Daomu Biji

Volume 7: The Return of the Mysterious Sea Chapter 12 is almost here

Along the way, those flesh-colored insects without shells were disturbed by us and dived into the water one after another, disappearing without a trace.

The fat man bent down and spread himself into the water. He wanted to catch a few, but I stopped him. The situation in the water was unknown. If we disturbed him too much, we might cause trouble. And I have never seen these bugs before. They may be some special species. They may only exist here in the world. They are priceless. It would be a pity that he killed a few of them.

The fat man scolded: "Look at these densely packed ones. I think there are not only eight thousand but also eight thousand in the water here. What does it matter if you catch a few and take them back? This trip has basically been in vain. You won't let me do it." I’d like to think of this as a souvenir.”

I said, "This meaty thing looks disgusting. How could you do it? Stop thinking about these heretical things. Let's go there quickly."

With so many bugs here, no one wants to rest, so we have to continue to follow this waterway deeper to find the underground water storage lake at the end. The water flow here is stable, there is no huge sound of water in front, and there are obviously no big cliffs. We can move forward calmly.

We continued to move forward, and the water got colder and colder as we walked. We could feel a chill spreading in the water, and we got goosebumps all over our bodies. We saw countless flesh-colored bugs on both sides of the waterway. Most of them were lying on the stone walls above and below the waterline. They were so densely packed that my scalp started to feel numb just by looking at them. There were even more of them in the water. From time to time, I felt something hit me. on the feet.

The water channel was getting wider and wider, and the top of the channel was getting higher and higher, showing a trumpet-shaped opening. I knew I was almost there, so I immediately quickened my pace. After walking less than a hundred meters, it became dark above our heads, and we emerged from the waterway. The surrounding space suddenly became ethereal and echoing. We knew by feel that we had arrived at a large place. Below our feet was a shallow shoal spreading forward, with the sound of miner's lamps. The light beam passed by, and a wide and calm water surface was seen.

Mining lamps have low light and strong light options. In order to save power, we generally choose low light, so that you can last for more than 180 hours. However, the illumination distance is only more than 20 meters. Now low light obviously cannot meet the requirements. Several people One after another, they opened the barrels of their guns and used hundreds of meters of lighting LED bulbs to illuminate their heads and surroundings. Under strong light, the general appearance of this place was revealed. A huge underground water cave could be seen, but it was not a karst landform, but a volcanic rock cave. In the depths of the cave in the distance, a large number of giant stone pillars hanging from the roof of the cave are inserted into the lake, like the huge pillars of a temple. The roof of the cave is only two or three stories high. At first glance, the whole place feels like Poseidon submerged in the sea. The atmosphere of the temple hall is extremely vivid, and it must be said that it is a miraculous work of nature.

On both sides of the outlet of the waterway are huge rock walls, showing the unique characteristics of volcanic rocks. The appearance of rock layers indicates that we have crossed the sandy soil layer and reached the underground mountains deep in the Gobi geology. These rock walls must be parts of the Kunlun Mountains that seep into the ground. . Looking back, the water crossing looks like it was dug manually. At that time, the Queen Mother of the West was able to dig to such a deep place. It cannot but be said that their civilization had extremely developed engineering capabilities.

This should be the focus of the entire underground water storage system of Xiwangmu Ancient City, a natural small underground lake. Because the irradiation distance of the mine lamp light is limited, we cannot know how big this water storage lake is and how deep the center is. Maybe toward the lake Walking in the center of the lake, the bottom of the lake can be so deep that we can't imagine, but it's hard to say that we are shocked if we can't see the open lake surface. After observing for a moment, the fat man asked what he should do next. There is no new way. We still need to look for the mark of the stuffy oil bottle. The previous mark pointed here, and further ahead is the center of the underground lake. The subsequent guide marks cannot be carved on the bottom of the water. I feel that they should be on these stone pillars. .

We went looking for them separately, walking deeper into the lake and shining the light on the stone pillars.

After walking a few steps, I found that the depth of the lake did not change much. Occasionally, it would go down deep enough to reach my neck. But after walking a few steps, I came up again. It was obvious that the bottom of the water was full of pits, but the average depth did not change much. Soon the black blind man was beaten. After a whistle, we walked over and found that there was indeed a clear mark on a stone pillar, which was carved neatly.

