Chapter 173 The End of the Transaction

　　Boundless Dark Realm.

　　Mottled shadows.

　　Time slowed down. Gu Shen opened his eyes and came to this mental space that was highly similar to the "Pure Land" once again. He stood in the light, not far from the throne that stood in the darkness.

　　"The transaction is complete."

　　The devil seemed to be a very ritualistic fellow.

　　At least, it adhered to certain ethereal "rules and regulations" more than he had imagined.

　　When this transaction was reached, it deliberately said "Transaction complete" before releasing its mental power, and now that everything was over, it dragged his "consciousness" into this space again.

　　"I know that the power in the ruler is flowing away quickly, I can feel it."

　　Gu Shen shrugged and said without much emotion, "To be honest, it's fine if the transaction is over. You don't need to deliberately say goodbye to me."

　　The expression of the person sitting on the throne was shrouded in darkness.

　　But it could be seen that it had lost its previous elegance and composure, and was slightly stunned at the moment.

　　"When borrowing something from someone, you should always say 'thank you'..."

　　The devil's voice was complicated.

　　"So you want to hear me thank you?"

　　Gu Shen smiled and said, "But this is a 'transaction'... both sides have made their own contributions. You contributed 'mental power', and I have also made my own contributions. I have not let you down, and I have returned alive. You should be the one thanking me."

　　"..."

　　The devil was completely silent.

　　It had never seen someone as...shameless as Gu Shen.

　　"If there's nothing else, we can 'end the meeting'."

　　Gu Shen said lightly.

　　The black shadow on the throne was speechless. This guy was not only thick-skinned, but he was also not ashamed but proud.

　　In fact.

　　Gu Shen's words were not "taking an inch after getting a foot".

　　How could making a deal with a devil be an easy task?

　　This transaction seemed to have lost nothing.

　　But it was not that simple.

　　"Transactions" that surpassed current power were addictive. Once there was a first time, there would be a second, a third... The best way to deal with a devil was to ignore it and avoid it, because once there was an intersection, something "ominous" would happen sooner or later.

　　So—

　　Gu Shen had nothing to thank the black shadow on the throne for.

　　This transaction was just a matter of each getting what they needed.

　　He wanted to return to the fortress alive.

　　And the guy in the ruler was afraid of being abandoned in the [Old World].

　　Thinking carefully, it could be found that Pluto's arrangement twenty years ago was very illogical... He left the Five Continents, but he didn't bring this heaven-defying artifact with him.

　　Gu Shen had thought for a long time that this was an omission, a negligence.

　　But looking at it now...

　　The coincidences in the world might all be destined!

　　Perhaps this ruler had its own thoughts.

　　Or perhaps, Pluto had already foreseen his own ending... Once he died in the [Old World], then this ruler would be destined to drift in the particle torrents outside the fortress, unattended for hundreds or thousands of years.

　　"Wait..."

　　The black shadow on the throne spoke again, trying to keep Gu Shen here.

　　"Have you thought about how to deal with 'those troubles' after you go out?"

　　Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.

　　Those troubles... were they referring to erasing the traces of using the Ruler of Truth? After this mission beyond the fortress was completed, the entire team would be questioned. With the discipline of the Investigation Corps, they would definitely find out how this team returned to Gu Fort in such a limited time.

　　And all the blame would be directed at him.

　　Hiding his power was indeed a problem.

　　"That's none of your concern."

　　There seemed to be some kind of law in this space that allowed souls to be honest with each other. The mental fluctuations of Gu Shen and the black shadow were very clear, which meant that once the two sides interrogated and answered, there would be no secrets.

　　Gu Shen looked calmly at the throne, trying to keep his thoughts from thinking, and said lightly, "Anyway, you don't care about the owner of the 'ruler'... do you?"

　　Faced with this question.

　　The devil was silent again.

　　The mental space slowly changed, and the flow of time returned to normal. It took the initiative to end this meeting.

　　It seemed that his question had hit home.

　　Gu Shen looked expressionlessly at the silver-white ruler in his hand.

　　Regarding the devil's true intention for the previous transaction, it was not difficult to guess. What it wanted was for Gu Shen to bring the ruler back to the fortress safely. As long as this task was completed, even if the ruler was lost later, it would find the next owner sooner or later and start the next transaction.

　　Gu Shen gained a lot of information from this transaction.

