Searching for Clues

The shield generator was shaped like an obelisk and had a black-gray metallic sheen.

However, although it looked as though it were made of some kind of metal, the Collectors' scans confirmed that it had nothing to do with metal. Its material was a corrosion-resistant carbon fiber. Due to its special atomic arrangement, it was somewhat stronger than ordinary carbon steel and lighter as well.

Its only drawback was its poor heat resistance.

Unfortunately, this material was of no use to the Collectors, since the carbon fiber they had developed themselves was superior in every respect.

At the base of the shield generator were rows of connected wires leading to dedicated ports.

The Collectors then exploited the special nature of their living bodies, using their roots to etch out a microscopic tunnel just one molecule wide and learn the shield generator's internal structure.

The shield generator left behind by the Hui Civilization was not particularly complex. Inside was a circuit system capable of automatically adjusting voltage, and the current's ultimate destination was an anomaly connected to the Spirit Realm.

When a current of a specific voltage was fed into the anomaly, it produced the shield the Collectors had seen.

The Collectors tried changing the voltage. The result was that the anomaly showed no reaction, no shield was generated, and no excess heat appeared. It felt as though the energy had simply vanished into thin air.

"It should be flowing into the Spirit Realm," one individual guessed.

Another individual added, "Judging by the energy consumption, I believe the incoming current is merely a triggering mechanism."

"With only a current at this energy level flowing in, even if every electron in it underwent matter-antimatter annihilation, the energy released would not be enough to destroy this Kexian building, let alone generate a shield."