"It doesn't matter, I just want to confirm your identity. We don't care how many relic items you can bring out."
Despite saying this, Director Ais was internally eager to rush over, grab Yang Yu by the feet, lift him up and vigorously shake him until all the relic creations on him fell out.
Yang Yu grinned, crossed the barbed wire, found an open space, and slapped the ground forcefully with his hand. A massive Magic Array suddenly unfurled.
Like a newborn giant dragon, the punk machinery lay prostrate before everyone.
Director Ais's eyes sparkled at the never-before-seen hand-held tractor.
Such a unique design, such a unique aesthetic, was certainly not the work of modern humans, but must be a relic creation.
Suppressing his urge to explore, Director Ais coughed lightly,
"It has wheels, like some sort of vehicle—can you demonstrate how to use it for us?"
"Sure thing."
Finding the fuel tank of the hand-held tractor, Yang Yu poured in diesel and took out a crank.
Whenever he finds a pond where he can fish, Yang Yu is confident things will turn around for him.
Before leaving the royal capital, Yang Yu accumulated 11 points of luck from fishing, enough to gather items that matched the prizes he had drawn earlier.
He drew several barrels of diesel and gasoline, and even some Golden Dragon Fish Rapeseed Oil.
Standing with legs apart, knees bent, and firmly planted, Yang Yu grasped the crank with his right hand, inserted it into the engine's starter pawl, pressed the decompression handle with his left hand, and turned the engine from slow to fast.
The hand-held tractor roared, its exhaust spewing out billows of gray smoke. Yang Yu's speed gradually increased, and the gray smoke formed into a continuous stream, ejecting rapidly.
When the time was right, Yang Yu released the decompression handle with his left hand while simultaneously sliding the crank backward.
The engine maintained a continuous roar, and the ejected gray smoke began to stabilize.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Yang Yu fiddled for a while; the hand-held tractor started and stopped, and eventually ran smoothly.
Director Ais was quite surprised, for though he felt no Magic Fluctuation, the small vehicle still moved.
How exactly was this achieved?
Yang Yu drove the hand-held tractor adeptly, while Director Ais excitedly ran to the back of it, climbed into the carriage, and spread his arms to feel the wind swirling around.
Finally unable to contain his excitement, he let out a loud laugh amidst the disarray of the wind.
Yang Yu drove the hand-held tractor, following the cart wheel tracks all the way to the research institute, with everyone trailing behind him.
Afterwards, Yang Yu showed Director Ais many interesting little gadgets, directly hinting that if he gave him a thorough tour, all these items could be theirs to research.
Of course, Director Ais readily agreed; as a true researcher, no one could refuse such a temptation.
"It's a deal. I'm increasingly interested in the items on you; they seem much simpler than the relics we have here.
This way, as long as we discover the principles, we can replicate them in large quantities.
As long as I continue to produce results, the authorities won't bother me, and I can do as I please.
Hahaha."
A nearby researcher hurriedly reminded, "Director Ais, there are outsiders here.
These matters aren't meant to be discussed now; we should talk secretly later."
Director Ais ignored the researcher's advice, only stating that he was in a good mood today and would do as he pleased.
In the eyes of many outsiders, many in the Ruins Research Institute seem quite peculiar.
They aren't good with words, don't understand interpersonal relationships, and often speak in baffling terms, showing indifference to many things, absorbed only in research.
They are a group of incomprehensible humans.
Yang Yu didn't find them hard to understand. They were merely lost in what they loved, attracted by the mystery and wonder of the ruins, just like his obsession with various games, enjoying adventures in different worlds and stories.
Once you manage to understand a group, it's not hard to get along with them.
Yang Yu catered to their interests, winning enough favor from Director Ais.
Passing through a rundown town with few people, Yang Yu and his group entered a shabby inn.
A researcher activated magic, causing the once solid ground to become illusory, revealing a staircase that led directly underground.
The relics were initially discovered by several miners.
They reported the "mysterious object protected by a blue protective shield" they found to the state, receiving a large reward and living a worry-free life thereafter.
The Luo Ze Empire took over all the mining tunnels and used them to establish transport pipelines.
After breaking through the relics' protective shields, the Luo Ze Empire spent a long period transporting creations from the relics one by one for research.
When they found that some items were difficult to transport through narrow passages, and that objects within the relics needed periodic special Magic cleaning and baptisms to avoid damage, the Luo Ze Empire began establishing research labs around the relics in the complex tunnels.
This Third Research Institute is a large-scale research area near the south, with nearly one hundred and thirty research labs alone.
Yang Yu observed as he walked, noting the different branching passages.
Some featured level roads, with sunken tracks on the ground for quickly transporting items in small carts; others simply replaced support wood in tunnels with sturdier materials, though the ground was uneven but showed signs of traversing.
Research varies in importance; sometimes, just observing the road can reveal the emphasis the Luo Ze Empire places on different studies.
After passing by several corridors, Yang Yu and his group suddenly found themselves in a spacious area.
A pathway constructed entirely from white stone appeared before them, broad enough to accommodate dozens of carriages side by side.
Looking up, no rugged stones could be seen; a smooth white ceiling had Magic Lamps brightly hanging from it.
There were more and more researchers around, mostly in uniform white research coats, nodding to greet Director Ais upon seeing him.
Disliking the formality, Director Ais didn't bother responding to each one.
"I'd love to show you the research results of our institute, but since it's your first visit, it's best to take you directly to see the relics.
They're the most astounding things.
Of course, this is our territory, so there are quite a few rules."
As Director Ais explained the rules to Yang Yu and the others, he led them to a checkpoint.
There, a device resembling ticketing machines for train entrances and exits required scanning cards to enter.
Yang Yu had seen similar devices at the All Things Library.
Director Ais swiped his card through, communicated with the staff in charge of passage, and distributed temporary passes to everyone according to their number.
Dressed in white attire, with badges on, Yang Yu and the others passed through the checkpoint one by one.
Director Ais reminded again, "Remember what I said before, please adhere to the rules. The utmost rule is not to touch any relics without permission."
After this final warning, Director Ais continued to lead Yang Yu and the group forward.
Soon, a pure white light door appeared in front of them.
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