When all factions had finished searching their respective areas.
The leaders of each faction reconvened.
As the ruins remained, it meant the Heart of the Ruins had not yet been found. Therefore, the areas previously searched by other factions naturally became their targets.
For this reason, no one refused the proposal to switch search areas.
Meanwhile, Ye Cangtian returned to the Dragon Group and handed over instructions regarding the books.
The instructions were simple: take what could be taken, and destroy what could not. It was better to destroy them than to let other factions take them for research.
Soon, the second round of area switching for the search commenced.
The most unfortunate faction was the Hall of Light, which was assigned the area previously searched by the Dragon Group. They had initially expected to profit greatly from the central area of Haicheng they were responsible for, but in the end, they only obtained a few white crystals, essentially working for free.
However, when they arrived at the Dragon Group's area, they were even more dumbfounded.
The houses were either empty or scorched black, cleaner than if they had been looted.
All the rooms were bare, enraging Hassel, who stomped his feet and cursed, abandoning all semblance of a grand bishop.
On the other side, the Dark Association was responsible for the areas of the Pandora Mercenary Group, the Death Squad, Skynet, and the Ninja Division.
These factions had fewer remaining members, but according to the agreement, they also had their own search areas. These areas were relatively small, as they were divided based on strength.
However, the situation here was the same. Everything that could be taken had been taken, and the rest was useless trash.
...
Thus.
After two or three rounds of area switching for the search, the major factions had basically scoured all the areas of Haicheng.
No one found the Heart of the Ruins, and for a time, they were all bewildered and even began to feel a sense of dread.
It was simple: without finding the Heart of the Ruins, how could they leave the ruins?
Would they truly have to spend the rest of their lives in Haicheng, living like savages, fishing in the sea every day?
Who could stand that?
They were all modern people, accustomed to a life of luxury and the conveniences brought by high technology. Who could possibly return to a primitive existence?
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
Just then, the entire ruin began to tremble. Cracks appeared in the sky, and streaks of sunlight shone through, dispelling the gloom one by one.
The Heart of the Ruins was found?
Everyone's heart skipped a beat. The imminent collapse of the ruins could only mean that someone had found the Heart of the Ruins.
But how was this possible?
They had searched all the areas and found nothing!
Who was it! A blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse...
There was no time to investigate. The ruins were already disappearing. In the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves on a small island, surrounded by dense forest.
As the time was almost up, Ye Cangtian's objective of hiding the Heart of the Ruins had largely been achieved.
Therefore, he had silently prayed for the ruins to collapse, also to reconfirm whether what he had obtained was indeed the Heart of the Ruins.
As expected, as soon as his words fell, the entire ruin began to shake...
...
Everything within the ruins began to dissipate.
And everyone's vision returned to the small island they were on before!
"Lord Zihou, the ruins have disappeared. Are there any further tasks?"
Ye Cangtian approached Zihou and asked slowly.
Since the ruins were over, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
After all, he was suspected of carrying the Heart of the Ruins, and he worried that after a long time, the three Earth-tier powerhouses from the Dark Association might notice something.
Zihou glanced at Ye Cangtian, then pondered for a moment and said, "Xuan Qi, you will return and continue to monitor Ye Cangtian, and also investigate whether the Heart of the Ruins has fallen into the hands of people from the Dragon Group and the Hidden Group..."
Zihou suspected that the Heart of the Ruins had fallen into the hands of the Hidden Group.
It was simple: he had always believed that the Hidden Group had hidden strength operating in the shadows.
These hidden forces had not appeared during the battle, so it was likely that they were only responsible for finding the Heart of the Ruins.
He had intended to investigate personally, but having just left the ruins, he had to report back, so he assigned the task to Xuan Qi.
"..."
Ye Cangtian felt like laughing but suppressed it.
Having himself monitor himself was one thing, but also asking him to investigate the whereabouts of the Heart of the Ruins, wasn't that absurd?
The Heart of the Ruins was on him...
Although he thought this, he feigned difficulty on his face and said, "Lord Zihou, monitoring Ye Cangtian is not a problem, but investigating the Dragon Group and the Hidden Group, I truly lack the confidence."
Upon hearing this, Zihou pondered slightly.
What he said was not unreasonable. The subordinate was merely a Xuan-level deacon with limited strength. Investigating the Dragon Group was already quite dangerous, and touching upon the Hidden Group would truly be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
"Do your best to investigate."
"Also, your subordinate Huang Wu died in battle. You are left with only Huang San and Huang Jiu among the Huang-level members, which seems rather thin. Try to scout for loyal and capable individuals to fill the vacancies..."
Zihou did not insist, gave brief instructions, and then took out five white crystals, handing them to Ye Cangtian.
The implication was simple: he would not question what he obtained in the ruins; these were the crystal rewards he deserved.
This scene immediately stunned Xuan San and the others. According to the rules of the Dark Association, all obtained crystals had to be handed in, and one could only receive crystal rewards.
Zihou's action was clearly showing favoritism!
It was obvious that Zihou intended to cultivate Ye Cangtian, and those crystals were meant to help Ye Cangtian rapidly improve his strength.
...
In another corner of the dense forest on the island.
All factions had separated to recover their strength individually, preparing to depart.
Only the Japanese Ninja Division and the Cobra Mercenary Group remained allied.
The survivor Ozawa and the Cobra Mercenary Group's Black Viper were whispering something carefully in the dense forest.
Due to the large number of powerful skeleton soldiers in the final area of Haicheng, they had to abandon their original plan and cooperate with other factions.
But now that they were out of the ruins and the factions had split again, engaging in mutual strife, they had a new idea.
It was simple: after Tomen's death, their two factions' crystal gains were halved, which made them feel extremely unbalanced.
Those were crystals they had risked everything and life to obtain. How could they be content to let others intercept them?
Therefore, the two began to discuss a plan to launch a surprise attack while the various factions were relaxed.
Firstly, they could seize crystals and recover their losses.
Secondly, they would try to act without anyone knowing, causing suspicion among the various factions, ideally leading to war.
Thirdly, it would narrow down the scope of who had obtained the Heart of the Ruins. If they could directly seize the Heart of the Ruins, that would be even better.
Among these, Black Viper's first target was the Pandora Mercenary Group.
The Pandora Mercenary Group had suffered heavy losses, leaving only Misha and Zhao Ziyang, making them relatively easier to deal with.
However, this suggestion was quickly rejected by Ozawa.
In Ozawa's opinion, the Pandora Mercenary Group was easier to eliminate, but they were not qualified to sow suspicion among the many factions, and it might even backfire.
Once the Pandora Mercenary Group was eliminated, other factions would likely suspect that they were eliminated because their strength was not great enough.
Otherwise, why not eliminate the Dark Association, the Hall of Light, and other factions?
Among the remaining factions, besides Pandora, were the Ninja Division and the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group.
They had also suffered heavy losses, but because they had not gone all out during the battle, they had retained some members.
Therefore, after eliminating Pandora, the suspicion might be directed towards them.
"Then who do you plan to target?" Black Viper asked.
Ozawa smiled and replied, "Target the Dragon Group!"