Fan Xing had quietly disappeared without anyone noticing. Now, only a few large stars shone like red wax in the deep-blue sky. The dawn breeze drifted gently through the smoke-filled city. It was daybreak.
Yi Chen stopped tempering his body and stood up to stretch. The night had passed peacefully, without the danger he had anticipated. Still, he didn't let his guard down. There were too many unknowns in this mission, and plenty of hidden dangers waiting for him.
"This mission isn't quite what I imagined. I thought I could finish it quickly, but now it looks like it won't be resolved anytime soon. I wonder how things are on Earth now. The flow of time there might be different from here... And Yan, well... she's probably still out on a mission. Guardian Angels aren't exactly idle." Yi Chen muttered to himself. He wasn't used to having that chatterbox Angel gone, so he often found himself talking aloud.
"I'd better finish the mission quickly. What exactly does the System Mission mean? I should head to the human base first. Maybe I'll find the answer there."
After confirming the location of the underground city again, Yi Chen jumped through space straight into it.
Once inside, Yi Chen couldn't help wondering how people managed to live five thousand meters underground. There was no sunlight here, and a gloomy, damp atmosphere was a constant part of life.
The light they needed came entirely from artificial stellar energy and various bioluminescent plants. But artificial stellar energy couldn't provide the full range of photosynthetic elements that a real sun could, and at a depth of five thousand meters, oxygen was almost nonexistent. So people had to wear thick protective suits and oxygen tanks in their daily lives. Otherwise, surviving here would have been impossible.
Still, to the people who lived here, the problems of surviving underground were easier to overcome than the threat posed by outsiders. At least underground, they didn't have to worry about being attacked at any moment.
Near the city, Yi Chen also saw many elevators leading straight to the surface. They were probably for the military or Gene Warriors to use when going outside. Ordinary people didn't usually come and go freely.
"Anyway, I should walk around and learn more about this world first," Yi Chen thought. This mission had no clues at all; he didn't even know what would count as completing it. For now, he had no choice but to investigate bit by bit.
As he walked along the city streets, he could still make out traces of the old era, though everything looked rather run-down.
There were quite a few shops along the streets, mostly selling daily necessities and protective equipment. Vendors selling food were few and far between.
Every household received food each day, but for larger families, the rations weren't enough. That was how this food trade had come about. Smaller families sold the food they couldn't use and bought useful household goods, while larger families sold items they didn't need to buy food. Of course, people could also barter.
But trading food was risky, since it was completely sealed. Only after the buyer got it would the package be opened, and who could tell whether the food was good or bad before then? Buying food involved a certain amount of luck.
Yi Chen didn't linger in the streets. Before coming here, he had already used the Engine to scan the city. There were only three Gene Warriors in the entire city, and they were all gathered in the city center. So he kept heading that way. What puzzled him, though, was that the pedestrians seemed unable to see him, just like the mechanical behemoth earlier. They paid him no attention at all.
Moving quickly, Yi Chen reached the city center and locked onto a five-story building. Though it was only five stories tall, it was one of the tallest structures in this underground city.
At that moment, three Gene Warriors and several other people in protective suits—probably military personnel—were gathered around a spherical device on the top floor. The device projected images of the surface, but only of a few important areas. It didn't cover the entire city.
Yi Chen went straight into the room, pulled over a chair, and sat down. Based on what he had seen so far, the creatures in this world seemed unable to sense his presence, whether by sight, hearing, or touch. So there was no need for him to hide.
"There doesn't seem to be anything unusual today. Have any of you noticed anything?" one of the people in a protective suit asked the three Gene Warriors, looking at the projected image of the city.
"No. It's been unusually quiet for a while. But that's a good thing. The last time they went out to investigate, Li Min and Wang Wen were injured when they ran into that mechanical beast. There's no need to go out again for now, not if things stay quiet. Give them a few days to recover."
"Okay. You three can go rest. We'll keep watch here and notify you if anything happens."
"All right. Thanks for your hard work."
"No problem."
With that, the three Gene Warriors left. Yi Chen guessed they were going to get treatment. He had just detected that all three had some injuries, and two of them were quite badly hurt.
Watching them leave, Yi Chen went over and sat down in front of the projection. He figured that since the people in this world couldn't sense him, his mission probably wasn't simply to interfere in their affairs. For example, the System likely hadn't sent him here to help humanity wipe out the aliens.
If he wasn't here to destroy the aliens, then what was he supposed to deal with? Yi Chen still hadn't the slightest clue. Missions without any hints were a real headache.
So, with no other choice, he began investigating the areas shown in the projection. They were several of the city's most important transportation and political hubs, which was why they were being watched so closely.
The projected images looked just as they did to the others, with nothing unusual in sight. But when Yi Chen used the Engine to investigate, he discovered something strange.
His scan revealed numerous figures. They were wrapped in a peculiar, flowing light that made their features impossible to see. Yet Yi Chen had the strange feeling that he had seen them somewhere before. Stranger still, after he scanned them, they began moving toward the city—and they were moving fast.
"Those are... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before. Why are they coming this way? No, I can't let them find the city."
"Ding. Mission details have been updated. Host may check them at any time." Just as Yi Chen used the power of space to reach the surface, the System's long-absent voice suddenly rang in his mind.
System Mission: The Unknown's End Mission Description: Though this world has fallen into disaster, it still follows its own laws of development. The intervention of the unknown has disrupted the world's original course. The host must take on the task of correcting it and eliminating the unknown. Mission Restrictions: Do not interfere with the progress of this world's civilization. (To ensure the host can complete the mission, the System has made the host undetectable to the creatures of this world.) Mission Rewards: Starfall Blade purchase authorization Shadow Sword trial use ×1 Third Generation Divine Body upgrade technology Combat Power Value ×500,000
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