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Chapter 234 - 233: Secret Vault Expedition

"Wait... can demons fly?" Chen Xuan suddenly thought of this question. The only demon he had ever dealt with was Gustav, who could at least transform into a swarm of flying insects and fly around.

"Most of them... can’t," Elorie replied, panting. "Demons have various abilities, but their only common trait is their obsession with... devouring souls."

So it seems Gustav is an exception?

"Let’s hurry inside, I don’t think she can hold on much longer," Lin Qing urged anxiously.

The three of them slowly approached the ventilation shaft—the outermost layer of these ventilation devices was made of wire mesh, and inside, spinning fans could be seen. Half-buried within the walls above the duct was a set of cameras, probably used to check if birds were nesting there.

Lin Qing easily cut the wire mesh with a molecular wire, stepped into the duct first, and smashed the camera above her.

By the time Chen Xuan and Elorie got inside, she had already dismantled the fans.

To prevent anyone from getting lost, Chen Xuan removed the invisibility effect at this point.

The ventilation duct was about a meter in diameter, easily large enough for an adult to crawl through. Lin Qing led the way in front, Chen Xuan crawled in the middle, and Elorie followed behind—he had to admit, this view easily made him think of other things, so to avoid embarrassment, he intentionally made small talk along the way.

For instance, why did a secretive building make its ventilation ducts so large? Couldn’t they be shrunk down to only allow mice through, but increased in number tenfold?

Then Lin Qing mocked him.

"If the duct diameter were reduced, even the fresh air in a household wouldn’t be able to circulate, let alone in a completely sealed building like this," she said dismissively. "The strongest defense is always dynamic defense. Trying to prevent all external intrusion at the design stage is simply a dream."

"What is dynamic defense?" Elorie asked curiously.

"Raising dogs in ancient times. Technological development later led to stronger and more advanced ’dogs,’ like nanotechnology surveillance robots almost invisible to the naked eye. They can be in any corner of the base, extremely sensitive to temperature, vibration, and sound waves. Even I find it difficult to penetrate such defenses."

Lin Qing’s tone held a touch of boastfulness. "Unfortunately, there’s no such advanced thing here. As long as I don’t want to be discovered, I won’t be discovered!"

Cut, weren’t you discovered during the infiltration of the Louvre Palace? Chen Xuan sneered. Though it was more than a hundred years later, the one who discovered you came from a century ago.

"That’s great," Elorie said with relief. "I heard one reason the Angel Alliance doesn’t arrange too many guards at the Holy Temple Treasure Vault is that it’s inherently protected by powerful artifacts... Ah."

She finished speaking and then bumped into Chen Xuan.

The two people in front both stopped, turning back simultaneously to ask, "Where did you hear that?"

"Um..." Elorie rubbed her face. "From other seniors, of course. I realized that warning the higher-ups was useless, so I thought it would be good to gather a few peers willing to believe me."

As it turned out, she didn’t gather even one person.

"A guy named Reilir laughed at me, saying I was worrying unnecessarily. According to him, other vaults might be breached, but not the Holy Temple Treasure Vault. I don’t know the details of the vault, which was why I issued such a ridiculous warning." Elorie grew more indignant. "I might not know what’s inside the Holy Temple Treasure Vault, but I know what the future holds! Shouldn’t the truly laughable ones be them? A place they thought impregnable, yet it was destroyed by demons."

Chen Xuan and Lin Qing exchanged a glance. "Why didn’t you mention this information earlier?"

"Because it’s just one of the many mockeries," Elorie insisted. "If the artifact’s defense was really that foolproof, how could the demons have breached this place, and how could we infiltrate it so quietly? Besides, I looked into this Reilir person, he’s not a High-tier Angel and theoretically isn’t qualified to enter the Holy Temple Treasure Vault."

This was likely just a piece of unofficial news circulating within the Angel Alliance.

Indeed, it seemed to lack any reference value.

"Anyway, since we’re already here, it doesn’t matter what’s protecting it, we have to see it with our own eyes, right?" Lin Qing turned and continued forward.

Chen Xuan reached into his chest and touched the scanning gun.

As long as the recall ability was still there, he wasn’t that concerned about danger. This ability to return to the store anytime was his biggest card to dare enter any place.

After crawling through about a hundred meters of sealed segments, they reached a fork. Based on the air’s temperature and humidity, Lin Qing chose the left duct, explaining that the air on this side was warmer and drier, more fitting for storage conditions. Places where people often stayed would have higher moisture content due to breathing.

Her judgment was evidently correct.

This time, within two minutes, they spotted the first downward vent. Through the blinds, Chen Xuan could vaguely make out that below was a hall, about four meters high, very spacious all around.

