Four hours have passed since the exploration of the "Gate" of Lake Don Juan failed.
During these four hours, all parties have been trying to find the missing members of the US District 1 Team of the Department of National Security, but so far, there has been no clear result.
…
From the beginning of the operation, to the casualties among our own personnel, and then to the group of them entering the mysterious ruins in a confused manner.
It only takes about ten minutes in total.
Rachel asked everyone to stay put, and then began to count the remaining supplies they had.
Because they had not considered such a situation at all, the food and water carried by the twelve surviving people were almost zero.
The amount of chocolate carried by two scientists and the energy drink hidden by a special forces member are almost negligible.
The current ambient temperature is 7 degrees Celsius, which is a low temperature environment.
In this kind of environment, if a person remains motionless for a long time, he will not be able to survive for two days without eating or drinking, not to mention that there are scientific researchers with relatively poor physical fitness in the team.
However, the weapons and ammunition they carry are relatively sufficient.
The seven special forces members carried a total of three specially modified AR-7 semi-automatic rifles, four specially modified Treble 3 micro submachine guns, seven pistols and relatively sufficient ammunition.
But apart from these, the most powerful individual equipment they have now is the pulse cannon carried by a special operations team member.
"The situation is not good." Rachel's deputy is a Chinese-American named Gao Tianyuan.
Rachel glanced at him and whispered: "You stay here to take care of them, I will take two people to explore the surroundings."
"Well... pay attention to your safety."
Rachel patted Gao Tianyuan on the shoulder and turned around: "Sam, Larry."
"arrive."
"Take weapons and follow me."
"Yes." Two muscular Latino young men stood up in the crowd.
The four scientists sitting in the crowd panicked. The younger one among them panicked: "What? Where are you going?"
Gao Tianyuan stepped forward and comforted him: "It's nothing. Ms. Rachel plans to explore the surrounding area. Don't worry."
"Well...then you must be sure to be safe."
Rachel ignored him. She left the team with her people and walked towards the east marked by the compass.
…
Another hour passed.
Rachel came back, but she was covered in blood and looked very embarrassed.
Sam and Larry were also missing.
Gao Tianyuan, who was telling jokes to everyone to lighten the atmosphere, felt his heart skip a beat when he saw this scene.
Everyone was stunned.
"Captain! Are you okay, Captain?" Gao Tianyuan hurriedly stepped forward to help Rachel, who was extremely weak. He found that Rachel had at least two gunshot wounds, one on the forearm and one on the thigh. Fortunately, they were not injured.
artery.
The other team members also gathered around. They were very concerned about Rachel and dutifully picked up their guns to be on guard.
Himes, the archaeologist among the four scientists, asked with concern: "Captain, what's going on with you? Are you in any danger? Where are Sam and Larry?"
Rachel waved her hands, she closed her eyes and was unwilling to speak.
Gao Tianyuan frowned and said: "Ethan, medical kit!"
Only then did the medical soldier Ethan come to his senses. Although he was not a new recruit, it was his first time to participate in the special operations of the National Security Department as a special operations team member. Now that he had encountered such a thing again, Ethan seemed a little uncomfortable.
.
He responded hurriedly and rushed over.
"Are you stupid?" Gao Tianyuan was very dissatisfied with Ethan's slowness.
"I'm sorry." Ethan hurriedly took out the medical kit from his backpack, and then began to check Rachel's injuries.
"You all spread out, don't get together, the wounded need fresh air!" Gao Tianyuan scolded several scientists who gathered over in a cold voice.
They were not yet used to contacting special forces members, so they were so frightened that they stepped back after hearing this.
A younger biologist accidentally stepped on something and heard a "click" sound.
The ground began to tremble, and everyone was stunned.
Gao Tianyuan was the first to react: "Don't panic! It may be just a slight earthquake. Everyone spread out and try to use bunkers to protect themselves."
The movements of several scientists were slow, but their reactions were fierce. Their panicked look made Gao Tianyuan very angry.
"I told you not to run around! Eric! Hold down!"
"Yes!" Commando Eric immediately caught the linguist who screamed and fled. In front of him, the skinny Japanese-American Saburo Okamoto had no resistance at all.
As Gao Tianyuan said, although the earth is shaking and shaking and cracking sounds can be heard everywhere, this is only a slight "earthquake" and the entire ruins are still very stable.
However, as the vibrations on the periphery continued to shrink toward the center, Eric, who had just captured the linguist, felt that the ground was rotating.
His body swayed, and he hurriedly grabbed the protruding rock beside him, and at the same time issued a warning to everyone: "Everyone, pay attention, the ground is rotating! Stand still!"
Turn?
The calmest among the four scientists is archaeologist Himes. Although he is old, he is physically strong and does not look like a scholar who has been dealing with ancient cultural relics all year round.
He kept the biologist behind him and held on to the rock.
Gao Tianyuan picked up the captain's upper body to prevent her from hitting her head.
