Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 64 The Sealed Shelter

Two hundred meters further along the main drainage road, the surrounding scenery becomes increasingly distorted and bizarre.

The walls were covered with layers of fleshy fungi, their surfaces densely covered with pale cilia.

A cold wind blew by, and these cilia swayed in unison, like countless tiny ghostly hands beckoning in the darkness.

"Boss, over there!"

Chiba stopped and pointed his short sword at a collapsed gap to his side.

The originally sealed load-bearing wall has cracked open with a large hole. The bricks and stones around the hole show no signs of explosion or impact, only corrosion marks from being dissolved by strong acid, with edges as smooth as a mirror.

The cut edges of the opening, under dim light, exhibit a strange silver-gray texture.

"This is a high-strength military-grade composite layer!" Chiba ran his fingertip across the broken edge, his eyes gleaming. "The things hidden inside this level of building material would fetch an astronomical price on the black market!"

"Wait a minute."

Rod reached out to stop the fox woman who was about to crawl in, his gaze sweeping over the inconspicuous gray bricks at the edge of the cave entrance.

[Analysis of the viewpoint] reveals the truth behind the wall's survival to this day—it was originally a concealed fortification with special camouflage.

A faint white sphere of light floated on the surface of the brickwork:

[Inferior Aura Shielding (White, Common)]: Slightly masks the scent and heat of living beings within a certain range. While not very effective, it's enough to fool mindless low-level monsters.

Rod's mind raced.

Since the buff is still active, it means that the defensive spell has not been completely destroyed and there are no high-energy monsters nesting inside.

While it wasn't absolutely safe, the three of them were at least capable of handling the monsters inside.

"It should be fine. We can go in now, but be careful."

With Rhodes's approval, Chiba used the agility characteristic of an assassin to nimbly slip into the cave entrance.

Rod and Ivy followed closely behind.

After passing through the narrow opening, the view suddenly opened up.

This is a lounge... or rather, a small changing room.

Several rows of rusty iron cabinets lay sprawled on the ground, while the long wooden table in the middle was rotten and barely maintained its shape.

There are no nauseating mutations of flesh and blood here; instead, it's like an isolated island sealed in a time capsule, perfectly preserving the moment when the disaster struck two hundred years ago.

Scattered on the ground were yellowed playing cards, shriveled enamel cups, and several human skeletons leaning against the corner of the wall.

These skeletons did not turn into ghouls.

They were wearing tattered work clothes and their postures were contorted.

Most chillingly, the finger bones of some of the skeletons had mutated and grown and fused with the metal wrenches in their hands, becoming indistinguishable from each other.

In the corner, there was a skeleton with a broken skull, and inside the chest cavity, where the ribs should have been, half a rusty metal gas canister was embedded.

"They...committed suicide to prevent assimilation?"

Avira stared at the skeleton that had shoved a revolver into its mouth, feeling a tightness in her throat.

"Death is a mercy than becoming a monster outside."

Rod walked to the long table and his gaze fell on a notebook wrapped in oilcloth.

It was a thick work diary—the paper was yellowed and brittle, but thanks to the protection of the oilcloth, the writing was still faintly legible.

Rod turned to the first page, and a musty, stale smell wafted out.

[Guild Era 569, Frost Month, 12th Day]

[Damn it, what are those lunatics at the Royal Academy thinking? His Highness the Grand Duke actually approved it! They let us connect that "living pump" we dug out of the ancient ship's core to the main water supply! It's alive! I swear I heard it screaming in the pipes!]

Rhodes frowned slightly and turned the page.

[Guild Era 569, Frost Month, 15th Day]

Old George is missing. We found his wetsuit by the sedimentation tank in Zone C-4… but there was no one inside, just a puddle of pink jelly. Good heavens, that thing ate him! No, that thing turned into him!

