CHAPTER 427: CHAPTER 427: WATCH POST SILENCE

After returning to the surface, Yu Sheng immediately sent Sun and the sample recovery team sent by the Special Service Bureau back to Boundary City. Then, before the entire crater region completely collapsed, he evacuated to a safe zone with Hu Li and others.

Not long after that, the entire area collapsed into an astonishing deep pit right before their eyes.

The underground structure of the crater had long been completely hollowed out by the parasite of the Dark Angel. After the Crystal Heart in that cave completely perished, the unsupported strata continuously crumbled downwards, eventually dragging a significant surrounding area of the crater into this terrifying chain collapse. The collapse process lasted for dozens of minutes, ultimately leaving everything unrecognizable.

The pit was still radiating residual heat, with lifeless gray crystals mixed among rocks and soil. The excavated stone "pipelines" and the compressed, deformed stratigraphic structures spread out in disarray, resembling the skeleton of some primordial giant beast that had been dead for millennia. This "giant pit" was clearly visible from space and, for the foreseeable future, would likely become a permanent structure on Guard-3 that even time could not erase.

Xu Jiali and his Spiritual Servant did not evacuate with the others but stayed behind with Yu Sheng to witness this earth-shattering collapse.

"Boss, it’s quite spectacular, meow," Lingdang widened her eyes, gazing at the giant pit still shrouded in dust and fog. Then she pressed a button on her protective suit. A slender tube rose inside her helmet visor, from which a mist extracted from catnip flowed. She took a deep breath and squinted her eyes, "Strong stuff..."

"Does this count as witnessing another ’Angel Fall’?" Xu Jiali turned to look at Yu Sheng and remarked casually.

Yu Sheng shook his head, "Not really. This is just an empty shell from the discarded remains of the Dark Angel, not even sure if it can be called its corpse."

"Tsk," Xu Jiali clicked her tongue, then shook her head, "The video data collection is complete. I should report back to the bureau. Captain Song and the Chief are waiting for the news."

Yu Sheng nodded and casually opened a door to the employee passage of the Special Service Bureau. Two passing agents on the opposite side were startled. They looked over here with their mouths agape but quickly reacted, bowing to Yu Sheng before rushing away.

Lingdang looked up at Xu Jiali in surprise, "Boss, not staying to help your friends fight?"

"Help what? Help Yu Sheng? Fight the Dark Angel?" Xu Jiali immediately raised her eyebrows and lightly tapped Lingdang’s helmet, "Have you been smoking too much catnip? Come back with me. You haven’t reported back to the Special Service Bureau for quite some time. It’s about time you made an appearance..."

"Oh, alright, meow..."

With incessant chatter, the two of them passed through the door. Yu Sheng released the doorknob, leaving only him, Erin, Hu Li, and Luna on this desolate alien planet.

"It’s time to return to Shuji," Yu Sheng exhaled, took out his phone to check the time, and was about to open another door leading to the Immortal Gathering Continent.

However, at this moment, a sudden, urgent ringtone interrupted his movements.

The phone was in his hand, displaying the caller ID as "Wayward Disciple Four Thousand."

An inexplicable sense of unease flashed in Yu Sheng’s heart. He immediately answered the call, but before he could speak, he heard the urgent voice of True Man Yuanling from the other end of the line—

"Where are you? Are you still on Guard-3? Please quickly go to Shuji to confirm the situation, Xuan Che and the others have lost contact!"

"What?" Yu Sheng was immediately shocked, and swiftly reached into the air, where an illusory door formed in his hand, "I was just about to head over—Xuan Che lost contact? I received a message from him just a dozen minutes ago!"

"The contact was just lost, along with my senior brother," True Man Yuanling’s voice was urgent, "We don’t know what changed yet, but just now, disciples reported urgently that all communications between Taixu Spirit Hub and Shuji have been cut off! Not even the emergency lines are responding!"

All communications between Taixu Spirit Hub and Shuji completely cut off?!

Hearing the situation described by True Man Yuanling, Yu Sheng instinctively inhaled a breath of toxic air, then quickly replied, "Alright, I’m heading over now, and I’ll contact you immediately if I find anything."

Before finishing his sentence, he swung open the door leading to the Immortal Gathering Continent’s guestroom, stepping inside with Erin, Hu Li, and Luna.

In the next second, the group passed through the door, returning to their resting place in Shuji.

The hotel room was still as it was when they left, with the furniture neat and orderly. Outside the window, the continuous rain, the distant neon flickers, and faintly audible music from some unknown place could be heard.

