"What can’t be done! We just came from Yongzhen Island! It has completely lost contact with the outside world. What do you think?"
Li Xiaowei shouted angrily, in her opinion, no research should involve ordinary people, let alone a situation that directly puts the entire Lake Bai Dao into danger.
"What’s the situation over there now?!"
Meng Binglan asked anxiously. She thought it was just some abnormal phenomenon at first, but didn’t expect such a thing to happen; she glanced at the group of researchers with some disgust and said,
"We don’t know. Why don’t you go and check for yourselves?"
"Did you encounter anything strange, like a Spirit Beast you’ve never seen before?"
Feng Yuan wasn’t too concerned about that; instead, he asked about something more important. Hearing his question, Meng Binglan said, puzzled,
"Strange things? Do those immortal monsters count?"
"No, Shadow Creatures are unique to this fragmented world. Their immortality depends on the world, so that’s not special. I’m talking about special Spirit Beasts."
"Special Spirit Beasts?"
"Yes, unlike Shadows. I’m not clear on the specifics, but only by finding it can this dilemma be resolved."
Hearing what Feng Yuan said, Meng Binglan paused and asked,
"A dilemma? You mean, you also have no other way?"
"I do have a way to take people out, but it involves passing through a place akin to the Netherworld – a place where living beings shouldn’t tread. Although I can take a few people out in a small area, I can’t do the same for Dao Lake City."
"You also should know what will happen if Lake Bai Dao stays cut-off from the real world for too long, right?"
Meng Binglan frowned and said with a grim expression,
"The population of Dao Lake City is comparatively scattered. Although there may still be an abundance of resources available at Lake Bai Dao, the limit would be about a month and a half before Dao Lake City falls into a food crisis."
"What do you know about these Ancient Ruins?"
Feng Yuan looked at Meng Binglan and asked. Although most information could be found, a lot was hidden, and even Feng Yuan wasn’t sure if he had uncovered the most crucial parts.
"Not much. These ruins were reportedly used by Lorraine Tower in the past. If they stepped in..."
"As for the rest, we only know that these ruins are from the Mythical Era, left behind by a Divine King..."
Cheng Yuye looked at Meng Binglan angrily. She didn’t expect the other party to casually reveal their latest research findings, and scowled at Cheng Yuye in anger, saying,
"If only you had listened to me earlier! Look what you’ve done now!"
"This is nothing but a necessary sacrifice for technological progress. Besides, who knew these ruins were so outrageous, actually capable of engulfing Dao Lake City."
Cheng Yuye said disdainfully, her gun pointing at Meng Binglan, who replied coldly,
"Let me tell you, don’t test my patience. In these ruins, anything can happen, and I’m sure they’re not going to specifically return to these ruins to find you."
"Do you think the gun in your hand can break through my defense?"
Cheng Yuye said as if she witnessed something amusing, while Meng Binglan, with an unchanged expression as if stating a fact, said calmly,
"Before I came here, I got a few special bullets made by the G Organization from Captain Yang, intending to study them properly to see what was going on. But it appears a practical test might be more convincing."
"Yuye doesn’t mean that, and if something really goes wrong, they will definitely investigate, won’t they?"
"That’s not necessarily the case. Have you seen him? That’s Agunas, the Divine Beast, by his side. Do you think if he testifies for me, they would still dare to risk looking into the truth?"
Meng Binglan sneered, tilting her head as she spoke. Xu Sheng quickly pulled the still unsatisfied Cheng Yuye behind him, shielding her with his body while nervously watching Meng Binglan. He had seen a murderous intent in Meng Binglan’s eyes, suggesting she might really take action. As for the other researchers? Most of them were smart enough to stay well away, fearing they might become Meng Binglan’s next target.
"Can’t we settle any grievances you have once we leave? This fragmented world is not small. Without clues, I can’t guarantee we’ll settle things here before a problem arises on Yongzhen Island."
"You wouldn’t really do it."
