I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

"All right, everyone, we're dividing into three groups."

"One team will continue to communicate with the old dragon; Conch, you guys will search for historical information; Jin Dongliang, you're near the volcano excavating historical documents—find places like the library."

"Yes!"

After arranging the teams, Lu Yuan quietly followed the animal experts off the ship, chatting about this and that along the way.

Pretending to be just casually looking around.

However, the dragon remained wary of him, its peripheral glances sweeping over his body every few seconds.

"Do I deserve this? Wasn't it just a beating?" Lu Yuan grumbled to himself.

The group arrived at the location of the Bird's Nest and began feeding nonstop.

The animal experts took out several backpacks filled with purple fish meat dumplings.

"We've brought a lot today, let you eat your fill," the girl said with a happy smile, dimples showing on her cheeks.

"Roar!!"

"You should know this stuff is expensive... it's secreted by that... insect... well, you might not understand, but just know it's pricey."

"Hurumph~" The Mirage Cloud Dragon let out a big sneeze, its catfish-like whiskers brushing against the young lady's face.

It didn't understand, but it could sense the girl's goodwill, which reminded it of the very distant past...

Back then, the Source Fire Civilization was also in a weak stage, those tiny, feeble beings that could be blown away with a single breath, cautiously interacting with it.

And then...

Then they encountered many difficulties; it couldn't quite remember.

And after that...

"Huff~" It blew out another breath, unwilling to think further.

"Hey, are these wounds from burns caused by the volcano? I really don't understand—are you planning on jumping into the magma for a bath, or is this some sort of Cultivation practice?" Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

The girl mumbled to herself as she took out a bottle of ointment.

"This ointment is made from the leaves of the Tree of Life; it's really expensive! If you're willing, I could embezzle some and apply it on my face; it might even work as a facial mask."

Another male doctor laughed, "Using it as a facial mask probably won't work! It might cause your skin to proliferate instead!"

The cooling sensation from the ointment traveled up through the skin into the brain, causing the Mirage Cloud Dragon to inadvertently roll over, nearly crushing the group of young men and women.

"Hurumph~" It made a strange noise from its throat, seeming somewhat embarrassed, then began to look around again—where was that pretty girl in green attire today?

"Are you looking for Conch Mother? She's busy with other tasks, going over historical information... she'll come see you in the afternoon."

And what about that man?

Where did he go?!

"Commander Lu? He left; he's too indifferent to hang around here... come on, I made you some tasty treats."

...

"It seems we've managed the situation... The youngsters are pretty impressive." Lu Yuan took a deep breath, and while the Mirage Cloud Dragon was not paying attention, he snuck into the Different Space.

He put on that ragged cloak that lowered his presence.

Holding his breath, he teleported out of the Different Space in an instant!

Then, he immediately hid back into the Different Space!

"Roar!!!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon, with its incredibly sensitive perception, suddenly stirred, nearly crushing the girls again.

After much suspicion and grumbling from the people, it settled down once more.

During the second Instant Teleportation, Lu Yuan had already entered the interior of the Dragon Nest, calming his racing heart.

Apart from some fallen Dragon Scales, there weren't the expected overpowering odors of feces and urine; it seemed the old dragon was quite intelligent, not turning its home into a foul pit.

"Everyone, I've successfully entered the target. You keep feeding from the outside, playing some small games or whatever; in a few hours, when I come out from the Dragon Nest, I'll still need your cover."

The voice came through the earpiece: "Hmm... okay... You know your wound can't get wet, right? Stay on shore these few days, we'll bring you some food, you won't starve."

"Hurululu..." The old dragon made a snoring sound.

Listening to their conversation, Lu Yuan chuckled to himself; it really was like taking care of a little animal.

But he dared not be negligent, sticking to the walls as he moved further inside.

Just as Old Cat had said, this place was indeed the core area of the Source Fire Civilization. The walls were dense with Engravings, and the material alone of this one building was worth hundreds of Spirit Essence!

Too bad, these materials—like animal blood, plant juice, Shell powder and so on—were not reusable and thus had no recycling value.

"Most of the Engravings are for climate control, is it to maintain a constant temperature?" Lu Yuan nervously touched the walls, frowning slightly.

He wasn't saying he couldn't handle the dragon outside; if it discovered his presence, those workers would suffer grave injuries, forcing him to be exceedingly cautious.

Luckily, the old dragon was lost in a state of bliss, apparently not concerned with this little 'ant' running around inside.

Throughout the journey, Lu Yuan saw an abundance of large containers akin to technology creations, "climate control" engravings that dispersed the heat generated by data centers much more efficiently, indeed a perfect match.

