The light became extremely dazzling, causing pain in the eyes, just like strong sunlight being refracted by ice and snow.
But neither Shafulai nor Fu Tianhe looked away. They endured the burning pain and stared at the moonlight gate with bloodstains all over it and the young men standing side by side in front of the gate.
A strange feeling suddenly surged up in Fu Tianhe's chest, so strong that it could not be described in words.
It seemed that what was triggered by the blood was not only the hard metal door, but also something inside his body.
For a moment, Fu Tianhe was in a panic, and Shafla noticed his abnormality sharply.
During the whole process, he kept his eyes on Fu Tianhe. After all, the problem occurred during the door opening process last time.
"What's wrong?" Shafley asked in a low voice.
Fu Tianhe frowned and did not answer him for the time being.
Now is not the time to just say "it's okay" to get by. His condition is related to whether this moonlight trip will go smoothly. Fu Tianhe doesn't want to ruin the plan because of himself.
He raised his hand and pressed his right eye, pressing down on the artificial eye that Chen Ci had made with his own blood, and carefully felt the specific situation inside his body.
There was no itching or tingling, just a slightly faster heartbeat and increased blood flow, but it didn't seem to be abnormal.
He looked down at the terminal on his wrist. The screen showed that his heart rate was 86, which was a bit faster than when he was usually still, but still within the normal range.
"It seems to be okay." After confirming this, Fu Tianhe said to Shafulai.
Shafley nodded, and Fu Tianhe's terminal was connected to the medical team system, so if anything unusual happened to his body, he would be able to get rescued immediately.
The patterns on the door had already been filled with blood, but the fusion was still going on, the molecules diffusing in an irreversible process until the entire pattern on the door was filled with the brothers' fused blood.
Suddenly, all the light disappeared.
As hundreds of people held their breath and concentrated, the blood that filled the lines quickly froze and became bright red ice cubes that were embedded in the lines.
Something is loose.
There was no need to look at each other; the twins cooperated in the most tacit way.
They exerted force at the same time, pushing the door in their hands forward.
The ice was crushed, the crystals were squeezed, and with a series of creaking sounds, the heavy door was slowly pushed open.
The moonlight, which had been sealed for more than a decade, finally appeared before the world again.
Everywhere you look, there's a mysterious, sparkling purple.
As they expected, the interior of Moonlight had already become Ashes' territory, and what they saw on the outer wall was just the tip of the iceberg.
Chen Nian suddenly thought of a sentence: When you see a cockroach in the room, it means that there are countless cockroaches waiting somewhere else.
All surfaces were occupied, and amethyst grew recklessly, taking on sharp and mean shapes.
For a moment, everyone felt that they had opened Pandora's box.
Chen Ci took two steps back and came to Fu Tianhe's side.
It was quiet except for the sound of the wind.
The door finally opened before his eyes. Apart from a slight feeling of unreality, Chen Nian was filled with enthusiasm.
Hearing Shafla's orders through the headset, Chen Nian took a step forward and was the first to step into the moonlight.
The crystals around him made Chen Nian feel like he had come to an underground cave. Of course, he had never seen such a cave in reality. After all, countless magnificent and magical cave terrains had long been submerged by sea water, and there would no longer be colorful lights illuminating the rugged rocks and rafting projects.
But the scene before me looked exactly like photos from the past.
He carefully avoided stepping on the purple crystal. He and Chen Ci had special physiques and did not need to wear special protective clothing. As an infected person, Fu Tianhe did not have to worry about possible risks.
But everyone is still wearing protective clothing, not only for their own protection, but also to avoid causing unnecessary trouble to others.
Everyone was tightly wrapped in protective clothing, and the air they breathed was purified through multiple processes to remove any possible Ashes dust.
Once inhaled, they quickly attach to the alveoli and respiratory surfaces, infecting silently.
The spiritual power expanded as far as possible, and wherever it went, wildness grew.
This place has been completely occupied.
The special forces squad moved forward in a well-trained manner, acting as the vanguard. They cleared a passable path, allowing the troops behind to move forward more safely and quickly.
Although he had received several days of professional training, when he actually participated in the operation as a member of the army, Chen Nian was still tense, his heart beat faster, and the blood in his body circulated faster.
"How's your hand?" Shafley asked him quietly beside him. The brief conversation would not appear on the communication channel.
"Fortunately, it has scabbed over." Chen Nian pinched his fingertips through two layers of protective clothing.
After opening the door, he immediately put on his gloves again because it was too cold.
The small wound didn't hurt much, but the area of the pattern on the door was quite large, and he and Chen Ci might have lost a lot of blood.
Shafley nodded and said nothing more.
The team advanced slowly but smoothly. The special forces selected by Shaflay were all Alphas with strong mental powers. The mental powers of hundreds of people formed a tight network, detecting any movement around them.
