Chapter 104: Creating a False Impression
In the third layer of the ruins, a lone figure was sneaking through the darkness. The person was Zhou Ming, who had bypassed many Beast Tamers.
Originally, due to the presence of desiccated corpse monsters, the third layer of the ruins should have been filled with danger. However, because the various factions had arrived, desiccated corpse monsters of all kinds of strange appearances had already been cleared out.
With the desiccated corpse monsters no longer posing a threat, Zhou Ming quickly infiltrated the northwestern corner of the third layer of the ruins, where massive pipelines came into view.
According to the information he had obtained, this was the place used to extract water from the underground dark river.
In order to confirm that there was no problem with the target, Zhou Ming immediately controlled his Ironthread Snake to enter the deepest part of the pipeline through the gaps. Through the Spiritual Thread and communication with the Ironthread Snake, he was able to confirm that there was a large amount of water deep inside the pipeline.
Even though the Ironthread Snake possessed no intelligence, it still had an instinctive recognition of water.
“If I hadn’t discovered that person in time, they probably would have already escaped from the ruins by now.”
Looking at the pipelines before him, Zhou Ming became increasingly certain that there was a powerful force backing the other party. Otherwise, they would not have been able to obtain such detailed intelligence.
After a brief sigh, he did not continue to waste time and began installing explosives around the pipelines.
At this moment, Zhou Ming felt that his decision to spend a year studying in the library had been the most correct choice he had ever made.
The library might not have contained profound knowledge, but it covered an extremely wide range. Aside from records related to Beast Taming knowledge, there were also materials on wilderness survival, firearms usage, bomb installation, emergency treatment……
Knowledge that should have been regulated in his previous life could all be found in the library of Qinshan Base.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this world’s special survival environment that such knowledge could be obtained so freely.
Following the knowledge recorded in the books, Zhou Ming installed the dozens of kilograms of high-powered explosives he had acquired using fixed-point blasting methods.
After the explosives were successfully installed, since this was his first time performing an actual operation, Zhou Ming was extremely cautious and did not personally press the switch.
Instead, he retreated several hundred meters away, planning to control the Ironthread Snake to trigger the detonator.
This could both avoid potential danger and allow him to evade Beast Tamers who might come to investigate at the first moment.
Detonate.
When Zhou Ming used the Spiritual Thread to control his Ironthread Snake, the snake coiled around the detonator immediately tightened its body, successfully triggering the detonation switch with its own strength.
“Boom……”
Within the silent ruins, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, accompanied by an ear-splitting explosion.
The explosion that echoed throughout the entire ruins immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
“That’s the third layer of the ruins.”
In the shortest amount of time, someone immediately determined the location of the explosion.
Without the slightest hesitation, faced with this abnormal situation, forces from all sides surged toward the third layer of the ruins like a tide.
The ruins’ passageway, which was several meters wide, unexpectedly became congested within an extremely short period of time.
After wasting several minutes, large numbers of Beast Tamers and hunters soon arrived at the explosion site.
Centered on the pipelines, traces left behind by the explosion could still be seen within a radius of several hundred meters. Burning debris was scattered all around, making the previously dark environment visible to the naked eye.
“What is this?”
The densely packed pipelines had already disappeared. Appearing before everyone was a deep pit several meters wide.
By listening closely, faint sounds of flowing water could be heard.
Some quick-reacting Beast Tamers immediately took out detection lamps to examine the situation beneath the deep pit.
Under the dazzling illumination, an underground river came into view, with churning waves reflecting blinding light.
“This is an underground dark river.”
“It’s the one who stole the class advancement materials.”
The scene before them required no excessive speculation. Someone immediately guessed the cause of the explosion.
“How could there be an underground dark river? We didn’t know about this at all.”
“Nonsense. Without an underground dark river supplying water, how would the people in the base have survived back then?”
“It should be that the intelligence we obtained was incomplete. Someone thought of using the underground dark river to escape the ruins. This was a planned operation.”
At this moment, the leaders of the various factions gathered together, discussing that the theft of the class advancement materials had been a planned action.
Seeing the situation before them, grim expressions appeared on everyone’s faces.
Although they had not allowed rival forces to obtain the class advancement materials, they also had not completed the mission assigned by their superiors. It would be difficult for them to gain opportunities for cultivation from their respective forces in the future.
“What should we do now?”
“What else can we do? Of course, we immediately report this matter to the people above.”
For major forces, aside from the class advancement materials, other ordinary gains were hardly worth their attention.
The others present exchanged glances with one another after hearing this, knowing that aside from this choice, there was no other option.
When leaving, the people from all factions did not forget to take photos, to be used later when reporting the information.
After the various factions left, Zhou Ming did not rush to reveal himself. Instead, he waited until other ordinary Beast Tamers and hunters arrived, then took the opportunity to blend into the crowd.
Upon seeing the underground dark river entrance appear on the third layer of the ruins, some people immediately guessed that the class advancement materials had already been taken out of the ruins.
Seeing that everyone believed the class advancement materials had already been taken away from the ruins, Zhou Ming knew that his plan had succeeded by more than half.
However, in order to ensure that the plan had no flaws, he still needed to do one more thing.
That was to collect other valuable items within the ruins.
If he were to leave the ruins empty-handed, that situation would be far too suspicious. At the same time, he could also earn himself some extra income.
While the major factions were leaving the ruins to report the news, Zhou Ming also began collecting various valuable artifacts.
Notebooks, records and archives from other laboratories, precious ores from warehouses, antiques left behind from the Doomsday Era, or other valuable items.
Zhou Ming acted just like an ordinary lone Beast Tamer, seizing this opportunity to frantically collect valuable items, so that he could obtain resources from the various factions.
As news that the class advancement materials had been taken out of the ruins spread outside, it immediately triggered intense reactions.
The previous agreement was voided, and the leaders of the various factions entered the ruins, heading to the underground third layer to conduct on-site investigations.
When they saw the deep pit connected to the underground river, the expressions of the leaders of the various factions turned somewhat grim.
If they had not known about this place beforehand, no one would have been so bored as to blow it up.
“It might not necessarily mean they left through the underground dark river. It could be a smokescreen, or perhaps an attempt to mislead us.”
The Chen Family’s leader, Chen Shaodong, was somewhat unwilling to accept the reality before him. He immediately arranged for the exploration plan of the ruins to end and began a strict investigation of the Beast Tamers and hunters who had entered the ruins.
Whether they possessed spatial storage equipment, whether anything was hidden within their beasts, whether there were cases of smuggling—each faction continued tracking according to various criteria.
And just as Zhou Ming was about to leave the ruins, he quietly threw an Ironthread Snake that had swallowed a Spatial Ring at the main gate of the ruins’ entrance.
Making use of the Ironthread Snake’s small size, it hid in a place around the area that was difficult to find.