Three Days

Hong Yuan responded loudly as she unloaded the heavy giant axe from her shoulder. She gripped the axe handle with a backhand hold and strode at the very front of the group, eager to finish this dim journey back.

She turned her head to look at her companions a few steps behind, her loud voice echoing in the passage: "When we get back, I'm definitely going to have a massive feast, and none of you better try to stop me."

"Alright, my treat when we get back."

Su Yuehe's gentle voice drifted down the passage. The tense muscles on her face finally relaxed slowly, revealing shallow dimples on her cheeks.

"As long as everyone makes it back safely, you can eat whatever you want."

The girl's gaze then fell on Chen Guan. Although the heavy worry in her eyes had mostly faded, a trace of lingering fear remained between her brows.

"Chen Guan, are you really feeling okay?"

Su Yuehe deliberately lowered her voice, her tone carrying a cautious probe.

The previous experience of her soul being submerged by endless sorrow was too real. She simply couldn't imagine how much pressure Chen Guan had endured facing the source alone.

"I'm fine."

Chen Guan met the girl's concerned gaze and gave a steady reply.

Chen Guan felt helpless inwardly. This was the third time; it seemed Su Yuehe was truly worried about him.

There was an inexplicable emotion welling up in his heart.

He knew that although the explanation he gave deliberately omitted many details, the overall narrative did not deviate from the truth.

It was just that the hidden version behind this matter, the truth about the Lord of Nothingness guiding the world to extinction, was simply too bizarre. In fact, Chen Guan also didn't dare to be certain that what Baal told him was absolutely correct.

However, even if Baal had fabricated some parts, it couldn't all be nonsense; there had to be some credibility to it.

But was what Baal knew definitely the truth?

When He was born, the Lord of Nothingness had already died with the real truth.

Under Hong Yuan's lead, the group began to retrace their steps along the passage they had come from.

The chaotic sounds of footsteps echoed back and forth in the empty stone corridor, diluting much of the solemn atmosphere around them.

Long Ao remained silent, walking on Chen Guan's right side. He didn't ask a single question, merely using this act of walking side by side to express his trust.

An Changqing stayed at the very back of the group to cover the rear. He constantly kept an eye out for any movement on the surrounding rock walls while communicating with the people ahead in a gentle tone.

"The results of this exploration have indeed exceeded our original expectations, but it also came with considerable risks."

"Yuehe, the data you need should have all been collected. We can slowly summarize and organize it once we get back."

"Mhm."

Su Yuehe nodded gently in response. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her portable terminal, looking down to confirm the data jumping on the screen.

"I have completely recorded the characteristics of that ancient civilization. This is absolutely a major discovery capable of changing our current understanding."

At this point, the girl couldn't help but look up at Chen Guan walking ahead, complex emotions surging in her clear eyes.

The prerequisite for obtaining this major discovery was Chen Guan, this unique key.

The long passage finally came to an end. When a glimmer of light that did not belong to the inside of the ruins shone through the gap ahead, everyone felt their spirits lift.

Hong Yuan was the first to rush out of the cave entrance. She spread her arms and tilted her head up, taking a deep breath of the crisp air carrying the scent of ice and snow.

"Ah! The air outside smells so much better!"

She shouted heartily, as if wanting to exhale all the pent-up gloom in her chest.

Then, she suddenly shivered, shrinking back behind Yin Chen and quietly rubbing against Yin Chen's shield.

She couldn't help it; it was too cold outside to let her show off blindly.

The others also successively walked out of the cave entrance, returning to the world of ice and snow outside.

The bright light caused momentary discomfort to their eyes, but the reassuring feeling of seeing the light of day again made everyone relax.

Yin Chen raised his hand to block the glaring light. He looked around, magnificently ignoring a certain shivering redhead.

Let her be. Anyway, he couldn't possibly really leave Hong Yuan to freeze to death in the snow.

Roughly determining the direction, Yin Chen said, "Let's go, while it's still early."

As they were leaving, Chen Guan's footsteps paused. He turned his head, his gaze passing over his companions and falling on that weather-beaten boundary monument.

He merely looked at it for a few moments, memorizing the blurry ancient carvings on it.

That voice was not entirely without influence on him.

Why was that voice so certain that he would return?

Gathering his thoughts, Chen Guan strode forward, never looking back again.

...

"It seems our pilot is quite reliable. The spaceship is parked right there safely."

Seeing the spaceship, the heavy stone in Yin Chen's heart dropped.

If they couldn't find the spaceship, he and Hong Yuan would both have to shiver in the snow. Being cold was a small matter, but losing face was a big deal.

On the snow not far away, the small spaceship was parked quietly, its hatch tightly closed, looking no different from when they had left.

As if sensing his gaze, a figure rushed over from the spaceship, stumbling and crawling, stepping unevenly in the thick snow, while shouting loudly.

"Oh my god! God, Buddha, Taishang Laojun, you guys finally came out!" The pilot responsible for flying the spaceship jogged over, his face full of undisguised anxiety.

"I thought... I thought something happened to you!"

An Changqing stepped forward to meet him and spoke gently, "Sorry to make you worry. Is the spaceship fixed?"

"It's fixed. It was a minor engine problem, I sorted it out in a day."

The pilot panted heavily, resting his hands on his knees. "But do you know how long you were in there?"

Hong Yuan answered nonchalantly, "Not long, right? Felt like just a few hours? Half a day at most."

"A few hours?" The pilot's voice changed pitch. He held up three fingers and waved them in front of everyone. "A full three days! Three days and three nights! My god, do you know how I spent these three days? I couldn't reach you on the comms, and I just waited here anxiously every day!"

He became more agitated as he spoke: "If I still couldn't contact you, I was going to follow the highest emergency protocol and contact the Great Wall!"

"Three days?" Hong Yuan's eyes suddenly widened. She looked at her companions beside her and found the same surprised expressions on their faces. Her confidence immediately returned. "How could that be? It felt like only a few hours had passed inside!"

"The time flow inside and outside the ruins is different." Su Yuehe quickly calmed down and made the most reasonable analysis. "This phenomenon is very common in some ancient ruins. It seems we really stumbled upon something huge this time."

Being out of contact for three days, her mother must be worried sick. Only then did Su Yuehe belatedly start worrying about how to explain it.