The Cruel Truth / Heeey-Is Anyone There?

The airship landed at the designated location, which was the excavation site that the salvage team had planned long ago.

Soon all the salvage team members began to move about.

Setting up camp, acquiring excavation tools, and exploring the surrounding area are all tasks that need to be done.

Of course, none of this concerned Yuxian. He remained quietly seated in the cabin, sipping tea and contemplating what was to come.

Just as Yuxian was quietly drinking his tea, his troubles began.

"Kerong, how did you get here!" Keter dragged Kerong toward the cabin.

It was a real dragging, and despite Kerong's best efforts to resist, Keter held her tightly, giving her no chance to break free.

Upon seeing Keter and Kerong being dragged behind her, Yuxian covered his face.

He had a very bad feeling.

Hoping for a lucky break, Yuxian asked Kerong, "How many of you secretly followed us here?"

Kerong blinked, hesitated for a moment, and then said with a very determined look on her face, "Just me!"

Yuxian said his head hurt a lot, and he told Keter, "You stay here and watch over her, I'll go find the others."

"It really is just me!" Kerong called out to Yu Yuxian's departing figure, unwilling to give up.

Yuxian rolled her eyes. "I'd be a fool to believe you. You can't even lie properly."

Yuxian searched carefully and found the few little guys who had secretly followed him.

Tiathe, Panlibao, Laqixu, and Kerong, who was captured by Keter, were the four little ones who secretly followed along.

The four of them are also the oldest in the Fairy Warehouse after Keter and the others.

Nine to ten years old is the most active age, so Yuxian doesn't necessarily want to blame them.

However, the necessary punishments must still be imposed, without a doubt.

Little Jeanne once said that disobedience should be punished. Yuxian thought this made a lot of sense.

The four children stood in a row, neatly arranged in front of Yuxian. This was something that William, the administrator, should normally do.

Perhaps because Yuxian had a stronger presence than William, Keter and the others trusted Yuxian more, so they found Yuxian immediately.

Yuxian did not refuse. He glanced at the four of them expressionlessly, sat there calmly, and slowly tapped his fingers on the table.

An invisible pressure enveloped the four children.

If Gretel and the others were here, they certainly wouldn't be afraid of Yuxian's pretentious act; his Gretel are no longer effective against them.

However, Kerong and the other three were unaware of this, and they felt uneasy, wondering what kind of punishment they would face.

"Who helped you wait for the ship?" Yuxian suddenly asked.

He didn't believe that these kids could have gotten on the salvage team's airship without anyone's help, and Yuxian had a rough idea of who to choose.

Or rather, he has already locked onto his target; this person must be...

Section 159, Chapter Fourteen: The Cruel Truth

"Master, you've wronged me!"

Gretel protested loudly, her little face full of anger, with an expression that said, "You won't get away with this until you apologize."

"It really wasn't you?" Yuxian looked at Gretel suspiciously.

Gretel's strong reaction made Yuxian begin to waver in his previous guesses.

However, given her past behavior, Yuxian still did not immediately rule out her suspicion.

Who could it be?

Yuxian pondered, the suspect must be among their group; it couldn't possibly be William and Keter.

Is it not Gretel rhyme or something about Heracles? That would be too fantastical.

"It's me."

Ishtar yawned and walked over to say this.

"See! I already said it wasn't me, Master, don't falsely accuse people. Alice is angry, really angry!"

Gretel burst into tears, Yuxian had no choice but to try to persuade her gently. This time, he had truly wronged her.

But what can you do when her credibility is so low...?

Yuxian glanced at Ishtar, who had just woken up, and asked her, "Ishtar, why are you helping them fool around?"

"They asked me for help, so I'll just lend them a hand. This goddess is very easy to talk to." Ishtar's nonchalant expression made Yuxian's teeth ache.

Yuxian couldn't say anything to her; for Ishtar, this was probably just something she did on a whim.

As for her mention of easy-going deities, Yuxian automatically filtered it out.

Now that the accomplice had been found, Yuxian said no more. He set rules for Kerong and the other three children, forbidding them from running around.

The punishment is that they cannot leave the airship for the next few days, which is also a way of protecting them. They may encounter danger on the ground at any time, and the airship is the safest place.

Yuxian then asked Gretel and the others to help take care of the children, since they were all kids and would definitely play together, so they could look after each other.

"Don't talk to me, I'm still angry!" Gretel turned her back to Yuxian and ignored him, indicating that she was still angry about what had just happened.

Yuxian picked her up and pressed his forehead against hers, rubbing them together a few times.

Gretel reached out and pushed Yuxian's head away, pouting as she said, "Master, don't think I'll forgive you so easily!"

"What do you want Alice to do to forgive me?" Yuxian asked seriously.

"Hmm..." Gretel thought seriously, considering what request to make.

The clever girl knew that if her demands were too unreasonable, Yuxian would definitely not agree, but she was also unwilling to accept demands that were too simple. Having finally found Yuxian's weakness, it would be a waste not to make good use of it.

Gretel thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a good idea, so she said, "I haven't thought of anything yet, I'm going to save it!"

Let her save it; Yu Xian isn't afraid of her making unreasonable demands anyway.

Besides, even without this incident, he would try his best to meet the children's requests, so this was not a problem for him at all.

Yuxian readily agreed.

Gretel then smiled happily, broke free from Yuxian's embrace, and ran off to discuss things with the others.

Having such a good hand in hand is very important for the children.

