Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"So who exactly are you? I heard about them when I was a mercenary in the underground. They were cruel, domineering, elusive, and invincible. Now that I've seen them, it's true."

A person's strength is real and will not disappear just because they lose.

Judging solely from their armament and operational capabilities, the Sweeper already understood the difficulty of dealing with the Internal Security.

Yet the other party was still kicked, beaten, and threatened like a helpless infant, with movements so subtle they were barely perceptible to the naked eye.

So much so that even with Ursus as a backup, they still had no choice but to leave as Tomat demanded.

The cleaner didn't intend to delve too deeply; she was more concerned with gathering intelligence to learn more about the other party, as if it were a form of self-protection.

Because not only the Scavengers, but even the Brutality, who hadn't spoken to them, believed there was no reason for Thomas to join Rhodes Island as an operator.

He could have done much more with his strength, which is far greater than what he has achieved so far.

—Whether it's good or bad.

"He's just an unemployed mercenary with a history full of failures," Tomat said, brushing it off with an old excuse, making it seem like he didn't want to talk much about his past experiences.

"Besides, there are people on Rhodes Island who are stronger than those guys. I'm just like them, I just want to find a place where I can eat my fill and not be too bored."

Tomat emphasized this again.

At that moment, Tomat's communication device rang, and the other side, whose signal had not yet been connected, also put down his communicator because of the notification sound and turned to look at Tomat.

"This is Froststar."

Although there was still a lot of hissing sound in the communication, it was still able to transmit relatively complete content without interruption.

Froststar's voice came from the other side, and she continued:

"The signal has been restored, and I suspect it's related to you, right? It looks like Ursus isn't sending anyone, so we're planning to head to the core city to meet up with the main team."

The other side made a similar judgment and headed towards the doctor's location.

Given the current situation, the internal security forces have chosen to withdraw from this area, and Ursus, the faction most likely to take drastic action, has already left the region.

The premise of the conflict is that both sides exist simultaneously. If everything goes smoothly, this "rescue operation" will at least not encounter any other problems in the following process.

—If all goes well.

The core city exploration team, led by the doctor, arrived at the deep pit. The area that used to be the bridge was completely unrecognizable. The pit walls were also unclear, as it was impossible to tell whether molten metal had solidified again or melted rock had cooled and taken shape. Even with safety measures in place, standing on the edge and looking down into the dark bottom, it was almost impossible to see anything.

The only thing capable of causing such destruction is a natural disaster, and even if it is caused by human intervention, it should be due to weapons—but on Terra, all energy weapons or explosives are dominated by Originium Arts or Originium artifacts.

However, the numbers displayed on the Originium detector remain at an extremely low level.

It wasn't a natural disaster, nor was it a weapon?

The surveyors and scholars present, including a PhD who, despite losing his memory, still possessed the knowledge expected of a "Doctor of Originium Studies," were all extremely puzzled.

Wait... a massive explosion without any Originium components or magical fluctuations?

"...No way?"

The Doctor muttered something under his breath, and Amiya, who was standing nearby, suddenly twitched her ears, observing her surroundings while also watching the Doctor's reaction.

At least Amiya doesn't really want the Doctor to think about that kind of thing right now.

"The signal is gradually showing signs of returning to normal, Doctor. Should we proceed with the exploration by rappelling or wait for the signal to recover?"

Amiya suddenly shifted the topic to current affairs, reminding the Doctor that his work was not yet finished.

"Ah... let's wait until the signal is completely normal. It would be best to confirm the rescue status of the other teams as soon as possible, so that we can evacuate them in case of any unexpected situations."

"Was it here that my sister... commanded the Reunion Movement?" Chen stared into the abyss. Although she wasn't afraid of heights, she still felt as if the darkness at the bottom was a gaping maw about to swallow her whole. "But you're actually going down there yourself?"

Chen watched as the operators began setting up the ropes, and the Doctor also installed a frame on himself to secure the ropes. He stepped forward to help the operators set up the necessary tools while asking questions.

"Because the PhD is the one with the highest academic qualifications and academic authority among everyone present."

Amiya tried to explain, but as Chen passed by carrying a huge metal pulley, a barely perceptible red light flashed before her eyes. She asked in astonishment:

"Officer Chen...did your sword flash just now?"

[Main Text] Chernobog, Above the Ruins: Chapter Nineteen: Are You a Dragon Too?

Chen Huijie's sword is named Chixiao.

However, it is more of a "sword-shaped staff" than a sword, at least that's what the engineers think—it's not sharp enough as a sword, and too flimsy as a staff.

It was passed down to Chen Huijie by Wei Yanwu, the mayor of Longmen, who also taught him the "Red Sky Sword Technique".

And then it was never drawn again.

Or rather, so far there has never been an opponent that would make the Crimson Sky Sword willing to draw its sheath.

