231: Chapter 231 The Strange White Face

...

[Boss, the PDA Base has reorganized their team and is preparing to enter Andi Star again.]

On this day, Lin Fang, who was feigning sleep, suddenly received a message from Xiao Hei. After understanding the situation, he discovered that the joint forces of various countries, having found a method to counter the Petrification Virus, had eagerly set out again.

It was understandable. The temptation of another world was simply too great. Putting himself in their shoes, if he were them, he would do the same.

If this other world could be developed, the potential benefits were immeasurable. And now, sixty-eight days had passed since the Rosen Bridge in the middle of the Pacific Ocean opened.

"Where are our Clone troops? Have they discovered anything?"

Lin Fang asked. He remained very interested in the changes occurring in that world. Therefore, after suspecting this world might be related to the movie *thorn king of the ancient city*, Lin Fang dispatched Clone troops to the lowest point of Andi Star's landmass—precisely where the green thorny vines appeared most densely.

Because the terrain here somewhat resembled a Kaiju's anus, the Kaminax Tribe had once named this place the 'Throat of the Abyss'.

They rarely came here, but according to the Kaminax King, this cave leading underground originally had none of these thorny vines. For some unknown reason, they had sprouted from below.

The Clone troops' orders were to advance into this anus... no... this Throat of the Abyss.

Xiao Hei's voice sounded somewhat dejected.

[Boss, nothing yet. But we've already lost fifteen Clone Soldiers. The vines are becoming increasingly numerous.]

The screen began playing the current situation of the Clone troops. They were now 30 kilometers underground. To facilitate the descent, they had even constructed an alloy elevator platform; its massive mechanical gears exuded a brutal aesthetic beauty.

The current obstacle was the continuously emerging thorny vines. They seemed to be everywhere, as if the entire underground interior was saturated with them.

If not for the ample firepower, the continuous suppression with countless bunker busters and thermobaric bombs, plus several Jaegers from the base clearing the path, the losses would have been greater.

"Still acceptable," Lin Fang mused, watching the footage for a moment before continuing, "This indicates we're getting closer to the source. That's good news."

"Increase the firepower. Have the H.D.S. Forces go over as well. We should soon see where these vines are growing from."

[Directive issued.]

Next, Lin Fang instructed Xiao Hei to switch the feed to the PDA joint organization. A group of professors were staring intently at their screen.

On their screen, the advance team had entered a basin containing many incubation pod-like structures. Soldiers from various countries were cautiously investigating, wary of any potential dangers.

They ultimately discovered these pods were all empty, containing nothing but some slimy fluid.

This was a site where the Kaminax Tribe cultivated Kaiju. They had since relocated their entire tribe to Titan.

Within the advance team, a soldier from the Americas, after collecting fluid samples into test tubes, felt his high-alert tension ease slightly.

"My Jesus... God only knows how panicked I was when we first spotted these giant incubation pods. What kind of monster could be born from here? If not for the experts' insistence, the advance team would never have approached this place."

"This planet is terrifying. Thankfully, this place seems abandoned..."

Lin Fang observed them for about ten minutes. Finding it uninteresting, he shifted his gaze back to the exploration progress in the Throat of the Abyss.

——

Two days later, Lin Fang finally received a report from the Clone troops. They had reached the bottom of the Throat of the Abyss and discovered an underground cavity. Here, the Clones found a gigantic white human face on the ground.

The white face had no eyebrows, but its other facial features were relatively clear.

This was indeed the origin of the thorny vines. According to Xiao Hei, this space was also originally filled with dense vines, but they had all been incinerated to ash, revealing the anomaly on the ground.

After simple clearing, the contours of the face still faintly suggested it was that of a woman.

Lin Fang examined it and noticed the stone material beneath her differed from the surroundings. He said, "Dig beneath her."

The Clone troops, who would never betray Lin Fang, immediately began excavating the surrounding rock layers with heavy machinery.

The structure beneath the face gradually became clear. It was an irregular stone of unknown material, its surface covered in numerous fine pores.

Seeing this, Lin Fang suddenly recalled an ancient martial arts drama. The Fire Head Monk suppressed beneath a cliff in that show bore some resemblance to this situation.

Only, this was far more chilling than the TV drama.

"Xiao Hei, are there any signs of life from her?"

[Boss, I've already scanned with a life detector. No signs of life.]

Lin Fang pondered. The information provided by the Black Star was certainly not without purpose. The changes on Andi Star were definitely related to the movie *thorn king of the ancient city*.

In the movie's plot, the source of the Petrification Virus was a meteorite that fell from the sky. Could it be this stone beneath the face?

There was a 90% probability.

Then, could this face be the female lead from the movie...

"Tsk. Bring it up and let the scientists dissect it. We'll find out then."

Following Lin Fang's command, the irregular stone—ten meters in diameter—along with the face on it, was tightly wrapped in multiple layers of bio-containment film. Then, together, they were loaded onto the alloy platform and began a slow ascent to the surface.

The entire process proceeded smoothly. This bizarre combination behaved like a heavy, inanimate object, offering no resistance or mutation during its movement.

Simultaneously, after excavating this stone, the aggressive vines seemed to wilt, becoming completely inactive.

Xiao Hei reported: [Boss, the sample has been successfully loaded onto the heavy transport platform. It is currently returning to the surface via the elevator platform. Estimated time to reach the surface: three hours.]

"Transport it to the Black Watch Base on Titan. Place it in the Level-5 Biosafety Laboratory. Have our people study what this thing is. Violent methods are permitted. Dismantle it if necessary. I only want results."

[Xiao Hei has noted this.]

[Boss, should we allow these nations to continue exploring? They have begun deploying large reconnaissance drones. At this rate, they will discover our Wormhole to Andi Star in two days.]

A glint flickered in Lin Fang's eyes. He then said, "It doesn't matter. This planet holds little of value anymore. Let them rummage. After the Clone troops withdraw, have the Kaminax Tribe close the Wormhole. Then, Xiao Hei, you just need to monitor their progress continuously."

"If you discover any significant developments, report them to me."