Mission Completed

As for those devastating area-of-effect spells? They will come naturally when his star energy level is higher, his understanding of the laws is deeper, and he summons more liches.

Moreover… he'd recently been trying to see if he could establish mental links with multiple liches to learn their magical experience. He could then combine this with his own insights and feedback to them, allowing them to help him solve problems and thus quickly learn advanced skills.

Now it all depends on Li Xingyao's reaction after encountering the rules of death. If he can resonate with the laws, then advanced skills might not be difficult for him.

The vehicle traveled for more than ten hours, and the scenery outside the window gradually transitioned from a relatively flat wasteland to a slightly undulating grassland and hilly area. As the terrain changed, scattered stones and twisted shrubs began to appear among the withered yellow grass.

Approximately fifty kilometers from the target location, the armored vehicle left the relatively flat old roadbed and began entering the real grassland. This location was at the edge of the city's defense network, far from the underground train station outposts. Fortunately, the terrain around the Chentang town ruins was a transition zone between hills and plains; although the bumps intensified, the heavy off-road armored vehicle was still able to move forward with its powerful engine and excellent mobility.

If it were a swamp or dense forest, they would have to abandon this mobile fortress and switch to all-terrain vehicles or even travel on foot.

Inside the vehicle, most people remained silent, some like Li Xingyao closing their eyes to rest and cultivate in secret, others checking and maintaining their weapons and equipment. The atmosphere was heavy and focused. Wu Feng and Ying Suo occasionally exchanged a few words in hushed tones about the terrain ahead and possible reconnaissance routes.

When the odometer on the armored vehicle showed that only twenty kilometers remained to the ruins, Lin Wei's cool voice rang out through the vehicle's communication system: "Attention all personnel, the vehicle is about to stop. We will approach on foot for the final leg of the journey to avoid prematurely revealing the vehicle's engine noise and heat signature, and to prevent loss of the vehicle in unknown dangers."

After hearing Lin Wei's order, everyone began making final preparations. Li Xingyao put on his helmet, pulled down the visor, and synchronized the information between his personal terminal on his wrist and the display screen on his visor, connecting to the team's communication system.

Soon, the armored vehicle came to a stop in front of a relatively concealed slope. The heavy side hatch slid open, and the crew filed out, quickly gathering around the vehicle for a final check of their equipment and supplies.

Li Xingyao took a deep breath of the cool, dusty air of the wilderness, and stretched his limbs, which were a little stiff from sitting in the vehicle for a long time. The joints of the power armor made a slight hydraulic sound.

Following the pre-arranged marching formation, the team quickly deployed. As the team's "eyes," Wu Feng (Shadow Dancer) and Ying Shuo (Swift Assassin) were the first to silently disappear into the tall grass ahead, blending into the shadows. They conducted reconnaissance and provided early warning within a range of 500 meters to 1 kilometer ahead of the team.

The main force advanced in a loose defensive formation. Lei Lie and Mu Chenbin, two heavy warriors, positioned themselves on the left and right flanks, respectively, while Wang Yisong and Lin Jin, two shield warriors, protected the very front. Lin Wei, Li Xingyao, and Zhang Xin, three mages, and Su Muyao, a ranged archer, occupied the center, while Lin Feng and Huo Yuan, two rangers, covered the rear and provided flank and rear protection.

The soles of my boots rustled softly across the dry earth and gravel; apart from that, only the sound of the wind swept across the wilderness. The closer I got to the ruins of the town, the quieter the surroundings became.

It wasn't that there was no sound, but rather a lack of "life-giving" sounds—the chirping of insects, the calls of birds, and even the rustling of small wild animals fleeing all rapidly decreased or even disappeared, as if an invisible pressure was enveloping the area.

Li Xingyao adjusted the sensitivity of the environmental monitoring system on his helmet; the readings of the biothermal source signal and energy fluctuations on the screen were abnormally low. He frowned slightly; this unusual silence in the wilderness often meant something was wrong.

"Something's not right." Lin Wei's calm voice came through the tactical channel to everyone's ears. "The biosignals are too scarce, and there are significant discrepancies with the environmental assessment report. All units, remain vigilant and slow down your advance. Wu Feng, Shadow Shuttle, focus your reconnaissance on the town entrance and surrounding high ground."

"Received." A brief response came from Wu Feng and Ying Shuo in the channel.

The team slowed down and became more cautious. Soon, Wu Feng, who was in charge of reconnaissance at the front, sent back another message: "Captain, situation detected."

On the outskirts of town, a five-story stone building showed signs of recent activity, suggesting it might be a temporary observation point. Additionally… abandoned vehicles were found within the town; more than one, all relatively new models, and appeared to have been abandoned recently.

