Chapter 263: Chapter 142: Heart of the Machine (Part 2)

At the same time.

Inside the Spirit Ruins, ice attribute spiritual power surged along the arm, rapidly dropping the temperature around. Qin Jin reached out, and with power attached, his palm directly penetrated the mechanical body’s chest as if grasping its heart, firmly holding the black box inside.

At the moment of grasping.

Spiritual power surged as ice condensed on the surface of the box, freezing it instantly, and disconnecting its connection with the outside world under the force block.

As all this was completed.

Under Qin Jin’s gaze, the humanoid mechanical body collapsed with a boom, the core taken out, those mechanical limbs reverted to their dull ordinary state, clattering against each other as they hit the ground, producing continuous noise.

Qin Jin looked at the black box frozen in the ice in his hand.

He thought for a moment, didn’t unseal it, and directly stored it in his space equipment.

At this moment.

The watch vibrated slightly.

Qin Jin looked over; [map] was flashing continuously.

When he opened the map, apart from the cursor indicating his position and the fixed exit point, a weak cursor of different color appeared, about 2000 meters away, according to Qin Jin’s exploration route so far.

“This is…”

“A mission exit point?”

Qin Jin realized, “So, unlocking a mission exit point isn’t in a task-receiving mode, but rather automatically triggered after completing the [mission].”

“Here’s the issue.”

“Does this civilization ruin set up by the organizers have any indigenous life forms serving as NPCs?”

He put down the watch and continued forward.

For others, getting a coordinate for a [mission exit point] basically means they can safely exit after this search.

However…

From the start, Qin Jin never considered the other two exit points.

After all, solo searching can’t compare to the power of many, merely a battle.

Fight and win, and you’ll gain the most.

In the ensuing time, Qin Jin continued to search.

This was the edge of civilization ruins; if defining it, it should be, the outer [ordinary residential area].

There weren’t many valuable items.

In some buildings that hadn’t collapsed, one could find plenty of edible portable food, seemingly the goodwill of the organizers, without intending to make it difficult for competitors in this regard.

Throughout the search, the three-hour countdown continued to tick.

As it drew to a close.

In the distance within Qin Jin’s line of sight, a beam of light suddenly shot into the sky, and the watch began vibrating.

Someone activated an exit point at this time.

Instantly, it was like a floodgate opened; within a minute, new beams of light kept projecting into the sky, causing the watch to vibrate repeatedly.

At this moment.

Qin Jin raised his watch; on the map, 4 fixed exit points in the nearby area were all activated.

During his search, he figured out the pattern when exit points were occasionally activated.

Once the teleportation gate is activated, there is a five-minute charging period, after which it stays open for ten minutes, allowing free entry, before entering a cooldown period.

Glancing over the exit points, Qin Jin’s gaze focused on the nearest one to him.

“This is it.”

“Let’s see how my luck is.”

The thought crossed his mind as Qin Jin darted out.

…

The beam of the teleportation gate climbed to the sky.

This exit point was located in front of a building resembling a [mall]; most of the mall had collapsed, leaving only a small section standing, about six to seven stories high, situated at a crossroad, surrounded by numerous buildings.

The charging bar on the teleportation gate began to tick progressively.

Yet, as he looked around, no figures could be seen, as if no one was there, the area exceptionally quiet, almost deathly silent, with only the beeping of charging resonating constantly.

At this moment.

With unhidden footsteps, a silhouette appeared at the end of the street, striding forward.

It was none other than Qin Jin.

[00:15:59]

He stepped forward and wasn’t surprised to see no figures near the teleportation gate.

“Someone started the teleportation gate and hid away during the charging time, not wanting to be a public target.”

“Just perfect.”

Qin Jin kept walking, reaching the side of the teleportation gate.

The charging bar indicated slightly more than two minutes remaining.

