Mou Xuan's fingers lightly touched the chessboard, and the cold metallic texture made his heart tremble.
This chessboard is not made of ordinary material. A strange energy flows on it, which resonates faintly with the supernatural powers in his body.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the touch of his fingertips guide his thoughts.
The complex patterns on the chessboard gradually became clear in his mind, like lightning streaking through the night sky, illuminating the hidden secrets.
With a "click", the mechanism in the center of the chessboard slowly opened, revealing a tiny groove.
Almost at the same time, dull mechanical sounds came from all directions, and the bronze puppets on the wall woke up like sleeping giants, with faint blue light flashing in their empty eye sockets, giving off a full sense of mechanicalness.
A deep voice, with ancient majesty, echoed in the ruins: "Blood is the covenant, wisdom is the key."
The sound was like a thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.
The leader of the Mu treasure hunters was so frightened that he almost dropped his gun, muttering, "Oh my god, what the hell is this? Is he dead?"
Zou Treasure Guardian, this bronze puppet, is like a loyal gravekeeper, wearing ancient bronze armor, eyes glowing with mechanical blue light, standing quietly in front of everyone.
It slowly raised one arm and pointed it toward the ground.
The ground cracked open, revealing a blood-red energy pool, churning with liquid as hot as magma and emitting a heart-pounding breath.
Chen Yao looked at the pool of blood, her face turned pale instantly, and her body began to tremble involuntarily.
"What...what is this?" She subconsciously grabbed Mou Xuan's arm, seeking a sense of security.
"Don't be afraid." Mou Xuan held her wrist with his backhand and gave her a firm look, "This is the Guardian's Trial."
The voice of Zou Guardian rang out again: "Only those who are dedicated can be recognized."
Chen Yao took a deep breath and stepped into the pool of blood tremblingly.
The moment the special patterns on the protective suit came into contact with the pool water, they emitted a dazzling light, as if producing some kind of resonance.
She exclaimed, "He...he is reading my memory!"
Mou Xuan held her wrist tightly, and a warm current flowed through his hand into Chen Yao's body, soothing her uneasy emotions.
"Tell him what you have protected," Mou Xuan's voice sounded in her ears, gentle but firm, "Tell him what you fought for."
Scenes flashed through Chen Yao's mind: the world after rebirth was devastated and people were struggling to survive; she joined the alliance medical team and risked her life to treat the wounded; she developed new drugs to fight the virus; she protected every fragile life and used her own strength to bring a glimmer of hope to the world...
At the same time, the leader of the Mu treasure hunters lifted the Yin merchant's chin with the barrel of his gun and said with a grim smile: "Hand over the crystal core, and I can give you a quick death." The Yin merchant's face turned pale.
"The greedy shall not pass." The bronze arm armor of Guardian Zou suddenly activated, emitting a dazzling light, and a powerful force burst out instantly, blasting Treasure Hunter Mu and his militants away, crashing into the wall and screaming.
The Yin merchant took this opportunity to throw the decryption key in his hand to Mou Xuan, "Catch it!"
Mou Xuan caught the key steadily. It was a crystal clear piece, emitting a faint blue light.
He inserted the key into the groove on the chessboard. With a "click", the pattern on the chessboard changed again, and a new passage slowly opened...
At this moment, archaeologist Pei suddenly discovered a secret on the mural, "Wait, this... this is..."
Archaeologist Pei pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the strange light on the murals. His trembling voice was filled with a hint of disbelief: "This... this is not an ordinary mural... this is... this is a civilized sacrificial ceremony!"
The air froze instantly, and a chill ran up everyone's spine.
Sacrifice?
This is not a joke!
Mu's group of treasure hunters turned pale, their calves were trembling, and they no longer had their previous arrogance.
The mechanical blue eyes of Guardian Zou glowed brightly, like two searchlights, piercing the darkness of the ruins.
"This is the final test," its voice, like an ancient bell, echoed in the empty hall. "Let the person you trust the most undergo the test of energy."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Mou Xuan and Shen Yao at the same time.
These two people, walking hand in hand in the end times, have long become each other's most solid support.
The direction of this final test is too obvious!
It's obvious that they are trying to cause trouble!
The atmosphere was so tense that you could hear a pin drop.
At this moment, Chen Yao suddenly grabbed Mou Xuan's arm, and without saying a word, pulled him towards the altar.
“Yaoyao, you…” Mou Xuan was about to speak, but was stopped by a look from Chen Yao.
Chen Yao's eyes were firm and resolute, without a trace of hesitation.
She held Mou Xuan's hand tightly, as if she wanted to pass all her strength to him.
She knew that this was the final test and their only way out.
Walking to the altar, Chen Yao pressed her hands on the cold stone platform, and a strange energy instantly surged into her body.
She gritted her teeth and endured the impact of the energy.
This energy, like a raging river, raged through her body, as if it was going to tear her apart.
At the same time, Mou Xuan also felt a powerful force surrounding him.
The last scene before his rebirth appeared in front of his eyes - in order to save him, Chen Yao was pushed off the cliff by the betrayer, and the bright red blood dyed the cliff red... The despair and pain at that moment drowned him like a tide.
He suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were red, and his heart was filled with anger and self-blame.
If...if he could have discovered the betrayer's plot earlier, if he could have been stronger, Chen Yao wouldn't have...
"The price has been paid." The bronze mask of Guardian Zou suddenly cracked, revealing the complex mechanical core inside, flashing a cold light.
Its voice was no longer as cold as before, but instead had a hint of...humanity?
Before everyone could react, Yin Shangren secretly stuffed the blood-stained key into the backpack of Wu Combat Team Member, then patted him on the shoulder as if nothing had happened and whispered, "Hey, this thing is hot. I'll go see if there's anything good over there."
Team member Wu touched the backpack with a confused look on his face and felt something hard inside, and he didn't know what was inside.
He was about to open it to take a look, but was stopped by the Yin merchant, "Don't look at it, hurry up and leave, or else all the treasures will be snatched away by others!"
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