The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

The next morning, before dawn.

Chen Guan, carrying a coffin on his back, wearing spider silk armor and combat uniform, and swift boots, arrived at the west gate of the academy on time.

An Changqing, Su Yuehe, and Long Ao have already arrived, but Chen Guan is still the last to arrive.

Besides them, there was also a shuttle-shaped aircraft about ten meters long, silver-gray in color, with intricate patterns engraved on its surface, parked in the West Gate Square. It was the academy's exclusive means of transportation, the Cloud Shuttle.

Standing to the side was a middle-aged instructor in an academic uniform with a serious expression, who seemed to be the supervisor of this trip.

Although it's supposed to be a free exploration, a mentor is still needed to be present and handle any unexpected situations.

In the wild, humans are far more dangerous than wild animals.

Upon seeing Chen Guan arrive, An Changqing nodded to him, gesturing for him to come over.

"Everyone's here," An Changqing said to the middle-aged instructor. "Instructor, we can set off now."

The middle-aged mentor's sharp gaze swept over the four people, especially lingering for a moment on the coffin behind Chen Guan. Anyone seeing Chen Guan for the first time would tacitly look behind him; that coffin was truly eye-catching.

The mentor didn't say much, but simply said in a deep voice, "I am Zhao Tie, the mentor accompanying this mission."

"I won't participate in your exploration. I'll only be responsible for transportation and providing minimal academy support in emergencies. Get on board, and remember, safety first, and do what you can."

"Yes, Instructor Zhao." The four responded in unison. Even Long Ao showed them respect this time. After saying that, they boarded the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle one by one.

The interior space was more spacious than I had imagined, the seats were comfortable, and there was a simple rest area and a supply box.

Inside the Cloud Shuttle, besides the four members of Team 49, there were several other student teams that had applied to go to the Black Wind Ruins, totaling about twenty people.

Some teams were talking in hushed tones, while others were resting with their eyes closed. The atmosphere was relaxed, after all, this site was considered to be of BabyBus difficulty, and even though they had suddenly fallen ill, it probably wouldn't be too difficult.

Looking around, there were familiar faces, namely the senior students Li Yuqing and Huo Qixing whom they had met at the beginning of the semester.

Li Yuqing even winked at him, clearly recognizing him, given his distinctive features.

Chen Guan smiled in response. Instructor Zhao Tie sat in the pilot's seat, started the aircraft, and with a slight hum, the Cloud Shuttle slowly rose into the air, then transformed into a silver streak of light and sped off in the northwest direction.

Outside the porthole, the view of the academy shrank rapidly, replaced by rolling mountains and increasingly thick morning mist. The shuttle traveled at an extremely fast speed, soon penetrating deep into the remote Forgotten Mountains.

Below lies an endless expanse of dark green forest and rugged rocks, with occasional glimpses of misty valleys or areas shimmering with strange luster.

After flying for about an hour, the scenery ahead began to change. The mountains gradually turned gray, the vegetation became sparse, and a faint smell of rust began to permeate the air.

In the distance, a patch of sky could be vaguely seen shrouded in a hazy, grayish-black mist. The mist did not appear to be naturally formed, but rather resembled a curtain.

"We're almost at the outskirts of the Black Wind Ruins," Instructor Zhao Tie said in a deep voice from the driver's seat. "Everyone, stay alert."

The Cloud Shuttle began to slow down and gradually descended. Below, a relatively flat open area appeared, which had been temporarily cleared and had several simple tents set up. The barrier had been erected, and some figures could be vaguely seen moving around. This was the temporary camp set up by the academy on the outskirts of the ruins.

The shuttle landed smoothly at the edge of the camp. The hatch opened, and air carrying the smell of earth rushed in. The humidity here seemed very high, which made Chen Guan feel a little uncomfortable.

"Remember, the exploration period is three days. The Cloud Shuttle will be waiting here at this time three days from now. If you are late, you will be responsible for the consequences."

Instructor Zhao Tie's voice was devoid of any emotion: "Now, let's set off."

The students stood up, picked up their equipment, and filed out.

Chen Guan carried the coffin on his back and followed An Changqing down the Cloud Shuttle. As his feet touched the slightly damp, gray-black ground, he immediately felt a faint chill creeping up his feet, but it was quickly neutralized by the spider silk armor and his own gray energy.

He was slightly surprised; although he had seen it in books, there was still a big difference between words and real-life situations.

The camp was small, with only a few tents and a communication tower that emitted a faint spiritual energy fluctuation. It had almost no facilities, after all, it was just a temporary camp.

Several teams have already arrived and are making final preparations or exchanging intelligence.

An Changqing looked around and whispered, "Let's go to the camp registration office to report first, and see if there's any new intelligence to share."

The registration office was located inside the largest tent, and was run by a staff member with a blank expression. It was clear that he had lost all will to live after working there for so long.

An Changqing stepped forward and handed over the identity information and exploration application filing for Team 49.

Despite their exhaustion, the staff quickly checked the information and, once completed, handed them four specially made location and distress badges, as well as a newly updated simplified map of the site's perimeter.

This map is more detailed than the one provided by the academy, marking several newly discovered relatively safe areas and dangerous points, all of which were pioneered by predecessors.

"During the exploration, be sure to carry the badge with you at all times. If you encounter a danger that you cannot solve, you can activate a distress signal, but you may not be able to get rescued in time. You should assess the situation yourself."

The staff member gave a routine instruction.

"Thank you." An Changqing took the items and distributed them to his teammates. As the son of the president, he was well aware of these matters.

Because of what happened last time, he made sure to have all the necessary equipment this time, so there's no way he'd encounter any security issues again.

However, he didn't want to use those methods unless absolutely necessary, since his main purpose was to gain experience, and he couldn't improve himself by relying on money.

Chen Guan pinned the badge inside his collar and looked at the map. The center of the map was covered with a large blank space and question marks, which was the unexplored core area, the eye of the storm.

Their target, the Ancient Tower area, is located on the northwestern edge of the ruins and is marked as moderately dangerous. There, the black wind is strongly eroded, ancient mechanisms are occasionally triggered, and low-level ruin creatures exist.

"According to intelligence, there are three relatively well-preserved stone towers in the ancient tower area, arranged in a triangular shape. The abnormal fluctuations in spiritual energy mainly come from the tallest tower in the middle."

An Changqing pointed to the map: "We'll head directly to the central ancient tower, and be careful of the black winds, possible traps, and relic creatures along the way."

As for where his intelligence came from... it was naturally from the association's internal information. He came here on his father's orders; this was a trial ground carefully selected by his father.

"Understood." Chen Guan nodded.

"Let's go." An Changqing put away the map and took the lead in walking towards the ruins shrouded in gray-black mist outside the camp.

Along the way, there were quite a few people hawking their wares on the spot. Chen Guan glanced around and realized that most of the things they sold here weren't anything of any value. It seemed he wasn't destined to find a bargain.

As they continued their journey, the four of them entered the actual area of ​​the ruins.