This time I chose Paladin

Nie Weiyang sat on the lucky lottery ticket and touched the scratches on the car body and the scar left by a sickle.

"This is the most efficient solution within reasonable limits," he said. "I can recover from bleeding, but your attributes can't recover naturally. It's different."

Yi Jian watched the blue light from the rear of the Lucky Draw car heading towards Gushi. He lowered his head to look at the plaster on his arm that was hardened by his skills, and made a "tsk" sound.

"What kind of person is Brother Nie? He talks like he's a consumable... Oh, Old Han, how's your leg..." Yi Jian looked back and saw Han Jiangxue pull a bicycle from his backpack, adjust the tilted front end, and straddle it. He was stunned. "...Where are you going? Doesn't your leg hurt anymore?"

"Let's go back to the city. Brother Nie wants to go back so soon. Something must have happened in the city." Han Jiangxue rubbed his hands and blew on them, trying to warm his fingertips. "It doesn't matter about your legs, as long as you can balance. I'm going back first. You can rest for a while before coming back."

With that she also ran away, with water still dripping from her frosted hair.

Yi Jian was stunned behind him: "…………? ...Who are these people?" He jumped up from the ground and scrambled. "Wait for me! Can someone lend me a vehicle? Oh my god!"

……

Old city.

Liang Zhenduan listened to the report with a unhappy expression.

"Qiao Xing chased someone into the Biological Research Institute? As expected..." He and several old scholars beside him looked at each other.

"The biological research institute of the previous civilization still hides too many secrets." A biologist said, "I mainly study insects, so I'll stay here. Those who study mammals can go to the biological research institute that Nie Weiyang mentioned. Which direction is it in?"

"None of us has been to the direction from Langcheng to Gushi, so it's not visible on the map, but we contacted soldiers from various places and drew a handmade map." Liang Zhenduan took out a map, found the approximate location on it, and drew a circle on it with the pencil clipped to the engineer's ear.

Engineering scholar: “?”

The engineer carefully took the pencil back and put it in his backpack. "We don't have much left! Use the charcoal sticks!"

"The charcoal stick can't be wiped clean." Liang Zhenduan said, taking out a ballpoint pen and handing it to him: "Compensation."

As the scholars from all directions suddenly turned their gazes, the engineering scholar put his ballpoint pen away with satisfaction. Liang Zhenduan assigned a few people to lead the team to the new "Gushi No. 2" biological research institute. As for "Gushi No. 1" next to Gushi...

"I'll go with the entomologists; our expertise is quite relevant," the engineer said. "I've also been pondering the design logic behind the architecture and machinery of ancient civilizations. I have to admit, their designs are quite similar to the technological future we imagine. The basic concepts are actually quite similar..."

The hydraulic engineering scholar was shocked: "How do you find so much time to do design, urban planning, and research ancient civilizations? We're all engineers, and you only have 48 hours in a day?"

"Don't interrupt." The engineer shook his head. "Qiao Xing's team has already entered the No. 1 Biological Research Institute. We have to find these children first..."

"But," Liang Zhenduan said seriously, "Gushi needs you."

"Then now is the time to use me..."

"Your staying will have a greater impact."

"Besides me, can you find someone else who knows about the architecture of pre-civilizations?"

"Yes." A voice came.

Nie Weiyang got off the motorcycle. He brushed off the dust on his body and peeled off the blood stains that were stuck on the wind, then walked into the crowd.

He looked down at the map, memorized every line in his mind, then stood up and greeted Liang Zhenduan.

Liang Zhenduan smiled and gestured to Nie Weiyang, "Look, someone who knows about pre-civilization architecture has found it."

Brother San’s game… I have to say that although the quality of the game is another matter, that scene has already gone down in history.

Chapter 153 Biological Research Institute

The smell of the sewer is unpleasant, but fortunately Nie Weiyang and others can go straight to the biological research institute.

An hour later, he arrived at the gate of the institute with a group of fifteen people.

This is a mysterious building embedded deep in the earth. The silver alloy gate is broken in a twisted V shape. The left door leaf is buried up to the waist in concrete debris, while the right side is inserted obliquely into the ground, revealing a rusty hydraulic rod.

