Inside the metal block, Mo Ling stared intently at the recorder's electronic screen, memorizing its contents.
'Relics... that must refer to those strange weapons. And now they think I'm a relic, too.'
'But what is the Abyss?'
Mo Ling decided to wait and see until he had more information.
The people in the camp were bustling about. Each person wore an identical metal nameplate around their neck, inscribed with their name.
Most of the people present were "First-level Hunters." The few "Second-level Hunters" had an additional title on their nameplates.
They used all sorts of advanced equipment Mo Ling had never seen before, scavenging throughout the camp.
One team member tossed out a metal sphere with a mesh pattern. After landing on the ground, it expanded, extending mechanical arms to pack up the surrounding supplies.
Disc-shaped devices, like robotic vacuums, crawled along the ground, collecting the corpses of the little black figures one by one.
Another team member climbed onto the wall, took a capsule from their waist, and used it to encase the broom-shaped relic that the little Wizard figure had previously used.
The burly man with the large shield returned, a flatbed cart following beside him.
"This is a transport cart for supplies. You made a huge contribution this time, so you can have this one for now."
He took off the wristband he was wearing and handed it to Li Luo. "It's operated by the wristband."
Li Luo didn't take the wristband, her eyes simply sizing up the flatbed cart.
The recorder, watching this awkward scene from the side, teased, "Captain Du, you're certainly taking good care of your former superior's daughter. Wouldn't this be considered using your position for personal gain?"
Du Kang turned and kicked at the recorder. "Stop slacking off over here! That broom on the wall hasn't been registered yet!"
"Yes, yes, yes." The recorder twisted his body to dodge the kick and scurried away.
After a tense silence, Li Luo finally took the wristband.
"Thank you."
Du Kang breathed a sigh of relief. The tall, burly man actually seemed a little embarrassed.
"No need to thank me. Pack up so we can get going. We've already wasted too much time."
Li Luo stood up and tapped the wristband a few times. The flatbed cart automatically moved to the original wooden pushcart, extended supports to lift the metal block, then slowly slid underneath it.
Several locking points rose from the cart, securing the metal block firmly in place. With that, the loading was complete.
Li Luo walked off, and the flatbed cart slowly began to move, automatically following her.
Inside, Mo Ling curiously studied these advanced devices.
'This thing is great.'
Mo Ling really wanted to try teleporting the wristband inside so he could operate it himself. Then wouldn't he be able to go wherever he wanted?
But the wristband was already on Li Luo's hand. If he tried to teleport it now, he'd get more than just the wristband.
The group assembled, and after a headcount, they passed through the camp and set off in another direction.
Along the way, Mo Ling sat in the flatbed cart, watching all sorts of rare and exotic beasts charge out from the surrounding jungle, only to be swiftly dealt with by the group.
Soon, the party arrived at a strange building.
The building's exterior was made of smooth, white tiles, forming a hemisphere on the ground with a tall tower extending from its peak.
It looked like a lollipop stuck upside down in the ground.
As the party approached, a section of the white tiles slowly rose to form an entrance. Guards emerged and began to check their identities.
These Guards were particularly cautious of the metal block; every one who came to the cart would stop and linger for a long time.
Finally, the party entered the white building without any issues.
The interior was a massive, plaza-like space, with a spiral staircase leading up into the tower and down into the ground—a whole other world.
Looking out from the inside, the white tiles were now transparent glass, offering a crystal-clear view of the jungle outside.
People were coming and going in the plaza, and they only gave the newly arrived party a cursory glance.
Like Mo Ling, most of the people in the party were also wide-eyed, gazing at the interior of the building with awe and longing.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Seventh Monitoring Station."
An amiable, middle-aged scholar with neatly combed hair, wearing a white lab coat and glasses, walked before the group and welcomed them with open arms.
Seeing him, Du Kang stepped forward to greet him. "Station Chief Liang, it's been a while."
Mo Ling also looked at the nameplate the scholar was wearing.
'Third-level Hunter, Forest Sage, Liang Zhi.'
'A Third-level Hunter? This is the first one I've seen. Comparing the ranks, it seems the higher the level, the more powerful they are.'
Station Chief Liang walked up to Du Kang and patted his shoulder, then looked at the group behind him, his eyes shining.
"This year's newcomers look quite promising!"
"They are promising. On our way here, we cleared out a Totem Fiend camp located between the Great Lift and the monitoring station. No idea when it was set up."
Hearing this, Station Chief Liang looked puzzled. He pushed up his glasses and said, "Our last patrol was only half a year ago. How could it appear so quickly?"
Du Kang shook his head. "It might be related to the recent disturbances. We brought the bodies back for the monitoring station to study."
Hearing the word "disturbances," Station Chief Liang's expression immediately turned grim, losing its earlier ease.
After their conversation, the two men had the group settle into a massive warehouse, where the station's researchers began to take charge of the various supplies.
But no one came to Li Luo to ask about the metal block. So, Mo Ling just sat on the flatbed cart and followed her around as she handed over supplies.
'Where are they taking me?'
Although he was confused, Mo Ling had been wondering how he could get a good look at the monitoring station, so following Li Luo around was the perfect opportunity.
After the handover was complete, Station Chief Liang led the group to a conference room.
But at the entrance to the conference room, Li Luo was stopped.
Station Chief Liang sized up Li Luo and murmured, "You look just like your dad."
Hearing this, Li Luo simply stood there silently, looking at Station Chief Liang with a blank expression.
"You act like him, too. Same 'I'm the king of the world' attitude."
'Is there some complicated history here?'
Mo Ling perked up his ears to eavesdrop, even though he didn't actually need ears to hear anymore.
Station Chief Liang walked over to the metal block and sighed, "Her luck is just as good as his, too."
After saying this, he waved his hand at Li Luo. "Never mind. Go on in. If you ever need anything in the Abyss, you can come find me."
Li Luo didn't stand on ceremony, turning and walking away immediately.
'She didn't even take the opportunity to build a connection. She really has a strong personality.' Mo Ling felt this Young Lady was certainly one of a kind.
In the conference room, people filed in one after another. After welcoming everyone inside, Station Chief Liang walked to the head of the table, pulled out the chair, but did not sit down.
He first gave the crowd a deep bow.
"First, I want to thank you all for your contribution in clearing out the Totem Fiend camp."
"The Seventh Monitoring Station is the one farthest from the Great Lift, and the road here is the most difficult. Clearing away one more obstacle means fewer people will die in the future."
"As the Station Chief of the Seventh Monitoring Station, failing to discover the situation in a timely manner was a dereliction of my duty. For that, I apologize to you all."
Station Chief Liang bowed deeply once more before slowly taking his seat.