Wen Jin looked at the stuffy oil bottle and asked: "The water flow here is basically flat, and there is no sign of continuing downward. I think this is the lowest point in the entire water storage project. The place we are looking for must be right ahead. At this point, can’t you remember anything?”

Menyouping shook his head and said nothing. He just looked at the traces he had carved. There was no wave in his eyes. The fat man said that the ancient city of Xiwangmu could be said to be in a secret realm. In its heyday, this oasis was surrounded by lakes. The protective layer formed by countless devil cities, the oasis has year-round fog, which can only be seen during heavy rain. The residents of the West Queen Mother City believe in cruel snake worship and mysticism, making the political power in this desert like a ghost, obscure and difficult to understand, and the maze-like water storage system under the ancient city is extremely complicated. We have now almost exhausted all our efforts to reach the lowest level of this defense project. If the Queen Mother of the West has something to hide, it should be in this place. Don't say anything, just keep following these marks and you should be able to reach your destination.

I felt a little inappropriate. This way, the last section was almost too smooth. The statue of a strange human-faced bird seen in the waterway made people unable to ignore it. As we walked all the way here, we were already certain that the totems of these strange human-faced birds should be the signs warned by the ancestors of the Western Kingdom to warn outsiders. Going all the way from the outskirts of Silicon Valley, every strange thing we encountered became more sinister. This time I saw the strange bird totem with a human face again, which shows that this water storage lake will definitely not be a peaceful place. Now we are actually so tired that we only have half a life left. If something goes wrong, I am afraid that no one will be able to escape this time.

I asked Wen Jin: "What strategy will we adopt next? Should we take a break or send people to explore the road first?"

Wen Jin said: "We are already here. As the fat man said, I have no reason to back down or give up. This is the path I am destined to take, but there is no need for everyone to go there. I don't know what will happen next. You guys Rest here and I will go there alone. If I don’t come back within two hours, you can find other exits along the lake shore and try to find a way out. Don’t come here.”

Menyouping said calmly on the side: "I'll go too." He didn't look at us at all, he just looked at the darkness in the depths of the lake, seemingly not considering any danger at all.

I thought about it, I have to go there, not to mention how many opportunities I have to get out here, the way I came has been trapped, I have gone through all kinds of hardships to get here, isn't it just for this moment? And with my physique, it can be said that many people have made sacrifices for me to be able to get here, including Pan Zi, whose life and death are unknown, and Aning, who died in vain. If I had no future, I really shouldn't have come here in the first place. , since I came here on my own, then I should finish it.

The fat man grinned: "Damn it, aren't you forcing me to go too? It's better to be safe with you than with these rookies."

Now, several of Third Uncle's guys have stopped working and are all going to follow. They really have no experience and can do some petty theft. They will definitely not do it if we leave them here. Moreover, they are also afraid that we will use this method. We formed a gang and secretly left them behind and ran away, so we were determined to follow us. The leader named Mop said: "You think so, either one of you should stay here, or we can go together. Don't get rid of us."

The black blind man didn't speak the whole time. He just smiled half-heartedly. Seeing this, he came over and put his arm on my shoulder. I don't know what it meant. It might mean that he wanted to join me, or that he wanted me to stay.

I feel sick just looking at that group of people. These people are really a burden. We don’t know what will happen if they follow us, and we have to guard against them. If I stay, I won't let them torment me to death.

The fat man said: "Xiao Wu, forget it. You still have great years. Following these men, you may still have a way to survive. Didn't your third uncle say that this is a road of no return? I will accompany the eldest sister and the little girl on this road. Brother, if you go there, there will be one more person to offer us incense next year."

I scolded: "Don't do this one. When it comes to this one, it's almost the same. I'm going to order it anyway."

What I say is the truth. In fact, at this point, who has the confidence to say that he will be able to get out? Maybe the road we came on is the only access. This is a completely closed water cave in the underground rock mountain, and we have to be trapped here. This is not a bad thing, as it brings these mysteries to a complete end here.

Thinking of this, I ridiculed the fat man and patted him on the shoulder: "It's you, if there is something wrong with you, the big-breasted mistress in the family will definitely kill you if she takes advantage of you. It's better for you to stay." "

The fat man said: "You, Fatty, I am a famous gold salesman in Liangmaqiao. I have passed through thousands of flowers without leaving any red. I don't keep the money in my wallet overnight. I have slept with countless women and the money I have used is enough for my capital." , few people can live as handsome as Fatty and I. If I am unlucky this time, I will be worth it."

