Chapter 80
Just standing in front of the stone gate, you can feel the stuffiness coming towards you, mixed with the smell of dust that has been there for a long time, which makes people very resistant and don't want to go in.
"Are you serious?" Yan Hong's expression twisted for a moment. "This place looks like it might be hiding something dangerous. If we just go in like this, no one else will know if someone dies in there!"
Yan Ning looked inside the pitch-black door, asked a few people to wait for a moment, and walked in by feeling the wall. Gradually, the whole person disappeared into the darkness.
Shao Xingyang asked uneasily: "Is this...reliable?"
With a click, the originally dark tunnel suddenly lit up. Yan Ning, who was standing not far from the door, still had his hand on the power lever.
"Sorry, I forgot to turn on the light."
Everyone: “…”
Why didn’t you tell me earlier that there was a light?
With the light, everyone could see the scene behind the stone gate clearly.
The interior is a tunnel made of neatly cut stone bricks. Two rows of embedded ceiling lights are installed on the top of the tunnel, extending all the way along the tunnel into the distance.
After the lights illuminated the interior of the tunnel, everyone dared to enter. After everyone entered the tunnel, Yan Ning pressed a switch on the wall, and the stone door closed automatically, with some dust falling. From the outside, the place looked like it had returned to its original state.
Yan Ning was still walking in front to lead the way. Although there were no other mechanisms or forks along the way, the tunnel was unexpectedly long. Such a long and sophisticated tunnel would probably require a lot of manpower and material resources.
As I walked, I touched the stone bricks of the wall. Apart from a thin layer of dust, the most obvious feeling I could feel was a sense of artificiality.
This tunnel was definitely built using modern technology, which naturally ruled out the possibility that it was dug by the indigenous people who once lived here. Lu Shiyu felt strange. Why would someone spend a lot of money to build such a hidden tunnel in such a place?
It is impossible to say that there is no purpose. The existence of this tunnel must have an extraordinary meaning, but she just has no idea about it now.
The tunnel seemed to be endless. Lu Shiyu quickly stepped forward and asked Yan Ning:
"Do you know what this tunnel was originally used for?"
Yan Ning shook his head: "I don't know, I just discovered this tunnel by accident."
"After I got separated from the teacher, I could only look for opportunities to fight back while being chased by the swarm of deformed creatures. By the time I managed to escape, I was already lost," Yan Ning recalled. "I didn't know how to get there at the time. I reached the foot of the mountain and was about to go up the mountain to get a clear view of the camp from a high point. But it was already dark and it was not suitable to move forward. I just found a place to take cover and wait out the night before continuing on my way."
"Just as I was about to lie down, I accidentally touched a mechanism, and then this tunnel appeared."
Lu Shiyu was stunned: "And then you went in?"
"Yes," Yan Ning said naturally, "I arrived there afterwards. I wanted to make some notes before going back to find the teacher, but I ran into you guys not long after."
Yan Ning described how he discovered an unknown tunnel late at night and went straight into it as if it were natural, as if it were drinking water. This tunnel would be scary enough even in broad daylight without any lights on, not to mention that it was night when Yan Ning entered. Lu Shiyu was wondering in his heart how someone could be so brave.
"Such a sophisticated stone gate mechanism would take a considerable amount of time to construct," Chen Yunliang asked, stepping forward. "Who would build such a tunnel, and keep it secret?"
Yan Ning's tone returned to being cold: "I don't know."
Chen Yunliang: “…”
Lu Shiyu pulled Chen Yunliang back to the rear team before he got angry.
Lu Shiyu smiled and comforted him, "Don't be angry. He might just have some academic problems. Isn't it said that researchers are unkind? Maybe he's just socially aloof."
Chen Yunliang's face was gloomy, and he said with a forced smile: "But I feel like this guy has been targeting me."
"Illusion! Absolutely an illusion"
Yan Hong sneered and mercilessly mocked her teammates: "You come from a wealthy family, but you can't even figure this out."
Chen Yunliang's mouth twitched and he asked Yan Hong if she had any good ideas.
"Did he know that you and Professor Chen are from the same family?"
"So what?"
Yan Hong laughed with gloating pleasure: "Hahahaha! You forgot, Professor Chen and the Chen family have a very bad relationship at all. He even broke up with the Chen family long before you did. As Professor Chen's favorite student, it's a miracle that Yan Ning would be nice to you!"
Chen Yunliang's face fell instantly. How could he have forgotten about this?
"Hahahahahaha! You've been taking advantage of the Chen family's name a lot! Finally, it's your turn to suffer!"
Chen Yunliang rubbed his face dejectedly, accepting his fate.
If I had known this earlier, I would have never applied as a junior from the same school instead of the Chen family.
I don’t know how long I walked, but finally a different light appeared in the distance.
"The exit is just ahead," Yan Ning turned and said to the others, "Just keep going straight after you get out and you'll reach the teacher's camp."
After walking out of the tunnel, Yan Ning pushed the stone door back and only felt relieved after making sure it was completely closed.
