Chapter 11: 幽云散开，鬼荒世界

Of the six members of Laboratory 705, four were somewhat advanced in age, with the exceptions being Han Qin, who carried a shotgun, and the bespectacled middle-aged woman.

They were still in the same place as before.

Upon seeing Qi Shanshan, Li Weiyi, and Gao Huan return from the direction of the nine-story bridge, Director Yang rushed to greet them, apologizing: "Thank goodness, it's great to see you back. I forgot to tell you earlier, there are unpredictable dangers at the stern, so please don't let curiosity get the better of you and go over there."

"This could very well be a burial ship!"

"The ancient garden at the stern might not be the ship owner's living quarters; it could also be their tomb."

How could he forget something like that?

Li Weiyi and Gao Huan had lost all goodwill towards Director Yang and responded with perfunctory and polite words.

Qi Shanshan, however, changed her demeanor in front of Director Yang, smiling as she said, "Thank you for the reminder, Director! Even if these two boys had the desire, they wouldn't have the guts. Just looking at the rows of human effigies in the nine-story bridge is enough to send shivers down your spine. Oh! Haven't all the immortal objects from those skeletal humans been taken by everyone already? Director, what are you still researching?"

Director Yang replied, "We're studying their cause of death! And I believe their most important treasures aren't those immortal objects at all, but these armors and weapons. Unfortunately, they are too heavy; no one can lift them."

"They are probably the legendary heavenly soldiers and generals, right? These armors and weapons are divine artifacts. How could ordinary mortals like us use them?" Qi Shanshan said.

Li Weiyi looked at the ancient spear on the ground, which was a full ten feet long and as black as ink. Although its shaft was rusted, the spearhead remained sharp, gleaming with a cold light.

If not for the many eyes present, he would have truly wanted to pick it up and test what level of power he had reached after cultivating extraordinary abilities.

He should be able to lift it.

After Qi Shanshan and Director Yang exchanged pleasantries, the three returned to the medical tent towards the bow of the ship.

Li Weiyi couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Qi, what exactly are these 'immortal objects' you mentioned earlier?"

Qi Shanshan, with her hands in her pockets, did not turn around as she replied, "They're accessories and clothing found on those skeletal humans: dragon-patterned thumb rings, three-headed snake bracelets, cross pendants, scripture belts, silver-thread gloves, and so on. Since they haven't decayed after a thousand years, they must be extraordinary items."

"The moment those skeletal humans were discovered, everyone scrambled to take all the items. Since then, everyone has kept their findings tightly hidden, so no one knows exactly how many good things others possess."

"What I just mentioned were only a few items that have been most talked about in the past few days, and which many people have seen."

"It's said that when Xie Tianshu took off the dragon-patterned thumb ring, a faint dragon roar could be heard, which was very mystical. It's also rumored that after Kong Fan acquired two silver-thread gloves, his arm strength greatly increased, allowing him to lift objects weighing three to four hundred jin."

Li Weiyi asked, "Kong Fan? Chef Kong? With his build, can he really lift three or four hundred jin?"

Qi Shanshan lightly nodded her head, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of envy as she sighed softly, "Now you understand why everyone is so eager to find the Buddha's sarira and why they're so focused on you, right? No matter how good these other treasures are, they pale in comparison to the Buddha's sarira."

"Slap!"

Gao Huan slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh no! What did I miss? So many immortal treasures from a thousand years ago, and I didn't get a single one. Li, we shouldn't have gotten injured!"

Li Weiyi remained unfazed, saying, "An innocent man is guilty only for possessing a treasure. Who can say if it's a blessing or a curse?"

The Ghost Bear Emperor was still alive and could return at any moment.

On the bronze ship, human nature had deteriorated. People were not only worried about the impending shortages of food and water but also coveted the treasures in others' hands, leading to increasingly sharp conflicts.

Furthermore, many people believed Li Weiyi had swallowed the Buddha's sarira and were eyeing him with hostility.

This was the fifth day since they had fallen onto the bronze ship.

From now on, with each passing day, the likelihood of conflict and danger would increase.

Driven by survival, greed, jealousy, and desire, many were undoubtedly secretly accumulating power and plotting. Li Weiyi had only taken a short walk and already strongly felt the dangerous atmosphere.

It would only take a single fuse to ignite everything.

While maintaining extreme vigilance, Li Weiyi also channeled the surging hot energy, fully dedicating himself to healing the injury on his left arm.

Two days later.

It was the seventh day since they had fallen onto the bronze ship.

At nine o'clock in the morning, cries of astonishment and a general commotion erupted outside the medical tent, accompanied by the sound of running footsteps everywhere.

"It's getting light, the shadowy clouds are gradually dissipating."

"That's great, are we finally arriving at land?"

Everyone in the medical tent was awakened.

Li Weiyi was also overjoyed. After quickly tidying himself, he got out of bed and went onto the deck.

Outside, the deck was already crowded.

The thick, dark shadowy clouds in the sky had indeed thinned, drifting like gauze, and faint starlight could be vaguely seen above.

"The sea, I see the sea!"

A young research team member leaned over the bulwark, pointed at the ship's bottom, and cheered wildly.

When the others gathered around, they indeed saw the ocean surface over a hundred meters below, with waves rolling in layers. However, because the shadowy clouds hadn't fully dissipated, they could only make out a rough outline.

It was enough to cause immense excitement.

It was like a blind person regaining sight, or an eternal night welcoming dawn, bringing boundless hope and anticipation.

"What's that? A towering peak standing in the sea?"

