My Apocalypse Territory
Chapter 557 - 498: Eileen's Hometown

"Eileen…"

Transcendent Strongmen, controlling their emotions isn't a difficult task; they can remain absolutely calm during combat.

However, at this moment, Tang Yu found that there was a substantial fluctuation in Eileen's spirit.

"Could it be?"

Eileen gazed into the distance, as if she wanted to etch the scene firmly into her memory. After a while, she spoke slowly, "Yes, this city, it is where I used to live."

For the past eighteen years, she hadn't left the city and hadn't seen the scenery outside its walls.

But now,

looking into the distance through the collapsed city walls, she saw the ruins inside, the low houses that had been buried, and the breaches in the city walls that she had witnessed with her own eyes.

The memories were fresh.

"There's a discovery over here, seems like a Crystal Ore."

Tang Yu looked towards the low hill where Zabol was and immediately flashed to the top of the hill.

Here, there were still some obvious human creations, and even more, corpses—those of humans and Dark Creatures alike.

The mine tunnel was profound, and on the walls, one could see very few small Source Crystal blocks, containing only weak energy, not even a unit's worth, merely qualifying as Source Crystal fragments.

Many of the branching caves had collapsed, and with intense Concentration, he could only detect faint energy fluctuations.

There were also quite a few Dark Creatures that remained alive, which Zabol disposed of with a wave of his hand.

"This place might originally have been a small Source Crystal Mine, but now, the veins are exhausted; after violent mining, no more Source Crystals can be born here."

They dug open many collapsed caves; some dated back a long time, and the human corpses buried had already turned to dry bones.

"Poor, poor, poor, I've never seen such a dilapidated crystal mine!" Shay muttered, "Even if all were dug out, it wouldn't compare to my earnings from playing cards."

Tang Yu kicked Shay out of the mine and, seeing Eileen continue to delve deeper, sighed and followed her.

Ever since he met her, Eileen had always been labeled as calm, rational, and strong in his eyes.

But at this moment, she behaved like a true eighteen-year-old girl.

A girl who had lost her parents.

Eileen cut through the obstructive rocks as she proceeded, occasionally stopping beside corpses whose faces were no longer recognizable, quickening her pace. The hand clenched tightly within her sleeve trembled slightly.

Tang Yu didn't speak, merely followed silently behind her.

Three years ago, Eileen had lost her parents; their workplace was probably this mine outside the city, wasn't it? There was no telling how many people had been buried.

Along the way, he saw hundreds, if not thousands, of skeletons.

Some had died only a few months ago, with a few corpses still bearing vaguely recognizable features. Many more had been gnawed on by Dark Creatures, turned into white bones, or buried in some unknown corner.

Once, twice, thrice,

Eileen searched the entire mine, every place with traces of humans, she turned upside down.

She turned around, her smile forced, as her sapphire-blue eyes shimmered uncontrollably, like gleaming lake waters.

"I'm, I'm sorry, I've delayed everyone's time—"

Her voice trailed off, her words cut short as her mouth was suddenly blocked.

An opened bottle of Clear Spirit Wine was handed to her lips.

"What are you talking about? Do we even need to apologize to each other?"

Eileen nodded emphatically, took the Clear Spirit Wine from him, and tipped her head back, drinking it all in one gulp.

She drank so hastily that the wine seeped from the corner of her mouth, dripping down, tracing along her collarbone, and her beautiful long hair appeared a bit disheveled.

She didn't care.

Suddenly, she began to sob.

"I thought I had moved on, thought I could be strong..."

"I so wish to find their remains and erect a monument for them..."

Tang Yu silently offered his shoulder, but tears could only trace across the cold armor.

He pondered, then suddenly he had an idea.

Stealthily, he took a strand of Eileen's hair as a medium, perhaps Xing Yue could divine the location of Eileen's parents with it.

He did not speak of it right away.

Too much time had passed, too many accidents, divination might not succeed, and to harbor hope then face disappointment would be more heartbreaking.

'Let's wait until Xing Yue finds them, then tell Eileen.'

Eileen's mood didn't stay low for long.

When the two left the mine, she was again the calm and frosty mage she always was.

Shay, squatting at the entrance to observe the distance, immediately ran towards them with a smile.

Tang Yu asked directly, "Do you have any information about the situation in the city?"

"We've only observed from a distance. The city is divided into an Inner City and Outer City District. The walls of the Outer City are mostly damaged, only the walls of the Inner City are still intact. The humans, if I'm not wrong, are likely in the Inner City."

Tang Yu nodded, "Eileen, Luo Zhe, Shay, Winnie, Nancy, Xiaoli... follow me into the city... Xing Yue, Zabol, stay outside for vigilance."

Saying so, as he passed by Xing Yue, he slipped the strand of hair into Xing Yue's palm while giving instructions through their contract.

Then, taking Eileen and the others, he approached the ruined city.

...

"This is the artisan district, this is the slum, this is... where I used to live."

Tang Yu looked at the collapsed cottage, then at Eileen, who remained calm.

Originally with nothing to their name, nothing of significance could be found in the collapsed cottage, but Eileen still managed to excavate the old and tattered bed board from the rubble, placing it in her Space Ring.

The city was large.

Although the world resembled a medieval setup, with kingdoms and noble lords dividing the land before the apocalypse, things were different because of the presence of high martial powers and rune technology. The living standard of commoners and low-level Awakeners was mostly similar to ancient times, but not so for the nobility.

And with just the power of an Awakener in construction, they could work countless times more efficiently than in ancient times.

The city's expanse was much larger than Lindong, and Green Shadow, perhaps with the addition of those undeveloped lands on the Floating Land, could match it.

As they passed through several areas of the Outer City District, they saw collapsed houses everywhere, with only a few sturdy ones still standing. Underneath broken stones and fractured planks were many rotting corpses.

Valuable items were almost nowhere to be seen; the Outer City District also had some merchants residing, but some of the ruins clearly had signs of having been searched through.

In the distance,

A few Dark Creatures wandered, rushing over with growls upon hearing a noise, only to be frozen into ice sculptures.

Tang Yu glanced towards the river flowing not far from the city, picturing the prosperity it must have brought to the city before the apocalypse.

The group headed towards the Inner City District.

After passing through large areas of ruins, they finally saw sporadic red glows on the distant city walls—torches burning.

It should have been daytime, but under the heavy shroud of fog, it remained gloomy, like before a heavy rain.

Only slightly better than night,

Tang Yu and his companions made no attempt to hide as they approached within less than two hundred meters, and the soldiers guarding the city finally shouted:

"Who goes there? Halt!"