Ethan is still treating his wounds, and he is now in a good mood.
When the vibration finally reaches the center, all the rotations are
When it stopped, Ethan also took out the last bullet from Rachel's left abdomen.
There were five in total, and none of them hit the vital point, but the massive blood loss still made Rachel weak.
Ethan injected her with a special reagent used in a battlefield environment. This special reagent can allow Rachel to recover her strength in a very short time, but of course the process will also be very painful.
"Stop...stopped?" the linguist asked cautiously.
Eric glared at him, and Okamoto immediately didn't dare to speak.
"Shh... listen! It sounds like the sound of a clock..." Sims signaled everyone to be quiet, and then listened intently.
Gao Tianyuan, who calmed down, also heard the sound, but he didn't think it was the sound of a clock, but the sound of some kind of mechanism being opened.
So he immediately warned: "Everyone, pay attention! There may be danger!"
"Ah?! How could it be! Is there still danger?" Okamoto was very timid. He was so frightened that he couldn't stand up straight.
Sims was calm because he had already seen a trace of light in the distance.
They kept getting closer and soon lit up the dark area.
When the light extended to their feet, a magnificent, hymn-like sound came from all directions.
The dome of the ruins was lit up, and a beautiful ancient city with a bit of Byzantine style appeared in everyone's sight.
It stands to the west of where everyone is, and is several kilometers away by visual inspection.
Although it looks very far away, the grand city like overlapping mountains and rivers is still clearly presented in front of everyone's eyes.
"Oh my God! This...can't this be the legendary old capital - Penpestone?" The archaeologist's previous calmness disappeared, and he walked forward with a trembling voice, as if
Himes stopped and said: "It is recorded in the lost fragments of the Old Testament that in the era of civilization before the Big Bang, the Lord of the Past was the God of Gods, the Saint of All Saints, and his kingdom was
It is called Peng Pei Stone, which means 'above all things'. Peng Pei Stone is just a transliteration that us mortals interpret from the symbols. It should also have a name that sounds like it can make people surrender to it."
"Is it true?" Eric expressed doubts. Maybe to him, what Sims said sounded like the plot setting in a superhero comic.
"Of course there is. The purpose of language since its birth has been to convey meaning and achieve communication. However, although language has become highly complete, it has also lost its original intimidation power when it became complete."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Eric asked.
"What he means is that in ancient times, although the development of language was relatively primitive, the emotions that sounds could convey were more real and powerful. This is why the ancient tunes in traditional culture sound so spiritual.
” Himes said.
"Hiss... I have a question. If Penpestone is really the kingdom of the Lord of the Past, as you said, how could it be on earth? Don't think that we will really think of aliens after watching too many movies.
People value our earth." Gao Tianyuan said.
Himes smiled and said: "I am just guessing, but in my opinion, traces of Shangyuan civilization remaining in the universe are extremely rare. Maybe the earth is not that rare in your opinion, but it may still exist.
Extremely rare traces left during the Shangyuan civilization, and these traces became the beliefs of the original civilization when it was formed. Therefore, it is not so difficult to understand that there is a monument of gods similar to those recorded in the "Old Testament" here.
.”
"Oh..." Gao Tianyuan nodded thoughtfully, but he was not very interested in these.
"Mr. Gao, if possible, I would like to visit that city." Sims requested.
Before Gao Tianyuan could answer, Okamoto suddenly shook his head and refused: "No! I won't go! It will definitely be a hell! If we go there, we will never come back!"
Gao Tianyuan was stunned. He didn't expect someone to refuse so firmly, and he was also a key linguist in the team.
"Professor Himes, what does he mean?"
Himes looked at Okamoto and said: "I know what you are worried about. The Lord of the Past is the God of Gods and the Saint of All Saints. Therefore, even if this city only respects it by devout believers, their faith should have already
It gave birth to the original "divine nature", and these "divine natures" are far superior to the human nature we have, so there may be many dangers in that city, especially for us mortals...
…”
"You know why you still proposed it!" Okamoto's resistance surprised Eric. He originally thought this guy was just a softie, but he didn't expect that a person's fear could make him so "powerful".
"Because we are scientists, the first order we received was to comprehensively investigate the 'Gate' and submit the first-hand information obtained in a report. Now that we have been invited here accidentally, you are planning to escape?" Himes said.
It seems a bit righteous.
Okamoto doesn't take this approach.
But these words reminded Gao Tianyuan.
Now that Rachel is in coma, he has become the leader of the first team, and his decision will directly affect the fate of everyone.
Obviously Okamoto also noticed that it was Gao Tianyuan who really had the word here, not Himes, so he said to Gao Tianyuan: "Captain Gao, don't listen to him. I have also read the "Old Testament". Although it is incomplete, it is relevant.
There are very few things about the Shangyuan civilization. We have no way to determine whether this city is Penpestone from its appearance. And even if it is, with our small manpower, we will die if we go there, so I think we should give priority to it.