After settling Kerong and the others in, Yu Xian decided not to stay cooped up in the cabin Yuxian and went out for a walk.

Outside the airship, a bustling scene unfolded.

The facilities at the construction site were quickly set up thanks to the efforts of the salvage team.

The excavation team also began to explore the site, where artifacts were piled up haphazardly.

They only collect valuable items, discarding worthless things as if they were worn out.

This is why they are called a salvage team, rather than an excavation team or an exploration team; they are like a group of people searching for items in the water, only interested in wealth.

Yuxian didn't have much to say about this. Survival in this world is already difficult enough, so it's perfectly normal to come to the surface to look for valuables.

People who can maintain proper etiquette and eat slowly even when hungry are ultimately a very small minority.

However, there is something extremely terrifying underground here, and hopefully they won't come into contact with it too soon. Yuxian doesn't want to clean up their mess.

William was taking a walk around; this was his hometown, and he must have been reminiscing about the past.

Yuxian didn't disturb him; he was just out for a stroll to clear his head. Once he actually started taking action, he wouldn't be in the mood to observe the ruins of this human civilization anymore.

Mash quietly stayed by Yuxian's side, walking with him and observing the surrounding scenery.

The desolation here made her feel a little uncomfortable. Mash asked, "Was this once a city? Was it destroyed by the 'beasts'?"

Yuxian replied, "Yes, this is the ruins of a city, and the ruins of the first city to be destroyed."

"The first to be destroyed?" Mash asked in surprise. "Where did the 'beasts' begin to appear?"

"You could say that," Yuxian nodded. "The first person to transform from a human into a 'beast' was in this city."

"'Beasts' are transformed from humans?" Mash stared wide-eyed, looking utterly incredulous.

This was the first time Yuxian had mentioned the origin of the 'beast,' and she was very surprised to hear it. Such an answer would probably be hard for anyone to accept.

Yuxian sighed and continued, "Mash, the truth is often more cruel than we imagine."

Mash looked at Yuxian, not understanding what Yuxian meant.

Yuxian adjusted his tone and said slowly, "The humans in this world were originally transformed from 'beasts'; they have simply returned to their original form."

"Ah!"

Mash gasped in surprise; the answer was so unexpected that she never would have guessed it.

"This world originally had no humans; it was a world inhabited by 'beasts'."

"Until the Star God came to this world, they wrapped the 'beasts' with their souls and transformed them into beings similar to themselves, namely humans."

"And the Star God Elco is the last Star God."

"Human heroes slay the Star God Elco, kill her, and obtain her soul in order to delay the inevitable collapse of human civilization."

"Unfortunately, at the last moment, someone went offline, and humanity was unable to utilize the soul of the Star God Elco, ultimately leading to their destruction."

Yuxian curled his lip, feeling somewhat disdainful of Mars. He was disconnected at a crucial moment, and Yuxian would never believe it if he said it had nothing to do with him.

Mars must still be somewhere in this world; perhaps we'll run into him again. Yuxian thought to himself.

Mash was shocked by the truth Yuxian revealed; the amount of information was too much for her to process at once.

Speechless for a long time...

Chapter 15, Section 160: Hello—Is anyone there?

The salvage team's work was progressing smoothly, and everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, with everyone looking relaxed.

The fact that the 'beast' had not appeared added a touch of luck to the escort mission.

Yuxian knew that this was because the 'The First Beast of Sighing Moon' was here, and it wasn't just good luck.

A few days later, Yuxian felt that the time was almost right. If he delayed any longer, something terrible might happen. It was time to meet the 'The First Beast of Sighing Moon', who was William's daughter, Elmelia Tiffner.

He summoned everyone.

Once everyone had arrived, Yuxian began, "Next, I plan to explore the depths of the ruins. Let me assign tasks to everyone."

"We want to go together!" Before Yuxian could even explain the arrangements, the kids shouted in unison.

Yuxian looked at them helplessly, knowing it would be difficult to get them to stay, but he didn't expect that they would have already nipped that possibility in the bud before he even opened his mouth.

"Master still owes us one request!" Seeing Yuxian's expression, Gretel Yao knew he had different ideas, so she quickly took out the imperial sword to prevent Yuxian from going back on his word.

"Sigh..." Yuxian sighed and continued, "Then you'll come with me, but you absolutely, absolutely cannot do anything reckless, understand?"

Yuxian solemnly warned them that with their strength, there was certainly no danger to them, but causing trouble was very likely.

This time, the one I'm going to meet isn't someone I can kill casually without a second thought.

Whether it's William's daughter or the Star God Elco, they are both very important key figures, and we must have a good talk with them.

"Okay!" The children agreed readily, Yuxian could only nod, resigning himself to keeping an eye on them.

Yuxian continued to give instructions, "Keter, you all stay near the airship. In case of a 'beast' attack, do your best to protect the airship and Kerong and the others."

"Okay." Keter and the others nodded. Guarding the salvage team was their job this time, so they naturally had no objections.

"William, come with us. This is your hometown, so you should be more familiar with it."

Yuxian glanced at William, thinking it was only right for him to go and meet his daughter.

William smiled and nodded gently. He was indeed very good-tempered and showed no dissatisfaction at all because Yuxian had taken the lead. On the contrary, he cooperated very well with Yuxian.

"Ishtar and Master, are you going?" Yuxian asked the two of them.

With Mash and Heracles providing offense and defense respectively, Yuxian has no shortage of combat personnel around her, so whether they are willing to go or not depends on their own wishes.