Dark Moon Era

The Ninth Ruins was located at the edge of the Santos Branching Ridge and beyond that would be the main ridge again, the Herrocky Mountain Ridge.

The mountain paths to the Ninth Ruins were rather flat. There was a huge plain at the foot of the mountain where two safety sectors, which were less than a hundred kilometers apart, were located.

Were they the reason why the ruins was located nearby?

Tang Ling gazed upon the Ninth Ruins. Despite being mentally prepared, he was still shocked and baffled by his mixed feelings. A ruins, as its name suggested, was something left behind by the old civilization. The places that could be considered as ruins in the Purple Moon era were towns or cities from the old civilization, which were relatively intact.

Usually, there were only two situations in which a town or a city could remain intact and hold up against the corrosion of time. Firstly, due to some coincidental seismic activity, the whole ruins was buried underground. Secondly, a Universal Source Rock was located within the ruins, so with the energy from the rock, everything was well-preserved.

The Universal Source Rock was something magical and the ruins that had a Universal Source Rock within were mostly occupied by powerful factions. For example, out of the famous top 10 ruins of the world, six of them were occupied by several powerful factions while the remaining four were considered dangerous places in the world. Three of the ruins became the land of the dead that were swarmed with zombies whereas the last one became a nest of mutated insects and rodents.

It was not that people did not want to take over the ruins, but even the powerful factions did not dare to make a move recklessly.

Some said that among the three zombie ruins, there was a real Level 8 King Zombie lurking around and there was even the suspected existence of a Level 9 Emperor Zombie.

As for the ruins inundated by insects and rodents, no one had ever thought of taking it. Just picture it: with a single command from the queen, the mutated insects would swarm over the heaven and earth, or with the lead of a Level 6 vicious beast like the King Rat, the mutated rats would flood every corner of the ruins. It would be a terrifying scene to picture.

Therefore, the strongest factions of humankind set up layers of defense around these four ruins and barely maintained the fictional peace and the fragile balance. However, eventually, these four ruins would become the hindrance of humankind’s growth, and when any of the remains grew stronger, their demand for resources would spike.

A battle between any of the ruins was inevitable; it was just a matter of time.

Despite having a lot of information about the ruins, Tang Ling’s shock about the Ninth Ruins did not diminish. The Ninth Ruins was also a leftover from the old civilization. It was not big by any means, merely the size of a small town that one could capture the entirety of within a single glance.

However, it was perfectly preserved. Be it the building structures or the items in the town, everything seemed to be frozen by time. That indicated that there must be a Universal Source Town in the town.

Nevertheless, within Tang Ling’s sight, he could not spot any traces of a Universal Source Rock. If the Ninth Ruins was not that perfectly preserved, he would not have felt this astonished. He believed there must be a Universal Source Rock in town though it was probably in a more inconspicuous place.

The strange energy from the rock had a preservation effect like the area around the Universal Source Rock back in the Hope Barrier where all the old civilization buildings were free from the corrosion of time.

If not for the warzone and the constant damage from the beasts, that part of the city could have been perfectly kept intact.

What truly staggered Tang Ling was that the Ninth Ruins was populated! Judging from their attire, they were not people from the Purple Moon era but of the old civilization!

These people looked normal as if they were uninformed about the drastic change in the era. They walked around, minding their own business and did not resemble zombies.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Ro Xin said beside Tang Ling.

Tang Ling nodded. He unconsciously extended his hand in the air as he started to doubt the existence of the Ninth Ruins and even suspected that what he saw was just part of an illusion like the 3D holographic projection in the Hope Barrier.

It was difficult for him not to feel that way because what he saw before his eyes was the old civilization! No one would have expected to witness the lifestyle of the old civilization in this Purple Moon era and particularly, in this Ninth Ruins.

There was an old lady sunbathing in front of her house, a young man cycling along the street with a joyful whistle, the shop…wait, a shop? No, it should be a large grocery store of sorts. A lady holding two large bags walked out from the door and further away was a man waiting impatiently in his car…

Everything was so vivid and lively.

