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

Chapter 703: Chapter 523: Old Deng and Others Are Repeatedly Shocked

Green Mountain.

Lu Yuan, who had slept soundly through the night, stretched lazily.

Sleeping next to a lovely girl truly is one of life’s greatest pleasures, as if all troubles vanished overnight.

He admired her graceful figure and couldn’t help but sigh, “Sometimes I really just want to give up and do nothing at all.”

“I clearly have the means for that, yet I still push myself forward…”

“Why is the world so full of worries?”

Once upon a time, Lu Yuan’s life held no grand ambitions—work during the day, gaming at home at night. That was his routine.

Occasionally, he’d go on blind dates.

His mindset was simple: if he found a suitable girl, he’d marry and have kids; if not, he’d gladly remain single.

But now, he had gained so much, and yet, his worries had multiplied.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan had a bright idea: “How about we head into the Dream world’s ‘True Paradise’ and just slack off for a day? Just one day.”

The Conch, dressed plainly in a researcher’s lab coat, didn’t spend much time on her appearance, casually tying her hair into a ponytail. Her natural beauty shone through, even in loose clothing.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s suggestion, she smiled, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and with a piece of bread in hand, rushed out the door: “This is the real world now, Big Fool Lu. I’m off to work, I’ll play with you tonight!”

Lu Yuan: “Don’t you dare work overtime.”

She dashed off like a whirlwind.

Lu Yuan didn’t feel like heading to work himself. Instead, he took the dog for a leisurely stroll.

The construction engineers were busy expanding the small cave area, trucks carrying loads of cement in and out.

Everyone seemed occupied, making his idle stroll all the more noticeable.

He then went to the Big Food Bucket Restaurant for a fine breakfast.

While eating breakfast, Old Cat showed up and, seeing Lu Yuan’s relaxed demeanor, immediately began scolding him: “You should be executed, comrade! You slept for a full 8 hours straight!”

Such was life—even sleeping felt like a crime.

“Did you make any progress last night?”

Old Cat reported the findings from the “Historical Retrospection,” along with some subsequent deductions.

The relevant data were printed as physical documents rather than stored online.

“So, that’s how it is… The Peak Civilization of the Eighth Epoch fled…”

Gradually, Lu Yuan’s expression turned solemn.

He didn’t even know where to begin criticizing.

“Those guys really gave it their all? True heroic figures? Is this the site of a civilization’s escape?”

“Yes. To more advanced civilizations, the other three major natural disasters are all potential collaborators.” Old Cat shook his head and continued, “Only the [Ghosts] are somewhat uncontrollable.”

“These Great Spirit Rhythmers seem to hold some level of authority…but they refuse to disclose it.”

Lu Yuan took a sip of millet porridge and sighed, “The world is tough. It’s understandable that they withhold a bit.”

He continued skimming through the follow-up documents.

The expert team had already analyzed every possible conclusion.

“The Eighth Epoch is relatively subpar… Sigh, the Epoch Disasters likely grow increasingly severe, even Peak Civilizations can’t withstand them.”

Lu Yuan tapped his fingernail lightly against the dining table—greater ability means greater responsibility.

You can fight until the bitter end or shirk all responsibility and flee.

He couldn’t really blame or criticize others for this, as he himself would likely choose to flee as well.

“By the way, were you able to identify those six Strangers from the historical footage?”

Old Cat replied, “The analysis team worked all night analyzing the blurred recordings. They believe the six entities do exist, with about 95% confidence.”

“95%, that should be enough to confirm their identities…”

Lu Yuan planned to have a heartfelt conversation with these Old Dengs.

Although there might not be much to discuss for now—humanity is still too weak, prying into critical secrets would likely be suicidal.

But in the future, who knows…

It’s always good to leave a door open for future relationships.

Old Cat: “Are we still exploring the Snake-Man City?”

“Not for now. I won’t personally lead the team there, so it’s better to avoid that place.”

…

When he arrived at the courtyard where the Strangers resided, he was utterly shocked.

The six individuals were all drunk and singing loudly in front of a television.

“Don’t look at me as though I’m just a single sheep…”

Their wailing voices left human soldiers silent, Ratmen and Lanpeng people teary-eyed.

“Esteemed elders, we’re still under threat from the [Ghosts]… How can you indulge yourselves like this?” Lu Yuan walked through the door and bluntly addressed them.

“Hmph, junior, we had a discussion last night, and let me tell you, don’t get too arrogant… You’ve only taken the first few steps, and you’re still tens of thousands of miles away from Peak Civilization.” The Old Snake Man immediately began putting Lu Yuan in his place.

The Strangers, embarrassed by the abilities of the [Powerful Wind], were itching to reclaim their dignity.

“I’m well aware… but isn’t this all part of finding the right path forward?” Lu Yuan had his own strategy for dealing with these Old Dengs. “We, as a Third-level Civilization, are as weak as Paramecia.”

With this remark, the Strangers’ carefully crafted retorts felt like punches landing on cotton.

“Honored predecessors, could you use your unmatched intellect to help advance human civilization by a significant step? If you want compensation, we can discuss it.”

The Snake-Man scoffed, “Wishful thinking—a mere Third-level Civilization hoping to hire us…”

They knew full well their memories were significantly fragmented and couldn’t contribute much to the development of civilization.

Besides, the progress of a civilization involves countless industries. How could it be achieved by a single person or group?