Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique

"I encountered two monsters in the corridor and managed to kill them by sheer luck."

Seeing that everyone's attention was now focused on him, Lin Yi continued, "But after they died, their corpses actually turned into ash!"

"What?!"

"Turned into ash?! You're not joking, are you?"

"Are... are you sure? It wasn't blood, but ash?"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment. Corpses turning into ash? This was completely beyond their comprehension.

"That's right! It was ash!"

Lin Yi nodded emphatically, pointing to the dark green stains and grayish-black powder clinging to his armor.

"Look, this is what they left behind. There was very little blood; most of it turned into cinders, just like... just like burnt paper ash. It scattered the moment the wind blew."

"But!"

Lin Yi shifted his tone, raising his voice.

"That's not important! After all, with vortexes falling from the sky and monsters attacking, it's not that strange for monsters to turn into ash."

As he spoke, Lin Yi untied the small silk package he had placed on the round table upon his return. Two gray crystals emitted a faint glow under the light.

"Look, the key is that after they turned to ash, they left this behind!"

Strange light patterns flowed across the surfaces of the crystals, and several of the young people couldn't help but lean in to take a closer look.

"This thing..." Chen Yu stared at the crystals, his Adam's apple bobbing. "It doesn't look like something from Blue Star. Could it be some advanced civilization or high-dimensional life form playing tricks on us?"

"Something left behind by the monsters." Zhou Jianjun squeezed through the crowd and looked up at Lin Yi. "How do you intend to handle it?"

Lin Yi didn't hide his intentions and stated his thoughts quite bluntly.

"I plan to study them first; maybe I can discover something. How about I touch one and see what kind of reaction it triggers?"

As Lin Yi spoke, he reached out to touch the surface of the crystal with his fingertip.

"Hey, wait—"

Zhou Jianjun hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

"What if it's poisonous? Let me do it; my skin is thick."

Without waiting for Lin Yi's reply, Zhou Jianjun reached out with his calloused hand and touched the edge of the crystal.

The group watched as his fingertip made contact with the crystal's surface, and his entire body stiffened as if he had been electrocuted.

"Jianjun?" Auntie grabbed her husband's sleeve nervously.

Zhou Jianjun pulled his hand back abruptly, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"This thing..."

He looked incredulous, his voice even trembling slightly.

"The moment I touched it, a piece of information suddenly popped into my mind."

"It says it's called the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique."

Zhou Jianjun wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said to Lin Yi:

"As long as you crush the crystal, the contents will be transmitted directly into your mind. Xiao Yi, you try it, then touch the other one yourself to see what's inside."

"It's that magical?"

Lin Yi feigned surprise, then touched the Spirit Radiance Crystal with his finger.

Three seconds later, he looked up in astonishment. "It's exactly as Uncle said. It records a classic, or rather, a cultivation method, on how to use an energy called 'Source Energy' to practice."

"As for the other one..."

Lin Yi touched the second Spirit Radiance Crystal. After a moment of contemplation, he explained to the group:

"Inside is an energy crystal known as a Tier 1 Source Energy Crystal. It can serve as an energy source or assist in Source Energy cultivation."

My luck is actually quite good. It saved me a lot of trouble.

Lin Yi felt secretly pleased.

Although the Source Energy Guidance Technique and Source Energy Crystals had a high drop rate during the early stages of the assessment, it was possible to end up with two of the same technique or two crystals, which would have been relatively troublesome.

This current configuration was essentially the best combination for the early game. For him right now, it was even better than those rare pieces of Source Energy weaponry and equipment.

Everything was going smoothly, and Lin Yi even felt in the mood to crack a joke. He patted Chen Yu on the shoulder. "A-Yu, you say..."

Lin Yi paused. "Why does this feel a bit like looting items from monsters in a game?"

"Now that you mention it, it really does," Chen Yu's eyes lit up, sweeping away his previous despondency.

Li Jie muttered something under his breath, only to be poked in the ribs by the class monitor, Zhou Yuxuan.

