116: The Secret of the "Stone" at the Beginning of the New Home

The unexpected discovery in the Flying Eagle Ravine cave added a suspenseful interlude to the migration journey.

After a comprehensive and meticulous survey of the cave confirmed that, aside from the mysterious metal box, there were no immediate dangers (such as abandoned biochemical weapons, explosives, or active surveillance equipment), Wang Jianguo issued the final directive: classify the metal box and its contents as top secret, to be transported to the new 'Homeland' base under the strictest protective measures for in-depth research.

The cave entrance was cleverly camouflaged and reinforced, becoming a hidden Node in 'Homeland's' future permanent peripheral surveillance network.

This move aimed to preserve the site, which might contain important clues, while avoiding alerting the enemy.

After handling the cave matters and clearing the obstacles, the convoy set off again.

Crossing the rugged canyon, the road gradually became relatively flat but still wound through the mountains.

As they went deeper, the scenery outside the window became increasingly lush, and the air grew fresher and more humid, carrying the fragrance of soil and plants.

When the convoy finally drove into a huge valley surrounded by towering peaks and shrouded in mist like a light veil, everyone's eyes lit up—the destination, the location of 'Homeland,' had finally arrived.

Although large-scale construction was still ongoing, from the valley entrance, one could already glimpse the prototype of this future community.

Several main living and research buildings had already risen; their designs cleverly borrowed from the local ethnic minority stilt houses and courtyard styles, using eco-friendly materials.

The exterior wall colors blended with the mountain rocks and vegetation, and the roofs were even covered with solar panels and simulated turf, making it extremely difficult to spot artificial traces from high altitude.

The building complex was scattered among gentle slopes and woodlands, connected by winding stone paths and hidden corridors.

Streams were diverted into the community, forming several small ponds and bubbling water features.

The entire community coexisted harmoniously with the surrounding natural environment, resembling an ancient village that had always existed in the deep mountains—quiet, hidden, and full of vitality.

Excellence could hardly wait to push open the car door and jump out.

With his feet on the soft, moist grass, he took a deep breath.

The cold, floral-scented air instantly filled his lungs, making him unable to resist spreading his arms like a fledgling flying out of its nest for the first time, running happily on the grass, letting out meaningless shouts of pure joy.

The valley amplified his voice, sending back ethereal echo, as if the mountains themselves were welcoming his arrival.

Su Mu and Evelyn followed him out of the car.

Seeing Excellence's carefree, natural happiness that blended perfectly with the surroundings, the fatigue of the journey and the tension brought by the cave instantly vanished.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting mottled light and shadow on the grass.

In the distance were snow-capped mountain peaks, and nearby were wildflowers and babbling streams.

This scene made smiles of relaxation and relief appear involuntarily on their faces.

This place was truly worthy of the name 'Homeland'.

The advance team had made basic reception preparations.

Excellence, Su Mu, and Evelyn were arranged to stay in a two-story building that had completed interior renovations, was relatively independent, and had an excellent view.

The small building adopted a wood-and-stone structure, spacious and bright, and through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, one could take in the four seasons of the valley.

The internal living facilities were complete, balancing comfort and safety.

What surprised Excellence the most was a separate large single-story building next to the small house—that was the 'Creative Studio' designed and built specifically for him.

The area of this studio was almost as large as half a basketball court, with an astonishing ceiling height.

The south-facing side was almost entirely a special glass curtain wall, ensuring excellent lighting, and it had been treated so that it could not be peeped at from the outside.

The interior of the studio had undergone basic renovations: anti-static, fire-retardant flooring, sturdy alloy workbenches, reasonably distributed power outlets and network ports, dedicated ventilation and fire-fighting systems, and a wall of tool racks holding everything from basic hand tools to some entry-level 3D printers, small lathes, and other relatively safe equipment.

In the corner, there was also a dedicated chemical storage cabinet and waste recycling area.

This place not only satisfied his need for 'hand-crafted' work but also minimized safety risks.

Excellence rushed into the studio like he had discovered a treasure, his eyes shining.

He ran around inside, touching this and looking at that, excitedly planning: 'Here! Here I can put the base for my large astronomical telescope! Over there! Over there I can make an aquarium to study underwater communication! Wow, this workbench is so big, I can work on several projects at the same time! Squad Leader, Sister Evelyn, look, can the roof be opened? I want to watch the stars directly at night!'

Su Mu and Evelyn followed him, watching his childlike excitement, their hearts filled with satisfaction.

Su Mu said with a smile: 'The roof cannot be fully opened, but there is a skylight that can be opened, which is enough for you to watch the stars.'

However, you must promise not to turn this place into a 'junk collection station' again!'

Evelyn was more concerned with safety details.

She checked the positions of the power switches and fire-fighting facilities and said to Excellence: 'Before using tools and equipment, you must first understand the safety regulations; you cannot act recklessly.'

If you need help, come to us at any time.'

The days of settling down were peaceful and fulfilling.

Excellence quickly adapted to the new environment.

Every day, he still had fixed rehabilitation training courses and cultural knowledge learning, but he devoted more energy to his new studio.

The metal box brought back from the cave, after undergoing layers of strict disinfection, radiation testing, and component analysis, and confirming that it was harmless to the human body and the environment, was allowed to be placed in a locked display cabinet in his studio as a 'personal collection'.

