After a fierce battle with the spider, Lin Yu and the other two temporarily escaped the immediate threat, but they were exhausted both physically and mentally. However, the unknown secret behind the stone door and the increasingly urgent strange voices did not allow them to breathe for a moment.
Lin Yuqiang steeled himself and focused his gaze once more on the symbols on the stone gate, his brow furrowed in a knot. Anxiety rippled through him, knowing that every passing second brought a new level of danger. Yet, the puzzle of the symbols seemed like a tangled mess, difficult to unravel. "What is the pattern of these symbols? Is our previous approach wrong?" he whispered, a hint of fatigue and confusion in his voice.
Chen Yao was equally anxious. She repeatedly compared the characteristics of the various symbols in her memory, trying to extract key information from the subtle differences. "These symbols must follow some logic, perhaps related to the beliefs and customs of this mysterious civilization. But we know so little about this civilization, and deciphering them is difficult," she said, sketching symbols on the ground, trying to find inspiration through different permutations and combinations. Frustration filled her heart, and every failed attempt felt like a bucket of cold water on her confidence.
Ouyang Zhenghao patrolled the area vigilantly, guarding against any more dangerous spider-like creatures. He occasionally turned to look at Lin Yu and Shen Yao, his eyes filled with worry and anticipation. "Hurry up and think of a solution! This noise is giving me the creeps. I feel like something even more terrifying is about to happen." His voice trembled slightly, and his inner tension was evident. An oppressive atmosphere permeated the cave, and the eerie sound was like a hammer, hammering at their nerves.
Lin Yu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He re-examined all the symbols he had seen since entering the cave, constructing a vast system in his mind. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and a bold hypothesis came to mind. "Chen Yao, do you think these symbols could be related to astronomical phenomena? We've been interpreting them from a two-dimensional perspective, but haven't we overlooked the connections in three dimensions or time?" Lin Yu's eyes sparked with hope.
Chen Yao's eyes lit up, and she began to think along Lin Yu's lines. "It's possible! Many ancient civilizations used astronomical phenomena as a reference to create symbol systems. If so, then the arrangement of these symbols might correspond to specific astrological positions or time points." She immediately and excitedly searched the stone gate for astronomical clues.
The two began studying the symbols according to their new approach. After some intense exploration, they discovered that some of the symbols on the stone gate bore subtle resemblances to the shapes of constellations in the night sky. Chen Yao quickly constructed a star map in her mind, matching the symbols to them. "Lin Yu, does this symbol resemble the belt of Orion? If we follow this idea, we can try to arrange the symbols in the order of the constellations," Chen Yao said excitedly, gesturing with her fingers over the symbols.
After a careful observation, Lin Yu nodded in agreement. "It's very likely! Let's try this hypothesis. Ouyang, come over here and help keep an eye on the surroundings. We're going to start trying to open the stone door." Lin Yu called out to Ouyang Zhenghao, while carefully touching the symbols on the stone door in the order they had deduced.
Ouyang Zhenghao hurried over, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, weapon in hand ready for any emergency. "Don't worry, I'm watching. I hope this one works. I really don't want to stay in this place any longer." His voice was firm, but the slight tremor in his voice betrayed his inner nervousness.
Lin Yu took a deep breath, reached out, and gently pressed the first symbol. As his finger touched the symbol, a faint blue light flashed across the stone door, followed by a gentle clicking sound, as if the mechanism within the stone door had begun to operate. This slight progress ignited hope in the three men, but they also knew that the real test lay ahead.
Lin Yu continued to press the other symbols in order. With each press, the light on the stone door flickered, and the sound of the mechanism became more and more obvious. However, when he pressed the seventh symbol, the stone door suddenly shook violently, and a powerful recoil force knocked Lin Yu backward.
"Lin Yu!" Chen Yao and Ouyang Zhenghao exclaimed and hurried over to help Lin Yu up.
"It seems we guessed wrong. The password of this stone door is more complicated than we thought." Lin Yu rubbed his chest and said with an annoyed look. At this moment, his heart was filled with frustration. He thought he had found the right method, but he didn't expect to fail at the last moment.
At that moment, the eerie noises within the cave suddenly intensified, as if mocking their failure. As the noises grew, cracks began to appear in the ground around the stone gate, and black smoke gushed out of the cracks. A faint, dark red light flickered within the smoke, as if something sinister was about to break out.
"What...what's going on? Have we triggered something even more terrifying?" Ouyang Zhenghao stared at the crack in the ground in horror, his voice filled with fear. His heartbeat accelerated rapidly, and a strong sense of crisis surged through him, as if death was already standing before them.
Lin Yu stood up, his eyes etched with determination as he observed the unfolding events. "No matter what, we can't give up. Chen Yao, think carefully about what else we haven't considered. Ouyang, prepare your weapons and be prepared for any danger." He knew they had no way out. They could only forge ahead and unlock the secrets of the stone gate to escape their current predicament.
Chen Yao forced herself to calm down and recalled all the clues she had seen, including the symbols carved into trees, rocks, and cave walls. Suddenly, she remembered a detail she had overlooked. "Lin Yu, there was a symbol that appeared repeatedly on the rocks at the foot of the mountain, and each reappearance had a certain pattern. We've never figured out its meaning. Could this symbol be the key?" Chen Yao asked eagerly, her eyes full of anticipation.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