Gladys walked up with a smile, her hips swaying. She stood between Meng Binglan and Xu Sheng, gently pushing away the gun Meng Binglan had aimed at Xu Sheng, and said softly, looking at Meng Binglan, "Although you act convincingly, my senses tell me you wouldn’t take action here."
"Hah, you soothsayers are really annoying."
Meng Binglan didn’t argue, simply putting away her gun, as Gladys was right. She wasn’t going to deal with Cheng Yuye here since Cheng Yuye reminded her of her past self. She had been given a chance to correct her ways, so she decided to give Cheng Yuye a chance too. But without frightening her a bit, Meng Binglan as a researcher knew well that the other party would certainly continue to attempt researching the Ancient Ruins.
However, she couldn’t see through these Ancient Ruins, especially not the ability that pulled the entire Lake Bai Dao into a special space, which was almost equivalent to Gitalien’s power. That was something she didn’t know—Gitalien’s spatial ability was restricted here; otherwise, her apprehension about the ruins would increase.
"Do you realize the problem with this ruin? If we run around blindly without any knowledge, my premonition tells me it will be fruitless."
Gladys held a card to her lower lip, smiling as she spoke. Meng Binglan, looking at Gladys with annoyance, said, "I hate you soothsayers, always acting mysterious. Your so-called premonitions are nothing but insights from special Spirit Beasts peeking into the future, right?"
"But I don’t know much about these Ancient Ruins. The one who really understands them should be her."
Saying this, Meng Binglan glared at Cheng Yuye, who proudly turned away, not speaking. In her view, these people just wanted to steal her research achievements.
Seeing Cheng Yuye acting impermeable, Feng Yuan didn’t bother to ask her. He directly said to Gitalien, "Could you please send them back to Yongzhen Island first? Oh, and are you joining us in exploring the ruins?"
Meng Binglan was puzzled when Feng Yuan invited her, saying, "You can’t solve it? Moreover, I don’t think continuing to explore this Ancient Ruins is a good idea."
"There’s no other way. Right now, the problem is that the citizens on Lake Bai Dao can’t be evacuated. Moreover, those Shadow Creatures come every night. Just relying on those people, it is uncertain if the Barrier can hold for even another month."
"Can’t we ask Lorraine Tower and the others for help?"
"What good would that do? It can’t even enter this place."
Gitalien said irritably as he waved his hand, opening a Space Gate in front of everyone. Seeing the barrier burning with silver-white flames and the pitch-dark ground on the other side, Xu Sheng asked with a note of suspicion, "What exactly is going on over there?"
"Shadow Creatures, what else? Didn’t we already tell you? Yongzhen Island has gathered contestants from Lake’s Brave Ones, and for now, they barely maintain the Barrier. But how many nights it will last is uncertain."
"That’s not right. Their Barrier isn’t that strong. How could they possibly..."
Xu Sheng simply didn’t believe Feng Yuan’s words. They had fought with the Shadow Creatures before – previous battles had proven that Barriers were difficult to sustain for long, and besides, the ground on the other side was darkened by shadows but bore no other traces, like strange Shadow Creatures capable of attacking.
"As long as you don’t use your Offensive Ultimate Moves to feed those Shadow Creatures, they won’t have the power to attack."
Feng Yuan said nonchalantly. The researchers only confronted the Shadow Creatures head-on because they had launched attacks. Unlike the power of Agunas and Xiao Ji, the attacks performed by average Spirit Beasts couldn’t truly repel the Shadow Creatures. Instead, the energy concentrated in the Ultimate Moves could be absorbed and utilized by them.
Perhaps they would struggle to harness the energy of the Superior Attributes, but the Lower Attribute Ultimate Moves were practically directly proportional—the more released, the more the Shadow Creatures materialized with attacking capabilities.
Before, Feng Yuan had asked Agunas to tell them to focus on defense and not to launch widespread attacks. Their own defense team would act similarly since enemies that grow stronger the more they are fought were not only the Shadow Creatures; their standard protocol against unknown enemies was always small-scale probing. If there was any sign of the Shadow Creatures growing stronger, they would surely cease their offensive and look for weaknesses.