The remaining tears in the door frame were worn away by time, making it impossible to tell what creature they belonged to. The access panel hung diagonally on a cable, its screen covered in radiating cracks. The broken crossbeam on the door lintel exposed the reinforced metal structure, and a label was affixed to it, with the words "Do Not Touch" written in red pen.

"When we found this place, half of an employee ID card was stuck in the access control identification slot. The plastic cover was rotten and the content inside was blank. The photo was also blank, probably corroded by acid. It is now kept in the temporary museum of the ancient city." said a scholar.

This is a biologist, or an entomologist.

He was the first to cross the 'threshold'.

"Why don't you fix this door?" Han Jiangxue asked. She followed the others and climbed in with difficulty: "Aren't you afraid that something will get in... Oh..."

Her words paused, because the door was not the main body of the research institute, but a small transit square. The real door stood deeper, shining silver and extremely solid.

This place looks a lot like Vault 4701, although there are actually many differences.

Nie Weiyang knew that the technology-related buildings of previous civilizations were actually in this style, and they were the same all over the world, because they were originally based on the style of shelters, combined with the instinctive cognition of Homo sapiens about technology, the future and geometric buildings.

It's just strange to say this: across time and place, the architecture of previous civilizations has always used the same template. Type A building will still look like Type A after a hundred years, and Type B building will still look like Type B after a thousand years. This is actually very... inhumane.

"Other teams will enter from other entrances and exits, and we'll go in through the main gate. I'll have others come out to deliver a message within five hours. If we don't come out after six hours, we'll all be dead." Nie Weiyang said these terrifying words in a flat tone, "If we all die..."

He said solemnly, "Run, don't stay here."

Han Jiangxue nodded slightly, agreeing with his words.

The biologist exchanged a glance with several scholars and a group of guards around him, as if they wanted to say something. Yi Jian, who had just caught up, panted and touched his head. "Yes, they mean that you should run faster. If these two riddlers can die in there, there must be something indescribable..."

Nie Weiyang: “…”

Han Jiangxue: "..."

The two of them looked at Yi Jian silently and agreed with his explanation.

"Okay." The biologist shook his head and took out an access card and handed it to Nie Weiyang.

"The access card here has a level 7 clearance, but the facilities here require a level 9 clearance," he said. "We found a level 9 access card, but the owner of that card passed away some time ago, and the card was left in his backpack..."

Nie Weiyang narrowed his eyes.

Death from illness… How serious and severe does one have to be to not even be able to retrieve their access card? Is this really reasonable?

The biologist shook his head slightly. "Unified resource management is the way to go. As long as there are no thieves, everything will be much better."

When it comes to this, scholars start discussing it in great detail.

"I said that thieves should be managed under a unified system..."

“They should all be arrested.”

"Catch them? With the backpack here, everyone's a good thief. Are you going to arrest everyone who can sneak around? That won't last long."

"Yeah, and what if people are scared off from choosing a stealth character? We still need this kind of talent..."

While they were talking, Nie Weiyang had already come to the airtight door with a normal expression. This access control obviously had other identification methods, but they had all been destroyed, whether it was the camera that scanned the iris or the microphone that collected the voiceprint.

"If they were fine, the access control system would prioritize biometric scanning and close the access card channel." The biologist laughed. He pointed to his left cheek, where a terrifying burn groove ran across it, engulfing the lower half of his left ear and a small piece of skull. "This is the result of its scan."

"Hiss..." Yi Jian took a breath, "This is..."

"A high-energy beam. This thing will attack if it detects non-Homo sapiens biological characteristics." Nie Weiyang said, "Its reaction speed from activation to firing is very fast, so fast that it is impossible to dodge. So, you went up there with a shield. You knew it was dangerous, but you used it as an experiment on yourself?"

"Non-Homo sapiens? We are obviously...oh." Yi Jian was silent. He touched his earlobes hidden under his hair, frowned, and his three moles danced wildly.