　　The Ruler of Truth was indeed an "evil artifact".

　　Each use had side effects.

　　And every time he was completely immersed in it, the dark voice that always sounded in his heart should be from the throne in the black shadow... If the user was completely immersed in the power of the "Ruler of Truth", the devil would take control of this body.

　　Gu Shen didn't know how much authority this devil had in the ruler space.

　　What made him feel horrified was that during the "transaction", the Ruler of Truth could actually build a mental link with the [Deep Sea] in the [Old World]. This was simply a bizarre ability that transcended the iron law of cognition.

　　The second thing to pay attention to was that the devil... had grasped the information about him and Chu Ling.

　　For so long.

　　The Ruler of Truth had always been Gu Shen's trump card... He carried it with him at all times.

　　Was it because of this that the devil had spied on his true spirit?

　　Thinking of this.

　　Gu Shen felt a strong sense of discomfort.

　　"Perhaps... I should find something made of special material to seal this ruler."

　　The first thing he thought of was [Black Silver]!

　　That was currently the highest quality strong logic material recognized in the Five Continents. Mr. Shan had specially sent it to him from Pluto's mansion, and it could be used now!

　　……

　　……

　　Coming back to his senses.

　　Gu Shen saw the current situation clearly.

　　The team had successfully entered the defense line. The entrance to the passage was closed, but the roar of the storm still existed.

　　The tornadoes in the distance were approaching. The earth-shattering sound of the storm was blocked by the "umbrella" composed of hundreds of millions of floating panels... At this moment, many "supporters" poured into the defense line to check the sudden changes that had occurred. Before long, exciting news spread throughout the fortress.

　　The Second Squad of the Investigation Corps had successfully returned!

　　This was almost a "miracle"!

　　The emergency rescue team arrived, and Gu Shen and his team were carried onto stretchers. Everyone's expressions were dazed. Gu Shen showed the same reaction as them. His acting skills were good. When he was carried into the car, the medical staff nervously asked him if he felt any pain...

　　Due to the "ultra-high-speed" propulsion, all the Source Armor was broken.

　　After landing, the exoskeletons on each member of the team shattered into pieces.

　　And the strange thing was that this terrifying internal propulsion did not drain the energy, nor did it cause any damage to the team members' bodies. The rescue team could not explain such a thing. Before long, research experts from the Northern Continent military would participate to understand the details, but unfortunately, they were destined to not be able to give an answer.

　　Because the answer was too absurd.

　　The rescue team checked the physical condition of the team members.

　　At the same time, they asked about the details of the mission beyond the fortress.

　　This was a very important matter... because every year there were several missions beyond the fortress, and after they were completed, before they had time to pass on the information, the returnees encountered misfortune.

　　This maze mission was of a very high level.

　　Unfortunately, these homecomers who had created a "miracle" knew nothing about the final race against the storm.

　　Their performance was temporary amnesia.

　　This was a normal reaction after "hypnosis".

　　After all, this hypnosis was relatively strong...

　　After obtaining the power of the devil, Gu Shen used the Domain of Truth to wash the minds of everyone, not to do anything bad, but just to ensure that the troubles after "escaping" could be as small as possible.

　　There were many unsolvable mysteries in this world.

　　He hoped that this storm escape could also become an unsolved mystery.

　　This way of dealing with things was simple, crude, and effective.

　　The rescue team asked again and found that they had gained nothing, so they didn't say anything more.

　　……

　　……

　　"You, this is..."

　　Yuan Yuan woke up slowly from his slumber. He found that the Source Armor on his body had been completely broken. At this moment, he was exhausted all over, and he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.

　　A group of medical staff wearing heavy protective suits were surrounding him. In addition to wearing a full set of zero-dust isolation devices, they also wore the goggles that Source Energy Craft pilots would use when landing.

　　What the hell was this?

　　Before he had time to think deeply, Yuan Yuan's consciousness suddenly cleared up.

　　Because he saw a familiar face—

　　"Captain!"

　　The blond man sitting across from him hummed softly, signaling Yuan Yuan not to be excited.

　　With this shout, all the members in the wide carriage were instantly energized.

　　Several burly men saw Zhong Yuan, and their first reaction was to shout excitedly.

　　They were so excited not only because they had escaped from a life-or-death situation... but also because the last time they had met the captain was before the mission in the Doru River disaster area.

