Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 209 Ling Cage Part 1 (2)

ASH's mobile app responded: "Based on the environmental data and ecological environment observed so far, the possibility of Longgu Village existing is extremely high. However, we can go and check the original address first."

She paused, then continued her analysis: "As for Yue Kui, based on her personal abilities and willpower, and assuming there are stable human settlements in the region, the probability of her surviving and becoming a key figure is over 99%. However..."

"But what?" Yang Chen pressed.

“However, the overall environment of this world is much harsher, and the level of threat is higher. The survival pressure faced by Yue Kui may far exceed the level of our world at the same time. Her condition, experiences, and even... personality and choices may all be subject to unknown deviations due to unknown changes.” ASH calmly stated the various possibilities.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen remained silent for a moment.

He understood what ASH meant: the harshness of the environment could change a person.

What will Bai Yuekui of this world become after undergoing far more severe trials than he knew?
Is he still the same partner he knows who has a cool exterior but a soft heart?

"No matter what, we have to find her first." Yang Chen's eyes hardened again.

"As long as she is alive, as long as she is still Bai Yuekui, the rest... we'll know when we meet."

He looked at the distant lighthouse, then at the barren land beneath his feet: "Since Dragonbone Village most likely exists, our goal is clear."

"First, we need to find Dragonbone Village and Moon Queen. With her there, figuring out the general situation of this world will be much easier."

Having determined the direction, Yang Chen didn't delay any longer and sped off with Hong Kou toward the old site he remembered.

The wind howled in their ears, and the scenery below rushed past, a scene of desolation and ruin, more complete than the apocalypse of their world, as if all life had been completely drained.

Soon, they arrived at that area.

However, all that came into view was the dilapidated foundation half-buried by wind and sand, and some long-rotted and unrecognizable waste.

There was no sign of human habitation, no buildings, and none of the rudimentary settlement I remembered.

"It seems they're long gone." Yang Chen hovered in mid-air, looking down at the ruins below.

"The 'they' here must have... moved away too."

"Where will they move to?" Hongkou asked. "Will they also move to the mountains, since it's a high place?"

Yang Chen pondered, "Live in the mountains like us?"

"Let's go over and have a look."

The two set off again, flying into the distance.

The closer you get, the more the surrounding scenery begins to change.

Although it remains desolate, the sense of deathly stillness is gradually fading.

Although one can occasionally see some products of the manna ecosystem.

Finally, after crossing a rugged mountain ridge, the view suddenly opened up before us.

A piece of land surrounded by mountains appeared before my eyes.

Not far away, you can see a towering shield tower built on an abandoned amusement park.

In the distance, on a relatively flat and open area, stood some familiar facilities.

The renovated and reinforced ecological base still faintly reveals the outline of an old-world spacecraft launch site in its basic structure.

Further away, the mountain in the background has a striking resemblance to the "mountain" in Yang Chen's memory.

"This is it," Yang Chen said confidently, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

The Dragonbone Village in this world not only exists, but it also seems to be similar to theirs.
"Boss, should we go take a look?" Hongkou asked in a low voice, gazing at the distant mountain.

The scene before her was both familiar and unfamiliar, making her feel somewhat uneasy.

“Of course,” Yang Chen nodded, “but barging in directly might cause unnecessary trouble. Let’s observe from the shadows first.”

With a thought, the power of the snake talisman flowed quietly, and the two figures instantly became transparent, as if they had merged into the air and completely disappeared.

"Let's go."

While in stealth mode, Yang Chen, along with Hong Kou, silently approached the mountain settlement.

They avoided open areas and crept along the rugged mountain walls.

Soon, in a place partially hidden by dense vines, they discovered a dark hole.

The opening shows signs of artificial excavation and reinforcement, clearly indicating it is one of the entrances.

The cave is fairly spacious.

What comes into view is an enormous space inside the mountain.

The dome hangs high, and you can see huge white bones intertwined and supporting each other. Those are the remains of the Devouring Beasts, just like the origin of the name of their world, Dragonbone Village.

“Sure enough… there are ‘dragon bones’ here too.” Hongkou looked up at the huge skeleton and murmured.

Yang Chen didn't speak, but carefully examined the interior of "Dragon Bone Village" in this world.

Compared to the well-developed Dragon Bone Village in his world, which has been built up over many years, this place seems... a bit dilapidated.