Someone rushed to the very front of the bow, pointing into the distance.

"It's not a peak, it looks like a stone pillar... more like a stone stele, with characters carved on it."

"My heavens, how can such a tall, rectangular stone monument rise from the sea? The part exposed above the water must be over two thousand meters tall."

"How is that different from a stone peak?"

Li Weiyi joined the crowd heading towards the bow.

The shadowy clouds above were almost completely dispersed.

The ocean was dark and deep.

Ahead of the bronze ship, tens of kilometers away, a stone monument, like a majestic divine peak, rose straight from the depths and pierced the sky. Even from a distance, its imposing presence could be felt.

In the boundless expanse of the ocean, it appeared incredibly solitary and abrupt, yet also grander and more magnificent because of it.

Carved deep into its surface were four ancient, vigorous, and peculiar characters, as if chiseled by a divine blade, appearing remarkably clear.

"What strange characters, they look like some kind of symbols?"

"Is this still Earth? There's never been any mention of such a stone peak or pillar monument standing in any ocean on Earth."

Many had initially clung to the fantasy that once the shadowy clouds dissipated, they would see familiar seas and eventually return to their homeland, their families, and their campuses.

After their illusions were shattered,

some research team members, longing desperately for their loved ones, began to cry hoarsely.

Cai Yutong stood at the edge of the crowd, gazing up at the now completely clear sky. She said, "Don't you think the starry sky seems a bit too low? And... it doesn't look like the Milky Way, not like the starry sky we know."

No sooner had she spoken than something strange occurred.

"Whoosh!"

From the starry sky, billions of light orbs plummeted, like dense rain, scattering down towards the boundless ocean surface.

The light orbs closer by could be clearly seen; they appeared to be... humanoid.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events, bewildered and filled with a chilling dread.

The starry sky was raining people!

"Quick, come look, what's in the sea?" Gao Huan waved frantically, calling out to everyone.

With the shadowy clouds completely dispersed, the sea surface could finally be seen clearly.

In the dark, ink-like expanse of the ocean, a horrifying sight unfolded: countless human figures were swimming.

This was true not only nearby but also in the distance.

They were innumerable.

Their bodies were translucent, emitting a faint glow, and they included men, women, and children of all ages, though the elderly predominated. Some floated on the surface, while others sank to the bottom.

They were not beings of flesh and blood; they seemed more like departed souls.

Most of the souls had vacant, dazed eyes. However, a few were extremely active, darting through the sea to prey on others.

"Cackle!"

"Roar!"

One elderly man, with disheveled long hair and a shriveled face, sensed the many gazes from the ship. He threw his head back, let out a fierce, piercing shriek, leaped from the seawater, and lunged towards the deck, over a hundred meters above.

None of the people had ever encountered such a strange phenomenon.

In their terror, they all recoiled.

Some were so paralyzed with fear that their legs turned to jelly, unable to move, and were pushed and trampled.

"Rip!"

Just as the fierce elderly soul approached the bronze ship, about ten feet from the deck, it was torn apart and exploded by a sudden rift that appeared out of thin air, dissolving into a cluster of light particles.

It was as if a crack had appeared in the space, like shattered glass.

It appeared suddenly and vanished just as quickly.

Other fierce souls, who had been eager to try, now showed expressions of fear, uttering strange cries, and moved away from the bronze ship.

"An unknown force is protecting the bronze ship; they can't get on board." Li Weiyi urged everyone to calm down and, with Cai Yutong, helped up the two elderly professors who had been trampled.

After the fierce elderly soul burst into light particles and scattered into the sea, it immediately caused many of the previously dazed souls to frantically scramble and devour them, splashing water everywhere.

Not everyone could remain calm; people were panicking, many still unsettled by the shock.

Unfamiliar, strange, terrifying—what kind of world was this?

The earlier joy at the dissipation of the shadowy clouds had completely vanished.

Director Yang couldn't help but sigh, looking up at the sky: "In the boundless dark sea, bathe the souls of billions of beings. Beneath a sky full of stars, a ship sails, an eternal mystery. Where is the end, and where can we land?"

Someone pinched their arm hard, felt the pain, and only then confirmed that the scene before them was real.

"We are no longer in the Arctic, or even on Earth. We have arrived in the legendary Underworld, or perhaps the Ghost Wilderness," said Xie Tianshu, his eyes showing no hint of disappointment or sadness, but rather a gleam of excitement.

He exchanged glances with some individuals in the crowd, feeling that the time was ripe; there was no need for further hesitation, it was time to act!

The sea of souls was boundless, with no known destination or return point.

Li Weiyi's feelings were incredibly complex. He said, "Is this where the souls of the Earth's dead return? But there are tens of trillions of spirits in the sea; where on Earth could so many deceased come from?"

"Perhaps, in the vast universe and endless sea of stars, all the deceased from every planet return here," someone speculated, gazing intently at the starry sky above.

Both in the scientific community and in religions, most people firmly believed that Earth was certainly not the only life-bearing planet in the universe.

The sky was dense with stars, appearing exceptionally dazzling and brilliant when viewed amidst the rain of light orbs and souls.

However, they were extremely close to the sea surface, not as impossibly distant as deep space.

They didn't seem like stars, but rather like "portals of light," "soul passages," or "stargates."

This was because the dense rain of light orbs and souls flew out from these "stars" and then scattered onto the dark, deep sea surface, transforming into human souls—all of which was visible to the naked eye.

It was precisely for this reason that someone put forth the bold conjecture: "All the deceased of the universe return here."