　　That was an extremely dangerous joint operation, and it was said that many people would die!

　　Before leaving Gu Fort, they had been worried about the captain's safety.

　　The Second Squad was known for their outstanding battle record and high survival rate among the many squads in the Investigation Corps. This was because they not only possessed great strength, but also had reliable comrades who were worth entrusting their backs to...

　　The independent oath of the Second Squad was "Return alive with your comrades", and this was not a simple slogan that could be said casually.

　　This could be seen from Zhong Yuan's decision just now.

　　How many squad captains would leave the Great Wall alone at that moment, risking their lives to try to rescue their teammates in the storm?

　　He was using his life to defend the precious spirit engraved in the soul of this team.

　　"Captain... wuwuwu..."

　　Li Chen, who was nearby, rushed over on the stretcher and hugged the blond man's waist.

　　Then there was Mo Hongyi, who howled like a big dog and moved over, but unfortunately, the distance was too far. After sliding down, he could only hug the captain's thigh.

　　The carriage was noisy at the moment.

　　There was nothing in this world more exciting than a reunion after a life-or-death crisis.

　　Zhong Yuan sighed helplessly, but a warm smile appeared in his eyes.

　　He knew... these guys still had a lot to say to him.

　　There was a lot of useful information about the maze mission.

　　However, now was not the time for reminiscing.

　　……

　　……

　　"Boom!!!"

　　A violent explosion sounded above everyone's heads, pulling the thoughts of all the investigation team members back to reality. The sound was muffled like thunder, but it was very thick, penetrating the alloy iron plates of the carriage and vibrating in this closed space.

　　Su He silently opened the car curtain.

　　The transparent thickened glass was now a dazzling sight... Something had exploded in the sky, and silver-white light shone down on the earth.

　　That was the sound of a Source Energy Cannon.

　　Moreover, it wasn't just one shot.

　　At this moment, the team members realized that their current location could not be considered inside the fortress. The vehicle was speeding across the desolate soil. This was the buffer zone of the [Umbrella Defense Line], and also the most magnificent battlefield in Gu Fort's twenty years.

　　The sky was filled with clouds dispersed by the jet stream.

　　The one hundred and forty-nine Source Energy Crafts parked in the northern part of Gu Fort had all been dispatched. These huge shadows, like whales, swam in the sky. The first to fire were the thirty giant crafts at the head. They had already arrived at the edge of the defense line and had obtained access to the local area network. The [Umbrella Defense Line] had opened some of its scales, opening a special passage beyond the fortress for them.

　　The artillery fire illuminated the entire dark [Umbrella Defense Line] at this moment. This terrifying force of chaos brought the ultimate light to this world, and the whale-like shadows cast by the Source Energy Crafts were also completely torn apart... It was as if a god had stretched out his hand and torn apart the dark cloth covering the human world.

　　Everyone who looked out of the car had their faces covered in silver-white light.

　　The earth trembled.

　　In the sound of artillery fire.

　　Zhong Yuan turned on the image of the "Great Wall".

　　At this moment, the deployment of the entire fortress could be seen very clearly in this image.

　　The Source Energy Crafts had already been dispatched.

　　Before the final Source Energy impact arrived, humans took the lead in attacking, trying to tear apart this storm with heavy firepower!

　　"Rumble rumble rumble..."

　　Gu Shen's vision was not obscured by the artillery fire in the sky.

　　He stared directly at the fiery light... Unlike others, he could see the clear trajectory of each shell. These Source Energy Cannons were fired in an interwoven pattern, dyeing the sky silver-white.

　　They had successfully escaped into the defense line, but this was not the end of everything.

　　Or rather, this was just the beginning.

　　Gu Shen knew that the real war had begun at this moment.

　　The vehicle speeding through the buffer zone of the Umbrella Defense Line was now moving at its fastest speed... but the direction of this vehicle was completely opposite to the direction of the Source Energy Crafts in the sky.

　　In the noisy world of roaring artillery fire, the elegant and quiet voice that Gu Shen had been waiting for rang out.

　　"Congratulations, you've returned alive."

　　[Deep Sea] had prepared similar congratulatory words for every homecomer.

　　But only Gu Shen's voice was trembling.

　　……

　　……

　　(ps: Asking for monthly tickets, there will be another chapter before 12 noon tomorrow!)