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Chapter 161: Integration and Exploration
Muhuell's next words confirmed that Ronin's thoughts were correct.
"Over a century ago, when people first applied electricity to daily life, some discovered that the energy used by ancient technology was likely electrical. However, it wasn't officially confirmed until 1950. When V5 organized a team to explore the Dark Continent, they found a special type of stone."
"Simply submerging that stone in water could generate massive amounts of electricity. After this data was transmitted back, people made comparisons and found records of this exact stone in ancient ruins. Yet, for so many years, no one has been able to find another piece of what was named Unmanned Rock. It's as if over these thousands of years, these special stones had completely discharged and reverted to ordinary rocks."
Muhuell looked at the surprised eyes behind Ronin's mask, feeling quite satisfied.
According to what I know, humanity discovered electricity and confirmed its usability around the year 1800, Ronin calculated internally. That was also when V5 signed the treaty. He knew this from the manga; the treaty's contents weren't aimed at forbidden zones and ruins, but specifically at the Dark Continent. In other words, starting in 1800, V5 strictly prohibited anyone from exploring the Dark Continent.
That was the same year the Kurta Clan chose to live in seclusion, as hunters seeking their Scarlet Eyes had already begun to appear.
Additionally, during this period, V5 placed restrictions on all ancient ruins and uncharted regions across the world—or more accurately, everything within the confines of Mobius Lake. They designated them all as restricted areas, making it incredibly difficult for ordinary people to obtain exploration rights.
Professional Hunters, however, possessed the authority to apply for exploration rights to over seventy percent of the restricted zones in the known world.
The following century was a period of rapid technological advancement for humanity. But during those hundred-plus years, despite the non-aggression treaty V5 had established regarding the Dark Continent, they still secretly conducted hundreds of expeditions there.
Records of these were kept by the Permit Agency.
The most recent of these was in 1950, when the five great nations each sent a team to explore the Dark Continent. It was also during this expedition that official records finally documented living humans returning from the Dark Continent. This specific journey led to the discovery of the five great treasures and the Five Great Calamities.
Among the five treasures was the Unmanned Rock that Muhuell had just mentioned.
Having straightened out the timeline, Ronin began to understand the underlying motive behind Muhuell sharing this information.
He's probing me.
Perhaps his strength had already earned the man's recognition, but whether he could become a partner in a joint expedition to the Dark Continent depended on whether Ronin possessed the ambition, or perhaps other hidden potential!
As understanding dawned on Ronin, Muhuell naturally brought his explanation to a close.
.....
The squad had finished resting; what awaited them next was likely a tough battle. And what they were searching for was a product of the Dark Continent that might still be hidden within this ancient city!
The building's doors had long since shattered. Crunching over broken glass as they stepped outside, Ronin and the others were immediately struck by a dead silence and a creeping sense of horror.
The city was dead silent. The creeping horror stemmed from the unshakable feeling that the moment they left the building's sanctuary, countless unseen eyes had locked onto them.
Without a map of the city, exploration relied on two things: intuition, and professional knowledge.
Ronin had intuition, but he certainly lacked the professional knowledge.
However, Muhuell wouldn't have dared to lead a team into the city without ample preparation. Vanessa, who had been closely following Mashuel, was his trump card.
By analyzing the markings on various structures, and even the architectural designs themselves, Vanessa could roughly deduce the purpose of a building. She mapped out everything they saw, analyzing the layout of various structures to pinpoint the key areas they needed to focus on.
Monsters from the buildings would occasionally rush out to ambush the squad, but under the bombardment of Golem's gatling gun, these creatures posed absolutely no threat.
Even so, Muhuell remained on high alert throughout the entire exploration, which prompted Ronin to act with even greater caution. It felt as though some hidden crisis was lurking within this city, which spent most of its time in a state of deathly stillness.
Exploration wasn't something that could be finished in a day or two.
The squad only consisted of twelve people, taking scheduled rests and adjustments based on the time shown on their mechanical watches. Exploring the interiors of the various buildings proved to be the most massive headache.
It was unclear what kind of food chain existed in this city, but those bizarre, raptor-like monsters always appeared in swarms, much like rats in a sewer.
"What is the food source for these monsters?"
The shattered corpses of the creatures emitted a pungent stench of blood, but when the group saw them again the next day, they found the bodies had withered into dry husks that looked ready to scatter at the slightest breeze.
No one could answer Ronin's question.
"Are we going to explore the entire building? Especially the underground sections," Mashuel asked Muhuell for instructions.
He was also full of curiosity regarding the appearance of these monsters. The feeling these creatures gave him was as if they had been cloned. They had no thoughts, no emotions; they only knew how to mechanically launch endless, undying attacks against enemies who stepped within a certain range.
Muhuell hesitated.
The main reason was that they had previously attempted to explore the basements of a building, but the deeper they went, the more monsters appeared.
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