"I… things are rather complicated… I'm still confused about many matters… I'll likely need to go to the core area of Taixing City to see what's happening…"
"The key in your hand is crucial!"
"I initially thought Taixing City was attacked and destroyed… that the defenses in the top-secret area might also be damaged, thus rendering a key unnecessary…"
"Coupled with Ares's appearance… it made me feel a sense of urgency, so I rushed here…"
Yue Yan explained quickly, looking at the twelve-sided die in Ye Feng's hand, "I almost forgot about the key…"
"Then how do we get to the top-secret area of Taixing City?"
Ye Feng swept his gaze around the desolate ruins, littered with monster skeletons, broken mechs, and discarded firearms, and asked with some confusion.
"I had planned to explore and try my luck before… but now…"
"Once the key in your hand gets within a certain range of the top-secret area, it will react!"
As she spoke, Yue Yan pointed to a spot on the twelve-sided die in Ye Feng's hand, "There, it's this small campfire-like pattern. When the key enters a certain range of Taixing City's top-secret area, the campfire pattern will light up!"
"Big Brother, this pattern… it's exactly the same as the small campfire pattern on the Arcane Yuan Coin!~"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao, who was skilled at drawing, spoke up. As she said this, her hand flashed with light, and an Arcane Yuan Coin appeared in her hand.
"Indeed…"
Ye Feng looked at the small campfire pattern on the Arcane Yuan Coin, which was barely noticeable if one wasn't paying close attention, and pondered.
"Ye Feng, let's start searching!"
Yue Yan looked at Ye Feng with anticipation.
"Okay!"
…
Soon, Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, Qiao Ying, and Yue Yan moved swiftly through the almost completely ruined Taixing City, simultaneously observing the changes in the campfire pattern on the twelve-sided die…
…
After a while,
"I'm so tired!~"
Xiao Xiao rubbed her sore eyes and handed the twelve-sided die to Ye Feng.
Because the campfire pattern on the twelve-sided die was rather small, it was difficult for the four of them to observe it while moving at high speed. Therefore, they took turns staring at the pattern…
Even so, the eyes of the four of them felt a bit uncomfortable…
"The ruins of Taixing City are vast… let's rest for a bit~"
Ye Feng covered his eyes and suggested.
"You guys rest~ I'll keep looking!"
Yue Yan said, then took the twelve-sided die from Ye Feng and leaped away to search the surroundings.
Seeing this, Ye Feng frowned slightly but did not stop her.
"Big Brother, Sister Yue Yan seems to care a lot about Taixing City… Although she hasn't said anything… I can feel that she's quite sad in her heart…"
Watching Yue Yan's disappearing back, Xiao Xiao said to Ye Feng.
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded slightly.
…
About an hour later,
"Big Brother, what's wrong with this big pit?"
Xiao Xiao tilted her head and looked at Ye Feng with confusion, as she noticed Ye Feng had been observing this pit, which was two to three hundred meters in diameter, for quite some time.
"This big pit… was likely created by a bomb modified with mech cores… or caused by the self-destruction of an Earth-tier mech…"
Ye Feng's expression was quite serious, "Taixing City must have done this to deal with some monster back then…"
"Qiao Ying, have you found anything?"
Immediately after, Ye Feng looked at Qiao Ying, who was observing with binoculars on a large rock.
Qiao Ying leaped a few times and came to Ye Feng's side. She pointed in a direction, "Ye Feng, you mentioned before that Taixing City was split in half by a single strike… it seems to be true…"
"Based on the damage to the buildings, this strike came from high up, from that direction… not necessarily from west to east as we see it now… after all, Taixing City might have shifted its orientation entirely…"
"Something that could cause such destruction could only be spatial power!"
Qiao Ying's expression was quite serious.
"Screech!"
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a piercing shriek came from afar, followed by a red flare exploding in the sky.
"It's Sister Yue Yan, she's found something!"
Seeing the signal flare, Xiao Xiao exclaimed with excitement.
"Let's go see!"
…
Not long after, Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Qiao Ying arrived at the location from which the red signal flare was fired.
"Big Brother, over there!"
After searching around, Xiao Xiao pointed to a large hole beneath a pile of ruins. Yue Yan was currently standing at the entrance of the hole.
Near the entrance of the hole were many discarded mechs, large rocks, earth piles, and monster skeletons – all of which Yue Yan had just cleared.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
After running and leaping, Ye Feng and the other two arrived beside Yue Yan.
"It should be here!"
Saying this, Yue Yan showed the twelve-sided die in her hand to Ye Feng. The campfire pattern on it had already lit up.
"This place… an air-raid shelter… no, the thickness and material of this blast-proof door… a bunker resistant to nuclear warheads…"
Ye Feng muttered after a brief inspection.
"Ye Feng, here!"
At this moment, Yue Yan handed the twelve-sided die to Ye Feng.
"Why… you understand this better… wouldn't it be better if you held onto it?"
Ye Feng looked at Yue Yan, quite puzzled.
"No!"
Yue Yan shook her head. "To obtain the key to Taixing City's top-secret area, I thought of many methods before, but they all failed… perhaps it will be better in your hands… and I only know it's a key… I don't know anything else…"
"Uh, alright~"
Ye Feng scratched his head. "Then let's go in and see!"
"Mhm!~"
…
Soon, Ye Feng and the four of them walked into the pitch-black underground hole…
…
"Big Brother… why is this nuclear-resistant bunker so empty… it looks like everything has been taken away…"
After exploring the hole with Ye Feng and the other two, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but feel perplexed.
"Based on the scene, it appears monsters broke in… the people who left were in a hurry, with important documents scattered everywhere… the monsters even pursued them towards the exit…"
"The ground leading to the exit is covered in dried, dark red bloodstains… and that huge blast-proof door was violently blown open from the inside…"
"There are signs of violent destruction… even someone was smashed against the wall, turning into a bloody pulp… it looks like it was done out of sheer anger…"
Qiao Ying's two large searchlights swept across the scene as she analyzed.
Ye Feng frowned slightly and looked at Yue Yan not far away with a questioning gaze.
"It wouldn't be that simple!"
Sensing Ye Feng's gaze, Yue Yan spoke, "Taixing City's top-secret area wouldn't be breached so easily, nor would it be just a simple nuclear-resistant bunker…"
"Although this nuclear-resistant bunker has many scattered documents that appear to be highly confidential, with many marked 'Top Secret'… they are likely meant to distract those monsters…"
Yue Yan walked as she spoke, her flashlight beam scanning and observing.
Suddenly, Yue Yan stopped at a damaged wall. Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Qiao Ying immediately followed.
…