The sound of rain mixed with distant music filtered through the window, making the room feel exceptionally quiet in contrast.

The living room was empty.

Erin jumped down from Yu Sheng’s shoulder, quickly running to the adjacent room, then ran back, "No one in the room!"

"Neither in the kitchen nor the bathroom." Hu Li also searched around, sniffing as she returned, "But there’s a lingering scent in the living room, Zheng Zhi and Yuan Hao should have been here. Also, there’s some moisture by the window."

Yu Sheng furrowed his brow and said nothing, merely picked up his phone and glanced at it.

"No signal?"

He raised his eyebrows in some surprise.

The next second, he felt his phone vibrate, and suddenly the edges of the screen darkened, then a red warning box popped up, its conspicuous text flashing inside the box—

"Environmental monitoring anomaly, possible deep critical condition."

Hu Li happened to see this scene next to him, the demon fox girl’s ears perked up: "Savior, this is..."

"...Exotic Realm," Yu Sheng’s expression was grave, "It occurred only due to a recent deep change triggering this special warning..."

Erin, who was wandering in the living room, stopped instantly and slowly lifted her head, reacting for a moment: "What the hell?"

"Boom!"

A thunderclap suddenly exploded in the distance, the rumbling sound rolled over the city like the roar of a giant beast, yet no lightning appeared, only the wind and rain became much more intense than before.

With the phone out of signal, unable to contact Yuan Hao, Xuan Che, and Zheng Zhi, the hotel room showed no signs of their presence.

The last message received was from Xuan Che, stating he detected cognitive anomaly signs possibly prevalent among large groups on this planet, including Mo Ran, the City Lord of Mo City.

Yu Sheng furrowed his brows tightly, rapidly pondering the connection between Xuan Che’s last message and the anomaly before him, while Hu Li’s voice came from the side: "Savior, what now?"

"Check the room thoroughly again," Yu Sheng pondered briefly, suddenly recalling something, "Master Yuan Hao is an experienced adventurer and quite powerful; if something truly happened, he would definitely try to leave information to alert us, it might just be obscured by the current anomaly...search again!"

It seemed an optionless option, yet Erin, Hu Li, and Luna immediately set to action, starting to search for any suspicious clues within the not-so-large hotel suite, and just as the group was rummaging about, a Jade Screen ornament on a side table in the living room suddenly emitted shimmering brilliance.

Yu Sheng curiously moved closer, immediately seeing the shimmering brilliance projecting a clear image—a lavishly decorated Immortal Boat was gliding steadily through the city’s skyscrapers, with floating lanterns and festival banners hanging in the nearby air. On the forward deck platform stood a stalwart man in purple, sword at his waist, stage presence at the bow, his face obscured by a misty haze, indistinct and unseen.

A voiceover came from the Jade Screen: "...the new ’Star Guardian’, Elder Dao Heng arrives in Mo City today, celebration events will last until..."

Erin sidled over: "What’s this? Local news broadcast?"

"...Then it must be ’news’ from over a hundred years ago," Yu Sheng furrowed his brows, "Star Guardian Elder Dao Heng’s tenure at Shuji was over a hundred years ago."

As soon as he spoke, the image cast by the Jade Screen fiercely flickered, the recently broadcast celebration transformed into an overcast construction site, towering unfinished architecture amidst the wilderness, machinery bustling around the giant tower, someone in the corner introducing: "...Refinement Tower No. Twelve constructed by Yunlan Sect...once completed, Mo City will become the largest spiritual ore refinement center at Shuji..."

The images projected by the Jade Screen continuously shifted, sometimes news broadcasts, sometimes entertainment shows, other times mere scenic documentaries, yet without a doubt, every image depicted events from a long past time.

The timeline ranging from the thriving Shuji mining epoch hundreds of years ago, up to several decades ago.

After cycling through countless mixed contents, the Jade Screen’s projection suddenly dimmed, accompanied by chaos and static, then grew clear and stable again, no longer showing any "program," just a blurry and obscure rain curtain.

The rain persisted, with distant blurry neon streetscape.

Yu Sheng stared at the projected image for two seconds, suddenly realizing, and hastily turned toward the window.

The scenery outside the window was identical to the projection seen from the Jade Screen!

The next moment, Yu Sheng noticed that the rain trace on the window was bending, forming twisted streams like characters, focusing intently, the twisted characters became neat:

"Knowledge Barrier."

Yu Sheng furrowed his brows, not having time to ponder before the writing was washed away by the rain, thereafter more words appeared on the window—

"We are within a vast Dream Realm."