The experts' preliminary research failed to crack the material of the box and the deep mysteries of the star map and ore, so they temporarily classified it as an 'abnormal item pending research'.

However, the things in the box, especially the several ores of different colors that emitted a faint fluorescence, seemed to have an unusual attraction to Excellence.

He called them 'singing stones' and often stayed in the studio for hours, not tinkering with new inventions, but simply taking these ores out, placing them on the workbench, and staring at them.

Sometimes, he would arrange the ores of different colors into strange patterns and then lie there staring motionlessly for a long time.

Sometimes, he would pick one up, usually the blue one, and carefully press it against his ear, holding his breath, with an extremely focused and pleasant expression on his face, as if he were really listening to some beautiful music.

'Squad Leader, listen!' Once, he insisted that Su Mu also listen to the blue stone, 'There is a sound! Very, very soft, like wind blowing through wind chimes, and like... like stars whispering!'

Su Mu imitated him and pressed her ear against it.

Apart from the cold touch of the stone and the faint sound of her own blood flowing, she couldn't hear anything.

She had to smile and stroke his head: 'Excellence's ears are truly amazing; Squad Leader can't hear it.'

Evelyn also tried to explain from a scientific perspective, saying that it might be some extremely weak crystal vibration or energy release inside the ore, with a frequency beyond the normal human hearing range, and Excellence might be able to use his Perception because of the uniqueness of his brain.

But she herself felt this explanation was a bit far-fetched.

Excellence was convinced, and even whimsically announced that he wanted to use these ores as core sensors to build an 'interstellar music player' that could 'play background music of the universe.'

Su Mu and Evelyn could only respond with helpless and doting smiles, letting him tinker as long as he was happy and careful.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, everything was silent, with only the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind in the valley.

The security system of 'Homeland' was in normal operation.

The staff in charge of the night shift at the monitoring center noticed that the lights in Excellence's studio were still on while conducting routine patrols of the monitoring screens in various areas.

This was not too unusual; Excellence sometimes stayed up late to work on his inventions.

However, when the patrol personnel approached the studio for external inspection according to regulations, they saw a disturbing scene through the gap in the curtains that were not drawn tight: Excellence was not busy at the workbench as usual, but was sitting quietly in a chair.

On the workbench in front of him, the ancient star map with peculiar material taken from the box in the cave was spread out.

The glowing ores were arranged in an extremely complex and symmetrical geometric array around the star map and on certain specific constellation markers.

The faint fluorescence they emitted seemed to be brighter than usual, dimly illuminating Excellence's face.

What was even more alarming was Excellence's state.

His eyes were hollow and unfocused, as if his soul had left his body.

His right index finger was slowly sliding over the complex lines of the star map, the trajectory seemingly random, yet faintly following some kind of rule.

And the most chilling thing was that his lips were slightly moving, making an extremely low, weird, and rhythmic chanting sound!

That language was by no means any known language on Earth; the tone was ancient and obscure, carrying an indescribable sense of rhythm, sometimes like a whisper, sometimes like a chant.

Finer observation revealed that under the reflection of the star map and the ore's faint light, a layer of extremely faint, almost invisible to the naked eye, pale white fluorescence like a lunar halo seemed to envelop Excellence's body!

This halo was very unstable, flickering in and out, fluctuating slightly as if breathing.

The patrol personnel were terrified and immediately reported the situation to the monitoring center and the security supervisor.

The news soon reached Su Mu and Evelyn, who were already resting.

Hearing the news, all sleepiness vanished, and a strong sense of unease welled up in their hearts.

They immediately put on their clothes and hurried to the studio.

When they pushed open the door of the studio, the sound seemed to startle Excellence, who was immersed in his own world.

His body shuddered violently, and the emptiness and confusion in his eyes instantly faded, restoring his usual clarity.

He blinked, looking at Su Mu and Evelyn who had rushed in with anxious faces, with a dazed expression on his face, and subconsciously yawned and rubbed his eyes.

'Squad Leader? Sister Evelyn? Why are you here? It's so late...'

His voice was lazy and confused, as if he had just woken up, 'I... I seem to have been studying the stars... looking and looking... I don't know how I... I seem to have fallen asleep...'

He looked down at the spread-out star map and the placed ores, appearing strange himself, as if he didn't remember what he had just done.

Su Mu and Evelyn stepped forward quickly, carefully checking Excellence's physical condition, and then checking the star map and ores.

The star map remained ancient and mysterious, and the fluorescence of the ores returned to their usual faintness, without any residual energy or abnormal physical traces.

The weird scene just now seemed to be just an illusion caused by the tension of the patrol personnel, or a misunderstanding caused by the light and shadow of the monitoring screen.

But Su Mu and Evelyn looked at each other and saw deep worry and a hint of indescribable panic in each other's eyes.

They knew clearly that it was definitely not an illusion.

There must be some deep connection between the box from the mysterious cave, the star map and ores inside, and Excellence that they had not yet understood or even imagined.

This connection might far exceed the current scope of scientific cognition.

The life in the new home, under the appearance of peace and tranquility, had already planted a seed of uncertainty.

Excellence's growth path, after getting rid of the explicit threats of the past, seemed to have stepped into a new stage full of unknown mysteries and potential risks.

Ancient mysteries and future possibilities were quietly intertwined in this isolated valley.