319: Chapter 319 The Secret of the Ruins: First Clues Emerge

The construction team's lights were still on, and the current in the wires of the five miniature spiritual energy towers crackled.

Chen Tiezhu crouched at the eastern construction site. After tightening the final bolt, he wiped the dust from his face. "Power is on! The first section of the backbone network is connected!"

He stood up and patted his mecha armor. "Old buddy, we'll be able to get moving tomorrow."

On the high slope, Chen Xiaodao remained standing, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping across the distant mountain ridge.

Bai Ling leaned against a stone bench outside the medical tent, closing her eyes to regulate her breathing. Faint green traces of light from when she had stabilized the foundation still lingered on her fingertips.

Chen Wuwang stood on high ground, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanning the data stream of the entire area.

His fingers tapped unconsciously against his thigh, as if he were calculating something.

Suddenly, a harsh sound of metal grinding came from the west side — "Creeak!"

Immediately following was the buzzing of a mecha alarm: "Ding! Ding! Ding! Drill damaged! Underground structure abnormal! Repeat, underground structure abnormal!"

"What's going on?" Chen Tiezhu turned his head abruptly and rushed over with long strides.

Over there, a construction mecha was stuck in the newly dug pit, its forearm drill twisted and broken, with black smoke billowing out. The mechanics gathered around, chattering all at once.

"That's strange. The soil is clearly soft, so why is it hard as an iron block underneath?"

"The ground-penetrating radar didn't react just now!"

"Did we hit the remains of an ancient battlefield?"

Chen Tiezhu pushed through the crowd and crouched down to touch the broken edge. "It's not remains. This cut... it's too neat, like a foundation cast by human hands."

He looked up and roared, "Bring the spiritual energy ground-penetrating instrument! Hurry!"

Before long, the portable instrument started up, and a 3D map of the underground appeared on the screen.

Chen Tiezhu squinted at it and gasped. "What the... What is this? A regular geometric shape? Eight corners, symmetrically distributed, buried eight meters deep... What about the material analysis?"

"Identifying..." the mechanic stared at the screen. "Detected high-density star-patterned stone composition, energy inert, but 0.3% rune activity remains."

"star-patterned stone?" Chen Tiezhu's voice changed. "Isn't that the main building material of the Elf Race that was lost five thousand years ago? Who would bury an Elf Race ruin in this godforsaken place?"

The news quickly reached the high slope.

Chen Wuwang turned and walked away, his black martial attire snapping in the night wind. Chen Xiaodao immediately followed, step for step. Bai Ling also opened her eyes, rose slowly, and walked toward the direction of the commotion.

A crowd had already gathered around the pit. Chen Tiezhu pointed at the projection. "Family Head, look at this structure. It doesn't look like a tomb, nor an altar; it looks more like some kind of central base. But we can't even dent it with heavy-duty drills; forcing it further might trigger a seismic tremor."

Chen Xiaodao crouched down and reached out to touch the edge of the exposed stone corner. "The flow of Spiritual Qi is wrong. The earth energy of this land originally flowed east, but now it's all being sucked in by this thing, as if there's a drain pulling it downward."

"Therefore, we cannot force it." Chen Wuwang stared at the star-patterned stone with a corner exposed, the blue light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickering. "Notify the engineering team to pause work on the west side. Switch to manual soil removal, combined with low-power spiritual energy traction devices, and peel it away layer by layer."

"But that's too slow," Chen Tiezhu frowned. "We can't afford to delay the energy network installation."

"Slow or not, it must be done," Chen Wuwang's tone was unquestionable. "Have you forgotten the furnace explosion last month? Some things, once blown open, cannot be taken back."

He waved his hand. "Bring over two technical teams, move gently, and don't touch those patterns."

Everyone took action immediately. The small traction array started up, spiritual energy like threads, slowly peeling away the covering soil.

The soil fell away layer by layer, revealing more of the structure — curved steps, pillar bases, and bands of gold-green runes embedded in the stone crevices.

Bai Ling walked to the edge, her breath suddenly hitching.

She widened her eyes, her feet moving forward uncontrollably.

"This... this is..." her voice trembled. "The mark of the Morning Dew Altar! I recognize the flow of these patterns; I saw them in my mother's classics when I was a child... This is a ruin of my people!"

