Countdown

The stone chamber didn't remain quiet for long.

Shen Moxin pushed open the door and spread a roll of data on the stone table. "Latest monitoring shows the pulse interval has shortened by another quarter of an hour." Her gaze, behind her glasses, swept over Lu Yuan and Yun Youzi. "At this rate, the window of opportunity is at most three months. Pessimistically, two months."

Lu Yuan took the paper and glanced at it.

"Summon the core team." He put down the paper. "Make the calculations and all the risks public. We need to make a choice."

Half an hour later, the stone hall was packed with people.

Lu Yuan stood in front of the wooden platform, with a chart marked with red circles indicating critical points hanging behind him. He laid out the countdown and the terrifying conjecture that the depths of the rift might hide an "Out-of-Control Reconstruction Engine" in the simplest terms.

After saying that, he took half a step back.

"I understand." Lin Xiao was the first to speak, his amber vertical pupils faintly visible in the dim light. "The place right under our feet isn't just a treasure trove, it's a volcano that could explode at any moment. The fuse is burning; it'll be lit in six months at most."

Mo Chen rubbed the ink stains on his fingers, his voice dry. "Evacuation is also risky. The people outside haven't gone far. And this anomalous Source Seed," he pointed to the crystal in the metal box on the table, "Its changes are clearly tied to the crack. Even if we evacuate, who can guarantee it won't cause trouble elsewhere?"

"Then let it stay!" Shi Jian said in a deep voice. "Use the ruins for defense and study them quickly. Maybe we can find a way to control it."

Shen Moxin. "Research takes time, but safety is paramount. The fissure energy could go berserk at any moment; we're essentially conducting an experiment next to a powder keg. If it gets out of control, everyone will perish." She looked at Lu Yuan, "I prefer to evacuate. While external pressure eases, let's take our existing findings and supplies and find a new base. Preserving our lives and the Core Flame knowledge is more important than gambling on some vague 'secret.'"

"Give up?" Lin Xiao scoffed. "Mr. Shen, didn't you leave the academy in the first place to find the ' Key ' to break the rules? The secret of this rift might very well be related to the essence of the Shackles '! Now the Key might be right in front of us, and you're telling me to give up? What about all our previous adventures? All for nothing!"

Shen Moxin's face paled slightly, but her tone remained firm. "Exploring the truth does not equate to blindly throwing our lives away. If the price is the destruction of the entire team, then the 'truth' we obtain is meaningless."

"Perhaps there will be other opportunities in the future," a middle-aged Soul Master in charge of logistics whispered.

"The future?" Yun Youzi had been silent all along, spoke, his voice aged yet clear. "In my decades of travels, I've discovered that there will likely never be another 'secret' like the ' Gate of Finality,' one that even the ' Eye of Shadow ' deeply fears, and one that ancient sages explored on such a scale... If we abandon this place, we may very well face the same unsolvable, or even more hopeless, predicament in the future."

The debate is getting increasingly heated.

Those advocating evacuation emphasize the survival baseline, while those advocating exploration focus on long-term breakthroughs. Both sides have valid points, and both involve life and death.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

He leaned against the stone wall, his gaze sweeping over every excited face. The unwillingness in Lin Xiao's eyes, the struggle between Shen Moxin's brows, the trembling of Mo Chen's fingertips, Shi Jian's clenched fists... and Su Yan at the edge of the crowd, his back straight, his eyes focused on him.

The pressure was like a mountain pressing down on us.

Rationally speaking, Shen Moxin was right. The optimal solution seemed to be to evacuate. But deep down, the soul of an explorer was roaring. The allure of the rift's depths drew him in like a magnet. And Yun Youzi was right—such an opportunity might not come again.

That anomalous Source Seed, like an invisible thread, bound them firmly to the rift. Could escape truly solve the problem?

The commotion gradually subsided. Everyone realized that the final decision rested with Lu Yuan. Heavy gazes fell upon him.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, walked to the wooden platform, and placed his finger on the red critical line.

"Explore."

The stone hall fell silent instantly.

