The second treasure chest is the mercenary’s request for help.

He had mentioned before that the outer city area of this ruin was vast, making it quite difficult to locate a specific building.

A faint smile played on Cao Xing's face.

He did not know if this was due to the influence of his high Luck stat.

But all in all, the result was quite good.

"Let's go, we're going in."

With those words, Cao Xing led the group toward the building.

"Rumble—"

The heavy metal door was pushed open by Braum once again.

The group entered the interior of the building one after another.

The scene here was similar to the previous building, with metal walls and floors etched with magic runes.

Plus, there were glowing instruments in the corners.

The difference was that in the center of the hall stood a figure five or six meters tall, entirely dark blue.

Its metal body shimmered with a cold blue light under the dim illumination, and its oval-shaped torso felt incredibly heavy.

However, compared to the [AUX-1 Type] golem that Tong Chuchu had previously converted into a friendly unit with its rounded appearance, this golem looked much more aggressive!

Its hands resembled two giant hooked claws, capable of locking onto enemies at any time during combat.

Furthermore, the center of each hooked claw was equipped with a muzzle.

Most uniquely, its leg area was also constructed with two devices resembling metal cannon barrels.

Cao Xing's gaze fell upon this bizarrely shaped golem, and an attribute panel immediately appeared.

[Golem: BAT-9929 Type]

[Level: 70]

[Durability: 3,300,000 / 3,300,000]

[Attack: 31,325 ~ 31,325]

[Armor: 2,250 ~ 2,250]

[Skills: Energy Beam, Iron Fist Impact, Gravity Suppression, Repair Protocol]

[Special Skill: Self-Destruct]

Compared to the [AUX-1 Type] golem, this [BAT-9929 Type] golem had a higher level and stronger attributes.

Cracks appeared on its heavy metal shell, suggesting it had experienced many battles.

Likewise, every golem was equipped with a Self-Destruct skill.

Once its health dropped to a certain level, it would initiate the self-destruct sequence.

Cao Xing followed his usual routine, waving his hand and saying, "Little Chuchu, go ahead."

"Okay, Big Brother!"

Tong Chuchu responded crisply, a gleam of excitement appearing in her eyes.

The next moment, she maneuvered the Earth Dragon Mech, along with the [AUX-1 Type] golem, and approached this golem together.

"Hum—"

The dormant golem suddenly sensed something, and the energy veins all over its body lit up with red light.

It instantly locked onto the approaching Tong Chuchu, emitting the same synthesized mechanical voice.

"Detected—intruder—trespassing—"

"Initiating—counterattack—protocol—"

This golem sprang up from the ground in an extremely eerie posture.

The energy core in its chest emitted a blue beam of light, scanning across Tong Chuchu and the other golem.

When this blue beam scanned the [AUX-1 Type] golem, it seemed to trigger some kind of identification program.

"Golem. Guardian." The mechanical synthesized voice came through.

The golem seemed very confused, but it immediately identified that something was wrong.

"Incorrect—enemy—"

At this moment, the energy veins on the golem began to flicker between red and blue, as if its core program were undergoing intense conflict.

Hearing this, the [AUX-1 Type] golem beside Tong Chuchu shuddered.

However, it quickly regained its calm and also emitted a synthesized mechanical voice, saying, "I am not a Guardian. I have—a new—master—"

However, this sentence confirmed something for the golem in front of them.

"You are a traitor—must be—purged."

The next moment, all the energy veins on its body turned red, and it raised its hands high, entering attack mode.

Then, this golem charged forward on its own.

"Boom, rumble—"

Its steel legs stepped out rapidly, causing the metal building to vibrate continuously.

The distance between the two sides was closing.

That golem did not charge toward the Earth Dragon Mech, but instead rushed toward the [AUX-1 Type] golem.

Compared to Tong Chuchu, it seemed to want to purge the traitor first.

However, just as they were about to collide,

Tong Chuchu maneuvered the golem and the Earth Dragon Mech, launching attacks simultaneously.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two energy cannons erupted at the same time, and both struck the golem.

[-619254!] [-53234]

Two damage numbers floated up, and the golem was blasted back several steps, its durability dropping by a significant chunk.

Tong Chuchu pressed her advantage, continuing to maneuver the Earth Dragon Mech and the golem, unleashing frenzied attacks on the enemy.

"! Boom!"

Energy cannon blasts and metal chainsaws continuously hammered the opponent, causing its durability to drain away like water.

After two exchanges, the durability of this golem, which could be a nightmare for many adventurer squads, had reached zero.

"Unit damaged—entering—self-destruct sequence."

The golem lay on the ground, the red light of its energy core flickering continuously.

A destructive wave radiated from its body, like a furnace about to explode!

The group's expressions tightened slightly.

They knew that this golem was about to self-destruct.

Just then, blue Mechanical Force erupted from Tong Chuchu's hands.

Dazzling electric arcs burst from her palms, and she instantly pressed them against the golem's core on the ground.

"Hum—hum!"

At this moment, the golem's body began to tremble violently.

