The person behind Lu Yu spoke, as if trying to tempt him.
Lu Yu’s eyes gradually revealed excitement.
He slightly turned his head to look behind. Leading the group at the rear were two burly men, each holding a shield made of armored plates in front of them, watching Lu Yu cautiously.
Behind the two men stood a middle-aged man about forty years old, his hair slightly gray, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he proudly said, “Young man, if you’re willing, we can join forces. We’ll give you one-third of whatever we get.”
“One-third?” Lu Yu’s eyes flickered. After a moment’s hesitation, he sneered, “That’s too little!”
“That’s not little at all,” the middle-aged man replied seriously. “You’re just one person, and we have over thirty here. One-third for you is already quite generous.”
Lu Yu sneered again. “Then I’ll kill all of you, and everything will be mine!”
He said it with no emotion at all, as if killing was as common to him as eating or drinking.
The middle-aged man’s expression slightly changed, and even the two men holding the shields in front of him trembled slightly.
“Clang, clang…”
The sound of blades being drawn rang out, sharp, gleaming blades flashing with deadly intent.
Everyone’s face turned pale.
They had all seen Lu Yu kill, even defeating two monsters at the peak of the first stage.
If this man really decided to attack, at least half of them here would die. As for the survivors, who could escape was another question.
Meanwhile, Wang Fei and the others blocked at the bottom of the steps were nearly paralyzed with fear.
The middle-aged man, wary of Lu Yu’s strength but unwilling to abandon the treasures inside, gritted his teeth and said, “How about half? Is that enough for you?”
“Half?” Lu Yu scoffed coldly. “I want two-thirds. You get one-third.”
“What?” The middle-aged man angrily said, “Lu Yu, don’t push too hard. You alone taking two-thirds—how are we supposed to divide the rest?”
“That’s none of my concern. I just want two-thirds,” Lu Yu snorted. “Not agreeing?”
“Fine, very well,” the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and nodded. “Two-thirds, then two-thirds.”
The greedier, the better!
The middle-aged man laughed inwardly.
Originally, he had offered Lu Yu one-third, but if Lu Yu had readily agreed, it would have seemed suspicious, not matching the way this man had acted recently.
Even when he thought Lu Yu asking for half was concerning, suspecting it might be a false cooperation.
But now that Lu Yu was aggressively demanding two-thirds, the middle-aged man finally felt reassured.
Such greed from Lu Yu proved that he was genuinely willing to cooperate.
And if Lu Yu was truly cooperative, his vigilance would naturally decrease.
That was exactly what the middle-aged man wanted.
So, pretending to reluctantly agree with gritted teeth, he wanted Lu Yu to see how painful it was for him to accept.
A faint smile appeared on Lu Yu’s face. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”
“Haha, no rush, take it slow,” the middle-aged man said, watching Lu Yu clear the path. He then slowly walked down the passage, stroking the stone walls.
Soon, the group entered the cave at the end of the passage.
Lu Yu’s expression changed slightly, seeing a scene he thought only existed in movies.
It was a massive cave, at least ten kilometers in diameter, hidden underground.
And it was located less than five kilometers outside Fanggang City, less than a kilometer below the surface, yet no one had discovered it.
Above his head, at a height of a hundred meters, was a stone ceiling made of unformed starling ore, like a vast dome covering the cave.
Countless stars shimmered overhead, like the glittering night sky.
Even more astonishing than the starry sky beneath was what lay before him.
Before his eyes stretched ancient ruins made of collapsed stones, forming a vast ancient architectural complex.
Some stones were carved with mysterious patterns, others still faintly revealed the grandeur of their original structures.
But now, all were in ruins.
The middle-aged man seemed to be entering this place for the first time. His hands trembled as he gently touched the stones, carefully brushing off the dust and examining the patterns.
He said excitedly, “It’s real, absolutely real. I wish those old fools could see this. I’d love to slap them across the face.”
Lu Yu had also felt curious about what Wang Fei had said.
Now hearing the middle-aged man talking to himself, he asked in surprise, “What did you figure out?”
“What did I figure out?” The middle-aged man picked up a piece of broken stone. “These patterns have never appeared in any historical period known to us. Do you know, this would have been an unprecedented discovery before the apocalypse, enough to make me famous in history.”
The middle-aged man grew more excited as he spoke, tightly gripping the stone. “I’m an anthropologist and archaeologist. Ten years ago, after studying a lot of materials, I was certain that before humans existed, Earth had already hosted a highly advanced civilization. But no one read my academic reports, and they were criticized as unrealistic speculation.”
