193: Chapter 193 A Thorough Search of the Remains Reveals Hidden Dangers

Ling Ye swallowed another small piece of high-energy chocolate and drank a few sips of settled clear water. His physical strength was slowly recovering, reaching about twenty percent of his healthy state. Although he was still weak, he now possessed the basic ability to move, search, and respond to emergencies (non-combat). The itching sensation at his wound persisted, which was a good sign.

He adjusted his high-intensity flashlight to its dimmest setting and wrapped a few layers of electrical tape around the lens, further weakening the light to create a tightly focused, non-diffusing beam of faint light. This allowed him to illuminate a small area in front of him while minimizing the chance of being discovered from afar. He gripped his crowbar, tucked the pipe wrench behind his waist, and checked his multi-tool.

He began a spiral outward grid search, using the corner he had chosen as the center. He did not let any gap, space behind boxes, or area beneath piles of debris where items might be hidden escape his notice.

The first priority area was those tall, precarious metal shelves. The shelves were piled with all sorts of rusted parts, damaged instrument casings, and document boxes that had long since turned into waste paper. He climbed carefully (avoiding causing the shelves to collapse) and used the faint light of his flashlight to carefully illuminate each shelf. Most of it was industrial trash, but in a half-open metal toolbox, he found a few bolts and nuts of different sizes that hadn't completely rusted through (which might be useful), as well as a small but sharp watchmaker's screwdriver. At the bottom of another cardboard box filled with oily rags, he felt a cold, cylindrical metal object—an old-fashioned hand-cranked flashlight! Although the structure was damaged and it couldn't generate power, the large glass lens on the head was intact and could be removed to serve as a magnifying glass or signal reflector (if needed in the future). Most importantly, it actually contained a D-cell battery inside. Although its power level was unknown, the size perfectly matched the battery compartment of the crystal radio!

A battery! He had gained something so quickly! Ling Ye felt a surge of joy, carefully took out the battery, wiped it clean with a cloth, and put it away for the time being. He also kept the metal casing and springs of the hand-cranked flashlight; they might be useful for modifications.

He continued his search. In the bottom drawer of a toppled filing cabinet, he found a stack of engineering blueprints, encased in a waterproof bag, that had long since yellowed and become brittle. These were the original structural blueprints of this Warehouse and its connected pipes! Although they were old and many markings were blurred, and subsequent renovations might not be reflected, this was far more accurate than any map hand-drawn by survivors! The blueprints showed that below the Warehouse, there was a maintenance passage leading to a small emergency generator room (long abandoned), and on the other side of the generator room, there was a ventilation shaft that seemed to lead directly to the foundation of a building on the surface! In addition, the blueprints marked the locations of several hidden vents and cable conduits, some of which were right inside the Warehouse!

This was an incredible discovery! Not only might he find an emergency exit, but those vents and conduits could also become paths for emergency hiding or movement!

He treated the blueprints like a treasure and carefully put them away. Then, following the hints on the blueprints, he began to look for those marked hidden structures within the Warehouse.

In the northwest corner of the Warehouse, behind a pile of broken wooden pallets, he pried open a loose metal access cover disguised as part of the floor, just as the blueprints indicated. Beneath the cover was a narrow, downward shaft, about three meters deep, with the faint outline of machinery at the bottom. There was a rusted ladder on the wall of the shaft. This must be the entrance to the emergency generator room. He didn't go down immediately; first, he shone his flashlight inside. The air in the shaft was circulating with no strange odors, and there was a small amount of stagnant water at the bottom, but it didn't look like there were any living things. He left the cover slightly ajar and marked it.

Next, he found a ventilation duct on the high wall on the east side of the Warehouse, hidden behind a corner covered by debris and dust. It was sealed with an iron mesh that had long since rusted and broken, but the opening was large enough for a person to crawl through. According to the blueprints, this ventilation duct seemed to connect to other areas outside the Warehouse, but where exactly it led was unknown. This might be an alternate infiltration/exfiltration path.

