At seven in the evening, Chen Chuan dined with Vegadov and most of the camp's personnel in its largest banquet hall.
Once again, he had to marvel at the financial might of the Federation Purist Faction; the ingredients served to him and Vegadov had all been flown in directly from Center City.
Not only were they exceptionally fresh and nutrient-rich, but their combinations were meticulously balanced and prepared by specialized staff, far surpassing what the Federation had provided to the diplomatic delegation.
During the feast, the camp had even arranged for the active conscious entity to stage a musical using simulation resources. Though it was only a shallow simulation where physical contact was impossible, verbal interaction was fully supported, making the performers indistinguishable from real people.
Applause beat time to the music now and then throughout the hall.
Even though doing so required feeding massive quantities of high-energy nutrients to the active conscious entity, morale across the camp surged visibly.
Afterward, Chen Chuan returned to his assigned room. The decor was exquisite and tasteful: plush, expensive carpeting blanketed the floor, elegant high-end furniture filled the space, and a delicately carved liquor cabinet and fine art ornaments adorned the corners.
The entire room radiated an understated yet unmistakable aura of luxury, like the private residence of an aristocrat.
Seeing all this, he found himself quickly forming certain stereotypes about the Federation Purist Faction.
Walking over to sit in a classical armchair carved with ornate patterns, he tapped his boundary credential, and a light screen appeared displaying detailed records concerning the operation.
Vegadov had briefed him on the matter while on the train, but many things were difficult to convey clearly through words alone.
With this documentation, everything became much clearer. Organised along a timeline, it detailed the scouting efforts conducted against the target over recent years, complete with numerous photographs and video recordings.
The location was inside a mine shaft. Years ago, a Federation mining company had come to excavate here, only to uncover a mountain palace left behind by the First Folk deep underground, which was initially suspected to have been used for sacrificial worship.
They illicitly excavated large quantities of gold and silver vessels from the site. Yet without knowing what they had disturbed, miners began dying violent deaths in droves. Faced with frequent unexplained incidents, the mining company conducted an internal evaluation and ultimately halted all operations in the shaft, citing employee safety and operational risks.
Later on, the place drew a succession of expeditions, quite a few of which were swallowed up inside. The Federation Purist Faction took note of the location five years ago and suffered that disastrous defeat.
Subsequent surveys revealed that the site had originally been sealed by the First Folk themselves, though for reasons unknown, they had not neutralized the fissure within.
After reviewing all the documentation, Chen Chuan looked over some diagrams and photos taken of the interior, though unfortunately this section was incomplete. The extreme danger inside likely made it impossible to acquire full and detailed information.
If so, he would just have to see it in person tomorrow.
Dismissing the boundary credential's display, he turned in for the night.
After a night's rest at the camp, at daybreak the following morning, Chen Chuan, Vegadov, and the others boarded vehicles and drove along the highway into the mountains, arriving before the mine shaft an hour later.
Everyone stepped out and spoke with the garrison personnel stationed there. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, they prepared to head straight inside.
At that moment, Chen Chuan suddenly paused mid-step.
Noticing this, Vegadov asked, "Mr. Chen, what is it? Is something wrong?"
Chen Chuan's boundary credential was currently displaying Chaoming's field of view. Looking down from Chaoming's vantage point, one could see that the entire mining mountain and its surrounding slopes resembled a person lying on their side.
Along the edges, traces of artificial chiseling were visible, and the mine shaft happened to be situated right where the heart of that reclined figure would be.
Tapping his boundary credential, he transmitted the image to everyone. "Did anyone notice this before?"
Vegadov and the others looked and were all startled.
They had taken aerial photos before using modified organisms, but it had never looked like this.
Chen Chuan nodded. Indeed it hadn't looked like this before. He had examined earlier photographs last night; the mountain had been heavily blanketed with vegetation. Now that the foliage appeared to have been cleared away, combined with the lighting and angle, the contour stood revealed.
Yet this was unlikely to be a mere coincidence. The First Folk had surely chosen this place to tear open a fissure for a very specific reason.
Just then, a gust of wind swept across, blowing sand and dust from the wilderness. He took another glance through Chaoming's vision, only to find that amid the haze of swirling dust, for a fleeting instant, that slumbering figure seemed to suddenly roll over, appearing to turn onto its other side.
Withdrawing his gaze, he looked toward the entrance and said, "Let's go in and take a look."
Vegadov said, "Mr. Chen, follow me."
He took the lead, speaking as he walked. "The original shaft was smaller than this. We enlarged it.
"Our inspection revealed that many rituals had originally been laid out here, but a great deal of them were damaged during the mining days. We tried having people repair them, but the materials required were things we had never seen before. When we attempted patching them with new rituals, they wouldn't bond properly to the originals, so we opted to set up two new layers of rituals both inside and out.
