CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 29: TRACES

As Chen Ming discovered the stone building hidden in the woods.

The star had completely sunk below the horizon, and darkness suddenly enveloped the land beneath the spaceship.

Chen Ming immediately activated the spaceship’s spotlight, illuminating the scene.

A total of three small stone cottages appeared in Chen Ming’s sight.

Wooden foundational framework, stone exterior walls, and insulation filled with soil and leaves.

These were clearly man-made structures.

Someone had once lived here, and for a long time.

However, the time of abandonment for these three buildings was also a long time ago.

The stone cottage closest to the west had partially collapsed, and the other buildings showed many signs of damage from lack of maintenance.

Overgrown vegetation surrounded the three buildings, and even several trees grew in the gaps between the structures.

These trees made it difficult for the spaceship’s spotlight to fully illuminate the buildings; the dimness left the interiors obscured, and possibly dangerous.

Chen Ming couldn’t just enter an unknown area in such a setting.

Moreover, the dark environment made it unable for him to find a suitable landing spot nearby.

Chen Ming could only mark the location on the map using his terminal, planning to return for exploration at daylight.

The spaceship returned to the temporary camp.

The recent torrential rain hadn’t affected the camp much.

Although it hadn’t rained before, Chen Ming had already dug a drainage ditch while excavating soil for the nutrient liquid analyzer.

The crops appeared somewhat withered after the rain, but overall there wasn’t a major problem.

Once the spaceship was stabilized, Chen Ming disembarked.

He saw the beast he had left nearby was still tied up, showing no reduction in its wildness.

Little Stone had briefly been uncomfortable but was fine now, whereas the beast seemed different, its madness never fading.

Could it be related to intelligence?

This thought crossed Chen Ming’s mind, but he couldn’t be sure.

Until more samples for comparison were obtained, all thoughts remained mere thoughts.

All Chen Ming could do now was tighten its chains further, to prevent it from breaking free.

He planned to observe its condition later.

Lying on the bed in the spaceship’s living quarters, Chen Ming found it difficult to sleep due to recent events.

But he knew he couldn’t accomplish anything before daylight, and not resting well now might affect tomorrow’s tasks.

Thinking it over, Chen Ming opened the panel to check on possible spaceship modifications with the remaining materials.

Recently, besides prepping for departure, he hadn’t neglected reading.

He had read and remembered many books on transformation.

After opening the spaceship panel, the possibility of numerous modifications to different devices displayed Chen Ming’s hard work over time.

After selecting for a while, he decided on a transformation called [Overload Grid].

He had seen it in a book titled "Choices for Spaceship Transformation Under Extreme Conditions" (Luder).

The name Luder seemed to belong to some group within the Human Empire, which didn’t concern Chen Ming much.

But the book contained transformations that enhanced spaceship combat capability in critical times.

Chen Ming had particularly noted down many techniques for future use.

The Overload Grid was one such method.

Its function was to excessively output the grid during necessity, boosting overall efficiency.

All connected devices could overload at the cost of their own wear.

For example, engine overload or weapon overload.

The effects were obvious.

If Chen Ming didn’t wish certain devices to overload, he could install voltage converters at circuit connections, enabling control during overload.

The required materials for this modification weren’t much.

Besides a minimal amount of basic metal, it mainly involved extra side products from previous asteroid mining: gold and silver.

To Chen Ming, if he couldn’t return alive, then such gold and silver meant nothing.

Thus, he naturally chose to use these precious metals for potentially crucial modifications.

After pressing the modification button, a wave of familiar fatigue washed over Chen Ming, which he didn’t resist this time, entering into a dream state.

The next day.

Daily hunting activities ceased.

Chen Ming didn’t worry about disturbing other animals, planning to fly directly to last night’s location.

Before departure, Chen Ming gave the beast one last look.

The beast was still alive but just as wild as before, not showing signs of eating.

Even the nearby grass hadn’t been grazed, suggesting it wouldn’t eat at all.

Chen Ming wouldn’t risk getting bitten to feed it; its survival now depended on fate.

He returned to the spaceship and initiated the flight.

He flew straight to the recorded location from yesterday.

Soon, the spaceship landed near the stone buildings.

The spaceship’s activity scared away other animals, leaving the area somewhat serene.

Chen Ming organized his equipment and disembarked the spaceship.

After a few steps, he noticed Little Stone, who had been sleeping, followed him out.

Chen Ming didn’t stop it; having Little Stone nearby might alert him to any crazed animals again.

Waited a bit for Little Stone to climb onto his shoulder, Chen Ming continued forward.

Three stone buildings.

Chen Ming’s first target was the collapsed building closest to the west.

The building’s door side had collapsed, so Chen Ming circled to the window side.

Light from the collapsed side penetrated inside, revealing nothing but an empty space and a stone stove.

After a glance, Chen Ming climbed in, approached the stove, and shone his flashlight inside.

But aside from some dust, nothing remained.

Having gained nothing, Chen Ming flipped out of what was likely the kitchen and approached the largest of the three buildings.

However, it also only contained some wooden structures resembling bed frames; despite a thorough search, he still found nothing.

The only remaining option was the smallest building.

Like before, Chen Ming ensured no danger inside before entering with his flashlight raised.

The flashlight’s beam crossed the dim interior.

Chen Ming suddenly noticed what appeared to be engravings near a corner on a stone wall next to a wooden table. 0258