How to get in touch with the higher authorities, and then quietly wait for rescue, wait for rescue
It’s not too late for us to make long-term plans when we arrive, Captain Gao!”
Gao Tianyuan calmed down after listening to Okamoto's words. Although he was also curious about what was in that city, but...
"Okay, don't say anything anymore. We are now short of supplies, the captain is injured, and two team members are missing. It is undoubtedly a suicidal act to go on an expedition rashly at this time, so... everyone is on standby, waiting to contact the base.
We’ll make plans after getting in touch.”
Okamoto finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Although Himes was a little unhappy, he didn't say anything and returned to the crowd obediently.
With light, the ruins become less scary.
But what happened to Rachel still made everyone uneasy.
Especially Gao Tianyuan, he checked the five warheads, and they were all warheads of the special bullets carried by the first team.
This kind of bullet with special specifications from the National Security Agency is highly recognizable, and Gao Tianyuan will not be mistaken.
But the question is what happened? Why was Rachel injured by one of her own bullets?
Ten hours after losing contact with the base.
Rachel finally woke up with a painful moan.
Most of her wounds have healed, and the effectiveness of the special battlefield reagents is truly extraordinary.
After waking up, Rachel also fell into a brief trance when she saw the city with a bit of Byzantine style... After listening to Takamawara's report, Rachel was very satisfied with Takamamahara's calmness.
But she still didn't want to go into too much detail about what happened to her. She only said that she got lost in a dark area soon after taking Sam and Larry out, and all the searchlight sources lost their effect.
In the darkness, Rachel heard Sam and Larry's screams, and then she was accidentally injured.
Rachel, who was lucky enough to save her life, did not know the whereabouts of Sam and Larry, and with the current situation of the first team, it was impossible to find their whereabouts.
Therefore, this matter has been left ambiguous for the time being.
Eleven hours after losing contact with the base, Signal Corpsman Sakachin finally reestablished contact with the base on a garbled frequency band.
Everyone got excited after hearing the good news.
Especially Rachel, although she has always been expressionless, she least wants to see anything happen to her team members.
But as Sakachin's contact with the base unfolded, they finally determined the location of the first team and his entourage at this time...
…
"f**k! f**k! f**k! f**k!" Eric lost control after learning that it was impossible to bring them home with the existing technological capabilities.
Okamoto sat dumbly, muttering to himself: "How could this happen...how could this happen..."
Himes frowned, and after confirming the data several times with geologists, he accepted the reality.
They were indeed trapped in a mysterious area deeper beneath Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, that humans have never set foot on.
Even if people are now organized to drill into the ice sheet and cross Lake Vostok and go down, it is impossible for the first team members to persist until the rescue arrives, let alone... the feasibility of this kind of rescue operation in the theoretical model
All are extremely low.
"Eric!" Gao Tianyuan scolded.
Eric calmed down, but his lips were trembling, obviously he didn't want to die.
Rachel was the one suffering the most at this time.
She was the only survivor of her last mission four years ago when she left the U.S. Marine Corps.
Now, it's like the scene is reappearing.
"Captain, what should we... do?" Gao Tianyuan asked.
Rachel looked at the city in the distance and asked, "You were planning to get married next month, right?"
When it came to personal matters, Gao Tianyuan's eyes flickered, but he did not collapse.
"Um……"
"I have seen that girl. She is really beautiful. You must love her very much, right?"
Gao Tianyuan smiled bitterly: "Yes, I love her very much..."
"Well... love... then you have to live well." Rachel said and stood up.
Gao Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, and then he heard Rachel say: "Let's go, let's go see that city."
Okamoto was stunned when he heard this, and then hurriedly stopped him: "No! Wait! Wait! Captain! You are not really going to that city, are you? It is very dangerous there! We will all die!"
Rachel packed her things, then looked at Okamoto and said, "No, you won't. You can choose to stay here."
As she said this, she called to her team members: "Go into battle lightly, only bring necessary weapons and equipment, and leave the rest here."
"yes."
Okamoto was dumbfounded.
Sims handed him the chocolate as he passed by: "Good luck!"
Looking at the chocolate in his hand, Okamoto didn't know what to say for a moment.
After the team had gone far away, Okamoto hurriedly caught up with him. He shouted as he ran: "Hey! Wait for me!!! Don't leave me alone!"
…
"Tsk... I think I've heard this story from you before?" Xian Qianhua frowned and looked at Chu Xiaoming.
Then Chu Xiaoming, who started telling Shen Yinuo's story, smiled bitterly and said: "This is my dream, the dream I experienced in the origin archives and ended in tragedy."
"Oh!!" Xian Qianhua suddenly realized, but: "Hey... does this have something to do with Yinuo's story?"
"Of course, don't you think there is a connection between them?"
"What do you mean? Between stories?"
"Not just between stories, but everything is connected by cause and effect!"