I Am the Key

The "door" has changed.

The light in front of the stone gate collapsed inward, not closing off, but accepting. The moment Lu Yuan's Soul Power frequency aligned with the stone gate's correction request, the crack came alive.

Behind the door, chaos spun and stretched, forming an extremely unstable passage where light and shattered scenes intertwined, and the edges constantly exploded and annihilated. A massive suction force emanated from the depths of the passage, pulling at Lu Yuan's body and soul.

The image of Lin Xiao falling flashed by.

Lu Yuan spoke, his words coming out incredibly fast. "I'll take the ' Source Seed ' in to try and calibrate it."

Yun Youzi turned his head sharply. "You're alone? In there—"

"The only chance," Lu Yuan interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over his teammates. "Success might stabilize this area. Failure could cause the stone gate to spiral out of control, triggering an explosion or collapse."

He paused, his voice growing deeper.

"Therefore you must evacuate immediately, according to the final plan, as far away as possible. Do not wait for a signal."

Shen Moxin's lips trembled, unable to speak. Mo Chen leaned against the Stabilization Anchor base, his right arm hanging limply at his side, blood seeping from the wound on his left arm, but his eyes shone with a frightening light.

"This is too dangerous!" Yun Youzi exclaimed anxiously, "What's the difference between this and suicide!"

Lu Yuan looked at the old man.

"This is my path." His eyes were calm, a fire burning beneath them. "Only my ' Key ' possesses the unique quality that might offer a glimmer of hope."

He rarely addressed people by their names directly. "Senior, Mo Chen, Moxin."

"Please, help everyone survive."

Shen Moxin nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face. Mo Chen nodded heavily once more.

Lu Yuan took one last look at Lin Xiao's blood-stained face.

Then he moved. He ripped off the sealed leather pouch at his waist—inside were the mutated "Source Seed" and the core notes. He took off everything else: Soul Power crystals, protective talismans, medicines, and light armor, and piled them at his feet.

"Take these with you."

With only thirty breaths remaining, the surrounding shadows began to stir again, colliding with the edge of the light, and the stability of the passage continued to decline.

Lu Yuan didn't delay any longer.

"If... I don't come back," he said softly, "The seed of ' Spark ' is already in each of your hearts. Don't forget why we set out."

Having said that, he turned around.

His Soul Power surged violently, and the phantom of the Blue Silver Grass burned behind him, transforming into a band of silver and pale gold light. The "Source Seed" within his skin pulsed intensely, echoing the energy deep within the stone gate.

He took a step forward.

His entire being transformed into a stream of light, rushing straight and resolutely into the gap where light and chaos intertwined wildly!

"Lu Yuan--!" Shen Moxin cried out.

The sound was drowned out.

The moment the figure touched the crevice, the stone gate erupted with indescribable chaotic light, bursting open like a tangible tide! The remaining dark red shadow instantly melted and vaporized, and the chaotic vortex in the distance twisted violently.

The entire underground space trembled violently. Giant rocks crumbled, and suspended platforms tilted and crashed. Turbulent energy currents howled like ghosts.

Blinded by the bright light, Yun Youzi roared, "Go! Do as he says!"

He carried Lin Xiao on his back. Mo Chen deactivated the Stabilization Anchor and grabbed the supply pack. Shen Moxin Soul Power into the acceleration Soul Tool, and a whirlwind enveloped the three of them.

Braving the blinding light and the crumbling environment, they desperately surged upwards along the path they had come from.

Behind them, the gap in the stone gate rapidly narrowed.

The moment the gates closed, a long sigh echoed from the depths of the ruins, resounding directly at the soul level. It was a mixture of billions of years of solitude, the regret of a failed experiment, the weariness of a long wait, and a faint trace of expectation.

The gap was completely closed.

The stone gate has been restored to its original, rustic appearance, standing quietly at the core of the gradually calming vortex.

But the changes have already occurred.

A peaceful yet vast energy fluctuation, like a starry sea, rippled slowly outwards from the closed stone gate. Wherever the ripples passed, the violent energy field was smoothed and stabilized. The remaining shadowy auras stagnated and dissipated. Collapsed fragments floated in mid-air. The ghostly howls weakened and returned to silence.

The tremors from the ruins stopped.