Looking at Dragonbone Village, which seemed so different from his own world, Yang Chen took out a communication device from his mobile device, lowered his voice, and asked the ASH mobile device that was floating beside him and had disappeared from view, "ASH, there should be a network signal here, right? Can you try to connect?"

ASH's voice rang directly in his mind: "A simple signal base station has been detected locally, but it is not connected to any external network. I cannot directly attach to or access any communication or equipment here via signal. The level of technology here seems to be quite basic."

Yang Chen nodded slightly, not surprised by the result.

The world is under such immense pressure to survive that maintaining the shielding towers and ecological bases is already a challenge, inevitably leading to a lag in the development of network and information technology.

“Alright, it seems we’ll have to rely on our own eyes.” He gestured for Hongkou to follow, and the two continued to walk like invisible shadows into the depths of the mountain.

The passageway gradually became more orderly, and some houses where villagers lived began to appear on both sides.

Just as they passed a fork in the road, a series of light footsteps and the noise of children came from the side.

"Squad Leader Justice! Squad Leader Justice! Are you going to training?"

A figure nimbly ran past them, followed by several younger children.

The girl running ahead had several energetic little braids and was much taller than the little girl Yang Chen remembered.

With a bright and determined smile on her face, she turned to the group of little followers and said, "Of course! Grandpa Belenkov made new equipment for little Chagai. Soon, I'll be able to work with little Chagai to better protect everyone!"

"Maido...?" Yang Chen murmured to himself, watching the retreating figure.

Although she had grown up quite a bit, her familiar eyebrows and eyes, and her signature braids made him recognize her immediately.

"As expected of the righteous class monitor!"

"Amazing!"

The children chattered in agreement, their eyes filled with admiration.

Seemingly infected by the atmosphere, Maido suddenly stopped, put one hand on her hip, and pointed the other hand like a sword at the empty passage diagonally in front of her. Her face tightened, and she adopted a serious reconnaissance posture.

"Shh—! The Awakener has spotted a target! Unidentified individuals have infiltrated the village! Everyone, scatter and take your defensive positions!"

"Yes, sir! Sergeant!" The children immediately lowered their bodies in a similar manner, imitating the soldiers, crouching low and quickly "scattering" to hide behind rocks or debris on both sides of the passage, only their tense yet excited eyes peeking out as they stared intently in the direction Maido was pointing.

That was the spot where Yang Chen and Hong Kou were standing, hidden from view.

Yang Chen, who was not far away, was taken aback when he heard this.

It's been discovered? The snake charm failed? That's impossible...

But in the next moment, he immediately understood.

Maido and the children were just playing around.

Is this some kind of role-playing game?

Sure enough, after maintaining that "reconnaissance" pose for a few seconds, Maido couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

She waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, all clear! It was a false alarm! Looks like I still need to practice my 'Awakened One' skills a bit more!"

The children then ran out of their hiding place, laughing and joking, and surrounded Maido again.

"You righteous squad leader, you scared us to death!"

"I thought there were really bad guys!"

Maido ruffled the hair of the nearest child and laughed, "You just have to stay alert! But it's alright now, go play! I heard there's lots of delicious food today!"

Upon hearing about delicious food, the children's attention was immediately diverted, and they cheered and ran off in another direction.

Maido watched the children run away, and the smile on her face slowly faded.

She sighed softly, teased the little falcon on her shoulder, and then turned and continued walking briskly in another direction.

Yang Chen and Hong Kou, who were hiding nearby, saw all of this.

Yang Chen frowned and whispered to Hong Kou beside him, "Go and take a look."

The two remained invisible, quietly following behind Maido.

After walking through several streets, a scorching heat and the sound of metal being forged began to fill the air.

They arrived at a forging area carved out beside a rock wall.

The furnace was blazing, illuminating an exceptionally burly, white-bearded, bald man whose muscular arms were wielding a heavy forging hammer, slamming it down hard on a piece of red-hot Devouring Beast bone, each strike sending sparks flying.

Nearby, a beautiful woman with a graceful figure was using pliers to turn the bone over.

"Belenkov! I've come to get the equipment for Chagai!" Madonna ran to the edge of the forging area and shouted loudly so that her voice would not be drowned out by the sound of forging.