"So far, it seems to have helped somewhat. The thing inside hasn't broken out once over the past few years—"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly heard a burst of rapid footsteps, as if someone were sprinting headlong into the mine shaft.
He couldn't help asking the garrison personnel nearby, "Is someone in there?"
The sentry blinked in surprise and replied, "No, Mr. Vegadov. We have strict orders never to enter."
Vegadov asked, "Then what was that sound of footsteps just now? Who is inside?"
The sentry looked perplexed. He glanced inward and said doubtfully, "Were there footsteps just now? I didn't hear anything."
He exchanged glances with the people around him; everyone looked at one another and then back at Vegadov with questioning eyes, for none of them had heard anything either.
Vegadov was taken aback by their reactions. Had it been his imagination?
Chen Chuan spoke up: "No, there was a sound. I heard it too." He cast a glance into the depths of the mine shaft. "Let's keep moving."
Vegadov gave a firm nod. Calling out to the group, he took the lead, and everyone followed behind.
The initial stretch was easy to traverse. They had walked it countless times over the years; work lights lined both walls with power cables running to the outside, and the one-kilometer-long path was virtually free of obstacles.
That was until they arrived at a sheer vertical shaft.
Vegadov said, "Below this point, heading deeper in, lies a section of the original mine tunnel that was never widened. Mr. Chen, I'll go with you." He then looked toward the others. "The rest of you stay here to provide support."
Only he and Chen Chuan were martial artists; anyone else going in would only be a hindrance. Remaining here to make defensive preparations was enough.
The others assented and reminded the two to be careful.
Vegadov nodded and pulled a lever. Amid the creak of winches and the harsh screech of metal friction, the hoist platform carrying the two slowly descended.
After descending twenty-odd meters, it reached the bottom.
There was not a speck of light here, plunging the area into near-total darkness, though as martial artists, this hardly impaired either of them.
Chen Chuan pointed a finger, sending a speck of spiritual light drifting forward, instantly illuminating the way ahead.
An expression of admiration crossed Vegadov's face. As a martial artist himself, how could he fail to grasp the caliber required for such a display? It demanded extraordinary finesse and command over one's Spiritual Fire.
Even a tiny mote of Spiritual Fire could easily erupt with tremendous force if handled improperly; he knew full well he could never pull off something like this.
His awe aside, he didn't forget to open the case he carried, releasing several combat organisms and modified flying insects to scout ahead into the depths.
Chen Chuan and Vegadov waited a moment before proceeding inside. After several dozen meters, they came across the remains of the modified organisms that had flown in ahead of them.
The deeper they went, the more numerous the remains became, appearing every few paces. Some had clearly been left from prior visits; evidently, they had tried this tactic many times over the years.
Chen Chuan cast a few glances over them. The modified creatures showed no external damage, likely succumbing to some form of mental field.
Vegadov said, "Mr. Chen, it's not far ahead." Glancing down at the ground, he added, "Those modified creatures were freshly improved models, but it seems they still can't adapt to the environment here."
Advancing another two hundred meters, they spotted collapsed stone blocks and shattered statues along the passageway. Upon reaching this area, faint phantoms of figures began flickering into Chen Chuan's vision.
All were clad in the attire of the First Folk, seemingly engaged in worship before something ahead.
The silhouettes were hazy and indistinct. In the center stood an individual in relatively ornate robes, apparently presiding over some ritual.
This scene played out for a short while before one of the kneeling figures suddenly lunged forward. The ornately dressed figure abruptly collapsed, and chaos engulfed the gathering.
It appeared to be a recorded assassination.
Chen Chuan's gaze shifted slightly. In the past, the fields and spirits of those people had likely merged with the fissure, causing this scene to be imprinted and preserved.
Yet it was only because his mental strength was exceptionally immense that he could make out the scene at all; Vegadov could only sense faint spiritual fragments, entirely blind to the visual display.
Vegadov offered a quiet reminder: "Mr. Chen, just past this bend, we'll see him."
Rounding a bend, they came upon a sizable cavern. The ground was littered with shattered stone carvings and skeletal remains. At the same time, a glaring light shone onto them. Directly opposite, less than twenty meters away, stood an open fissure shaped like a doorway, with piercing radiance streaming through.
There, a figure stood with his back to them, completely motionless even as they approached.
Chen Chuan narrowed his eyes. The figure resembled a hollow silhouette—clearly visible to the eye, yet entirely imperceptible to the spirit.
At the sight of him, Vegadov could not stop himself from calling out, "As!" and instinctively began stepping forward—
Chapter 1210