Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 63: Ancient Ruins

"Don’t turn your back on a live Mutant Beast, don’t you understand this?" Ji Ning sternly reprimanded.

"I... don’t..."

"Even the weakest Mutant Beast has the ability to retaliate. Being merciful to them is like serving yourself as a meal to them. Ye Tong, do you know how your current good life came to be?"

Ji Ning fiercely pulled out her dagger, kicked the Mutant Tiger’s corpse aside, and turned to look at Ye Tong.

The white protective suit was stained with a large patch of red.

Ye Tong bit her lip, afraid to speak.

"Without me... our ancestors who fought hard with Mutant Beasts to seize survival, can you still be dreaming of being a War God while acting as an extra now?"

"I’m sorry." Ye Tong cried out, looking at the slash on Ji Ning’s shoulder made by the Mutant Tiger, filled with fear and regret, "Sister Ning, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Ji Ning didn’t want to deal with her, squatted down, and furiously started to skin the Mutant Tiger with her dagger.

Ye Tong knew she was angry, wiped her tears away, and rummaged through her bag for the medicine kit to treat Ji Ning’s wound.

"I’m not hurt." Ji Ning replied coldly, continuing to cut through the Mutant Tiger’s skin.

Though this Mutant Tiger was of low level, its skin was still useful. Ji Ning, used to being frugal, wouldn’t want to let it go.

Ye Tong, clutching the medicine kit, bit her lip and stood still, unsure how to calm Ji Ning down.

Until Ji Ning picked up the dagger Ye Tong had dropped, threw it at her feet, "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Get to work."

Only then did Ye Tong smile through her tears, quickly picking up the dagger and squatting next to Ji Ning, mimicking her technique to cut the Mutant Tiger’s skin.

"Be careful, I want a complete piece."

"Okay."

"Bear skin too."

"Okay."

...

They toiled for half the night before finally harvesting the skins of the two Mutant Beasts.

"Sister Ning, your protective suit is torn, let’s head back quickly."

Ji Ning glanced at her shoulder and said indifferently, "It’s fine."

"But..."

"Carry it."

Ji Ning rolled up the beast skin and stuffed it into Ye Tong’s arms.

Ye Tong hesitated.

***

The two continued deeper into the buffer zone, where radiation levels had exceeded 30%. Clearly, they had entered the Pollution Zone.

Ye Tong looked at Ji Ning’s back with an increasingly furrowed brow.

Even those with A-level physiques shouldn’t be exposed to the Pollution Zone for long, so how is Sister Ning completely unaffected?

"Sister Ning..."

"We’re here."

We’re here?

Where?

Ye Tong looked around.

This area should have been a complex of ruins. Many collapsed walls were buried in weeds, with only half-exposed brick walls of indiscernible color.

Such chaotic scenery had been constant since leaving the safe zone, and she couldn’t tell any difference here.

Meanwhile, Ji Ning was observing the surrounding ruins carefully with a flashlight, as if searching for something.

She then drew her dagger from her waist and poked at the junction between the wall and the soil. Seeing the soil was firm enough, she took a folding iron shovel from her backpack and started to dig along the wall.

"Sister Ning, what are you digging?"

"An entrance." She pointed to the ground beside her with her foot, "You dig here; tools are in the bag."

Ye Tong hurriedly searched her bag and found a folding shovel. Following Ji Ning’s instructions, she started digging on the other side.

She didn’t know how long she had been digging, but when Ye Tong felt her arms were about to give out, Ji Ning finally said, "Stop digging."

Ye Tong looked closely and realized there was a stone door buried in the soil-covered wall, with inscriptions she couldn’t understand on it.

"Sister Ning, where is this?"

"An ancient ruin."

"Really?" Ye Tong’s eyes sparkled, as if the door before her wasn’t an inscrutable stone door, but a golden gate leading to wealth.

During the turbulent years, many places in the Hua Continent were destroyed, resulting in the loss of culture, a halt in civilization. According to historians, the social development of Hua Continent regressed by 200 years, along with the loss of its historical civilization and ancient heritage.

Since the dawn of the new century, the three leaders have been dedicated to the development of archaeology and cultural restoration. As long as items from before the chaos are found, no matter what they are, the Huazhou Alliance will grant generous rewards.

This led to the emergence of collectors of ancient artifacts, and the older the item, the higher the auction price.

If this door indeed leads to an ancient ruin, finding even a few old items might mean striking it rich.

Ye Tong’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, eager to go inside and collect relics.

Ji Ning glanced at her, packed up the shovel, and forcefully slapped a brick next to the stone door.

The brick quickly sank inward, and they heard the sound of something heavy being lifted; the stone door slowly opened.

Ji Ning threw a burning light stick inside. After waiting for several seconds and seeing the light still glowing without an explosion, she took up her backpack and walked inside.

Ye Tong hurried to follow, but the moment she stepped inside, the door behind them suddenly closed.

Ji Ning picked up the light stick from the ground, and said sternly to Ye Tong, "This place is very dangerous; don’t touch, move, or wander around recklessly."

Ye Tong immediately retracted her steps, obediently nodding.

If even Sister Ning calls it dangerous, this place must be unusual.

Ye Tong looked around. It was a small square stone chamber with an arched door on the innermost stone wall. The door had two special circular patterns in a spiral, making it look quite unique.

The surrounding stone walls were made of uniformly sized bricks with special markings, built extremely neatly.

Ji Ning approached the arched door with the light stick, while Ye Tong quickly followed, curiously surveying the surroundings and silently guessing what this place could be.

When she walked through the archway and saw what lay inside, she was so frightened she nearly collapsed on the floor and asked in disbelief, "Sister Ning, why is there a coffin?"

Ji Ning didn’t pause, walked to the coffin, and began prying at the bottom with composure, "What else could be in a tomb?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"A tomb... is this a tomb you brought me to?" Ye Tong exclaimed, her voice distorted.

"Snap!"

A sudden sound rang out.

The lid of the huge coffin suddenly slid open.

Ye Tong let out an "ah," crouching on the ground, trembling.

"Get a grip!" Ji Ning came over and grabbed her arm, but Ye Tong refused to budge, clutching her legs and crying into her knees, "Sister Ning, can I wait here for you, please?"

Ji Ning felt a headache coming on, "Aren’t you afraid of mutant bugs coming to eat you?"

"Mu... Mutant bugs?"

Ji Ning pointed at the wall, "There are many bugs here, all who’ve lived for hundreds of years..."

"Ah... I want to go home. Sister Ning, please let’s go home! It’s too scary..."

Ji Ning was pained by the crying. What was she thinking when she brought Ye Tong to Nanling?

"There might be things from your idol here."

As the crying suddenly softened, Ye Tong raised her head, sniffing, "Really?"

"Yes."

"But the documentary stated my idol died in Anhe City, and this place is so far from Anhe City..."

"Maybe she had been here before."

"How do you know? Sister Ning, are you lying to me again?"

"..."