Versatile Mage: Lord of Space

The strange bird problem has been solved, which has given everyone some hope, but it's only a temporary fix; we still need to address the root cause of the problem! The propellers spun at high speed, cutting through the air with a buzzing roar.

Above, a clear, azure sky stretched out, while below lay a vast, boundless expanse of orange-red wilderness. On this peculiar land, countless mysterious lines and geometric shapes were distributed haphazardly, extending to the horizon and forming a breathtaking panorama.

"Look what that is!" Nan Jue suddenly exclaimed, pointing downwards.

Following the direction she pointed, everyone looked and saw that the seemingly chaotic lines and shapes miraculously combined into a lifelike giant ape pattern from a bird's-eye view thousands of meters above!

This scene stunned everyone who had traveled to Nazca. While walking on the ground, they had noticed some strange lines but couldn't understand their meaning. Now, looking down from above, they realized it was a giant artwork spread across the earth, and the image in it was none other than the ape!

"Wait a minute..." Jiang Yu suddenly gasped, "Do you remember the creature that attacked the Yare mine? It seems to be the ape in this geoglyph!"

On their flight from Lima to Nazca, they learned about the attack on the mine from Osto and also saw information about the strange apes.

But who would have thought that the images of these strange apes would be etched onto the land of the Nazca Lines! Although not exactly lifelike, the sight of this creature viewed from above, with the earth as its canvas and the ravines as its outline, is truly unbelievable!

"Look ahead! Look ahead!" Nan Jue exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent.

Ai Jiangtu, piloting the helicopter, immediately adjusted the direction. Numerous spiral patterns and straight lines appeared on the ground, as if precise cuts had been made into the earth using advanced instruments.

These patterns clearly formed the shape of a strange bird. Although it was just a simple outline, everyone recognized it at a glance as the same strange bird that had chased them before!

The strange bird pattern is much larger than the monkey, and even though it is partially obscured by the clouds drifting below, its imposing presence is still palpable...

Is this the legendary Nazca Lines?

It’s too shocking!

Lin Lan had read about it in the documents and also received some information from Lingling, but when she witnessed this miraculous scene with her own eyes, her heart was still filled with shock and awe.

How exactly is this done?
Humans have extremely limited vision on the ground, making it impossible for them to create such precise lines that stretch for hundreds of meters.

It's worth noting that Ai Jiangtu and his team had previously ventured into this area, yet they had completely failed to uncover the secret of these lines. Only from thousands of meters above the ground could they barely make out the patterns…

The geoglyphs of this scale are beyond human capability to create, and they have existed for a very long time!

"Over there! There's a... spider!" Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed, pointing in another direction.

As the helicopter turned, a spider-shaped geoglyph came into view. This geoglyph was even more detailed, so lifelike that it seemed as if it might leap up from the ground at any moment. The sheer scale and mysterious lines of these geoglyphs exuded a chilling aura of danger.

"If I had known there were these things drawn on the ground, I definitely wouldn't have stepped in... I hope what Lin Lan said is true..." Jiang Yu said with some lingering fear.

“We stepped into the area depicting the strange bird,” Jiang Shaoxu recalled.

……

"What do we do now? We're already afflicted by the strange bird curse. How can we break this curse?" Zhao Manyan had no time to appreciate miracles; he just wanted to get rid of this damned misfortune as soon as possible. "Let's go down to the strange bird geoglyph," Lin Lan suggested.

"Bang……!"

With a loud bang, the black helicopter shook violently and crashed to the ground.

Screams erupted in the cabin as everyone assumed they had been attacked upon landing and prepared for battle. At that moment, Ai Jiangtu's embarrassed voice came from the pilot's seat: "Sorry... I've only been flying for a little over ten hours, and I'm not very skilled at landing."

Everyone was speechless. If you can't fly, why are you showing off? The professional pilots Peru sent were there on a mission to escort us; they would have flown the plane in even if this was restricted area!
"Won't parking the helicopter here anger the God of the Monster Birds?" Jiang Yu asked tentatively.

“Since we’ve already offended them, let’s go and see what we find.” Mo Fan said, jumping off the plane first.

Walking through the Nazca Lines, sunlight falls on the mysterious lines, giving them a faint, eerie glow. From the ground, these lines appear ordinary, like simple irrigation ditches. Who could imagine that when connected, they would form such a breathtaking scene?
There was nothing there.

“We were in the same situation last time. We didn’t find anything, and then we were inexplicably chased and killed by the strange bird,” Jiang Shaoxu said dejectedly.

“We genuinely didn’t know this was a forbidden area; we came thinking we could find some treasure,” Zhao Manyan added.

After searching the geoglyphs for a long time without finding anything, a sense of unease spread through the group. They only had one week left; they had rested for one day in Lima and spent another day flying here, so time was running out.

……

"I think I've found the reason!" Nan Jue suddenly shouted, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.

Nan Jue keenly noticed a crucial detail: the eyes of the strange bird were much darker than the rest of its body!
“Do you remember?” Nan Jue pointed to the geoglyph and said, “When we examined the geoglyph back then, there was clearly a groove where the eyes should be. But now you see, under the sunlight, the outline of the entire strange bird geoglyph is clearly visible, except for the eyes, which lack light reflection. This means that the eye component that originally belonged to the strange bird geoglyph and was stored in the groove was stolen!”

Nan Jue's deduction is correct, but the key question is: who exactly stole the "eye" of the Nazca Lines?
"Could it be someone from our team?" Jiang Shaoxu asked, frowning.

Zhao Manyan immediately chimed in, "Maybe it was one of those people who didn't want to come who stole it? That's why they made an excuse to avoid it."

Nan Jue shook his head in denial: "That's unlikely. We were on the verge of death in the castle. If they really stole it, refusing to return it at that critical moment would be tantamount to playing with their lives. I suspect the eye was stolen during our time in the Nazca Lines. That's why the Nazca Lines are targeting everyone who has recently entered the restricted area. Do you remember? Several cities in southwestern Peru were attacked, many mines were surrounded, and the Nazca Lines were chasing us, while those apes and spiders were mainly attacking other areas... This just shows that they were attacking the thieves' location."

"So..." Jiang Yu suddenly realized, "the Nazca Lines aren't actually sure who stole it, so they can only attack anyone who has recently trespassed into the forbidden area indiscriminately?"

“That’s right!” Nan Jue nodded firmly. “Now, all we need to do is find the real thief, and this disaster will end. Do you remember the ancient inscription at the foot of the mountain? It says this: ‘Everything must be returned, or misfortune will never end!’”

Lin Lan often had to admit that the people in the National Government were indeed quite outstanding, and their analyses were flawless.

The person who stole the eyes was in the mine, and coincidentally, Ai Jiangtu and his group encountered him.

Once we find that older man, the problem will be solved. (End of Chapter)