His expression turned grim as he continued, “I had no evidence, only theories. Because I had no evidence, they denied my conclusions. Now, I want to see who dares to deny them?”
“But what does this have to do with us now?”
“Why do monsters understand human language? Have you ever seen these monsters in our history of development? If not, then why do they understand our language?” The middle-aged man paused, then continued, “These buildings are older than a million years. Were there humans a hundred thousand years ago? I suspect these monsters coexisted with the previous civilization, or even earlier.”
Lu Yu didn’t know much about history.
But the middle-aged man’s speculation still startled him inwardly.
Monsters had their own language, just like Number One and the Demon Ape shared one. Why did they also understand human?
That night, the monsters emerged from beneath Fanggang’s ground. What else lay hidden beneath the city?
More and more questions filled Lu Yu’s mind.
The middle-aged man continued, “Just looking at these things here, I can’t draw conclusions. But wait—once I discover more ruins, I’ll know everything. I’ll make those old fools shut up once and for all.”
Saying this, he threw away the stone in his hand and signaled everyone to move forward.
Lu Yu followed beside the middle-aged man, always keeping an eye on the surroundings.
They seemed to be on a street nearly a hundred meters wide. The buildings on both sides had collapsed, with only a small part scattered onto the road.
So ancient was the place that many of the stones had weathered, yet some broken walls still stood, vaguely revealing architectural styles vastly different from modern times.
Even by today’s standards, a street this wide was rare.
Lu Yu hadn’t expected to see such a sight within an ancient architectural complex.
The group began cautiously hiding among the ruins, moving toward the center.
Lu Yu followed the middle-aged man, moving between broken walls.
Everyone moved carefully, lightly. They avoided unstable areas, trying not to make the slightest sound.
As they approached the center of the ruins, Lu Yu noticed a complete symbol on a large building.
This made the middle-aged man ecstatic.
It was a huge crimson cross-shaped star, its red color as vivid as blood.
As the middle-aged man tried to approach, the crimson star began to glow faintly, and then streaks of blood-red light shot toward him.
Startled, the middle-aged man quickly stepped back.
The blood-red threads retracted.
“Amazing,” the middle-aged man said excitedly. “This is like something out of mythology. Lu Yu, did you see that? Perhaps this civilization was completely different from ours. All the surrounding buildings have collapsed, yet this cross-shaped star remains intact, its color unchanged. I bet this is the greatest masterpiece of that civilization.”
He circled around the broken wall with the cross-shaped star for a long time before reluctantly leaving.
Lu Yu stood aside, watching indifferently, showing no expression.
Because here, their goal wasn’t archaeology, but the treasures on the altar.
The closer they got to the center of the cave, the stronger the stench of blood became.
“Almost there. Everyone stay quiet!” The middle-aged man signaled everyone not to make a move, reminding them to be careful and quiet.
Lu Yu finally saw the altar.
About a hundred meters away, at the intersection of four major roads, stood a circular altar nearly ten meters in diameter.
Scattered bloodstains stained the altar, and at its four corners stood four pillar platforms, each three meters high and thirty centimeters thick.
On one of the pillars, a gray-white skeleton was bound with thick chains.
On another pillar, a dragon-shaped shadow continuously moved, as if a dragon were swimming along the pillar.
The other two pillars were empty.
In the center of the altar lay a monster.
Beside it were piles of uneaten human limbs and several glowing blue stones.
The middle-aged man was puzzled, staring at one of the empty pillars. He couldn’t understand why a small depression the size of a fist on one pillar, which should have held a spherical object, was now empty?
Also, there should have been thirty blue soul stones, yet only ten remained.
However, this wasn’t the time to ponder these mysteries.
Standing beside Lu Yu, the middle-aged man whispered, “Soon, we’ll team up to kill that monster, then divide the treasures on the altar.”
“You mentioned three treasures, but I don’t see them,” Lu Yu scanned the pillars and said, “A skeleton and a dragon shadow—how are those treasures?”
The middle-aged man’s lips slightly curled. “Because you don’t recognize their value. Everyone’s memories upon awakening their star-soul are different. Fortunately, my memory includes knowledge about this. That skeleton can also be used by us. But how to use it—I’ll tell you after we kill the monster. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the remains of the previous civilization. Even a million years ago, do you think ordinary human bones could have survived until now?”
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