The Opened Ruin Gate

That was all just talk, of course. However, after a period of serious nonsense interspersed with jokes, followed by this logically sound statement, credibility would increase significantly. It wasn't as if even the knowledgeable old mechanic, Mr. Karl, or the ice-smart Miss Ina, hadn't suddenly understood.

"…So you're certain there won't be any more enemies pursuing us?" Ina asked.

"At least not for a while. Well, everyone should rest. We'll set off again when it's dawn. If we can truly open the Enlighteners' ruins, then it's truly the Spirit of the Universe's blessing. If not, we'll just consider ourselves lucky to have found a mountain pass." Yu Lian put away the "earth bomb" he had already set up, clapped his hands, and ended the conversation.

His final words were essentially a preemptive strike, so that when he actually opened the ruins, no one would be too shocked.

Yes, that was about right.

Yu Lian woke up after only two hours of rest, feeling that his stamina had recovered more than half. With a little more rest, the last bit of drowsiness vanished. This was one of the benefits of being a psionics. At least in terms of energy and stamina, they had a significant advantage.

Seeing that everyone else was still resting, Yu Lian took a lamp and, relying on his past memories, walked to a stone wall. At first glance, it was just an ordinary rock face. Under the lamplight, the patterns of the rock were not only unappealing but also showed no regularity. Yu Lian could only place his hand on the wall, rubbing it little by little, trying to feel the rhythm that should exist behind the stone.

The last time he, no, the last life he had unlocked this ruin was thirty years later. In the grand sweep of history, that was an era, but in the vastness of nature, it was merely an instant. Therefore, the state of the ruins probably wouldn't have changed much. Probably…

"Is this how the Enlighteners' ruins are explored?" Ina's voice sounded from behind Yu Lian.

"I'm not an archaeologist, nor do I have any professional tools. So I can only rely on my senses," Yu Lian replied without turning his head. "At least Dr. Jones did it this way."

"Who?" Ina asked curiously.

"Dr. Maluda Jones! From the Alliance's Treasure Raiders Alliance! The season eight finale, the sixth-generation Professor Jones used this method to unlock the treasure of the twelfth dynasty of the Dawn Empire and obtain the Time Dragon Dagger."

"It's already up to season eight? And Professor Jones is already the sixth generation?" Ina exclaimed in shock, then turned angry. "You spoiled it!"

That's not the point…

"Which season have you watched up to?" Although it wasn't the point, Yu Lian couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, Professor Al Jones, season two…"

"Wasn't that still during the Alliance's homeworld era?" Yu Lian was also shocked. He knew the outer colonies were remote, but he never expected them to be this remote.

"I, I don't want to! But this is a rural place! Tulon is already quite rural, let alone a military outpost. We can't even connect to the Nebula Network here!"

Yu Lian's expression immediately turned sympathetic, but he then wished he could slap himself twice.

Hey, hey, is this being influenced by the original owner? The 21-year-old military academy student Yu Lian could be a fan of Treasure Raiders Alliance, but how could Yu Lian the Great, who had roamed the stars for thirty years, be one? Wouldn't people in the know laugh him to death?

"Uh, in conclusion, this is just a shot in the dark. It's possible it's all my imagination."

"No, if it's Professor Jones, then there must be a reason!"

Yu Lian's mouth twitched involuntarily. He looked back at the Sergeant Major, who for some reason had suddenly become incredibly serious. After hesitating for a long time, he slowly said, "Um, that's a TV show."

"Didn't they say it was adapted from true stories?" Miss Ina replied, her answer firm and natural.

"...Yes, at least many details are true." Yu Lian decided not to dwell on the issue anymore and pressed his entire body against the stone wall. The last time he obtained the map and opened this ruin, he was already a master at the fourth ring, and his perception was naturally much stronger than it was now. To feel the subtle rhythm that even satellites and probe drones couldn't detect, he had to fully concentrate all his mental energy.

Ina knew Yu Lian was at the most critical juncture, so she stopped talking but didn't leave, instead silently taking up a defensive posture.

Yu Lian closed his eyes, feeling the invisible, pure white nebulae in his soul boiling. Brilliant light converged into a long river, flowing into the stone wall through his body, finding a light resonance. Within the unremarkable, inconspicuous stone wall, Yu Lian felt as if he had found another universe.

The nebulae in his soul sea grew brighter. To put it more concretely, the ring-shaped nebulae seemed to have expanded by another circle, bravely advancing towards the still silent outer ring, much like the effect when he played a certain game before his transmigration, where his science ship attacked from all sides and took a large area after decades of effort.

Yu Lian actually liked this direct sensory experience, being able to feel the improvement in his strength at a glance.