Zhou Jianjun looked at Li Jie, then scanned the rest of the group. He cleared his throat and proposed:

"This might just be the key to fighting those monsters. Xiao Yi, you have a strong learning ability, and you risked your life to bring these back, so you should learn it quickly."

In the crowd, Zhou Jinghua's fingers twisted tightly against the hem of her shirt, while Lin Ruiming silently patted his wife's shoulder.

The couple were both honest and steady by nature, and they naturally felt a sense of resistance toward things of unknown origin, but in the end, they didn't voice any objections.

"Good."

Seeing that no one raised any objections, Lin Yi didn't stand on ceremony—and, of course, he had no intention of doing so—so he directly put away the Spirit Radiance Crystal.

"However, there's something I haven't had a chance to say yet. I've been mulling it over just now, wondering if we should make more preparations."

Lin Yi pointed outside the window. "A monster escaped earlier. Although I don't know why it hasn't come back, I have a bad feeling about it."

"A-Yu, Uncle, has anyone among you managed to get through to the emergency services?"

He asked a question he already knew the answer to, and only after seeing everyone shake their heads in disappointment did he continue:

"In that case, we can only rely on ourselves for now."

Lin Yi scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over faces filled with confusion or fear, and after a moment of contemplation, he said:

"Since the emergency lines aren't going through, well, perhaps you've already contacted your families, but I still need to emphasize this: hurry and remind your friends and relatives to hide first, and keep each other informed about where you are hiding."

"And then."

Lin Yi turned to look at Zhou Jianjun. "We need weapons. How about this, Uncle? Why don't you take some people and dismantle everything in this hall—chairs, whatever can be taken apart—and try to make clubs, shields, and the like. Dad, you help out too."

"No problem!" Zhou Jianjun stared at Lin Yi and praised him, "You've truly seen blood and fought for your life. Xiao Yi, you've become a man who can shoulder responsibility!"

Lin Yi nodded with a serious expression. He didn't bother with humble pleasantries this time and instead turned his attention to Lin Ruiheng.

"Uncle, please organize the women to be responsible for collecting the food and water in the hall and sorting them by expiration date."

Lin Ruiheng looked at his nephew, who seemed like a completely different person, then glanced at the bloodstains and claw marks on his armor. He hesitated for a moment before finally managing to say, "Fine."

"Is this really going to be useful?" His cousin, Lin Ran, shrank behind his father. Seeing Lin Yi ordering his father around, he couldn't help but mutter, "Relying on these to deal with those monsters?"

"It's better than doing nothing and being empty-handed."

Zhou Jianjun frowned at these words, having already started figuring out how to dismantle the nearby chairs. "I used even cruder weapons when I was in the army. Everyone, hurry up and get moving!"

His words seemed to resonate, and the crowd began to move slowly.

Several middle-aged men walked silently toward the other tables and chairs and began to dismantle them, the sound of twisting metal echoing through the hall.

Ye Qingyu quietly walked to Lin Yi's side and handed him an unopened bottle of mineral water.

"Your lips are cracked."

Lin Yi shook his head but took the water and took a large gulp.

He noticed that Ye Qingyu's fingers were trembling slightly, but her eyes remained relatively calm.

Her temperament is actually quite good, it's just a pity she's a bit slow. In her past life, she never managed to get started with Source Energy.

Lin Yi silently evaluated her in his heart.

Seeing Lin Yi refuse, Ye Qingyu wasn't surprised. She nodded, then turned to find Zhao Xiaowen to help organize the drinks and food.

In the corner, Zhao Xiaowen was collecting the leftover banquet snacks onto a tray.

Li Jie was squatting nearby, stepping on a chair and trying hard to break off a leg, stealing a glance at her from time to time.

"Is this really going to be useful?"

Li Jie asked in a low voice. He had been struggling for a while without managing to break the chair leg, and he couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged.

"At least it's better than doing nothing."

Zhao Xiaowen rolled her eyes at him and gently placed the last plate of snacks onto the tray.