The 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin

“Ancient Civilization Ruin?” Luo Feng felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, jolting him awake. Instantly, his lighthearted demeanor vanished, replaced by a solemn expression, his eyes sharp as he stared at the email on his communication watch. He murmured, “Open the email!”Beep!The email title was clicked open, revealing a message written in Huaxia characters.“To Inspector Luo Feng:Please arrive at the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo’s global headquarters in Hongning Base City before 6 PM on September 29th. Numerous War Gods will gather there to proceed together to the ‘9th Ancient Civilization Ruin’.Three points to note:1. The ‘9th Ancient Civilization Ruin,’ considered to be of lower danger, is the only place where the ‘Black God Set’ can be obtained. The casualty rate for War Gods entering is approximately 72%. The success rate is 28%. Before deciding to enter, please consider carefully; once inside, there is no turning back.2. Each individual has only one opportunity to enter the ‘9th Ancient Civilization Ruin’!3. Warriors entering the ‘9th Ancient Civilization Ruin’ are prohibited from using special protective gear such as the Black God Set. Only combat suits manufactured on Earth may be used for protection.Please seriously consider whether to enter!If you decide to enter, please prepare accordingly! Arrive at the designated meeting point before the specified date and time.Extreme Martial Arts Dojo.August 31st, 2057”The email’s signature was simply the seal-shaped logo of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo. This simple email, however, brought a profound silence to Luo Feng. He stared down at the three warning clauses, and for a moment, it felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees.“A casualty rate of 72%?” Luo Feng frowned. “And a success rate of 28%... that means, failure equals death or severe injury!”“And the ratio is too high; roughly three out of four people will be killed or injured!”Clearly...The War Gods who dare to enter this ‘9th Ancient Civilization Ruin’ must be quite confident. Yet, even with that confidence... the casualty rate remains as high as 72%! This indicates that humanity on Earth hasn’t discovered a pattern for successful passage; if they had, the casualty rate wouldn’t be this high!“And we can’t use special ability equipment like the Black God Set?” Luo Feng’s brow furrowed.“What kind of hellish place is this! They even restrict equipment once you’re inside!”...Late at night, Luo Feng sat silently on the sofa in the audio-visual room, his brows furrowed, deeply troubled.He knew nothing about the 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin. Only by knowing oneself and one’s enemy can one emerge victorious from a hundred battles. Rushing into the Ancient Civilization Ruin blindly, like a blind man feeling an elephant, especially with the restriction against using the Black God Set... without sufficient defense, he might very well lose his life.“Luo Feng, how does this one look?” On the screen, Xu Xin had changed into another outfit.“Hmm, not bad.” Luo Feng looked up, forcing a smile.“What’s wrong?” Through the video call, Xu Xin, who was in the main city district, noticed Luo Feng seemed off.“I still have some things to attend to. I’ll tell you later,” Luo Feng said.“Oh, alright. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you’ve already done so well,” Xu Xin encouraged.Beep!The projection on the screen shut off.The entire audio-visual room plunged back into darkness. Luo Feng sat alone on the sofa; it was late at night, and utterly silent.After a long period of solitary thought, Luo Feng made a decision.“Beep, beep, beep—”He dialed the internal number for the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo. Although it was a bit rash, he absolutely couldn’t foolishly enter the 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin without more information.“Hello,” a deep voice responded.Although he had called this mysterious individual several times, Luo Feng noticed that their voice was almost always deep and cold. Only once, when Luo Feng had said ‘Thank you, sir,’ did the mysterious person’s tone change, and they chuckled twice, a rare occurrence.“Hello, this is Luo Feng,” Luo Feng said.“I know it’s you, Inspector Luo Feng. What can I do for you?” The voice was as deep and cold as ever.“I just received an email, ‘Ancient Civilization Ruin Departure Notice.’ It states that the target is the 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin, with a casualty rate of 72%, and that special equipment like the Black God Set cannot be used. Is that correct?” Luo Feng pressed.“Correct,” the deep voice replied succinctly.Luo Feng pressed further, “I want to know, are the challenges and dangers encountered by War Gods inside the same?”“No, they are not!”“As long as one’s physical capabilities reach the War God level, they can enter the 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin,” the deep voice said without hesitation. “Beginner-tier War Gods, Mid-tier War Gods, and High-tier War Gods will encounter challenges and dangers of varying difficulty. Some High-tier War Gods might perish, while some Beginner-tier War Gods have actually succeeded!”Luo Feng’s expression subtly changed.This was what he feared most. If the dangers varied in difficulty, then it would come down to luck. His strength was considerable, but what if he encountered an extremely perilous situation?