184: The lights come on! The monster from eighty years ago has awakened!

Inside the door was pure darkness, capable of devouring all light.

An indescribable odor surged out from the opened crack!

The smell was a mix of heavy rust, mold growing in dark corners, and engine oil that had been stagnant for nearly a century. Even worse, it was laced with a deathly air that hadn't circulated for eighty years, thick as liquid, smothering their faces!

"Ugh!"

Wang Dalong couldn't hold back, retching dryly as he covered his mouth, stumbling back several steps, his chubby face instantly turning the color of liver.

"Holy shit! What the hell is that smell?! Did a drowned rat soak in there for eighty years?!"

Stone, standing at the front—this battle-hardened SAS captain—instinctively held his breath and turned aside to avoid the direct blast of the foul wind. His expression was grim, not from the stench, but from a professional soldier's instinctive wariness of the unknown and enclosed spaces.

"Lights on!"

Stone didn't waste words, barking the command.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several blinding tactical flashlight beams tore through the darkness behind the door.

The light beams swept frantically across the vast space, and everything they illuminated made everyone hold their breath.

This... was an underground hangar so immense it completely exceeded their wildest imaginations!

The flashlight beams pointed upward couldn't reach the ceiling! Only the vague, terrifyingly high arc of the dome was visible, feeling at least thirty meters tall—not just fighter jets, even the vertical stabilizers of large transport planes could easily fit!

The beams pointed downward revealed a floor made of thick, poured concrete, impossibly smooth, shimmering faintly under the intense light.

"Fatty, stay close to me."

Tap... tap... tap...

The crisp echo of his leather boots on the hard concrete was the only sound in the vast space at that moment. The noise reverberated through the empty hangar, sending chills down their spines.

Stone's pupils contracted, and he immediately gave a crisp tactical hand signal to his men behind him.

The six SAS Team Members instantly transformed into silent leopards, splitting into pairs in combat formation. Their steps were light, the tactical flashlights on their gun barrels moving with their gaze, pointing at every corner of the darkness, covering each other as they cautiously advanced.

Wang Dalong had one hand tightly, almost strangling Lin Feng's backpack strap, while the other held his precious camera high, but the lens shook like it had Parkinson's.

He filmed while trembling and muttering, "Did those Germans hollow out the entire mountain back then?! Is this something humans could have built?!"

"Objective: find the backup power source."

Lin Feng didn't turn back, cutting off his string of exclamations with a single sentence, his tone clear and devoid of emotion.

"A base this big couldn't possibly lack an independent generator set."

Hearing this, Stone perked up. Yes, that's right! Restore the lighting first! In this darkness, they were blind!

He immediately pressed his communicator and ordered in a low voice, "Sam! You're the tech expert, come with me! The rest, hold your positions, guard the entrance and our retreat!"

"Yes, sir!"

Without hesitation, the group hurried deeper along a metal-grated passage on the side of the hangar.

The further they went, the stronger the smell of stale engine oil and pungent diesel in the air became.

Soon, they found their target.

In a massive, soundproofed room isolated by thick doors, a huge green steel beast lay quietly dormant.

It was a MAN Marine Diesel Generator, its entire bulk larger than a heavy-duty truck! This German-made giant was synonymous in the industry with "rugged durability" and "raw power!"

"My God..."

The technical soldier Sam, catching up, looked at the well-maintained, gleaming giant before him, his eyes instantly blazing with fervor, his expression like he'd seen a stunning beauty.

"It's a MAN! It's the one! As long as it's properly maintained, this thing could last another hundred years, let alone eighty! It's an industrial miracle! A work of art!"

He practically pounced on it, deftly unscrewing a large inspection cover and shining his tactical flashlight inside.

As he checked, he excitedly rattled off like a menu:

"The fuel tank is full! My God, they filled it up before evacuating!"

"Coolant level normal! Color clear!"

"Not a single trace of aging or cracking on the outer insulation of all the wiring! This damn place is too dry, it's practically a natural vacuum-sealed warehouse!"

Sam rubbed his hands excitedly, his face flushed, as he began a series of complex pre-startup checks and bypass settings on the control panel.

Five minutes later, he turned and gave Stone an OK sign, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Captain, all checks complete! Ready to start!"

Stone nodded heavily.

Sam turned to face the control panel covered in gauges and switches, his gaze fixed on the large, ancient red start button.

He reached out, paused for a moment above the button, then pressed it down hard!

"Zzz—"

A sharp, high-frequency electrical sound pierced the silence.

Immediately after, a dull, viscous mechanical turning sound came from inside the steel beast.

"Hum—hum—hum—"

The sound was low and powerful, like an ancient giant beast that had slept for nearly a century, rudely awakened from a sweet dream, roaring in extreme reluctance.

The entire base began to tremble slightly with its awakening heartbeat! A tingling vibration came from the ground beneath their feet!

Suddenly!

Snap!

A lone explosion-proof light above their heads flickered and burst into a dim, yellowish glow!

Success!

Everyone's hearts tightened!

Then!

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

Rows of lighting fixtures hanging from the dome were activated one by one by the awakened power, like falling dominoes, spreading wildly from the near end of the hangar where they stood into the dark distance!

Clang!

Wang Dalong's camera really fell from his hand, saved by the neck strap as it hit his plump belly.

Stone and his elite SAS subordinates were also completely frozen in place!

In the vast, seemingly endless hangar, dozens of aircraft of various shapes were neatly parked!

They were covered in a thick layer of dust, like silent ghosts from another world, lined up quietly, as if waiting for a takeoff order that would never come.

Under the stark white light, their contours—some elegant, some menacing, some bizarrely defying aerodynamics—exuded a cold, sci-fi feel that transcended their era, even modernity!

This... was the Nazi's most insane, least-known doomsday legacy!

Lin Feng stood under the brilliant lights, slowly raising a hand to adjust his glasses.

The lenses reflected rows of menacing steel creations, also mirroring a forgotten chapter of black aviation history belonging to the Third Reich.