Tang Yu was stunned for a moment.
It had been so long since he had heard the system's voice that he couldn't react in time; he realized the system could actually speak.
"But what is a Sky-splitting Crystal?"
He pondered for a long while before he remembered that it was the mysterious material the Territory upgrade conditions required, which he couldn't find any clues about.
There was no origin, no shape; even he, Lord Tang, had no idea what to do, yet now he had received a hint.
although the system didn't give any starter pack, and although he had to spend Source Crystals to build even the base, and although each system-built structure was exceedingly expensive, and although this thing came without any instruction manual, leaving him to figure everything out himself, and although it often made him feel like he was someone from Africa, and although...
There were many 'althoughs' stuck in Tang Yu's throat, but at crucial moments, the system still proved reliable!
This system really was different from those vulgar, cheap things.
"But why would it suddenly give a hint? Like the previous few crucial hints, there should be a reason for this one as well."
However, at that moment, his Territory was calm, not a sign of disruption. Surely nothing could have been unearthed during construction?
If that were the case, Eileen would certainly have told him earlier.
Tang Yu opened the map; aside from the area covered by his Territory, everything else was obscured by a grey fog. However, within the fog, there were slight movements, indicated by little dots.
These were either the Patrol Teams out on duty, people monitoring the miners at the mining sites, or others. Tang Yu's gaze moved upwards to a place quite distant from the Territory. There, too, were several small green dots.
Among them, one particularly bright green dot was spreading ripples, just missing a golden exclamation mark to make it the perfect task prompt.
"That must be Grey Blade."
Tang Yu's gaze seemed to pierce through walls, gazing into the distance.
Over mountains and rivers.
On the cliff, the mercenary teams in pursuit of the gold-swallowing beast halted at the sight of the sudden large void.
They stared at the enormous hole before them, somewhat bewildered.
Clearly, it wasn't a cave; even if the rock wall had been hollowed out for some reason and then cracked open by the gold-swallowing beast to form a cave, it wouldn't appear this way.
At this hole's entrance, aside from a constantly swirling grey mist, nothing else was visible, including the cave's walls, which seemed non-existent.
"What on earth is this?"
In the distance, Zhou Jianhong stood with a few team members, also observing the situation.
"Captain, should we go in? Years of experience tell me there could be unexpected treasures inside."
A skinny team member spoke earnestly.
Zhou Jianhong shook his head, "Regardless of whether it's dangerous inside, it's not just about simply entering."
Suddenly, he saw several Awakeners rushing towards the void, "Captain, someone is trying to go in—"
Before he could finish speaking, he heard the "dada dada" sound of gunfire.
Bullets rained down, hitting the path in front of those rushing towards the void, whistling as they left holes in the ground.
Those Awakeners who were about to rush into the void were taken aback, realizing that everyone around was watching them intently. The gunfire was just a warning; they could do nothing but retreat.
"You see?" Zhou Jianhong said, "No one has seen this kind of situation before. Although the gold-swallowing beast went in earlier, no one knows what lies inside the void. Perhaps there are unimaginable benefits inside, but at the same time, there could be deadly dangers.
Everyone feels the same, wanting the benefits but fearing the danger—and even more worried that others might snatch these benefits."
He gave a self-deprecating laugh, acknowledging that he harbored the same thoughts.
It's like wanting to go, but something prevents you from daring to make the move. However, if another person tries to jump ahead, that too is unacceptable—no matter what, you can't let someone else take advantage, even if it might be poisoned.
Most people thought the same.
Instantly, the atmosphere turned eerily solemn.
The disturbance caused by the gold-swallowing beast was significant, and as news of the void spread, many Mercenary Teams already active in the area rushed over.
A gust of wind swept by.
A figure slowly descended from the sky, followed by a few team members who had almost failed to keep up.
"It's Chen Feng, the captain of the Divine Wind Team. Who would have thought he'd show up!"
"And over there, it's the Fiery Fire Team. The Fiery Fire Team and Divine Wind Team are old rivals!"
"Not just them, but also the Dragon Slayer Team!"
A man with a fierce presence and a hooked nose, leading several team members, emerged from the woods. They were all stained with the blood of Demonized Beasts, as if they had just come from a battlefield.
Their formidable presence made the surrounding Awakeners keep their distance.
Several of the top Mercenary Corps had arrived, and the surrounding Awakeners widened their eyes.
Such a scenario was rare to see, typically only observable at the Black Market auction halls.
And here in this wilderness, even coming across other Mercenary Teams was rare, let alone such top-tier teams.
Figures like Wang Wu, Chen Feng, and Chen Sheng of the Dragon Slayer Team, captain-level experts, were objects of aspiration for countless Awakeners.