107: Chapter 107 Unexpected Discovery: Unnatural Metallic Signals
The brief disturbance on the lunar surface caused by the Pretty Country subsided quickly following the rescue of the "ranger" and the somber return of the "odyssey" lunar module. The formidable strength and restrained attitude displayed by the Dragon Kingdom invisibly consolidated the authority of the "earth-moon space traffic management and safety guidelines." The Moon seemed to have temporarily returned to its former tranquility.
Beneath this tranquility, new waves were brewing.
The resource exploration team from the "Guanghan Palace" base, after completing the preliminary delineation of the helium-3 enrichment zone, began to advance, according to plan, toward more distant regions with more complex geological structures. They drove the "Zhuiyue-2" exploration vehicle deep into a highland that had never been surveyed in detail by human probes.
It was covered with massive craters and steep rock walls, recording the history of the Moon's early violent impacts. The exploration team's primary mission was to collect rock samples from different geological eras and map high-precision geological charts.
The "Zhuiyue-2" was cautiously descending along the gentle inner slope of a massive crater, with the multispectral scanner and geological radar on board operating at full power, transmitting massive amounts of data back to the base.
Suddenly, engineer Zhou Rui, who was monitoring the geological radar, furrowed his brows and let out a soft exclamation.
"Strange..." He adjusted the parameters, staring intently at the underground structural cross-section displayed on the screen. "Commander, in the bedrock layer about 150 meters below, I've detected an unusually clear, strong reflection signal. The form... is very regular, unlike a natural geological structure."
Captain Sun Hao immediately leaned in. On the screen, against the background signal representing chaotic rock layers, a bright reflector with sharp edges and a standard rectangular shape stood out conspicuously. Its signal strength far exceeded that of the surrounding rock, indicating that its material density or conductivity was completely different from ordinary lunar rock.
"Adjust the scanning frequency, perform deep focusing and 3D imaging!" Sun Hao ordered immediately, a sense of vigilance rising in his heart. At such a depth, the appearance of such a regular geometric form was in itself highly unusual.
A more advanced synthetic aperture radar mode was activated, scanning the target area repeatedly. A few minutes later, a clearer 3D structural diagram appeared on the screen.
It was a regular rectangular structure about 15 meters long, 8 meters wide, and 5 meters high. Its edges were straight, its corners sharp, and its surface appeared exceptionally smooth, with an extremely strong reflection signal.
"This... this absolutely cannot be natural!" Zhou Rui's voice was filled with incredulous shock. "Its form is too perfect! And look at its burial orientation; it's almost perfectly horizontal, completely inconsistent with the tilt of the surrounding rock layers. It's like... like it was 'placed' there!"
The vehicle went silent instantly; everyone realized the gravity of this discovery. A non-naturally formed, regular metallic object of unknown material discovered deep beneath the Moon's surface?
Sun Hao suppressed the turbulent shock in his heart and immediately connected to the quantum-encrypted communication with the base: "Base! Base! This is 'Zhuiyue-2' calling! In the (ZZZ, AAA) coordinate area, about 150 meters underground, we have discovered a non-natural regular metallic structure! Repeat, a non-natural regular metallic structure! Requesting instructions!"
The message flashed like lightning, instantly reaching the main control room of the "Guanghan Palace" base.
Zhao Xiaopeng stared at the 3D imaging sent back, his pupils contracting sharply. He immediately ordered: "Suspend all activities that might disturb that area! 'Zhuiyue-2' is to retreat to a safe distance and establish a cordon! All data, top-secret classification, is to be transmitted simultaneously to the Earth Command Center and the 'Zhulong' safe house!"
He almost immediately associated this with Lin Mo's previous deduction about the possible existence of ancient "visitor" ruins on the Moon, as well as the approaching "reaper."
Could it be... that this was not the "reaper's" first visit to the Solar System?
Was this metal cuboid buried deep beneath the Moon a base left behind by some ancient civilization? A warehouse? Or... a tombstone?
A chill quietly crept up Zhao Xiaopeng's spine.
Inside the "Zhulong" safe house, Lin Mo also received the data and images immediately. He looked at the cuboid buried deep beneath the Moon, emitting a mysterious signal, and his eyes became incredibly sharp.
The system interface flickered silently in his mind, and a new prompt quietly appeared:
【Signal from a non-local civilization artifact detected... Database comparison in progress... Correlation: Unknown. Threat level assessment: Pending. Suggestion: Acquire physical sample for analysis.】