Chapter 203

The darkness at the bottom of the pit was thick as solid matter, the cold, damp air heavy with the stench of rusted metal and dust, pressing against every nerve. Starlight trickled sparingly from the massive opening above, barely outlining the jagged, twisted metal walls nearby and the piles of rubble on the ground, layered with centuries of decay.

“Air circulation confirmed, oxygen levels slightly elevated but still below standard. Radiation index lowered to safe thresholds.” Zero’s console emitted a soft, You blue glow, like a lighthouse in the dark, dispelling localized shadows while providing critical environmental data. Her scanning beam meticulously probed the surroundings: “Structural stability assessment in progress… no recent collapse risks detected. A regular passage ahead has been identified, likely leading into the Ark’s interior.”

This was good news. They had temporarily escaped the harsh surface environment and the direct threat of the Boston scout craft, finding a possible sanctuary.

Lin Mo pulled from his chest a shard of starlight core, now dimmed to the size of a fingernail—the residual remnant of his earlier power surge. Carefully controlling it, he made it emit a warmer, brighter milky-white radiance, like a miniature star, illuminating the surroundings with greater clarity.

Where the light reached, they saw they stood within an immense space, formed by the rupture of a colossal conduit. Beneath their feet lay thick layers of dust and debris, soft and spongy to tread upon. The walls were made of some dark, non-metallic, non-stone material, covered in incomprehensible geometric patterns and dried traces of energy conduits. Thick patches of strange, black-cotton-like fungal growths blanketed many areas.

Ellie gently laid Liyana on a relatively flat, dry metal plate and swiftly checked her condition. Liyana remained unconscious, her breathing faint but steady. The dark purple crystals on her forehead and chest lay silent, as if the previous explosion had drained all her power and temporarily suppressed the vicious annihilation spores. Ellie’s own wounds—shadow-eroded gashes on her ribs and shoulder—appeared even more grotesque in the dim light, the blackness writhing faintly beneath her pale skin like living things, sending sharp, icy stabs of pain. She frowned, pulled the last of her high-concentration energy gel from her dwindling pack, gritted her teeth, and reapplied it along the wound’s edge, trying to slow the eerie corrosion. Intense pain made veins bulge on her temples, yet she uttered not a sound.

Xiang Lingna leaned against the cold wall, gasping heavily, each breath searing her chest. The cracks in her right arm glowed more clearly under the starlight, faint chaotic energy flows occasionally surging within, bringing needle-like pain. Unconsciously, she raised her left hand and traced the fissures; the cold, rough texture weighed heavily on her heart. This arm was both power and a great burden, a hidden threat. Her gaze drifted again toward the pit wall that had triggered her sense—though it was now invisible. That faint electronic voice… “Key”… was it calling her?

“We must find a safer place quickly, and…” Lin Mo’s gaze swept over Ellie’s blackened wounds and Lingna’s cracked arm, his voice low, “a cure for you both. Zero, prioritize scanning for medical units or areas with abnormal energy signatures.”

“Command confirmed. Constructing preliminary environmental map…” Zero’s console projected a hazy holographic glow, a clear passage extending forward from their position, but farther regions remained shrouded in darkness and uncertainty. “The passage splits after approximately one hundred fifty meters. Left passage shows weak energy signatures. Right passage detects… periodic pulse energy signals, origin unknown.”

Periodic pulses? In this dead wasteland, they were jarringly out of place.

“Take the right.” Lin Mo made his decision. Energy fluctuations meant possible functioning equipment—even if dangerous, better than blindly groping in utter silence.

After brief rest, the team moved again. Lin Mo led, holding the starlight, Zero hovering beside him scanning and guiding, Ellie re-shouldering Liyana, Lingna close behind. The passage proved wider than expected, wide enough for several to walk side by side, but littered with obstacles: collapsed metal supports, severed cables, and massive, unidentifiable mechanical wreckage blocked the way, forcing frequent detours or climbs.

The smell of ozone and rust grew stronger. The geometric patterns on the walls became more intricate; occasionally, dim, lifeless crystal panels embedded in the walls hinted at former display or control interfaces.

“These patterns… seem to form a complete energy guidance system, sharing similarities with the underlying logic of elfic spell runes, but more… mechanical.” Lin Mo observed the walls as he walked, eyes gleaming with thought. His starlight power seemed naturally attuned to this environment; the dormant patterns on the walls occasionally flickered with faint, almost imperceptible echoes of light under his glow.

Lingna also noticed: the deeper they went, the more active the emerald veins within her right crystal became, pulsing like faint currents, resonating subtly with the surroundings. That sense of being called returned, no longer a clear word, but fragments of ancient sorrow and waiting, drifting through the air.

