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

Beneath the statue, there were closely-packed characters.

Lu Yuan's Pioneer's Eye also had some translation ability.

"We of the Ninth Epoch, have we returned? How fares the civilization of the Ninth Epoch?"

"We may not be able to defeat the disaster, but what we have done is already the ultimate endeavor in our era, allowing us to stand opposite the calamity and gaze toward the other shore of time."

"If we succeed, we shall return; if we fail, we shall rest here eternally. When speaking of the Eighth Epoch's hardships, our only response is indifference: having exerted ourselves and pushed to our peaks is the happiness we keep to ourselves."

"Our only concern is it."

"Is it still alive?"

"If being alive is a good or bad thing for it, I do not know. Giving it something to miss should not be a bad thing, right?"

The dragon statue was lifelike, its eyes reflecting the bright light, evidently the result of meticulous craftsmanship.

Lu Yuan was silent for a long while before stuffing the statue into his Storage Space. He then left behind a gold statue, engraved with a line of regretful text.

"It is the early stages of the Ninth Epoch, I have discovered this cold tomb, and also the Mirage Cloud Dragon outside."
Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

"It is still alive, but whether it is well, I do not know."

"May we humans prosper in the future. My hope is that, in our lifetimes, we find even a slight chance of success in finding a method of refuge. Otherwise, a ready example lies right before our eyes."

"Ninth Epoch·Human Civilization·Lu Yuan, leaves these words."

After writing these lines, he felt somewhat relieved.

He grabbed a bunch of still-functional puppet robots, automatons capable of operating for a thousand years, which were also considered top-notch treasures.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and bowed to the ice coffins, "I'm truly sorry, friends. In order to study how you died, I must take a few of the ice coffins. My deepest apologies."

"I hope your spirits can forgive me."

"I'm doing it for our civilization..."

Old Cat looked at him with its eyes, for once not uttering a sarcastic comment. Its heart was brewing with complex emotions.

Lu Yuan selected four ice coffins, corresponding to the bodies of men, women, the old, and the young.

After fitting so much into the Storage Space, including several hundred robots, there was no more room. Lu Yuan turned and left the area.

...

...

Lu Yuan's mood was grey as he left the long, dark passage.

The more excited he was upon arrival, the more dejected he was upon departure...

No treasures.

Only tragedies.

On reflection, this Sanctuary project was grand, containing the wisdom of countless individuals from the Source Fire Civilization.

They wanted to deceive heaven and earth, using the power of magma to create a small space to hide from disaster.

Even though they failed, they left behind priceless lessons for future generations.

The corridor, ten thousand meters deep, might be fifty thousand meters long; he had jogged for over an hour.

Lu Yuan returned to the "Dragon Nest," and from afar, he could hear the old dragon's "woo-woo" howls of delight as it played with its human friends.

Peaking surreptitiously, the Mirage Cloud Dragon indeed looked joyful, constantly swallowing and exhaling clouds, blowing the girls off their feet.

His mood changed a bit again.

He felt a little sympathy... for this old dragon.

Perhaps, these moments playing with humans were indeed the most pleasant times it had experienced in many years...

"Just as the Source Fire People said, 'as long as it's alive, it should not be a bad thing.'"

Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

He stepped into a room and dialed his headset, "Comrades, I've taken care of things. Distract it a bit."

Voices came through the headset, "Ah, okay! Look! They're setting off fireworks over there!"

"Boom boom!" Explosions came from afar, possibly the Treasure Hunting Team blowing up some structure.

The Mirage Cloud Dragon was a bit angry, roaring fiercely, "How dare you cause trouble here?"

"This is my home!"

"Roar!!"

It spewed out a great amount of cold air, striking at the Treasure Hunting Team.

Lu Yuan pressed himself against the wall, taking the opportunity to initiate Spatial Teleportation.

"Whoosh!"

He slipped out of the "Dragon Nest."

The Mirage Cloud Dragon had keen senses; the swirling white fog around it served as a sensory organ.

Suddenly noticing an extra person nearby, it quickly turned its body around, those huge eyes like water jars, staring at Lu Yuan warily.

Where were you just now? Why didn't I notice you?!

"What you looking at? What business is it of yours where I go?"

"Roar!"

When facing the dragon, he had to be bold and defiant; Lu Yuan shouted back, "Do I need to report to you where I go, you shit-eater?"

"Pfft..." The animal experts all laughed out loud.

It indeed still had some purple substance lingering around its mouth...

"Roar!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon became enraged, and its claws reached out eagerly, ready to launch an attack.

Lu Yuan had intended to intervene and teach it a lesson, but when it came down to it, he felt a bit of pity and raised a hand to pat its enormous nostril, saying to everyone, "Forget it, I can't be bothered with you."

