Chapter 177:Treasures.
The hidden chamber remained completely silent. No one took a step forward.
The soft glow of hundreds of beast cores illuminated the vault in shifting shades of white, green, blue, and amber, their light reflecting off the polished metal shelves lining every wall. Dust floated lazily through the air, sparkling whenever it drifted across the colorful glow.
Silver slowly let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
"...That’s a lot."
Dillian nodded absentmindedly, his eyes sweeping across the chamber.
"It is, but..." He frowned slightly. "It doesn’t look like what I expected."
Everyone gradually recovered from their initial surprise and cautiously entered the vault. Unlike the rest of the underground laboratory, this room had remained perfectly preserved.
The temperature inside was cooler, the air was dry, and every shelf had been carefully organized. Small metal plaques beneath each row identified the contents. Most of the labels had faded over time, but enough remained to distinguish different categories.
Silver knelt beside the nearest shelf and carefully picked up one of the preserved crystals.
It was a Tier One beast core. Its energy remained remarkably stable despite the decades that had passed.
"The preservation seals worked," he muttered.
Ravenna crouched beside another shelf.
"This one’s Tier One too."
Maya began inspecting the shelves farther inside.
"So are these."
James walked to the opposite side of the chamber before shaking his head.
"Same here."
The excitement everyone had initially felt gradually settled into curiosity. Shelf after shelf, they found different types of beast cores, but most of tier one.
They were all only ordinary beast cores. Just the standard cores every contractor used to strengthen themselves.
Selene picked one up before placing it back into its case.
"These would’ve been worth a fortune back then."
"They still are," Iris replied with a grin. "Just not life-changing."
Silver silently continued walking through the vault. Every row was neatly arranged. Each crystal had its own numbered compartment. Despite the years of abandonment, the storage system remained surprisingly intact.
"It looks more like inventory than treasure," Ravenna observed.
Silver nodded.
"I was thinking the same thing. If this laboratory conducted experiments involving beast cores... They would’ve needed a constant supply."
Dillian glanced around the room.
"So these were probably their research materials, not emergency reserves."
Silver agreed.
"Exactly."
Eventually, everyone reached the final section of shelving. Unlike the front rows, only a handful of crystals remained here.
Dillian carefully examined one before raising his eyebrows.
"Tier Two."
The others immediately walked over. Sure enough, the crystals in this section were noticeably denser than the previous ones.
The energy within them pulsed more strongly. Still, nothing unusual. They were all ordinary Tier Two beast cores.
Silver slowly counted them.
"There aren’t many."
"No."
Dillian looked over the shelves.
"Compared to the Tier Ones... They’re probably one for every four or five Tier Ones."
Everyone silently began inspecting the remaining rows. The deeper they searched, the fewer crystals remained. Finally, at the very back of the vault... Silver noticed two isolated preservation cases sitting on a separate shelf.
Unlike the others, these were enclosed inside reinforced crystal containers. He carefully opened the first. A noticeably larger beast core rested inside.
"...Tier Three."
Dillian walked over immediately.
"The second one too."
The two men exchanged glances before carefully placing both crystals back into their cases. There were only two.
Ravenna looked around the room one last time.
"So that’s the highest tier they stored."
Silver folded his arms thoughtfully.
"It makes sense."
Everyone turned toward him.
"It was a transit research station. They wouldn’t have had access to huge numbers of powerful beast cores."
James nodded.
"Especially if most of their resources went into research."
Maya pointed toward the rows of Tier One cores.
"And lower-tier cores would’ve been easier to obtain in bulk."
Silver agreed.
"They’re ideal for repeated experiments, and there is no reason to waste rare materials."
The explanation fit perfectly. Even after discovering the hidden vault... Nothing inside suggested extraordinary wealth. It reinforced the image the laboratory had already painted. The researchers had been conducting experiments.
Dillian clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright. Let’s make an inventory before we touch anything."
Everyone nodded. That was the sensible approach. James removed a small notebook from his tactical vest.
"I’ll write."
The others began working methodically. Each shelf was counted one by one. Silver read the identification numbers aloud while Ravenna confirmed the quantities.
Maya double-checked each row. Selene and Iris inspected the preservation seals to ensure none had deteriorated.
The process took nearly half an hour.
Occasionally someone recounted an entire shelf to eliminate mistakes. Finally, James finished writing the last entry before reading everything back.
"Tier One beast cores..." He glanced down at his notes. "There are one hundred ninety-three."
Silver nodded.
"Matches my count."
James continued.
"Tier Two beast cores... There are forty-eight."
Again, everyone agreed. Finally, he looked toward the two isolated preservation cases.
"And... there are two Tier Three beast cores." He closed the notebook. "Nothing else."
Maya looked around once more.
"No elemental cores?"
Silver shook his head.
"I haven’t seen any."
Neither had anyone else. The entire vault contained only ordinary beast cores.
Ravenna found that interesting.
"I would’ve thought a laboratory like this would have at least one elemental core."
"So did I," Dillian admitted.
Silver considered the question for a moment.
"Maybe they couldn’t spare them, or they were transferred elsewhere before the evacuation."
Nobody could answer with certainty. The records explaining the decision had likely disappeared long ago.
James tucked the notebook away.
"At least we know exactly what we’re dealing with."
Dillian nodded.
"We’ll divide everything fairly after we’ve searched the rest of the room."
Everyone agreed.
Although the vault itself had already proven to be an incredible discovery, Silver’s attention slowly drifted beyond the shelves.
Unlike the others, he noticed that one corner of the chamber contained an old metal desk partially hidden beneath a canvas sheet and years of dust.
While the others continued discussing the inventory, his curiosity drew him quietly toward it. Something about that forgotten desk suggested that not everything valuable in the vault was made of crystal.