Upper lobby.

Shi Jian paced back and forth at the entrance of the crevice, each step heavy. Behind him, all the remaining team members stared intently at the bottomless crevice, their faces tense.

The agreed deadline is fast approaching.

A muffled roar suddenly came from deep within the fissure, followed by violent tremors!

"Something's happened down there!"

Shi Jian's face was ashen. He channeled his Soul Power into his legs to steady himself, his eyes fixed on the cave entrance.

The tremors lasted for about ten breaths, then suddenly weakened and completely subsided.

A profound tranquility replaced the previous oppressive feeling, slowly spreading outwards.

In a flash of light, three disheveled figures tumbled and scrambled out.

Yun Youzi, carrying Lin Xiao on his shoulder, leaned against the rock wall, panting heavily. Shen Moxin collapsed to her knees as soon as she came out, covering her face with her hands and trembling. Mo Chen's face was ashen, his right arm was bent unnaturally, and blood was seeping from the bandage on his left arm.

"Where is Lu Yuan?" Shi Jian asked, supporting Yun Youzi. His voice was strained.

Yun Youzi shook his head in anguish and pointed to the depths of the rift.

Shi Jian's heart sank.

Li Wangye knelt down to examine Lin Xiao. "Still alive! He's severely injured and has lost blood, his Soul Power is disordered, but his life is temporarily out of danger! He needs immediate treatment!"

"Save him!" Shi Jian roared. The team members stepped forward, lifted Lin Xiao, and carried him to the medical point.

Su Yan silently handed over water and a cloth.

Shen Moxin, tears still wet on her cheeks, her eyes red and swollen. She gazed into the deep crevice, her voice trembling, "He went in... the stone door closed..."

Everyone understood.

The hall was deathly silent. Only heavy breathing and a silent, mournful lament could be heard.

After a long while, Shen Moxin suddenly remembered something and hurriedly pulled out a palm-sized precision metal compass from her inner pocket—an experimental product that Lu Yuan and Mo Chen had tinkered with a long time ago, capable of remotely monitoring specific energy sources. Lu Yuan had adjusted the sensing target and handed it to her for safekeeping.

She pressed the activation rune with trembling hands.

The compass needle swung wildly from side to side, almost leaping off the dial. After a few breaths, the swaying began to decrease and slow down.

Finally, under everyone's breathless gaze, the pointer slowly and steadily came to a stop in the center of a blank area on the dial that had never been marked before.

It stopped perfectly still, without the slightest tremor. The Soul Power crystal at the core of the compass emitted a soft, constant glow, no longer flickering.

What does this mean? Extremely stable energy source? Connection established? Energy neutralization?

Nobody knows.

Shen Moxin held the compass, tears silently streaming down her face once more.

Yun Youzi let out a long breath, a complex and unreadable expression appearing on his tired face.

Shi Jian stared at the stationary pointer for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Then he turned around and faced all his teammates, his back ramrod straight.

"Take a headcount, check the wounded, and replenish supplies." His voice was hoarse but strong. "After an incense stick's time, evacuate at full speed according to the final plan."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over each face.

"Lu Yuan has entrusted us with the tasks of 'surviving' and 'what will happen in the future'."

"Don't let him go in for nothing."

No one spoke. A silent, heavy force passed among the survivors. People began to move silently, packing their belongings, helping the wounded, and checking their equipment.

Su Yan walked to Shen Moxin's side, silently handed her a clean cloth, and then helped tidy up the scattered research materials. His movements were steady and precise, just slower than usual.

Mo Chen tightened the bandage on his left arm wound with his still-mobile right hand, wincing in pain but uttering no sound. He looked towards the crack, the researcher's flame burning deeper and darker in the depths of his eyes.

Yun Youzi took one last look at the deep, dark entrance, then staggered back to assist in directing the evacuation.

The upper hall bustled with activity once more, carrying the weariness of surviving a catastrophe and the pain of losing companions, as well as the heavy burden of the "future" that must be borne.

Deep within the rift, in the abyss that had returned to deathly silence, only the pointer of the small compass in Shen Moxin's hand stubbornly remained at an unknown mark, emitting a faint yet enduring light.

It was as if the door was closed, but the "Key" was not entirely unresponsive.