Han Sen frowned . He had been stung by something . On his hand, there was a red dot that oozed a droplet of blood .
Han Sen scanned the wound and was relieved to learn he had not been poisoned or infected by the stinger, whatever it was .
Han Sen's fitness was high, too, so the wound healed almost instantaneously . There was no lasting pain, either .
He pulled open his pocket to get a look at what was going on with the beetle, and determine why the docile creature had seemingly attacked him, all of a sudden .
The beetle had never been aggressive before, and it was the slowest little thing Han Sen had ever seen in his life . It was a genuine slowpoke .
As such, he was both surprised and concerned to realize he had been stung by it .
But now, with the pocket open, Han Sen was shocked after taking a look—the beetle was gone!
Han Sen patted his body all over and spun around in search of it . No matter where he looked, he couldn't find it . It really did seem as if it had vanished .
Unfortunately, now was not the time to go off hunting for his missing beetle . Everyone was currently lined up beside the roulette board, as General Reg explained the objectives of the operation in detail .
The roulette board was the entrance to the ruins, and each block was one point of entry that provided enough space for only one person . There was also a power check enabled, barring anyone who was too strong from entering .
The rules of entry were quite strict, as only one lifeforce could enter a square at a time . If you had even a renegade ant on you, it would be detected and you wouldn't be allowed to enter .
Demigods were prohibited from entering, as they were too strong . Therefore, only surpassers of a certain tier and third rank shura met the correct requirements .
Strangely, four warning signs were active . They were next to the entry points, indicating they had previously been used . Each entry point could only be used once, and the way you went in was the only way you could come back .
The researchers who had come before them had tried to drill beneath the roulette to avoid this, but after reaching a depth of about ten thousand meters, they ran into a crystal wall that extended to the core of the planet . There was no end, and so they had to stop .
It was after reaching this wall that many curious events started to happen .
They had conducted four test expeditions of their own into that place, but few of the researchers ever returned . Not much had been explored, so there was little information they could provide, and it was mostly useless .
Han Sen and his team's ultimate goal on the expedition, though, was to retrieve purple crystal cores .
Neither the Alliance nor the shura had explained to them what the purpose of these items was, but that did not matter . This was the task given, and it had to be done .
Furthermore, when they entered, they'd be going in without warframes or guns . If they brought such equipment in with them, they'd be attacked for certain .
Eight shura and eight humans now took their positions, one standing on each block . Support researchers pushed the button to begin the operation, and after a low hum, all sixteen of them suddenly disappeared from thin air . They were in .
Han Sen felt as if something was amiss . He was wary, and perplexed by the similarities between the symbols on the beetle and the ones outside the roulette . Still, he knew it best not to dwell on the matter . For now, the beetle was gone, so if it could have been a help, it was too late .
Han Sen blinked and took notice of his location inside the ruins . There were no buildings or structures around him . He was standing in a field, as if he was out in the countryside, except, strangely, the place had been ruined by some sort of catastrophe like an earthquake .
In the distance, Han Sen did make out the presence of buildings . But they were in a state of decay, with many having fallen . Furthermore, judging from their architecture, they had clearly not been built by the crystallizers .
When Han Sen turned to take a look in the other direction, his face completely dropped . He expected to see Ji Yanran, his people, and the shura—but they were all gone! Han Sen was all alone .
"Did they not make it through? We teleported inside together, though . Where are they? They should be here! Hmm, what is this? Items belonging to only a few of the researchers who were last inside?" Han Sen stood there for a while with an ill feeling in his stomach, acknowledging they hadn't all teleported to the same location .
Han Sen looked around . The researchers had given him an idea of what to expect once inside, and some vague details for the environment he'd be in, but it was all bogus . Wherever he was now was not the location the surviving researchers had gone to . The landscape was entirely different from what had been described to him .
"What is going on?" Han Sen was primarily concerned about Ji Yanran, and he was deeply worried about her well-being; particularly so, if she was stranded somewhere else all alone .
Gritting his teeth, Han Sen took off flying into the sky . Before searching for the rest of his crew, he had to get a better grasp on the lay of the land around him .
With his Dongxuan Aura active, Han Sen looked all around . But try as he might, he could not espy the presence of a single lifeforce . There was only rubble and a land in disarray .
No matter where he flew, the landscape looked the same . There was nowhere unique, and no landmarks to keep track of where he was . The lands were all plain and in various states of ruin .
Han Sen frowned, not even sure which direction he should be going in .
As Han Sen wondered, he suddenly heard a strange noise sound from an old ruin nearby .
It was very weird, similar to the sound one would make when using fingers to break an egg .
Han Sen looked in the direction of the noise and saw some green water leaking from the ruin .
Looking closer, though, Han Sen noticed that it was not water . It was a stream of green beetles . There were countless numbers of them, all coming for Han Sen .
"What is this?" Han Sen watched them with interest . They were practically the same as his beetle, just smaller .
But there was another difference . They didn't have any symbols on their backs .
In Han Sen's daze of wonder, the beetles drew nearer and nearer . When they were right before him, they parted and went around Han Sen . Fortunately, he was not a target of any ire they might have possessed .
Han Sen was not sure what they were after, but the beetles continued to gather around him, forming a path that led to the old city ruins .
The unicorn beetles then assumed a posture to suggest they were kowtowing before him .
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