Card maker? No, I'm a mechanic!

The next day, outside the gate of Tianlan Academy.

"Is everything checked? This is nothing like the usual minor oversights."

Inside a modified heavy-duty off-road vehicle.

Shi Jingcheng leaned against the car frame and glanced at his watch, his expression serious.

"Don't worry, boss, this is my second time going there. I know the way well."

Li Kai patted his bulging backpack, his face beaming with pride.

"I feel like my mental energy purity is just one step away from being perfect."

"Maybe this time I'll get lucky and be able to reach the level of a second-tier card master by taking advantage of that environment."

As he spoke, he turned to look at a man wearing glasses beside him.

The boy, who looked somewhat frail, spoke with a hint of boastfulness.

"Ah Wei, stick close to me this time, I'll take you to new heights."

"Great, then we'll have to rely on Brother Kai."

The boy named Awei pushed up his glasses. Although he verbally agreed, his eyes kept glancing into the distance.

There, Jiang Zhe was leaning alone against the back of the car, looking down at the stone tablet in his bag.

The difficulty of this site is unknown, although the stone tablet takes up a considerable amount of space.

However, considering the effects it could have, Jiang Zhe decided to bring it along.

Seemingly sensing the prying gaze, he suddenly looked up and smiled slightly at Awei.

Ah Wei was taken aback and quickly looked away, pretending to be admiring the scenery.

Is this the top spot? ... It looks pretty ordinary.

"Tch, what are you pretending to be so profound for?"

Seeing this, Li Kai couldn't help but curl his lips and mutter something under his breath, his eyes full of disdain.

"It's almost time..."

Shi Jingcheng's gaze swept over the empty driver's seat, and he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Why isn't Lao Liu here yet? He's usually the most punctual driver."

"I don't know, he didn't say anything about anything when he came back the day before yesterday."

Li Kai was a little puzzled. "Could he oversleep? Or did something suddenly come up?"

Shi Jingcheng shook his head and didn't respond, but instead took out a communication card to ask about the situation.

"Click".

Just then, the driver's side door was suddenly pulled open.

A figure wearing a baseball cap and a black, tight-fitting combat suit nimbly slipped into the driver's seat.

The combat suit was made of a special material that shimmered faintly in the morning light.

It was clearly a high-end, custom-made item, which accentuated the man's extremely capable physique.

"Who are you? Where's Lao Liu?"

Shi Jingcheng frowned, just about to ask a question.

But the person had already put down their backpack and adjusted their seat first.

She took off her hat, revealing a beautiful and refined face with a hint of slyness.

"Suman!?"

Upon seeing who it was, not only Shi Jingcheng, but everyone else was also stunned.

"Why are you here?"

Upon seeing this, Li Kai's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he instinctively wanted to step forward.

"Senior, that's not a lab."

"What? Surprised?"

Su Man tossed her hair, then pulled out a crumpled application form and handed it to Shi Jingcheng, the co-pilot.

"This is the project application that Professor Lin approved overnight last night."

"A Field Investigation on the Influence of the Special Magnetic Field of the Triangular Relics Cluster on Mental Strength."

She pointed to the bright red professor's stamp on the application, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"Besides, I've already spoken to Liu Qi. I'll be his driver this time, which will also give him a break."

"So... I'm considered a support staff member, not taking up your precious combat slots."

"Oh, this..."

Shi Jingcheng looked at the application form stamped with the professor's seal, then glanced at Su Man's innocent face, and was speechless for a moment.

This reason truly and irrefutably shut down his argument.

"Alright, since the professor has agreed."

He sighed helplessly and carefully put the application form away.

"However, let me make this clear beforehand: once we get to the ruins, you'll have to listen to me and won't be allowed to act on your own."

"Don't worry, Minister, I value my life very much."

Su Man gave a playful salute, then winked at Jiang Zhe, who was sitting in the back seat, through the rearview mirror.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhe's expression was somewhat complicated. Why was Professor Lin letting things run wild like this?

However, it's more convenient to have several familiar people around.

Watching the interaction between the two, Li Kai couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

However, due to the occasion, he couldn't make a scene, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended nothing had happened.

"Now that everyone's here, let's set off."

With the minister's order.

The SUV then emitted a deep roar and sped off into the wilderness outside the city.

……

After leaving the city, the surrounding scenery gradually became desolate.

The dense vegetation was gradually replaced by sparse shrubs and exposed rocks, leaving only a vast expanse of yellowish-brown between heaven and earth.

The off-road vehicle sped along the bumpy dirt road, kicking up clouds of yellow sand.

"The foggy area is just ahead, and we'll be at the ruins soon. Everyone, stay alert!"

After driving for about two hours, Shi Jingcheng's voice broke the somewhat dull atmosphere inside the car.

Everyone looked up and saw that a gray-white wall of mist had appeared on the horizon ahead.

The wall of mist stretched between heaven and earth, as if dividing the world into two halves.

"This fog... seems thicker than the last time I came?"

Li Kai clung to the car window, a sense of doubt creeping into his heart.

"And isn't it getting a little cold?"

"You've been coming less often, that's normal."

Shi Jingcheng glanced at the instrument in his hand. Although the data fluctuated, the general direction was correct.

"The space around the Triangular Relics Cluster is inherently unstable, and spatial rifts frequently occur, causing changes in the concentration of the mist."

"As long as we follow the established route, there won't be any problems."

As he spoke, he pointed to a towering earthen hill that was faintly visible in the mist.

"See that? That's an old landmark."

"Suman, lock onto that direction and go straight through without slowing down."

"There won't be any obstacles on the road, just keep driving."

"receive."

Su Man gripped the steering wheel tightly, her eyes focused.

She stepped on the gas, and the SUV plunged headlong into the thick fog.

"Huff huff..."

The wind howled outside the car window, carrying fine sand that lashed against the car body with a crackling sound.

Visibility was instantly reduced to the minimum; even with the modified high-intensity searchlights on, one could only barely see the road conditions a few meters ahead.

"hiss……"

Jiang Zhe was sitting in the back seat when he suddenly felt a warm sensation on his back.

He instinctively reached behind him, and even through his backpack, he could still feel the heat emanating from the stone tablet.

"This place is quite something."

He was secretly alarmed and quietly extended his spiritual power to warn his surroundings.

After an unknown amount of time, just as everyone suddenly felt a strange dizziness and even experienced some auditory hallucinations.

"Buzz!"

The surrounding space suddenly distorted violently, and then the suffocating sense of oppression quickly disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, everyone felt a lightness in their bodies, and the comfort of sitting in the car seat was gone.

Thump, thump.

With several muffled thuds, everyone fell from mid-air and crashed heavily onto the soft sand.

"Ouch, my butt."

Ah Wei rubbed his buttocks and stood up, looking around blankly.

"Where's the car? Such a big car!"

The SUV had vanished without a trace, replaced by an endless expanse of yellow sand and Gobi Desert.

"Stop looking."

Shi Jingcheng patted the dust off his body, his expression calm, clearly having expected this.

"This is how it is when entering ruins; all large, non-living objects are rejected."

"You don't understand yet since you're new here, but you will later."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling the unique coolness in the air.

"The good news is, however, that we did get in."

"Judging from these characteristics... that's it, it's the Yellow Sand Relic No. 03."