For a moment, the only sounds in my ears were the rustling of fabrics as I moved, and the shattering sounds of the purple crystals blocking the way.
Chen Ci looked up, and sure enough, just as he thought, the collapse of the beacon was only a superficial phenomenon, and its interior was still in some astonishingly orderly state.
Collapsed metal plates, steel bars and concrete are reassembled in unimaginable ways to form spaces of specific shapes.
The dust and more garbage had obviously been cleaned up intentionally. Although the road was covered with purple crystals, it was finally able to clear a smooth path.
Strictly speaking, it was more like the moonlight forced all the parts above the middle layer down, expanding their area and reassembling at the same time. No wonder the collapse process lasted for three full days.
Such a dangerous move, if there was just one mistake, what they are seeing now would be a complete ruin.
Moonlight calculated the action very accurately for a long time before finally finalizing the plan and achieving a nearly perfect result.
Including designing a door that only the two brothers can open.
Soon, the team's overall progress came to a halt, and everyone used their mental power to explore the surroundings and discovered something unusual.
They moved forward, and when they reached the edge of the platform, they saw a huge white skeleton in the depression below.
A dozen thick ribs were propped up in an arch shape, connected by a central spine, and suddenly fell to the ground near the middle, connected with more fragmented bones.
Its flesh and blood had long since rotted and decomposed, becoming food for the microorganisms, which in turn turned into gas and heat in the biochemical reactions and dissipated around, causing even the fat to solidify.
Only the bones were left exposed in the air, but they were rarely occupied by crystals, as if some invisible substance was attached to them, preventing Ashes from taking root.
Chen Nian's eyes widened suddenly, and at the same time he heard Fu Tianhe and Shafulai gasping in surprise through the earphones.
Chen Ci was the calmest, but he couldn't help but take a few steps forward and stand at the edge to observe from a closer distance.
It was the skeleton of a giant whale.
It is about thirty meters long, and the mechanical parts scattered around it indicate that it was a giant primitive creature in life. There are many small claws and bones mixed together in the fins, and there are many nozzles in the abdomen.
The iron armor that once existed leaked out from the gaps between the bones and fell to the ground, becoming an ancient exhibit in the Rib Palace.
They recognized the whale.
A female blue whale named Milo.
It started from the waters near Indonesia, traveled northwards and finally reached the Arctic Ocean.
After jumping out of the sea through the underground maze inside the continental shelf, they moved with difficulty to the interior of the moonlight.
However, all of this is just part of the game.
No one had ever thought about this before, and the same thing had happened in reality. After all, the beacon was actually on the ice field, and their detection found that there was no ice cave nearby.
How would a whale get inside? In real life, no one would use various tools to pull it in like in the game, otherwise it would definitely be on the news.
But now, the whale's skeleton appeared before all of them.
"Is this the whale?" Fu Tianhe asked.
"I don't know. Maybe," Shaflay whispered. "Maybe Beacon designed a replica of the mission and plot based on the situation back then."
Chen Nian: “So what do they want to express?”
Chen Ci: "Perhaps the beacon is telling us that this whale came here on its own initiative, and something attracted it."
For unknown reasons, Milo, the blue whale in the game, would rather die than enter the moonlight, and he eventually died in it.
If the situation was the same then, they needed to figure out what was attracting the blue whales.
The special forces members quickly connected the rope, hung the buckles on their chests on it, and slid safely from the platform to the bottom.
Chen Ci and Chen Nian did the same.
Finally getting close, Chen Nian couldn't help but walk forward and carefully observe the skeleton.
It was corroded quite cleanly, the bones were white and even showed a special kind of sheen, the mechanical parts showed a certain degree of rust, and several people stood at the place where the chest cavity should have been, raised their heads, and searched for other remaining traces.
The facts prove that there is none.
The intact body of the blue whale would tell them what happened, but now all the flesh and blood have been eaten, leaving only endless room for people's imagination.
"Let's go. I don't think we can find out anything." said Shaflay.
Chen Nian lowered his head and checked the images captured by the camera on his chest. He had recorded many details on a special screen so that he could flip through them and review them frame by frame when he had free time.
Passing through the whale skeletons and gradually entering deeper into the moonlight, they were soon blocked by a gate.
The special forces brought thermal aluminum and tried to melt the door open to create a hole for them to pass through.
In the light that was too bright to look directly at, a huge amount of heat was released, but it only melted the surface of the door.
Seeing this, Shafulai said, "Go and see if there is any equipment like a control panel."
So the crowd split into two groups, one group continued to use thermite to melt the aluminum in front of the door, and the other group looked for other ways to open the door.
With spiritual power, things will be much simpler. Chen Ci found something similar to a manual valve in a cavity, but the only way to get through it is through a pipe.
