Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“How is this possible?”
Long Feijun cried out involuntarily.
The hit rate of high level bombing was always one of the most difficult problems to solve in a war.
No matter how fierce a volcanic eruption was, the size of the crater was quite limited.
If one observed the crater from the synchronous orbit outside the atmosphere, no matter how big the crater was, it would still be smaller than the tip of a needle.
The probability of accurately hitting an erupting volcano by dropping a meteorite from the synchronous orbit was not much higher than shooting a strand of cotton thread from 100 meters away and piercing the eye of the needle.
Unless it was hit with 100% accuracy, there would not only be a crater on the ground but two overlapping gourd-shaped craters.
“It’s possible. It might not have been volcanic. It might have been some kind of cannon launched from the ground and used to attack targets in synchronous orbits out of the atmosphere. It would be the same as the missile silos on Earth,” Meng Chao muttered.
He closed his eyes.
An image appeared in his mind.
A long time ago, before carbon-based intelligent life on Earth had sprouted, a world-shaking war had broken out in the Other World.
The raging flames on the ground had erupted like a volcano, but they had been a hundred times more violent. They had gathered into huge crimson pillars of light that pierced through the sky and pierced straight into the stars.
Beneath the stars, countless meteorites had fallen down like super-large hailstones under the impetus of mysterious forces. They destroyed the “cannons” that had been sending out the light pillars.
The airwaves had torn through space, melting the earth at high temperatures. The entire Other World had literally been an inferno.
Within the inferno, there had been countless existences that were even more powerful than the gods and devils of the Other World. They had brandished weapons that shone brilliantly and possessed countless layers of spirit magnetic fields stacked on top of each other. The battle howls that they had emitted resounded through the clouds.
Similar scenes would occasionally appear in the depths of Meng Chao’s mind whenever he cultivated in the ancient ruins.
However, these scenes were even more fragmented than the memories of his previous life.
It was like waking up in the morning and having a dream after peeing. With a cold shiver, all the details would disappear.
Only then did the sight of the sinkhole made people feel like they had seen it before.
“It’s very likely that this is an ancient battlefield.”
Meng Chao said, “A meteorite wouldn’t appear in low Earth orbit for no reason. Someone must have captured it from outer space and used it as a weapon to smash it down. The attacker’s goal was to destroy this giant cannon that was similar to an active volcano, so they had to control the speed of the meteorite. Otherwise, if the entire continent was destroyed, it would be meaningless even if they won.
“It just so happened that we found traces of a large number of wars in the ancient ruins. It is reasonable to infer that a great war that destroyed the ancient civilization broke out in the Other World a long time ago. The transmigration of the Earthlings had something to do with this war.
“Pushing a meteorite down from a synchronous orbit and accurately hitting a volcanic crater or the muzzle of a giant cannon… No matter how difficult it is, it’s no more difficult than allowing a city on Earth and all its citizens to transmigrate to another world billions of light-years away. The ancient civilization has the ability to do so.
“If the sinkhole and the ancient ruins in front of us both originated from the same war in the same era, everything would make sense.”
Long Feijun had followed Lei Zongchao, the Battle God, into the ancient ruins to cultivate.
Meng Chao’s words made his heart skip a beat, and he solemnly said, “Are you saying that the sinkhole, like the ancient ruins, is likely to contain the secrets and… power of the ancient civilization?”
“That’s obvious. If not, where did the monster civilization come from?”
Meng Chao said, “It’s impossible for the monsters that have absorbed spirit energy and the enlightenment of the human civilization to develop such a powerful organization, which was able to organize large-scale beast tides to attack human cities in just a few decades. It’s even more impossible for them to nurture superbeasts that understand the weaknesses of human nature like the Vortex.
“The monster civilization’s biochemical technology is ten times better than that of the human civilization. Even so, the Apocalyptic Beasts that can destroy the world cannot learn everything by themselves and create all the equipment needed for biochemical modulation, can they?
“The monster civilization must have been enlightened by the ancient civilization, just like the human civilization that transmigrated to the Other World has received help from the ancient civilization.
“The human civilization and the monster civilization are two fruits on a vine. That’s why we can use the monsters’ organic materials to cultivate, and the monsters can become increasingly stronger by devouring human warriors.”
Long Feijun narrowed his eyes.
Meng Chao’s words were understandable.
In fact, there had long been a theory about the origin of the monster civilization. Now, they had found more evidence.
If that was the case, the danger level of exploring the sinkhole would double.
The monster civilization’s ultimate nest, which contained the ancient mystery, would never be easily revealed by humans.
However, the higher the risk, the greater the benefits. As long as the people of Earth could completely conquer the sinkhole, they would be able to obtain even more ancient mysteries.
That included incredible biochemical technology that could allow human powerhouses to possess the power of Apocalyptic Beasts.
“Continue searching for the traces left by the previous exploration teams, then collect and analyze more samples.”