"But it must be done in stages and within limits." Lu Yuan spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly. "First, we must utilize the relatively safe window of time ahead—at most three months. Our priority is to fully enhance the team's overall strength. Especially for myself, I must recover as quickly as possible, improve my cultivation, and attempt to control the energy of that anomalous Source Seed."

He looked at Mo Chen and Shen Moxin: "Secondly, develop more reliable detection and protection methods. Design remote energy sensing probes, space stability monitoring instruments, impact-resistant talismans, temporary space Stabilization Anchor... anything that can save lives during deep exploration."

Finally, turning to Lin Xiao and Shi Jian said, "Third, combat personnel should intensify their training and practice various emergency evacuation plans. Prepare for the worst."

"Then," Lu Yuan moved his finger from the critical line forward, stopping a short distance from the red line, "A period of time before the critical point arrives—the exact timing will be determined based on subsequent monitoring—organize a top-tier team to conduct a final, and most thorough, exploration of the fissure."

He looked up.

"There is only one goal: to obtain enough critical information to assess the risk level and potential gains. With this information, we will decide whether to ultimately attempt to 'intervene' and control the situation, or... to completely 'abandon' and evacuate everyone."

silence.

Yun Youzi nodded slowly. "Limited exploration, with a well-prepared evacuation plan... this is the most rational choice at present."

Shen Moxin was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "At least it gave us the opportunity to gather information and make more accurate judgments."

Lin Xiao licked his canine teeth, a sharp glint in his eyes. "That's more like it."

The goal is clear.

From that day on, the "Land Where the Spark First Ignited" entered a highly efficient and tense "preparedness" state. Even walking became a bit faster.

Lu Yuan devoted more time to his own cultivation and research on the abnormal Source Seed. In the isolation stone chamber, he carefully guided out a trace of chaotic energy released by the crystal and tried to absorb and analyze it using the improved Soul Power model. The process was slow and accompanied by stinging pain in his meridians, but the unique characteristics of that energy, which were different from ordinary Soul Power, made him see the possibility of further evolution of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

Yun Youzi became the chief consultant for the technical breakthrough. The old man combined ancient rune knowledge with Lu Yuan's system theory and Mo Chen's Soul Tool practice. One design sketch after another was laid out: the "Truth Listener" probe for remotely sensing abnormal energy, the "Star Stabilization Instrument" for monitoring the spatial stability coefficient, the "Rock" talisman to resist energy impact, and most importantly, the prototype of the "Temporary Space Anchor" that attempted to forcibly stabilize a small area when energy went berserk.

Mo Chen and Shen Moxin's research team worked day and night, inscribing runes, smelting metals, and testing circuits. Failures were commonplace, but every small step forward was exhilarating.

Lin Xiao and Shi Jian led the combat personnel to a safe area outside the ruins. They conducted combat training, tactical coordination, and practiced evacuation routes. Lin Xiao even devised several insidious tactics to delay the enemy by utilizing the complex terrain.

Su Yan was in charge of recording and organizing all the monitoring data. He sat at the fissure observation point, watching the water leak and the array of sensing runes, meticulously recording the precise time and intensity changes of each pulsation. The data sheets piled higher and higher, and the curve representing the rising frequency became increasingly steep.

Everyone knew that the next few months would determine the ultimate fate of this new group of students.

late at night.

Most people had already rested. Lu Yuan sat alone in a small cubicle next to the energy room, with the latest Simulation data spread out in front of him. The red line representing the critical point stretched across the top, while the trend line calculated based on the latest monitoring data was slowly approaching upwards at a heart-stopping angle.

The charcoal pencil swirls between my fingertips.

As Lu Yuan looked at the constantly fluctuating, seemingly alive, Simulation data, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

This exploration may not be just about deciding whether to stay or leave.

It's more like a threshold, a barrier on his path to the "Key," a hurdle that requires wisdom, courage, and a bit of luck to truly overcome.

He put down the charcoal pencil and rubbed his throbbing temples.

Outside the window, a faint, deep, and rhythmic pulsation emanated from the depths of the ruins, like the heartbeat of some immense being in its slumber, striking again and again in the silent night.