He shook his head, temporarily putting the matter out of his mind.

Zero knew that even if something did happen, he couldn't handle it right now. Firstly, they were separated by more than one dimension, and secondly, even if Zero went, what could he possibly do...?

Thinking back to what she and Jiang Quan had decided at the beginning, Ling told everyone about her next plan.

"You suspect that bases in other areas have been attacked?"

Ye Hao was stunned.

“That’s right. It’s safe here for now. Jiang Quan and I plan to go to other places to check things out and find out more.”

"That's fine. I'll go and compile a list of the other bases for you. Although there aren't specific locations, there's still a general area. Besides, the bases are all very large, and you can see their shapes from a distance, so you won't have trouble finding them."

Ye Hao then left to organize the route.

At this moment, Jiang Quan also found his way here.

After introductions, Jiang Quan took out several books from his storage ring and handed them to Chongming, saying:

"These are some cultivation techniques I brought down from the upper realm. They might be useful to you."

These were naturally obtained by Jiang Quan when he was in the "Demon Realm" in the Upper Realm.

Now that the soul imprint has been removed, any talk of leaks is just a smokescreen; the real purpose is simply to control them.

These techniques were actually just some basic cultivation methods, which were only used to deceive those arrogant and ignorant teenagers.

Looking at the book handed to him, Chongming subconsciously glanced at Ling.

Seeing Ling nod, he took the book and thanked him.

Not long after the initial greetings, Ye Hao returned with the organized files.

"Zero, this first list covers the three areas closest to here. At your current travel speed, you should be able to reach them before nightfall."

Now that Ye Hao is also a cultivator, he has a certain understanding of the speed of spiritual cultivators. However, he clearly underestimated Zero and his group's speed. In fact, this distance is nothing to Zero now.

Since fusing with the soul imprint, Jiang Quan's strength has improved considerably. Moreover, his speed is already comparable to Zero's, so there's no problem with that.

"The second one is in the town... From here, heading north, is Z City, the closest city to us. There are two more bases in Z City. Next, heading east from Z City, we reach Y City. The relevant locations are all marked in the files, so I won't go into detail."

As Ye Hao spoke, he handed the relevant information he had compiled to Ling.

Ling reached out and took it, whispering to Ye Hao:

"Thank you for your hard work."

Ye Hao waved his hand, half-teasing and half-mocking, and said with a smile:

"It was no trouble at all. I'm counting on you to bring some more people back."

"Haha, alright, since it's still early, Jiang Quan and I will set off first and try to explore as many areas as possible."

Ling bid farewell to everyone and left their home with Jiang Quan, heading towards the nearest base.

As for the base they're going to, it's the place Zero initially wanted to go but couldn't because he was delayed by various things.

The two walked quickly without saying a word.

Amidst the endless yellow sand, only two black dots kept moving through.

"It looks like we're almost there."

Jiang Quan pointed to the building that was just beginning to appear in the distance and said to Ling.

"Um."

Ling took a deep breath, kept walking, responded, and continued on her way.

The buildings in the distance gradually revealed their true forms—

Similar to the base that Zero had initially seen with Ye Hao and his group, it was entirely encased in metal, its semi-transparent exterior shimmering with a metallic sheen. However, in terms of size alone, it was more than twice the size of Ye Hao's original base.

The surroundings were very quiet, and it seemed that no one lived there.

"Let's go in and take a look."

As Jiang Quan was speaking, he was about to step forward, but Ling grabbed his arm.

"etc."

Zero interrupted Jiang Quan's actions.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Quan asked in confusion.

“These kinds of buildings usually have security systems, and intruders are likely to trigger the alarm. Although we are not their enemies, it would be troublesome if the alarm were triggered, and it might even cause them panic. Let’s sneak in quietly.”

"Um."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Quan immediately felt that it made sense.

"For safety's sake, I'll take you into my space, and we'll use spatial teleportation to get in."

After a moment's thought, Ling decided on a plan.

"good."

Jiang Quan naturally had no objections.

Now, the two were only about ten meters away from the interior of the base. With the help of the instantaneous teleportation function, they easily entered.

"It's so quiet..."

Although the two had entered the base, they did not leave immediately.

Jiang Quan looked around through the space and couldn't help but sigh.

"Indeed, it seems like nobody's here."

Zero responded and slowly controlled the space, exploring the base.

I have to say, this space is truly unbeatable.

Although it cannot move over large areas, it can still reach many places silently by using multiple small, instantaneous teleportations.

Jiang Quan, standing to the side, also clicked his tongue in amazement, looking at Ling with envy and admiration.

The two went to many more places, but they were still just as empty and quiet as before, with no one in sight.

"They weren't all arrested, were they?"

Jiang Quan couldn't help but guess.

"There are no signs of a struggle on the ground, and there's no dust either. This shouldn't be the case..."

Zero also frowned.

If no one lives here, it's impossible for there to be no dust at all. He didn't believe that this base had a built-in regular cleaning system that could keep the ground and machines spotless.

"How about... we go out and take a look?"

Jiang Quan asked tentatively.

"Alright."

Ling nodded, agreeing with Jiang Quan's suggestion.

However, he only left the space after confirming that no one was there.

Ling skillfully operated the equipment, leaving Jiang Quan watching in awe.

"Brother Ling, I never knew you could use such a complex machine!"

Jiang Quan exclaimed in surprise, leaving Ling speechless for a moment.

While these devices are indeed advanced, Jiang Quan shouldn't be this surprised...

Seemingly guessing what Zero was thinking, Jiang Quan explained softly:

“Brother Ling, you don’t know this, although we also have computers and other equipment, most of the people in the Upper Realm are spiritual cultivators, so we no longer need to rely on technology. Therefore, the technological level of the Upper Realm is far behind that of here.”

I see.

Upon hearing this, Zero nodded, but his hands continued to operate.

"What's this?"

Jiang Quan pointed to a string of characters on the screen and asked.

"I'm checking the surveillance footage to find out what happened here; the only way is to watch the footage."

Fortunately, none of the equipment here was damaged and all of it was in normal working order.

"Uh-huh."

Jiang Quan nodded and stood aside patiently waiting for the zero-hacking monitoring system to be cracked.

After a while, Zero exclaimed excitedly in a soft voice:

"It's done."