Yang Yuan suddenly realized, pondering whether if he crafted items using the corpse of the Drought Fiend and then upgraded them, could he eliminate the side effects?
After all, up until now, everything he's crafted, each upgrade resulted in positive attributes appearing, rarely adding bad attributes like bizarre costs for Marvels.
Then—
If an item inherently had undesirable traits, would repeatedly upgrading it after reassembling remove those bad traits?
He was quite hopeful.
Soon after, Jia Weixin's bodyguard returned, although without finding any Marvels, he did bring back a fist-sized Spirit Monster Core, looking dark red.
The moment he brought the Spirit Monster Core into the cockpit of the flying vehicle, everyone, including Yang Yuan, felt a heat in their internal organs, as if their bodies were going to spontaneously combust from the inside out.
For them men, it was just mildly uncomfortable, but Storm and another female Superpower User felt extremely unwell, as if their endocrine systems were completely out of balance.
"Quick, put it in this box."
Leader Chen hurriedly used the Isolation Box previously used for the Marvel cooler to contain the Spirit Monster Core.
As soon as the lid was closed, that eerie, strong radiation vanished.
Everyone sighed in relief.
Leader Chen looked at Jia Weixin.
"This is Mr. Yang Yuan's trophy, let him have it," Jia Weixin said.
Upon hearing this, Leader Chen handed the Isolation Box over to Yang Yuan.
Yang Yuan took the box, opened the lid to take a glance, then closed it again, marveling, "This is the Spirit Monster Core of a Drought Fiend? Such intense radiation. How do you value a Spirit Monster Core like this?"
Leader Chen helplessly responded, "The core seems extraordinary, but actually, it's like a regular Spirit Monster Core, only serving as an Energy Core. Of course, maybe we haven't found the correct usage yet; after half a year, we don't know if the Alliance Headquarters has figured it out."
Chen Xianzhi added, "To prevent accidents, we've been recovering and storing these Spirit Monster Cores, not allowing them to circulate."
If Yang Yuan didn't have the magical Isolation Box, they would also have recovered it to prevent secondary infection of the surrounding females.
Yang Yuan suddenly realized, pondering if his upgrading ability could create a suitable machine for the Drought Fiend Energy Core.
However, he's always made essential items, never having time to make others, so even with many ideas, there's no time to implement them.
Thus, this matter can only be postponed, either until he has free time or until it's absolutely necessary.
"Is this Drought Fiend dead? Are there others?" he asked.
This time, they weren't here to slay the small Drought Fiend but to observe the bizarre happenings inside the Ancient Ruins, preparing for how to handle creatures that intrude spontaneously.
"There's another one ten kilometers away. Let's keep more distance this time, avoid startling them."
Jia Weixin instructed Leader Chen to start the flying vehicle again.
Due to their previous experience, Leader Chen deliberately let the flying vehicle fly slowly, approaching while waiting for eight o'clock.
Eight o'clock is when the bizarre phenomena in the Ancient Ruins manifest.
Finally, as they were five thousand meters from the small Drought Fiend, the time arrived at eight o'clock.
Silently and swiftly, the flames burning atop the ruins hundreds of meters away were extinguished, the smoke disappeared.
Buildings began to appear one after another, while strange-looking aliens wearing odd clothing gradually materialized.
As they appeared, they were already in motion, almost like they were moving originally, suddenly transitioning from another dimension to this one.
"Accelerate!" Jia Weixin immediately ordered.
Leader Chen hastily maneuvered the flying vehicle along the ruins edge, speeding up toward the small Drought Fiend.
Finally, they arrived within a thousand meters of the small Drought Fiend, witnessing the situation there.
The small Drought Fiend, at least three meters tall and five meters long, with an indistinct species, was dried-up and roaring at the mysteriously appearing figures.
The eerie figures merely circled it, watching without attacking, seemingly pointing and commenting.
Until the small Drought Fiend couldn't take the pressure, irrationally launching an attack, emitting visible, intense thermal rays.
The next moment—
"Boom!"
The small Drought Fiend, just about to attack, was directly crushed into powder by an invisible force, with the thermal rays dissipating into nothingness.
As for the observing eerie figures, they seemed entirely unaffected, not appearing to have taken any action.
From a kilometer away, Jia Weixin and the others couldn't discern anything.
Even Yang Yuan, aiming through the sniper rifle scope at the small Drought Fiend, couldn't see how it died.
Effortlessly disposing of the small Drought Fiend, all the eerie figures slowly turned their heads, casting strange glances at the flying vehicle hundreds of meters away.
Yang Yuan felt as if, strangely, the eerie figures were mainly staring at him.
"Leave quickly!" Jia Weixin's face changed.
Leader Chen hurriedly piloted the flying vehicle away, changing direction, heading back toward the safety zone.
On the way, everyone remained silent.
Once again, they sensed the formidable presence inside the Ancient Ruins was too troublesome.
"Being truly inside the bizarre group is shockingly terrifying!"
Chen Xianzhi frowned and remarked, "Previously, our members only probed the edges and were severely injured; it's fortunate we didn't force our way inside."
Research Department Leader Chen, pondering again, confirmed, "Those eerie beings likely function as a cohesive entity, fully manifesting their strength inside the Ancient Ruins, at least Earth Level. The power disparity is too vast, that's why we couldn't understand."
Earth Level!
And that's at minimum.
Inside the flying vehicle's cockpit, everyone felt immense pressure.
Suddenly, Leader Chen looked at Yang Yuan: "Mr. Yang Yuan, could the massive firepower flying discs you crafted possibly annihilate the eerie beings if launched against this Ancient Ruins? We've researched that those eerie beings aren't fully ghostly; they can be hit by artillery."
Yang Yuan hadn't yet spoken when Jia Weixin interjected, "No, the real threat to our lives is the Drought Fiend; let's focus on resolving those wandering small Drought Fiends first."
Having said this, he symbolically glanced at Yang Yuan, as though seeking approval, primarily to show respect.
"I agree too; the firepower flying discs deplete ammunition, which, once consumed, is lost forever; my enhancements won't replenish them."
Yang Yuan naturally had no objections, as this was his initial plan.
Or rather, initially, he merely sought hydration, avoiding continuing his fugitive life.
But now, having been trapped here, he's compelled to face the Drought Fiend decisively.
Otherwise, if the Drought Fiend truly approached, their only path was death.
"Those eerie beings can't emerge; for now, they aren't a deadly threat, so I advise not wasting precious ammunition."
Chen Xianzhi chimed in, adding, "However, I noticed the enigmatic beings, regarding creatures intruding on their territory, don't actively attack. Even when a small Drought Fiend without any intelligence intrudes, they don't initiate; they waited until it attacked first before suddenly crushing it."
From this, he nurtured hope, gazing at Jia Weixin: "Hence, possibly we can further probe—without active engagement—whether we can enter the building complexes at night to find an exit? I suspect the true exit might be within those buildings. We should make dual preparations: if unable to fully eliminate the small Drought Fiends or steer the real Drought Fiend away, we must continue escaping, lest we truly become trapped here."