Chapter 809: Black Ruins

809. Black Ruins

‘Forget it, I’ll head to the next place.’

Just as Lin Ye turned to retreat, he suddenly recalled his earlier conversation with those sea creatures.

‘…Wasteland?’

Even in his relaxed state, Lin Ye could remember every word of the dialogue. Amidst the chaotic chatter, the seventeenth sea creature had mentioned the word “wasteland.”

At the time, Lin Ye hadn’t understood what that yellow fish, with eyeballs covering its head, was talking about. But now that he was here, he could grasp the meaning of the conversation.

‘There’s a withered plant over there. Dig four meters down…’

Lin Ye used his mental energy to create a shovel and began excavating the ground.

The underground was filled with squirming weed root systems. Fortunately, since Lin Ye was in a relaxed state, those root systems couldn’t affect him.

Soon, Lin Ye dug up a metal box four meters below the surface. Inside the box was a very fresh, green weed.

‘What is this thing?’

Lin Ye sensed an intense life force emanating from the weed, but he had no idea what it was for.

The ground began to tremble as a mass of root tendrils sealed off the pit’s exit.

Lin Ye tore through the root tendrils above, forcing his way out of the pit. Numerous weeds tangled around his body, but thanks to his Special Ability, they couldn’t harm him.

A giant composed of withered wood appeared in the distance, sprinting at full speed toward him.

Lin Ye grabbed the weed and charged toward the flesh-and-blood vortex. The surrounding weeds couldn’t stop him.

Just before the withered wood giant could grab him, Lin Ye entered the ruins through the flesh-and-blood vortex.

The withered wood giant followed him inside, but its body was far too massive to fit through the corridor of flesh and blood.

The withered branches forming the giant’s body broke apart and reorganized, transforming into dozens of wooden beasts made of dried wood.

The wooden beasts charged into the corridor of flesh and blood. They moved quickly and, before long, had caught up to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye casually tossed a few Molotov cocktails behind him. The Molotov cocktails hit the wooden beasts with pinpoint accuracy, turning the ones that got close into blazing fireballs.

These weren’t ordinary Molotov cocktails—they were high-temperature Molotov cocktails Lin Ye had created with his mental energy.

By throwing the Molotov cocktails, Lin Ye successfully made it back to the flesh-and-blood courtyard.

Some wooden beasts had already given chase. Lin Ye pushed open the coffin lid and lay down inside.

The moment the coffin lid closed, all external noise vanished.

Lin Ye pushed open the lid, crawled out with the weed in hand.

The surroundings were still the same normal flesh-and-blood courtyard, but Lin Ye sensed a young man at the corner of the corridor of flesh and blood.

That young man was using some kind of communication device to talk to someone.

“I’m not drunk! Someone really crawled out of that coffin!”

The young man whispered excitedly.

“He’s not lying. I did come out of that coffin.”

Lin Ye stood behind the young man and took the communication device from his hand.

The young man shuddered in fright, staring at Lin Ye nervously with rapid breaths.

“He’s a member of some mental waste-collecting company. The company sends people deep into the mental world to set up bases and gather mental constructs nearby.”

Little Guardian appeared beside Lin Ye. The young man’s body relaxed, his expression turning blank.

“What’s the outside like?”

If this place had nothing to do with the sea creature’s conversation, Lin Ye planned to move on to the next location.

“There are some abandoned ruins outside, which is why they set up a base here.”

Little Guardian had already collected all the information here.

“Oh, then I still need to go out. Hopefully, they haven’t found the place from the conversation.”

Lin Ye had no idea what use items like the weed had, but since he was already here, he couldn’t leave empty-handed.

“What place?”

Little Guardian followed Lin Ye toward the ruins’ exit.

“It should be inside a black ruin.”

Lin Ye toyed with the weed in his hand. It writhed, seeming to grow a little.

“There’s a black ruin nearby, but they can’t get in.”

Little Guardian quickly found the relevant information.

“Perfect.”

The two left the ruins. There were many abandoned buildings around the flesh-and-blood vortex, and the black ruin was not far away.

Lin Ye approached the black ruin and opened its large door with a password.

“Someone’s coming. They have some kind of mental energy defense measure, so I can’t directly influence them.”

Little Guardian suddenly spoke.

Lin Ye glanced back. An old man in a protective suit stood fifty meters away, behind a ruin.

“I’m just here to grab something and leave. Hope you don’t mind.”

Lin Ye decided to communicate with him first.

“This ruin is company property. You’re no exception. Combat personnel will be here soon to deal with your problem.”

The old man revealed a malicious smile.

“Good. I like your straightforward attitude.”

Lin Ye pulled out a pistol and fired at the old man.

Bang!

The old man tilted his head to dodge the bullet, but he hadn’t expected the bullet to curve.

The bullet hit the old man’s head but failed to blow his skull apart.

His face deathly pale, the old man had no time to ponder how the bullet curved. He turned and fled into the ruins.

“Pretty quick reflexes.”

Lin Ye fired a few more shots in the direction the old man had run, then turned and entered the black ruin.

He didn’t venture deep into the ruins but stopped in the hall near the entrance.

The fish had only mentioned the center of the hall, without giving any more details.

Lin Ye stood in the center of the hall. Sunlight from outside streamed through the window onto his face, then gradually shifted downward into his hand.

‘…Is this it?’

Lin Ye held the strand of flowing sunlight. It wasn’t a physical object, yet he could grasp it in his hand.

A combat squad was approaching the black ruin in the distance. Lin Ye drew his pistol and fired a few shots toward the entrance.

The bullets in his gun weren’t ordinary spiritual energy bullets, but special ones he had developed. Unfortunately, his understanding of the minerals’ structure was insufficient, so he could only create some structurally special flesh projectiles.

Moreover, his control over mental energy wasn’t skilled enough yet; otherwise, that old man wouldn’t have been able to block that bullet.

Lin Ye left the ruin with the sunlight. He didn’t go deeper—the place gave him a very bad feeling.

Several fleshy monsters stood outside the ruin, transformed from those combat personnel who had undergone Alienation.

Lin Ye didn’t attack the waste pickers, and he had already dealt with the nearby fleshy monsters.

After Lin Ye left, these people would return to normal. If that old man hadn’t had mental protection, no one here would have died.

Lin Ye studied the sunlight in his hand. He noticed a connection between the sunlight and the weed. He brought the weed and sunlight together, and the two smoothly merged into a glowing weed.