Using the Celestial Mist Skill, he scanned the area and sensed five very faint light points at a distance. Judging from the strength of the Spiritual Qi, these points belonged to ordinary people, with several layers of walls between them and his group.

However, Lin Qing did not immediately descend but waited until she found a second vent near a corner before carefully removing the blinds.

"You two wait here."

She instructed them before activating her Optical Invisibility Skin and silently jumping down. Weight-wise, she was undoubtedly the heaviest of the three, yet she made no sound upon landing from such a height, proving her professionalism.

Ten minutes later, her voice came through Chen Xuan’s earpiece, "Come down, the room is clear."

When he jumped down, he indeed noticed cameras mounted on the walls, but their lenses were all pointed to the floor.

"Won’t the guards be suspicious?"

"Don’t worry, I didn’t turn it off, I hacked into the closed-circuit system, making the time continue while the screen stays still, so the security won’t notice anything abnormal." Lin Qing withdrew the data cable from her wrist, "Also, I discovered two sets of sound wave alarm systems, both disabled. The security measures here are at best a five out of ten."

"Amazing! I didn’t expect us to get inside the Treasure Vault with such ease," Elorie patted her chest, grateful for choosing the right people, "I was prepared to confront the guards with swords."

"Piece of cake," Lin Qing snorted lightly, "But it’s only temporary; if the people in the monitoring room are smart enough, they’ll notice something in two or three hours. Oh, I also cracked the network, so we can connect to the satellite signal here."

This is undoubtedly good news.

Being able to get online means accessing the inventory and freely changing abilities. Even if the guards come, to Chen Xuan it’s just a matter of uttering the Law Decree True Words.

"Two hours is enough; you can’t build a large-scale structure in deep mountains and steep ridges," Chen Xuan looked around, "By the way, is it a Treasure Vault or a museum?"

If it’s a Secret Vault, its decor is too luxurious, not typical for a place prioritizing security.

For example, the vast wooden floor at their feet, the wallpapered walls, and the crystal lamps and intricate plaster ceilings above make it feel more like a spacious mansion than a secret room.

The most museum-like feature is the twenty-something glass columns standing in the hall, further wasting precious space.

For a moment, Chen Xuan felt a sense of déjà vu.

After all, the original skin of the Ability Store was also set up like this.

The difference is, before he could put anything truly valuable inside, the skin had turned into a fruit shop, but here every glass column held an exhibit.

"This is my first time here too," Elorie nervously glanced around, "Honestly, it’s a bit different from what I expected."

Chen Xuan approached a "platform."

Inside was an exquisitely beautiful crown; its golden frame bordered with red cloth, and the brim adorned with numerous gems.

Below was a nameplate.

"Leader’s Crown"

"Discovered in 1967, United Kingdom, London"

"Stability: 99"

"Remark: All metal components are indeterminate, no corresponding record in history."

Is this a mysterious artifact?

Chen Xuan examined it closely and couldn’t see anything particularly strange—maybe as a relic, it’s quite exquisite and well-made, but not to the extent that it needs to be secretly stored, away from anyone.

But since the Angel Alliance did so, there must be a reason.

Chen Xuan went to several other platforms.

The items inside were largely similar, like a ring, a feather pen, and some peculiar objects too, like a circuit board.

He really couldn’t fathom what was worthy of collecting in these things.

Lin Qing happened to see here as well.

"Unknown circuit... discovered in 2021... isn’t this just a regular oscillating circuit?" she muttered, "Its technology is quite outdated, even in 2021 it wasn’t considered cutting-edge."

"Who knows, maybe that’s the feature of mysterious artifacts—ordinary in appearance, but hiding profound secrets," Chen Xuan shrugged, "It’s impossible that the entire Angel Alliance doesn’t recognize the value, right?"

"True," Lin Qing agreed, "If I could hold it and run a current through it, I could analyze its details."

With that, she directly revealed the molecular wire.

Chen Xuan jumped in surprise, "You’re going to cut the glass? Won’t it trigger an alarm?"

"I’ve checked it. These display cabinets use tempered bulletproof glass, at most they can stop a bullet."

Lin Qing made a swift hand movement, and a complete circle immediately appeared on the glass column. Then she sucked it with her palm, and the cut glass silently fell into her hand, the entire process clean and smooth. Chen Xuan even suspected that if the glass disc were placed back afterwards, a careless person wouldn’t notice any abnormality.

Just as she was about to reach into the cabinet to grab the circuit board for testing, a strange voice suddenly reached their ears.

"I advise you not to do that~"