"I'm leaving first. Continue to keep it company for a while, we might need to knock off early and head home this afternoon."

"Pfft!" It suddenly exhaled a burst of cold air, blowing Old Lu away.

Lu Yuan got up from the ground, covered in volcanic ash.

Muttering curses under his breath.

A defeated underling, trying to strut about here? Looking at you, it's just pity...

Half an hour later, he found the investigation team led by Lady Conch.

This volcano was indeed on the brink of eruption, with thick volcanic ash spread everywhere and poisonous sulfur gas permeating the air.

And that Mirage Cloud Dragon won't allow the Insect Soldiers to enter the scene, so many materials had to be blasted out of the rock with explosives, which was quite troublesome.

Now, the investigation team had dug for two months and unearthed something like a highway, constructed with metal, cement, and some shells.

"What's this?"

"There is a small amount of Extraordinary Metal mixed in it, including Black Iron, Mountain Copper, as well as Mithril," Jin Dongliang, the leading powerhouse on the surface, said while personally digging through the mud.

He excitedly said, "Though the proportion is very low, such a long stretch could have hundreds of millions of tons! The resources extracted could amount to tens of thousands of Spirit Essences!"

This wealth was indeed astonishing; resources worth ten thousand Spirit Essences could nourish Human Civilization for a hundred years!

"No, no, we really can't dig this." Engraving Expert Guo Weiqiang sighed on the side, "Think about it, the Source Fire Civilization spent a fortune to build this huge project, just to delay the Volcanic Eruption."

"Now this Sealing Project is on the verge of collapse, the volcano has accumulated too much energy. If we dig it out, it would immediately erupt and swallow everything."

"I really don't understand, why did they seal this volcano?"

The power of nature is immense; going against nature is like pressing down on a spring – you can hold it down for a while, but not forever.

Lu Yuan heard their conversation and naturally understood the significance of this grand Sealing Project, and sighed inwardly.

On this old dragon's territory, he didn't say much, only holding his peace for the time being.

"What about other materials? Have you found anything?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"Near the volcano, there are lots of Source Fire Ores, which are quite good. There are Inferior Grade and Ordinary Level ones, which can replace Spirit Crystals to some extent."

Jin Dongliang turned over a heap of books from a sack: "We also dug up a library – a hundred thousand books, all moved aboard the cargo ship."

Lu Yuan said with a smile, "The translators are going to be busy."

After a while, the investigation team led by Lady Conch also arrived at the volcano Sealing Area, dusty and worn.

"Any good news?"

Lady Conch's face was gloomy, and she hesitated to speak, having dug up some secrets on her side too.

But this was indeed not the place to talk, so she had to keep it to herself.

"We've cleared up some truths, but... I can't say it here." She wiped her dirty face and whispered, "What about you?"

"Ah, it's not a National Treasury, no treasures," Lu Yuan sighed softly, "but a... large tomb, no survivors left, just a solitary Tomb Guardian watching over everything."

This truth shocked everyone present,

Even Miss Conch stood still, stunned.

The team members following Lady Conch stood like statues, even with a thick layer of volcanic ash on their faces, they forgot to wipe it off.

"Tomb Guardian..."

They knew some minor truths through "Information Retrospection."

But whether there were any survivors was unknown.

Now that Lu Yuan had pronounced the final verdict... there was really no hope left...

An Epoch Disaster had never felt so close before, chilling all the investigators to the bone, making every single hair on their heads stand on end.

The Source Fire Civilization was much stronger than humans, but so what? When everything was visible and tangible, it was indeed a great fear.

If not for their physical fitness being above that of ordinary people, they would hardly be able to stand.

"What are you all talking about?" Jin Dongliang and Guo Weiqiang and others didn't know what they were muttering but they, too, felt the icy atmosphere.

"We've found some information – let's call it a day early and head home." Lu Yuan waved his hand, "We'll talk when we get back."

And so, more than a hundred people, including the Treasure Hunting Team and a group of zoologists, went home early at three in the afternoon.

Only the lonesome Mirage Cloud Dragon was left at the ocean's edge, swaying its tail and letting out a couple of "wu wu" sounds.

No one could understand what it was trying to express.

Even the Mirage Cloud Dragon itself didn't understand why it howled those few lines – perhaps it was dissatisfied with everyone's departure?

It immediately made a proud and disdainful gesture – holding its head high, tail lifted up.

It watched that familiar little boat moving further and further away... away...

After tasting the joy of company, who would be willing to fall back into the swamp of loneliness?

...

...

(Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, taking a little break, so the word count is a bit less~)

(Wishing all readers a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)