The fixed exit point’s teleportation gate was a substantial structure. Leaning against the edge of the teleportation gate, he calmly took out an energy gel from his space equipment, consuming it with a slight nod.

“Tastes good.”

“These foods should count as survival supplies provided by the organizers, not the native product of these civilization ruins, and probably wouldn’t count towards points, try it after returning.”

With the thought passing, Qin Jin closed his eyes to rest.

Beside him.

The teleportation gate charged, the constant beeping echoed.

Meanwhile.

At the back side of the teleportation gate.

In the uncollapsed part of the mall, on the third-floor area.

A head cautiously peeked out before pulling back.

“Where did this person come from?”

“Is he crazy, just waiting there so blatantly?”

Spoke a woman, her tone a bit perplexed.

“What’s there to guess? Anyone participating in the Limit-Breaking Cup is no simple character; this clearly is an expert, intending to block the way, not letting others leave.”

“Quite confident, huh.”

“What’s the use of being an expert?”

The previously speaking woman shook her head: “Even in this short while, at least four groups have approached here from what I perceive.”

“Some alone, some in teams.”

“Once the teleportation gate opens, if he doesn’t move aside, does he really intend to block everyone by himself?”

“Ignore him.”

Another voice chimed in: “Our goal is to exit, act accordingly when things get chaotic later.”

“Someone else is coming!”

During the exchange.

At the far end of the street, three individuals approached swiftly in a triangular formation, alert to their surroundings.

In front of the teleportation gate, Qin Jin opened his eyes.

In his gaze, he directly met eyes with someone from the trio, his brows slightly raised.

He saw a familiar person.

Celestial Strategy Academy, Gu Xiweng!

Once having brief contact during an academy task, as a General-Level student of Celestial Strategy, he also participated in this Limit-Breaking Cup.

Then, the two at his side were evidently participants assembled from Celestial Strategy Academy by him.

As their gazes met, Gu Xiweng evidently recognized his identity too; Qin Jin clearly saw him adjusting his glasses, slightly opening his mouth, seemingly saying something.

The next moment.

The three of them, uniformly, changed directions simultaneously, going full speed, and vanished from the spot in a few leaps.

The street regained its quiet.

Qin Jin retracted his gaze.

Scenes of his first contact with Gu Xiweng flashed through his mind thoughtfully.

“In your judgment, do you think you can’t beat me, or do you find it not worthwhile to challenge the exit point I’m guarding?”

…

The three swiftly moved through the ruins, changing direction, rapidly heading to another exit point.

“Gu Xiweng, is it necessary?”

Leading in the front, Gu Xiweng, the voice from another student behind counted: “I trust your judgment, or I wouldn’t have followed you away, but is that person really so formidable?”

“You’d rather have us head to another unknown exit point now than confront him?”

“Of course.”

Gu Xiweng nodded in response, spiritual power active, voice deep: “I and Yuan Shen participated in the same academy task with him.”

“The mission target was the stronghold of the Evil God Sect.”

“If described in words.”

He paused, speeding up a bit more, his voice conveyed by the wind to the back: “The Evil God Sect’s stronghold in that city was clearly wiped out by him alone!”

…

Just as Gu Xiweng and others left.

A tall figure strode from the ruins of a building, approaching.

He also witnessed the scene of someone approaching and then swiftly retreating, striding as he advanced until he was about a few dozen meters away from Qin Jin, his bold voice booming.

“No wonder you dare to guard here.”

“Able to scare others away with just one look, seems… you’re quite powerful.”

Qin Jin’s gaze directed over.

The person arriving was a man.

His upper body combat suit was gone, his muscular physique bared; on his skin, faint golden lines formed the character [Dragon], stretching across half a shoulder and back.

“If it were elsewhere, we could have had a good exchange.”

“However, I too want to guard here, to earn the last bit from this search.”

“Looks like, there’s no choice but to have a battle.”

In the words, the man looked towards behind Qin Jin.

There…

The charging bar was nearly full.

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