Chapter 116: The Gate

Early intelligence indicated that the activities of the Ascensionists were showing a certain clustering trend. After analyzing a large number of previously acquired clues and comprehensively investigating the area for possible hiding of a large number of Ascensionists or certain facilities belonging to the Ascensionists, the command center finally made a judgment.

It is very likely that a base of the dimensional ascending sect is hidden in this mountain.

After all, their base could not be hidden in the city or in the plains.

Because it's too easy to be discovered.

Since their hiding places cannot be found in the cities and plains, and there are a large number of members of the Upward Dimension Faction active in this area, then where else can they hide except in these mountains?

At this moment, even with Zhou Cheng's state of mind, he couldn't help but start to feel a little excited.

After so many sacrifices and such a long battle, is there finally going to be a crucial breakthrough?

As long as there really is a base belonging to the dimensional-ascending faction, no matter whether there are still people in the base at the moment, no matter whether they have escaped in advance, as long as the base can be found, it will definitely be a crucial breakthrough.

Zhou Cheng stood up and looked solemnly at his equally solemn colleagues.

After a pause, seeing that no one showed any signs of being attacked, Zhou Cheng said, "I order a search of the mountain!"

"yes!"

All the subordinates stood up and waited for a moment at the same time.

As before, there was no sign of anyone being beheaded.

People relaxed a little, and then immediately went to the meeting room to start detailing and actually deploying the next steps.

Following orders from the headquarters and with the full cooperation of the world government system, a large number of personnel and equipment were dispatched to the vicinity of the mountain.

Zhou Cheng and others also rushed directly to the scene, set up a large number of tents at the foot of the mountain, and directed the mountain search operation on the spot.

The helicopter took off with a roar, and the drones also flew up like a swarm of bees, like a flock of flying birds, constantly patrolling the mountains that were more than 200 kilometers deep.

Every hilltop, every canyon, every forest was repeatedly patrolled and searched by helicopters and drones. Any suspicious signs were reported to the command center, and after evaluation, they were either re-inspected or a team was dispatched for on-site investigation.

The special forces team led by Wei Ning also joined the mountain search team and took on the most difficult part of the task.

There was no other way. The old people were physically weak and some places were difficult to reach. This part of the task had to be handed over to the young people.

At the same time, three cradles near the mountains became transit bases to support this large-scale operation.

Just like when the Yangjiagou site was excavated, a large amount of materials were once again transported to these three cradles through various means, effectively supporting the material consumption of the operators.

During this ongoing search, more details were discovered.

People have found more than one mountain path that seemed to have been formed by long-term and extensive trampling, as if many people had walked here before.

But obviously, for normal people, no one would come to walk in the deep mountains for a long time.

In addition, some recently produced waste and garbage were found, which also proves that there have been people active in the mountains recently.

On this day, Wei Ning still brought a few teammates, put on a full set of mountain equipment, and set off into the mountains again.

When passing a gentle slope, Wei Ning suddenly realized that something seemed wrong here.

But he couldn't tell what was wrong.

He looked at the plants on the gentle slope that were slightly withered and yellowed due to the cold, the messy rocks, and the occasional small animals that flashed by in the distance, and thought silently.

When he looked into the distance, he suddenly realized what was wrong.

It is already early winter now.

Most of the plants in the mountains have already withered and turned yellow. But here on the gentle slope, although the plants are also withered and turned yellow, the degree of withering is less than that in other places!

The degree of this is not obvious and cannot be detected from a distance. Only by checking it out in person and observing it carefully can you discover this.

This even attracted more wild animals because only here was there food.

So why do the plants here wither more slowly?

He immediately picked up the communicator.

"Report! A special situation has been discovered at target location 11553! The plants there appear to be withering later than others, and it's suspected that the surface temperature there is higher than elsewhere!"

In a moment, a helicopter carrying professionals and professional equipment arrived here.

After drilling and exploring, and looking at the data from several different points, the professional's face showed excitement.

"Indeed! The temperature here is a bit higher, an average of 1.6 degrees Celsius higher than other places!

There should be a heat source underground on this gentle slope. However, considering the mountain structure and geothermal analysis, it is impossible for there to be a natural heat source here, and there are no geological structures such as hot springs or volcanoes.

In that case, then…"

They looked at each other and saw a hint of excitement in each other's eyes.

The situation here was quickly reported. As a result, more helicopters roared in from afar, and more mountain search teams gathered here.

Even command-level personnel such as Zhou Cheng came here.

Hundreds of people began searching again with this gentle slope as the core.

After searching for a long time, a voice suddenly came from the communicator.

"A discovery!"

A group of people instantly gathered towards the reporter.

When Zhou Cheng hurried here, he saw that the pile of stones in a canyon was slowly being cleared away by many early stage personnel.

Behind the pile of stones, a corner of a metal plate was exposed, shining in the sunlight.

Metal plate?

After all the stones and debris were cleared away, Zhou Cheng finally saw its full appearance.

It was a heavy metal door.

It is tightly closed, hiding all the secrets behind it.

This must be a secret base of the Ascending Sect, there is no doubt about it!

"Blow it up!"

Powerful explosives were attached to the metal door. With a deafening explosion, the heavy door collapsed instantly, raising a cloud of dust.

Zhou Cheng, who had evacuated earlier, returned to the scene. He saw that after the metal gate had been blown down, a deep, dark passage appeared before him, seemingly leading deep into the mountains.

He looked at Wei Ning.

Wei Ning, wearing full combat gear, waved to his team members: "Let's go!"