Chapter 176 Obtaining the Data Core

The light emanating from the carriers on the platform grew ever brighter, and the energy flows between them connected to form a network.

"We can't let her finish!" Xi Yuan's eyes were fierce, and he held nothing back.

He bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the dark red spear. The spear instantly ignited with eerie blood-red flames, and his aura surged!

He roared and forcefully defied gravity, thrusting his spear into the energy barrier!

Wherever the crimson spear light passed, the energy barrier fluctuated violently, and the second barrier shattered instantly!

The scarred man also became ferocious, his arm muscles bulging and his skin gleaming with a metallic sheen, slamming punch after punch into the third barrier! Cracks spread across the barrier.

"They're about to break through!" Shen Yan's face turned pale; his supernatural power was being used up too much.

Ruan Ning stared at the last barrier, then looked at the countdown: [3 minutes and 41 seconds].

There isn't enough time.

Her eyes flashed with a sharp light as she made her decision. Her mental energy, no longer evenly distributed, contracted and condensed, transforming into an invisible yet extremely refined "needle," which pierced fiercely towards the scarred man's head—a mental attack!

The scarred man was breaking through the barrier with all his might when, caught off guard, his head was struck as if by a heavy hammer, his vision went black, and his movements froze.

Xi Yuan sensed this and swept back with the crimson spear, its blazing and sharp spear intent slashing towards Ruan Ning's mental connection!

Ruan Ning grunted and forcibly disconnected, avoiding damage to her mental energy, but her face paled a few degrees.

The last barrier held up for another ten seconds during the brief moment when the scarred man was momentarily distracted and Xi Yuan was preoccupied.

Ten seconds later, the barrier shattered.

Xi Yuan and the scarred man, along with five or six of their still-mobile subordinates, rushed to a point twenty meters away from the platform.

"You're finished." Xi Yuan pointed his spear at Ruan Ning.

Ruan Ning suddenly smiled.

She looked at the countdown: [1 minute 05 seconds].

"Is that so?" she said softly, then closed her eyes and poured all her mental energy, along with her deep connection with the four carriers, into the platform without reservation!

"Carrier Resonance - Full Activation! Guide Protocol, Forced Activation!"

The four carriers erupted with unprecedentedly intense light! Four beams of light shot into the sky, converging at the dome of the hall, transforming into a slowly rotating, incredibly complex energy rune!

At the same time, the voice of the ruins' central hub rang out:

[Environmental stability anchor point reinforcement program - complete!]

[Temporary administrative authority transfer - Confirmed!]

[External threat detected. Automatic defense protocol upgraded. Initiating: Regional energy suppression zone.]

Centered on the platform, an invisible wave suddenly spread outwards!

The wave swept over Xi Yuan and the others, and they were horrified to find that their superpowers suddenly became extremely sluggish, as if they were stuck in sticky glue!

The crimson flames on Xi Yuan's spear dimmed, and the metallic sheen on the scarred man's body quickly faded.

"What...what is this?!" the scarred man exclaimed in horror.

Xi Yuan gritted his teeth and tried to forcefully activate his superpower, but he felt an even stronger suppressive force rebound back, causing his blood and qi to churn.

Ruan Ning opened her eyes, which shimmered with four colors of light, and slowly raised her hand.

Inside the hall, all the free energy began to converge towards her palm, forming a small sphere of light that grew brighter and brighter.

She looked at Xi Yuan and said calmly, "Now, it's my turn."

The ball of light flew out of his hand, not fast, but impossible to dodge.

Xi Yuan's pupils contracted sharply as he held his spear horizontally in front of his chest, ready to defend himself. The scarred man roared and stepped in front of him.

The moment the ball of light touched them, it did not explode, but instead spread silently, transforming into a transparent energy cage that enveloped Xi Yuan, the scarred man, and the remaining few of his men!

Four-colored runes flowed along the inner walls of the cage, constantly drawing out and suppressing their supernatural abilities.

"No—!" Xi Yuan roared, desperately attacking the inner wall of the cage, but could only stir up ripples.

“Don’t bother.” Ruan Ning stepped off the platform, her face pale but her eyes sharp. “This is the energy of the ruins themselves, combined with the power of the four carriers. Unless you have an attack power of level six or above that breaks through instantly, or can exhaust the energy reserves of the ruins—which you obviously don’t have.

She stopped looking at the person struggling in vain in the cage and turned to Chen Yan: "How are you?"

Shen Yan leaned against the platform and smiled bitterly: "We won't die. But how do we get out? There are definitely still their people outside."

Ruan Ning looked at the central control center: "Is there another exit? Or, can we be teleported directly back to the vicinity of our camp?"

"Insufficient energy, unable to teleport long distances. However, there is an emergency evacuation route leading to the other side of the mountain. The exit is concealed." The central control replied, simultaneously opening a hidden door in one wall of the hall.

"Let's go." Ruan Ning helped Shen Yan up and retrieved the four carriers. Xi Yuan, trapped in the cage, stared at her intently, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Ruan Ning... The Xi family will not let you go! Nor will the Fuxing Society! You took what you shouldn't have taken!" The scarred man roared in the cage.

Ruan Ning paused, turned around and glanced at them.

"Then let them come."

She helped Shen Yan into the hidden door. The door closed behind them, shutting out the cage and the roar.

The passage was long and sloping upwards. After walking for about twenty minutes, light and a cold wind appeared ahead.

The exit is located in the middle of a steep ice cliff, with a vast glacier below.

In the distance, towards the canyon where they had previously been hiding, sporadic flashes of fire and energy could still be seen—Qin Li and his men were probably still engaged in combat.

Ruan Ning attempted to contact them using a mental link and quickly received a response.

“We’re out, at one o’clock in your direction, on the ice cliff. How’s the situation?” she asked.

Qin Li's voice was slightly breathless, but still relatively steady: "The main forces of the Xi family and the Shen family have been lured into the ruins by you, while the rest outside have been held back by us and the fire. Did you get what you wanted?"

“Got it. We also imprisoned Xi Yuan and the head of the Shen family.” Ruan Ning looked around at the terrain. “We’ll come down and meet up with you, then we’ll leave immediately. We need to bring the enhancement technology from the ruins back to base as soon as possible.”

Half an hour later, the team met up at the designated glacial crevasse. Qin Li and the others all had minor injuries, and Da Huo had a scorch mark on his back, but none of them were seriously hurt.

"Xi Yuan is locked up?" Lin Yan asked incredulously.

“For now. The ruins have limited energy; they can't hold them for long, but it's enough for us to leave.” Ruan Ning handed the core data chip of the carrier enhancement technology to Qin Li. “This is the most important thing.”

Qin Li solemnly put it away: "The Xi family and the Shen family have suffered heavy losses this time, and they will not let this go easily. The capital and the Fuxing Society are probably going to be in chaos."

“Then let them flip it.” Ruan Ning looked south, towards the base. “Let’s go back first and put the technology to use.”