Like the [AUX-1 Type] golem, the defensive program within its body was frantically resisting the erosion of the Mechanical Force.

However, it was clearly a futile struggle.

Less than five seconds later, the destructive waves on the golem came to an abrupt halt.

The red light on its body receded like a tide, and blue light began to emerge.

Then, a system notification appeared.

[Your territory member: Tong Chuchu used [Mechanical Domination], successfully converting the special mechanical creature [Golem: BAT-9929 Type], territory population +5—]

"Not bad, another Level 70 golem."

A smile appeared on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth: "In less than two days of entering this ruin, we've already gained two golems + one canister, plus some other miscellaneous materials."

"The harvest this time is quite good."

Cao Xing was very satisfied with the harvest from this trip.

Then, he turned his head and ordered: "Alright, following the old rules, collect everything that can be gathered inside this building."

"Yes!"

The group responded in unison and then began to take action.

Meanwhile, Cao Xing looked at the golem in front of him and asked: "Tell me, where is the loot chest in this ruin?"

Based on previous experience, every building that had not been entered by those adventurers basically contained a loot chest.

However, Cao Xing scanned the surroundings but did not find any sign of a chest.

At the same time, the light on the golem's chest lit up, and it slowly replied: "Returning to Master—the loot chest is hidden beneath the building—"

"Requires authorization to open—"

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Cao Xing's face.

"Then what are we waiting for? Get the chest up here for me!"

The golem paused for a moment and then replied: "Yes—Master—"

The next moment, following its response, a slight tremor came from the ground.

"Rumble—"

At the same time, the black floor in the center of the hall slowly moved aside, revealing a hidden compartment.

A jet-black metal box, about a meter high, rose along with it.

A string of scrolling numbers appeared on the box.

Clearly, this box was the same as the last one and also required a password to open.

Cao Xing asked directly: "What's the password?"

Hearing this question, the golem's core began to rotate, and it replied: "You need to activate the instrument, and follow the sequence—"

Before it could finish, Cao Xing interrupted: "I don't have time to activate any instruments; just tell me what the password is."

After a brief silence, the energy veins on the golem's body emitted a strong light again.

"Accessing underlying programs—attempting to crack the password—"

After waiting for a few seconds, the energy fluctuations on the golem gradually subsided.

"Cracking successful—password obtained—"

It turned back to Cao Xing, blue light flickering in its mechanical eyes.

"Master, the password is 8832124—"

This golem also reported the six-digit password.

Tong Chuchu was already waiting beside the loot chest.

Upon hearing the password, her slender fingers danced across the keypad, and she finished entering it in the blink of an eye.

"Click—"

The loot chest lid opened slowly.

"It's open, Big Brother." She turned her head and said excitedly.

Cao Xing smiled and nodded, "Well done, Little Chuchu."

He walked over quickly and, as usual, collected everything inside the chest into his backpack.

[Obtained: Strange Metal * 174]

[Obtained: Master-grade Energy Crystal * 7]

[Obtained: Ancient Plank (Orange) * 45]

[Obtained: Delimo Steel Ingot (Orange) * 32]

Compared to the loot chest opened last time, which contained a special ancient weapon,

this chest only contained these materials.

However, in terms of quantity, it was much more than that chest.

Overall, the harvest was still quite decent.

Cao Xing nodded with satisfaction and scanned his surroundings again.

To see if there was anything missed.

A few minutes later.

The others had also searched every corner of the building.

They handed their loot to Cao Xing one after another.

[Obtained: Strange Metal Fragment * 21524]

[Obtained: Strange Metal * 56]

[Obtained: Damaged Mechanical Core]

[Obtained: Expert-grade Energy Crystal * 14]

The harvest was also quite bountiful.

Cao Xing clapped his hands, and after carefully confirming that there was nothing missed in the surroundings,

he gave the order, "Let's go, we're heading out to continue exploring."

After speaking, he vaulted onto the back of Dabai.

He led the group out of the building.

However, compared to when they entered, the team now had one more tall golem.

This newly joined [BAT-9929] model was half a head taller than the other golems, its heavy metallic body emitting rhythmic vibrations as it moved.

"Thump, thump… Thump, thump…"

With five or six behemoths in the team, heavy footsteps echoed as they walked.

Just like that, they continued moving forward for several kilometers across this vast, desolate land.

Broken ruins loomed in the thick fog, and occasionally, a few fractured stone pillars could be seen standing alone.

In the blink of an eye, three hours had passed.

However, Cao Xing's good luck seemed to have run out.

In the last three hours, they hadn't encountered any buildings, or even a single jar.

All around them was only endless wilderness and increasingly dense fog.

"What's going on? Are we really not going to run into anything else?" Cao Xing asked with a strange expression.

Upon seeing this, City Lord Oran quickly said, "Lord Cao Xing, this is actually a normal situation."

"The area of these ruins is simply too vast."

"Many adventure groups explore here for a month and might not even encounter a single intact building."

"Not to mention achieving such a bountiful harvest in just two days like you have—"

City Lord Oran's tone revealed a strong sense of envy.

