91: Chapter 91 Players Explore the Deep Well

The task of exploring the Deep Well was proactively taken on by "Dark Blade".

"Iron Wall" had to stay at the base to organize basic training for the newly received players and reinforce the base's fortifications, while "Warhammer Veteran" led a group of players more interested in the "background story" to organize the old data archives handed over by the Ashen Gang. The task of exploring unknown areas naturally fell to the "Dark Blade" squad, which excelled in stealth and reconnaissance.

The five-man squad configuration: Dark Blade (Captain/Scout), Warhammer under the Fingertips (Logistics/Lockpicking), plus three combat-oriented players—IDs being "Steel Plate" (Main Defense), "Skull Crusher" (Main DPS), and "Ghost Step" (Main Mobility).

Before setting off, Lin Qiming called Dark Blade alone to the dispatch room.

"People from the Deep Well Gang were here yesterday," he got straight to the point. "They mentioned 'whispers from underground,' implying that there might be some... unusual things in the Deep Well area. Your mission is not combat, but reconnaissance. Record the terrain, mark abnormal energy points, and if you encounter any 'wrong' situations, prioritize retreating; do not linger in battle."

Dark Blade nodded without asking much. He was a man of action, knowing when to ask questions and when to execute orders.

"Understood. Primary reconnaissance range?"

"The outskirts of the Deep Well, do not go deep into the core area." Lin Qiming drew a circle on the map. "Pay close attention to this area—the edge of the Deep Well Gang's controlled zone, near that large vertical shaft. If there are abnormal energy readings, record them, but do not touch them proactively."

"Received."

Dark Blade turned to leave. At the door, he stopped for a moment and looked back at Lin Qiming: "Father, that messenger... do you believe what he said?"

Lin Qiming was silent for a moment.

"I believe half," he replied. "The other half needs you to verify."

Dark Blade nodded, asked no more, and strode out of the dispatch room.

The squad set out at dawn (the blurred "daybreak" period of the Hive Bottom).

They advanced along a relatively hidden abandoned mine tunnel on the edge of the East District. This tunnel was marked on the map handed over by the Ashen Gang and was said to bypass several regular Outposts of the Deep Well Gang, leading directly to an abandoned industrial platform on the outskirts of the Deep Well. Old Cole's intelligence also confirmed that this route was relatively safe—the Deep Well Gang's patrol focus was near the shaft, and the security in the outer areas was relatively loose.

The mine tunnel wound downwards, with a slope steeper than expected. After walking for about forty minutes, the surrounding air became increasingly damp and cold, and some moss-like plants that emitted a faint cold light in the dark began to appear on the rock walls overhead. On the walls of the tunnel, the signs and numbers left by the early mining of the Imperium became sparser, replaced by older excavation marks—the carving style of those marks was clearly different from that of the Imperium of Man.

"This place... has some history." Warhammer under the Fingertips crouched down and wiped a dent on a rock wall with his glove. "This texture doesn't look like it was left by a laser cutter; it looks more like it was formed by some high-energy particle beam melting and then cooling... something from the Golden Age?"

Dark Blade did not answer. He walked at the front of the team, the probe indicator light in his hand flashing at a steady frequency—it was a player auxiliary probe provided by the Hephaestus system, which could detect energy residues and harmful gas concentrations in the environment. At this moment, the probe's readings were clearly several orders of magnitude higher than normal.

"There's an energy reaction ahead," he whispered. "It's very strong, and the direction isn't coming from the ground above; it's from... below."

He pointed to one of the steeper, downward paths at the fork ahead. There were obvious metal component remains at the entrance of that passage, the style completely different from the Imperial facilities above, with cleaner, smoother lines and a material that shimmered with a dull silver-gray luster.

"Go that way."

After walking down the passage for another twenty minutes, the team's field of vision suddenly opened up.

They stood at the edge of a huge underground cavity that combined natural and artificial modifications. The roof of the cave was lost in darkness, and as the searchlight beam swept across, it revealed ancient lighting units embedded in the rock walls that had long since gone out. At the bottom of the cavity was a flat floor made of joined metal plates, covered in a thick layer of dust, but its original regular geometric structure could still be seen.

And in the center of the cavity—

A massive, silver-gray metal structure about three stories high stood quietly in the darkness.

Its shape was like a flattened, translucent polyhedral crystal. The outer shell was made of a translucent dark-gold material, and inside, one could vaguely see a complex geometric structural frame and some energy conduits that had stopped functioning. The entire structure emitted an extremely faint but extremely stable blue fluorescence—like a sleeping heart waiting to be reawakened.

"Holy crap..." Warhammer under the Fingertips couldn't help but curse. "Is... is this a reactor?"

Dark Blade didn't answer, but his eyes lit up as well.

The energy reading on the probe had now soared to a staggering number—far exceeding any energy source they had detected near the base, even stronger than the activated Ancient Ones Outpost defense node.

