducks?"

"We can't go by ground."

Lin Tianyi pointed overhead.

The massive metal plate they were hiding under was just part of a larger architectural ruin that had collapsed like a mountain range. Above them were countless intersecting, twisted steel bars, pipes, and broken platforms, forming an incredibly complex, three-dimensional labyrinth of ruins.

"We'll go above, using the structure of the ruins as natural cover to avoid their ground search units. As long as we're careful enough not to make any loud noises, we'll have a chance to sneak past."

This was undoubtedly the only way.

Lin Tianyi took the lead, checking the climbing gear on himself and Fatso before securing a rope to a thick metal beam and climbing up first to scout the way for everyone.

His movements were light and agile, worthy of a special forces elite.

Wang Xianzhi followed closely behind; her movements were even more fluid than Lin Tianyi's, her toes lightly tapping the vertical metal wall to rise several meters soundlessly.

Carrying the still-weak Song Yiqing and aided by Lin Tianyi's rope, Fatso gritted his teeth and climbed up with effort.

Finally, it was Zhang Qilin.

Though weak, his physical instincts remained. His climbing was unlike anyone else's, more like a gecko, his limbs adhering firmly to the metal surface with a strange rhythm, silent yet extremely fast.

Thus, the five of them, like a group of ghosts, slipped into the upper levels of this steel graveyard.

They walked on suspended pipes hundreds of meters high, with phalanxes of patrolling mechanical soldiers below.

They traversed between broken, precarious platforms, with Metal Pterosaur Cruisers whistling past them.

Every time the searchlight-like red beam of a cruiser swept over, they had to instantly hold their breath and use the shadows to hide themselves perfectly.

Every time the metal beneath their feet made a slight sound due to their movement, everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.

This was not just a test of physical stamina, but an extreme torment of mental endurance.

During this process, they also saw more of the truth of this world.

They saw the corpses of some Pathfinders and others who hadn't found cover in time and were ruthlessly "purified" by the Mechanical Legion, their bodies sliced to pieces by high-temperature lasers.

They also saw sporadic survivors scurrying through the ruins like headless flies, only to be quickly discovered by patrolling mechanical soldiers and completely overwhelmed by dense firepower after a futile resistance.

They were the only team with a clear goal, organization, and discipline, moving toward a chance of survival.

"Look over there!"

While taking a brief rest after climbing to a high point, Song Yiqing suddenly pointed toward the very center of the ruins.

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

In the core area of that endless wasteland stood an... indescribable Black Spire.

The spire was entirely black, its surface smooth as a mirror, as if carved from a single piece of obsidian. Its design was extremely simple, yet it carried a brutal sense of pressure that pierced the sky.

At the top of the spire was a massive energy core like a red eye, pulsing slowly. With every pulse, a circle of invisible energy ripples spread throughout the world of Guixu.

All the mechanical soldiers and all the cruisers had their red lights flashing at the same frequency as the energy core atop that spire.

That was undoubtedly the... Central Hub of the Purifiers!

"Torch Dragon's message said... 'The Creator' is suppressed beneath the hub." Lin Tianyi looked at the spire emitting an ominous aura and said in a low voice, "It seems our destination is there."

However, when they shifted their gaze from the spire itself to its surroundings, everyone's breath hitched.

Within a radius of several kilometers centered on that Black Spire was an... absolute open zone!

No ruins, no cover!

And at the edge of the open space, tens of thousands of mechanical soldiers were stationed in dense ranks! They formed a Great Wall of Steel, firmly guarding the spire in the center!

To reach the spire, they would have to... cross that death zone and that... steel defense line composed of pure killing machines!

"How... how do we get across?" Fatso felt his legs go weak at the sight. "This is harder than charging Shangganling!"

This was no longer a problem that stealth could solve.

It was an insurmountable chasm!

Just as everyone fell into silence, feeling a wave of helplessness.

Zhang Qilin's gaze crossed that steel defense line and looked further into the distance.

His eyes, still bright in the darkness, narrowed slightly.

"No."

He shook his head gently.

"There... something is moving."

Hearing this, everyone immediately focused their attention and looked in the direction he indicated.

On the far edge of the ruins on the other side of the spire, the distance and lighting made it appear blurry.

But looking closely, one could indeed see some... dark shadows moving rapidly in that area!

Those dark shadows moved swiftly with tacit cooperation, seemingly also avoiding the Mechanical Legion's patrols and constantly approaching the Black Spire!

They were not Pathfinders, nor mechanical soldiers.

They were a... completely new existence!

Just then, a Metal Pterosaur Cruiser seemed to discover the traces of those dark shadows. It let out a shrill shriek and dove down, its searchlight-like red beam locking onto that area!

Under the beam, those dark shadows finally revealed their true forms!

They were... hunched figures with grayish-pale skin, wearing tattered clothing mixed with animal skins and metal parts, running at high speed on all fours like beasts... humanoid creatures!

Their faces no longer showed human features, looking more like a devolved beast adapted to the dark environment.

But on their backs, they all carried some... rusty but vaguely recognizable... human weapons!

There were rifles, submachine guns, and even rocket launchers!

"They are... humans?!" Lin Tianyi blurted out in shock.

"No..." Song Yiqing stared intently at those creatures, his voice trembling. "They are humans who have been... 'assimilated' by this world! They are the descendants of the... prisoners exiled to Guixu over countless millennia!"

"They... are the Scavengers of this death world!"

The moment Song Yiqing's words fell, those Scavengers, facing the cruiser's lock-on, made a move that caught everyone by surprise!

The leading Scavenger let out a shrill, beast-like howl and actually hoisted a rusty rocket launcher from his back!

Then, he boldly pulled the trigger at the diving metal pterosaur!

Boom—!!!

A brand new storm belonging to the natives and outsiders of this world was about to begin beneath the Black Spire!