As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 13 If you never forget it, there will be repercussions

A large device called "Gate of the Past" is deployed at the bottom of the abandoned mine.

The mine, which is more than half the size of a football field, is filled with all kinds of strange devices engraved with hexagrams and cuneiform runes. They look like ancient astronomical observatories and steam engines that have just exploded.

The "Gate of the Old Days" is warming up, emitting a deafening roar.

In the center of the device that could fall apart at any time, a metal ring with a diameter of more than five meters gradually began to rotate at an increasingly higher speed.

Hundreds of runes engraved on the ring flashed one by one, emitting an ancient glow.

Xu Yan stood in front of the "door", checking his equipment and looking at his "teammates".

"King Kong" Hart, the human shield of the investigation team.

A giant over two meters tall, a Class B wanted criminal in the Alliance, who once crushed the heads of three Security Bureau operators with his bare hands.

"Thor" Sebastian, a heavy firepower expert.

He was once a suicide squad member of the Yuling Corps, suffered from war trauma syndrome, and killed more than twenty of his comrades.

Benjamin "Weird Brain", historian.

Because of a debate over academic opinions, a vicious spirit was summoned, skills were activated, and the brain of a senior professor exploded.

The remaining members of the former investigation team were also notorious desperadoes. Sensing Xu Yan's gaze, they all gave this newcomer a "friendly" grin.

"Blood Thorn" Goli, fully armed, walked past the investigation team members and checked their equipment one by one.

Breathing mask and biochemical detector.

Hemostatic gel and soft armor with bulletproof inserts.

Blank large-capacity seal cards and high-power spirit capture devices.

Firearms, ammunition and medical first aid kits.

An inverted cross necklace, a bloody hexagram, a portable shrine, grease that can be identified as a member of the same species by extraordinary creatures, rust remover that killing machines desperately need, and all sorts of odds and ends that may save lives in extreme situations.

Everything is ready.

The seal cards were also tested in the card reader.

The green indicator light that lights up instantly indicates that the spiritual connection between everyone and the guardian spirit is in a stable, clear and active state.

"The night sky is a bloody feast."

Goli suddenly said something.

"The red rabbit chased the blue tiger until the pond dried up and the apples fell to the ground."

King Kong is as big and strong as an armored gorilla, and his voice is like thunder.

"Do beastmasters from the Golden Iris Dynasty dream of steam engines?"

The head was deformed and swollen, like a big-headed monster baby, and the "weird brain" screamed.

The other former investigators also spoke nonsense and illogically.

"This is your 'safeword.' Every time you enter the Land of Echoes, you have to come up with a new one. The less logical, the better."

Snake Queen approached silently from behind and whispered in Xu Yan's ear, "If you encounter any strange phenomena in there, become unrecognizable, and lose control, you must recite the safe word to let your teammates know that you are still you, and not...something else that has drilled into your body."

Xu Yan got goose bumps on the back of his neck.

He really couldn't guess what this vicious witch was thinking.

"Don't think, go with your gut, that's your safe word."

Snake Princess urged.

"Even if the road is already broken—"

Xu Yan said subconsciously.

He paused, feeling a little lost, not knowing what to say next.

Snake Queen was satisfied.

"Very good. The so-called Old Ones investigators are those who seek strength and hope on the long-broken old roads."

She grabbed Xu Yan's shoulders and refused to let go. "I have a feeling you will pass the test and become a true Old One investigator, or even an 'Old One'!"

"Gate of the Ancients, fully charged!"

As the "astronomical observatory" and "scrapped steam engine" reached their limits, the glittering runes on the central ring of the device ignited into dazzling balls of light. These balls of light spun 360 degrees in various directions, trailing dazzling streaks of light.

The light bands crisscrossed and blended with each other, and in the deepest part of the dark mine, they merged into a huge ball of light with a diameter of more than five meters.

The ball of light contains a mysterious attraction, stirring the surrounding space and releasing circles of shimmering ripples.

The papers and pens placed around and the gravel on the ground were all jumping slightly, as if they were about to be sucked in.

Including Xu Yan, everyone heard a rustling sound in their ears, as if it were the whispers of rodents.

Dr. Hyde was holding a small and exquisite portable safe, which was slowly pushed over by two of his men.

His expression showed extreme strain, and the wheelchair squeaked under the weight.

The safe is made of an extremely dense, super-heavy alloy.

The surface and interior are engraved with mysterious and complex runes, with lead plates inlaid in the middle. There are as many as six card slots, with six seal cards inserted to prevent the old power inside from leaking out and corroding the surrounding things.

This was the old item he found deep in the mine.

It is also the "key" to open the door to the past and enter the land of echoes.

No one knows the true nature of "Echoes of the Past".

Some speculate that it is related to human emotions, obsessions and beliefs.

In the long history of human civilization, which has gone through four eras, there have been countless moments that determined the rise and fall of dynasties and even the survival of civilizations.

The immortal king who was about to conquer the world died in a despicable assassination in the Senate.

The undefeated general who was about to wash his sword with blood in the barbarian lair was suddenly captured by the tyrant and secretly executed.

A flash of inspiration in the laboratory allowed humans to invent the ultimate weapon capable of destroying themselves and even the entire planet.

The large-scale application of intelligent machinery, after being nurtured by countless people and countless information, has completed a thrilling leap from "weak artificial intelligence" to "strong artificial intelligence".

These famous scenes in history not only caused the parties involved to have extremely extreme and critical emotions at the time, but also condensed them into an indelible obsession.

It also profoundly influenced the direction of civilization.

Even hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of years later, after the ancient civilization has long collapsed, it still touches the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of people, causing countless people to sigh, feel angry, lament, suffer, rejoice, feel overwhelmed, be obsessed, and empathize.

As the saying goes, "If you keep thinking about it, there will be a response."

When countless people stir up the magnetic field of life and release the power of the soul, there is a certain probability that yesterday will reappear.

From this perspective, the echo itself is also a remnant soul.

It is the remnant of history.

It is a history that has long passed and should have been obliterated, but it has listened to the call of the people of the present world and emerged as a reflection from the long river of time.

If we want to follow the reflection and salvage the precious heritage buried deep among the mud and rocks from the depths of the long river of time, we also need a crucial "key" - an ancient object from the past that embodies the efforts, emotions, obsessions, hopes and beliefs of the human beings at that time.

Click.

The safe opens.

The "key" to unlock the echoes of the past No. 232 appears.

It is a piece of black stone that is neither gold nor iron, and is as crystal clear as jade.

The interior is engraved with golden talismans with flying dragons and phoenixes, which have turned into winding bloodstains under the erosion of endless years.

"This is--"

Xu Yan's heartbeat slowed down instantly.

He would never be wrong.

The "key" in Dr. Hyde's hand turned out to be a fragment of the identity token of a disciple of the Wanhun Sect!
In Xu Yan's brain, the red dot symbolizing the Human Emperor Banner turned into a branding iron, causing his cerebral cortex to squeak.

His plan was simple.

Just running for my life.

but now--

"Are you scared silly? Come on!"

Goli pushed him toward the Gate of the Past. "Living before the end of the world, do you still want to live a hundred years?"

(End of this chapter)