And near the base of this giant structure, there were scattered fragments of human remains and Imperial standard equipment wreckage that could still be vaguely identified—evidently, human explorers had once reached here and left their bones behind.

Dark Blade crouched down and used his dagger to gently brush away the dust from the chest of a set of remains, revealing a rusted Imperial identification tag. A line of blurred writing was engraved on it:

"Isolation Zone 73 · 4th Exploration Team—Alfred Moran, Technician. M34.127."

Warhammer under the Fingertips also leaned in, looked at the identification tag, and gasped: "M34... the 34th millennium of the Imperial Calendar? Then this place... has been abandoned for at least ten thousand years?"

Dark Blade didn't respond. He stood up and cast his gaze back upon the sleeping ancient reactor.

Ten thousand years, or even longer. It had been here all along, waiting to see the light of day again.

"Steel Plate" gripped his weapon alertly, scanning the surrounding darkness: "Captain, is this place... safe? Will there be something guarding it?"

"No active life signals detected for now." Dark Blade glanced at the probe's readings. "But the energy residue is high; there might be radiation. Fingertips, measure the environmental radiation levels."

Warhammer under the Fingertips pulled a crude radiation dosimeter from his backpack—it was something he had assembled himself from old parts scavenged from scrap heaps; although its precision wasn't high, it could at least provide a general safety range. He held the dosimeter to his eyes, aimed it at the reactor, and read it for a few seconds.

"...Radiation levels are within the safety range." He was somewhat surprised. "Much lower than I imagined. The shielding effect of this reactor's shell is very good... after ten thousand years, it actually hasn't leaked much."

Dark Blade nodded, his gaze carefully scanning the reactor's shell. Those translucent dark-gold materials were covered with fine, circuit-like geometric patterns. Although most had dimmed, an occasional flash of extremely faint blue light could be seen within the patterns—as if this sleeping behemoth was still performing a minimal "breath."

"Send a signal back," he said solemnly. "Tell the Father—we've found something."

Warhammer under the Fingertips immediately pulled out a communicator—it was a small communication device Lin Qiming had modified from an old walkie-talkie; its effective range was limited, but enough to transmit back to the Outpost. He pressed the talk button and quickly reported the discovery.

There was silence on the other end of the communicator for a few seconds, and then Lin Qiming's voice came through, calm as always, but seemingly a fraction faster than usual: "Describe the appearance and status of the reactor."

Warhammer under the Fingertips cleared his throat and described the structure before him in as much detail as possible—its shape, material, size, the patterns on the shell, and those faint blue fluorescences.

Silence on the other end of the communicator again.

This time, the silence lasted longer than before.

Then, Lin Qiming's voice rang out again, carrying an indescribable calmness that seemed to suppress some emotion: "Discovery confirmed. Mission change—upgraded from 'reconnaissance' to 'on-site survey.' Under the premise of ensuring safety, record environmental data around the reactor, the distribution of remains, and any possible structural entrances or interfaces in as much detail as possible. Be careful, do not touch any parts that look 'unstable'."

"Received," Warhammer under the Fingertips replied, and then hung up the communication.

Dark Blade had already started conducting peripheral reconnaissance around the reactor base with "Ghost Step." "Steel Plate" and "Skull Crusher" stood guard at the passage entrance, alertly monitoring the surrounding darkness.

Warhammer under the Fingertips crouched down, opened the recording board he carried, and began to carefully draw a structural sketch of the reactor. His pen tip moved quickly across the paper, capturing those complex geometric patterns and structural details as accurately as possible.

This was an ancient energy core.

An energy facility from the Golden Age—or even earlier—that had slept for over ten thousand years and still maintained its basic structural integrity.

And it was right beneath the feet of the Hammer of Dawn, waiting to be reawakened.

[Exploration Discovery Update: A large ancient energy facility has been discovered in the Deep Well area, initially visually identified as an energy core/reactor wreckage from the Golden Age or earlier (suspected Ancient Ones system). The facility's appearance is approximately 35% complete, and energy residue readings are extremely low but stable, suspected to be in a dormant standby state.]

[On-site Survey: In the Imperial Calendar M34, an exploration team from Isolation Zone 73 reached this area, and all members died. The cause of death is speculated to be related to the facility itself or environmental factors. No obvious traces of Necrons or Chaos contamination were found.]

[Suggested Next Action: Organize a professional engineering squad to conduct a detailed survey and safety assessment of the facility, and evaluate the feasibility of repair.]

[System Evaluation: A successful exploration. Your players have dug up the most valuable (and most dangerous) 'Easter egg' beneath the Hive City. A suspected Ancient Ones system energy core can theoretically provide inestimable energy replenishment for the stc core—provided you have a way to make it run again and don't blow yourself and the entire base to the sky in the process of starting it. Good luck; your engineering knowledge reserves are about to face a major test.]