And the center of the pit is exactly the target of their trip - the cylindrical device that releases destructive pulses and high-dimensional beams!
It was half-buried in collapsed rubble and molten metal, coated entirely in a strange material, neither gold nor stone, that reflected a dull purple-black luster. Its main structure was riddled with twisted, sharp edges and protrusions, like the fossilized spine of some sinister creature. At the top of the device, where the purple-black energy ball had previously been released, only a charred, inward-collapsed gap remained, its edges stained with purple-black energy crystals. At the base of the device, a complex ring of twisted purple crystals, though largely devoid of light, still shone faintly, a deep purple halo, like a breath, swirling within the crystals, emitting a palpable residual wave.
"That's it..." Lin Mo's voice was tinged with solemnity. Closer inspection revealed the cold, sinister, inhuman aura emanating from the device. He noticed the previously unseen remains of small, burned and deformed mechanical beasts scattered around the device. One of them was a twisted fragment of chest armor... the very one that had previously held Su Mu's mother's "Tree of Life" chip! However, while the fragment was still there, the stubbornly flickering emerald green chip... was gone!
Was it completely destroyed by the explosion? Or... was it recovered?
A chill ran up Lin Mo's spine.
Shen Qingli ignored the debris. Her gaze, like the most precise probe, scanned from the charred gash at the top of the device to the crystal ring at the base, emitting a faint purple glow. She slowly raised her metal-gloved right hand, spread her fingers, and aimed her palm at the device.
Buzz...
The faint blue halo spread out from her palm again, like an invisible scanning beam, covering the entire device.
"Structural analysis... reverse tracing of energy circuits... extraction of residual information entropy..." Shen Qingli muttered to herself, her voice carrying a strange metallic resonance. Deep within her silver-gray pupils, an icy blue stream of data flashed by like a waterfall.
Lin Mo stood guard at her side, his high-frequency sword half an inch unsheathed, its cold blade gleaming faintly in the dim light. His eyes scanned the silent ruins around him warily, any slight movement a sign of a fatal attack.
Time passed by minute by minute in the suffocating silence. Only the faint pulsation of the blue halo in Shen Qingli's palm and the faint flicker of the purple crystal ring on the base like a dying heart could be heard.
Sudden!
Shen Qingli's body trembled very slightly! Her right hand, covered in a metal glove, clenched suddenly! The blue halo in her palm suddenly became dazzling!
"Core data fragments found!" Her voice was barely perceptible, and her silver-grey eyes shone brightly with an icy blue light! "Pointing to...deep underground! Abandoned relay station! Coordinates...locked!"
Found it! The source of the beacon!
Lin Mo's spirits lifted! But Shen Qingli's next words made his heart sink into an ice cave in an instant!
"Warning! The high-dimensional interference mark...is becoming more active!" Shen Qingli's voice suddenly became rapid, with a cold warning, "It's...awakening! Target...correcting...locking...on you!"
Lock me?!
Lin Mo's pupils suddenly contracted! An indescribable sense of terror, originating from the depths of his soul, instantly erupted! It was as if he were being stared at with icy eyes by an ancient beast from the abyss!
Almost at the same moment Shen Qingli finished speaking!
Buzz——!!!
At the center of the pit, the columnar base, half-buried in the rubble, suddenly erupted with a blinding, deep purple light, a ring of purple crystals that had previously flickered faintly. The light spun wildly, collapsing inward! A dimensional distortion, even more intense and terrifying than before, instantly descended!
The entire core area of the ruins seemed to have transformed into a viscous liquid! Light was distorted! Gravity was disrupted! Lin Mo felt as if his body was being grasped by an invisible giant hand, so heavy that he could hardly move! The field of view through the tactical eyepiece was instantly covered by a dazzling purple garbled code!
What was even more terrifying was that in the center of the collapsed purple vortex, a beam of pure purple-black energy, which was highly condensed and flashing with ominous runes, was like a spear of judgment from another dimension. It instantly crossed the distance of space, ignored all physical obstacles, and with an aura of terror that could annihilate everything, it shot towards Lin Mo's chest with incredible precision!
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