mesbooks Chapter 488 - 485:
Chapter 488 - 485:
Chapter 488: Chapter 485: "Pingping, Zhan Xinjia.Su Ming’an ran down the stone steps, and his watch lit up.
"Boom—!"
He heard the sound of the tunnel entrance behind him being blasted shut, probably Noel helping him block the pursuit.
The underground passages were intricate and sprawling, and before long, he encountered several forks. He could only try his luck to see if he could find that oracle.
As he turned a corner, he saw a body lying in the dirt.
The body was already reduced to bones, and even the clothes had rotted away. It lay on the ground, arms crossed over its chest, palms guarding something.
Su Ming’an glanced and saw that beneath its palms was a blurred photograph.
He continued on, encountering many bodies along the way, all holding a photograph in their arms.
...Why had these people died here? Why were they still holding photographs?
Su Ming’an was puzzled.
He walked on for a long time.
Finally, a bright red circle of light appeared in his field of vision, a prompt from Clue Insight.
He immediately picked up speed. Ahead was an earthen wall.
He pushed off with his feet, using the skill of the Water Realm Boots, and kicked forward. As he exerted force, a sound of flowing water rushed violently from his calves—
"Boom—"
The earthen wall vibrated but did not collapse.
He took a step back, his right leg aching from the rebound.
Behind this earthen wall... there must be an even harder wall.
He reached out, and the Amber Knife appeared in his hand.
After his occupational skills had upgraded, he could now fully unleash the power of this knife.
"Boom—!"
A violent shattering sound rang out.
As he swung the long knife, wave-like light patterns of fractures appeared before his eyes.
The thick earthen wall shattered under the blow, crumbling in a spider web pattern, revealing a silver-white metal wall behind it.
He swung the knife again, the effect of Spatial Fracture fully displayed, accompanied by a sharp "snap"—the seemingly impregnable metal wall was directly sliced open by him.
A swath of bright light fiercely shot out from inside the wall.
...Was there light inside?
He crawled through the hole, and suddenly the world before him brightened, as if a lamp had been turned on in a dark world.
He looked around in shock at the scene inside, as if he had entered a world with an entirely different style.
Directly in front of him was a silver-white metallic wall, enveloping the entire room and providing a strong sense of security. In the wooden rack at the corner of the desk, various metals shimmered with a glass-like white light.
He turned, but suddenly bumped into something, creating a "ding ding dang dang" sound.
Beside him was a glass cabinet containing various bottles and jars of unknown purposes, all shattered, their liquids long since dried.
He surveyed the surroundings—scales, measuring cylinders, test tubes, cutting tools... they were scattered in every corner, several abandoned paper wads lay on the floor, their ink nearly invisible.
He even saw a periodic table of elements hanging on the wall and precise iron instruments. There were dried, smudged bloodstains on the floor and some torn fabric from clothes, unidentifiable as to what had transpired here.
...What exactly was this place?
A primitive Qiongdi, yet possessing a laboratory akin to modern science?
From the current situation, it appeared the people who originally lived here had fled in a hurry. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be such a mess, almost resembling a post-disaster scene.
He stepped over the scattered instruments and glass pieces on the floor, walking towards the dust-covered lab table.
"Ding dong!"
[Key Clue Acquired·Underground Laboratory]
[(Underground Laboratory): You have discovered an underground passage of the First Tribe, hiding a modern laboratory. What does this signify?]
...
[You have discovered (100 Metal), (Broken Chemicals), (Destroyed Iron Instruments), (Messy Formula Papers), would you like to conduct reconnaissance?]
"Reconnaissance," Su Ming’an said.
...
[You lack the relevant experimental knowledge and re
The experiment is going well and the animals that had their curses removed are still alive without showing any abnormalities. Next, we will proceed with human trials.
Doctor Terry is somewhat reluctant; human trials are hard for him to accept. But there’s no help for it; Qiongdi’s curse is too dangerous, and even with the Black Wall’s protection, we are not sure it won’t collapse, or if the curse could reach our world...
I hope you and our daughter are doing well in the outside world.
Our efforts to rid Qiongdi of its curse will persist.
Captain Karl of the outing team is back, and he reports that only the Cursed Fire Flower, which fears no flames, exists in Qiongdi. He procured for me a seed of the Cursed Fire Flower, saying it’s a magical plant that requires neither sunlight nor dew, and it will bloom if kept close to someone for five years.
Five years sounds long for me, but its symbolism of "hope" and "waiting" matches our situation well. I hope to bring it back to see you after five years.]]
...
[Pingping:
Letter shows well.
It’s been a long time since I wrote a letter, and I am feeling somewhat sad.
There was an accident in the human trials, and someone sacrificed themselves.
Though we all were prepared to sacrifice from the moment we decided to enter Qiongdi, it’s still difficult to accept when actually witnessing another’s demise.
Only the underground tunnel is safest, no need to fear the external nighttime Black Mist, so we didn’t go above ground but simply buried the deceased in the underground soil, and held a simple funeral.
While burying, I thought about how those of us who continue to move forward are constantly changing the world, yet the departed have forever stopped in the past, stuck on an invisible path.
How sad it would be if I were the one who died here today.
No, I shouldn’t think this way; I just miss you a bit.
When I think of you, all those formidable data, those complex reactions, and those vast experimental books seem trivial,
If I could see you, all these troublesome matters could be rediscussed from the beginning.
Today, I especially miss you.]]
...
[Pingping:
Letter shows well...]]
...
[Pingping:
Letter shows well...]]
...
Su Ming’an flipped through the pages, and it appeared these were the family letters of the man in the white lab coat from the pictures. The content, apart from some records of experiments, was filled with trivial matters he had written to his wife—about moving furniture, about some candies the outing team had brought, all recorded in the letters.
He turned the next page, which had a few yellow stains, as if from food splatters.