He finally felt the same rhythm as that year and breathed a sigh of relief. Even if there was a butterfly effect, it seemed the wings' power wasn't that great.

Yu Lian reached out, following the vibration, and stopped at a spot. He wiped away all the dust on it and injected his psionic energy into it. The stars of the winter night poured down from the zenith, as if merging with the lantern in his hand, transforming into silver light that shone into the mottled stone wall. The silver traces slowly rose, like blood vessels, as if giving life to the stone wall.

At first, the surging light patterns were as fine and undetectable as a spiderweb, but they soon slowly expanded and became clearer. Then, elegant silver arcs formed magnificent wings and a suspended star emblem, with graceful runes forming a banner on the emblem. The vast solemnity under the firmament swept over them.

Ina gazed at this magnificent scene, almost unable to breathe.

"This, this is really the Enlighteners' ruins?!"

"It should be. The Enlighteners are actually divided into many types, but the hidden entrances to their ruins all have brilliant star patterns, like the morning star. This is also the origin of their honored title," Yu Lian said.

"It's so beautiful, I really can't imagine, this is truly…"

This was indeed a scene that ordinary people could hardly imagine. On the gray mountain wall, merely silver-white light patterns and uncomplex emblems were as magnificent as a perfect universe. Yu Lian knew that the simple line emblems were completely proportioned to the aesthetics of carbon-based intelligent life. And even if magnified by a million, a hundred million, or a trillion times, the proportions would remain the same, with not the slightest error. And those silver-white halos, brilliant but not scorching, elegant but not vulgar, gorgeous but not frivolous, flowed gently like the blood of the soul, the river of life.

No civilization known in the current world could recreate this scene, not even the popular drama king Treasure Raiders Alliance that Yu Lian and Ina loved. In fact, the production crew, who definitely didn't lack money, had tried their best to restore the grand spectacle of the Enlighteners' heritage activation on screen, and thus received the rapturous love of their fans. However, upon arriving at the scene, they realized how could the clumsy imitations of their successors ever restore even a fraction of what these great ancestors had achieved?

So, this was one of the reasons why mysticism, class society, and bloodline theory were so prevalent! Yu Lian sighed with revolutionary fervor.

"How was such a beautiful scene created?" Ina asked. She was genuinely curious.

"Well, if you have time, you can review and get into a good university. Study archaeology or high-energy materials science, and after graduation, find a job at an Enlighteners Civilization Research Institute."

"Will I understand then?"

"No, then you'll understand that more than half of the university scholars receiving national stipends are incompetent."

Ina pondered for a second, then chuckled, "Okay, although I still feel that the 'elites' of the bureaucratic group are just golden retrievers eating with feathered blankets; but since there's an interesting example like you, I'll tentatively believe that the Moonfolk are an exception."

"That's natural. When we get to Tulon and you meet my senior, uh, Officer Bonaparte, you'll be completely convinced."

There were quite a few incompetent Moonfolk too, but "a child shouldn't dislike their mother's ugliness." Fortunately, the only two Moonfolk on this small colony planet weren't embarrassing.

The two of them smiled at each other. Ina felt a subtle touch, or perhaps a flutter, of emotion at meeting a comrade she could trust, even rely on. Yu Lian, on the other hand, was thinking that this girl's smile was actually quite assertive. If she met Senior Eleanor, who would be the dominant one?

And at this very moment, the emblem on the gate flashed with a brilliance like daylight, but it quickly dimmed again, so fast that one might think the white light just now was an illusion. Then, on the rock wall, where no seam could be seen, the outline of a huge doorway suddenly appeared, large enough for a medium-sized tank to drive through normally.

Immediately, two large doors began to separate along the seam of light with a dull "buzzing" sound, revealing a spacious passage that led to an unknown destination.

The gate to the Enlighteners' ruins opened, just as Yu Lian had encountered it "back then." He took a satisfied breath of the air that wafted from the cave, sensing the familiar metallic scent. Just as he was about to say something to Ina, he heard an exaggerated cry from behind him: "Heaven, the Heavenly Revelation, apostle of the Spirit of the Universe!"

Because of the commotion, everyone had naturally woken up, and their sleepiness was completely gone, startled by the wondrous sight. They all got up, and the first thing they saw was Yu Lian standing in the center of the gate of light, bathed in the solemn, profound silver veil that resembled the light of the firmament.

"Thump!" Sergeant Baka, who had the strongest combat power in the group besides the psionics, knelt down just like that. He kowtowed repeatedly, shouting in alarm.

Well, although the Bien Bearmen were physically stronger than Earthlings, they were also much more superstitious.