Wei Yanwu once said some intriguing things to Chen.

For example, "The Crimson Sky Sword will only be drawn when you feel it is necessary to draw it."

And "The Crimson Sky Sword is used to slay evil dragons".

Clearly, she had never encountered a dragon, after all, it was just a legendary creature.

However, even when Chen felt the need to draw his sword, such as when he was surrounded by the cockroach-like Sarkaz mercenaries in Lungmen, Chixiao still refused to obey and remained unsheathed.

This attitude is as if to say, "I don't care what you think, I care what I think."

Or it could mean "I'm stuck, the card won't come out."

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Chen can only grit his teeth and use brute force to pull it out for a moment, and then it will be forced back into its sheath due to the Originium Arts applied during the forging process.

But now, after Amiya's reminder, Chen did indeed notice that the blade hidden in the sheath was emitting a crimson glow as if it were breathing.

She didn't even put her hand on the hilt of the sword!

"Strange, I have a bad feeling, something seems to be happening in this pit."

As Chen moved further towards the pit, the flashes of light became more frequent.

Even though the Originium detection devices didn't react, his own sword started emitting light uncontrollably, as if it had detected something.

It would be strange if Chen wasn't on guard.

Chen looked at the doctor. Since they all said that the doctor had sufficient academic standing, he might as well ask him what his views were on the current situation.

"You're asking me?" The Doctor, already wearing the equipment secured by ropes, stood at the edge of the cave entrance, just like Chen, staring down with his dark face hidden beneath his hood. "The light emitted is also related to the Originium Arts inherent in your sword. If you didn't trigger it actively, then certain conditions were met to induce the spell to proceed."

"Firstly, you forced them to do it, which you demonstrated by cutting down the walls of the testing room."

The doctor continued, picking up a piece of metal from beside his feet and tossing it downwards while listening intently.

"Another one of you also mentioned..."

"There can't possibly be any evil dragons, right?"

Before the doctor could finish speaking, Chen interrupted him, her stern face showing disappointment. She frowned, stroked the hilt of her sword, and sighed, rejecting the doctor's deduction.

"After eliminating the impossible, no matter how unbelievable the remaining one may seem, it may still be the correct answer."

The doctor was still listening intently, but he did not hear an echo.

In contrast, the doctor's long-dormant communicator suddenly rang, clearly indicating that the communication obstruction had completely disappeared.

"Doctor, the person has been rescued. We're preparing to rejoin you. Is everything alright over there?"

The sounds coming from the other end were about violence; she was communicating with the Doctor as the team leader.

"Everything is normal. We are now preparing to go down into the giant pit in the center of the core city to make some observations of the bottom. However, the depth seems to be greater than expected, and the visibility is also very low. But now that communication has been restored, we don't need to worry too much about the rear affairs. You can come to the vicinity and wait for support. Remember to settle the people in a place a little further away."

The doctor skillfully explained the current situation and next steps to the atrocities, and also made arrangements for the atrocities' team. If other teams contacted them, the doctor would also make the same work assignments.

As for the Longmen team, he doesn't need to worry about them.

"and many more."

Just before the doctor was about to hang up, he heard another familiar voice.

It was Thomas who stopped the violence, and his voice reached the doctor.

"Doctor, what did you just say? The pit is deep? I can't see anything?"

Thomas still remembers when the pit was first "created," the moonlight could shine right to the bottom.

As for the depth—it's at most two or three hundred meters deep.

It's broad daylight now, how could we not see what's going on below the cave?

"Yes what's the matter?"

After listening to Thomas's words, the doctor looked down again.

It was indeed pitch black.

"Snoring—!!!"

Just then, the ground suddenly began to shake.

Amiya leaped forward, fully utilizing Carter's jumping ability, grabbed the Doctor's clothes, and pulled him back.

At the same instant, the rubble beneath the doctor's feet crumbled and fell into the bottomless darkness.

"earthquake!?"

Chen placed her hand on the sheath. The previous radiance of the Crimson Sky had already put her on high alert, and the sudden tremor made her prepare for battle.

"Everyone, evacuate one by one. The structure here is somewhat unstable!"

The doctor turned around and shouted at the other operators who were waiting in line.

But the operator named Rosemary stood there, her eyes wide open. Her azure pupils turned into vertical lines under the light due to the properties of the film. Then, ignoring the doctor's shouts, she closed her eyes and let the cracks from the edge of the pit spread to her feet.

"Little sister! Danger! Come quick!"

"Watch out! I'm pulling you!"

"PhD!!"

People didn't have time to drive, so they could only run in the opposite direction of the crack's extension.

But Chen suddenly grabbed Rosemary, who was standing still, while the Doctor grabbed Chen's hand.

Then Amiya captured the Doctor.

As a result, this momentary pause allowed the ground to collapse and extend to the feet of the people.