While searching a pile of huge, canvas-covered unknown machinery in the center of the Warehouse, he made an even more astonishing discovery. Lifting a corner of the heavy canvas, he found that beneath it were not machines, but three old military tracked engineering vehicles parked side by side, covered in a thick layer of dust! The vehicle models were ancient, but their structures were basically intact. the keys were missing, but perhaps they could be started by other means? More importantly, in the storage box under the driver's seat of one of the engineering vehicles, Ling Ye found an oil-stained canvas backpack!

The backpack was heavy. He opened it and his breathing suddenly quickened!

Inside were:

Two intact cans of military meat and three vacuum-packed compressed food rations!

A small bottle of medical alcohol, a roll of unopened medical gauze, a tube of anti-inflammatory ointment (expired, but well-sealed), and a few painkillers!

A multi-purpose military knife (superior to his civilian model), a bundle of paracord, several waterproof bags, and an old mechanical watch with luminous hands (it had stopped, but might run after winding)!

At the very bottom, pressed down by a kraft paper envelope, were a few photos and a page of handwritten, scrawled log notes.

Food! Medicine! Tools! Information!

This was definitely an emergency reserve hidden here by the previous occupants (or earlier explorers)! Perhaps they had prepared it for use in an emergency but ultimately didn't get to use it, or they were too rushed during evacuation to take it with them!

Ling Ye suppressed his excitement and first checked the seals on the food and medicine, confirming they were intact. He put all these precious supplies into his own embrace (his original backpack was broken). Then, he looked at the log notes and photos.

The photos were black and white and somewhat blurry. One was a group photo of several workers in old-fashioned work clothes and hard hats, standing in front of what looked like a mine entrance, with the sign "Seventh Mining District" in the background. Another seemed to be inside an underground facility, with several technicians gathered around a flickering instrument. There was also one... a single portrait of a person wearing dark blue work clothes, with an honest face but eyes that carried a hint of imperceptible melancholy and vigilance—it was Chen Yan! The geological sampler who died on the Old Lift Shaft platform and left behind his nameplate! On the back of the photo was written in pencil: "Chen Yan, before his last descent. He said he had a bad feeling, but for the bonus..."

The handwriting on the log page was different from the note found in the "nest" earlier; it was neater but equally filled with anxiety:

"...After the accident in the Seventh Mining District, the company blocked the news, but those of us in peripheral maintenance and transport heard some rumors... There is something underground, very evil. Those who go down and return are all changed; they either go crazy or die of illness shortly after, their whole bodies turning blue..."

"...Old Chen (Chen Yan) and I were on good terms. Before the incident, he secretly gave me a small iron box, saying that if he didn't come back, I should have a chance to give the box to his family, or... give it to someone who could understand. He said it contained the 'sample' analysis data he had finally obtained and some personal records about 'the key' and the true purpose of 'the company'..."

"...I didn't dare to open the box, and I couldn't find his family. Later, when the 'cleanup' got tight, I hid the box and some of my own things under Engineering Vehicle No. 3... If someone sees this later, perhaps you are the 'one who can understand.' Beware of the company, and also beware of... the 'eyes' underground."

The signature was a blurry scrawl, seemingly "Zhao," along with a date about a month after the accident.

The iron box left by Chen Yan?! It might contain the "sample" analysis data he finally obtained and records about "the key" and the true purpose of "Deep Space Frontier Capital"?!

Ling Ye's heart hammered like a drum! Chen Yan's nameplate and the information from the ghost had already provided key clues; if he had even more detailed records...

He immediately crawled under that No. 3 engineering vehicle and carefully shone his flashlight on the chassis. On the inner side of the crossbeam near the driver's cab, there was a palm-sized metal box fixed with a magnetic holder! The surface of the box was rusted, but it was well-sealed.

He carefully removed the box and returned to a relatively bright area. The box had no lock, just a latch. He gently pried it open.

Inside, there were no "samples," only a few things:

An old-fashioned micro data storage card (the interface was special and required a specific reader).

A few pages of experimental record paper filled with dense data, formulas, and scrawled notes, clearly torn off in a hurry.

A folded, more detailed structural diagram of the lower levels of the Seventh Mining District (including the B7 area) drawn on transparent film, with several points marked in red ink. Next to one of them was a marginal note: "Suspected 'the key' energy reaction residue (faint)," and the location was... deep in the B7 Sample Repository, near some auxiliary equipment room next to the central isolation chamber base? Near where Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe hid the "bone ring"?!