Long-term storage and rust have caused the diameter of the pipe to become narrower, and a thick layer of brown-red unknown substance has adhered to the inner wall. Given the special forces' strong physique, it is absolutely impossible for them to enter.
The most slender figures among the more than 100 people are the Omegas Chen Ci and Chen Nian.
Chen Nian: "So we have to get in?"
The deposits on the inner wall of the pipe feel sticky and a bit disgusting, which makes people feel uneasy instinctively.
"Let's give it a try." Chen Ci glanced at the door. The melting was still going on, but the door was too thick. Perhaps only a powerful bomb could destroy it.
But no one dared to use destructive means inside the moonlight. Who knows if it might touch some unstable structure and cause even worse consequences.
The diameter of the cave entrance was only about 40 centimeters, so Chen Nian was able to get in by hunching his shoulders.
He crawled into the pipe, with only the searchlight above his head illuminating the front. This reminded him of scenes in many horror games. Drilling through pipes has contributed to many famous scenes.
However, Chen Nian didn't have the chance to think about it any further.
Because he got stuck just halfway into the room.
His crotch was stuck in the pipe opening. Realizing this, Chen Nian's eyes widened.
No way! His shoulders have come over, how could his butt not come over?
Chen Nian refused to believe it and pushed forward with even greater force. Through his protective suit, he could clearly feel the attachments on the inner wall of the pipe being squeezed, making a sticky sound, but it only made the resistance greater.
The texture does not move.
"It's stuck!" Chen Nian shouted, "Help!"
Shafulai saw everything clearly from outside and immediately said, "Don't move, come out first."
Chen Nian began to back away, holding onto the pipe with both hands and using his knees to push himself back with all his strength.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move even an inch.
I was completely caught in an awkward situation where I couldn't advance or retreat.
In the past, Chen Nian might have shown off his voluptuous buttocks, but now, he really didn't have the heart to do so and just focused on struggling hard.
Shafulai rushed over, grabbed Chen Nian's legs and pulled him out.
The boy's butt was swaying in front of his eyes, bulging out his protective suit. Even though he knew it was extremely inappropriate, Shafulai couldn't help swallowing.
Fu Tianhe took a look and realized that something seemed to be wrong.
He quickly stood behind Chen Nian and Shafley to help block the attack, then looked up at the sky and pretended nothing had happened.
Chen Ci also came over to help. He held Chen Nian's other leg and worked together with Shaflay -
Finally, with a scream from Chen Nian, he was pulled out.
Chen Nian's upper body came into contact with the substance on the inner wall of the pipe, and it became sticky all over. Fortunately, he was wearing protective clothing, otherwise these things would have stuck directly to his body, which would have been absolutely disgusting.
Chen Nian sat on the ground, sweating all over. Even though he was so shameless, he couldn't help but feel hot all over.
It was so embarrassing! If they were just a few acquaintances, they could do whatever they wanted, but there were so many other team members around!!!
He shrank behind Shaflay and pretended not to exist.
"Let me go in and try." Chen Ci said. He remained calm, as if nothing had happened just now.
Chen Ci was indeed thinner than Chen Nian. After all, he had just been traveling intensively for a few months, while Chen Nian had been injured not long ago and had gained a lot of weight while recuperating in the hospital.
Shafulai helped Chen Nian clean the stains on his protective suit, and Chen Nian held his arm tightly.
Although he couldn't see the expression on the boy's face clearly through the mask, Shafulai was very familiar with Chen Nian's body language.
"It's okay." Alpha whispered soothingly.
Chen Nian choked up: "...I will definitely lose weight after I go back."
"No need to reduce it." Shafley said softly, "This is good enough."
With Chen Nian's previous experience as a lesson, Fu Tianhe couldn't help but get nervous. The two brothers' figures really looked exactly the same. Would September be able to get through it smoothly?
Facts have proven that it is possible.
In just a few seconds, Chen Ci went into the pipe and disappeared from everyone's sight.
Fu Tianhe had no mental power, and could not detect the boy's movements like other people, so he could only nervously say, "Be careful."
Chen Ci kept his breathing steady as he crawled in the narrow tube.
The pipe had twists and turns, and the deposits were thicker at the bends. He could only try his best to shrink his shoulders and rub his way through little by little. Fortunately, it didn't get stuck.
With his shoulders hunched, his arms slowed down his pace. The sticky, damp and cold substances stuck to his body through his protective suit, like some strange, wriggling creature.
But for Chen Ci, apart from disgust, he didn't have any other feelings, and he didn't even think about it in that direction.
All he had in mind was the manual control valve at the end of the pipe.
The sound of "gurgling" echoed in the pipe, and Fu Tianhe's questions to confirm the location were heard from the earphone from time to time. Chen Ci turned around, passed the last bend with some difficulty, and finally reached the open area.