When they re-entered the woods that could move secretly on their own, everyone had become accustomed to these troublesome trees and were no longer hindered by them. They quickly found Professor Chen's cave camp - the main reason they were able to find it so quickly was that smoke was coming out of Professor Chen's cave, which was simply too conspicuous.
As soon as Yan Ning saw the billowing black smoke, he immediately lost his composure. He ignored the two animals in his hands and rushed into the cave.
"teacher!!!"
As soon as Yan Ning rushed into the cave, he was choked by the billowing black smoke and couldn't open his eyes. But when he thought of Professor Chen still being inside, Yan Ning didn't care about anything else and went deeper to look for Professor Chen.
The people outside the cave looked at Yan Ning who was willing to risk his own life to rescue Professor Chen, and they immediately felt a sense of admiration for him.
"I didn't expect their relationship to be so good."
"Yeah, I didn't expect Yan Ning to be so nervous about Professor Chen."
Several people were looking at the entrance of the cave when they suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"You guys are back so soon?"
Hearing the sound, everyone immediately looked over in surprise.
Professor Chen was moving slowly towards us with a bucket of water in his hand.
Tang Zeyu stepped forward, took the bucket from Professor Chen's hand, and asked Professor Chen what happened.
"What's wrong? I just burned the food while cooking. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Burnt food? What kind of burnt food could have such a strong effect?
Several people looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Professor Chen glanced at the group and asked, "Didn't you run into Yan Ning along the way?"
Lu Shiyu answered hesitantly: "Yes, I did meet you..."
"Met him? Then why didn't he come back? Where is he now? Is there anything wrong?"
"Wait, wait, wait! Say them one by one!"
Lu Shiyu held down the excited Professor Chen, pointed at the hole still smoking and said:
"Yan Ning, he's in there right now..."
"What?!"
Seeing that Professor Chen was also about to go in, several people hurriedly tried to stop him. The cave was still full of black smoke, and they were not sure what would happen to Yan Ning if he went in, but they could not say for sure about Professor Chen.
In order to appease Professor Chen, several people had to go in and drag Yan Ning out.
The good news is that Yan Ning is not seriously injured. The bad news is that Yan Ning inhaled too much black smoke and is now a little confused.
Professor Chen looked at Yan Ning lying on the ground in a daze and sighed.
"teacher……"
"Forget it, just come back."
Professor Chen turned around and thanked them: "Thanks to you, Yan Ning, that silly boy, was able to come back safely."
Lu Shiyu scratched his cheek embarrassedly. In fact, even without them, Yan Ning could have come back by herself. In fact, he even wasted time by getting involved in their affairs.
But the others were too shameless, and even exaggerated how miserable Yan Ning was after getting lost. Lu Shiyu looked at Yan Ning lying on the ground, whose face seemed to be even uglier, and felt that if he was not too weak to get up, he would probably have started a fight with these big talkers.
After the others had boasted enough and Professor Chen was stunned, Tang Zeyu came on stage and gave Professor Chen a brief summary of the matter concerning the meteorite.
Perhaps it was because Tang Zeyu was a good storyteller that Professor Chen's emotions were fully aroused, and he even slapped his thigh when he heard the end.
"Those shameless people at the base are really going too far!"
Professor Chen was so angry that his face turned red, and his expression was as ferocious as if he wanted to tear the flesh of the senior management of the base off.
"It's fine if they don't do anything at other times, but now they're still thinking about personal gain! I think they've had too much of a good life and have forgotten what their official duties are!"
Professor Chen kept muttering curses, and became even angrier when he saw Yan Ning lying on the ground.
"They attacked you without any reason. They are completely devoid of conscience. They are no different from animals!"
When Yan Ning heard this nonsense about a man who single-handedly challenged a group of exploration team members and knocked them down, he was at a loss as to whether to speak out or not. He almost fainted with a breath stuck in his throat.
Perhaps it was because he saw his students suffering such unfair treatment, that when he looked at the members of the Eagle Squad, there was a bit of pity in his eyes.
"You guys have worked so hard. Not only do you have to help the base expand its external living space, but you also have to stabilize the interior. You work so hard, and yet you are framed by the people in the base."
"Oh, it's not that good." Even Shao Xingyang felt a little embarrassed by the praise.
"Professor Chen, we actually have something we'd like to ask for your opinion on."
Seeing that the time was right, Tang Zeyu finally asked what he really wanted to say: "We don't have any way to return to the base, but the existence of the meteorite is crucial. We have no idea what to do next, so I wanted to ask for your experience. As a veteran of the base, I think you can have a solution that suits us."
Professor Chen lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then smacked his lips and said, "Yes, but the risks are not low."
"The decision-making level at the base isn't monolithic. It's made up of different factions and positions, with intertwined interests and constraints. Some want to kill you, and naturally others want to save you. Some don't want the apocalypse to end, and naturally others do. Of course, even though it sounds like the base isn't that dangerous, going back is still like walking into a trap, so I still don't recommend you go back."
Professor Chen smiled mysteriously and said:
"However, just because you can't go back to Dawn Base doesn't mean you can't go to another base."
"This place isn't too far from Dawn Base. Choose your route and set off for Dawn Base on a chosen day."
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