“However, proportionally, the success rate for High-tier War Gods is higher than for Mid-tier War Gods. And the success rate for Mid-tier War Gods is higher than for Beginner-tier War Gods,” the deep voice stated.Luo Feng frowned slightly.When he had spoken with the Grand Dojo Master ‘Hong,’ Luo Feng had gotten the impression that he could easily obtain a ‘Black God Set’ by simply venturing inside, as if there were no danger. But now, it seemed this place had a 72% casualty rate, and furthermore, wearing the Black God Set was prohibited.“Why is wearing the Black God Set prohibited?” Luo Feng couldn’t help but ask.“If you wear the Black God Set, you cannot enter,” the deep voice simply replied.“What is my success rate for entering?” Luo Feng asked.“Based on previous successful cases, Ancient Civilization Ruins contain inherent uncertainties, so an exact answer cannot be given. Only a vague answer can be provided—your success rate should exceed 80%!” the deep voice replied.Luo Feng fell silent.Indeed, Ancient Civilization Ruins are called that for a reason: their unique nature. Modern humanity simply cannot fully comprehend them!“When I spoke with the Grand Dojo Master, I got the impression it would be quite easy,” Luo Feng pressed.“I don’t know,” the deep voice replied.Luo Feng was startled.“To enter the 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin, one usually needs to apply themselves! However, Inspector Luo Feng, you were personally named by the Grand Dojo Master,” the deep voice explained. “As for whether it will truly be easy to pass, based on the cases I’ve seen, I cannot guarantee your 100% success! Perhaps the Grand Dojo Master has other reasons; you can ask him!”Luo Feng nodded slightly, “Thank you for your time!”Beep!He hung up the phone....Luo Feng sat quietly in the audio-visual room.Even after talking to the mysterious individual, Luo Feng still felt uncertain. The 9th Ancient Civilization Ruin was unpredictable; no one knew what might happen inside! After all, each person could only enter once. Even Hong probably couldn’t go in a second time to explore properly, otherwise, there would be no need to send a group of War Gods to their deaths.“Since the Grand Dojo Master wants me to go, then I’ll wait until September 29th, when I go to the headquarters, to ask him directly,” Luo Feng thought to himself.For other War Gods, perhaps they would desperately try to obtain a Black God Set!But for Luo Feng, there was no need to be so reckless. He needed at least some assurance before taking such a risk. With no certainty now, if he rushed in and *snap*, died! Wouldn’t that be a terrible waste? Only sufficiently high profits would justify sufficiently high risks! A single Black God Set wasn’t worth Luo Feng taking such a gamble!...The evening of September 1st. Night had fallen.In Mingyue Residential District, many patrolling soldiers, armed with live ammunition, looked towards the distant lawn where a triangular, dark blue flying fighter jet was parked. Around this fighter jet, a full 30 soldiers stood guard. Luo Feng, uncharacteristically dressed in a black suit, was walking towards the flying fighter jet.“Sir!” The thirty armed soldiers saluted. Having been specially granted the rank of Army Major General, Luo Feng commanded a personal guard of 900. Since Mingyue Residential District already had military guards, Luo Feng simply had his personal guard divided into three shifts to alternate patrols and sentry duty, a truly easy assignment.“Hmm,” Luo Feng nodded.Whoosh—The hatch opened, and Luo Feng, like a gust of wind, entered the intelligent fighter jet. Immediately, the intelligent fighter jet began to ascend, flying out of the city’s defense system range, then transforming into a dark blue streak of light and vanishing into the horizon....In Jiangnan Base City, within the large residential district where the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall was located, approximately ninety percent of all Extreme Martial Arts Dojo warriors in the entire base city resided there!Music echoed.In the residential district stood a three-story, entirely snow-white grand villa. Tonight, a grand banquet would be held here to welcome the new Inspector! Therefore, early on, a white wooden fence had been erected about a hundred meters around the three-story white villa, prohibiting outsiders from entering!A red carpet stretched a hundred meters from the fence gate all the way to the entrance of the white villa’s main hall.And at this moment—Numerous prominent figures from across Jiangnan Base City arrived one by one: commanders of military sub-districts, commanders of major military regions, representatives from various national special departments, and even high-ranking officials from the government. Only those with extremely high status within the HR Alliance were qualified to attend tonight’s banquet.In short, it was undoubtedly the highest-tier banquet in Jiangnan Base City.“Haha, Commander Li, welcome, welcome.”“Has Inspector Luo not arrived yet?” Li Dawei asked with a smile.“Today, Inspector Luo is the guest of honor; this banquet is in his welcome. It’s perfectly normal for him to be a little late, Commander Li, please be understanding,” President Zhou Zhengyong said with a chuckle. “Please excuse me for a moment!” President Zhou Zhengyong immediately went to greet other distinguished guests. Today, there was a whole host of War Gods present!There were also over ten generals from the military!Li Dawei, holding a wine glass, walked to an unoccupied corner. A young man in a suit approached him and whispered, “Commander, everything is proceeding according to plan. We anticipate a major development within the next hour.”“Oh,” a faint smile appeared on Li Dawei’s face.