Suddenly, Zero’s console flickered: “Pulse energy source detected fifty meters ahead, intensity increased. Also… multiple weak life signals detected, matching characteristics of surface silicon-based lifeforms. They… appear to be congregating near the pulse source.”

More crystal clusters? And gathered around the energy source? What were they trying to do?

The team slowed instantly, growing cautious. Lin Mo dimmed his starlight to minimal illumination. Zero deactivated her scanning beam, relying solely on optical sensors in the dark.

The passage sloped downward here, revealing carved stone steps. The steps were severely damaged, many collapsed. They moved carefully downward; ahead came a rhythmic, low “hum… hum…”—the pulse source Zero had detected—and beneath it, a rapid, dense “click-click-click,” unmistakably from the crystal clusters.

Around a corner, the sight before them stole everyone’s breath.

At the bottom of the steps lay a vast circular chamber. The dome had partially collapsed, exposing jagged rock and metal above, but most of the structure remained intact. At its center stood a massive, intricate device composed of countless nested metal rings. Most of its structure was ruined—twisted, broken conduits and charred components littered the area—but at its core, a milky-white rhomboid crystal, roughly human-height and half-buried in the floor, pulsed with a soft, rhythmic glow, synchronized to the low “hum.”

Each pulse illuminated the chamber for an instant. Hundreds of crystal clusters clustered around the great crystal—no longer aggressive as on the surface, they stood quietly, their outer halos dimming and brightening in sync with the pulse. Their short crystalline limbs occasionally tapped the ground or brushed against each other, emitting fine clicks—a scene resembling an ancient ritual… or perhaps… absorbing the energy radiating from the crystal?

The pulse light revealed the chamber walls—not simple geometric patterns now, but vast, faded, peeling murals. Their imagery was faintly discernible: countless tiny specks of starlight converging into rivers flowing through endless darkness; a colossal, elegant vessel shaped like a crescent moon, sailing through the starlight rivers; within the vessel, lush, thriving ecosystems seamlessly fused with precision machinery; slender, pointed-eared elf-like figures, resembling Liyana, operating instruments or coexisting peacefully with strange creatures—including silhouettes matching these crystal clusters.

“This is…” Lin Mo’s gaze was locked on the murals, “a record of the Starlight Ark’s voyage? They used starlight energy for interdimensional travel—and these crystal clusters… were the Ark’s original symbiotic lifeforms?”

Zero’s console quietly scanned: “Core crystal energy analysis: highly pure starlight crystal, purity second only to the core previously absorbed by Lord Lin Mo. Energy is slowly and irreversibly leaking. The pulsing results from periodic energy release due to internal structural damage. These silicon-based lifeforms are absorbing the leaked energy to sustain themselves.”

At that moment, perhaps the team’s arrival disrupted a balance, or perhaps Lin Mo’s contained, purer starlight power drew their attention. The crystal clusters surrounding the pulsing crystal simultaneously halted their synchronized glow. Their halos snapped toward the corridor entrance—toward Lin Mo and his group.

Hundreds of halos flared at once. In the dark intervals between pulses, they opened like countless cold eyes.

“Click! Click-click-click!” The sharp, hostile scraping noise returned—now amplified by hundreds of voices into a nerve-shredding cacophony.

The dozens of clusters nearest them whirled around, their short limbs propelling them forward like projectiles. The crystalline tips of their forelimbs glinted with lethal light—this was no longer mere warning.

“Fall back!” Lin Mo growled, starlight flaring again, preparing to meet the charge.

Yet, at this tense moment—

Hum—!!!

The central pulsing crystal, as if stirred by Lin Mo’s sudden surge of pure starlight, blazed with a radiance far brighter than any previous pulse—a blinding milky-white light!

The intense beam swept across the chamber like a wave. All charging clusters froze mid-motion, their halos flickering wildly, their noises shifting from sharp hostility to confused, hesitant, intermittent clicks.

The light also illuminated a wall at the chamber’s far end. Relatively intact, it bore intricate, ancient elfic script and runes. At its center, clearly carved, was a rhomboid depression matching the shape of Lingna’s right crystal. At its heart, a tiny, sprout-like emerald engraving emitted a faint, yet unmistakably identical, life-energy signature to the veins within Lingna’s crystal.

Lingna’s right arm jolted violently! The emerald veins within her crystal blazed with unprecedented brightness, thrumming toward the rhomboid depression. That faint electronic voice echoed again in her mind—clearer than ever before.

【Detecting… high-tier permission starlight energy… and… World Tree sapling resonance…】

【Backup power control unit… permission verified…】

【Welcome back… Guardian of… Xinluzhou…】