She rushed forward suddenly, but was stopped by Chen Xiaodao.

"Wait!" Chen Xiaodao's sword was already half-drawn. "The runes are reacting!"

Sure enough, as Bai Ling approached, those gold-green runes suddenly began to glow faintly, and a very soft humming sound resonated in the air, like someone whispering from far away.

Bai Ling swayed, her face instantly turning pale, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Bai Ling!" Chen Wuwang shouted, "Step back three paces!"

She stumbled backward, steadying herself only after grabbing a pillar.

Chen Xiaodao pointed his sword tip toward the runes. "Is it a trap?"

"It's not an attack." Chen Wuwang shook his head, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye locked onto the rune's fluctuation curve. "It's a response. It's sensing a kindred Bloodline."

He turned to Bai Ling. "Can you understand that voice?"

Bai Ling caught her breath and nodded. "I can't hear it clearly... but it feels like a call... and also like a warning..." She bit her lip. "I want to try again, slowly."

"No," Chen Tiezhu immediately objected. "You were barely able to stand just now. If it triggers some self-destruct mechanism, we'll all be buried here."

"But this is my ancestral land!" Bai Ling said anxiously. "I have a responsibility to awaken it!"

"You have a responsibility to stay alive," Chen Wuwang interrupted her, his tone deepening. "Since this place belongs to your Elf Race, we cannot unilaterally decide how to handle it."

He looked around the circle and finally looked at Bai Ling. "Are you willing to cooperate with us in researching it? We'll share the results. You lead the interpretation, and we provide protection and technical support. How about it?"

Bai Ling was stunned.

She looked at Chen Wuwang, then at the ruins, her eyes suddenly turning red. "You... aren't you worried that I'll keep the secrets to myself?"

"I trust you," Chen Wuwang said bluntly. "Besides, what I don't trust is the stone."

He grinned. "Besides, if you really wanted to hide it, you would have run away long ago, instead of waiting until now."

Bai Ling felt a lump in her throat and nodded vigorously. "I'm willing! But I need time... these runes are too old, and my memories are fuzzy; I have to awaken them bit by bit."

"Then let's start tonight," Chen Wuwang waved his hand. "Tiezhu, set up a temporary camp, establish a three-layer defensive array, activate all micro-warning rune arrays, east side first."

"Xiao Dao, you lead the team in rotating guard duty, focus on the west side and changes in the underground spiritual flow. Report any unusual movement immediately."

"Yes!" the two replied in unison.

The mechanics acted quickly. Tents were pitched, spiritual energy lamps were lined up, and micro-rune arrays were embedded into the ground one by one, emitting a faint halo of light.

Chen Wuwang walked to the ruin, crouched down, and gently traced the edge of a rune with his fingertip. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye simultaneously recorded the data stream.

Bai Ling sat cross-legged in front of the steps, her hands pressed against the ground, closing her eyes to focus. A faint green light appeared on her fingertips, slowly seeping into the stone crevices.

The runes lit up again, this time more softly, forming a circle of shimmering barrier that enveloped her and the ruin.

Chen Tiezhu was on the east side, directing the mechanics to install the last warning rune board. "Everyone be careful! This thing is more delicate than an Artifact Refining furnace! If anyone breaks it, I'll have them mining for ten years!"

Chen Xiaodao stood on a high rock, his gaze like an eagle, scanning the surrounding darkness. His hand remained pressed on the hilt of his sword, unmoving.

Chen Wuwang stood up, watching Bai Ling within the circle of shimmering light, then looked up at the night sky.

His fingers were still tapping against his thigh, one beat, another, as if waiting for something.

Suddenly, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed a notification: [Slight fluctuation in underground Spiritual Pressure, Source: Ruin core, Depth unknown].

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak, simply sheathing his Titanium Alloy Dagger back at his waist and whispering, "It's here."

Bai Ling's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips moved, as if responding to some silent call.

The green light on her fingertips suddenly brightened, and the runes on the surface of the ruin lit up one after another, like awakening stars.

Chen Wuwang raised his hand and made a "pause" gesture.

Everyone held their breath.

Within the shimmering barrier, Bai Ling slowly opened her eyes, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "I... I heard the voice behind the door."