Chapter 127: The Ruined Site (Part I)

Eliminating those Caesar’s Legion thugs was nothing more than a trivial task for Faren. After disposing of the idiots who had been tailing them, he ordered Eluka to engage her optical camouflage once again and continued their journey, heading toward the target location deep within the wilderness.

The post-apocalyptic wasteland was incredibly dangerous. Although Faren held detailed coordinates and the Harmony was quite fast, it still took them three full days of traveling across the wilderness to finally reach their destination.

"It seems those guys really were panicking and running blindly..."

Looking at the dilapidated ruins not far ahead, Faren couldn't help but sigh. Even though he had learned from the intelligence provided by the Fuyuan Association that the caravan had fled here to escape an attack by Caesar’s Legion, only by seeing the ruins with his own eyes did Faren realize just how desperate they must have been. There were no signposts here at all; even the only dirt road had been buried by wildly growing weeds. Furthermore, the location of the ruins themselves was extremely hidden, originally tucked away in a dense forest with only one path leading out. Once that path had been swallowed by nature, it would have been impossible to find from the outside. Thus, it was certain that the caravan had simply charged into the forest in a blind panic and stumbled upon this place by accident.

The reason Faren was so certain was that he was currently standing on the debris of trees that had been smashed aside, and not far ahead of him, two or three vehicle wrecks, burned down to their skeletal frames, lay slanted on the ground.

"Kurona, what’s the situation inside?"

Faren tilted his head, looking at the small two-story white building before him, and asked the girl beside him. Upon hearing Faren, Kurona immediately raised her hand and pointed into the empty air ahead. Almost instantly, the scene before them shifted. The lush forest and the small white building vanished, replaced by a 3D model composed entirely of lines, much like a computer-generated wireframe. The model extended forward, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a comprehensive 3D map for Faren, revealing everything inside with perfect clarity.

This was the powerful effect gained after Kurona’s [Mind Sense] reached level five. Not only did it expand her range to 1,500 meters, but it also allowed for a thorough scan and reconnaissance of the target area. Moreover, her [Mind Sense] had gained an additional [Control] feature. This meant that within the areas she had scanned, Kurona could manipulate any non-living object at will. Of course, because the little girl was still young and not yet skilled at managing energy, she could currently only handle simple tasks like flipping switches or locking and unlocking doors.

Even so, this ability alone would be enough to make her an honored guest in any faction across the wasteland. In a world where the earth was permanently shrouded in dark clouds, a mobile, human radar capable of ignoring obstacles was essentially alien black technology. Not to mention that Kurona was far more powerful than a radar; even the most advanced satellites before the disaster could only detect the surface structures of targets. Kurona, however, could not only detect them but also scan and render the entire area in detail.

It could be said that her existence could not only ensure the survival of a faction but could even tip the scales of war between any two powers! Imagine having all of the enemy's secrets in the palm of your hand—knowing where their firing points were, where people were hiding, and where their key targets were... It was like playing a game with a full-map hack, almost too unfair to watch!

Furthermore, like all ability users, Kurona gained an ultimate skill upon reaching level five. When Faren learned what this ultimate skill was, even he—who was usually busy laughing while disemboweling his foes—couldn't help but marvel at the little girl’s incredible luck.

Because the ultimate skill Kurona had obtained was... [Instant Teleportation].

This ability allowed Kurona to target an object within her scanned area and instantly teleport it to another set of coordinates. It didn't matter if it was living or dead; anything within the transmission range was fair game. The only limitation was that the target had to be within a five-meter radius of the designated point and could not exceed 300 kilograms, but even so, it was enough to make Faren gasp in awe.

Full map vision plus a personal, group-teleporting hearthstone? This hack was absolutely insane!

Unfortunately, every ultimate skill had its limitations. Just as Faren’s ultimate skill, [Blade of Destruction], could only be used three times a day, Kurona’s [Instant Teleportation] had a cooldown of... ten days.

Although the cooldown for this human-shaped, cute-as-a-button hearthstone was a bit long, given the current dangers of the wasteland, such a minor flaw was hardly a flaw at all.

Forget it, enough talk. Let’s open the map.

After Kurona thoroughly scanned everything before them, Faren soon discovered that there was more to this place than met the eye.

In the forest, the first thing visible was the two-story white building on the surface. It was unclear what this building had been used for, but based on the remaining decorations, it appeared to be some kind of medical facility. At first glance, it seemed like a common research institute or sanatorium—but in reality, Kurona’s [Mind Sense] clearly revealed a passage connecting the two-story building to an underground level. The entire underground section was completely different from the small building above, spanning three levels and covering an area more than twice the size of the surface structure.

"This is really interesting..."

Looking at this, Faren frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. Just a moment ago, he had concluded that the others must have rushed in blindly. But now, seeing the true nature of the building, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Did those people really just stumble in by accident? Generally speaking, even if they had rushed in by mistake, they would only have set up defensive positions and counterattacked on the spot. How would they have had the leisure to search the place? If there really was a secret research facility here, the entrance would certainly have been well-hidden; how could a group of outsiders have found it?

Was it just good luck? Or was there more to the story?

Regardless, he would find out once he went inside.

"Eluka, come with me. Kurona, return to the Harmony and continue monitoring. Chris, you are responsible for assisting Kurona’s surveillance. If you see any signs of anyone trying to break in, kill them without hesitation!"

After issuing his orders, Faren took Eluka and Delin into the small building.

The two-story building on the surface had nothing special about it. The bandit-like Caesar’s Legion had already looted it clean; essentially anything of value had been taken. However, Faren could still discern a few clues from the lingering traces of the battle.

Clearly, that caravan had possessed significant combat strength. From the signs of the skirmish, it was evident that the Caesar’s Legion forces had suffered a major setback at the very beginning, losing quite a few men. The caravan members were not only brave and skilled in battle but also well-trained, using the favorable terrain to run circles around Caesar’s Legion. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered and ultimately forced to retreat... Hmm...

"This is certainly familiar..."

Looking at the massive, heavy steel door that had been forced open, Faren couldn't help but remark. In the pitch-black passage before him, the faint light of an emergency exit was barely visible, but otherwise, the entire tunnel was shrouded in darkness. Moreover, the all-metal door, which had been forced open outward, along with the bloodstains and discarded weapons on either side, all indicated that a fierce battle had taken place here.

However, it was clearly not these things that Faren was focused on.

"Familiar?"

Holding a laser rifle, Eluka curiously peered into the dark passage ahead.

"Commander, have you been here before?"

"No, I’ve just seen similar scenes in movies."

"Movies?"

In the wasteland, movies were not a rarity. As a product for mass entertainment, they remained quite popular in the post-apocalyptic world. Eluka had watched a few films with her sisters, though unlike before the disaster, in this world, most people preferred disaster and science fiction films about the apocalypse. Love stories and realistic dramas about urban life were mostly relics of nostalgia for the elderly.

"That's right, hmm... it's a very old film. It’s about a biochemical laboratory where a virus leaks, turning everyone inside into zombies. At the beginning of the second installment, a rescue team tries to open the door to investigate, and then they are attacked by the zombies..."

"Like this?"

As she spoke, Eluka raised her laser rifle, turned on the tactical flashlight, and aimed it forward, then squeezed the trigger. With her action, several laser beams erupted from the muzzle, shattering a zombie that was charging toward them.

But soon, more dim, shadowy figures began to appear before Faren and the others.

"Yes, just like that."

Answering Eluka, Faren drew his scalpel.

"It seems this is getting more and more interesting..."