Dialogue with the Ruin Intelligence

Chen Yuan stepped out of the Crystal Room. Looking back, he saw the shattered Crystal Room in the wall emit a series of hissing sounds before dissolving into dreamy streams of light. Like the previous eighteen Black-Robed Men, it merged into the ground as though it had never existed.

"XXXXXX..." A familiar voice sounded beside his ear. Chen Yuan lowered his head and looked at the translation on his Auxiliary Optical Brain.

"Congratulations, you have successfully completed the Death Assessment mission!"

"Please proceed down the passage. Meet me at the end to receive your reward for completing the assessment mission."

Chen Yuan raised his head. The wall before him rapidly squirmed apart to either side, forming a three-meter-wide passageway. The passage was deep and dim, and dreamy light flickered faintly at its end, identical to the light that had formed the Crystal Room.

"It's finally over. This should be the longest seclusion I've ever undergone." Chen Yuan checked the time and discovered that it was February 7, 2078. He had entered on January 1 and had spent more than a month inside.

"Let's go see what reward I can claim." Chen Yuan moved, his body flashing through the passage like a phantom. Before long, he crossed the deep corridor and arrived in a hall at its end, where dreamy colors shimmered.

Chen Yuan swept his gaze around the hall but did not find the Bald Crystal Man described in the book. After a brief pause, he called out loudly, "I'm here to claim my reward. Where are you?"

Buzz—

The moment Chen Yuan finished speaking, the colored lights in the hall flickered. They then condensed into a humanoid form before him, gradually solidifying into the Bald Crystal Man described in the original novel.

"Hello, Chen Yuan." The Bald Crystal Man smiled, his voice carrying a faint metallic quality. He was no longer speaking the incomprehensible Universal Language, but Chinese.

"Hello, Ruin Intelligence." Chen Yuan nodded and got straight to the point. "I completed the Death Assessment and came to collect my reward."

"It seems you really came prepared." The Bald Crystal Man gave him a deep look, then suddenly changed the subject. "But I do not understand something. Judging from your performance, you appeared to know a great deal about the Elite Assessment beforehand. So why did you sleep soundly through the first two days after the assessment began?"

As an artificial intelligence, the Bald Crystal Man possessed every detail of the assessment process. And as an intelligence with some degree of emotion, it had been curious about Chen Yuan's unusual behavior, so it asked him directly.

Upon hearing the Bald Crystal Man's words, Chen Yuan knew that the other party had watched all of his actions during this time. He smiled faintly. "Because I trained in the Virtual Space all night before setting out, I needed to replenish my energy. After all, it's easier to train when you're well-rested."

Of course, that was a lie meant for an intelligence. Chen Yuan was not good at lying in front of people, but when facing a nonhuman being, he could keep a perfectly straight face.

"..." The Bald Crystal Man fell silent for a moment. It instinctively felt that Chen Yuan was not telling the truth, yet his explanation was perfectly logical.

Besides, it had just connected to Chen Yuan's Auxiliary Optical Brain and checked his Virtual Space login records. It discovered that Chen Yuan really had spent the entire night before his departure in the Virtual Space.

Thus, the Bald Crystal Man chose to skip over the matter. With a wave of its hand, several items from the depths of the hall were carried over by a stream of colored light.

Chen Yuan focused his gaze. There were four items in total: a black helmet, a silver armguard, an entirely silver-white book, and a hexagonal metal token.

"You should know the first two items. They are the Black God Set and an Auxiliary Optical Brain." The Bald Crystal Man pointed at those two items without offering much explanation. Clearly, it knew that Chen Yuan had once possessed a Black God Set, and it had also noticed the Auxiliary Optical Brain he had been wearing on his arm.

The Bald Crystal Man focused on introducing the remaining two items. "This book contains the Martial Artist secret technique, Heaven Breaker. It is a powerful offensive secret technique, enough to serve you until the Universe Level."

"As for this last item..." The Bald Crystal Man pointed to the hexagonal metal token. "This is a token for entering Yunmo Planet."

"You are very lucky, Chen Yuan." At that moment, the Bald Crystal Man suddenly said, "Originally, Yunmo Planet had already vanished, and I was unable to contact it. But twenty years ago, I suddenly established contact with the Yunmo Ship."

Chen Yuan was not sure whether it was an illusion, but when the Bald Crystal Man mentioned the Yunmo Ship, its voice seemed somewhat excited.

Could this artificial intelligence have evolved into an intelligence with emotions after staying in the ruin for so long? Chen Yuan guessed inwardly.

At this moment, the Bald Crystal Man continued, "Chen Yuan, take this token and find the current master of the Yunmo Ship. With your talent, you will certainly be able to join Yunmo Planet!"

"Me, joining Yunmo Planet?" Chen Yuan pointed at himself, caught between laughter and tears.

The Bald Crystal Man nodded. "Yes. If you can join Yunmo Planet, becoming a Universe Level powerhouse in the future will not be difficult. You may even have a slight chance of surpassing the Universe Level."

"So, after you leave, you can look into information about the master of the Yunmo Ship." As the Bald Crystal Man spoke, it suddenly recalled something and added, "Oh, right. Twenty years ago, there was also a genius who passed the Elite trial and received a Yunmo Planet Token. However, his talent was inferior to yours. It took him one year and three months to clear it."

"His name is Luo Feng. You can find him after you leave. You should be able to obtain information about the master of the Yunmo Ship from Luo Feng." After speaking, the Bald Crystal Man picked up the Yunmo Planet Token and handed it to Chen Yuan.

After hearing that lengthy speech, Chen Yuan nearly burst out laughing. He asked tentatively, "Do you think the new master of the Yunmo Ship could be Luo Feng?"

"Absolutely impossible." The Bald Crystal Man decisively shook its head. "Luo Feng's aptitude is too poor. He only has a slight chance of becoming Universe Level. The Sentient AI aboard the Yunmo Ship could not possibly think highly of him."

But it really did choose him... Chen Yuan opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. Instead, he tested the waters again. "Then do you know Luo Feng's current location?"

The Bald Crystal Man shook its head again. "Ever since the Yunmo Ship revived, the Sentient AI aboard it has taken over Earth's entire system. My current authority no longer allows me to access areas outside this ruin."

Only upon hearing those words did Chen Yuan understand.

Right. This Bald Crystal Man's authority is clearly inferior to Babata's. And Babata has sealed off access to Earth... so although it knows that the Yunmo Ship has a master, it has no idea that master is the Luo Feng it met twenty years ago!

Chen Yuan accepted the Yunmo Planet Token from the Bald Crystal Man and pondered, With this token, perhaps I really can get closer to Luo Feng. At the very least, he should share some of Yunmo Planet's Martial Artist inheritance with me.

With that thought in mind, Chen Yuan immediately put away the Yunmo Planet Token with great care.

"Alright, my mission is complete. The rewards have been issued successfully." The Bald Crystal Man looked at Chen Yuan and said one final thing. "The passage out of the ruin has been opened. You may return to the outside world through it."

After saying that, the Bald Crystal Man completely dispersed, turning into countless streams of light.

Chen Yuan had wanted to ask more about Yunmo Planet, but he had not expected the Bald Crystal Man to disappear so decisively. He picked up his rewards, placed them in his backpack, and left through the opened passage.

Inside the underground base of Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 9.

A metal door slowly opened, and Chen Yuan stepped out from within.

On February 7, 2078, Chen Yuan successfully left Ancient Civilization Ruin No. 9!

Next, it's time to contact Uncle Wei. Chen Yuan looked at the staff members around him who were staring his way.