Treasure in the Ruins

Another familiar flash of light followed, striking Lu Yuan's mind with precision. It felt as though a vast amount of knowledge had been forcibly poured into his soul.

Burning hot, and terribly uncomfortable.

Lu Yuan did not want to pass out in a place like this. He could only grit his teeth and endure the soul-deep pain.

It was not until two hours later that he gradually recovered and discovered he had gained a new ability—"Storage Space."

He could consume mental energy to create a space he could carry with him.

This space differed from his Different Dimension ability.

His Different Dimension could hold living creatures, while "Storage Space" could not contain any conscious being.

However, time inside the Storage Space passed at almost zero speed, allowing things to remain fresh for a long time.

"Based on my current strength, I can probably create... one cubic meter of space?"

Lu Yuan gestured with his hands. One cubic meter was not particularly large—the volume of a ton of water.

Fortunately, the space he could create would grow along with his strength.

"Not bad."

He picked up the spider corpse and walked farther into the room.

To his disappointment, this was actually a... data center?

There were several offices outside, furnished with machines that resembled computers.

The server room was densely packed with things that looked like supercomputer mainframes, perhaps several hundred of them.

The archives on the lower level were filled with documents.

The records, made from acid-free paper, were currently being used to decipher the civilization's language... That would take some time.

Glass doors blocked the way. He knocked on them and found them extremely sturdy.

Unless he forcibly destroyed those doors and windows, he was afraid he would be unable to enter.

"Is anyone there? Hey! Anyone?"

There were no survivors.

No food, either.

And certainly no remains of other creatures... only a few tiny crawling bugs.

Lu Yuan let out a quiet sigh. An image surfaced in his mind: thousands of years later, a massive army from an alien civilization discovered these ruins and fought countless giant spiders before finally obtaining this precious data center.

The commander would be ecstatic.

That was right. For a civilization, what could be more important assets than data and documents?

Those were the most valuable treasures in the ruins.

"But to me, if these computers were even slightly useful, they wouldn't be completely useless!"

"Still, this data center is a good place. At least it's safer than sleeping out in the wilderness."

Lu Yuan consoled himself and dragged his exhausted body back to yesterday's campsite.

He used an iron box to scoop up a basinful of charcoal, gathered some firewood, and only then extinguished the fire.

He carried the charcoal back to the data center, built up a fire, and enthusiastically began dissecting the spider.

By the time he had gone back and forth, it was already afternoon.

Lu Yuan always felt as though he had become a primitive man, with abysmally low productivity, living a life of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset," his thoughts occupied only by filling his stomach.

His old life had been like a beautiful dream, shattering piece by piece. He had to adapt to this entirely new life.

He did miss it a little, but he did not dare think about it at all.

So he could only calmly continue with his work.

A Purgatory Demon Spider that had seemingly been born just one day ago had been ambushed and killed so dishonorably. It was truly a shocking waste.

If it had been allowed to grow for a few years, it might have provided an excellent Extraordinary Seed.

"If I let it grow for a few years, I'd be instantly killed."

Pioneer's Eye kindly offered a reminder: aside from the venom glands and internal organs, the other parts should all be safe to eat.

The eye-like pattern on its back, once completely peeled off, possessed a subtle Mental Shock effect.

Lu Yuan observed it for a while. That small sac flickering with Red Light should be the venom gland.

Using a snake scale, he carefully dissected it out and placed it in an iron box.

The venom gland of the Purgatory Demon Spider contains a vicious neurotoxin. Its toxicity is absolutely beyond your ability to withstand. The toxin can dissolve in organic solvents and will be destroyed at temperatures above 300 degrees Celsius.

"Good stuff!"

He then removed things like the internal organs.

He chopped off several long legs and roasted them over the fire.

As he waited, his heart felt both bitter and filled with anticipation.

With a series of crackles and pops, the long spider leg soon gave off a strange smell. To be honest, it smelled a bit like burnt rubber, mixed with a rich meaty aroma.

Lu Yuan braced himself, smashed the spider leg open with a stone, and took a bite of the steaming-hot spider meat.

In an instant, the tension in his heart vanished!

"Why does this taste so much like beef?!"

Perhaps because its muscle fibers were so tough, it really did taste like beef.

It also had a marvelous charred-outside, tender-inside texture. One bite perfectly combined crispness with succulent meat, as though a feast of flavor had blossomed in his mouth.

Even without any seasoning, Lu Yuan ate with great relish. He simply could not stop!

As for that rubber-like smell, it was actually produced when the insect shell was scorched by the flames. It had nothing to do with the meat inside.

"If I peel the shell off first and then grill it, it'll taste even better."

A single spider leg was really only about the size of a loach. After eating two legs, Lu Yuan suddenly realized that he could barely eat any more.

A warm current seemed to be surging through his stomach. The flesh of extraordinary lifeforms contained far more energy than ordinary creatures, so it was only natural for it to fill him up quickly.

"One spider can feed me for at least three days."

Lu Yuan suddenly felt very happy. At least for the moment, he had solved his first major problem.

He was full!

It felt amazing!

Happiness was not about having a lot. It was about feeling satisfied even when one had very little.

This wonderful feeling came with a hint of lazy resignation—there was no goddamn worry at all.

Blind dates, work, bosses... all bullshit.

"God, seeing as I got a full meal today, I'm your loyal believer. I won't curse you today!" Lu Yuan looked up at the gray, murky sky and started spouting nonsense.

"If you can give me a beautiful Wife, I'll be your ultimate fanatic."

"I'm begging you, just one beautiful Wife!"

Since he had already made a request, Lu Yuan figured he might as well push his luck. He hurriedly added more conditions. "That Wife should preferably be a goddess descended to earth, with limitless combat power, able to beat every monster, and the lovestruck type."

"Rumble!" Dark clouds filled the sky, and a golden bolt of lightning split a large tree in half.

Was God expressing His anger?

You're just a mere mortal—why do you even want a lovestruck Wife? What did lovestruck even mean?

Lu Yuan shouted, "If my Wife is too powerful, what if she cheats on me? A lovestruck Wife wouldn't give me that problem!"

"Rumble!"

More and more lightning flashed through the sky.

Dark clouds blanketed the heavens, and before long, heavy rain began to fall. The rushing sound of the downpour was like the sky weeping.