57: Chapter 57 Ruins

"Is this the entrance to the ruins?"

"It looks like it." Royal Fortune knocked on the stone door. "It seems like ordinary stone."

The group looked at the large door and began investigating how to open it, immediately ruling out their Commander's plan of breaking it down by force.

"Usually, there are clues or mechanisms nearby. It's impossible to find nothing at all." Li Ming searched the area, but his eyesight was terrible, and he discovered nothing.

"Indeed, unless they had some unique method for opening it." Royal Fortune agreed, having found nothing as well. "It can't be that there's actually no mechanism..."

With a grating groan, one side of the door was pushed open by Dolphin.

"Captain, look, it's actually not heavy..."

"..." Royal Fortune fell silent.

Li Ming scratched his head, pulled the back strap of his sports glasses up to keep them from falling off, and then attached a tactical flashlight to his Thompson.

In comparison, A6 was much more professional, equipped with dedicated lighting attachments.

"A6 and I will take the lead. You all follow behind." Li Ming thought for a moment and instructed.

"Negative. Body goggles possess thermal imaging and night vision capabilities." A6 replied. "The Commander should be placed in a secure position."

"...Alright, I think you're right." Li Ming watched as she pulled down her goggles and obediently took a position in the middle of the group. He also distributed flashlights to everyone so they wouldn't have to rely on traditional oil lamps.

Royal Fortune first walked ten steps inside, took out an oil lamp, and waved it around. "Oxygen levels are normal, Commander."

"Good, everyone go in." Li Ming nodded. After everyone entered, he aimed his gun outside the door to check, confirming nothing was there, then pulled back and followed at the rear of the group.

A chilling wind whistled through the gloomy passageway, clearly indicating airflow, but from a more subjective perspective, it felt downright eerie.

Li Ming tightened his grip on the submachine gun. Being in the middle of the group, he didn't dare turn on his flashlight to avoid shining it in anyone's eyes.

The Ship Girls surrounded him. Since it was inconvenient to deploy their rigging in this area, they simply protected him with sabers or pistols.

Li Ming had a headache. *This is an expedition. What's with protecting me like this?*

*And wasn't it your idea to bring me along in the first place?*

Even as he thought this, Li Ming obediently stayed within their protective circle.

A6, at the very front, raised her hand.

"Something's up." Li Ming immediately said, patting Gary Adventure, who was in front of him, to signal he would move ahead.

Ahead was a vast space, unexpectedly large. The only problem was that this vastness extended downward.

Before them lay a bottomless abyss and a staircase leading down.

"Do we go down?" Li Ming felt his fear of heights acting up again, though it didn't seem as severe as he'd imagined.

He touched the handrail. "It looks ancient. Going down carries significant risk."

Seeing everyone's gazes on him, he continued, "Everyone, be careful."

Watching as everyone seemed both relieved and worried, Li Ming felt a mix of amusement and frustration. He didn't want to be the team's weak link.

The group cautiously descended. For safety, they chose to walk in a single file line to avoid putting too much weight on any one step.

The steps were like those in a residential building, but laid out horizontally.

"It seems... unimaginably high..." Li Ming sighed.

A6 still led the way, her steps light and quick, but the sound of small stones skittering down was still unsettling.

"What does the Commander think might be down here?" Royal Fortune asked.

"I don't know, but I believe Dolphin will lead us to something good." Li Ming replied, though privately he suspected this place might be some kind of ancient tomb with burial objects, but he couldn't be sure if anything truly valuable would be found.

"Trap."

A6, at the front, stopped in her tracks and then carefully took a step back.

A thin wire was stretched across where she had been about to step.

She swept her gun around, checking the surroundings.

Li Ming also scanned the area a few times, but unfortunately, without thermal imaging or night vision, he couldn't see anything.

"A6, find anything?" he asked.

"Response. Micro launchers, arrow type. Trap trigger, suspected to damage stair structure."

Li Ming sucked in a sharp breath. This was not a good sign.

"Generally speaking, in such a large space, if it's purely ancient mechanical technology, it's very fragile." Li Ming thought for a moment and said.

"Does the Commander have any ideas?" Dolphin asked.

"Blow it up."

"..." Dolphin was not yet accustomed to the Commander's earth-shattering wisdom.

"Um..." Vida suddenly spoke up.

"What is it, Vida?" Gary Adventure turned her head.

"Look..."

Everyone turned to look. In one corner of the staircase was a thin wire.

"What is this line...?" Li Ming moved closer, momentarily unsure what the thing actually was.

Suddenly, Li Ming saw the wire bend, then fall down along with a small stone.

After a stunned moment, cold sweat instantly broke out on Li Ming's back.

"Get ready to hug the wall!"

Although they hadn't fully processed it, everyone perfectly executed Li Ming's order, immediately jumping to both sides to avoid the steps overhead.

With a thunderous rumble, the steps began collapsing from above, cascading downward.

Hanging from the wall with his Ice Axe, Li Ming was scared into a cold sweat.

"Holy crap..." Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief. *Good thing I had my Ice Axe strapped to my arm beforehand, or that would have been the end.*

"What now?" Li Ming asked. "A6, how much farther down?"

"Response. 72 meters." A6's Ship-Slaying Sword was embedded in the wall, making her look like a Salted Fish 2.0.

"What does everyone think?"

"Downward." Gary Adventure answered.

"I think we continue down!" Royal Fortune shouted from the other side.

"Then downward it is! We don't know what's going on, but we'll regroup at the bottom!" Li Ming responded.

"Understood! ...Huh?" As soon as Royal Fortune finished speaking, she felt the wall seemed off.

Li Ming felt the wall shaking, as if it was about to fall. "What? Phase two?!"

*Great, now we really have to fend for ourselves.*

Gripping the wall as it tilted forward, Li Ming desperately tightened his hold on the Ice Axe, but it was clearly useless. At a certain angle, he had to let go. Fortunately, A6, beside him, grabbed his arm and hauled him up.

With a crash, the wall slammed into the ground...?

Li Ming didn't feel himself hit the ground. Instead, propelled by the impact, he continued falling downward before slamming into water.

*Not ground? What happened?*

Li Ming didn't have time to think about it, as he had fallen into water and was nearly hit by a rock.

Struggling to keep his head above water, he saw A6's tactical flashlight—she was swimming hard to reach him, and they reunited.

Then the two of them were hauled up. It was Vida. She had hooked them onto her rigging and was moving forward with the current.

*Looks like we got separated from the others.*

Li Ming gasped for breath. In the darkness, no one could see his expression.

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