Finally, there was a short, trembling note written on a sticky note:

"To the latecomer: If you see this, it means I am gone. The data card contains the last deep sampling analysis report I was able to copy, involving the energy spectrum abnormality of 'sample zero' (they call it 'abyssal eye'), and... its similarity to the energy characteristics of the ancient 'Star Gate' ruins. The company's top management attaches great importance to this, seemingly searching for something that can 'resonate' with it — 'the key.' I believe 'the key' may not be an object, but some kind of 'frequency' or 'information state,' and may even be related to specific people. Be careful, the company is looking for people, and also for things. Also, my immediate supervisor, Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe, is acting strange. Recently, he has always been studying some family heirlooms, which seem to be related to 'the key'... If he is still alive, perhaps he knows more. But also be careful of him; I feel... he may have been affected by the 'sample.' Take care. — Chen Yan's Last Words"

The amount of information was explosive again!

Chen Yan's data and records not only confirmed the connection between "abyssal eye" and the "Star Gate," put forward the bold conjecture that "the key" might be a "frequency," "information state," or even a "person," but also pointed out that Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe might have been affected by "abyssal eye," and that "Deep Space Frontier Capital" was looking for both the "thing" and the "person" of "the key"!

And the "suspected 'the key' energy reaction residue" point marked on that structural diagram was in the core area of B7! Could it be that besides the xuanyuan ring, there was something else related to "the key" there? Or was that "residue" emitted by the xuanyuan ring itself? Or perhaps...

Ling Ye felt that another piece of the puzzle of the truth had been found, but the overall picture had become even more confusing. He carefully put away the data card, record papers, diagram, and Chen Yan's last words, placing them together with Senior Researcher Chen Qinghe's notes and the blueprints.

Now, he had more sufficient food, medicine, tools, more accurate maps and information, and even new clues about the nature of "the key" and the intentions of "Deep Space Frontier Capital."

But the search was not yet over. He still had deeper parts of the Warehouse and those hidden points hinted at by the blueprints that he hadn't explored.

Just as he was preparing to walk toward the southernmost end of the Warehouse—that area completely covered by a huge canvas that he had never set foot in—

"Shh... shh..."

A sound, extremely faint but definitely not belonging to a rat or insect, like slippery scales or a carapace rubbing against the rough ground, faintly came from that direction.

Ling Ye's movements froze instantly! His whole body's muscles tightened, the flashlight beam was extinguished immediately, and his body silently crouched low, hiding in the shadow of an abandoned punch press nearby.

He pushed his "Spiritual Sense" to the limit, extending his perception toward the direction of the sound.

There was no obvious fluctuation of life energy, but there was a kind of... cold, slippery, "presence of existence" with a faint "sense of dissonance" moving slowly at the edge of the area covered by the canvas. Unlike the violent and chaotic nature of the derivatives of the "abyssal eye," this aura was more hidden, cold, and full of patience, as if a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

Was it something entrenched in the "danger zone" marked on the map, spreading over? Or was it something else that had always been lurking in the Warehouse?

The sound was intermittent, as if... searching for something? Was it looking for the traces he left behind when he searched earlier? Or was it disturbed by the noise of him flipping the engineering vehicle and taking the iron box just now?

Ling Ye held his breath, lowering his sense of presence to the minimum, his heartbeat almost stopping. His right hand slowly gripped the crowbar, and his left hand reached for the pipe wrench at his waist. His eyes tried hard to adapt in the darkness, staring fixedly at the movement at the edge of the canvas.

The "shh-shh" sound stopped.

There was dead silence.

But Ling Ye could feel that the cold "presence of existence" had not left; instead, it seemed... locked onto his direction?

Discovered?!

How could that be? He was hidden very well, he didn't make any sound, and the flashlight was off.

Unless... the way this thing perceived was not based on sound or light, but some more primitive sensing of "life aura," "heat," or... "Soul fluctuation"?

The Legacy knowledge mentioned that some environments or derivatives long-term eroded by high-level "abnormal" forces might generate an instinctive rejection of and predatory desire for "Order" life or "pure spirituality"...

Cold sweat quietly slid down from Ling Ye's temple.

A standoff permeated the silent darkness.