Chapter 747

Half of Sakura Country has become a haven for ferocious beasts.

And the place Xu Jingming was heading for was, over a hundred years ago, a region called 'Kumamoto Prefecture'.

'Roar—'

'Scream—'

'......'

In southern Sakura Country, still over ten kilometers from Kumamoto Prefecture, Xu Jingming sprinted swiftly through the jungle.

The screams of ferocious beasts echoed beside his ears, thick with bloodlust and savagery.

His speed was not slow—even while constantly dodging obstacles—he reached an astonishing sixty meters per second.

Having broken through to Seventh Stage Mid-Level, he faced virtually no life-threatening danger unless he encountered a Ninth Stage ferocious beast.

After another dozen or so minutes of relentless sprinting, Xu Jingming finally arrived at Kumamoto Prefecture, his destination.

Before him lay a city ruin, overgrown with thick weeds and towering trees.

Some trees had even grown through the remains of skyscrapers, bursting through the upper floors and merging strangely with the buildings.

Occasionally, intact buildings still stood, their walls entirely covered in green vines.

Occasionally, one or two ferocious beasts wandered through the ruins, fighting and killing each other.

'According to records, over two hundred years ago, this was still a named county in Sakura Country, even possessing a unique mascot.'

Yet after merely two hundred years, it had completely returned to a lush, thriving natural state.

If not for the remaining ruins, no trace of human presence could possibly be detected.'

Looking at this scene, Xu Jingming couldn't help but feel a pang of reflection.

'Time is the most terrifying force—even our mighty Jin Nation.'

After being destroyed and passing over a thousand years, only the ruins unearthed by your Third Civilization humans from beneath the earth reveal any trace of us.'

Eva, the green-haired girl with twin pigtails, emerged from her smart bracer, shaking her head.

'Your ruins are treasures to us.'

Xu Jingming smiled and opened the map of Kumamoto Prefecture on his smart bracer.

'We're in Kumamoto Prefecture now—where's the ruin?'

'That ruin isn't a secret realm—it's a real research base.'

According to my database, it has never been excavated.'

That means it's likely hidden underground; otherwise, it would have been discovered when Kumamoto Prefecture was first established.'

Eva mused.

'Underground? I understand.'

'Xiao Jian, you and I each take half the area to search for the ruin.'

'Search area... set at about one hundred meters underground.'

After breaking through to Seventh Stage Mid-Level, Xu Jingming's spiritual force had strengthened further.

But due to the thick layers of earth underground, he could sense only up to about one hundred meters deep.

Rustle~~

The Thorned Sword Grass, adhered to his battle suit, extended its branches and swayed, signaling understanding.

Immediately, the man and the grass began searching across the ferocious beast-infested county.

Along the way, many ferocious beasts that spotted humans launched attacks—but against these Third and Fourth Stage beasts,

Xu Jingming didn't even need to use battle techniques; merely releasing Dou Tian Shenlei was enough to instantly obliterate them.

'Found it!'

Half an hour later, as Xu Jingming moved through a ruined residential complex, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He sensed a region about sixty meters underground that his spiritual force could not penetrate.

This area was vast—at least thirty to forty thousand square meters.

'Xiao Jian, come here.'

Xu Jingming called inwardly; soon, the Thorned Sword Grass, its branches still stained with blood, sprinted over from afar.

'Xiao Jian, dig down to about sixty meters underground.'

Xu Jingming ordered.

Though he could dig himself at a decent speed, since he had free labor, why not use it?

Swish-swish-swish—

The Thorned Sword Grass instantly grew dozens of vines and began digging furiously.

Just two or three minutes later, it had excavated a passage wide enough for one person to enter, descending straight to sixty meters underground.

After the Thorned Sword Grass reformed into its plant battle armor covering his suit, Xu Jingming leapt forward and plunged into the passage.

Whoosh—

Wind howled past his ears; the smell of damp earth filled his nostrils.

Boom!!

A few seconds later, Xu Jingming landed heavily, his battle boots crushing the ground.

The space around him had been deliberately widened by the Thorned Sword Grass, though the light was extremely dim.

Crackling—

Golden lightning danced across Xu Jingming's body, instantly illuminating the surroundings.

Before him lay a mass of black metal buried in the soil!

'Xiao Jian, clear away the surrounding soil.'

At Xu Jingming's command, the Thorn Sword Grass immediately sprang into action.

It grew dense leaves and branches, and while constantly clearing away the dirt, it propped up the surrounding earth to prevent any collapse.

The black metal hidden in the soil gradually revealed its full form — it was actually a giant alloy gate!

"Looks like our luck isn't bad; the spot we came down just happens to be right by the gate.

Alright, Eva, it's your turn."

The spatial ring flashed with light, and Xu Jingming took out all 65 energy modules.

"You got it."

Eva giggled, then arranged the 65 energy modules in a special pattern in front of the alloy gate.

Then she spread her hands wide, and countless streams of data suddenly flowed through those large, dark, bright eyes of hers.

Shwa-shwa-shwa—

All the energy modules lit up at once, and a massive surge of energy gathered together and slammed into the gate!

Rumble rumble~~~

The ground trembled slightly; the entire civilization base shook along with it, and countless clumps of dirt fell — but all of them were held up by the Thorn Sword Grass.

The shaking lasted for over ten seconds like this, and the once-sealed alloy gate swung open with a thunderous crash to either side.

A wave of decayed, stale air rushed in, and beyond it was pitch black, like the gaping maw of an abyss.

"Hm? My spiritual power still can't penetrate inside?"

Xu Jingming's brow furrowed.

Although the gate had already opened, his spiritual power simply couldn't pass through.

It was as if an invisible membrane was cutting it off outside.

The passive perception of his SS-grade combat technique 'Heart Net' had likewise failed.

"Eva, can you hack into the base's electronic equipment?" Xu Jingming asked.

"I already scanned it just now — there isn't a single piece of electronic equipment still running inside this base.

The energy inside either ran out, or was cut off."

Eva helplessly spread her hands.

"I see."

Xu Jingming's brow furrowed again; after a moment's thought, he looked at the Thorn Sword Grass and said:

"Little Sword, you go in first and scout the way for us."