He stood up, breathed a sigh of relief silently, and started to move his stiff body little by little starting from his wrists.
Spaciousness is only relative. The low and narrow room houses the backup manual operating system, which is also covered with a sticky reddish-brown substance.
If you look closely, it looks a bit like flowing blood and flesh.
Chen Ci acted quickly. He turned on the video and filmed the condition of the manual operating console for Fu Tianhe. As an engineer, Alpha must know more than him.
"First, put the buckle on the bottom, pull the left-hand rocker to the middle position, and turn the big thing clockwise."
The valve should be hydraulically operated. Chen Nian completed the operation according to Fu Tianhe's instructions and heard the rumbling sound of the machinery operating.
Invisible beneath your feet, a sophisticated system is operating.
A special forces member's voice came from the channel: "The gate has been opened, over."
Chen Ci took a step back, hung up the video, took a last look at the occupied manual control panel, turned around, and went into the pipe again.
When there was still 30 centimeters away from the exit, Chen Ci stretched out a hand, which was immediately held tightly by Fu Tianhe.
Chen Ci borrowed strength from Fu Tianhe's hand and came out of the pipe. He stood up, and even his mask was stained with unknown stains.
Fu Tianhe hurried to clean it up for him.
The special operations team guarding the gate has already gone inside to check the situation. Their reports keep coming out of the earphones, and it seems that something unusual has occurred.
"Let's go." Chen Ci signaled Fu Tianhe not to wipe it anymore. He didn't care about the dirtiness, as long as he wiped the mask well and didn't block his vision.
As soon as he passed through the heavy gate, Chen Ci noticed something unusual around him.
The remains of creatures large and small were everywhere, with white bones and mechanical parts scattered all over the ground. The purple crystals growing among them became a minority. Every time a step fell, several bones would be crushed, making a crisp crackling sound.
This is a cemetery.
There are many thick giant pipes intertwined on the walls and overhead, which look very familiar.
In Cinnabar's dungeon, there are many similar structures that transport liquid energy to various parts of the beacon.
But in today's moonlight, the inside of the pipe has long dried up, like a dry blood vessel that has lost its elasticity, becoming the territory occupied by Ashes, showing a strange crystal purple color.
There were many large machines around, which had turned into a pile of scrap metal due to loss of power. Fu Tianhe and the mechanics in the special forces team studied them for a few minutes and concluded that they should be used to break ice.
Shafley: “Breaking the ice?”
Fu Tianhe nodded: "Yes, the drill breaks the ice, and then drives the water flow to ensure that the ice surface does not freeze quickly, and at the same time regulates the temperature through these capillary pipes."
Chen Nian: "Where is the entrance to the cave?"
"It should be right under our feet." Chen Ci kicked away the corpses and metal parts under his feet, dug more than twenty centimeters with an engineering shovel, and finally saw the frozen ice surface.
Chen Ci: "These primitive creatures came from the ice cave."
"I understand." Chen Nian clapped his hands suddenly, "This ice cave is the hole we drilled out of in the game! After the Moonlight collapsed, the area it occupied expanded, and the cave was included in its building range."
Shaflay hummed, "These primitive creatures, including the blue whale outside, should have entered here through the ice cave after the Moonlight collapsed. Otherwise, with so many residents originally living in the Moonlight, they would definitely have discovered something and spread the news."
Chen Nian: "Should we try to open this hole?"
Shafley: "It will be troublesome. We only have a limited amount of energy blocks. If we want to drive these guys, we may use them up quickly."
Chen Nian: "Forget it then."
Shafley took out a special compass he had obtained from the laboratory and placed it flat on his palm. The pointer shook chaotically for a few seconds, then swayed and pointed to the two o'clock direction.
The compass is used to guide creatures that are homologous to the blue alien. The four people followed the directions to search. They climbed up the lower pipes and climbed on the protruding crystals on the walls. Finally, they found something unusual, lying alone in the corner.
That's a hand.
A hand that is clearly human.
Judging from its size and joints, it most likely came from a woman.
Chen Nian: “Damn.”
The hand was severed at the wrist, and the wound was gnarled, with bits of flesh scattered about, as if it had been brutally torn off by the sharp teeth of a ferocious beast.
Unlike other creatures, it did not decay until only a skeleton remained. Instead, it maintained its shape intact without even a single body spot, as if it had been completely frozen by low temperatures and preserved forever.
It stands to reason that the moonlight is at the extreme point, and after its internal functions stop working, the temperature is the same as outside, remaining at a sub-zero level all year round.
The intensity of microbial activity was very low, and many corpses were completely reduced to skeletons, which took longer than in normal environments.
But it's not rotten at all, which is also strange.
It seems that something is very wrong, whether it is the large area of white bones below or the lonely hand left on the pipe.