"Yes!"
The projected image of a slender, uniformed mature woman nodded, "But my name isn't Energy Girl. I am Ying Yue, the intelligent steward of the Civilization Torch!"
"Hmm… Ai… so…"
Ye Feng wasn't too surprised by this answer; he had already guessed as much.
"Hey, why didn't you come out and help us deal with that Shadow Puppet just now?"
"After so many years, the Shadow Puppet doesn't seem to have absorbed much of your arcane energy. You must have some way to restrict that monster, right?"
Ye Feng scrutinized Ying Yue, asking somewhat suspiciously.
"I do have some methods to restrict the Shadow Puppet's activities, but I couldn't risk coming out because my remaining energy is very low…"
"I'm not sure if you are worth my risking to save… and I can only restrict the Shadow Puppet, not eliminate it…"
"If you leave this place and the Shadow Puppet doesn't, or if it leaves and then returns, the Civilization Torch will be completely destroyed!"
Ying Yue replied rapidly in her somewhat mechanical female voice.
"You're quite honest, aren't you?!"
Ye Feng was somewhat surprised.
"Ye Feng, is this the intelligent robot steward of the Civilization Torch?"
At this moment, Shen Yun Yao, who had finished collecting Shen Lang's remains, walked up, sounding quite astonished.
"The remains you were packing, when he was close to death, he wrote a letter!"
Before Ye Feng could answer, Ying Yue turned and spoke to Shen Yun Yao.
"Where?"
Upon hearing Ying Yue's words, Shen Yun Yao blurted out almost instinctively.
"Follow me!"
Ying Yue was also direct and led the way.
Soon, Ye Feng and the other two, along with the holographic form of Ying Yue, arrived at a rather messy corner with withered weeds, soil, and dust.
"Geez…"
Ye Feng was speechless.
He had originally thought the letter Ying Yue mentioned would be in a drawer or a safe, but it was casually discarded on the ground… almost covered by dust…
If the letter hadn't been stained dark red by something, he likely wouldn't have recognized it at a glance…
Seeing this, Shen Yun Yao's face also showed a look of confusion.
She looked at Ye Feng, and upon seeing him nod, she squatted down, quickly brushed away the dust, and picked up the letter.
The dark red color Ye Feng saw earlier was because the letter was stained with blood. The seal of the letter was hastily done, only half sealed.
It was evident that the person who left the letter was in a great hurry or panic at the time…
Immediately, Shen Yun Yao opened the seal and began to examine it with some eagerness.
"Yao Yao, Father, I truly hope that the person who finds this letter is one of you, or both of you…"
Upon seeing the first line of the letter, written in somewhat hurried but very familiar handwriting, Shen Yun Yao's eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.
"Yao Yao/Father, when you read this letter, it means you have arrived at this ancient ruin, and it also means I am no longer here…"
"Back then, I…"
…
"Yao Yao, for failing to see you grow into adulthood… I, as your father, am truly a failure… I'm sorry!"
…
Shen Yun Yao's tears flowed uncontrollably as she read to the end…
"Ye… Ye Feng, please take a look at this letter, especially the last few sentences…"
Shen Yun Yao wiped her tears, took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions, and then handed the letter left by Shen Lang to Ye Feng, who was examining the energy crystal.
"Hm?"
"What's going on?"
Ye Feng was somewhat puzzled.
He thought the letter would surely contain Shen Lang's farewell words to Shen Yun Yao or Shen Lang, so he hadn't read it. Could it be that the letter also contained something for him?
That seemed too unbelievable.
"It's… it seems to be about that formation just now, and arcane runes, arcane formations, and such. I don't quite understand!"
Seeing Ye Feng's surprised and confused expression, Shen Yun Yao spoke again, pushing Shen Lang's letter closer to Ye Feng.
"Oh?"
Ye Feng took it with great curiosity and examined it.
…
"If the person who sees this letter is not Yao Yao or Father, but… an explorer, I will call you that for now, please protect the lingering fire, protect the last hope of human civilization!"
After a long while, Ye Feng finally saw these last few lines.
At this moment, Ye Feng was greatly shocked because Shen Lang mentioned a very important formation in the letter called "Heavenly Cage."
And this formation, named Heavenly Cage, was exactly the one he had just repaired to trap the Shadow Puppet.
Shen Lang also mentioned arcane runes of the Arcanist, mystic runes of angels, and even the demonic whispers from the Book of Demons, all of which seemed to point to a very big secret…
However, Shen Lang did not know what this secret was. His initial purpose for coming here was just to search for the possible second half of the Fire Record… and then…
"Ying Yue, do you know what 'Please protect the lingering fire, protect the last hope of human civilization' means?"
Ye Feng returned the letter to Shen Yun Yao and turned to look at Ying Yue.
It was because she had said something similar before, and Shen Lang had also mentioned it in his letter.
"This is the belief of the Civilization Torch… The entire Civilization Torch exists for this purpose… There is no other related information in the memory core!"
After a moment of silence, Ying Yue replied.
"Is that so~"
Ye Feng frowned.
"Um… Ying Yue, do you know if my father… that is, the previous remains… had explored here before? Did he leave anything else?"
At this point, Shen Yun Yao spoke, her expression filled with anticipation.
"That person did not come here when he was alive… The Civilization Torch's control core cannot be accessed without the Key of Hidden Edge!"
"He only entered after death, controlled by the Shadow Puppet, through a rift caused by instability in the control core!"
"And that letter, I sent it in by controlling a robot from the Horus Guard Unit!"
As she spoke, Ying Yue pointed in a direction where a white light was coming through, forming a Tyndall effect due to the dust.
Ye Feng stepped forward, reached out, and sifted through the debris. He discovered a crack about 30 centimeters long between the walls, which had been re-sealed with cement.
"Hey, why are you telling us so much? And so honestly?"
"According to you, we should be… invaders of this Civilization Torch, right?"
After a pause, Ye Feng looked at Ying Yue, somewhat bewildered.
Ying Yue did not answer immediately. She stared at Ye Feng for a while, then glanced at Xiao Xiao, and then slowly said, "I hope you can inherit this!"
"Inherit what?"
Ye Feng scanned his surroundings, quite puzzled.
"Follow me!"
After speaking, Ying Yue turned and led the way.
…