On Ruins

All viewers watching the livestream finally let go of their hanging hearts.

The livestream footage stabilized at the same time.

As the lights inside the harbor shelter lit up one by one.

The Globetrotter's crew was finally able to glimpse the shelter's immensely grand circuit structure.

Rows upon rows of constantly flickering monitoring circuits formed faint arrays of light, continuously refreshing data beneath transparent hydrophobic layers.

The scientific expedition ship's docking point had also been marked.

As though it had been waiting for their arrival.

The bearded Captain Spring-Fall was highly vigilant.

After all, he had not seen any shelter here at all on the return-route information chart.

But neither did he believe that, for a highly classified Deep Sea Ruins exploration mission that had hired him.

The Yun Province authorities would conceal such critical information.

After the Data Stream stabilized, he did not immediately send crew members to inspect the shelter. Instead, he first connected the communication lines to the Maritime Affairs Bureau and the Meteorological Bureau.

On the other end of the screen was the Maritime Affairs Bureau director, his expression grave:

"Everyone aboard the Globetrotter, there was a major deviation in our prediction of the hurricane's path. This was an oversight on our department's part."

"Matters like assigning responsibility can wait until we return and discuss them in detail. Right now, there is something more urgent."

The bearded Nordic captain adjusted his shoulder insignia and tie before asking in a businesslike manner:

"Director Chen Hui, could you provide us with all information regarding Shelter 43, where we currently are?"

After he asked that question.

The other side gave the rare response of shaking its head.

"Sorry, there is no information on Shelter 43 in the Maritime Affairs Bureau database."

"No information?"

The elderly scholar Qi Ming fell into thought.

"When the hurricane changed course, I checked the Spiritual Energy Field guidance. At that point, the laws of nature had already begun displaying compounded effects. Has the Yun Province Academy of Sciences contacted the Great Library?"

"The Great Library has not been reached yet. Based on our communications with the Special Affairs Bureau and the Night Watch."

Director Chen Hui gave his answer in a deep voice:

"If this is not a return point privately built in violation of regulations.

Then only one possibility remains: this is a 'ruin' left behind by the Fourth Epoch Civilization."

At that moment.

After hearing the public exchange of information between the fleet and the Maritime Affairs Bureau.

The atmosphere in the comments on the Globetrotter's return livestream grew tense once more:

"Can someone explain? Is the inside of a ruin dangerous?"

"I'm not sure about that either, but according to my cousin, who studies at Coastal University's Spiritual Energy Academy, half of all ruins are merely civilizational legacies linked to the Current World through the Einstein-Rosen bridge effect. There's no knowledge contamination or rule-based death."

Hearing those comments.

Su Wen, seated before the television, shrugged.

Then he gently handed Jiang Menghan a cup of hot milk.

"Warm yourself up. Don't worry, it's all over now."

Other than the final curtain call, the most dangerous climax had already passed.

Yet, in order to reasonably explain the harbor shelter they had built, these people had actually begun making wild guesses about a Fourth Epoch Civilization ruin.

They were really forcing extra drama into the story.

Speechless.

Under normal circumstances.

Perhaps the girl would have noticed something strange.

But at this moment, she felt a sense of security warmer than the milk in her hands.

That feeling.

Was like back in high school.

The parent-teacher conference had just ended.

As the top student in her year, and one of only two students whose parents had not attended, she held a competition registration form in her hand.

Stubbornly sitting in the chemistry storage room on the second floor of the laboratory building, a place no one usually passed by.

Until.

That lazy boy quietly opened the door and slipped inside, intending to return an alcohol bottle.

Then, as if he had told two jokes that were not actually funny at all.

Even now.

She could still clearly remember those two uninteresting jokes.

Hearing Su Wen's concerned words beside her.

The girl nodded and obediently drank the hot milk that warmed her stomach.

Then she gently hugged a cushion on the sofa and said nothing more.

Ten minutes later.

A crew member holding a maritime searchlight and inspecting the landing perimeter made a new discovery:

"Professor Jiang, doesn't this nameplate look familiar?"

He found an inconspicuous Leis Angton logo on the shadowed side of the boarding point.

Jiang Xiuyuan examined it carefully and gave an accurate conclusion:

"It's ET-37 hydrophobic material, which entered production in recent years. It's mature technology."

He turned and asked the Meteorological Bureau:

"Director Chen Hui, do you remember whether there are any large construction factories near Lighthouse 43 on the coastal shoreline?"

Then.

The professor leading the team received the answer he wanted:

Schlote Heavy Industries.

Meanwhile.

Less than five minutes after connecting all the information.

The Special Affairs Bureau also began preparing an investigation into Schlote Heavy Industries after the hurricane disaster ended.

"Everyone, disembark. We should be out of danger now."

Spring-Fall's hoarse voice had finally lost the strained quality it had carried earlier.

He smiled and added:

"Don't forget to carry your important belongings with you, in case something gets lost.

There are no cameras here. Don't make me end up in the station with you."

This retired old Norwegian captain knew China's culture quite well too.

He leaned against the infirmary wall while receiving an examination from the expedition's doctor.

The doctor was a second-tier enlightenment-type transcendent.

After finishing his treatment, she sighed.

"Captain, next time I see you, I hope your injuries are caused by psychological factors."

"Sorry, Doctor Miss, that's not something I get to decide."

At the infirmary door, Professor Jiang Xiuyuan stood waiting with a case of research documents in hand.

Spring-Fall said warmly:

"Remember three years ago in the Lost Sea? We agreed that if we made it out alive, we'd pick some unlucky bastard to pay for the most expensive rum at the Next Life Bar."

He continued humorously, addressing him more casually now:

"Old Jiang, I can't be the unlucky bastard every single time. It's your turn to pay this time, right?"

The refined Professor Jiang pushed up his glasses and replied with a smile:

"Captain Spring, I can treat you, but I'll only recommend West Lake Longjing from the Coastal Research Institute."

The crew members gradually arrived at the shelter lounge.

Before them was a public activity area steeped in a technological aesthetic.

Since there had been few daily necessities among the mechanical waste.

Su Wen could only use his Schlote Employee Terminal to purchase a large batch of supplies.

There was a lot of stuff.

But the prices were unimaginably high.

Perhaps this was also Schlote Heavy Industries' thoughtful preparation to ensure its employees could work sixteen hours a day.

After all, the remaining value of human tools was like water in a sponge; squeeze it, and there would always be some left.

However, this disguised form of exploitation did not affect Su Wen.

Instead, it let the Globetrotter's passengers experience what truly considerate service meant.

Soft sofas.

Private single-person rest rooms.

There was even an entertainment room.

But the vast majority of the crew had no mood to play a round of Gwent at a time like this.

Once the electromagnetic signals stabilized, the first thing they did was call their families and let them know they were safe.

Jiang Xiuyuan was no exception.