At this moment, he changed the subject and lowered his voice, saying, "Lord Cao Xing, after we get out of here, I wonder if you have any thoughts about selling one of the golems you have on hand?"

He looked at the two golems beside Tong Chuchu, his eyes filled with anticipation, "If you are willing to sell, I believe His Majesty the King would certainly be willing to pay a high price to acquire one."

"He might even offer precious Power Fragments and other kingdom treasures to trade with you!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes gradually lit up.

For him, this was a stage where he needed a large amount of resources.

Whether it was crowns or various materials, he needed astronomical amounts.

Of course, the thing he lacked the most was Power Fragments.

After all… Liu Muxue and Isabelle were both almost level 150.

As long as there were enough [Power Fragments], he could let them attempt to break through to the Semi-God realm.

In fact, Cao Xing still had a few [Blood Cores] in his possession, which could allow the Legendary units under his command to quickly reach level 150.

But because using Blood Cores after reaching the level cap would provide additional attribute bonuses,

and coupled with the fact that he didn't have enough [Power Fragments], he decided to wait until they reached level 150 first.

Although he didn't know how many Power Fragments the Ice Crystal King had,

if he could trade golems for Power Fragments, then Cao Xing would be very willing.

He could even produce a few more golems.

By then, he wouldn't just be trading with the Ice Crystal King.

He could also trade with the Yōulán Queen, the Gray Mist King, and others.

These factions would surely be interested in these golems.

The prerequisite was that he had enough golems.

Thinking of this, Cao Xing replied, "We'll see."

"I'm still not sure if these golems can be transferred to anyone other than me."

City Lord Oran nodded tactfully and stopped asking.

Then, the group continued to walk forward.

After walking two or three kilometers, Sarah seemed to notice something unusual and instantly went on high alert.

The other powerhouses present also sensed something.

Their gazes turned toward the same area.

In that area of thick fog, a few figures gradually appeared.

The leather armor on their bodies looked damaged, and their faces appeared extremely exhausted.

Cao Xing was somewhat familiar with these people.

They were the same mercenaries he had encountered earlier in the adventurer camp.

They had previously tried to invite Cao Xing to explore the ruins together, but were rejected.

These mercenaries also noticed Cao Xing and his group.

Seeming to have discovered something surprising, they immediately quickened their pace to approach.

The middle-aged man walked up with a smile, "My lords, we meet again."

However, his smile seemed somewhat stiff, and his fingers were trembling slightly, with drops of blood oozing out.

Cao Xing frowned slightly and asked, "Are you following us?"

His tone carried a hint of displeasure.

Sarah, hidden in the shadows, had already locked onto all these adventurers.

As long as Cao Xing gave the order, within a fraction of a second, this group of people would become cold corpses.

The group of adventurers on the scene also felt it—a viper-like killing intent wrapping around their necks.

Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, and sweat seeped from their foreheads, making them appear extremely nervous!

"Misunderstanding! My lord, this is a misunderstanding!"

The middle-aged man waved his hands in a hurry, his voice cracking, "No matter how bold we are, we wouldn't dare to follow you!"

He explained quickly, "We were just exploring nearby, and then we heard the commotion coming from the ground, so we prepared to come over and take a look."

"We didn't expect it to be your party, my lord."

"So we thought we'd come over and greet you…"

Cao Xing observed these people's appearance.

Facing his gaze, these mercenaries subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes at all.

The atmosphere immediately fell into an extremely tense state.

The mercenaries were terrified that Cao Xing might get unhappy and send someone to wipe them all out!

After all, this was inside the ruins; no one would care if they died.

After observing for a moment, Cao Xing withdrew his gaze.

The reality was not what this middle-aged man claimed, but he did not delve into it further.

"The greetings are done, you can leave now."

He waved his hand, directly issuing an order to leave.

At this moment, a look of struggle appeared in the middle-aged man's eyes.

In just an instant, he made a decision.

He squeezed out a flattering smile on his face again, "My lord, I wonder if you remember what I said earlier about our group exploring a large building in the ruins?"

Cao Xing nodded slightly, "I remember, what about it?"

"That building is actually nearby—"

The middle-aged man lowered his voice, "Our group is already inside."

"I wonder if you have any interest in exploring it?"

"If you want to, I can lead the way for you—"

These words caused the gazes of Bai Zhi, City Lord Oran, and the others to lock onto this middle-aged man.

Because Cao Xing had told them earlier that this person's invitation was suspicious, and that the place might contain certain dangers or simply be some kind of trap!

As it turned out, he was now making the same request again, which confirmed Cao Xing's suspicion.

Being stared at by so many powerhouses, the middle-aged man's back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

He forced a smile, and even his calves were trembling slightly.

After a moment of silence, a smile curled at the corners of Cao Xing's mouth.

"I have no interest, you can explore it yourselves."

After speaking, he gently patted Dabai's back.

The Mammoth swung its trunk and carried Cao Xing away.

At this moment, the middle-aged man seemed unwilling to give up.

He hurriedly stepped forward two steps, his voice filled with urgency, "My lord, are you really not considering exploring those ruins with our group? That place is—"