I said: "So you are the most suitable person to be buried with others, so you don't have to worry about it."

The fat man said: "What you said is wrong. You have to look at the person who will accompany you to death. We are really destined to be together. If you go, I have to protect you for your sake." As he said this, he cocked the gun. , I asked those guys for bullets, saying that if you put the bullets in your pustules, they would save your lives, otherwise they would be wasted.

I took a sip and saw Wen Jin pull out the dagger, shake his hair and test the blade, and said to me: "Okay, don't be poor. Since you have to go, then hurry up."

Since we were about to leave, we no longer hesitated. We took the time to drink a few sips of soju, separated the group, and started walking along the water in the direction of the mark left on the oil bottle. Probably because there were so many people, looking at the deep darkness ahead, I didn't feel particularly scared, but I felt an indescribable uneasiness in my heart.

After that, there was a process with almost no dialogue. We were divided into several people. Each of us was alert to one direction around the team, paying special attention to the ripples on the water. The only sound in our ears was the sound of our water breaking. The walk was not fast. Not too slow, he gradually moved away from the entrance.

Fortunately, the water here is ridiculously clear. By shining a miner's lamp directly on the bottom of the water, we can clearly see that there are only uneven gravels under the water, and there is nothing special. We can also roughly see the situation underwater by scanning the water surface. .

Thinking about the past, we dare not relax even a little bit of attention. However, when I looked at the water around me, I already felt something strange, which made me very concerned.

After walking for a while, Wen Jin mentioned it and said, "There are no such insects here."

The fat man nodded and said, "Maybe it's because of the water temperature. The water here is so damn cold." In other words, a large part of the water here has been stored here since the formation of this hole, and it has passed its shelf life for tens of thousands of years. Don't drink it, it may cause diarrhea.

I said: "This kind of water is called Lao Shui. It is naturally precipitated and rich in minerals. Is it possible that this water contains toxic minerals, so the insects dare not swim in?"

The fat man clicked his tongue after hearing this: "No way? No wonder I feel a little itchy in my butt. Do you have any special feeling?"

No one answered, and Menyou Ping, who was walking at the front, looked back at us, and we had no choice but to shut up. At this point, it was completely meaningless to discuss these things. The black and blind man at the back just laughed. One of these two people was black, the other was white, one had a cold face and the other had a silly smile. It was as if black and white were impermanent, which made people speechless.

Continuing walking, we went deep into the interior of the water storage lake. The surrounding areas were filled with calm water and black spots the size of half a basketball court. This showed that deep undulating pits began to appear at the bottom of the lake. Each black spot was extremely dangerous. It's so deep that the miner's lamp can't illuminate the bottom, and it seems like there's something underneath.

This kind of black spot will appear every three to five, and the shape is irregular. The bottom of the water is full of fine stones, and these holes look like they were dug out by something. We begin to feel a little out of place and try our best to avoid these pits.

After walking like this, we soon found the second stone pillar with markings on it.

A group of people stopped to rest, and someone sneezed. The water here was really cold, but I knew it wasn’t the most uncomfortable thing. The water didn’t reach freezing point anyway, and it was still within the tolerance range of people, so I didn’t complain much. .

That mark points in another direction. Moreover, the symbols are also different, and the meaning seems to have changed.

Wen Jin looked at Men You Ping, and before he could ask, Men You Ping answered: "The last one is here, we are about to arrive."

The last one——should mean the last mark, which means that the next stop is the destination.

As soon as our hearts were shaken, someone behind us subconsciously raised a gun. Without saying a word, we set off immediately following the mark. I didn’t know what I felt in my heart. I was excited, scared, and felt an ominous atmosphere. At the same time, I also felt nervous that something was about to happen.

But just when I walked around the stone pillar and walked less than two or three steps, I felt a stinging pain under my feet. I didn't know what I had stepped on.

When I was a child in Changsha, I often swam in the stream with my third uncle, so based on the feeling of the soles of my feet, I immediately knew that the soles of my feet must be broken, and it was quite serious.

I immediately stopped and asked the fat man to take a photo of it for me, then raised my feet to take a look. Fatty's miner's lamp crossed the water and shone on my feet. I found a large cut on my heel. There was obviously something sharp under the water, so I lowered my head to look for it. Looking at it, I found that there was something unusual about the bottom of the water here. ! ~!