Abandoned vehicles? In this ruin that has been abandoned for nearly a century? Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Just then—

"Bang... Buzz...!"

A muffled and abrupt loud bang, as if something had exploded violently inside a hollow container, suddenly came from the depths of the town, breaking the deathly silence!

The column halted instantly, everyone instinctively lowering their stance, drawing their weapons, taut bowstrings, and tensely staring in the direction from which the sound came. This sudden turn of events was completely beyond the scope of the intelligence they had gathered.

"System, release the drone! High-altitude reconnaissance! Prioritize scanning the sound source area and the entire town!" Lin Wei frowned slightly as she called out to the vehicle's system to issue the command.

The armored vehicle at the rear of the formation began to move slowly, and three concealed hatches slid open, releasing three miniature reconnaissance drones, each about the size of a flat panel and painted in camouflage. Like agile hummingbirds, they quickly spread out in the air, forming a broad triangular reconnaissance formation, and flew towards the town.

High-definition real-time images and multispectral scans are instantly transmitted to each person's tactical eyepiece or the screen built into their armor.

From the air, the ruins of Chentang Town are laid bare—vast expanses of crumbling walls, swallowed by dense weeds and vines, with only a few exceptionally sturdy buildings standing like stubborn tombstones, testifying to the existence of a former civilization. The drone's intelligent system quickly locked onto several marked buildings, which were potential target locations for this mission.

However, when the drone flew over the area from which the strange sound was heard, the footage showed only dense vegetation and collapsed ruins, with no abnormal heat sources, energy reactions, or life signals. The scan map also showed only some scattered, low-intensity biological signals, which appeared to be just small animals or insects.

The drones continued flying forward, attempting to explore more distant areas, but as the distance increased, the signals began to be interfered with by the weak starlight permeating the environment, becoming somewhat unstable. Following their pre-programmed sequence, they began to automatically return to base.

"No obvious source of threat found in the town..." Lin Wei's voice carried a hint of doubt, "but the sounds and movements just now were a bit unusual. Mission continues, but priority changed: search for the target item as quickly as possible, then evacuate immediately!"

Lin Wei quickly issued orders: "Li Xingyao, you are in charge of perimeter security. Summon your undead spirits and disperse them at major intersections and open areas throughout the town; they will serve as our mobile sensors. Wang Yisong, you stay behind to protect Li Xingyao. You and your team establish defensive positions at the town entrance, responsible for providing support and cover during the evacuation."

"The rest of you, follow me! Search the marked buildings in the predetermined order! Be quick!"

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

Li Xingyao immediately focused his mind, his consciousness sinking into the undead space. The next moment, on the damaged main road at the entrance of the town, streaks of gray-white summoning light flashed one after another!

One, ten, fifty, one hundred... a total of two hundred skeleton warriors, like a white wave surging from the gates of hell, silently filled this abandoned street.

Their eyes burned with ghostly blue soul fire. Under Li Xingyao's mental connection and control, they remained perfectly still and quickly spread out in small teams, like streams branching off, along various side roads and alleys, into the heart of the town. They soon disappeared among the ruins, transforming into an invisible net of undead vigilance.

Lin Wei nodded as she watched the skeleton warriors gradually disperse to various parts of the town. After giving a shout, she led the rest of the team without hesitation, quickly advancing towards the nearest marked building.

As his teammates entered the town.

At the entrance, only Li Xingyao, Wang Yisong, and a few skeleton warriors remained. The atmosphere was somewhat quiet for a moment, with only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the ruins.

"Tsk, this place is a bit creepy." Wang Yisong, carrying his heavy tower shield, looked around, trying to dispel some of the tension with casual conversation. "Xingyao, do you think our operation will go smoothly? Something feels off. Are there any star beasts watching us in the mountains behind the town?"

While maintaining his mental connection with the scattered undead and sensing the environmental information they were sending back, Li Xingyao casually replied, "Unsure. Let's be careful, it's never a bad thing." Most of his attention was focused on monitoring the undead network, and any abnormal activity would be reported to him immediately.

Time slowly passed as they waited. About twenty minutes later, Lin Wei's voice finally came through the tactical channel, carrying a hint of relief: "Target located! Repeat, target acquired! It's a standard military storage box, perfectly sealed!"

Meanwhile, a short video clip was shared on Li Xingyao's helmet screen—in a corner of a half-collapsed basement, Lin Wei was carefully picking up an alloy box about five inches long and three inches wide, dark green in color, with blurry numbers and emblems printed on it. The box was covered with some dust, but its overall structure was intact.

"Great, we can prepare to retreat!" Wang Yisong couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

"Attention all personnel, prepare to evacuate!" Lin Wei ordered. "Return via the same route and assemble at the town entrance!"