"I can't let the students go up there," the biologist chuckled. "They're just kids. It's fine to use them for catching bugs or digging, but if I let them go when I'm desperate, my friends will poke my bones."

"..." Nie Weiyang frowned: "Next time you encounter this kind of ruins, you should report it first and let professional combat professionals and soldiers deal with the problem."

As he spoke, he swiped the access card, and the iron door spun open with a sound of air being released.

"Yi Jian, you stay here," Nie Weiyang said. He picked up Yi Jian who was trying to catch up and put him outside the door. "Your broken arm has a huge impact. Everyone, let him stay here to protect you. He's a good fighter and will be of some help to you."

"Okay, okay." A group of scholars hurriedly grabbed Yi Jian.

Nie Weiyang and Han Jiangxue disappeared through the door. Yi Jian, dejected, leaned against the wall. He twirled a revolver made of light in his hand, his expression melancholy. "Then I'll stay here to protect you."

The scholars laughed and looked at his plastered left arm. They did not try to attack the young man's dignity, but just went about their business. Some of them pondered the architecture of previous civilizations, while others communicated with each other and tried to record their skills for others in their books. The failure rate of this was very high, but they enjoyed it.

Yi Jian sat there bored, turning his gun in a daze. After a long time, he suddenly turned around and looked at the ruined gate.

A faint fishy smell lingered at the tip of his nose, and none of the scholars realized that—

"...Snake?" Yi Jian frowned.

As the first snake emerged from the door, a gunshot rang out, and a beam of light pierced the snake's head.

The scholars were startled and turned back. Yi Jian stood up and pointed the barrel of his gun at the door. There, a dense mass of colorful snakes emerged from the darkness, hissing and pouring into the illuminated area. Something enormous slithered through the darkness outside the door, sinking from one darkness into another.

Danger is boiling.

"Here comes the fun stuff," he said. "Does anyone have realgar?"

……

At the door, everyone was fighting with the snake, while Nie Weiyang and Han Jiangxue, who had entered the research institute, were walking in the dark.

Of course, darkness was nothing to Nie Weiyang. He didn't even need a flashlight. He simply pulled out his spear, [Golden Gift], injected a trace of energy into it, and then added [Purification Spirit] to it. The area within a radius of six or seven meters was immediately as bright as day...

"This light isn't blinding..." Han Jiangxue muttered, staring at the golden light with a brilliant white glow on top. "What is this?"

She had originally prepared herself to be dazzled by the light, but at this moment she actually felt a subtle sense of disparity, but this was not a bad thing.

"This?" Nie Weiyang glanced at the golden spear, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "This is called the Homo Sapiens Calming Device."

Han Jiangxue was speechless: "...Okay."

——Whatever you say is what it is.

She silently followed Nie Weiyang's light and walked around. Soon, the latter called her.

"Look at the surrounding structures. I might need to visit other biological research institutes in the future, so it's not a bad idea to note the structural logic."

As Nie Weiyang spoke, he probed left and right with his spear. The radius of the illuminated area around him was about twenty meters, completely illuminating the surrounding area.

Silver passages, silver rooms, offices, laboratories, specimen rooms... These places had already been searched by the people of the old city, and it was impossible for any relics to be left, but he still took a look at them one by one, not for anything else, but because in his eyes, hostile targets were marked with red dots and lines, and if some of them were secretly hiding in these rooms, he would definitely be able to find them.

After walking a few steps, Han Jiangxue seemed to want to say something, but she held it back.

"Just say it if you have something to say." Nie Weiyang said.

Han Jiangxue was silent for a moment, then asked cautiously, "The conditions here look very good, so why aren't there any researchers working here?"

Chapter 154 Inner Space

There is a place with good conditions but no one comes. Why?

Of course it's because it has some unspeakable secrets.

The facilities of the previous civilization would not be truly safe. Han Jiangxue could not fail to understand this. She was just asking what kind of danger there was here.

As for whether Nie Weiyang knew the answer—in Han Jiangxue's opinion, he had close ties to the upper echelons of Gushi, so it was normal for him to know more. She was just asking anyway, and even if she didn't get an answer, it wouldn't matter.