"You mean... the True Great Ruins?"
The girl looked thoughtful, a glimmer of contemplation passing through her beautiful, differently colored eyes.
"I understand."
At that, Yu Tiezhu looked utterly confused and hurriedly asked, "What? What do you understand?"
"Buddy, could there be other people who entered this place?"
Wu Yu glanced at him and said, "Once you get back, either move immediately without leaving any information behind, or contact Liu Zheng right away and get protection from the Inspection Bureau."
"Keep an eye on what changes afterward, but don't go searching online for information about the Tower or secret realms!"
"Huh? I was planning to look it up online when I got back."
Yu Tiezhu didn't think much of it and smiled. "You're smarter than me, buddy. I'll listen to you."
"Good. Go rescue him."
Tall and sturdy, Yu Tiezhu took the initiative to tear open the cocoon and rescue the man inside.
Meanwhile, Wu Yu tossed out a small stone, blasting a pit nearby, and buried the ancient martial artist's remains in it.
The man had left no name, so after filling in the grave, Wu Yu could only place a stone slab over it. Communication posed no problems in the [Newcomer Secret Realm], but from his observations in Redfang Village, its spoken and written languages were clearly different, so he couldn't be bothered to carve anything.
Before long, Yu Tiezhu pulled Liu Zheng out.
Liu Zheng's breathing was barely perceptible. If his heart hadn't still been beating, anyone looking at him would have thought he was dead.
Wu Yu took out a flask of Spirit Wine and poured some into his mouth.
A moment later!
Liu Zheng's eyes snapped open, and he looked around weakly.
"Who is it!?"
"You two?"
Liu Zheng took a deep breath and patted himself down, discovering that most of his equipment had been looted.
Rather than fly into a rage, however, he swiped a finger across the space between his eyebrows!
A red line appeared, and several new pieces of equipment and injections dropped out.
Is that a spatial spirit energy chip?
Wu Yu watched in astonishment.
Even the Black Crow Merchant Guild didn't have anything like that!
Liu Zheng picked up a red injection and jabbed it into himself. His face immediately flushed, and his breathing steadied considerably.
His weakened body recovered at a visible pace, his complexion gradually improving.
"Where are we?"
He looked around, rubbing his temples.
"Lostway Cave."
Wu Yu said, "We fought our way in and happened to find you captive."
"Unfortunately, we couldn't save the others."
His face was full of regret.
"Is that so?"
Liu Zheng believed him and sighed. "Even the surest horse can stumble. I thought it would be over after I killed those two Transcendent Martial Artists. I didn't expect someone else to ambush me!"
"Anyway, thank you!"
"By the way, you didn't see the Mountain Lord, did you?"
"No." Wu Yu shook his head. "Someone lured the Mountain Lord toward the nearby Evacuation Point."
"Huh? Then we'd better leave!"
Startled, Liu Zheng hurriedly put on his new Psionic Belt and other equipment, then took out his [Bronze Token] for a look.
"The mist is almost here!"
"Let's get going before the Mountain Lord comes back!"
Hearing that,
Wu Yu exchanged a glance with the other two and agreed. "Let's follow Inspector Liu's lead."
"Right! Right! We'll do as Lord Liu says!" Yu Tiezhu caught on immediately and promptly agreed.
The girl also smiled with her lips pressed together and obediently voiced her agreement.
Having regained control of the situation, Liu Zheng felt his dignity restored and positively glowed.
"Let's go!"
By the time they emerged from Lostway Cave, the night was almost over.
That also meant the third day was about to begin!
After leaving Lostway Cave, Wu Yu glanced back but ultimately gave up on retrieving the remaining small stones.
He had no intention of using the nearest Evacuation Point, which was why he had invoked the Mountain Lord's name to mislead Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng had no idea Wu Yu was lying. He opened the [Map], took a look, and immediately chose the Evacuation Point at the end of the main road!
"Quick! Follow me!"
The sky gradually brightened.
The moon disappeared amid a sea of clouds. Shafts of sunlight split the horizon and passed through the dense canopy, leaving only dappled patches of light on their bodies.
The mountain trails were difficult to traverse, but fortunately, the distance wasn't great.
Liu Zheng gradually calmed down and began asking about what had just happened.
But the three had already coordinated their stories, so they naturally gave nothing away.
Unable to figure out what had happened, Liu Zheng could only remark on their good luck. Perhaps the Mountain Lord had gone off to hunt someone else!
Before long, they reached the main road and approached the Evacuation Point.
As soon as they arrived, Wu Yu spotted their destination.
Several hundred meters away stood the hazy projection of an enormous magic circle, seemingly suspended between reality and illusion.
"That's the Evacuation Point!"
Liu Zheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately led them over.
When they reached the projected magic circle, all of them saw a panel.
[Evacuation Point] Evacuation countdown: 10 minutes.
"Even evacuation has a countdown?"
Liu Zheng frowned and muttered to himself.
"Looks like evacuation isn't entirely safe either. If we're attacked during the countdown..."
As he spoke, he strode inside and seemed to see another panel.
Wu Yu considered it briefly, then stepped inside as well.
A separate panel split off from the original and began counting down!
9 minutes 59 seconds, 9 minutes 58 seconds, 9 minutes 57 seconds...
"I can finally go home!"
Yu Tiezhu stepped inside, his expression excited.
The girl also breathed a sigh of relief, delight shining in her eyes.
Liu Zheng fiddled with his drone and cursed, "Damn it! The data chips are all broken."
"All that work for nothing!"
He sighed and glanced at the others. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately said nothing.
Ten minutes later!
The panel's countdown ended, and new information appeared.
Notice: Beginning evacuation! Notice: Unifying time and space!
In an instant, the scene before them changed.
When Wu Yu came to his senses, he found himself back in the Tower.
He was still sitting in his chair, with a dazzling nebula swirling above the tabletop before him.
Notice: [Newcomer Secret Realm] has ended! Notice: Settlement panel (think "open" to access). Notice: Your next destination will be the True Great Ruins! Return countdown: 9 minutes 59 seconds.
Just like the display that had appeared when they entered the Great Ruins, this panel was visible to all of them.
"We can go back in ten minutes!"
"Settlement panel? Wait, my injuries are healing!"
"Huh? Little Liu!"
"Bai Xiaotian, you survived too!"
Only six of the Tower's nine seats were occupied.
Some were excited, while others were confused.
Bai Xiaotian, in particular, stared at Liu Zheng in astonishment, his face filled with bewilderment.
Dressed in ancient-style cloth garments, Liu Yu held an Oil Lamp in his hand and still looked half asleep.
Wu Yu silently glanced over everyone before his gaze finally settled on the nebula.
With a thought, he opened a new panel.
[Newcomer Secret Realm] has ended. Beginning settlement! Successfully evacuated! Base rating: D−! Killed one bandit! Rating: D− → D! Killed ten bandits! Rating: D → D+! Killed one hundred bandits! Rating: D+ → C−! Killed one bandit leader! Rating: C− → C! Killed ten bandit leaders! Rating: C → C+! Killed the bandit Chief! Rating: C+ → B− → B! Killed the Mountain Lord! Rating: B → B+ → A−! Completed hidden quest [Lost Token]! Rating: A− → A! Completed hidden quest [Divine Blood Immortality]! Rating: A → A+! Newcomer privilege! Rating: A+ → Legendary! External item used: Diamond Badge. Contribution below one percent. Rating unchanged. Final rating: Legendary! Please select your rewards...
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