Ambush

The two of them arrived at the outer factory area, where the ground was littered with the bodies of soldiers lying in disarray.

Most had been shot through the forehead, and with Shen Yiyue’s [Future Reading] ability, they had hardly been able to put up a fight.

Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue followed the flow of light energy along the assembly line until they reached the device responsible for forging the Soul Gems.

The energy had already begun to weaken significantly, likely due to the fact that they had just eliminated all the soldiers.

No new energy was being injected into the flesh-and-blood assembly line anymore.

“Xiao Yu, take a look at this.”

Shen Yiyue found a storage compartment near the device and pulled it open. Inside, two or three Soul Gems lay quietly.

“These...”

As she took the Soul Gems out, she suddenly remembered the Awakened who had died earlier.

These dazzling, radiant gems were actually forged from the lives of living people.

The thought made the octahedron in her hand feel scorching, so she handed it over to Ning Yu.

[Ding! You have obtained an item: Soul Gem (Small)]

[Ding! You have obtained an item: Soul Gem (Small)]

...

All of these were small Soul Gems.

Medium-sized Soul Gems might require more advanced extraction techniques or stronger mutated zombies as vessels to devour more energy from Awakened individuals to be created.

Ning Yu held the Soul Gems in her hand without hesitation. She didn’t have as many reservations.

These Soul Gems had already been forged, and even if they weren’t used, the souls of the poor souls who had perished would never return.

So why not...

Without hesitation, she converted all the Soul Gems into Akashic Power.

The mission progress had now reached 32%.

Ning Yu glanced at the map. They weren’t far from the coordinates Lacy had specified.

The survivors had already reached the entrance of the passageway, and a few of them suddenly waved at the two of them.

Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue exchanged a glance, stepping over the powder of Soul Gems, and walked toward them.

“Are you two going to rescue the other trapped Awakened?”

As the two approached, they pointed to a few oddly shaped carts nearby.

“Yes.”

They didn’t actually know which Awakened were still trapped underground.

But since they were going to destroy the altars and collect Soul Gems to gain more Akashic Power, it could be considered as such.

“You can use these to move around. The soldiers used them to transport us here.”

As they spoke, they had already boarded the carts in small groups, leaving one for Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue.

These Awakened likely wanted to return to their base to warn their unaware comrades. Whether they would succeed, they could only wish them luck.

Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue also boarded one of the carts. Its body was made of some kind of mechanical metal, and it was unclear what powered it.

Once they were seated, Ning Yu found the ignition button, and the cart began to vibrate.

Ning Yu suddenly stood up and lifted the cover at the front of the cart.

As the cart started, the area that should have been the engine now revealed a small floating octahedron.

It was much smaller than the small Soul Gems but clearly of the same nature.

Seeing this, Ning Yu let out a soft sigh but said nothing.

The cart seemed to be specially designed for underground travel, as the narrow tunnels of the underground facility could accommodate two carts side by side at most.

The surviving Awakened had already disappeared into the winding passages.

The two of them, however, headed toward the coordinates marked by Lacy.

......

Some time later.

“It’s just ahead.”

The two of them got off the cart and looked toward the large space at the end of the tunnel. Inside was an altar with a serial number, the very coordinates Lacy had provided.

“Could there be an ambush?”

Shen Yiyue cautiously observed the surroundings, tying up her long black hair.

“Even if there is, we still need to go. It’s a possibility we have to face.”

Ning Yu summoned her Blood Kite, letting it hover by her side.

“If we encounter an unsolvable situation, we’ll just do it again.”

Ning Yu turned to Shen Yiyue, her expression somewhat complicated.

With each additional time loop, the strain on Shen Yiyue’s brain would increase, which weighed on Ning Yu’s conscience.

“Alright.”

Shen Yiyue smiled carelessly at Ning Yu and took her hand.

“As long as Xiao Yu is with me, I’m not afraid of how many times we have to repeat.”

The altar soon came into view, and Ning Yu’s eyes widened slightly. Floating in the center was a massive Soul Gem.

It was larger than any they had encountered before.

However, looking around, there was no sign of the mutated zombie that should have been guarding it.

Ning Yu used her Blood Kite to destroy the hidden circuit core beneath the altar, deactivating it, and then took the Soul Gem from within.

[Ding! You have obtained an item: Soul Gem (Large)]

As expected, it was a large Soul Gem. The underground circuits were clearly designed with care, distributing Soul Gems of varying sizes based on construction difficulty and distance.

“Thud!”

The moment she began converting the Soul Gem, a massive metal door suddenly fell to the ground. A blue ripple spread across the doorframe, quickly becoming intensely bright.

Ning Yu turned her head, the golden vortex mark on her forehead having just absorbed the gray light from the large Soul Gem.

Her Akashic Power had increased by a full 5% in one go.

“Xiao Yu.”

Shen Yiyue called out softly, her expression grave, as she also looked toward the metal door.

“Ugh...”

“Roar....”

From behind the door, a horde of mutated zombies began to pour out—The Glutton, The Greedy One, The Lustful, The Slothful, and a few Wrathful Ones.

The Wrathful Ones were bent over, barely managing to squeeze through the door.

These mutated zombies were different from the ones they had encountered before. They all had one common trait: they were semi-cybernetic.

Their combat abilities were far superior to those of ordinary mutated zombies.

And...

Ning Yu noticed the mechanical signals flashing on their bodies. They were clearly being controlled.

“There was an ambush after all.”

She murmured softly, the Blood Kite hovering in her right palm beginning to stir.

Shen Yiyue took out various weapons from the arsenal on her back, making sure to load her enchanted pistol with bullets.

This was their final means of initiating a time loop.

The mutated zombies didn’t rush to attack. Instead, they formed a circle around the two, filling the vast underground space centered around the altar.

Their menacing gazes were all fixed on the two in the middle.