What kind of ruins could be regarded as the legendary ancient ruins that were extremely wealthy?

  For Chen Yue, the answer to this question was diverse and constantly changing.

  When he dug deep underground and opened up a passage to the disguised empty hall above, he thought that was the ancient ruin. At that time, in his eyes, the ancient ruin was equivalent to being backward and shabby. When he was led by Meteorite Crystal into that spherical space and was impressed by those civilized products that far surpassed the present era, he quietly changed his impression to "advanced". However, it was only at this time that Chen Yue truly understood the real meaning of the phrase "extremely wealthy".

  Thorne, who had also been brought into the ancient ruin, had the same thought.

  "Are, are these all energy crystals?" Thorne opened his mouth in astonishment, completely unaware of how unseemly his appearance was at this moment. There was no trace of his usual calm and steady leadership temperament. His eyes were just fixed intently on the large pile of beautiful and colorful crystals in front of him.

  Chen Yue coughed awkwardly a few times and shamefully turned his head away.

  After bringing Thorne into the ancient ruin, it officially announced the end of the treasure hunting event. And for some logical reason, Meteorite Crystal took the initiative to offer to give the two of them some treasures in exchange for their keeping the secret of the ruin, which was the so-called hush money.

  For this ancient ruin, after more than thirty million years, the only things that could be preserved and were presentable were the crystals used as energy sources. And these crystals were all priceless treasures in the outside world.

  "Yes, they are all energy crystals. These few are red-striped energy crystals, and these few are moon-striped energy crystals..." Meteorite Crystal blinked her eyes and introduced these energy crystals to Thorne with a puzzled look on her face.

  At the same time, a thought of confusion flashed through her mind. They were just some unwanted trash. Why was this person so excited?

  The so-called types of red-striped and moon-striped energy crystals were due to the impure energy inside the crystals and too many impurities. In Meteorite Crystal's opinion, these energy crystals couldn't be used as energy sources and had no value at all. In her eyes, they were undoubtedly trash.

  However, in Thorne's view, any one of these energy crystals would be a priceless treasure in the outside world, and there was even no market for them at any price. Moreover, their sizes were all of top quality. Any one of them could easily enable everyone in his mercenary group to live a worry-free life for a lifetime. In his eyes, these "trash" were actually incomparable treasures. This adventure was already completely worthwhile.

  "Um, can I choose any one of these energy crystals?" Thorne rubbed his hands and smiled a bit embarrassedly.

  "Ah, no, not like that. They're all yours." Looking at him with her eyes wide open in astonishment, Meteorite Crystal felt that her little head was almost short-circuiting.

  Thorne opened his mouth inelegantly again. It wasn't until he confirmed with Chen Yue several times that he believed he hadn't misheard. Immediately, he was overjoyed. However, after calming down, he was unwilling to accept it. The reason was simple. Thorne thought that he hadn't played any role in this treasure hunting.

  It was Chen Yue who discovered Meteorite Crystal's flaws, found the ancient ruin, and even became friends with Meteorite Crystal. If it hadn't been for Chen Yue, Thorne thought that his fate would be the same as that of Poison Dragon and the others, being randomly teleported millions of miles away and never being able to return in his lifetime. That kind of result would be worse than killing him. Therefore, he was firmly unwilling to take such a generous gift all by himself.

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  Finally, after Chen Yue promised that his gains wouldn't be worse than Thorne's and took the largest moon-striped energy crystal among them, Thorne gave up.

  "Chen Yue, do you think we should give your friend a high-purity energy crystal?" Seeing that the "hush money" was paid so cheaply, Meteorite Crystal always had a feeling that it wasn't safe.

  "No need. Even if you give him one, he won't recognize its value. For them, instead, these low-quality energy crystals are more valuable." Chen Yue explained with a smile. His understanding of worldly affairs was obviously much more advanced than Meteorite Crystal's values that were still stuck more than thirty million years ago.

  Nodding doubtfully, Meteorite Crystal's little face also became serious. Next, it was time to discuss Chen Yue's hush money issue.

  It wasn't that Chen Yue insisted on getting hush money, but Meteorite Crystal forced it on him for some special logic.

  After the negotiation was settled, Chen Yue would leave the Ace Mountains and return to the Capital of Freedom. In other words, if he wanted to abduct Meteorite Crystal away, this was the last chance left.

  Glancing at Meteorite Crystal with a tense little face, Chen Yue's eyes flickered a few times.

  The hush money that Chen Yue asked for was naturally very different from Thorne's. Those energy crystals with a relatively high impurity content could bring very little value to Chen Yue, so he naturally wouldn't choose them. And before, he had already tried it. Both the Frozen Rabbit and the Blade Beast were indeed very interested in light crystals and high-purity energy crystals, which proved that what Meteorite Crystal said was true.

  Therefore, from the very beginning, Chen Yue asked for a large amount.

  "I want thirty light crystals and forty high-purity energy crystals."

  "What?" Meteorite Crystal's little face immediately tensed up in anger. "No way. The ruin only has a total of thirty-one light crystals and forty-one high-purity energy crystals. If you take so many away, within a year, the wind and snow in the core area will stop, and then the ruin will be exposed immediately."

  "Then how many can you give me?" Chen Yue raised his eyebrows.

  "I..." Meteorite Crystal showed a pained expression on her face and stretched out three little fingers. "At most, for each type, no, a total of three pieces."

  "I'm not satisfied." Chen Yue said straightforwardly. "You're giving too little. I can't keep my mouth shut with such a small amount."

  "You..." Meteorite Crystal stared at Chen Yue angrily, and tears began to well up in her big eyes. The little thing was about to start crying again.

  Chen Yue helplessly stopped her: "Alright, let me analyze it for you, and then you can make your own choice."

  The little thing nodded.

  "If the hush money you give is too little and I'm not satisfied, if I'm not satisfied, I won't keep it a secret. And you can't get rid of me. Then, the secret of the ruin will be exposed, right?"

  Meteorite Crystal nodded.

  "There's another option. If I'm satisfied, then the secret of the ruin won't be revealed. But after most of the energy is taken away by me, the ruin won't last long. At most, it will be exposed within a year, right?"

  Meteorite Crystal had an expression that said "you know it well".

  "Then, with these two options, the result is that the secret of the ruin will be exposed, right?"

  After thinking for a while, Meteorite Crystal nodded again.

  "After the ruin is exposed and you don't have any combat ability, then you'll have to leave, right?"

  She still nodded.

  "You've lived in the Ace Mountains for more than thirty million years. The outside world is no longer the world you're familiar with. If you leave, do you have a place to go?"

  This time she shook her head.

  "Do you have any relatives?"

  She shook her head again.

  "Since you have no place to go and no relatives to rely on, then you can only rely on your closest friends, right?"

  The little thing with a somewhat weak personality nodded again.

  "Who are your closest friends?"

  "It's Sister Bing."

  "Anyone else?"

  "Um, Sister Blade."

  "Nothing else?" Chen Yue asked doubtfully.

  "Nothing else." Meteorite Crystal answered affirmatively.

  "Alright then." Chen Yue threw out the penultimate question: "Who are your Sister Bing and Sister Blade following?"

  "You." As if it was a question asked knowingly...

  Taking a deep breath, Chen Yue finally showed his true intention: "Since they are both following me, and you are following them, doesn't that mean you'll come with me?"

  The little thing was dumbfounded. After a while, she murmured, "I, I'll go with you."

  "Alright." Chen Yue clapped his hands smartly and stretched out his palm in front of Meteorite Crystal. "Let's go."

  ...