Although the Xiagong ruins were a popular attraction in Division7, the admission was free. There was only one entrance to the ruins which was through the south gate. There, visitors would have to scan their identity at the entrance before entering. He was told by the hotel owner that it was the off-peak season but there were many people queuing at the entrance. It took Lin Huang more than half an hour to through it.
A lady in red uniform approached him once he entered the ruins, "Sir, do you need a tour guide?"
"I’m sorry, I’m just looking around." Lin Huang waved his hand as he declined. He was not here as a tourist but instead, he was looking for clues left by Xia Hao so naturally, he did not need a tour guide for that. He followed the crowd, walked 100 meters down the stairs and arrived at the ruins. It was a building that was similar to the ancient city gates with three doors in the middle.
Lin Huang was listening to a tour guide talking to the visitors, "Do not be fooled by these three doors, there are actually two hidden doors on the sides. This is the first palace that has such a structure. The experts who joined the excavations said that Xiagong could be the only one…"
The building was a complete replica of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City on earth but bigger. There was a sign on the entrance that said ‘Heaven’s Gate’. Lin Huang was sure that this Xiagong was related to Xia Hao.
After passing through the entrance, there was a drain not far away with five small bridges on top. There was a huge palace door that looked like the main passage taken by the ministers in those Qing dynasty dramas. On top of the palace door, the sign read ‘ Earth’s Gate ’. Ahead, there was a glorious hall with a sign that said ‘Xia Hall’. Lin Huang knew the majestic hall should be the main hall and proceeded to go in.
Once he entered the hall, the cracks in the ground caught his attention. The tour guide explained the cracks.
"The cracks on the ground were the result of something powerful stomping on it because it was made of sea rocks, something even a transcendent would not be able to crack…"
"Now, look at the roof. There was a hole; about a meter wide but archeologists restored it. Now, it looked no different from the original roof. This was the only damage throughout the entire ruin while the rest was in good condition…
"It seemed like something may have dropped from the roof or maybe he sensed an attack coming his way so he escaped this way…" Lin Huang looked up as he thought of the possible scenarios.
Suddenly, he heard a notification from Xiao Hei.
"Unusual energy wave detected underground. You can collect the energy to obtain new functions!"
"Are you sure?" It was Lin Huang’s first time hearing Xiao Hei asking him to obtain something.
"Confirmed! According to the detection, the unusual energy was the remaining energy from a destroyed Goldfinger belonging to someone else. You can absorb the energy to strengthen your Goldfinger."
"Is it below where I’m standing?" Lin Huang asked.
"Yes, it’s about 3,000 meters below where you are standing."
"Alright, I'll need to plan this properly, I’m heading back now." Since he had identified what he wanted, he did not want to stay any longer. He needed to plan how he was going to get it from the ground below him.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon after he got back to the hotel from Xiagong ruins. Lin Huang got back to his room and locked his door. He talked to Xiao Hei again.
"Xiao Hei, aside from the unusual energy you spoke about, what else is there underground?"
"From the waves detected, there's a mutated monster that went through two mutations as it upgraded to silver-level."
"What kind of monster is that?" Lin Huang asked.
"Unidentifiable."
"Mutated twice? The only monster I have that could fight it would be Charcoal…" Lin Huang frowned. "How is the environment down there? Is it big enough for Charcoal to perform?"
"Sufficient, it’s spacious down there."
"I’ll try to get Charcoal to fight it then." Lin Huang was confident with Charcoal’s ability since it also went through mutation twice. No matter what, Charcoal was a true dragonkin.
He then checked the cards that he had and realized that he did not have any Transformation Cards anymore.
"I almost forgot that I've used all of my Transformation Cards last time. I don’t have any more to transform myself into the Specter and dive underground. Lin Huang did not know what to do.
"Xiao Hei, think of a plan!"
"You can trade for a Specific Transformation Card at the card pieces mall."
"A Specific Transformation Card?" Lin Huang was stunned, "Do I have enough card pieces?"
"The card pieces required are the same as when you're trading for a particular monster card. The Specter that you own is a common bronze-level rank-1 card so you will need 60 bronze-level card pieces."
"Special notification: The effective duration of the Specific Transformation Card is only one hour."
"To be safe, I’ll get five of them!" Two transformation cards would be sufficient for the two-way trip but Lin Huang was concerned so he got more than he needed.
"Consuming bronze-level card pieces x300, you have received Specter Specific Transformation Card x5."
"There are too many people at the Xiagong ruins. I'll do it when it’s later at night." Lin Huang did not want to be discovered when he transformed himself into the Specter or he may be captured for research. The ruins were open until 10 at night, Lin Huang planned to go around 9:30 and stay there until everyone left before he carried out his plan.
He decided to take a nap. He woke up at six o’clock, had dinner and stayed in his room while waiting for the night to come. When it was almost 8:30, he heard a squeaking sound from the bed next door and screams from a woman followed. The soundproofing of rooms was poor. He shook his head and proceeded to read the news.
When it was nine o’clock, the squeaking bed stopped but the lady screamed again. Lin Huang wanted to check it out but he thought he might be overthinking. He thought for awhile and sat down again. There was complete silence next door. Soon, he heard footsteps in the corridor approaching his room. He was staying in Room 505, the last room on the left. People should not be walking to his room. He took out his BlackEagle33 and aimed at the door…