However, upon a closer look, Tang Ling realized that the people in town were repeating the same action over and over again. The young man was cycling up and down the same street repeatedly and even his whistle sounded the same.

The lady, who walked out from the large grocery store, got into the car, and after the car drove off, the same lady would walk out from the same store again and the car would be there with the impatient-looking man.

Everything was being repeated on a loop!

“Let’s go in now,” Ro Xin reminded Tang Ling.

Tang Ling’s body felt a little stiff. He really had no idea that the Ninth Ruins would be this strange, so he did not overly discuss it with Ro Xin and Ro Li along the way. All he knew was that this ruins was a peculiar place. In fact, he wanted to ask about it when he noticed the strange repeated scene, but he did not know what to ask and time was running out.

The Ninth Ruins was located on a rather tall hill from where Tang Ling could already spot soldiers from the Stardust Council gaining on them. The outcome was self-explanatory if they wasted any more time.

As a matter of fact, they might have already exposed themselves since Tang Ling believed that the soldiers of the Stardust Council were equipped with binoculars. However, Ro Xin had said that as long as they could beat the soldiers to the Ninth Ruins and enter it, it would not matter even if they were exposed. Even if they barely made it to the border of the Ninth Ruins, they would be safe.

Really? Despite how outrageous it sounded, Tang Ling trusted Ro Xin, so the trio decided to make the final dash up the hill and to the border of the Ninth Ruins, risking exposure.

When Tang Ling finally saw the Ninth Ruins, he knew that things might really be as outrageous as he perceived. Otherwise, why did no one or any faction come over and occupy the Ninth Ruins all these years since it was exposed out in the bare?

“Let’s go in. You and Ro Li must follow every step I take. Don’t simply wander off,” Ro Xin warned.

“Okay.” Tang Ling skipped the chatter. He noticed the soldiers of the Stardust Council moving quicker and it seemed like the three of them were completely exposed.

Ro Xin brought Tang Ling and Ro Li to the southeastern corner of the town quickly. There was a plain, old alley and judging from its position, the alley would lead to one of the streets in the town.

Can we only go in through this alley? Tang Ling took liberty with his thoughts, but it was not exactly a secret either.

Without explaining, Ro Xin carefully took the first step and advanced to the third floral-patterned brick in the alley with her left foot while her right foot landed on the second brick diagonal to the third brick that she stepped on. “You two, remember the position of these two bricks. You mustn’t make mistakes in the steps.” She then continued forward.

Ro Li followed her closely and stepped on the exact same bricks, not even daring to land his foot in the wrong sequence.

Tang Ling had a strange feeling in his heart, and it was at that moment that he received a warning gaze from Ro Xin. “You’d better not try anything funny. The consequences aren’t something you can bear.”

Tang Ling pouted. Am I that reckless to you? 

Nevertheless, he then pitifully followed Ro Li’s steps. As a matter of fact, he really wanted to test what would happen if he landed on the wrong brick had Ro Xin not warned him in time. What kind of disaster might happen? His curiosity had somehow grown stronger, probably due to the drastic change in the world and his own experience.

Despite her warning, Ro Xin did not explain as she continued forward, every step taken with caution. She even seemed a little tired.

After they reached the center of the alley, she would pause to think before taking the next step. During that little respite, the troops from the Stardust Council arrived on the hill. There were a total of 500 fully armed men, every one of which were standing in front of the Ninth Ruins.

At the front of the troops was a young teen riding a Level 1 vicious beast, the Omesha flaming-eyed lion. His body was buff, and despite his face being blurred out by the distance, Tang Ling could feel his powerful presence.

Who is that?

In the past few days, he had run away from the council and slept under the sky. They traveled on a tight schedule and did not get any source of information. Unbeknownst to the three of them, with the fall of the Ro Drifter Camp, many secrets were forced out from the residents and probably the leader, including the news about an outsider’s visit to the camp. The details of this particular visit were delivered back to the headquarters and someone identified the outsider as Tang Ling.