[Guild Era 569, Frost Month, 17th Day]

[It's sealed off! All the exits have been welded shut by those royal guards in steam-powered armor! They're going to lock us up with that thing! The Grand Duke says it's a "necessary sacrifice for evolution"... To hell with evolution! That thing is growing, it's assimilating everything... metal, water, even light...]

The handwriting in the diary became increasingly messy and distorted, with each stroke revealing the writer's extreme fear and despair at the time.

[Last record]

[It's here. It's talking to me. My hands have turned into wrenches... my lungs have turned into gas cylinders... this feeling... is so warm...]

The last words turned into an unrecognizable blot of ink, and on that blot of ink grew a small cluster of pink fleshy buds, which were still pulsating slightly.

"Smack."

Rhodes closed the journal, his face grave.

The log confirmed his conjecture—the anomalies here were not natural disasters, but rather typical man-made calamities.

230 years ago, Grand Duke Carlton attempted to dabble in the forbidden technology of the "Demigod Era," which ultimately led to the infamous "Great Sinking," turning the entire capital into the underground graveyard it is today.

That so-called "living pump" is probably the culprit behind the slight ancient god contamination in this area.

"Greed and ignorance are often more deadly than monsters."

Rhodes put the journal into his pocket.

Although the Duchy of Carlton has long since perished, this journal records the original characteristics of that "living core," making it priceless to some black market collectors.

"Boss, come quick, look at this!" Chiba's voice came from deep within the room, filled with undisguised surprise. "I found a safe! This model... was used by high-ranking officials at the Carlton Royal Technical Bureau back in the day. There's definitely something good inside!"

Rod pulled himself together and strode over.

Behind the collapsed iron cabinet, a black metal box embedded in the wall was revealed.

The box is engraved with intricate runes, and even after more than two hundred years, it still shimmers with a faint magical glow.

"Can it be opened?"

"It used to take three days and three nights." Chiba brandished the thin wire in his hand, his eyes gleaming with confidence. "Now that the lock cylinder is aging, as long as we find that key point..."

She pressed her face against the safe, her ear against the cold door, her fingers turning the wire with utmost precision.

"Click".

With a snap, the heavy safe door opened a crack, and a pure aura of magic spilled out.

Chiba eagerly opened the box, but the smile on her face instantly froze.

There were no gold coins or gems inside as one might have imagined.

The empty box contained only a fist-sized, dusty stone.

The stone's surface was pitted and uneven, lacking any luster, making it look like a roadside stone that could be found anywhere.

"This... is it over?" Chiba's face was full of disappointment. "All that effort for this piece of junk?"

Rod squinted.

In the [Analysis View], this unassuming stone is radiating a dazzling orange light, a characteristic of epic items.

[Inactive Titan Core]

The power source of ancient megastructures.

Status: Energy depleted, internal intricate runic structure intact.

Entry:

[Magic Hub (Orange)]: Originating from the core control unit of the Colossus in the Demigod Era War. Possessing absolute control over magical power, it can instantly analyze and process multiple high-level spell models in parallel, granting the user near-instantaneous casting speed and perfect control over magical power, greatly reducing the risk of spell backlash.

[Self-Repair (Purple)]: Memory repair runes engraved at the microscopic level. As long as a trace of energy remains in the core, damaged mechanical structures or equipment will automatically absorb surrounding matter for active reconstruction, granting inorganic matter an "indestructible" property comparable to biological regeneration.

[Energy Conversion (Blue)]: Extremely high energy compatibility and conversion logic. It can efficiently filter and convert external heat, kinetic energy, or radiation into pure universal magic power. It can be used as a "universal adapter" to drive magical devices of any attribute, ignoring energy rejection reactions.

"No, Chiba."

Rhodes crouched down, unable to resist gently stroking the rough texture of the stone's surface, his eyes reflecting the light-colored label that only he could see.

"Don't measure it by the standards of ordinary gold coins. This is a priceless treasure that even the entire Rust Harbor couldn't buy."