Upon hearing this, Belenkov didn't stop hammering his weapon. Without turning his head, he replied gruffly, "Got it! It's on the table over there. Take it yourself! I'm at a crucial moment here. If this scapula isn't treated properly, it'll be ruined!"

Maido was clearly used to Belenkov's work style and didn't mind. She responded and skipped over to a metal table piled with various tools and parts.

On the table, a small piece of equipment stands out conspicuously.

"Chagai, come try out your new gear!" Mydo said excitedly to her shoulder.

The little falcon that had been quietly perched on her shoulder seemed to understand its owner's words. It nimbly jumped down, landed on the table, and tilted its head, curiously looking at the small piece of equipment.

Maido picked up the equipment and gently slipped it onto Chagai's body, securing the buckles.

The equipment fit Chagall's body perfectly, as if it were tailor-made for him.

Chagai seemed a little uncomfortable, twisting its body and shaking its feathers.

"Don't move, check it, it'll be over soon." Maido reassured it, then pressed a tiny button on the equipment.

hum-

Thin metal plates, as thin as cicada wings, rapidly extended from both sides of the equipment, combining to form a small propeller.

The propellers began to spin, and Chagai, propelled by these miniature propellers, actually took to the air, wobbling and flying.

It seemed to be startled itself, flapping its wings a few times before it adjusted, and then began to try circling and turning, its movements gradually becoming smoother.

"It's a success, Belenkov! Look, Chagai is flying! With this, it can fly farther, see more clearly, and help me give early warnings better!" Maido clapped her hands happily, her little face beaming with joy.

Belenkov, who had been focused on forging, stopped at this moment, wiped the sweat with the towel hanging around his neck, and glanced back at Chagai, who was circling in the air.

"Okay, be careful not to bump into anything, there aren't any spare parts to fix it if you break something!"

"I understand!" Maido nodded vigorously, then shouted to Chagai in the air, "Chagai, let's go! Let's test the performance!"

Watching Maido run off with Chagai, Yang Chen and Hong Kou looked away and then glanced at Belenkov and Kolova, who were back to their intense forging work.

"Boss, it seems we know quite a few people here," Hongkou whispered.

Yang Chen nodded silently.

“Let’s go check the central area of ​​the village,” Yang Chen said. “We should be able to see more there, and perhaps… we can find her there too.”

The two did not linger and continued walking deeper into the mountain's interior, towards what appeared to be gathering areas.

Some simple shops and stalls began to appear on both sides of the passage, where villagers conducted transactions.

As Yang Chen walked, he looked around. His and Bai Yuekui's little house was gone, and the layout here was very different.

As they passed an intersection, a conversation at a nearby stall caught Yang Chen's attention.

The stall owner was a clever-looking young man, and his stall was filled with DVDs.

Standing in front of the stall was an old man with white hair and beard.

"Hey kid," the white-haired old man lowered his voice, leaning closer to the stall, "Have you... gotten any new 'action movies' lately?"

The young stall owner was taken aback: "An action movie? The kind with a bunch of people fighting? Old Xia, how much do you want?"

"Not that kind!" The old man seemed a little anxious, but didn't want to speak too loudly, so he gestured with his hands.

"It's...it's like that kind of thing, where the visuals move, and there are two or more people, um...fighting, really intensely! You know what I mean!"

The stall owner suddenly realized: "Oh, you mean those 'action movies'!"

"Yes, yes, Wing Chun and Fist of Fury! I had a hard time finding these two, Lao Xia, you have good taste."

Looking at the two discs he had taken out, the expectant light on the white-haired old man's face instantly dimmed: "Sigh."

He waved his hand, turned around with a dejected expression, and left the stall, his back view appearing particularly bleak.

"Hey, Lao Xia, don't go. If you don't like these two, I still have Shaolin Temple here."

"Don't you like it? How about we look at something else?"

"Old Xia? Old Xia?"

Yang Chen and Hong Kou, who were hiding nearby, heard the whole scene.

Yang Chen's lips twitched.

He recognized the white-haired old man as Xia Tianlai.

It seems that no matter how cruel the world is, some fundamental aspects will not change.

Why haven't we seen Yue Kui along the way?

Is it at an ecological base?

As Yang Chen was thinking, a villager suddenly shouted loudly from afar.

"Boss Bai, you're back."

(End of this chapter)