Therefore, Long Qi came forth himself. Be it capturing Tang Long or killing Ro Li, whose name was on the List of Seeds, or even reclaiming the Ro family teachings that he longed for, every single matter was important and he had to do it himself.

A brutal delight bubbled in his heart as he was eager to let the siblings know that their father, Ro Yan, had become a mindless idiot.

In order to get the information, the Stardust Council had used a certain drug during the interrogation. It was not an ultra-smart drug or whatsoever since the intelligence agencies from the old civilization used the same methods during their interrogation as well. After all, the Stardust Council only learned from the best.

Interrogation through torture? There was no need for such hassle since a scant amount of drug was enough to collapse even the strongest of wills and reveal many secrets.

According to the procedures, Ro Yan should be executed, but Long Qi had his own sick hobby. He wanted to execute Ro Yan in front of the siblings. He relished it when a person’s soul suffered, then fell into despair and ultimately collapsed.

It was said that Long Qi was the most suitable candidate for running an intelligence agency among the Sixteen Prodigies, and everyone acknowledged that. Should he grow further, he would eventually take over the Dark Shadow Troops of the council.

A scout soon returned with the latest news. “As an update, they’ve entered the Ninth Ruins through an alley in the southeastern corner.”

“Should we chase after them?” an aide asked softly beside Long Qi.

“There’s no rush for that. Surround the Ninth Ruins first.” A cruel smile hung across Long Qi’s face as he continued, “Don’t simply step in. I’m not in a hurry, not at all.”

Long Qi was someone who kept all his thoughts to himself. He was not stupid. On quite the contrary, he was extremely smart. Of course, he understood how strange this Ninth Ruins was. If it was truly safe to enter, why had no one occupied it after so many years?

The Ros knew the secret about the Ninth Ruins, so they must have something that they could rely on. Long Qi would never fall for it! The best way would be to surround the ruins and trap the three of them inside by creating pressure from the outside and cutting off their resources.

The remain was by no means big, so it was not possible for them to stay there until the end of time.

Long Qi also had little games prepared during the wait such as narrating some short stories of his brutality like how he had interrogated Ro Yan or how he had tortured a few men from the Dragon Army.

He did not mind raising the loudspeaker and telling the three of them the stories every day since it would be interesting to observe their reaction.

With that in mind, Long Qi licked his lips with his red tongue. His eyes were narrow and long while his pupils were unlike a normal person either. They were not round but oval, making them look like the eyes of a snake. His eyes matched his sinister expression perfectly. Even the aide beside him had goosebumps. To him, it was as expected of the most brutal out of the Sixteen Prodigies. After all, he was also called Brutal Seven!

As the aide to Brutal Seven, he felt really pressured.

Tang Ling saw the enemies spread out at the hillside, so he could not help but urge Ro Xin, “We have to hurry.”

As a smart man, he understood from the details that the enemy wanted to surround the entire Ninth Ruins. If they succeeded, they would be able to control the situation and have a great tactical advantage.

The Ninth Ruins was not large, thus one could see through the entire town from any angle. Although not every single corner could be seen, it also meant that a majority of the town would be under surveillance. Furthermore, if the enemy remained still…

Tang Ling frowned as he instinctively started to think of a way out. On the other hand, Ro Xin did not respond differently despite his urging. She had paused for more than a minute now and her forehead was covered with sweat.

Ro Xin also saw the soldiers from the Stardust Council but seemed to be free of worries as she asked Tang Ling, “What are you worried about?”

“I’m afraid that they will surround us and trap us inside here.” With hands in his pocket, Tang Ling seemed a little more relaxed when he saw Ro Xin’s expression.

“Trap us in the Ninth Ruins? Impossible! That’s nothing but a joke! You still don’t understand the magic about the Ninth Ruins, but in order for you to experience it, we must first decipher the entire Ninth Ruins!”