And there were some... technological puppets?

These puppets were made from a material similar to rubber, which, after so many years, had turned hard and split in some places.

Possibly due to the depletion of their energy source, they had lost all function, unable to move or speak.

Without any hesitation, Lu Yuan packed a few puppets into his Storage Space.

Further ahead was a solid, thick door.

This thing couldn't stump Lu Yuan; he activated his Eternal Spark, using the Spark to probe the crevices to gauge the thickness of the door.

With a "whoosh" sound, he instantly teleported to the other side of the door.

Now, finally out of the old dragon's sensory range, Lu Yuan dared not delay. First, he took out a miner's hat and switched on the light, then he extracted the body of Old Cat and pressed a button.

"Whoosh!" Old Cat's real body, crossing the distance, adhered to Lu Yuan.

The comrade's Space Ability was really powerful in this situation.

"Tsk, it's really dark... just like being in the caves of a Monster," said Old Cat.

The path was relatively smooth, sloping downwards at an angle of about 10 degrees, with walls still covered in engravings.

The temperature was around 20 degrees Celsius, and the air was humid.

"The depth of this passage might exceed your imagination," Old Cat said, perched on Lu Yuan's shoulder.

Along the way, they encountered more mechanical puppets strewn about haphazardly on the ground.

Some of the puppets still held guns and such weaponry.

"This thing..."

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, picked up a gun, and removed the bullets from it.

Upon closer inspection, even the bullet casings were engraved with two types of Engravings: "Sharp" and "Explosive," mixed with some Mind-oriented elements that disrupted blood.

"Tsk!" Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

The gap between civilizations was abundantly clear right here.

Even a skilled person like Lu Yuan, if hit by such special bullets, would be injured.

Of course, the trouble wouldn't be too great for Lu Yuan, who, combined with the Tree of Life, would quickly recover from minor injuries.

But for an ordinary expert in a Level 7 Field, if their recovery ability wasn't strong, they would be whittled down to death by the bullets.

When a Second-level Civilization encounters a Third-level Civilization, it could only be described by the word "look up"; even the mere bullets revealed the gap.

"Don't think too much about it. It's just that this National Treasury is important, that's why these robots are equipped with Engraving bullets," Old Cat said. "Otherwise, how many civilizations could afford it?"

Lu Yuan's heart beat faster; he bent down and frantically collected puppets: "Take them all! That old dragon can't possibly come in."

Yes, although the old dragon guarded this place, it was clear that it couldn't enter this underground passage due to its size.

It had no idea about what lay inside.

"Take it easy, don't stuff your Storage Space full. The real treasure is still further down."

"I know, I know… it's not a big deal if I embezzle a bit, right?"

"... "

The deeper they went underground, the hotter it became.

Finally, the temperature rose to 60 degrees Celsius; the surroundings were probably all engulfed in magma, wrapping this underground passage so tightly that even the "climate control" engravings could hardly withstand the relentless heat seeping in from the outside.

The stifling air made Lu Yuan sweat profusely.

"Damn, it's hot."

He couldn't help but take out the "High Temperature Resistance - Fire Lizard Suit" and put it on, feeling a bit more comfortable.

Just ahead was that thick door so vigorously described by Old Cat. This door, with an impressive five-meter diameter pattern, was ridiculously solid, making Lu Yuan doubt whether the craftsmen of the Source Fire Civilization had devoted their life's work to creating this primitive-looking door.

It also bore exquisite patterns: On some miraculous day, svelte maidens danced a mysterious dance.

They placed volcanic stones before their breasts and, with their beautiful violins, expressed their faith.

In the distant horizon where land and sky converged, a pretty little white dragon swirled clouds and fog, while nearby volcanoes provided a continual supply of heat, allowing the world to be reborn.

If it were in the past, Lu Yuan would have taken a moment to appreciate the artistic achievements.

For artistic creation is often closely related to Craftsmanship, and he was now a person of both style and taste.

But at this moment, standing before the vault door, he was too eager to wait; touching the door with both hands, he activated the "Eternal Spark." The red glow slithered like a snake along the door's crevice, invading inside—no matter how solid the door, there will always be a gap.

"About 112 centimeters thick, this door is really solid..."

"It seems like there's a clearing on the other side of the door."

Old Cat said leisurely, "Take it slow, don't capsize in the gutter; what if something like an Anomaly is confined inside?"

Lu Yuan swallowed, having already considered this. The information he had found indicated that the Source Fire Civilization didn't seem to confine Catastrophe-level Anomalies.

Of course, much information wouldn't be recorded in writing, so he specifically left the Tree of Life at Green Mountain, just in case he really died, to have a chance at Resurrection.