Thinking of this, Long Feijun gave the order.
After a pause, he said, “Don’t rush down until you have a full understanding of the situation.”
The order was transmitted to the ten exploration teams through their tactical data link.
The weirdest thing was that the closer they got to the sinkhole, the weaker the spirit magnetic interference was, and the better the signal was.
The ten exploration teams could even turn on real-time communication and transmit images as well as audio through the public channel.
That was just like the mastermind of the monster civilization… It was not afraid of them communicating with each other at all.
They proceeded to film the scene of the sinkhole from different angles.
They even captured a clear picture of the place near the bottom of the sinkhole.
However, most of the rock walls and the bottom of the sinkhole were covered by the Green Tide.
If there really was an entrance to the monster civilization’s ultimate lair, it would be hidden under the Green Tide. It would be impossible for humans to mark the coordinates of the high level bombing directly.
Moreover, they did not see any human towns or any signs of human activities.
They really did not know under what circumstances did the man-eating pomfret team see the human town.
After exploring for another half an hour, Meng Chao and Long Feijun’s exploration team discovered the camp that Lu Siya’s team had left behind.
It was also the place where Lu Siya’s team had assembled the winch, built the temporary lifting platform, and set up the firing points.
Naturally, the place was empty. Not a single strand of human hair could be spotted.
However, the strange thing was that there was not a single trace of a past battle in the surroundings.
At the firing points around the temporary camp, all the fully automated heavy machine guns and flame throwers had not fired a single bullet. Instead, they spat out a wisp of flame.
The mines and anti-monster grenades hidden outside the camp had not been fired once too.
The winch was all good. Pulling down the joystick, the lift platform slowly rose with a slight noise. Obviously, there was nothing on it.
Meng Chao walked around the camp and found two half-eaten servings of self-heating food on the ground.
Although the food was covered in a layer of colorful mold, the food was mostly intact. It had been put down gently by someone, not thrown away by an external force.
That was very important.
The members of Lu Siya’s team were all elites of the Abnormal Beast Research Department’s ninth search and rescue team.
Unless they had confirmed that there was no danger within a few miles, they would not have possibly sat down and eaten to replenish their strength.
They had only eaten half of their meal. What exactly had made them gently put down their lunch boxes and mysteriously disappear?
If they had been attacked by the enemy, they would have left a lot of marks on the ground, rocks, and equipment after struggling for a while, would they not?
Since they had the time to put down their lunch boxes gently, why did they not have the time to issue an alarm and leave clues?
Besides, there had been several exploration teams besides Lu Siya’s team.
Just now, Ye Xiaoxing had gone to check on another team under Lu Siya’s command. They had set up a temporary camp at a high point a few kilometers away.
It looked as if they had retreated.
All the equipment was intact. Not even half of the mines had been triggered, but the humans had disappeared without a trace.
“Senior Brother Long, do you think that we should go down?”
Meng Chao looked at the platform, which had been dragged to the edge of the sinkhole by the winch, and it was swaying in the wild wind like a swing that had fallen into disrepair. He swallowed hard and asked his question in a low voice.
“Although our mission is to explore the truth of the sinkhole, I have to say…”
Long Feijun swallowed hard too. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Before all the Bread Crabs and Peregrine Falcons are released, I will never send anyone down there to die.”
“It makes sense. We still have Bread Crabs and Peregrine Falcons. The spirit magnetic interference here is not very strong. Maybe…”
Meng Chao was only halfway through his sentence when…
The thirty-six thousand hairs on his back suddenly stood up like ice needles.
The muscles on his calves exploded, and he rolled to the right reflexively.
Shua!
A vine covered in thorns and smeared with mucus brushed past his ear. It compressed the air and stimulated his eardrums as if it were wailing.
His shoulder had been grazed by a thorn. Before he could condense his spirit energy to resist it, his wound immediately turned red and swollen before it became numb and unbearable.
Before Meng Chao turned his head, he saw the geologist flying past him in high spirits and falling into the depths of the crater.
Meng Chao was quick-witted. The chain blade wrapped around the geologist’s ankle and pulled him back.
But more screams came from behind.
Meng Chao turned his head abruptly and saw a shocking scene.
Countless vines with thorns and mucus were like giant pythons that had crawled out of the ground. They wrapped around the exploration team members tightly, dragged them up into the air, and tossed them around.
The thorns and mucus seemed to be extremely corrosive and anesthetic. They could restrain the spirit energy in a person’s body and numb their muscles and central nerves, making the warriors above Heaven Realm as powerless as fish on a chopping board.
The source of the vines, on the other hand, extended all the way to the depths of the jungle. It covered the Green Tide, towered into the clouds, and swayed from the body of a green giant.
“Ultra-high voltage transmission towers!”
Meng Chao’s pupils constricted into two needle tips, but the rest of his eyeballs were filled with green.
He could not believe it and cried out involuntarily.