323: Chapter 323 Spirit Core

Han Qing tried, gently patting the woman's shoulder, but there was no response.

She pushed a little harder, but there was still no response.

She peeled back the woman's eyelids to check her pupils; they reacted to light, contracting normally, but there were no signs of her waking up.

"I can't wake her, at least not for now." Han Qing stood up and looked at Qin Lin. "Should we use the System to scan her?"

Qin Lin was already doing it.

Rows of data popped up on the System panel, similar to what he had seen last night.

Vital signs normal, state of consciousness in deep sleep, energy characteristics unknown, source untraceable.

But the last piece of data was new.

[Connection Status with The Ark: Connected]

[Connection Method: Unknown]

[Connection Strength: Strong]

Qin Lin stared at the word "Connected," and the questions in his mind didn't decrease; instead, they multiplied.

This woman had a connection with the The Ark, not through the System or any known method, but a more fundamental connection, as if the The Ark itself was a part of her.

He didn't know what this meant, but he knew it meant this woman hadn't wandered into the The Ark by mistake; she had been a part of the The Ark from the very beginning.

Su Yuling, with her pregnant belly, squeezed through the crowd from behind and walked to the bedside, looking down at the woman.

Her gaze moved from the woman's face to her hair, from her hair to her clothes, and from her clothes to those hands folded over her abdomen.

"She's so beautiful." Su Yuling's voice was very soft. "Prettier than everyone."

No one argued, because she was stating a fact.

Qin Lin left the room to the women and walked out into the corridor himself.

He needed time to think.

The white crystal stone came from this woman, the The Ark was connected to this woman, and she had been sleeping in Room No. 15 since the day the Lv8 upgrade was completed.

The apocalypse didn't happen naturally, the crystal stones didn't grow out of the ground, and the The Ark's upgrades weren't random.

Someone was arranging everything behind the scenes.

This woman might be the arranger, she might be the key, or she might just be another pawn.

Qin Lin stood in the Observation Tower, looking at the colorful starry sky outside the window.

The The Ark was suspended in space, the glow of the protective shield blending with the distant starlight.

Footsteps came from behind.

Su Yuran walked up holding Qin An and stood beside him.

"Qin An wouldn't sleep; he insisted on finding you." She handed Qin An over.

Qin Lin took Qin An. The boy squirmed in his arms, found a comfortable position, and pressed his face against his chest.

Then he reached out and grabbed Qin Lin's collar, clutching it tightly, but not painfully.

Qin Lin looked down at his son; Qin An's eyes were already closed, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

"Qin Lin," Su Yuran called him.

"Yeah."

"That woman, what do you plan to do?"

Qin Lin thought for a moment. "Since we can't wake her, let her sleep for now. The The Ark isn't lacking for a single room."

Su Yuran nodded and didn't ask further.

The two stood in the Observation Tower, looking at the starry sky outside the window in silence.

Su Yuran suddenly said, "Qin Lin, do you think she's human or something else?"

Qin Lin looked down at the sleeping Qin An in his arms and said, "I don't know. But the The Ark is definitely related to her."

Su Yuran was silent for a long time, then she reached out and placed her hand on the back of Qin Lin's hand as he held Qin An.

"No matter who she is, as long as she doesn't hurt us, just let her stay."

Qin Lin looked at her; Su Yuran's expression was calm, and her gaze didn't waver.

He remembered when he first met Su Yuran in the RV; she was still a wealthy young lady who needed protection.

"Okay," Qin Lin said.

The next day, the door to Room No. 15 was closed.

It wasn't locked, but everyone tacitly stopped going in. Han Qing would go in once a day to check the woman's vital signs, record them, and then close the door.

Everything was normal, no changes.

The The Ark continued to fly toward that planet located in the habitable zone, which wasn't far away.

After setting the course, Qin Lin spent most of his time on two things.

Familiarizing himself with the new Lv9 functions of the The Ark and staring at the data from Room No. 15.

After the The Ark entered this star System, the Deep Space Detection Array discovered some anomalies.

It wasn't a Spirit Stone or a Spiritual Vein, but a type of energy body never seen before, which the System named the "Spirit Core."

The Spirit Core was located deep within the core of that habitable planet, and its total energy was equivalent to countless times the The Ark's current energy reserves.

If it could be harvested, the The Ark's power System would undergo a qualitative leap.

But harvesting the Spirit Core required the The Ark to land on the planet's surface and stay there for a period of time.

Qin Lin decided to land.

The The Ark passed through the atmosphere and landed in a valley.

The scenery outside the window was completely different from Peach Blossom Spring.

The mountains here were higher, the trees denser, and there was a pale purple sun in the sky.

There was an indescribable fragrance in the air; smelling it for a long time made one's mind clear and body feel lighter.

The System said this was Spiritual Qi, an energy form unique to the Cultivation World.

Qin Lin was the first to step off the The Ark. His feet stepped on the ground; the grass was green and soft, just like on Earth.

He took a deep breath, and the Spiritual Qi entered his lungs through his respiratory tract, then diffused throughout his body, like lighting a small lamp in every cell.

Footsteps came from behind; everyone had come down.

The children ran around on the grass, their laughter crisp.

Su Yuran stood beside Qin Lin, looking at the distant mountains in silence for a long time.

"It's like Peach Blossom Spring, but more ethereal."

Qin Lin nodded.

Han Yurou dragged a large box off the The Ark and opened it; it was full of things she had prepared in advance.

Tents, sleeping bags, folding tables and chairs, and a barbecue grill.

"How long are we staying here?"

Qin Lin looked at the collection time on the System panel and said, "About a month."

Han Yurou knelt down and began to set up the tent.

Su Yuling waddled over to help but was stopped by Han Qing: "Stop right there, pregnant women shouldn't be bending over." Su Yuling straightened up and stood by watching, her hand resting on her stomach.

Li Ying carried Qin Xu onto the grass and set him down.

Qin Xu crawled a few steps on the grass, grabbed a blade of grass, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it, spat it out, and then continued to crawl.

Li Ying knelt down and fished the grass out of her son's mouth, saying, "This isn't food."

The children played on the grass, the women set up tents, moved supplies, and cooked, while the The Ark rested behind them, its silver-white hull shimmering in the sunlight.

Qin Lin stood on the grass watching all of this; it was hard to imagine he was still struggling in the apocalypse just a year ago.

Han Qing walked out of the medical tent with a first-aid kit in her hand, walked up to him, and also watched the busy scene.

"Qin Lin," she called him.

"Yeah."

"That woman is still sleeping."

Qin Lin nodded. "Yeah."

Han Qing was silent for a moment, then said, "I always feel that the day she wakes up, everything will be different."

Qin Lin looked at her. "Are you afraid?"