"Hmm? What's going on?"
Ye Feng quickly ran towards the room Xiao Xiao had entered. Upon entering, he immediately noticed a silver saber lying on the floor in front of Xiao Xiao. The patterns and style of the saber were consistent with the Xuan-tier rank three mecha, Silver Phantom.
"This saber was originally stuck in the wall… did it fall because of the recent earthquake?"
Ye Feng looked at a gap in the adjacent wall and frowned.
He then looked at Shen Yun Yao, "Yun Yao, that saber…"
Before Ye Feng could finish speaking, Shen Yun Yao, who had rushed in right behind him, had already mostly assembled the Silver Phantom on her body.
"Clang ~ Kacha Kacha ~ Clang ~"
Shen Yun Yao controlled the Silver Phantom to pick up the silver saber. As the silver saber came into contact with the Silver Phantom, it underwent a transformation, and the patterns on it began to glow.
"Kacha Kacha Kacha ~"
Shen Yun Yao dismounted from the Silver Phantom mecha and retracted it into her spatial rift fragment bracelet. She looked at Ye Feng, "Ye Feng, this saber is Silver Phantom's companion blade. My father's mecha when he explored the ancient ruins was this one!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng's expression turned solemn, "Let's not split up. We'll go together!"
Xiao Xiao and Shen Yun Yao also retrieved their own weapons, looking wary. After all, with this silver saber here, it meant that the enemy or monster that killed Shen Lang back then might also be here…
Subsequently, the three of them cautiously moved forward to explore.
…
"Ye Feng, this place should be the energy core of the Civilization Spark!"
After walking through a wide corridor, the three of them arrived at a spacious area covered with runes. In the center of the open space was a huge object that glowed all over and emitted fluctuations of arcane energy.
"Ah!~"
Suddenly, Xiao Xiao, who was examining a counter, let out a scream and retreated a good distance back.
"Xiao Xiao, what's wrong?"
Ye Feng walked over, looking at the very nervous Xiao Xiao with confusion.
"Big Brother, I was looking at a glass bottle containing water, and suddenly an eye appeared inside… it even moved, startling me!"
Xiao Xiao pointed to the counter in front of them. "When I looked closer, the eye disappeared again!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Feng frowned. "Xiao Xiao, let's go look elsewhere!~"
…
"Yun Yao, did those documents mention why the Civilization Spark became like this? Was it invaded by some kind of monster?"
Ye Feng asked as he observed the strange arcane runes around them.
"Huh?"
Seeing that Shen Yun Yao didn't respond, Ye Feng quickly ran towards Shen Yun Yao's location, with Xiao Xiao following closely behind.
Near a corner not far from the energy core, Ye Feng saw Shen Yun Yao weeping, her eyes vacant as she stared ahead.
Ye Feng followed Shen Yun Yao's gaze and saw a layer of dust-covered human skeletal remains. The left arm and a large portion of the shoulder bone of the human skeleton had fallen to the ground.
Every bone in the skeleton had crooked cracks, making it look as if it might shatter at any moment…
"Yun Yao, you…"
Ye Feng walked to Shen Yun Yao's side, looking at her tear-streaked face with confusion.
Shen Yun Yao took a deep breath, calming herself slightly. A light flashed in her hand, and a yellowed photograph appeared.
"This… this is your father… the clothes he's wearing…"
Seeing the young man in Shen Yun Yao's hand, Ye Feng suddenly thought of something. "Yun Yao, this skeleton… could it be your father Shen Lang's?"
"Mm!"
Shen Yun Yao nodded. "Not just the clothes. Grandpa showed me a video my father managed to leave behind. My father's arm was chopped off by something… looking at the skeleton, it matches!"
"The heart-shaped pendant hanging around the skeleton's neck, the photo inside, though it's so old it's almost ruined, I can still recognize the people in the photo as my mother!"
"When I was young, my father loved to hold the photo from the heart-shaped pendant and tell me stories about him and my mother…"
"And…"
At this point, Shen Yun Yao pointed to the right foot of the skeleton. "My father lost a toe when he encountered a monster while saving my mother…"
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng scanned his surroundings with extreme vigilance, feeling quite tense.
Because if Shen Lang's remains were here, then this place was likely where that strange shadowy figure had brought Shen Lang's body to…
"Uh… Yun Yao… I… I want to say something… please don't be angry!"
After observing the skeleton on the ground for a while, Ye Feng looked at the sad-faced Shen Yun Yao for a moment and slowly said, "Yun Yao, although all signs indicate that this skeleton is your father's… but… but there's one strange thing!"
"Strange?"
Shen Yun Yao turned her head, looking at Ye Feng with confusion.
"Mm!"
Ye Feng nodded. "Yun Yao, your father Shen Lang should be a very powerful Augur, right? Very powerful Augurs, not just their bodies… even their bones would have arcane energy fluctuations… even after they've passed away…"
"However, the skeleton in front of us… has no arcane energy fluctuations whatsoever. This doesn't seem to make sense!"
Ye Feng, mustering his courage, explained his analysis to Shen Yun Yao.
"This… this… there really are no arcane energy fluctuations?"
Shen Yun Yao lightly touched a bone, closed her eyes, and sensed carefully. She couldn't help but look astonished.
"Hmm?"
At this moment, Ye Feng frowned.
As he moved, changing his viewing angle, he noticed that the crooked cracks on the skeleton seemed somewhat peculiar.
Immediately, Ye Feng crouched down and examined it carefully with his flashlight.
"These… these are bite marks from small teeth?"
Shen Yun Yao looked at where Ye Feng's flashlight was shining and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Big Brother, Sister Yun Yao, be careful behind you!"
Just then, Xiao Xiao's urgent voice rang out.
"Da Da Da!~"
The sound of an AK47 followed.
Ye Feng and Shen Yun Yao turned around at the same time and saw a blurry black mass that had appeared at some unknown time, lunging directly at them.
The AK47 bullets passed straight through the black mass without causing any damage…
"Whoosh ~ Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh!"
Seeing this, Shen Yun Yao waved her hand, and a stream of arcane water arrows shot towards the black mass.
"Hiss hiss ~ Hiss hiss ~!"
The arcane water arrows did not pass through the black mass. They hit it, making a friction sound, and the black mass even stopped, floating in mid-air.
"Xiao Xiao, what's going on with that black mass?"
While the black mass was momentarily stopped, Ye Feng ran to Xiao Xiao's side, looking puzzled.
…