Third Party

The stars had vanished without notice. The azure sky now held only a few large stars emitting a dim, red-waxen glow. The morning breeze gently swept through the city, still bearing the scent of gunpowder; dawn had broken.

Yi Chen stopped his tempering and stood up, stretching his body. The night had passed peacefully, with no sign of the danger he had anticipated. However, he didn't let his guard down. This mission was fraught with unknowns, and many lurking crises awaited him.

"This mission is a bit different from what I imagined. I thought I could resolve it quickly, but now it seems it won't be over anytime soon. I wonder how Earth is doing. The time flow there might be different from here... And Yan, hmm... she's probably still out on a mission. Guardian Angels aren't that idle," Yi Chen muttered to himself. He had grown unaccustomed to the absence of the nagging Angel beside him, so he often found himself talking aloud.

"I should finish this mission quickly. What does this System mission even mean? I'll head to the human base first; maybe I can find some answers there."

After reconfirming the location of the underground city, Yi Chen directly used spatial jumping to enter it.

Arriving in the city, Yi Chen couldn't help but marvel at how people managed to live five thousand meters underground. There was no sunlight here; darkness and humidity were the dominant themes of life.

The necessary light relied entirely on artificial 'sun' energy and some bioluminescent fungi and plants. Because the artificial 'sun' energy couldn't fully provide photosynthetic elements like a real sun, and with oxygen being almost non-existent at a depth of five thousand meters, people had to wear thick protective suits and carry oxygen tanks for their daily lives. Survival here would otherwise be impossible.

However, for the people here, the survival challenges faced underground were far easier to overcome compared to the threat of outsiders. Underground, at least, they didn't have to worry about being attacked at any moment.

Near the city, Yi Chen also saw many elevators leading directly to the surface. These were likely for the military or Gene Warriors to use when going out; ordinary people generally didn't enter or exit freely.

"In any case, I should explore more to understand this world first," Yi Chen thought. This mission had no hints, and he didn't even know how to consider it complete. For now, there was no other way but to slowly figure things out.

Walking along the city streets, he could still see some remnants of old-era style, though they appeared somewhat dilapidated.

There were still quite a few shops lining the streets, mostly selling daily necessities and protective gear. Vendors selling food were very few.

Food was distributed daily to each household, but for families with many members, the distributed food was insufficient. This led to the emergence of food trading. Families with fewer members would sell their surplus food and buy useful daily necessities, while families with more members would sell some unused items to purchase food. Of course, bartering was also an option.

However, trading food carried risks. The food was completely sealed, and it was only opened after the buyer took possession. Before opening, who could say whether the food was good or bad? Therefore, buying food also involved an element of luck.

Yi Chen didn't linger on the streets. Before coming here, he had already used his Engine to scan the city. There were only three Gene Warriors in this city, all concentrated in the city center. Thus, he kept heading towards the city center. What was puzzling, however, was that the pedestrians on the road, just like the mechanical behemoth before, seemed unable to see him, completely ignoring him.

He advanced at high speed and arrived at the city center. He locked onto a five-story building. Although only five stories high, it was considered the tallest structure in this underground city.

At this moment, on the top floor of this building, three Gene Warriors and several other individuals in protective suits, presumably from the military, were gathered around a spherical device. This device projected the current situation on the surface, though only covering a small portion of important areas, not the entire city.

Yi Chen directly entered the room, pulled up a chair, and sat down. Based on the phenomena he had observed so far, the beings in this world seemed unable to perceive his existence, neither visually, audibly, nor tactilely. Therefore, there was no need for him to hide.

"It seems there have been no unusual activities today either. Have any of you noticed anything, the three of you?" an individual in a protective suit asked the three Gene Warriors, looking at the projected city.

"No, it's been unusually calm lately. But that's good. Li Min and Wang Wen were injured when they encountered that mechanical beast last time they went out to scout. With no unusual activity these past few days, there's no need to go out for now, giving them time to recover."

"Alright, then you three go rest. We'll keep watch here and notify you immediately if anything happens."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing."

With that, the three Gene Warriors left. Yi Chen guessed they were going to recuperate. He had just detected that they were all more or less injured, with two of them being more seriously wounded.

Watching them leave, Yi Chen moved to the projection and sat down. He surmised that since the people of this world couldn't perceive him, his mission likely wouldn't involve simply interfering with their affairs. For instance, being tasked with helping humans eliminate aliens probably wasn't what the System had in store for him.

If he wasn't here to eliminate aliens, then what did he need to handle? Yi Chen still had no clue. Missions with so little guidance were truly a headache.

Helplessly, he began to scan several areas in the projection. These areas were important transportation and political hubs in the city, thus receiving special attention.

The projection showed nothing unusual, just as the people there saw. However, when Yi Chen used his Engine to scan, he discovered something extraordinary.

His scan results revealed numerous figures. These figures were enveloped in a strange, flowing light, making it impossible to discern their faces. Yet, Yi Chen had a feeling of déjà vu. Strangely, after Yi Chen's scan, they began to converge towards this city, and at a considerable speed.

"That's... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before. Why are they coming here? No, I can't let them discover the city."

"Beep, mission description has been updated. Host may view it at your leisure." Suddenly, the long-lost voice of the System echoed in Yi Chen's mind as he used his spatial powers to return to the surface.

System Mission: The Unknown End

Mission Description: Although this world is plagued by disaster, it also has its own developmental laws. The intervention of the unknown has disrupted the world's original trajectory. The host must undertake the task of correcting and eliminating the unknown entities.

Mission Restrictions: Interference with the progress of this world's civilization is prohibited. (To ensure the host's successful completion of the mission, the System has made it so the host cannot be perceived by the world's biological entities.)

Mission Rewards: Purchase authorization for Starfall Blade, Shadow Sword trial usage x1, Third Generation Divine Body upgrade technology, Combat Power Value x500000.

(End of this chapter)